Meryl’s Commitment by Rona Simmons (Guest Post/Giveaway)

Please give a warm welcome to historical fiction and romance author, Rona Simmons!

It’s great to be here today with RBtWBC and all you readers of romance and drinkers of wine.  Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts on both!  

Years ago, someone passed along a quote I have never forgotten: “Ah wine, if it were not for thou, life would be just as it is.”  I don’t know if I’ve quoted it exactly or to whom to attribute the quote, but I have always thought those words rang true--both for life in general and for reading and writing.  

Why do I find these words and the tie between wine and word so relevant?  Because, while I was struggling with the early chapters of my romance novel and wanting to create a story that included a true-to-life male interest for my heroine, I grew more fearful of bucking the trend of best selling romance novels.  To a man (setting aside genres where men may not be the apple of her eye or in this case the juiciest grape on the vine), they all seem to be of the same mold.  I began to wonder if the authors are all looking at men through the fog of a glass too many of wine.  Or, are they saying that perhaps a glass of wine is just what’s needed to see our own true loves?  Can wine transform the truck driver, construction worker, postal clerk or cable guy into Fifty Shades of Grey’s Christian Grey (“dark eyes, crinkling at the corners”, “soft hands”, “unruly, dark copper-colored hair”, “attractive, very attractive”) or Bared to You’s Cary Taylor (“leanly built, dark haired, and green-eyed”, “absolutely gorgeous”) or any of the other recent paper hunks?

Pity the average male, few if any can come close to the male character, love interest, or sex toy portrayed in today’s typical romance novel -- whether it is the merely sensational or piping hot.  

So, what did I do?  I yielded to the swish of wine in my glass and made my hero, Riccardo, drop dead gorgeous, tall, with an olive complexion and angular features, salt and pepper gray hair (prematurely gray, of course), and blessed with that other requirement, a vast fortune.  Did I forget to mention that he has that oh so delightful Italian accent and wears exquisitely tailored Italian suits and loafers?  And yes, they share a glass of wine, though I think I would have wanted to be stone cold sober, were I in the heroine’s shoes!

Please tell me I’m wrong.  Tell me that not ALL of the men between the pages are the same.  Have you found that tres ordinaire hero that stole your heart or the heroine’s?   

Share your favorite male character’s distinguishing features.  A signed copy of Meryl’s Commitment (US mailing address only) to the most intriguing phrase--with or without a glass of wine!

Give Meryl’s Commitment a read.  Who knows, you just might add one more gorgeous stud to your shelf.

Thanks to Reading Between the Wines and the RBtWBC for inviting me to blog today before I go back to yet another tall, dark, and utterly fine glass of wine....

Meryl’s Commitment is available on Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes and Noble for $0.99.


ebook:  ASIN: B007KA0GE8

paperback: ISBN-13: 978-1479111077

190 pages

Published: March 13, 2012

In this debut  novel, Rona Simmons introduces us to Meryl Chamblee a budding  young career-woman whose resolve to her family, her career, and to herself are soon put to the test.  We follow Meryl from the fast-paced world of an architectural design firm in downtown Atlanta to the peace and quiet of the low country near the Georgia coast.  There, among the southern pines and moss draped live oaks, Meryl must decide who the man dubbed by her colleagues as “Mr. Drop Dead Gorgeous” really is.  Though captivated by his charm, Meryl suspects the handsome real-estate executive has ulterior motives.  He professes to be drawn to her, but, is he really, or is he just after her family's property?  How can she be sure?

About the Author:

Rona Simmons retired in 2011 from thirty years in the world of corporate finance to pursue the call of her long suppressed creative side, including creative writing and photography.  Though having written countless memos, letters, and reports and published business articles throughout her career, she is enjoying the freedom and creative aspects of fiction.  In one short year, she has published two articles, one showcasing her photography, completed and submitted one short novel for potential publication, and is working on the second draft of a historical fiction novel.  She lives with her husband outside Atlanta, Georgia on eight wooded southern acres that -- along with wine, good red wine -- provide inspiration for both her writing and photography.

Author links: email - web - facebook - blog for writers

~*GIVEAWAY*~

As Rona mentioned above, she is giving away one copy of Meryl’s Commitment to one reader (US only, please). To enter, just leave a comment on this post answering her question found above and then fill out the rafflecopter below. Additional entries are available but not required. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway