Giveaway! Stuart Brannon's Final Shot by The Blys'!

Welcome back Janet Bly! Since this is the third time for you to visit, I thought I would throw in some fun questions, maybe some that aren’t part of the norm in other interviews. 

If you could go anywhere on vacation where would it be? 

I'll soon be going there ... on an Alaskan cruise in a few months, that also happens to be part of a fiction writers retreat and conference. That seems like quite an adventure to me. The most memorable vacation site that my hubby Stephen Bly and I visited:   Paris and the Eiffel Tower in 2006 on my February 23rd birthday while it snowed. I like thinking about that day, but it would be too emotional and lonely for me to return ... without him.

Do you have any pets?

No, not at this time, mainly because I'm not willing to expend the effort and time for the care involved. But in the past my late husband and I have had horses, cats and various mutt type dogs. Occasional deer, wild turkeys, skunks, a black bear and raccoons do travel through my property, however.

Your favorite book that you have written?

It was such a delight to go on location, do the research, as well as the writing together with my hubby for The Hidden West Series cozy mysteries. The protagonists, Tony & Price Shadowbrook, were a husband-wife writing team too. So many readers commented that they sounded so much like us. We didn't intend to do that, but the similarities happened anyway. Such fun adventures those two (and we) had.

What are your favorite pastimes?

When I'm not writing or marketing or with my family, I love to either go mall shopping, read the next novel on my TBR pile, or watch old movies. In recent days, I've enjoyed reviewing Season 1 and Season 2 of the popular WW1 era British series Downton Abbey, as I've started into the ongoing Season 3.

Favorite book?

Oh, my, where do I even begin? I love so many different sorts of fiction authors ... any genre that's written well and keeps my attention. As to nonfiction, I've been enthralled recently with Randy Alcorn's book entitled Heaven. The best, most thorough and biblical treatment on the subject, I believe.

Favorite movie?

Here again, there are so many. I enjoy adventure and romance and humor. I love the classics and stars like Cary Grant and Myrna Loy, Fred Astaire and any of his female partners, as well as Tom Selleck, Sean Connery, Matt Damon, or Sandra Bullock. But that leaves out a lot. I'm a movie lover, just like most all my family. We discuss and critique them at many of our gatherings.

What people have inspired you in your writing journey?

My husband was the prime inspiration. Beyond that, writers such as Max Lucado and Karen Kingsbury, Catherine Marshall and Anne Perry. My first writing mentor was Ethel Herr, who just recently passed away.

What character in a novel you have read has stood out and seemed to stand the test of time?

Here's a few that come to mind. Anne Shirley of the Anne of Green Gables Series. Also, Scarlet O'Hara and Brett Butler of Gone With The Wind and Mr. Frodo of The Lord of the Rings.

If you could meet one person from history who would it be and why?

Eve, the day before she ate the apple. I'd do everything I possibly could to talk her out of it!

Okay, last one and a fun one for our readers today: If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one thing, what would it be? Why?

Besides my Bible, I think I'd find a big white cotton sheet very handy ... to wrap around me for clothing or warmth, to use as a tent or shade, to strip for bandages or feet protectors or headband, to gather up bananas or other food stuffs, to soak up rainwater, as a blanket on the sandy beach. So practical in a hundred different ways.

Too fun, thanks for joining us for a third time!! It is a privilege.

Readers, here is your chance to enter to win The Bly's book!

Please leave an email address! If I draw your name and there is no email, you will not win.

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Contest is only open in the U.S. and void where prohibited. Chances of winning are based on the number of entries and winner is draw from a non-biased third party- Random.org. I am not responsible for any lost or damaged items for said prize.

Thanks for coming by to enter! Contest ends on February 1st

Attn Readers! If you're struggling to leave a comment on my blog, please email your comment entries (in ONE email) and I will submit it for you. But PLEASE only do this after you've failed to leave a comment. My email is: caseym.writer(@)gmail.com