Home Fires by Jana Richards - Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway!

Today we're welcoming author Jana Richards to the blog on her tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for the historical WWII romance, "Home Fires".  I admit, I was pretty clueless about the war brides, so have added this story to my TBR pile.

Jana is giving away a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter at the end of the tour, so comment today AND follow her tour (if you click on the banner over there on the left, it'll take you to a list of her tour stops)! The more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a GC!

In the meantime, Jana was kind enough to share five things about her that we might not have guessed, so settle in for some deep, dark secrets (or maybe fun, informative ones):

1. I grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan, Canada. Back when I was growing up, things were pretty basic on the farm. We didn’t have running water in the house until I was in my teens, and the summer I moved away from home, my parents got a flush indoor toilet.

2. I love country music. Carrie Underwood is one of my favorite singers. I get some flack from my office mates about my choice in music, but I don’t mind. I think a romance novel is like country music; both get little respect, yet each is tremendously popular. I’m glad to listen to music, and to write in a genre, beloved by so many.

3. I love animals. I had pets from the time I was a little kid on the farm, though in those days, my mom wouldn’t let me bring any of the dogs and cats into the house. After we got married, my husband and I had cats for many years, but then in 2004, our family adopted a dog for the first time. We absolutely adore her. I have a story on my website called A Dog Named Lou. It’s all about how we came to have her in our lives. To see a picture of Lou, go to my Biography page and scroll down to the end.

4. I enjoy canning and freezing food from my garden. Must be my farm roots! I usually can tomatoes and make salsa or spaghetti sauce that we eat all winter. We don’t have a huge garden, but we have fresh vegetables in the summer and some canned and frozen things that we can enjoy through the fall and winter.

5. Like many people, I struggle with my weight. In the last couple of years I’ve made a concerted effort to get more exercise. I go to yoga and Pilates classes once a week, and to the gym for cardio and weight training two to three times a week. A writer spends a lot of time sitting on her butt, so unless I want my butt to expand even larger, I’ve got to keep moving!

Do you share any of my 5 things? I’d love to hear an interesting fact about you. Don’t forget that every comment you make gives you a chance to win the random draw for a $25 Amazon gift certificate.

To receive bonus entries for the GC, like me on Facebook, follow my blog at http://janarichards.blogspot.com or sign up for my newsletter and then email me at jana.richards@hotmail.com  to let me know. Winner of the gift certificate will be notified by July 15 and their name will be announced on my Contests page on my website. You can see a complete blog tour schedule here. Thanks so much for your support!

The fun doesn’t stop there. I’m having a special promotion between July 4 and July 18. If you buy a copy of “Home Fires” or any of my other titles, you will receive a free PDF copy of my romantic comedy “Rescue Me” as a bonus gift. All you have to do is email me at jana.richards@hotmail.com with the receipt number of your purchase and I’ll send you the book. It’s just that simple! You can find a listing of my titles at http://www.janarichards.net/Books.html To read a blurb and excerpt from “Rescue Me” please click here.

Anne Wakefield travels halfway around the world for love. But when she arrives in Canada from England at the end of World War Two, she discovers the handsome Canadian pilot she’d fallen in love with has married someone else. Heartbroken, she prepares to return to London, though she has nothing left there to return to. Her former fiancé’s mother makes a suggestion: marriage to her other son.

Badly wounded and scarred during the war, Erik Gustafson thinks he’s a poor substitute for his brother. Although he loves Anne almost from the first time he sees her, he cannot believe she would ever be able to love him as he is – especially as he might be after another operation on his bad leg. Anne sees the beauty of his heart. The cold prairie winter may test her courage, but can she prove to Erik that her love for him is real?

EXCERPT:

She whirled around to glare at him, her eyes blazing. “No! I’m not a child! I don’t have to be molly-coddled and baby-sat. I spent six years in a war zone, hiding in bomb shelters, never having enough to eat. I worked in a hospital treating blitz victims with wounds so horrendous grown men would gag to look at them. I faced those horrors every day. Sometimes things were so bad I thought I couldn’t go on. But I did. Because I had to. And I’ll face things here too. So don’t tell me to give up because I won’t!”

Erik pushed himself out of his chair to face her, awed by her spirit and courage. She lifted her chin as if defying him to contradict her, her hands clenched at her sides. Her dark hair curled in wild abandon as it dried, framing her pale oval face like a halo. Her beauty and ferocity were magnificent.

“I think you’re the strongest woman I know.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, her hands unclenching. He caught the quiver of her chin as she fought to hold back tears.

He opened his arms and she stepped into them, wrapping her arms around his waist and clinging to him. He held her tightly, inhaling the sweet, clean scent of her, never wanting to let her go.

“Don’t cry. Everything’s all right now.”

She lifted her head to look into his face, her dark eyes shiny with tears, her lips slightly parted. Erik stared at her mouth, wanting desperately to kiss her, to capture her sweetness. He slowly lowered his mouth to hers. To his surprise, she didn’t run off, or turn away in revulsion. He was so close her breath mingled with his, her breathing swallow and erratic. His heart slammed against his chest, his body thrumming with need. For the first time in over three years, he felt alive.

Jana Richards has tried her hand at many writing projects over the years, from magazine articles and short stories to full-length paranormal suspense and romantic comedy. She loves to create characters with a sense of humor, but also a serious side. She believes there’s nothing more interesting then peeling back the layers of a character to see what makes them tick.

When not writing up a storm, working at her day job as an Office Administrator, or dealing with ever present mountains of laundry, Jana can be found on the local golf course pursuing her newest hobby.

Jana lives in Western Canada with her husband Warren, and a highly spoiled Pug/Terrier cross named Lou. You can reach her through her website at http://www.janarichards.net