Welcome Hazel Statham/Contest/Blog Tour Stop

Welcome to my Reading Nook, Hazel Statham. Please make yourself at home and let my cabana boys/girls get you a drink.

Comfortable? Wonderful. Now let’s get started.

To get us started can you tell us a little about what you are working on or have coming out?  

They say that good things come in threes – mine just came in fives and I have had five books released over the past two months. Consequence and Dominic  came out in December with His Shadowed Heart and The Portrait in January.  These four books are re-releases, however, For Love of Sara, is a totally new release.

How would you describe yourself using only five words?  

Wife, mother, grandmother, writer and animal lover (sorry, that’s a little over five words but they all apply)

If you could write a warning label for yourself as a person or an author, what would it say? 

Warning - this woman can’t resist animals

Do you have any guilty pleasures?  

My computer!  I spend a great deal of time on my laptop and would be completely lost without it.  Even when I have to go into hospital I insist my husband brings it with him at visiting time so that I can keep track of my e-mails etc.

Name one thing readers would be surprised to know about you.  

I used to ride when I was younger, but never owned my own horse.  Now, at the age of 66 and unable to ride, along with my daughter, I am part-owner of a Gypsy Cob, two foals and a Welsh section B pony.  Despite very limited mobility, I love to spend as much time as I can at the stables and in 2013, my grandson is hoping to compete in junior dressage competitions – so I’ll be there at the ringside supporting him.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?  

We live in the UK but have visited the USA on numerous occasions.  A few years ago we were considering buying a condo there, but my health forced me to remain in the UK.

How do you get yourself in the mood to write?  

I have no set times to write and have the luxury of being able to write as and when the mood takes me.  Some days the muse strikes early in the morning and lasts all day, others, not at all.

Can you share with us your typical writing day.  Is there anything you have to have while writing?  

Peace and quiet so that I can listen to my characters.  I like to write when the house is empty and I needn’t fear interruptions.  Being semi-retired, my husband only works two days a week, but I know those days are mine!

Who are some of your favorite authors?  

My ultimate favorites are Georgette Heyer and Charlotte Bronte, and the others, in no particular order, Mary Jo Putney, Anne Gracie, Laura Kinsale, Diana Gabaldon,  etc. etc. etc.  In fact, too numerous to mention.

What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?  

Re-read of Kinsale’s Flowers from the Storm, but I have a Kindle bursting with new purchases I’m just dying to read.

Is there something special you do to celebrate when one of your books is released?  

As a family, we usually go out for a meal whenever we have anything to celebrate.

Do you have a favorite TV show you can't miss?  

Anything historical, be it fact or fiction.  I love to immerse myself in history.

If you could date any character from any book, who would it be and why-no it doesn't have to be from your books? 

Justin, Duke of Avon from Heyer’s These old shades.  I love the erudite, omniscient, alpha males.  Perhaps not practical in today’s culture but in the historical context he would be someone who would protect and cherish you.  Perhaps a very romantic idea, but we are talking fiction here.

What is the strangest source of writing inspiration you’ve ever had? 

I don’t know if you would call them strange but I have been inspired by several things – a dream, a line in a song and, in the case of For Love of Sarah,  just six words uttered in a totally unrelated play.  In fact, it takes very little to set my imagination in motion.

If your muse were to talk behind your back, what secrets would he/she tell? 

This woman is not a planner and only has a vague idea where she wants her story to go.  She allows her characters to dictate the course and quite often, they take her off at a tangent.

Anything else you want to add? 

For details, excerpts, reviews and purchase links of all my work, please visit my website www.hazel-statham.co.uk   I love to hear from my readers and promise to answer all my mail.

Thanks for taking the time to be here today. I wish you many sales and wonderful reviews. 

Thank you so much for hosting me today.  It has been a pleasure to be with you.

