JUDYTHE MORGAN ~ Seeing Clearly ~ Behind the Story

 

The Story Behind my newest release, Seeing Clearly

by Judythe Morgan

 The idea for Seeing Clearly began in 2003. That plot-line was more an inspirational women’s fiction with a grandmother raising her baby grandson after his parents died in a car accident and how she adjusted. The idea was loosely formed and even looser written.  

I started participating in ACFW craft courses. My writing improved as I worked with critique partners. A new romantic suspense story with the same characters began to take shape.

 Once I had a better developed story, I entered the manuscript in contests for additional feedback. My scores were all over the place. According to many contest critiques, the story still needed a lot of work. I reworked and entered more contests.

 In 2008 Seeing Clearly placed third in a Florida Romance Writers of America chapter. I was so excited and started to submit to editors and agents. The rejections rolled in.

 At that point, I accepted it was not God’s timing. I put the manuscript aside and worked on another story idea that had been bouncing around in my head and kinda forgot about Seeing Clearly.

 In 2019 I had an opportunity to attend a conference where Michael Hague was the speaker and participate in a one-on-one small group session to discuss our works-in-progress. I chose Seeing Clearly for the individual tutoring sessions.

After the conference, a small group of us who attended formed a critique group. Between Michael’s input and brainstorming with my new critique group Seeing Clearly finally evolved into a viable story and my characters came to life.

 Evie Parker is a forty-something grandmother raising her toddler grandson who is attracted to an ex-cop employee a decade younger. It was her story and I couldn’t bring myself to change it. Thanks to Michael and my critique group, my unconventional character became real.

 When I started writing Seeing Clearly, a story of later-in-life romance was a little too outside the box for a typical romantic suspense story. That probably explains the conflicting contest scores and so many rejections. Readers weren’t there.

 After months of rewriting, in February of 2020 I entered another contest and placed third. I knew then it was time to publish. Seeing Clearly released in May 2020. According to the reviews posted, readers love Evie and Dawson and their story. The timing was finally right.

 This book’s road to publication was indeed a long one. I worked hard, but it was so worth it. I learned so much. I hope sharing about Seeing Clearly’s journey with readers will help them enjoy the book more.

 And, writers who are reading Peg’s blog, I share to remind you never give up.

 About Your Book  

• Title: Seeing Clearly
• Author: Judythe Morgan
• Publisher: The Danfield Press
• Release Date: May 12, 2020
• Genre: Romantic Suspense
• Series/Stand-Alone: Stand-Alone
• Target Audience: PG, Ages 12+

Seeing Clearly Back cover Blurb

Evie Parker is a widow and trusting to a fault. She’s raising her grandson after her only child and his wife die in a suspicious car accident.

 Dawson McKey is a divorced, overly cautious ex-cop, who now manages Evie’s shipping company. He trusts no one after his twin sons were killed by a cartel’s bomb.

 There’s undeniable attraction even though she’s twelve years his senior. But she’s convinced their age difference will haunt their relationship. Dawson’s vowed never to love again but being with Evie challenges his thinking.

 Drugs show up in a company shipment at the same time mysterious emails threaten Evie’s grandson. Then the nanny she hired against Dawson’s advice disappears with her grandson and Dawson suspects cartel involvement.

 Can their search for the toddler renew their trust and bring their hearts together?

 Seeing Clearly Buy links

• Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08768ZJQX
• Nook Book: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seeing-clearly-judythe-morgan/1136871829
• BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/seeing-clearly-by-judythe-morgan
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53746639-seeing-clearly
• Amazon Author Page https://amazon.com/author/judythemorgan

  Excerpt from Seeing Clearly

 Darkness swirled in Evelyn Parker’s head. Dawson McKey’s voice drifted like a soft light through the blackness. “Evie.”

She heard her name, the drone of whispered words, and other sounds she couldn’t identify. It was like trying to thread a needle, blindfolded.

An antiseptic smell made her cough. She opened her eyes and reality came crashing through her haze. Hospital. Accident. David and Mandy dead.

She pushed upward from the hard, cold medical center floor. “No.”

“Lie still, Mrs. Parker.” A fresh-out-of-medical-school doctor lightly touched her wrist, checking his watch. “You fainted and gave yourself a nasty bump.”

Fainted? She snatched her hand from the doctor’s grip. She never fainted. Not even three years ago when her husband died in her arms. “I’m fine. Where’s my grandson?”

Tiny bumps pebbled across her neck. Did she already know that answer? Is that why she fainted?

