Champagne and Daisies!

1/12/2018

Happy New Year!

Absentee writer person reporting for duty! I've been aiming for every two weeks, and this time it's been two months - I did warn you I wasn't cut out to be a blogger! But I had to come tell you that Champagne and Daisies is out today! I love Chelsea and Grant and hope you will too!
You can read the blurb and grab a copy here

31 Comments

Melanie Allen

1/12/2018 03:13:36 pm

OMG loved it, loved it, loved it.....Grant and Chelsea's story was great!
Just one issue...please write the next one faster...ha ha 😀😀

Just wonder what's your favourite things to eat and drink when you are writing to keep yourself on track and the words flowing? Champagne maybe??

SJ link

1/12/2018 03:45:31 pm

Thanks Melanie. I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Believe me, if I could write them faster, I would! I need to get these people out of my head and into their stories. I often joke about needing to stick a USB in my ear to download them - it'd be so much faster than writing!

As for eating and drinking - I tend to forget far too often. I'm a bit of a coffee addict, and I get my breakfast bar in the morning, but I have to stay away from the wet bar ;0) I think it was Hemingway who was supposed to have said "write drunk, edit sober", but I can't do either! I save the champagne (or a good red) for when I get to the end of a book and type my : I hope I'll never write the words "The End"

karen valencia

1/12/2018 03:15:16 pm

You mentioned in your blog that you can't get Oscar out of your head. So when writing one book you will have other ideas pop up and then you start thinking about those ideas. You don't just write one book at a time?

SJ link

1/12/2018 03:51:08 pm

Hi Karen. Mostly, I write one book at a time, but the characters are all wandering around in my head all the time. It's like this parallel universe where they're all going about their lives, and some of them come and whisper to me about what they want to happen in their story. Jack and Emma and still living out their lives, DAve and Monique would love for me to tell the story of how they met, even Gabe's lawyer friends are going about their business in New York, hoping I'll get back to them someday. The actual writing of the books focuses me down on one particular couple - and their closest friends and family, until their story is told, but even then I'm aware of what other characters are up to. Most of them are polite and defer to those whose story is in progress, some - like Oscar, get a little demanding and keep popping into my head making sure I've not forgotten them, and reminding me that they're waiting.

Michelle Pierce

1/12/2018 03:28:31 pm

Totally LOVE your books. Not sure if you can answer this or not, but Grant had mentioned his grandfather's winery as well as had driven past it. Will this possibly be mentioned in a future book that maybe he and Chelsea might be doing something with that. Also, is there a way someone can order an autographed book from you? I'd love to have one but wasn't sure if that was something you did or not. Can't wait for the next book, you're amazing!

SJ link

1/12/2018 03:55:37 pm

Hey Michelle! I wondered if anyone would pick up on it. Dawson Dale winery hasn't been totally relegated to history yet. I didn't know if something would become of it in Champagne and Daisies, but Chelsea and Grant had enough to deal with. It will be revisited before the series is over.

As for the paperbacks, there used to be a page on the website where you could order them. I'll have to find it for you, but the short answer is yes - that is something I do :0)

Suzanne Meyers

1/12/2018 03:39:15 pm

I love your stories and how you always interconnect the characters. How do you keep your books straight? Are you always thinking of the next story and where it will take place?

I hope you have a wonderful 2018.
Suzanne Meyers

SJ link

1/12/2018 04:01:48 pm

Hey Suzanne!

Thank you. I'm so glad you're enjoying the stories. To be honest, half the time I don;t feel like I am keeping them straight! I never feel as though I can take the credit for masterminding the stories. The characters just take over and do their thing, and I trot along behind trying to write it all down ;0) It's as though there is this big - and ever growing - community of people inside my head. They're all going about their lives and like to share it with me. Also, they like to introduce me to their friends and relatives - who then want their own books too! I met The Hamiltons way back in Work Like You Don't Need the Money - when Pete sent Jack and Emma off to Napa so he could be alone with Holly. I knew then they were Smoke's family, and learned a little more about them when I was writing Fly. They've been waiting all this time for me to get to them, and there are now so many others waiting for their turn, too. Some patiently, some - like Oscar - not so much. I try to go in some kind of logical order, but sometimes a character just gets too demanding - Oscar! - and I have to give them their moment in the limelight.
Here's wishing you a wonderful 2018, too, thank you!

Christy

1/12/2018 03:41:04 pm

Love ALL your books!! I was wondering will there be anymore books in the Remington Ranch Series?

SJ link

1/12/2018 04:07:22 pm

Hey Christy!

