Thursday Thrillers Ten Fast & Fun Q & A's with MJ Schiller Author of Hometown Heartache

Nash is trying to make a name for himself in the art world…
But when he meets a realtor to buy a gallery, he is stunned to find Chloe sitting at the table with the man. He has never stopped thinking about her since she disappeared from his life without a trace. Is it too late to win back her love?

Chloe has finally found a way to leave her past behind her…
But her heart leaps out of her chest when she sees Nash. How can he be here? Now…after all this time? On the surface, she pulls herself back together. But underneath she feels she is about to shatter. After remaking herself, how can she deal with being faced with Nash and the life she knew before?

If this chance meeting doesn’t rip Chloe and Nash apart, he will.
Little do they know, someone has been lurking in the shadows, manipulating them all along. If he has his way, the two will never be reunited. Even if he has to take one of them out to ensure it.

​
I watched from my bedroom window, peering through the branches of the huge oak tree growing at the corner of the front of the house. A large moving van backed slowly up the long, rambling gravel driveway. I held my breath, and repeated in a low whisper, “Please have a boy my age. Please have a boy my age.”

When the truck finally came to a stop, and the door of the cab opened, a cowboy hat appeared on someone about my size and I whooped with glee, pounding down the stairs and out the back door, slamming the screen door as I hollered over my shoulder, “They have a boy! They have a boy!”
​
My mom called after me as she iced a chocolate cake. “Nash Steven Nabry, you get back here this instant. The last thing they need is you underfoot.”

But I ignored her, running pell-mell to the truck, kicking up rock behind me. Even now I can recall the scratch of my tennis shoes as I made a sliding stop in front of her, scattering gravel left and right, and the way the rock dust filled my throat and nostrils as much as my indignation. “You’re a girl,” I spat.

“Nash!” my mother’s appalled voice yelled from several yards behind me. I still don’t understand how she could always hear every impolite word I spoke, yet not hear me when I called up the stairs asking her where the cereal was. Then Chloe’s father came around the back end of the truck, and the grownups introduced themselves while I stared at Chloe and Chloe stared at me like this was a showdown at the O.K. Corral, which was fitting considering her outfit. Looking back, my mind automatically added the dramatic, high-pitched, whistling notes from the theme song to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, a Clint Eastwood movie my brother, Ed, liked to watch. Chloe rubbed a fist in her eye, which probably was irritated by the chalky, drifting dust I raised from the gravel, squinting the other eye in the bright sunshine as she glared at me.

---

Amazon

Barns & Noble

Kobo

iTunes

M.J. Schiller is a lunch lady/romance-romantic suspense writer. She enjoys writing novels whose characters include rock stars, desert princes, teachers, futuristic Knights, construction workers, cops, and a wide variety of others. In her mind everybody has a romance. She is the mother of a twenty-year-old and three eighteen-year-olds. That's right, triplets! So having recently taught four children to drive, she likes to escape from life on occasion by pretending to be a rock star at karaoke. However…you won’t be seeing her name on any record labels soon. 

---

Website

Tumblr

Instagram

Amazon Author

Goodreads

Do you write naked, MJ?
It cracks me up that this is the very first question on your interview list! The answer is no. I know you are supposed to bare your soul when you write, but I don’t think going nude is quite what they mean by that.

Have you ever been in trouble with the police?
Define trouble. There was one time when two girlfriends and I were escorted out of a backstage area at a rock concert by a police officer because we did not have passes. In my defense there were no signs saying we couldn’t be there.  Did I know we shouldn’t sneak onto the freight elevator to get to the tour buses? Probably. We did walk past a security guard who didn’t question us, so there was some ambiguity...

What is your biggest fear?
Okay, I know this makes no sense, but that’s why they are called irrational fears. I am TERRIFIED of mice. I know they can’t hurt me but they do that scurrying thing and it just creeps me out. If they were in a cage, I would be mildly petrified, but in the wild…well, I’ve been known to hurt myself running away from them.

What do you want your tombstone to say?
Going up!
(Always a good aspiration!)

