Author Interview and Giveaway: DeAnn Smallwood, author of Wyoming Heather

Deann Smallwood, author of Wyoming Heather, is stopping by the Party Pavilion with us today as part of her book tour. Welcome, Deann! Tell us something about yourself that's not in your bio.

Hmm, well, here’s something. I’m afraid of heights. No matter what anyone says, I know there’s a big whirling vortex, not necessarily of water, out there waiting to suck me, just me, off the edge and into its vacuum center. Get me four feet off the ground and my hands sweat. Drive me up a high mountain road with a sheer drop off one side and I hide on the floor of the car with a blanket over my head. Don’t tell me to look out the window and see the beautiful canyon below. Not when I have that vortex just waiting for me.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

I like to read. No, I love to read. Books are my buddies. I read close to a book a day. My taste runs from suspense/thrillers to romances. Romances are sorbet to cleanse my palate in between the suspense/thrillers.

How did you choose the genres you write in?

When I write in the suspense/thriller genre, I have to really move out of my comfort zone. They take more out of me than my historical romances. I really enjoy the research back into the 1800’s for my romances. I’m a romantic at heart and believe in happily ever after. That’s why even when I write about serial killers, my books have a good smattering of romance. I think the genres chose me. They bring me comfort. Maybe you write in a genre that captures your interest to read.

Is there any particular author or book that has influenced you or your writing?

Nora Roberts inspires me. She makes me want to write. I met Debby Macomber at a Romance Writers convention and her story of how she had to keep trying to get published inspired me. She knew she could write and no matter rejections never gave up. That’s what you have to do, and it’s hard.

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author?

I don’t know if you could call it criticism, but rejections are very tough for me to take. When I get the nerve to send my manuscript off to a publisher, wait three to four months for an answer, and get back a canned rejection slip that is tough. It’s all I can do to put the manuscript back in an envelope and try again. I take it personally, but with every book I get published, I get stronger and more confident.

What has been the best compliment?

The best compliment is when a reader tells me they started my book and couldn’t put it down. There is absolutely nothing to compare to having someone tell you they like your book. I always say that next to writing my greatest pleasure is having my books read and enjoyed. And it is! I can live for weeks on a good compliment. It thrills me to know my books are out there being read. I almost have to pinch myself to believe it.

If you could have dinner with anyone, past or present, fictional or real, who would it be and why?

This is a hard one. I have so many authors I admire. And…Clint Eastwood is still my hero and burning hunk of fire. I’d love to have dinner with Nora Roberts and pick her brain. I’d ask her for advice and probably drink in every word she uttered. Fictional…I’d like to have dinner with Alex Cross, James Patterson’s detective. Love the way that man’s mind works. And wouldn’t it be fun to sit across from Winston Churchill? I’d soak up his wisdom and clever words.

You are going to be stranded on a deserted island and bring 3 luxury items. What would they be?

Are books considered a luxury item? If so, they’d be number one on my list. I get terribly antsy if I don’t have something to read. Then I’d have to have chocolate. But that’s a necessity isn’t it? Comb and lipstick are a must. I do favor my White Shoulders Cologne, too.

Pick two celebrities to be your parents. Who are they and why?

Okay, Danielle Steel for my mother because she seems to really love her children. When she dedicates a book to them I sense her love. Lee Child for my father because I’d like to ask him about Reacher, one of his main characters. I’d like to be close enough to him to watch him write.

What would we find in your refrigerator right now?

Hopefully not containers of green fuzzy mold. You’d find three containers of Peppermint Mocha creamer, some diet pop, apples, a ham, pieces of chicken for my Yorkie kids, soy milk, a jar of home canned peaches, and my special canned apricot/pineapple jam. Oh, yes, a jar of peanut butter. I’m addicted to peanut butter and jelly (homemade, of course) sandwiches. Usually my refrigerator has several baggies and containers of things that need tossed.

If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?

Wow, this makes me think. How about DeAnn Smallwood, A Work In Progress? Or, DeAnn Smallwood, A Woman That Tried?

Think Fast

Summer or Winter? Summer. Most definitely!
Coffee or Tea? Coffee, but I do like my tea.
Cake or Pie? Cake However, I wouldn’t turn down candy, pie, or cookies.
Car or Truck? Truck. I just bought a new Nissan truck. Love my baby!
Print or Electronic? Print. But, electronic has been oh so good to me by publishing my books in ebooks.
Thanks for coming by and spending some time with us. Any final words of wisdom to pass along?

Just to never give up. Take those rejects, we all get them, and keep trying. Writing is hard, but it’s well worth it. To my readers, keep reading and letting us authors know when you like our work. Without you we wouldn’t be. And to the wonderful blog hosts, thank you and thank you again. You amaze me with your abilities and your willingness to share your blog site with others. Bless you!!

About the Author:

I live in Colorado with my husband and my two Yorkie kid dogs: Stormy, four pounds, and Eli, six pounds. I’m a native of Colorado, but I lived several years in Wyoming and Montana. I draw from these beautiful states for much of my material. My historical romances are: Montana Star, Sapphire Blue, Unconquerable Callie, and Wyoming Heather. Tears In The Wind is a contemporary romance. Then I changed genres from my beloved romances and wrote, under the pen name of D. M. Woods, my first suspense/thriller: Death Crosses The Finish Line. The second book in this ‘death’ series, Death Is A Habit, will be out later this year. Truly, I mean it when I say my greatest pleasure next to writing is having my books read and enjoyed. There are many more stories just waiting to be written and enjoyed.

Facebook ~ Website

Heather is a spirited, independent woman living alone on a ranch left to her by her parents. She is also a healer of animals, domestic and wild. A woman doing a man's work, running a ranch that everyone said couldn't be done, not in this untamed, vastly unsettled land, in the mid 1800's. The ranch had everything she needed except water. She stole that from a neighboring abandoned ranch watched over by a lonely cabin and a grave.

He rode alone, coming back after five years to an empty cabin, a run-down ranch, and a grave on a hill. A former Texas Ranger burnt out on life and afraid to love. Whip had spent five years hunting the man that took his wife's life and left him to die.

Whip and Heather meet in an explosive moment on the banks of the Powder River. Both lonely, both drawn to one another, and both stubbornly fighting the attraction.

Whip vowed he would take up his dream abandoned five years ago and make his beloved ranch profit and to put aside the sweet linger of all memories shared by him and his wife. The ranch would be a jealous mistress occupying his every thought and every minute. He had no time or desire for a woman much less a pair of runaways from The Orphan Train, stowaways in Whip’s wagon and onto the Powder River Ranch.

But fate heeds no one or no thing. The criminal from Whip’s past reemerges in the present. Now, Heather is in danger and Whip stand, once again on the cusp of loss. Fate shows a strong, willful woman, full of love and compassion, just what she’s been missing in her life. And it shows a calloused Texas Ranger that Heather and love does flourish on the Wyoming plains.

Buy the book at Amazon. GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

DeAnn will be awarding a $25 BN gift card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Remember, the more you comment the better your chances are of winning. Click on the banner below to see the rest of the tour stops.