Thank you! There will be more stories set in Paradise Valley, and we will see more of the Remingtons. I set myself the goal with them of wrapping the series up in five books - and I succeeded, but wish I hadn't! DAve and Monique would very much like me to go back in time and tell the story of how they met. Chance is managing a huge ranch these days and there is a whole new bunch of cowboys working with him who want a series of their own. When we go there, we'll still see the Remingtons as part of those stories. And at some point I want to visit the next generation. Little Ruby will have a story when she's older, April's son, Marcus is heir to a very large ranch in the valley. Mason and Gina's baby Phoenix is growing into quite a character, too. One idea I am considering is a Remington Christmas. I like the idea, but I've struggled with Christmas for a while now, each year I think maybe I'm ready - or maybe next year. We'll see.

Laura

1/12/2018 03:48:43 pm

Hi, love all your books, I have one question about a character, Molly from champagne and daisies - I'd like to know more about her, but if only one question can be answered please tell me about the dog you posted a pic of in the Montana snow on facebook. The eyes are amazing and I love the dog, but unfamiliar with the breed? Crazy I get a chance to ask any question and I'm all about the dog! Also I get some months being a 'bad' one for you, for me it's January, I am always looking to get it over but at least this year I had a new book to pick me up for a few days x love your work, please just keep writing.

SJ link

1/12/2018 04:17:48 pm

Hey Laura!

Lol, I totally get it, I'd be the same way, and don't worry, I can answer both. First, Molly - I'm so glad she caught your attention. I love her! And yes, she's going to get a book of her own - it will be the fourth in the Hamilton series. I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying that Mary Ellen and Antonio will be book three! And then Antonio has a brother - Marcos - who's still in Sicily. They were the winemaking friends Jack and Pete talked about in the early Summer Lake books. Well, Marcos somes to visit his brother sometimes and next time he does it'll be time for him and Molly to get a book :0)

As for the dog, his name is Murphy - though I often say we should have named him Dobby due to his fascination with socks. He'll steal them if he has to, but if you hand them to him, he is the happiest pup on earth! He's a mini Australian Shepherd - affectionately known as Aussies. I've always loved them - their eyes and colouring, and temperament - they're very smart dogs. Also very energetic, which is why we have a mini - easier to give him the exercise he needs than to keep up with all the miles a full size needs. If you read Laugh Like You've Never Cried, Megan's dog, Ollie, was an Aussie - named after a friend's dog I adore!

And thank you. December is tough. I used to love it. Sam's birthday, my birthday and Christmas used to be so wonderful. It's tough to enjoy them now he's gone. I hope you get through your January - i wish I could give you a fast forward button, but I'm glad I could a least brighten a few days for you.

Robyn Keezel

1/12/2018 03:59:58 pm

How do you decide which characters to write about next? I absolutely love the Summer Lake series. That was the one that started it all for me loving your books.

SJ link

1/12/2018 04:27:36 pm

Hey Robyn.

I seem to meet new characters in every book I write, they tell me a little of their story and then hang around waiting to see when I'll get to them. Some will wait patiently - the Hamiltons have been waiting since early 2014 when they were first mentioned in Work and Fly. Some aren't ready to have their stories told - Chance took three years before he was, and Ben was the same. Other characters just show up unexpectedly, I didn't know Michael existed until he showed up in Missy and Dan's book. I didn't know Mary Ellen existed until I wrote the first chapter of Red Wine. Those characters pop up in a story and help shape it - and make sure they're the next, others drift in and out and take their time. Some - like Oscar! - are impatient and keep whispering in my ear, until I have to drop everything else and write their story. He's a charmer - and very persuasive! ;0)

Shelley McNiff

1/12/2018 04:14:19 pm

What series are you going to work on next? Is Nashville any thoughts?

SJ link

1/12/2018 04:31:10 pm

Hey Shelley

The next book is going to be Oscar - Hope's cousin, and it will be the first of three "DAvenport" books, his brothers TJ and Reid will each get stories. I plan to alternate them with the rest of the Hamiltons. Other than that YES I want to get to Nashville! Autumn and Matt are getting impatient! But there are also Summer Lake Flyers - the guys at Smoke's flight school, and a whole bunch of cowboys working with Chance in Montana. AND there are quite a few of the older characters who are waiting for books too. I think Marianne and Clay will kick off the Nashville series - I can't wait to get to them! So many books to write, so little time!

jodi marinich

1/12/2018 04:17:19 pm

I would lve to know where your character ideas come from

SJ link

1/12/2018 04:42:42 pm

Hey Jodi!

I haven't seen you in ages! :0) Hope all's well?

