Sunday 5 August 2012

SWAP SHOP WITH SANDRA DAILEY!

I'm delighted to welcome fellow TWRP Rose Sandra Dailey onto the blog today. We've both had new releases last week, and Sandra's here to tell you about 'THE CHIEF'S PROPOSAL'.

And while Sandra is here I'm over at her blog http://www.sandradailey.blogspot.com
and... I'm ALSO being interviewed at http://yougottaread.com/welcome-nancy-jardine-2/


Now it's over to Sandra:
 
Hi Nancy! Thank you so much for hosting me on your blog. Also, I want to thank you for being the first guest on mine. I hope everyone will pop over to see you there when they’re finished here. The address is  http://www.sandradailey.blogspot.com

You’ve been so generous; I want to share something special with you.
My new release, ‘The Chief’s Proposal’ is a marriage of convenience story. This is something I know a little about. My own marriage began in a similar way.

I was living alone, raising two toddlers and scraping to get by. My son was two-years-old and my daughter was three. The only job I could find was part-time at the local drug store. Most of my pay was going to childcare. The only place I could afford to live was in an old trailer, barely bigger than a camper.

One day an attractive man knocked on my door. He’d been living in the trailer before me, while his large home was being repaired after a fire. He was returning some things that had been mixed into his own possessions. When he saw my children, he told me that he had two of his own, a daughter 4 and a son 2. He was so shy; it took another day for him to ask if I’d like to bring the kids over for dinner. I was excited to meet another single parent with kids similar in age to mine.

As the kids played, we talked. I learned that he was a terrific dad and a farmer. He worked from sun up to after dark and worried about the care his children were getting in his absence. After a few play-dates, he told me that it made sense for us to combine forces. I had time and he had money.

We had met in the first of July, married in mid December, and he adopted my children the next March. It took each of us a little time to get past our failed marriages and learn to trust again, but we did it with each other’s help. Before long, we were in love.

My children have asked me what made it work. I told them to throw away all their expectations and preconceived notions. Show their partners respect and demand respect in return. Give as much as they take and allow their partners some space. Most important, say ‘I love you’ every day.

I’ve never regretted a minute of the last thirty-two years. I wouldn’t be where I am now if Lee hadn’t knocked on my door.


 Blurb:
 Ginny Dearing has finally realized her goal of teaching, but finding a position is proving impossible. After exhausting all possibilities, an Internet ad is her only hope. In a small town hundreds of miles away there is a job with one huge string attached...a husband.
Burned by love once, Brett Silverfeather finds his bachelor life more than satisfying. He’s facing re-election for sheriff, but this time the voters are looking for a family man. Brett finds himself pursuing a marriage he doesn’t want.
Ginny and Brett are opposite in every way, but opposites do attract. Can Brett protect his heart as well as he does his town? Can Ginny hide a secret past that could possibly destroy her future?

Now I’d like to share an excerpt of Ginny and Brett’s first conversation after meeting:

 “You know, you could have called,” Brett blurted. “I expected you to be here early this morning. I didn’t know if you’d had an accident and died on the side of the road or just changed your mind and stayed up north.”
Ginny wished she’d done either one at that particular moment. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest and slouched slightly. “I didn’t have your number.”
“You knew I worked for the sheriff’s department. You could have called the office at any time. What held you up for so long—sightseeing, souvenir shopping, or mountain climbing?”
Ginny’s temper rose to a bubbling boil. “You have no idea what I’ve been through in the last forty-one hours. This was supposed to be a leisurely drive down I-75. My route was supposed to practically take me from my front door to yours.
“Instead, I’ve driven through monsoons in four different states. There were nothing but eighteen wheelers and RVs around me, throwing water over my windshield. It was like being the marble in a pinball machine, a wet and foggy pinball machine.
“The number of accidents was incredible. I spent hours just sitting still. It’s a good thing there was nothing to drink because there were also no bathrooms. I pictured myself turning into a big, dried up piece of jerky.” She stopped for a breath.
“I was only detoured off the interstate four times, which believe it or not, was lucky. I lost count of the construction sites at twelve. That was when one of my tires blew out.
“At that point, I decided to stop for the night. I’d intended to get a nice hot shower and a good night’s sleep. Do you want to know what I got instead? A shower in a tub, with what I hope was rust in the bottom, which only gave lukewarm water. And, a bar next door that featured a very loud band until four in the morning. Is that even legal? There was a neon sign outside flashing Redneck Rendezvous…all night long.
“I started back out this morning at the crack of dawn. The only thing to eat for miles was stale donuts and acid based coffee. Where’s all that great southern cuisine I always hear about?” Another breath.
“Do you want to know how my day was today? I drove through more rain, huge vehicles, accidents, and construction sites. The only difference, it was even hotter. For Heaven’s sake, is this Georgia or did I take a wrong turn into hell? My car doesn’t have air conditioning, that’s right, no air. And, my radio is broken, no tunes either.”
Ginny threw her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. “I should have asked the doctor for a tetanus shot and a valium.”
Brett was impressed. She had barely taken a breath. She might have broken his record for endurance in the tantrums and tirades category. He turned to her and said, “You still could have called.”
So, that was their first conversation. Ginny saw her life going south in more ways than one.

I hope you enjoyed my story as well as a part of Ginny and Brett’s.

I’d love to hear from you:
www.sandradailey.com
www.facebook.com/sandradailey.author

The Chief's Proposal available from The Wild Rose Press
Amazon for Kindle


Thank you so much for being so candid, and telling us that wonderful story, Sandra. My best wishes to you for mega sales of The Chief's Proposal. I've got my copy of it waiting for me on my kindle -just have to make time to read it because it sounds like a perfect read! 


Slainthe!




2 comments:

  1. Nancy, my friend I think of as 'Queen of Castles'. It's been a wild ride preparing for our mutual releases, but you've made it fun. Thanks for letting me hijack your blog.

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  2. Hi Sandy! It's pretty exciting but also quite exhausting-especially being on different time zones! Best wishes for great sales!

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