The SHANNON MUIR’S INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS column on Mondays and Wednesdays is a place at Shannon Muir’s author website showcasing books from a variety of fiction genres, with an emphasis on interviews and guest posts from other authors. One thing Shannon firmly believes in for readers not only to learn about new books available, but about those who craft the tales behind them. As its name implies, SHANNON MUIR’S INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS weekly column features writers from all genres of fiction who want their potential audience to get to know them, and their works, better.
Today, we look at BACHELOR IN THE BOONDOCKS.
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small Missouri town of Green River. His uncle wants to merge their
businesses, but before the older man will talk business, he’s made
it a pre-condition of the agreement that his nephew move to Green River.
country living. He feels as if he’s traded in his life in the fast
line for a sojourn straight out of a rerun of the “Andy Griffith” show.
the buff with only a flimsy pair of frilly curtains preserving what’s
left of his dignity while being surrounded by the broken glass of his
bedroom window.
situation, but his tone is unacceptable.
whose baseball smashed through Jared’s window, Amelia helps Jared
free himself from the shards of glass essentially holding him hostage.
confines of country living. Another countdown is underway, however.
woman who’s so devious he can’t figure out how she manages to be
so darned seductive. Maybe by wearing her flaming hair in a bun,
going about in long-sleeve blouses, and forgoing expensive perfumes,
she’s discovered a sure-fired way to entice even the most
dyed-in-the-wool bachelor.
desires?
the docks.
Guest Post by the Author
Can you, for those who don’t know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
As is unfortunately common with a lot of people, I grew up in a broken home. I was the oldest of three children and had the responsibility of making sure they had clean clothes to wear to school, food to eat, and provided with adult supervision at night. I assumed these responsibilities at 10 years of age. Looking back, it breaks my heart to realize how inadequate I was for the job. Being poor and regularly evicted from the places we rented, we moved around a lot. I went to 27 different elementary schools. One of them for only three days before we moved somewhere else. I think that’s where my passion for writing began. I was always the new girl. I’d get the tour the first day and try to remember where my class was, who my teacher was, and where the lavatories were located. I spent a lot of time watching the other kids instead of interacting with them. I think being a “watcher” was a way of being safe. Since I was on the outside, looking in, I think it was a natural step for me to assume a role of observer. And, isn’t that what a writer is, or does? Observes.
What is something unique/quirky about you?
When I was thirteen, I read Gone with the Wind. I actually skipped two days of school so I could read it in one block of time. I couldn’t believe how Margaret Mitchell ended the novel. Remember, I was only thirteen and didn’t know anything about borderline personalities. I got out some lined paper and wrote a sequel where Scarlet reformed herself and developed a personality remarkably similar to Jane Eyre. Rhett fell in love with her all over again—she began helping her neighbors rebuild. She even worked in the fields. (If Rhett couldn’t love her with callused hands, then maybe he didn’t deserve her.) It only took me about thirty pages to have them back in each other’s arms. She even got pregnant again. This time it was twins—a boy and a girl.
One thing about my books, there’s always a happy ending.
What kind of world ruler would you be?
I would be the best ruler ever. I would have schools built where students (of any age) could receive practical as well as intellectual learning. I would invest in urban renewal projects where people who wanted to work would have jobs in their own community building homes and business. There would be programs for individuals to receive medical training. Since I think drugs are the scourge of today’s society, I would also invest in making our public schools a safe place that fully engaged children until their parents came home. There would even be rooms in which they could spend the night if there was no adult supervision available for them where they lived. How to pay for all this besides raises taxes?
I believe there are enough and amazing retirees who would be willing to volunteer several hours a week of their time to make their community a safe and wondrous place.
Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie?
All of them! I think my four contemporary romances: To Each His Own, Bachelor in the Boondocks, Every Good Deed, and Detour to Paradise would make terrific Hallmark movies. My western novels are just begging for cinematic life. Gideon’s Justice, Youngblood’s Rules, and McKenzie’s Law (a western trilogy) are set in the Colorado Territory. That’s some might beautiful country for a backdrop. When my heroes and heroines spar with each other, their dialogue sizzles. My heroines are not shy about expressing their grievances. Nor, are my heroes reticent about speaking the hard truths they think the heroines need to hear (all for their own good, of course).
Which of your books most resembles your life?
Every Good Deed tells the story of Erin Clay who married while still in college. The man who won her heart was sophisticated, wealthy, and charming. When she becomes widowed, Erin learns some things about her late-husband’s true character that shatter any remaining affection she might have have felt toward him. When an old friend, Linc Severance, shows up, Erin doesn’t trust her judgment to recognize real love and take the risk of opening herself up to possible disappointment. After all, she has a young son to raise and safeguard. The question for Erin is, can she believe enough in herself, in the woman she’s become, to give her heart again. For Linc, who’s always secretly yearned for Erin, can he give himself permission to claim the woman he’s loved from the first moment he saw her?
Author Bio
California. Here is a partial list of some of the cities in which she
lived: Pasadena, South Pasadena, Duarte, El Monte, Arcadia La Puente,
Lomita, West Covina, Pacifica, Santa Monica, Palmdale, and Hacienda
Heights. In some of those cities, she lived at six different
addresses. In the city of La Puente, River’s family lived in four
different houses on the same street. The non-glamorous reason for all
the moves was habitual eviction necessitated for non-payment of rent.
It was an interesting way to grow up.
junior high schools and four different high schools. In one
elementary school, she was a student for only three days.
the pattern of River being an observer instead of a participant in
the interactions going on around her seemed a logical fit for her
personality.
skipped three days of school in order to finish the book in one
sitting. Disappointed in Rhett for “not giving a damn,”
River wrote her own sequel–in long hand, on three-hole punch,
notebook paper. The opening line? “Tomorrow dawned bright and
fair.” In less than fifty pages, Scarlett had been transformed
into Jane Eyre and Rhett had fallen in love with her all over again.
in the semi-rural town of Idaho Falls, Idaho. She is a graduate of
Idaho State University, majoring in Health Education Sciences and
Addiction Counseling. She’s worked the past ten years at a Behavioral
Health Center where she assisted children, teenagers, and adults
committed in a 24/7 secured facility because of mental health
challenges they are experiencing.
of our human predicaments. The conflicts are significant, yet it is
her characters and their quirky (yet somehow universally relatable)
thoughts, words, and choices that reflect a light-hearted peek into a
world we wish was real. The amazing thing is that these worlds are
real to readers for the time they visit there.
loud, and the next I have a lump in my throat.”
This three-part novel is Book I in a three volume western series set
in the Colorado Territory.
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