Brains and Beauty
by Jeanette Watts
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GENRE: Historic Fiction
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BLURB:
Regina
Waring seems to have it all. A loving
husband, a successful business, and the most expensive wardrobe in town. But nothing is what it appears to be. Her
husband is critical and demanding, the business teeters on ruin, even
the opulent wardrobe is a clever illusion.
Regina’s life is one
long tiptoe through a minefield; one wrong step and her entire life is going to
blow up and destroy her. Attempting to
hold it all together, she appeases the husband, dresses the part, and never,
never says what she is really thinking. That would get in the way of getting
things done. And, if there’s one thing
Regina did really well, it was getting things done.
Enter Thomas
Baldwin. Young and handsome and
completely off limits, Regina is smitten at first sight. Then, to her great astonishment, he slowly
becomes her best friend. He’s the one
person in her life who never lets her down.
Torn between her fascination with him and her desire not to ruin a
marvelous friendship, she tries to enjoy each moment with him as it comes.
If only that were
enough.
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Excerpt One:
There was grunting, and the sound of wood groaning, and then
a wet thump as they lifted and threw something. Regina could tell that there
was a little more room behind her shoulder blades. There was more grunting and
dragging and thumping. Then she heard them both groan.
“What’s going on back there? Have I been cut off at the
waist?” she asked. Not being able to see what was wrong, or the progress they
were having, was making her anxious.
“The next layer is completely wedged in. We can’t do this
without tools,” Isaac told her.
Both men hurried away from her, making her worry for their
safety. She had also found their company reassuring. What if neither one of
them was able to find her again?
That’s when she saw the flickering orange glow in the
distance. “No.”
Yes. It didn’t seem possible – but in the midst of water
floating below, and pouring from above, something had caught on fire.
Regina started listing in her head all the accelerants that
might be contained in a single drygoods store: tar, pitch, turpentine,
kerosene. How many homes used all of them? How many gas lines were ruptured all
over the city? How many wood stoves were knocked into them? There was no way
this heap would NOT be set on fire.
And here she was, stuck, in the middle of it. No doubt about
it, she was about to die in the same town in which she was born. It was a
shame, really. She had such high aspirations.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Jeanette
Watts only lived in Pittsburgh for four years, but in her heart, she will
always be a Pittsburgher. She missed the
city so much after her move to Ohio, she had to write a love story about it.
She has
written television commercials, marketing newspapers, stage melodramas, four
screenplays, three novels, and a textbook on waltzing. When she isn’t writing, she teaches social
ballroom dances, refinishes various parts of her house, and sews historical
costumes and dance costumes for her Cancan troupe.
Interview:
Where are you from?
That's a much more complicated question than you might think...
I was born in Chicago, I've lived in seven states so far. At the moment I'm
living in Dayton, Ohio. The question for me is context-dependent. When I'm back
home in Wisconsin, where I went to college and got married, I'm from Ohio. But
in Ohio, I'm from Wisconsin or California, where I went to college and grad
school, or Pittsburgh, which was where we lived before we moved to Ohio. When
I've also lived in Illinois, Minnesota, and Montana.
Tell us your latest news?
My new book is out!
Brains and Beauty is the sequel to Wealth and Privilege. I had no
intention of writing a sequel, but when my life got threatened by irate readers
who wanted more about my characters, I had to start thinking about what more I
could write about these characters. I took a page out of the Twilight book that
never got published. Instead of picking up where I left off on the first book,
I cover the exact same time frame - from a different point of view. Wealth and
Privilege is seen through my hero's eyes. Brains and Beauty is seen through my
heroine's eyes. The story looks very
different from a new perspective! I
learned things about my characters that I had no idea about when the first book
was completed.
When and why did you begin writing?
Apparently I have a thing for bowing to pressure from my
audience! When I was in elementary
school, I used to make up Star Wars stories for my best friend. When she found
out I wasn't writing them all down, she was pretty indignant. That's when I
started putting pen to paper.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Only VERY recently. I have been a dance instructor for years.
But my college level class has been suspended, and while I hope to be teaching
dancing for actors at Wright State in the fall, in the meantime, my focus has
shifted from dancing to my books.
What inspired you to write your first book?
Pittsburgh. We lived
there for four years, and I loved the city so much! There was always something
to do, someplace interesting to go. It is so full of history. I used to drive
along the Monongahela past these shells that used to be giant iron and steel
mills. They intrigued me. Once upon a time they were full of noise, and steam,
and men. Many a drama took place inside those hollow shells. When I first
started writing Wealth and Privilege, I used to refer to it as a ghost story.
What would you like my readers to know?
There is NOT going to be a third book, I swear! I have several
other projects in the works, they are not a continuation of these characters. I
adore Thomas and Regina, but I think they've earned a respite at this point...
Links:
Webpage
Facebook
Twitter
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
Jeanette
Watts will be awarding a Victorian cameo necklace to a randomly drawn winner
via rafflecopter during the tour
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeletethank you for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeletewifey could surely use something new/nice! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt and interview~I really enjoyed learning about you and your book! I visit Dayton, Ohio several times a year-I really like the area! Thank you for a great post and contest!
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me, and thank you all for entering! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI liked the interview.
ReplyDeleteI find your books so easy to read! It's like you are telling the story instead of me reading it!
ReplyDeleteWell, that's a pretty pickle you've stuck her in.
ReplyDeleteHi! Congrats on your release! Looks great! Whats the most fascinating place youve been? Howd it help inspire your writing? Certain people, places or objects? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThe novel, the prize, all of it is so exciting. :-D I'm a historical fiction nut.
ReplyDelete