Good afternoon Friends and welcome. Thank you to all who entered into my book Giveaway for ‘Enticed by Love’ last week. I am giving it a few more days so if you’d like a copy, just add a comment to this blog. You can also send me an email to lynnlawler@lynnlawlerbooks.com.
Let’s give a warm welcome to our guest, Author Sarah Markel.
Good day, everyone. I’d like to start off by thanking Lynn for giving me this fantastic opportunity! I’ve never been part of a blog before, so this is a very exciting first for me. Allow me to introduce myself:
My name is Sarah Markel and I write under my own name. I’ve self-published (with the help of the almighty Amazon gods) thirteen titles so far, and I have many more works underway. My first book, Mended Hearts, was published in 2015 and turned into a three-book series (not a trilogy because I have at least one more story for Alex and Kelly in the works). The very end of Beyond Expectations (book 3 in the Mended Hearts Series) gave my readers a glimpse of an unintentional spin-off series featuring the journey of two lovable characters.
Always and Forever (book one of the Mended Hearts spin-off series, collectively known as the Dej and Carrie Series) was intended as a stand-alone, but the now-adult characters (they had been children in the original series) were so well received that I just had to write more about them!
I don’t just write romance or series, though. I also have several stand-alone books that feature characters in an already established and committed relationship. For those who like crime dramas, I also have a few of those available. Those of you who have read my books may have noticed a theme: redheads. I absolutely LOVE redheads (and not just because I am one!).
So, here are a few things about me:
I live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. I have a 14-year-old son and a ten-year-old daughter, as well as a couple of other children from previous relationships that I refuse to stop acknowledging as my own (once they call me mom, that’s it; they’re mine). I love dogs (like, all of them. All kinds. The floofier, the better) and I have a love-hate relationship with cats (seriously, there have been like five cats in my whole life that I have bonded with, the rest hate my guts). I really love animals in general, although I go nuts for squirrels, ducks, and penguins. I’m a huge fan of snakes and reptiles, although rats and mice give me the creeps. I have an irrational fear of spiders, but the one thing that terrifies the living daylights out of me are ladybugs (don’t ask, they just do).
I spent many years as a volunteer firefighter, serving several different cities and states. College was a fun time because I got to spend an entire academic year in one of my favorite places on Earth; New Zealand. (Pro-tip: if you like trying new things, you should give rewena paraoa a try. It’s an acquired taste, but once you acquire it, it will make all other fermented potato breads seem bland)
There’s not much about me that is overly interesting, but there are a few things that make me unique. For example, I cannot taste citrus fruits (although there is one exception; grapefruit) nor can I smell them. I have absolutely no idea what an orange or a lemon or a lime smell or taste like. There is just a blank void when I take a sniff or a taste. I can tell the difference between and orange and a lemon or lime (because I can taste the sweetness of the orange, where lemons and limes just register as sour) but I can’t tell the difference between a lemon and a lime. Ironically, my favorite candle scents involve lemon blends (don’t ask me to explain, it doesn’t make sense to me either).
I am a domestic violence survivor. I suffered a traumatic brain injury that should have left me a vegetable (or worse) and had to relearn how to speak. I had to amazing speech therapists, one from Australia and one from New Zealand who, despite living in the States for many years, still had pronounced accents. The combination of that resulted in a strange mashup of Aussie and Kiwi accent that I had to work hard to learn how to suppress. I’ve pretty much mastered it now, but occasionally something will happen that brings it out and I will be on the receiving end of some seriously strange looks.
I guess I’ve rambled on about myself enough, so I’m going to ramble a bit about my books. All of my books are connected in some way, be it an obvious connection or a hidden one. Some of my more devoted Alibis (That’s what I call my readers, because anyone who has researched the questionable things I’ve researched needs a good Alibi. Seriously, my Google history probably has me on a watchlist) will pick up on the connections, no matter how small they are.
If anyone would like to ask questions about one of my books, or even a specific character, I am always happy to answer. Being an author is one of the very few accomplishments that I am proud of, so of course I love to talk about it. (Seriously, I could talk for days about any of my books/characters)
Thank you all for taking the time to read my contribution to Lynn’s fabulous blog.
I suppose including a list of my books is probably a good idea, especially since I am hoping a few of those reading this will be intrigued enough to become Alibis. Here’s a list (not in publication order, but in suggested reading order because, ya know, connections).
Mended Hearts (Mended Hearts Series, book 1)
Mended Fences (Mended Hearts Series, book 2)
Beyond Expectations (Mended Hearts Series, book 3)
Woman of my Dreams (short story)
Always and Forever (Dej and Carrie series, book 1)
For Better or Worse (Dej and Carrie series, book 2)
Change of Plans Dej and Carrie series, book 3)
The Bet (Spoiler alert! This crosses over with Change of Plans)
Thank you, Sarah, for being our guest today! Readers, be sure to check out Sarah’s books! I am always looking for discussion. Be sure to stop by next time when I’ll have something new!
Until Next Time,
Lynn
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Lynn Lawler's Creative Artists' Blog 