The way-too-young-looking doctor pointed to a room adjacent to the busy ER waiting area. “Why don’t we go in there and talk? I can check that bump.”

His voice sounded soft and sympathetic. She searched his face for any sign of hope against the truth she feared.

Dawson, her friend and Parker Industry’s Director of Security, eased his arm behind her back. Her legs wobbled.

“Steady,” he whispered, tucking her into his side.

She leaned into the solace of his chest for a nanosecond then straightened her shoulders and followed the doctor to a closet-like room with an ancient metal desk and two chrome-armed chairs that had seen better days.

Evie sank into the nearest chair. The doctor gently rubbed the back of her head. She flinched.

“Everything looks fine. However, if you develop a headache, become nauseous or dizzy, you need to come back immediately. You don’t want to mess with a head injury.”

“I will. Now, what about my grandson, Dr.—” She glanced at his name badge. “Morrison. Is Michael okay?”

Dawson’s large, warm hand covered hers. She wanted to nestle into his heat, lean against his strong body, to hide until all of this went away. She stiffened her spine instead.

Dr. Morrison studied her face. “Your grandson’s doing okay. He appears to have only cuts and bruises. His seatbelt harness snapped when the SUV was hit, throwing him from the vehicle as it flipped. He escaped the fire, and the car seat protected him. We’ve done X-rays and MRIs to be sure. Results aren’t back yet.”

The room tilted. A fiery image flashed in her mind’s eye sending a cold chill down her spine. She swallowed. She couldn’t allow her brain to go there, wouldn’t go there. Doing well sounded a little iffy, but—thank you, Lord—not as final as dead.

She pressed her fist to her lips, pushed back the dizziness, and managed to connect with the doctor’s gaze. “When can I see him?”

The doctor opened the door. Clatter and chatter from the ER waiting area filled the room. “Follow me.”

Evie planted her flip-flops on the floor with a thud. The clip-clop of the rubber soles boomed in rhythm with her pounding heart as she followed.

~~

Dawson slowed his pace to Evie’s stride. He drew deep on years of training to keep his body language relaxed while his senses were on high alert after what the investigating officer told him. A witness reported another car clipped David’s SUV by accident, causing it to careen off the road.

By accident? Not likely. Not with the gambling debt David Parker had. More likely a deliberate act executed by someone he owed or the cartel. He’d bet the cartel.

Either way, it was one more question to add to his ever-growing list of unanswered questions about Evie’s son.

Parker had risked everything and lost. Traded his love of gambling for life and family. You don’t mess around with the cartel. How well Dawson knew.

He’d promised her dying husband he’d take care of her. If she knew what he was doing, she’d send him away. She thought she could take care of herself. He should explain his suspicions about her son. Pointless, she’d never believe David hadn’t reformed like he promised. Not without proof. Proof he didn’t have. Yet.

Dr. Morrison motioned them inside. Their hands still clasped, Dawson guided her to Michael’s crib side.

His vision blurred. A fire exploded in his gut. In that instant, he made another vow. Whoever had done this, he’d find them and make them pay.

Same as he’d vowed to find the cartel leader Marco Torres and make him pay for what he’d done to his boys.

~~

From the waiting room of Mercy Regional Medical Center, the man watched Parker’s Madre and McKey approach, trailing behind the doctor down the corridor. Anger stiffened his back and burned his eyes. Would he ever be rid of McKey?

His first plan to do away with the nuisance had bombed. Now this. Another big screwup. This one threatened their supply chain. Prickles of apprehension twined with his anger. Not good. Not good at all. Mistakes in a business with no margins for error made him look weak. Made the cartel bosses wonder why he was here. His papá was not going to be happy. And when papá was not happy, it was never a good thing.

 

Judythe’s BIO

Award-winning author Judythe Morgan was an Air Force daughter then an Army wife and a one time-Department of Army Civilian employee. She’s traveled a lot of this world.

An antiques dealer, teacher, former mayor's wife, and sometimes-church pianist, she's had some interesting experiences.

As mommy to an Old English sheepdog named Finnegan MacCool and a Maltese named Buster, there are always wild adventures in the works.

Her travel, experiences, and wild adventures always find their way into her award-winning stories. Check her website  https://judythemorgan.com for details.

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

Sign up for her free newsletter to keep up with her latest news and subscriber-only sneak peaks.

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• Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6450879.Judythe_Morgan
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• Amazon Author Page https://amazon.com/author/judythemorgan

 

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.

Sign up for her free newsletter to keep up with her latest news and subscriber-only sneak peeks.

Friend her on Facebook

Like her on Goodreads

or BookBub

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.

 

Claiming Annie’s Heart – Behind the Story – Judythe Morgan - Giveaway Extended (Details below)

Claiming Annie’s Heart – The Story Behind the Story - 

by 

Judythe Morgan 

Cliff of Moher, Ireland. Courtesy Pixabay.com

With a paternal grandmother who was an Irish Callahan from County Clare and a maternal grandmother whose family immigrated through Ellis Island during the Potato Famine, authoring a story set in Ireland might seem predictable. But I never set out to plot such a book. Too many other story ideas floated in my head.

That is ... until I went to Ireland and those family roots came to life.

The joy sparkling in the eyes of the Irish people I met danced with the bubbling in my veins. Ireland is magical. The sights and sounds call to deep kinship and connections. If you have even a drop of Irish blood and ever go to Ireland, you'll understand what I mean.

Until my visits to the island, I never realized there were two very different Irelands. Talking with the old timers, I quickly learned the Irish history of how two separate countries came to be.

The cliff note version is the island started as a single entity with its own parliament. After bitter fighting and political maneuvering with the United Kingdom, the island was partitioned into Northern Ireland, which is still a part of the UK, and the Irish Free State or Republic of Ireland in 1920.

Violence erupted again in the 60s and continued through the 90s. The ceasefire of 1994 and the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, along with the rebranding of the Orangemen parades in Belfast and Northern Ireland counties, helped reduce flare-ups.

Still, the history remains fresh for those personally affected and, after a few pints of Guinness, discussions about The Troubles can become heated.

My husband’s job often took him to Northern Ireland, and I tagged along. I soon realize how deeply The Troubles touched Irish lives. The seed of an idea for a future story began to grow.

Whenever we went to Belfast, Northern Ireland, we’d always make a stopover in Ireland. On one visit, we toured an Irish girl's boarding school in County Connemara. Wandering the grounds and talking to the girls, I had one of those writer moments where a character sprang fully formed into my head, commanding me to tell her story.

With her consent, I blended what Annie wanted told with a suspense element based on The Troubles to create Claiming Annie's Heart.

Annie and I are pleased with the final product. I hope you’ll enjoy reading Claiming Annie's Heart as much as we did creating it.

About Claiming Annie’s Heart:

Annie Foster remains in Ireland after boarding school to nanny a widower’s infant daughter. Five years later, she accepts the widower’s marriage proposal.

Her first love Chad Jones, whom she believed deserted her, arrives on an undercover assignment weeks before the wedding investigating her Irish fiancé’s connection with an IRA terrorist organization. Chad’s determined to change her mind, and her heart, because he’s never stopped loving her.

Annie is torn between the man she'll always love and the young daughter of her fiancé whom she’s promised never to abandon. Who will claim Annie’s heart?

About Judythe:

Award-winning author Judythe Morgan was an Air Force daughter, then an Army wife and a one time-Department of Army Civilian employee. She's seen a lot of this big world.

She’s mommy to an Old English sheepdog named Finnegan MacCool and his Maltese brother, Buster. Finn’s named after the legendary Irish character, Fionn mac Cumhaill, of Giant's Causeway in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Also, a mother to three/grandmother to twelve, she’s been an antique dealer, teacher, mayor's wife, and sometimes-church pianist. Recently, she's ventured into Sacred Harp singing of early 17^th and 18th-century hymns.

She writes a weekly blog, View from the Front Porch with her daughter, Chicken Wrangler Sara. You can follow their adventures at www.judythewriter.com

Sign up for her free newsletter to learn about her latest news and get subscriber-only sneak peaks at www.judythemorgan.com All her books are available on Amazon.com in digital and print format. Links for other digital formats – Nook, Kobo, iBooks - are available on her website.

Where to find Judythe:

Visit Judythe’s website 

 Read Judythe’s award-winning blog

Friend Judythe on Facebook and Goodreads

Follow Judythe on Twitter

About the Giveaway:

Question for readers: Have you ever been to Ireland or Northern Ireland? Would you like to go? Why or why not?

Leave a comment with your answer and your contact information for a chance to win a free print (US only) or eBook version of Claiming Annie’s Heart.

This giveaway has been extended for another week ending on Thursday, March 28, at Midnight, Central. Winner will be drawn on Friday, March 29 and notified via email.