Blog Tour, Giveaway & Author Interview- "Where the Heart Lies"

Where the Heart Lies

By: Michelle Garren Flye

About the Book

All widowed Alicia Galloway has left of her war-hero husband are the flag that draped his coffin and his final wishes: to move to his hometown, take over the family bookstore and enjoy a simple, quiet life with their two small children. When she arrives, her husband’s best friend makes that new life anything but simple. How can she be so drawn to Liam Addison? 

Liam only intended to help Alicia get settled. But one unexpected kiss awakens his long-held forbidden feelings. Soon, the town busybodies swoop in to warn Alicia away from him. Because no matter the man he’s become, he’ll never live down his reputation as town troublemaker and wolfish womanizer.

No one wants the war hero’s sweet widow and the supposedly former bad boy together. But the more everyone tries to keep them apart, the closer he and Alicia get. And the more determined Liam is to prove he’s a changed man. Will it be enough to convince Alicia to let a new love in her life?

About the Author

Michelle Garren Flye is a mother, writer and editor based in coastal North Carolina. She obtained her degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1992. Not liking the hours required of a journalist, she went on to obtain a Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1997. When her first child was born in 2000, she packed her diplomas away and began a new life as a stay-at-home mom, which fortunately afforded her the opportunity to pursue her writing on a semi-regular basis.

Michelle has served in various capacities for several online and print literary endeavors, including Dark Recesses, edifice WRECKED, Horror Library, Butcher Shop Quartet, and Tattered Souls.

Michelle is the author of three romance novels, Where the Heart Lies (Carina Press 2012), Winter Solstice (Lyrical Press 2011) and Secrets of the Lotus (Lyrical Press 2010). Michelle also self-published a fiction book titled Weeds and Flowers for the Kindle in December 2011.

Author Links:

Blog: http://michellegflye.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-Garren-Flye/132688623422175

Twitter: @michellegflye

A Word from the Author

Where Do They Come From?

By Michelle Garren Flye 

I’m often asked if I get inspiration for my characters from real life, or even if I put myself into my books. The only answer I can give for this is “probably.” After all, we can only write about the things we know, right? The people I know or observe probably do sneak into my books, albeit subconsciously, and here’s how it happens. 

Two characters in my last release Where the Heart Lies particularly intrigue me because of the reaction they’ve received from the readers. The first is Penny, the local woman and high school friend of Alicia’s husband Ty. She befriends Alicia as soon as she moves into town, and, being a busybody, is full of advice, especially when it comes to Ty’s other old friend Liam. Penny has her own reasons for trying to keep Alicia and Liam apart, and they’re not all unselfish. In fact, she’s downright self-serving in a lot of ways. But I tried to show the other aspect of her—the loving, loyal side of her. Some of my readers haven’t been able to see past Penny’s instinct for self-preservation, though. 

The other is LuLu, Alicia’s other new friend. LuLu is divorced and out of the closet—in a town that’s not accepting of alternative lifestyles. To make it worse, she owns a sex store in the heart of the conservative downtown district. (I keep telling everyone, don’t go to Hillsborough and look for it—I made it up!) LuLu hasn’t had it easy. Her husband cheated on her, and her mother thinks the experience was so traumatic it “turned” her gay. But through it all, LuLu has remained a good mother to her daughter, a successful businesswoman, and she’s a good friend to Alicia. She’s a more peripheral character than Penny, as she doesn’t play a direct part in the storyline, but reader reaction to her has been much more favorable. 

So where did these ladies come from? Do I know them in real life? No. Sorry to disappoint, but I didn’t directly base these characters on anybody I actually know. What I imagine happens is that as I live my life, I make observations of the people who move through it with me. These observations get thrown in one big mound of scraps and when I create characters, I reach in and pull out what I need, stitching together what I need until my patchwork becomes a person. And that’s how my character is born. 

Do I know them? Yes. But I made them up.

My Thoughts

      A forbidden love story is always a favorite of mine. Two people that absolutely should not be together being drawn towards one another  and there isn't anything either one can do, pure genius. Dealing with love, loss, grief and military life, you are swept away into a world of Alicia and Liam. They each have their own issues and finding ways to deal with one another in this complex situation of life and death is quite the balancing act. Quite well written and enjoyable, Where the Heart Lies was the perfect book for a cold winter evening. Get ready for an emotional rollercoaster that will leave you feeling breathless!

Giveaway

Michelle will be awarding promotional postcards from Carina Press with 10% off coupons to one commenter at every stop, and a $10 Amazon GC + a copy of Bartlett's Poems for Occasions, which inspired part of the book to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. 

Be sure to leave a comment with your e-mail to be entered!

Be sure to check out the other stops on the tour!

September 10: Welcome to My World of Dreams

September 17: Queen of all She Reads

September 24: All I want and more

October 1: MeganJohnsInvites

October 8: My Reading Addiction

October 8: Once Upon a Time...

October 15: Ramblings From This Chick

October 22: The Bunny's Review

October 29: It's Raining Books

November 5: The Brunette Librarian

November 12: Jersey Girl Book Reviews

November 19: Stitch Read Cook & Guilty Indulgence

November 26: My Devotional Thoughts