JUDYTHE MORGAN AUTHOR INTERVIEW

It's Throwback Thursday and an interview with guest author Judythe Morgan 

Welcome, Judythe. Thank you for spending this time with us so we can get to know you.  Ready? Let's go.

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been telling stories all my life. I focused on writing when all my chickadees flew the coop. I finished my first full length novel in the late nineties and started collecting reject letters from publishers and agents. Rightly so. I had zero craft skill. I knew nothing of POV, scene structure, characterization, GMC…all the stuff that writers use to craft remarkable stories.

I began to study and learn. I went to writers’ conferences and retreats. I joined writer organizations and worked with critique partners. My writing improved. Stories began to sell to magazines and, when I entered winning writing contests, my manuscripts started to final and win.

Then in 2012 I held my first published novel in my hand and, as the saying goes, “the rest is history.” My latest book released in May 2020. You can find my complete book list on my website judythemorgan.com

How do you go about finding names for your characters?

Naming characters is tricky. Much harder than naming your pet. Once you get to know the characters, the name you select may not fit. The beauty of word processing is, if that happens, you can do a search and replace and change the name quickly. I’ve had to do that a few times. As I wrote I got to know the character and the name just didn’t fit.

Sometimes I use the names of friends, family, and acquaintances. Always with permission, and usually with spelling twists or sound alike names if a story character will have too many of the same traits. I don’t want to risk offending anyone.

I’ve discovered most people love to have characters named after them. Especially when I acknowledge them in the book.

Besides writing, what other hobbies do you enjoy?

You might say I’m an eclectic, or maybe it’s attention deficit disorder. I love to do a lot of different things. I cook, I sew, I play bridge, I work jigsaw puzzles, I garden, I play the piano, I sing. And, I read. There’s always a book or my iPad with the Kindle app nearby.

When reading, what is your favorite genre?

Romance, specifically contemporary, historical, or military would be the obvious answer but truthfully, I read across genres—mysteries, women’s fiction, biographies, or memoirs. I hear about a new author and I’m always willing to give them a try no matter what the genre.

About Your Book:  

Title: Claiming Annie’s Heart, An Irish Romance

Author: Judythe Morgan    

Publisher: The Danfield Press

Release Date: 2014

Genre: Romance

Series/Stand-Alone: Stand Alone

Target Audience: 16+

What take-away value do you want readers to gain from your novel?

I want readers to see the underlying themes of forgiveness and second chances of my stories. I do believe strongly in both values.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

I’m currently working to complete the Fitzpatrick Family series. Next novella is scheduled to release in December then the remaining three in 2021.

From the back cover of Claiming Annie’s Heart:

An Irish Love Story

 Annie Foster stays in Ireland after boarding school to nanny a widower’s infant daughter. Five years later, the widower proposes.

Weeks before the wedding, Chad Jones, her first love who she believed deserted her, arrives in Belfast on an undercover assignment probing her fiancé’s connection with IRA terrorists.

Chad’s determined to change Annie’s mind because he’s never stopped loving her.

Who will claim Annie’s heart?

EXCERPT

Annie Foster glanced toward the flash of light when the door into Murphy’s Pub in Belfast, Northern Ireland, opened and the dark shadow of a man moved to a stool at the bar. She shivered at the rush of cold air from the unusually chilly July night, but her attention remained focused between the dark oak bar and the seisiún table. Seated with the musicians, four-year-old Emma lip-synced along with her. Behind the bar, her fiancé Pearce Murphy pulled the Guinness tap to build a pint.

Her fingers glided over the upright piano keys. Her voice echoed through the still, quiet pub with the final chorus of the ancient ballad, “For she lived to hope and pray, For her love in Botany Bay, It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry.”

Annie rose slowly. Her body weighted by emotions stirred from the words she sang. She’d been lonely once - waiting, hoping, praying. Not anymore. With a smile at Pearce, she headed to Emma.

She’d only taken two steps when the man who had entered swept her off her feet. She struggled against his arms, pinning her loosely but firmly to a body hard as a slab at Stonehenge. His lips sealed over her startled scream. As the kiss softened, a mist of familiarity fogged her brain.

Before she could sort through the haziness, a familiar Irish brogue called out, “Get your hands off me lass.”

Pearce yanked her from the man’s arms. The unmistakable crack of fist meeting flesh shot through the air, and the stranger tumbled backward, knocking over a chair as he fell. Blood spurted down his chin and splattered onto his shirt.

Pearce reached down to haul the man to his feet for another go. Annie clutched at his forearm. “Pearce, stop it! I’m fine.”

Emma appeared beside her father. Her hazel eyes saucer-like on her pudgy face. She tugged on his other arm. “Da, you broke his nose.”

Pearce twisted from their joint restraint, showing no remorse. “He’s touching our Annie again, I’ll do it again.”

The stranger pulled himself up and swiped at the blood running down his chin. “She’s my fiancee. Annie, it’s me. Tell him.”

The deep baritone voice saying her name carried a familiar cadence. Its resonance danced a jig in her ear, and her heart skipped a beat. Annie swayed. “Chad?”

Chad lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her fingers. “I’d given up on finding you, my Annie.”

“Too late, you are,” Pearce said.

Annie shot her friend Molly a frantic help me glance.

Nodding, Molly linked her arm through Pearce’s. “We’ll be needing you. Liam wants another of your special Murphy’s.”

Pearce jerked from Molly’s grip and motioned the crowd away. “Enough already. Everyone back to your places.” He stomped to the bar.

Emma scooted closer, hugging Annie’s waist. Her eyes glistened with tears. Her lips puckered in a pout. “She’s not yours. She’s mine and Da’s.”

Annie slipped her hand from Chad’s, gave Molly a grateful nod and crouched to hug Emma. “That’s right, sweetie. I’ll always be yours.”

Chad’s gaze flickered from Annie to Emma. “She yours?”

Aware of every eye in the pub watching them, she tipped Emma’s chin upward. “Sweetie, you go help Molly and your Da.”

Emma’s shoulders straightened as though she might protest, then dropped with a weighty sigh. Her posture and stride mimicked her father’s as she walked away.

Annie motioned to Chad. “Come with me. Let’s put some ice on your nose.” Pearce’s hazel eyes, shadowed by angry disbelief, tracked them as Annie led the way behind the floor-to-ceiling, age-darkened, oak bar. She kept her back stiff, her pace steady down the narrow hallway to an iron spiral staircase and up the steps to her apartment above the bar. Inside, her body shivered, trembled, quaked with questions. How had Chad found her and where had he been?

She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, opened the door, and pointed to her kitchen table. “Sit down. I’ll get some ice.”

He flinched when she placed an ice-filled washcloth against his nose a few moments later. “Hold it there.”

She sat across from him, analyzing the man, looking for the college student she’d known and loved. The years had left their mark on him. Gone was the sun-lightened, blond hair she had run her fingers through, replaced by a dark, burnished-gold color. A few lines etched across his forehead and around his eyes. A shadow of sadness darkened those clear, sparkling blues that so often plagued her dreams. A faint, narrow, pink scar line extended up his whisker-stubbled cheek. From what, she wondered.

“Annie.”

“Chad.” They spoke at once.

“You first,” he said.

Mountains of memories rose in her head. Times spent sharing their deepest wants and desires. Times he’d been her comfort and hope. How she had missed him and longed for him to return for her.

Finally, she’d accepted he was gone. She’d never expected to see him again.

Purchase Links:

KINDLE: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O6BO

NOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/claiming-annies-heart-judythe-morgan/1120481337

PAPERBACK: https://www.amazon.com/Claiming-Annies-Heart-judythe-morgan/dp/098940367X/

About the Author:

Judythe Morgan was an Army brat then Army wife. She’s traveled a lot. Her start-and-then-move-again careers include teacher, antiques dealer, former mayor's wife, sometimes-church pianist, and award-winning author. Her life has rarely been dull or without an Old English Sheepdog at her side.

Her varied experiences fill her stories with authentic characters, exciting settings, and compelling plots. Her writing’s won multiple writing contests. Check https://judythemorgan.com  for details.

Besides fiction, she writes a weekly blog at www.judythewriter.com with her urban farmer daughter, Chicken Wrangler Sara.

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Giveaway:

Judythe is offering one winner their choice of hard cover copy of Claiming Annie’s Heart (U.S. address only) or eBook. To enter, simply leave a comment below with your name and contact information, in case you’re the sinner. Giveaway ends one week from today on Thursday, September3, 2020, at Midnight, Central Time.