Osiyo~

I’m welcoming to the Round Pen sister WRP author and a wonderful writer, Jana Richards, to share her contribution in the Lobster Cove multi-author series.

ONE MORE SECOND CHANCE is part of the Lobster Cove series from The Wild Rose Press. Lobster Cove is a fictional small town in Maine, and stories included in series include contemporary romance (like mine), romantic suspense, historical romance, paranormal and erotic romance. Writing a story in a multi-author series was a lot of fun, but it had its challenges. The series needed continuity and consistency, so characters and buildings, and even the landscape had to be the same from book to book. That necessitated a lot of emailing back and forth between writers and our senior editor, Lori Graham. Lori even created a map of the town! I found the map very helpful in moving my characters around town, and just getting a picture of what the town looked like.

I love small town romances, probably because I came originally from a small town. In ONE MORE SECOND CHANCE, I wanted to explore what it would be like for someone from ‘away’ to fit into a place where everybody knew everybody. Coming from a big city, would he find Lobster Cove too small and set in its ways, too lacking in the things he was accustomed to in a larger center? Or would he discover that despite living in each others pockets, people in Lobster Cove sincerely cared about one another and looked after their own when the chips were down?

Good question. These books are special to me because I was in on the creation of Lobster Cove from the ground up and have met most of the characters as they came to Lobster Cove from their writers’ minds. I’m still working on my book (romantic suspense) for the series, but many others are already flying through the cyber book stores. Let’s learn about Jana’s book now!

Title: One More Second Chance

Author: Jana Richards

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, the Lobster Cove Series

Release Date: February 6, 2015

Blurb:

Dr. Alex Campbell has an agenda—finish his contract to provide medical services in Maine, pay off his medical school debt, and head back to his real life in San Diego. But when he meets Julia, all his carefully laid plans are put in jeopardy.

Julia Stewart, Lobster Cove’s high school principal, swears she’ll never let another man drag her away from the home she loves. Her aging parents need her, and the Cove is where she wants to raise her daughter. When her mother’s illness brings her and the big city doctor closer together, panic sets in. Her marriage taught her men don’t stay.

Can she put aside the heartaches of the past and trust Alex enough to accept the love he’s offering? Or will her fear of abandonment mean she’ll send him away forever?

Excerpt:

“What did the x-ray find?” she asked.

“A spiral fracture of the right arm.” He paused for a moment and took a deep breath as if trying to control his emotions. “I’ve seen this kind of injury before. A fracture like this can be the result of a fall, but it can also be an indication of child abuse. An arm as small as Ava’s will break like a twig if it’s twisted hard enough. I’m obligated to contact the authorities if I suspect abuse.”

Julia stared at him in mute shock, her brain struggling to process his words, as if trying to translate some unintelligible language. The words child abuse rang in her ears. Finally she found her voice.

“You think someone deliberately hurt her?”

“Her injuries are consistent with abuse.”

“I don’t give a damn what they’re consistent with. Ava has not been mistreated. My mother said she fell down the stairs, and if that’s what she said, then that’s what happened.”

“I believe there’s more to the story than a simple fall.”

“If it comes down to believing you or believing my mother, I’m going with my mother.”

“Perhaps you don’t know your mother as well as you think you do.”

Julia sucked in a breath and stared into Dr. Campbell’s dark, accusing eyes. The idea that her mother would hurt Ava was ridiculous. She adored Ava, would do anything for her…

She blinked and looked away, remembering an incident the other day. She’d heard her yelling at Ava about the milk she’d spilled on the kitchen floor, making such a huge deal of it that Ava had cried. It had struck her as strange, since she couldn’t remember her mother yelling at anyone, ever. She wasn’t as patient as she used to be. And how did she explain her strange phone call telling her Ava had been hurt? Of course she’d been upset, but her mother had been nearly incoherent with distress. Was something going on she wasn’t aware of? She was seventy-one now. Maybe looking after a rambunctious five-year-old was too much for her.

No. She shook her head to reject the disloyal thought. Dr. Campbell was the one who was wrong.

“I know my mother. She didn’t do this. It was an accident.”

“We’ll soon find out. Sharon is questioning Ava now.”

Julia stared at the door. “She’ll be scared, all by herself.”

“Sharon’s very good at what she does. She has a way of making kids feel comfortable.”

Julia turned on him, the anger and despair she’d been holding inside spilling out. “And you? Do you enjoy upsetting five-year-olds and turning families’ lives upside down? Does it make you feel powerful to sic the authorities on us?”

“Look, Mrs. Stewart, I take no pleasure in bringing in the authorities. But I’ve seen child abuse, up close and personal, and I can tell you it’s damn ugly. The things parents and caregivers are capable of doing to defenseless children…”

He stopped abruptly, his chest heaving. Closing his eyes, he averted his face and took a deep breath. When he turned back to her, his steely control was back in place. “So yeah, if I have even the smallest suspicion that a child has been abused, I’m going to ask questions. And I’m not going to apologize for it.”

 ***

Bio:

When Jana Richards read her first romance novel, she immediately knew two things: she had to commit the stories running through her head to paper, and they had to end with a happily ever after. She also knew she’d found what she was meant to do. Since then she’s never met a romance genre she didn’t like. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical romance set in World War Two, in lengths ranging from short story to full length novel. Just for fun, she throws in generous helpings of humor, and the occasional dash of the paranormal. Her paranormal romantic suspense “Seeing Things” was a 2008 EPPI finalist.

In her life away from writing, Jana is an accountant/admin assistant, a mother to two grown daughters, and a wife to her husband Warren. She enjoys golf, yoga, movies, concerts, travel and reading, not necessarily in that order. She and her husband live in Winnipeg, Canada with their Pug/Terrier cross Lou and several unnamed goldfish. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.janarichards.com

Social Media Links:

Website: http://www.janarichards.com

Blog: http://janarichards.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JanaRichardsAuthor

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JanaRichards_

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/janarichards

Newsletter Signup: http://www.eepurl.com/m3UnT

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2892274Jana_Richards

Google+ Profile: https://plus.google.com/100820406211390323245

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/More-Second-Chance-Lobster-Cove-ebook/dp/B00S46KSX6

The Wild Rose Press: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=6065

Kobo:

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/one-more-second-chance

Chapters/Indigo:

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/one-more-second-chance/9781628307061-item.html?ikwid=Jana+Richards&ikwsec=Books&ikwidx=0

ibooks:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/one-more-second-chance/id959306323?mt=11

Your book sounds great, such sensitive subject matter, and I love the cover, Jana! Congrats on your release and for letting me be a part of the release party!!! Now to work on my budget so I can get the book! 🙂

Dodadagohvi~