Friday, April 16, 2021

Special Guest Renee Ryan

 

Thank you, Winnie, for inviting me to join you and your fellow authors at Seekerville. I always enjoy spending time with readers and the incredibly talented women who inspire me daily.

 I’m especially excited to talk about for upcoming release, a Love Inspired short contemporary romance coming out next month. I wrote The Sheriff’s Promise during the first six weeks of COVID quarantine. It was a wild ride. A story that began as a huge stressor due to its extremely tight deadline turned into a wonderful distraction during some very dark days. To be honest, there is no way I wrote this one on my own. God’s Hand was on this book from the first word I typed to the final sentence.

When I started writing the story, I tried to think of all the things I loved most. I adore animals. They have a way of softening hearts and teaching us unconditional love. I’ve learned a lot about God’s unmatchable grace from my pets. For that reason, and many others, I never grow tired of adding four-legged, furry characters to my books, often in the form of dogs and puppies.


It wasn’t until a sassy alpaca sashayed onto the page (and past my hero’s office window) that I found myself writing entire scenes with an animal actually stealing the show. As creative as Prissy was at finding ways out of her pen, she was even better at wrestling the spotlight from the other characters. I truly fell in love with her. She is one of my favorite secondary characters. I mean, look at that sweet perma-grin.

I’m also a fan of home renovation shows. There’s something about watching an ordinary room transform into a spectacular space that makes me feel both happy and creatively inspired. How easy it would have been to give my heroine the same passion. But, wait. Just like her alpaca, Remy proved difficult. The veterinarian had little interest in remodeling her home, discussing backsplashes or looking at paint swatches. My hero’s nephew, Samson, came through for me. The little boy couldn’t stop redesigning his dream daycare. Well, when he wasn’t playing with puppies or riding his bike. Kid after my own heart.

 

Want to know more about The Sheriff’s Promise? Here’s the blurb: 


He’s looking for help. And she has the perfect arrangement… 



Overworked and overwhelmed, all Sheriff Wyatt Holcomb wants is to be the best guardian to his seven-year-old nephew—and dealing with a runaway alpaca and the animal’s frustrating owner isn’t helping. 

Then veterinarian Remy Evans offers a solution for them both. She’ll watch his rambunctious nephew, Samson, this summer if he’ll fast-track her permit application for a petting zoo. But this temporary solution might just be their chance at forever…

 



I also love giving away free books. Let’s talk favorite things. I love puppies, alpacas and renovation shows. What’s guaranteed to make you smile? Leave a comment with your answer and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a print copy of The Sheriff’s Promise. 

While you’re online, feel free to stop by my website www.reneeryan.com. You can also contact me by email at reneeryanbooks@gmail.com or visit me on my Renee Ryan Facebook page.

Two-time winner of the published Daphne Award for her WWII romantic thrillers, Renee Ryan grew up in a Florida beach town. She received an undergraduate degree in Economics and continued her education on the graduate level at Florida State University, focusing on Religious Studies. She went on to teach high school AP Economics, Political Science, and Latin. 

Renee left teaching to pursue her dream of writing romance fiction. She sold her first book to Dorchester Publishing by winning the inaugural New Historical Voice Contest. She’s since written for several publishers in several sub-genres, including historical fiction, historical romance, contemporary romance, and romantic suspense. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband and a fat cat many have mistaken for a small bear.



24 comments:

  1. Renee, welcome to Seekerville! And congrats on your newest Love Inspired. It sounds like a wonderful story from a great author. Wishing you all the very best!

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    1. Thank you for the warm welcome! So excited to be here!

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  2. That seems like a wondeful book! I definitely want to read it! What makes me smile is a a funny joke from one of my family members. Thank you for posting this!

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    1. Awww, I love family jokes, too. What a great reminder to enjoy them more often.

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  3. This book sounds delightful! I can see why--aside from the deadline stress--this would have been a great distraction during last year's difficult time. My ten-year-old niece is obsessed with alpacas and when we stayed in her room for a few nights during a recent visit and my husband and I joked about waking up with photos and drawings of alpacas staring us in the face! They are pretty adorable. Thanks so much for sharing with us today!

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    1. My pleasure. I'm completely with your niece. Alpacas are the BEST! They are so sweet and have the funniest little squeaky voices.

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  4. Good to see you here, Renee! I have your book at my fingertips...ready and excited to read it. Congrats!

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  5. Hi, Jackie! Waving frantically! I hope you love the story as much as I loved writing it. ;-)

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  6. Your latest from LI looks delightful, Renee! Congrats on your continued success. So glad you could be with us today.

    Prissy sounds adorable. Can't wait to read about the mischief she gets into! :)

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    1. Thanks, Debby! I really had a ball bringing the sassy alpaca to life. :)

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  7. Hi Renee! Great to have you on Seekerville :) What a cute cover!

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    1. Thanks for the welcome. I like the cover, too. We had to make do during quarantine, so I'm especially pleased with what the art department came up with.

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  8. Hi Renee! Your book sounds so interesting! Being with family makes me smile

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    1. Hi Angeline! I love that! Family is so important!

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  9. Hi Renee! So glad to have you visit today!

    Your new book sounds like so much fun. I'll have to put it on my TBR list!

    And, like you, animals make me smile. My current favorites (other than our own dogs and cat) are our resident mule deer. They wander around our country neighborhood, and our patio is one of their regular stops. We have enjoyed watching last year's fawns grow up and are looking forward to meeting this spring's crop.

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    1. Hi, Jan! Lovely to "see" you this afternoon. I wish I lived where the mule deer roam. How fun!!!

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  10. Hi Renee:

    When I was in Peru I had trouble telling the Alpacas from the Vicuñas and the Llamas. Are these other creatures also in your story?

    I also like seeing the word 'Promise' in a romance title. I've just read, "A Brother's Promise," and, "A Father's Promise," and it seems to me that a promise is ready made to make a hero or heroine sympathetic, loveable, admirable, and of a more noble character. If said promise is kept, of course.

    I look forward to enjoying another promise kept.

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    1. Hi Vince! You make a great point about the word "Promise" in the title. My hero definitely keeps his promises. ;-)

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  11. Congratulations! Things that make me smile are watching my chickens, watching the birds, watching my gardens grow, and seeing family.

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    1. Hi, Lucy! I love your smile-worthy activities. What an amazing list! Thank you for sharing! :)

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  12. Congratulations on the book, Renee. It looks great. Please put me in the drawing. We have an almost 11-year-old chocolate Lab that makes us smile everyday.

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    1. Hi, Sandy! Consider this your official entry! I loooove chocolate Labs. What a blessing to have your fur baby for eleven years.

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  13. Welcome to Seekerville Renee! I absolutely LOVE the premise of this book. Animals and kids always make great secondary characters for a book, and of course you do them so well! And the thing the makes me smile most lately is my little grandson, who is currently learning how to climb up on the furniture :)

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  14. Hi Renee, the book sounds terrific. An alpaca, especially a baby one is one of the cutest critters on this earth. Can't wait to read it.

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