Honestly, I'd love to know where these characters come from too! It all started with Jack and Emma. I was doing writing exercises and had three random words and five minutes to write whatever came to mind from those words. The first five minutes gave me a guy in his office, burnt out and wondering if there was more to life. The second five minutes gave me a girl wanting to get back to a simpler way of life and time when she was happy. As I explored Emma's character, she introduced me to Pete, Missy and Ben, and thought they were the entire Summer Lake series! But as I began to write, more characters showed up. Jack introduced me to Dan and Laura. Pete introduced Smoke and the Hamiltons. Missy introduced Chance Michael. Megan just showed up when I wondered what kind of girl Michael would want to be with - of course she brought Kenzie with her.

Lol, I guess I'm finding the answer as I write this. I start off with a series idea, and then the characters introduce me to friends who need books or series of their own. Some want to be written straight away, some need more time to develop in the background.

Some traits I steal from people I've known, some characters have the opposite traits than people I've known! Some are people I wish I'd known - idealized versions. Dan was the stepdad I wish I'd found for my son. I think all of the females have elements of me. People who know me and have read the stories say Cassidy is the closest, but other days I feel more like Megan. That's the beauty of fiction, you're not limited to or by reality. The whole point of writing for me was to escape a reality I no longer wanted to be in. I dreamed up a bunch of people I'd like to hang out with and a place I'd love to be a part of- I continue to do so. ;0)

Linda Herold

1/12/2018 04:19:15 pm

I'd like to know how much input you have on picking out book covers.

SJ link

1/12/2018 04:55:22 pm

Hi Linda.

That's an easy one. I have total control. Lol, one of the few areas in life where I can say that! I work with a wonderful designer, who is also a dear friend. She's been with me as a reader since before I published the first Summer Lake book, and she loves the stories. For that reason she understands exactly what I'm looking for in the graphics. I'm more about feelings than visual expression, I'm fortunate that I can describe the type of "Feel" I want and she can find the images and put them all together. She works tirelessly to find me the right people and the right places and won't ever let me settle until I absolutely love the end result. Does that answer your question - or did I miss the point somehow? I often do! ;0)

Sandy Meade

1/12/2018 06:28:17 pm

Hi, SJ,
I just received my download of the new book and can't wait to get started on it. I'd just like to say that I am very glad you have so many new characters to continue in new stories as I love all your books. My question is how you decided on the locations of your stories...from personal travels?

Lisa Downs

1/12/2018 08:48:48 pm

Just wondering, if you read a lot, as most authors do, do you ever wonder if what you're writing is something you've actually read somewhere else?

RAE PIERCE

1/12/2018 09:32:23 pm

I really loved the secondary characters from Nashville in the Remington Ranch series. Is there any timeline on when we'll start seeing books about Autumn, Matt and Clay?

Becky Richardson

1/13/2018 12:57:04 am

What writers have inspired you?

Pamela Morgan

1/13/2018 01:05:58 am

Ive not started this series yet but i promise i will soon as i can.
I just wonder how do you know when the story is ready? Ive never write a book and i dont know when or how the prosses works xx

Pamela Morgan

1/13/2018 01:10:09 am

Ive nit read this series yet. I promise i will soon. Os been hard.
How do you know when the storys ready is there a prossess you use. Xx

Brenda Jones

1/13/2018 09:45:41 am

I love your books. Will Autumn from the Remington series get her book?

Phyllis Felske

1/13/2018 10:12:02 am

Happy New Year! I stumbled across your Summer Lake series by getting a free book on Amazon Kindle, and fell in love with your writing. I have since downloaded and read the complete series and loved every one of the books. Then on to the Remington Ranch series, and after that the Chance and Hope books. I've read the Red Wine and Roses book, and had pre-ordered Champagne & Roses and it just downloaded yesterday. My question is, and I think you may have answered it in a previous question, are you going to return to Summer Lake and catch us up on what's happening there, or finding a romance for Hope's dad? Is there somewhere that lists all of your books? I'm new to your blog, so perhaps I've missed that somewhere. I lost my husband a year ago, and your books have certainly helped me through some tough times. Thank you for that and happy writing. Best regards, Phyllis

Lisa Desharnais

1/13/2018 02:06:11 pm

Hi SJ
I have loved all of your books!

I'm curious to know if the places in Summer Lake and the Remmington series are real places.

SandiF

1/26/2018 12:38:46 pm

Do you plan on writing any more summer lakes books. I know some character cross over into other series but would love a book dedicated to all summer lakes character filling in on what they are doing next

Cindy Flory

5/3/2019 10:54:46 am

You have to ask if I love Cowboys? Hell yes!!! I started with those hot Remmington men and then stumbled over to Summer Lake. Since then I haven't missed a book of yours. I can't wait to see where you take us next!

Champagne and Daisies!

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