Monday, June 17, 2019

Today's Special -- Liz Talley & Once Upon a Wedding



It's my pleasure to welcome the sweet, sassy, southern, and oh-so-talented Liz Talley to The Romance Dish today. It took only one book - The Thornbirds - to hook Liz on romance. Following that discovery, she devoured the Harlequin SuperRomances at her aunt's used bookstore and Mills and Boon medical romances she borrowed from her grandmother's stash. It wasn't until college that she entertained the idea of writing one of the stories she already loved reading. Her first book debuted in 2010 and she's gone on to publish 25+ novels since, finaling in the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart and RITA contests. 

Liz married her high school sweetheart and has two sons. According to her, when she's not busy writing she can be found working in her flowerbeds or doing laundry. 

Welcome, Liz!




Hello, reader friends!

I’m so happy to be here to share with you a whoppingly large anthology by some of the best romance and women’s fiction writers in the business. I’m incredibly honored that they let me join them. I mean, they put me last and so…just kidding. We did it alphabetically so, yeah, Liz Talley is last. But that doesn’t matter because once people start these fun stories of second chance love, they will not stop until the last page.



So how did this come about?

I’m not sure if you were wondering that, but I’ll go ahead and tell you. First, the authors are all part of a Facebook group called Fiction From the Heart. This cozy nook on the internet was Jamie Beck’s brainchild. She and I met at RWA Nationals and struck up a friendship. In talking about how to reach readers and build community, we reasoned Facebook was a natural place to hang out with people who were like us – wanted a place with no stressors (aka no politics) and loved books. Voila! FFTH was born. We invited like-minded authors, with an eye on a variety of styles. I think if you peruse the list of authors there, you’ll see plenty of diversity in style and theme, but the unifying element is we’re all hard-working writers who write the same genre and love what we do.

So the anthology…well, several of our authors wanted to try their hands at self-publishing. It’s daunting to strike out on one’s own and indie-publish a book. It’s much easier to do it together where you can be assured of hand-holding. We picked a month that we thought would work for most of us since most all are under contract with publishers. And then we chose a unifying theme. We couldn’t decide between weddings or second chances so we did both.

Pulling together new stories, some connected to current series, was a huge undertaking. Many of our authors write several books a year, along with other writing projects. So it was a bit like lassoing kittens at times. But in the end, we persevered. And now we have this gorgeous collection of romantic stories we can be very proud 
of.



Why price it so low?

It’s totally affordable, right? We intentionally priced it at an introductory offer so we could (hopefully) sell A LOT of copies. Our main goal was cross-readership. All of us have our own readers, but we’re constantly looking for new ones. Of course. And we had a lot of discussion about pricing the anthology so low. We really didn’t want to devalue our work. Writing is hard (even now I’m penning this from my standing desk because my back is toast) and we always want readers to see value in what they are reading. Often a 99 cent book doesn’t feel very valuable. Still, in our discussions we came back around to publishing this anthology as a way to brand us together as Fiction From the Heart and to give readers exposure to new authors they can fall in love with.

I love being a member of this group of authors. We’ve established such a lovely friendship with one another and the FFTH members, so I’m especially proud of this anthology and what it represents for us. I hope you will grab a copy. TODAY is the last day to get it for 99 cents. Tomorrow it will be $4.99. (It's also available in print.)

Thanks, Romance Dish, for letting me come talk about this special project.


***Giveaway***  
One commentor will win a digital copy of Come Home to Me and a $15 Amazon card to buy MORE books!

PJ, here. I love discovering new-to-me authors in anthologies. There were a couple in Once Upon a Wedding that I hadn't read before. After enjoying their second-chance novellas, I'll definitely be seeking out more of their books!

Do you enjoy anthologies? Have you ever discovered a previously unknown author in an anthology who has gone on to become one of your favorites? 

Have you read any of Liz Talley's books yet? Do you have a favorite? 

Check out the rest of Liz's books at her website (including an upcoming July release) and connect with her online at Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.


Come Home to Me
by Liz Talley
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Buy at: http://bit.ly/ComeHomeToMe

 

Healing the wounds of the past doesn’t come easy in this novel of friendship and forgiveness from award-winning author Liz Talley.

Summer Valentine has returned to Moonlight, South Carolina, a very different woman from the naive wallflower who left years before. These days she’s straightforward and savvy, determined to do right by her son, David—even if that means cashing in her struggling music career in Nashville and returning to the town that drove her away. Sure, she took a fall. But at least she now knows where she stands…
Despite her anger over the past, Summer believes David deserves a relationship with his father, Hunter “Hunt” McCroy. Though Hunt’s illustrious career has faded, privilege still protects him from his worst mistakes.
Someone else is back in Moonlight too: Rhett Bryan, the golden boy of Hollywood, who’s taking stock of his own life after a tragic accident. As his rekindled friendship with Summer quickly deepens, she must reconcile the painful history that ties her to both men—one she’s finally forgiven, one she’s afraid to love—to claim healing and happiness.




34 comments:

  1. I rarely read anthologies, no reason not to really, expect that I am more likely to just choose a single title.

    I am new to Liz Talley's books.

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  2. It's been a long time since I read an anthology, the ones I've read features authors I've read previously. I've read a few of Liz's books, hard to pick a favorite but Cal's story in Cowboy Crush was really fun!

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    1. Mmmmm... A solid choice, Anita! :)

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    2. Hey, Anita - you know, I always loved the story in cowboy Crush. I discovered that writing got wasn’t quite my thing, but I loved that character and I enjoyed my research on the rodeo life. Thanks so much for reading :)

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  3. I have not read Liz, but the book you featured sounds like something I would like. I read anthologies occasionally and it is usually ones that have my favorite authors.

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    1. There are some wonderfully talented authors included in this anthology, Patoct.

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    2. Hi, Patoct - I’m not usually much of an anthology reader myself. However, I’m reading all the stories in this one and have found it nice to finish a story in a matter of hours. Hope you get a chance to try it :)

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  4. I am a member of FFTH, and had read books by about half of the authors before joining the group. I decided to read all 12 authors of the FFTH group, and recently finished at least one book from all the authors. Liked all the new-to-me authors. OUAW is the first anthology I've read, and I've read six of the stories so far - all are winners. Buy the anthology - even at $4.99 the anthology is a bargain. The paperback weighs in at just under 2.5 lbs. The massive Tolstoy novel, War and Peace, weighs around 2 lbs, about a half pound less than OUAW.

    My favorite Liz Talley book is Come Home to Me, although I adore her Morning Glory books.

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    1. Thanks, George. And I have to say you are my best marketer. Everyone do what George says! Lol. I appreciate readers who step out of their comfort zone and try new things. You constantly do that and I’m so appreciative!

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  5. I love anthologies because you get a lot of authors in one book!

    denise

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  6. I have not read Liz Talley's books. I am looking forward to reading this anthology. Yes I have found some new authors this way.

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  7. A new to me author. You have once again provided me with someone I need to read.

    Thank you for that, again.

    And yes, I love anthologies. Some of the old Signet holiday ones are on my keeper shelf.

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    1. Lovely! Hope you get a chance to try my story. Thanks!

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  8. I love anthologies. I have read a lot of Amish Christmas ones. Thanks for the chance.

    Tighefan42 atgmaildotcom

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    1. Thanks so much for stopping by, Tighefan42 :)

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  9. I own some of Liz Talley's books but haven't read them yet. I love anthologies and that's how I found Donna Kaufmann, Janelle Denison (Erika Wilde), Kate Angell, and Kimberly Kincaid. All have become my favorite authors. Thanks Liz and FFTH for putting this anthology together!!

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    1. You are so very welcome! Hope you enjoy, Eileen! And get around to trying a Liz Talley book ❤️

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  10. I've read a lot of anthologies and love the all. I think it's a great way to discover new-to-me authors and sample their works before jumping in the pool head first. This one sounds like a keeper.

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    1. Exactly! And that was our goal. We wanted fans of one author to try a new author. I hope you get a chance to try this one:)

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  11. I don't really like anthologies, but one in a blue moon I read one :)

    I haven't tried Liz Talley's books yet, but they look good.

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    1. Thanks, Alina! I hope you get a chance to try one, too ❤️

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  12. I LOVE anthologies--I've definitely found new favorites that way. And it's a fun way to get a taste of authors I already love reading. I just started Once Upon a Wedding--can't wait to keep going!

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    1. Oh, and I have read Liz's oooks before--I think I started with her SuperRomances!

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    2. Ugh--"books" not "oooks", LOL!

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    3. Yay! Thanks, Fedora, for giving it a go!

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  13. Hey, everyone! Sorry I’m late getting to the comments. Spent yesterday driving to Memphis to meet Kim Law and Terri Osborn for a writing retreat. And, of course, we had to sample some Memphis barbecue. Thanks for stopping in and commenting on this fun anthology. I hope you all will give it a try. I’m particularly enjoying it myself (though I’m only on Sonali’s story at present)

    Thanks for having me here at the Dish, PJ!

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    1. Many thanks for visiting with us, Liz! Enjoy that barbecue and your writing retreat. I'm kind of giddy over here thinking about three of my favorite contemporary romance authors tucked up together, dreaming up new stories for us to read! :)

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  14. I've read at least one book of yours, Vegas Two Step.

    I do enjoy anthologies. I like to read them when I'm waiting for an appointment or waiting for my husband. I loved them when I had to pick up the children from after school activities. I discovered several new authors: Lori Copeland HelenKay Dimon, Lori Foster, Sherryl Woods, Elaine Coffmann, Pam Crooks, Alison Kent and Donna Kauffman...

    There are at least 5 new authors in Once Upon a Wedding.

    Thanks for sharing. I will look for this anthology.

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  15. I love anthologies because they usually lead to me discovering a great new author! Anthologies are often my main reading during super busy times like the holidays. I have Once Upon a Wedding waiting on my Kindle app. :-)

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  16. I love anthologies. For one, I rarely have much time to read, and the short length of anthology stories let me enjoy a full story in the short time I do have to read. Like you, I have found anthologies a great way to sample a new to me author and have discovered some new favorites this way.

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