Where the Heart Lies by Michelle Garren Fly - Virtual tour and Giveaway

Today we're welcoming author Michelle Garren Flye to the blog on her tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for her romance novel from Carina Press, "Where the Heart Lies".

Michelle will be awarding promotional postcards from Carina Press with 10% off coupons to one commenter at every stop, and a $10 Amazon GC + a copy of Bartlett's Poems for Occasions, which inspired part of the book to a randomly drawn commenter during 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 prize!

Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

I have always been a romantic, from the first time I saw Cinderella on the big screen, so I guess it just makes sense that I write romance. I want to believe in a happily ever after, not just in my books, but in real life, too. Which makes writing romance a bit of an escape for me. There’s nothing quite like watching the news and then retreating into my own world where things don’t go horribly wrong and nobody ends up sad and alone.

What research is required?

I have had so much fun with the research for my romances! My first romance, Secrets of the Lotus, was set in New York City, and I had never been there. I watched a ton of movies set in New York, used Google Earth a lot and searched the internet for interesting places to set my story in. Since then, I’ve researched Greek culture (specifically cooking and wine), vineyards and growing grapevines, professional chefs, and loads of other fun things. For Where the Heart Lies, I had to research physics because Liam, the hero, is a physics professor. I mastered quite a few fun physics “magic” tricks in the process.

Name one thing you learned from your hero or heroine.

Well, I mentioned Liam’s magic tricks… but really, I think I learned the most from Alicia, his heroine. Alicia is everything I would love to be: adaptable, beautiful, courageous and dedicated (see what I did with the ABC’s there?). She loses her husband to the war in Afghanistan, but she carries on, determined to honor his memory by carrying out his last wishes. I know some wives of military men who have had to carry on while their husbands were overseas, and I’ve always admired them for their courage and will power. I tried very hard to show this in Alicia.

Any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I wouldn’t say I have any habits or superstitions, but I do have my little writing totems that I keep nearby at all times. If I’m stuck for something to write, I use these totems to help me through it. For instance, I have a string of lotus beads (bought for me after Secrets of the Lotus, my first novel), a rock from a famous author’s yard (Who knows? A bit of luck or magic or whatever might emanate from it), and a copy of Bartlett’s Poems for Occasions. The last one actually helped inspire a scene in Where the Heart Lies.

Plotter or pantser?

I definitely fall somewhere between these two. I always have a rough idea of where I’m going to end up but how I get there is another matter all together. I may write a scene I think will be at the beginning of the novel but find myself pushing it into the middle. In my most recent work-in-progress, I wrote a scene in the middle of the novel and ended up using it as a prologue.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

Wine spritzer. Hey, it’s five o’clock somewhere, right? Also, a phone, a to-do list that keeps getting longer, and some notes from an article I just wrote for our local newspaper.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

At this point, I have nothing new to report. I’ve got two novels I’m shopping around, and the work-in-progress that I’m polishing up, though, so who knows what the next one will be?

Do you have a question for our readers?

I would love to know what kind of romance your readers enjoy. Sweet or spicy or somewhere in between? Nicholas Sparks or Fifty Shades of Grey? Readers are the ones who will dictate what writers write (or at least what publishers will publish), and I can’t pass up this chance to find out what they’re looking for.

All widowed Alicia Galloway has left of her war-hero husband are the flag that draped his coffin and his final wishes: to move to his hometown, take over the family bookstore and enjoy a simple, quiet life with their two small children. When she arrives, her husband’s best friend makes that new life anything but simple. How can she be so drawn to Liam Addison?

Liam only intended to help Alicia get settled. But one unexpected kiss awakens his long-held forbidden feelings. Soon, the town busybodies swoop in to warn Alicia away from him. Because no matter the man he’s become, he’ll never live down his reputation as town troublemaker and wolfish womanizer.

No one wants the war hero’s sweet widow and the supposedly former bad boy together. But the more everyone tries to keep them apart, the closer he and Alicia get. And the more determined Liam is to prove he’s a changed man. Will it be enough to convince Alicia to let a new love in her life?

Liam crossed the yard in two strides, taking the hoe from her hands and turning the snake’s body over with its blade. He turned to her in amazement. “You killed it?”

Alicia nodded wordlessly, covered her face with her hands, and suddenly too weak to stand, fell to her knees in the grass. “Hey!” She heard his exclamation and the hoe hit the ground as he dropped it, then sank down next to her. “Hey, it’s okay. You did good, sweetheart.” His arms surrounded her and he pulled her first against him, then into his lap, stroking her hair and back, his hands warmer than the sun’s rays against her skin.

The approval in his voice brought tears to her eyes at the same time that his caresses tingled deliciously. She responded without thinking, putting her arms around his neck and then, because she wanted nothing more than to kiss this man who meant so much to her, she turned to him, finding his lips easily, feeling his body freeze for a moment then give in to the kiss, the wonderful, desire-fulfilling kiss that she’d longed for…

Michelle Garren Flye is a mother, writer and editor based in coastal North Carolina. She obtained her degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1992. Not liking the hours required of a journalist, she went on to obtain a Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1997. When her first child was born in 2000, she packed her diplomas away and began a new life as a stay-at-home mom, which fortunately afforded her the opportunity to pursue her writing on a semi-regular basis.

Michelle has served in various capacities for several online and print literary endeavors, including Dark Recesses, edifice WRECKED, Horror Library, Butcher Shop Quartet, and Tattered Souls.

Michelle is the author of three romance novels, Where the Heart Lies (Carina Press 2012), Winter Solstice (Lyrical Press 2011) and Secrets of the Lotus (Lyrical Press 2010). Michelle also self-published a fiction book titled Weeds and Flowers for the Kindle in December 2011.

Blog: BREATHE: http://michellegflye.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-Garren-Flye/132688623422175
Twitter: @michellegflye