Picnic Time!

My best friend is flying into town this weekend for a “girls weekend”. I haven’t seen Kelli in a few years and I’m looking forward to cutting loose and taking some road trips.

Our friendship began twelve years ago, when I was the new girl at the company we both worked for.  Kelli’s department was down the hall from mine and one day she sent me an email with a list of “getting to know you questions”, ranging from do you have tattoos?  to what kind of music do you like? It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship and I often refer to Kelli as my unbiological sister.

Harlequin® American Romance® is about family, friends and community and in my debut release, BETTING ON TEXAS, there is a 4th of July picnic scene where the entire town gathers to meet Double Trouble’s new owner, Miranda Archer.  She’s the new kid on the block, completely out of her element, not unlike I was during my first year as a newbie author. The annual picnic is a place where people can relax and spend time with their friends and neighbors.

My readers are part of my extended family and I love learning about the people reading what I poured my heart and soul into.  To me, the reader/author relationship is very similar to a community picnic…we’re all gathered together and I’m sitting in the middle telling the stories.

Spring's here and it's pretty warm down here in the south. Join me for a month long, community picnic so we can get to know each other better.   Who’s up for the Question Game?

Choose one…choose them all…ask anything back!

• What’s something most people don’t know about you?
• What is the scariest movie you ever saw?
• If you were marooned on an island with a single person, who would you want it to be?
• Do you have any hidden talents?
• What’s the #1 most played song on your iPod?
• What is your favorite body part?
• What sound do you love the most?
• If you could throw any kind of party, what would it be like and what would it be for?
• If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be?
• If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be?
• If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?
• When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time?
• What was the last movie, TV show or book that made you cry or get weepy?
• What was one of the best parties you’ve ever been to?
• What do you miss most about being a kid?

Don’t forget to pick up a copy of BETTING ON TEXAS so you can see how Miranda made out at her first community picnic.

Amanda Renee
Betting on Texas (March 2013)
Home to the Cowboy (August 2013)
Legacy of a Lone Star (Early 2014)


www.amandarenee.com
www.twitter.com/TheAmandaRenee
www.facebook.com/AmandaReneeFanPage

With a Little Help.... by Megan

...From My Friends.
Okay, I admit, I'm a Beatles fan. I would like this song anyway, even if Ringo wasn't singing it. It's so true for my life. I'm lucky enough to have really wonderful women as friends. Friends who stand by me, stand behind me, and stand in front of me when trouble comes.

My mom's health is deteriorating. She's suffering through some tough heart problems. So what do my friends do?

Offer to bring my family meals. Offer to critique my manuscript in the wee hours while I'm finishing up a deadline--running behind due to caring for my mom and the difficulty I had writing during this time. Offer prayers for my mom and the rest of the family. Offer to listen to me rant about doctors and hospitals and *stuff* in general. Offer me days off work to finish my ms. Offer me encouragement and M&Ms. (I have the best friends!!)

My family and I are deeply touched by their generous souls. It's this kind of love that forms my heroines. When writing I ask myself: would I want this character as a friend in real life? In a difficult situation, what caring thing would my friends do? I'm proud to have them as role models for my daughter and for me and for my fictional characters.

I hope y'all have friends as true and supportive as mine, and enjoy reading the fictional heroines we all admire in American Romances.

Megan Kelly
www.megankellybooks.com