Monday, October 15, 2012

Author Interview & Giveaway: Roxanne Snopek (Three Rivers Ranch


Today I welcome Roxanne Snopek, author of Three River Ranch, a delightful contemporary romance set in Montana focusing on a man, a pregnant woman, a funny dog and horses.  What more could you ask for?  It has humor, romance, lots of great emotions and everything I love in a romance novel.  My review will be a little later today, but first have a seat with your favorite cuppa and learn a little more about Roxanne, Three River Ranch and then enter to win a copy of the book.


1.    What three things do you need in order to write?

When I’m at home, I’m completely hostage to the animals. (I was hostage to my kids, but they’re pretty much grown now.) We’ve got three dogs, two of whom are poodles, ie: Practically Perfect in every way. They’re mood-reflectors. If I’m intently focused on my screen, they’ll lie and wait for me to be finished, intently focused on the window. Until they sense that I’m starting to cripple up from immobility. Then they harass me until I take them for a walk. So the first thing I need is a comfy spot for the poodles to wait until I’m ready to play with them.

Our third dog is a Cavalier King Charles spaniel who at this very moment is sitting at the back door barking. Excuse me. <sigh> Okay, I’m back. Her attention span is shorter than mine, she thinks she needs to nose-monitor the yard fifteen times an hour and she’s been voted Most Likely To Die of a Burst Stomach With her Head in a Bag of Cat Food. So the second absolutely essential thing is that she has a) a full stomach and b) an empty colon.

We also have four cats, all of whom are geriatric and require a fair bit of TLC. Thank goodness my dear hubby is a veterinarian. As a matter of fact… our beloved tortoiseshell longhair Sophie is in hospital right now with what looks like pancreatic cancer. I doubt I’ll get much writing done today, other than this blog. She’s been with us since she arrived on our doorstep, as an abandoned adult, in the summer of 2000, and she will leave a big empty space in our lives.

I guess what I’m saying is that writing is vital to me, but if anyone I love needs me, the writing has to wait.

2.    What's your favorite season?
Right now it’s autumn, and every time it comes around, it’s my favorite! I’ve got Virginia creeper planted on a rock wall and for about a week or two, it’s the most gorgeous crimson color you’ve ever seen. That color feeds something in my soul, helps carry me through the grey drizzle of a West coast winter.

3.    Describe your ideal reading space (no expense spared here).
A hammock. On a beach. (I don’t really care where, as long as it’s hot and the water doesn’t give me diarrhea)

4.    If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
I’ve always wanted to visit the Galapagos Islands to see the tortoises. Also, the Bahamas and Barbados. These may be in the same general part of the world, and if they are, I’ll visit them on the same trip. If not, I’ll buy an atlas and make better plans.

5.    What's the first sentence of Three River Ranch?
Seriously?? I started that book, like, years ago. Wait. I have a copy. I can look it up. Okay: “The door slipped off its hinges when she turned the knob, probably a hint that she should have asked a few more questions before signing the lease.”

6.    Do you have a favorite line in Three River Ranch?
When Rory almost passes out and Carson sets her in his truck, he gets in her face and says “How many of me do you see?” She says, “One. How many of you are there?”

7.    Tell us what is Three River Ranch about.
Two wounded people with hearts bigger than the sky who are trying to save the world and end up saving each other.

8.    Dish, who’s your favorite character?
Actually, it’s two characters, and I’ve had people tell me they think they’re contrived and kitchy. But I don’t care, this is how they appeared to me: fifty-something-year old twin sisters named Bliss and Blythe who have a long-standing mysterious feud. They call each other Blister and Blight but when the chips are down, of course they’re on the same side.

OH! A side note: I wrote this entire book, including Bliss and Blythe BEFORE I’d even heard of Entangled Publishing, LET ALONE that the imprint that would eventually publish me is called BLISS!!! How cool is that? Some of you will think I’m lying, but I’m really not.

9.    How did you feel when you finished Three River Ranch?
Relief of monumental proportions. I wrote the first draft during National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo, in which participants write at least 50,000 words in 30 days. I truly did not believe at the time that anyone would ever read it. Which frees you up enormously as far as writing goes… until you suddenly realize that someone WILL actually read it. Then you feel panic of monumental proportions, because you know your parents will feel obligated to read it…

10. For all of us impatient readers, what is up next for you?
Des and Zach’s story is up next and of course, the book will have animals in it again. Imagine a totally hunky guy holding a tiny kitten up against his chest when he thinks no one’s watching…

Dang. The spaniel’s barking again. And the poodle is looking a bit urgent too. If anyone has pet stories, please share - I’d love to hear them!

Thanks Roxanne!







Needing a fresh start from her two-timing fiancĂ©, Aurora McAllister answers a realtor’s ad for a guesthouse on the beautiful, serene Three River Ranch. She shows up at Three River tired, heartbroken, and with no one but her trusty Labradoodle as a companion.

Cowboy Carson Granger has enough trouble in his life without adding a woman and her dog to the mix. There’s the untamed mustang he’s prepping to release into the wild, not to mention his father’s crazy will, which stipulates that if Carson wants to fully inherit Three River, he’ll need to find a bride. Carson wants nothing to do with love and especially not a marriage of convenience. But he soon realizes Rory, and everything she represents, might just be exactly what he needs.

Sometimes love arrives on your doorstep when you least expect it…
Title: Three River Ranch
Author: Roxanne Snopek
Genre: Category – Contemporary
Length: 293 pages
ISBN: 978-1-62266-970-7
Release Date: August 2012
Imprint: Bliss

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Author Information

Roxanne Willems Snopek is an award-winning freelance writer of everything from corporate newsletters to personal essays. Author of the Amazing Stories series of true life animal adventures, she now focuses on fiction. Snopek grew up in Saskatchewan and now lives in British Columbia.

Author Website:  http://www.roxannesnopek.ca/


Giveaway:
Thanks to Entangled Publishing I have one ebook copy to giveaway.  Just use the Rafflecopter below to enter.  The ebook will come directly from the publisher.  Thanks!  Open International, ends 10/22.

a Rafflecopter giveaway