If you were an animal in a zoo, what would you be?
I would be an otter, because they’re cute and they always seem to be having a good time. If I couldn’t be that I’d be a hawk for the same reasons—they are beautiful and seem so carefree when they are banking on the wind.

Do you dream? Do you have any recurring dreams/nightmares?
I have the weirdest, most vivid dreams! I’m sure that is true for many creative people. One that sticks out was when I was a banana on a skateboard chasing a meatball down the street…and it just got stranger from that point on. One of my recurring dreams became LEAP INTO THE KNIGHT. I often dream I’m exploring a house with unending rooms. I’m sure that says something very telling about me.

Which would you rather do: 'Never write another story or never read another book'?
Wow! That’s a toughie! I’m going to go with never write a story. I have an infinite amount of stories in me where there is reading material enough to last me many lifetimes over.

Top five favorite titles (these do not have to be favorite books) 
JUST HERE FOR THE BOOS, by Katy Lewis. A FOOL AND HER HONEY, by Katy Lewis. UGLIES, PRETTIES, SPECIALS, EXTRAS, by Scott Westerfeld (okay, I cheated, but this is a great series). THIS PRESENT DANGER, by Frank E. Peretti. And PREACHER MAN, by Laurie Larsen. And just one more, SCROOGE WORE SPURS, by Janet Dailey.

If we snuck a peek in your purse right now, what would we find?
Funny you should ask this, because I just combined a couple of purses so I have quite a haul. A gazillion and two gift cards, very little cash. Kleenex, a hand sanitizer, lip stick, lip gloss, these little poker chip thingies that get you a free scoop of ice cream at Culvers, gum, a checkbook, my business card holder and cards, receipts, a Shout to-go towel, ibuprofen in a cute little pill box, a Claude Monet “Water Lilies” flashlight,  a picture from my little sister’s first wedding (I have no idea), credit cards, a little pad of paper, and, you know, the essentials, just in case, a rosary and a fake badge (you never know when those are going to come in handy!)
(A fake badge? For getting to band buses, no doubt!)

What are your current projects?
I’ve actually got two things in the skillet right now. One is a chicklit series whose first book is with a publisher where they are hopefully drawing up a contract for me, and the fifth book in my ROCKING ROMANCE COLLECTION, Midnight Melody (romantic suspense).

What’s something you are really good at that few people know about?
Well, I used to be an excellent synchronized swimmer (Junior Olympic level before it became an Olympic event).  And I used to brag about my napping skills, but Restless Leg Syndrome has put an end to that. …I know many song titles, artists, and lyrics along with a lot of other useless information.

What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
My husband. You see, we workout together before work and every morning when the alarm goes off I say, “Are we getting up?” and he says, “yes.” He is a grueling task master, but I love him! And my kitty, because she’s sweet.

What is your ‘girl vice’? ie getting your hair done? Nails? Shopping? Gossiping? Chick flicks? 
I have two, really. I spend an inordinate amount of money on my hair. Especially since it is so short. (I say this, but it’s really probably a standard amount, I just think it’s a lot for someone to take a scissors to your hair.) And I’m a product junkie. Hair product and Bath & Bodyworks items. My friends can vouch for my fragrance addiction. And I take my choice each day very seriously. For instance, if we are going to a wedding I might where Beautiful Day or Charmed Life. If it’s a Friday and it’s been a long week the answer is obvious—Need a Margarita! I also am partial to Be Pacific and Tahiti Sweetie.

Grab the nearest book, open it to page 22 and look for the second word in the first sentence. Now, write a line that starts with that word. (Please include the name of the book!)
From DARK VENGEANCE by RT Wolfe (great book, by the way!) Ahem. Ready?
Crap, is this interview over?

LOL! I'm sure you are very disappointed! Great interview, MJ! Thanks so much for stopping by and good luck with Hometown Heartache and your other wonderful books!

Scroll down to read: 
    5 STAR REVIEW of HOMETOWN HEARTACHE!

a Rafflecopter giveaway