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Contest Information: Hazel will be awarding winner's choice of either a Cream Coin Freshwater Pearl necklace or a digital copy of DOMINIC or HIS SHADOWED HEART (international giveaway) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a Choice of either Rhinestone Crystal Butterfly and Pearl earrings or a digital copy of DOMINIC or HIS SHADOWED HEART (international giveaway) to a randomly drawn host. Please leave a comment along with your email address in order to be entered for this great prize.

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/12/virtual-book-tour-for-love-of-sarah-by.html

Teaser Excerpt of For Love of Sarah by Hazel Statham

How many times can a heart be broken?  How many times can love be denied?  Sarah and Alexander were destined for each other but after just four short weeks of marriage, their lives were torn asunder.

   

Alexander, Earl of Thorne thought he had found his ideal mate but, when Sarah absconded shortly after their marriage, his world came crashing down.  Now, five years later, he discovers her in a remote Yorkshire village.

  

Sarah had thought she was safe, but when, severely injured in a freak accident, her husband is thrust once more into her life, she fears her dark secrets and the fact she has a son, will become known. 

  

Despite her own desperate longings, she continually repudiates Alexander’s efforts of reconciliation. However, fate conspires against her, and when her home is made uninhabitable by floods, she and her young son are forced to accept his aid and return to her former home.

   

Discovery threatens and, despite her breaking heart, she plans to leave Alexander’s life.  What is this secret that makes it so imperative that she should abscond from him yet again?  Can two broken hearts cleave and emerge victorious or will life's cruel forces tear them apart forever? 

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Teaser Excerpt:

Yorkshire, June, 1815

Why now? Dear God, why now? After almost five years of schooling his body and mind from wanting her, the mere sight of her slight form across the crowded marketplace had brought back all the old emotions he’d worked so desperately to subdue, and he reeled with the impact.

   

He’d thought the stance of the young woman was familiar, as he had on numerous occasions, only to be disappointed, but when she moved into full view by the bakery stall, he immediately realized that it truly was his wife. Sarah, his senses cried, sweet, faithless Sarah. They had been wed but four weeks when she disappeared from his home and life. To find her now in a remote Yorkshire village defied all sense.

   

His impulse was to confront her immediately, but as he moved to tether his horse to the rail outside the smithy, the blacksmith came out to take the beast from him.

   

“Lost his shoe, has he, sir?” the man asked, casting an appreciative eye over the large chestnut. “Fine animal, if I might say so…”

    

Thrusting the reins into the smithy’s hands, Alexander Markham, Earl of Thorne, snapped, “Left side, fore,” effectively cutting short the blacksmith’s appraisal of his mount, and, turning on his heel, left the man to stare after him as he made his way into the throng of people in the marketplace.

   

Despite his advantage of height, he could see no sign of his wife. She had moved from the stall—but to where? Becoming frustrated with the press of people that milled around him, he strode toward the centre where the ground rose to provide a vantage point, but to no avail. Sarah was nowhere in view, and he began to doubt his own perception.      

Purchase links (available from all Amazon domains)

Amazon.co.uk

Paperback:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/For-Love-Sarah-Hazel-statham/dp/1612186831/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344777843&sr=8-1

Kindle

http://www.amazon.co.uk/For-Love-Sarah-ebook/dp/B008RBTPZ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1344778014&sr=1-1

Amazon.com

Paperback:

http://www.amazon.com/For-Love-Sarah-Hazel-Statham/dp/1612186831/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1344778163&sr=8-1

Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/For-Love-Sarah-ebook/dp/B008RBTPZ0/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1344778163&sr=8-1

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Hazel Statham began writing at the age of fifteen, finally committing to paper the stories she spun as a child. Writing has been her passion ever since, although marriage, motherhood, and career left time for little else. Once she retired, however, she was able to devote herself to writing full-time, publishing her first novel in 2007. A long time student of history, she writes mainly in the Regency and Georgian eras, though she has been known to dabble in the medieval as well. She lives in Staffordshire, England, with her husband, Terry, and their beloved yellow Labrador, Mollie.

Hazel loves to hear from her readers and promises to answer all mail.

Website address   www.hazel-statham.co.uk