Today I am so pleased to welcome Pat Henshaw to Joyfully Jay. Pat has come to talk to us about her latest release, What’s in a Name? She has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

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Today Pat has bought some questions and answers to share with us! 

Hi, Jay! Thank you for having me here on your blog. I remember meeting you for the first time years ago at a GRL when you moderated a panel I was on. Oddly enough, it was right after What’s in a Name? first came out. Now here it is again with some new content, a new cover, and a new publisher. Funny how circular some things are, isn’t it?

  1. How long have you been writing?

For my entire life, it seems. I remember in elementary school writing an essay for a church-related contest and winning. I was thrilled and decided writing was what I wanted to do for a living when I grew up. Happily, that’s what I did. During my career, I wrote for the Houston Post, Houston Chronicle, Publishers Weekly, and a number of other publications.

  1. What do you do if you get a brilliant idea at a bad time?

Because I’ve done so much writing, I always carry three things with me everywhere I go: a pen/pencil, a small paper tablet, and my Kindle. I’m a jotter. If an idea comes to me or I see something or someone interesting, I jot myself a note. Sometimes the disjointed words mean nothing to me, which is a grave disappointment, but most times I’m able to remember exactly why the person or thing was important and memorable. Yes, I know I can take notes on my Kindle too. But I always forget to look at those notes later.

  1. Are there underrepresented groups or ideas featured in your book?

In most of the Foothills Pride series, there are teenagers who are being influenced by someone older than they are and who are in positions to harm them if they don’t comply. Personally, I see the influence adults have on teenagers as shaping the world we live in. If all the adults in a teen’s life are preaching hate, then the teens under their influence will become haters if they want the adults’ approval. In the lives of many teens, compliance is better than punishment. Going against an authority figure when they know the person is wrong is probably the bravest thing a young person can do. In my books, there are an equal number of brave and cowardly teens as well as a number of hateful adults. I like to think good comes to the brave teens from my protagonists.

  1. If you had a grant to write any book you wanted as a freebie without worrying about sales, what kind of story would you like to tell?

Fortunately, I’m in a position to do that right now. I’m writing the books I want to write because I believe in them and want to give readers a light-hearted awww moment at the end of the story as well as a ray of hope for the future.

 

Join Pat and members of the Queer Sacramento Authors Collective (QSac) as they read excerpts from their books on Friday, August 7, at 7 p.m.See a link on my Facebook page to the event.

Also, look for the rest of the Foothills Pride series releasing from JMS books throughout this fall.


Blurb

what's in a name coverOn his 30th birthday, barista Jimmy Patterson decides to get rip-roaring drunk after his roommate-boyfriend abandons him at a bar in the tiny California foothills town of Stone Acres where they have relocated from San Francisco. Jimmy is immediately rescued by the burly owner of Stonewall Saloon, who has had his eye on Jimmy since the first time he came in months before.

Jimmy’s fine with being saved but wants to know the bartender’s real name since the guy has worn name tags with an assortment of names every time Jimmy has spoken to him. After Jimmy nicknames him Guy, the bartender decides to turn guessing his first name into a game, giving Jimmy a guess a day for a week and promising to wine and dine him during that time. If Jimmy’s guess is wrong, he owes Guy a zing-zow, knock-your-socks-off kiss. Jimmy agrees since this sounds like a slam-dunk, win-win deal.

While he searches for cringe-worthy given names, Jimmy is distracted by the destruction of his shopping mall coffee shop. He is also beset by the town council that doesn’t want him to buy an historic bank building in Old Town Stone Acres to set up another coffee shop. The celestial high of being romanced by Guy and the abyss of business worries don’t seem like the road to happily ever after. However, Jimmy and Guy might be in for a big surprise.


Bio

Pat Henshaw, born and raised in Nebraska, has lived on the U. S.’s three coasts, in Texas, Virginia, and now California. Before she retired, she held a number of jobs, including theatrical costumer, newspaper features reporter and movie reviewer, librarian, junior college English instructor, and publicist. She also loves to travel and has visited Canada, Mexico, Europe, Egypt, and Central America as well as almost all fifty U. S. states.

Now retired, she enjoys reading and writing as well as visiting her older daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren on the East Coast and playing havoc with her younger daughter’s life in NorCal.

She thanks you for reading her books and wants you to remember that Every day is a good day for romance.


Giveaway

Pat has brought a $10 Amazon gift card to give away to one lucky reader on her tour. Follow the Rafflecopter below to enter. 

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