Contemporary romance author, Ryan Jo Summers, stopped by my blog today for an interview! I’m thrilled to have her here and I’m looking forward to learning more about her latest story, GLIMPSE ETERNITY. So without further ado…

Welcome, Ryan! Tell us about your latest release. 😀

This is a sweet contemporary novella called “Glimpse Eternity”. It is about a woman, Kasey Griffin, who has a full life, her own bookstore and the challenges of Multiple Sclerosis. She’s doing pretty good until hunky musician, Ben Salem, rolls into town and tells her he wants her heart.

A character with a medical condition? You’ve already stolen my heart! What was the hardest thing about writing this book? The easiest?

The hardest thing was facing my own demons. I do not have MS but I do face a lot of the same challenges. This book was actually written as therapy for me to come to terms and cope with my condition and limitations. In order to write it, Kasey and I both had to learn to accept our shortcomings and take a leap of faith—or a few of them—that yes, we can do this. In Kasey’s case, it was believing a man would accept her long term. For me, it was accepting this is my long term life now.

Easiest part would have been the actual writing of each scene, hooking them together into a storyline.

Writing can definitely be a form of therapy and I’m glad you were able to accomplish this for both Kasey and yourself. If you could bring one of your characters (villain or hero) to life, who would you chose? Why?

Logan Riley from Shimmers of Stardust. He’s a Civil War hero who turned outlaw. He was hanged back in 1869 and ended up alive in our modern world. I absolutely love his cowboy logic and sometimes comical approach to this bewildering modern world. Despite how he made some bad choices in life, he still has a hero’s heart and is noble and loyal. Who wouldn’t want a handsome man like that around?

I certainly would! He sounds like a lot of fun. 😀 Speaking of fun, Paramount Pictures wants to make a movie about your latest novel. Who plays the main characters?

Harry Connick Jr. for Ben Salem. I’ve had a crush on Harry for years now and doubtlessly he’s a subconscious inspiration for musician Ben.

Kasey… I’m not sure. Meg Ryan could do it well. I haven’t watched television in about six years so I am out of the loop as to who the ‘new people’ are these days so my answers might age the characters a bit.

Great choices! 😀 So tell us a little about yourself.

I live in North Carolina with my beloved pets. I abhor technology, especially all this new-fangled stuff out lately, but I am learning to slowly appreciate its usefulness to my writing. My idea pastime is hanging out on the wicker sofa on my porch, my dog at my side, watching the falling rain, listening to the wind chimes blow and birds flittering at the feeders. I work on current or future projects and dream of having horses again. Fall and winter are my favorite seasons and I always have a mug of sweet coffee at my side.

Mmm, coffee. Sounds amazing! Tell us one thing about yourself your readers may not know about you.

I have no sense of smell. It’s called Anosmia. I have never had any ability to smell anything, good or bad, pleasant or strong. There is just nothing there.

Wow, that’s crazy! I can’t even imagine. Could be a good or bad thing depending on the situation. 😛 What are you working on now?

Two things: a final draft for my first ever romantic comedy. It is about finding love in the most unexpected places. Second: is my problem child. I’ve been pounding away on this novel for over two years and can happily say, with some confidence, I am nearing the finish line on the first draft. Whew! I’ll celebrate when I can finally type ‘the end’ on that literary monster. It began as inspiration from a photo, I uncharacteristically started writing without a sense of plot, storyline, characters, or even genre. I just wrote “by gut” and the story has taken its own course as the months have unfolded. Now, I have set it aside for a few weeks or months here or there to work on other projects and then pull it back to the desktop later on. But I am close to finishing it! I see Chocolate Fudge Cake in my near future!

Chocolate fudge cake is the best reward for typing “The End!” On that note, thanks so much for stopping by and spending some time with us, Ryan. 😀 Where else can we find you? 

WEBSITE: www.ryanjosummers.com 

BLOG: http:summersrye.wordpress.com 

FB:  www.facebook.com/pages/Ryan-Jo-Summers-author-page/312875648810797

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RyanJoSummers

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6604705.Ryan_Jo_Summers

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ryan-Jo-Summers/e/B00ACOBJ90/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

And here’s more about GLIMPSE ETERNITY!

Kasey Griffin is determined to prove a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis isn’t going to ruin her life or define her expectations. She is dedicated to her pregnant sister, her pets and operating her bookstore, ‘The Next Chapter’. She has everything she needs to have a full and satisfying life–the daily challenges of her condition notwithstanding.

Then hunky musician Ben Salem rolls into town. Ben’s subtle charm quickly reminds Kasey she is more than a woman with a disease, she is also a woman with a heart. And Ben wants it.

Will Ben still desire her once he learns the terrible details of her condition?

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Glimpse-Eternity-Ryan-Jo-Summers-ebook/dp/B01BR1UME4/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/615504

Satin Romance: http://www.satinromance.com/

SNIPPET:

Silence hung between them. Kasey shifted from foot to foot. Should she offer coffee, cook breakfast, or ask what happened that he spent the night? Self-consciously, she tugged at her hair again. Muttonchop whined at the tension slowly filling the room.

“So, does that happen often?” Ben asked slowly, cautiously, reaching out to pat Muttonchop. “Last night?”

Her eyes widened, breath caught. She felt like a deer in the headlights. So this was where he was going to walk out, she decided. Thomas padded into the room and sat, watching them. She wanted to scoop the big cat up, to hold him as a shield from what was to come. He was going to ask just enough questions to find out what was wrong with her and then decide it wasn’t for him. Who would want her once he knew? She took a breath, steeling herself for the inevitable.

“Sometimes.”

He considered that, tilting his head. “Have you seen a doctor? It seems kind of out of character for you.” He cracked a quick grin. “Please don’t look like I’m scaring you because it’s starting to scare me.”

He was scared? She was terrified. She pulled in a hard breath. “I have seen a doctor. It’s complicated.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ryan Jo Summers is a North Carolina writer who likes to pen romances with a twist. Love stories blended as inspirational, with paranormal, suspense or time travel–or several at once. She also writes non-fiction for regional periodicals. Her dad is a songwriter and his aunt wrote poetry, so Ryan came by the writing gene honestly.

Her hobbies include poetry, bird watching, houseplants and gardening, gathering with friends, hiking in the forest, painting canvas and ceramics, and working wiggly word find puzzles, mah johngg or chess.  She lives in a 1920 cottage with a menagerie of pets. She often daydreams of the shore and frequently uses water as settings in her stories.