Guest Post from author Allyson Carter

It's guest week with Maya... visiting me today is the lovely and talented Allyson Carter here just in time for her latest book release, Wounded Hearts.

Q: Tell us something about yourself and how you got into writing? How long have you been writing?

A: I’m a wife and mother. I home school my four children and have three on the Autism spectrum. In my free time, yeah like that happens often, I knit.

I was going crazy 5 years ago stuck in a snow storm with the kids. I remember waking up with this idea in my head. At this time, I’d not written anything since high school. Only a couple friends knew that I wrote and back then it was mostly poems. This idea for a YA book wouldn’t go away, so I got my two oldest daughters going on their schooling for the day, and then sat down at the computer and started typing. The book just poured out of me. That’s when it all clicked and I knew I wanted to be an author.

Q: What inspired you to write this book?

A: This book came to me 5 years ago after I worked on the YA book. It was strong and I could see and hear the hero and heroine speaking. I just thought what would happen if a woman had been so burned by her ex? I went from there. It took me 5 years to get it just right. The book went through two major rewrites.

Q: Please briefly describe your book.

A: It’s a book about a woman being stalked. She’s been burned bad by her ex-husband, doesn’t trust him. She must learn to turn and trust her brother’s best friend to keep her and her daughter safe.

Q: Who is your favorite character and why?

A: I can’t pick just one. I love them all!

Q: This book is a part of a series (Southern Morality). How many books are you planning in this series? There will be 4 books with maybe more. Who will be featured in the next book?

A: Shelby’s best friend Mary and her brother Jace.

Q: Any advice for those aspiring novelists out there?

A: Don’t ever give up no matter what someone might tell you. You keep pushing through and chasing your dream.

Thanks for your time, Allyson. I wish you success with Wounded Hearts and all your future work!

Thanks so much for having me on your blog!

Blurb

After a bitter divorce, Shelby Johnson is looking to rebuild a life for her and her daughter, Hannah, while avoiding the thing she mistrusts most: men. Her resolve is tested, however, when her brother’s best friend, Mark, moves in across the street and her long-buried feelings for him return. Can she possibly open up her heart again? Is she willing to let herself love? When someone threatens her life she quickly realizes that her heart isn’t the only thing on the line and she turns to the only man she feels she can trust.

Reliving everything he lost overseas, Mark Daniels goes back to his hometown to try and live a peaceful life but instead gets caught up in Shelby’s troubles.. He knows she needs someone to protect her but can he be that man? Except, being near Shelby again is making him feel things he’d rather never feel—again. When his past comes to haunt him in a way he never excepted, he vows to protect Shelby and her daughter until his last breath

Excerpt

“Stay right here, sweetie.”

Reaching in, she picked up the paper. At first the words written on the thing didn’t register. She had to re-read them twice.

Keep quiet or else.

Her hands shook. A lump formed in her throat. When Mark walked out to the car, their gazes met. She noted the concern on his face as he stared at her.

“What’s the matter, Shell?”

She tried to talk, but nothing would come out. When he rushed to her side, she gave him the note. The words had been created with letters out of magazines or something, glued to the paper. She tightened her hold on Hannah. Someone had put the paper there when they were a few feet away. Why?

“Take Hannah and move to the sidewalk.”

Shelby nodded then moved to where he told her. He pulled out his cell and punched in a number. Mark moved with determination as he talked on the phone with the police. Within moments, a squad car showed up. So much for not having attention on her while she was out with Mark. Who had put the note in her car? Better yet, how did they get in when she’d locked the car?

“Shelby, do you have someone mad at you?” Detective Moore asked as he shut the door to his car and made his way over to her.

You can buy Wounded Hearts here.  Allyson can be found around the internet at Facebook, Twitter and her website.