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Virginia’dele Smith will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Author Interview: Virginia’delle Smith

1. How did you choose your genre? What made you write this book?

I am a romantic at heart, and romance is my very favorite genre to read, so when random characters and scenes began popping up in my mind, they were all about love. When they refused to go away, I knew it was time to try writing my stories on paper to share them with the world.

2. Writers write what they know, and must observe the world. Are you a firstborn, middle or last child, and how does this shape your view of the world?

I’m a middle child. I like to call myself the hub of our family…the go-to helper for my parents, my siblings, my husband, and my children. That probably sounds arrogant, but it’s a role that I am blessed to have. Author Kelly Corrigan writes about families having glitter and glue in the form of family members who are either fun and sparkly or structured and staid; I am definitely not the fun, glittery one, so I am honored to be the glue that holds my loved ones near to one another.

That role also lends itself to caregiving and being there for others which shapes my world through my calendar and activities as well as my writing through the careers, hobbies, and activities that I give to my characters.

3. Where is your favorite place to write?

This one is a tie: my bed and my back porch. I begin each morning with a co-working author group via Zoom, so I love to stay tucked in the covers to write for the first few hours of the day. But if the weather is cooperating, my favorite place to write is at the table on our patio overlooking the swimming pool, hearing the water fountains swoosh, and letting our dogs run and play while I work.

4. How do you feel about killing your darlings, and what do you do with the remains?

Yikes — that sounds terrible! I haven’t killed off any main characters yet, but I have included tragic deaths as the burdens and history that the main characters must overcome to find their happily ever after. In Book 1: Grocery Girl, a main trope throughout the book is the difference in how our two main characters approached life after losing loved ones. One used the heartache to live life to the fullest while the other saw himself as undeserving of love, as being cursed because everyone he’s loved has died. At the heart of those struggles is the hardest question of all: why?

5. You are introduced to your favorite author. Who is it, and what is that one burning question you must ask them?

This is a tough one! My favorite author is often the person who wrote the last book that I felt was life-changing, so it changes from week to week. I would absolutely love to meet Dolly Parton, who has written a children’s book, so I am going to say she counts. I want to ask her the secret for remaining so true to oneself while allowing others to help get things done at a very high level. She’s extremely successful at a plethora of businesses, philanthropic undertakings, and being Dolly; everything is done really well, and everything is a perfect reflection of her values and personality. I want to know how that happens so beautifully.

6. Inquiring minds want to know…tell readers something about you that no one knows.

I mentioned above that I like to share everything I know and think, so I’m quite an open book. The one thing that people who know probably find very surprising is that I 100% LOVE Las Vegas. I would go once a month if it was possible! I love the lights, the sounds, the people, the music, the shows, the food, the casinos, the grand stage, the pomp, and the circumstance. And I love to throw craps!!

7. You are stranded on a deserted island with only a backpack for company. What three items are in your survival pack?

A journal to write to my husband, matches to start a fire, and a picture of my family.

8. If you could have one superpower in your existence, what would it be?

The power of intuition. I wish I knew exactly what to say and do in every situation. I want to be there for people, but I don’t want to be pushy or overstep my bounds. I want to say the right thing, but I can play devil’s advocate and see how anything can be taken the wrong way. I wish I simply knew.

9. Favorite snack?

Pepperidge Farm Apple Turnovers (I can eat the entire box of 4 pastries at one time when they are hot from the oven…not good!)

10. Indy 500 – Do you know how to get where you’re going or do you drive the speed limit?

I am a huge Formula 1 racing fan, and I like to drive fast. Very, very fast!!

Grocery Girl

by Virginia’dele Smith

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GENRE: Wholesome small-town romance

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BLURB:

She inhales life with every breath. He’s suffered a world of pain. Can they rise above tragedy to find their happily ever after?

Maree Davenport refuses to let a tearful past rule her future. After losing her parents at the age of five, the big-hearted fabric designer is determined to embrace her feelings and find happiness no matter what. So when she literally runs over a handsome new firefighter in the produce section, the hopeless romantic is certain she’s just collided with destiny.

Everyone Rhys Larsen ever loved has died. And though he may have hit it off with the pretty girl at the store, the haunted EMT knows better than to let her into his heart. But when an accident leaves her wounded and in need of care, he vows to nurse her back to health.

As Maree struggles to break through the grieving man’s walls, she fears his deep-seated superhero complex will make him unreachable. And as Rhys grapples with trying to protect the beautiful woman from his curse, he worries he’ll have to choose between doing the right thing and true love.

Can this conflicted couple reconcile their opposite takes on adversity and find purpose in each other’s arms?

Grocery Girl is the touching first book in the Green Hills wholesome small-town romance series. If you like strong but vulnerable characters, emotional growth, and quaint backdrops, then you’ll adore Virginia’dele Smith’s celebration of joy.

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Excerpt:

And then her gaze locked with a set of uniquely gray eyes.

Maree had never seen this firefighter before. Their stare held for a smidge longer than a split second. Then he nodded a brief acknowledgment and kept walking. It took her a blink or two — or maybe ten — to get her wits about her.

He was definitely new in town, because there was no way she would have forgotten having seen him before. Taking a deep, intentional breath and with a little shake of her head, she broke out of the mini-trance she’d found herself in, forced herself to refocus, and finished her shopping.

She giggled at herself when she recounted the whole second-and-a-half time lapse of the not-quite interaction to Miss Sadie when she delivered her fruit a half hour later. When Sadie asked what the rest of him looked like, Maree honestly had no idea.

“Miss Sadie,” she confessed, “I didn’t make it past those eyes.”

“Well, that’s surely a shame,” Miss Sadie crooned. “Now you’ll never know if it’s the same fellow when you meet him in town or simply walking down the street.”

She was giving Maree a hard time, teasing in good fun, but Maree wasn’t worried.

“Oh, I’ll know him,” she replied with dreamy confidence. “I’m certain I’d know him anywhere.”

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Ashli Montgomery is a wife, a momma, and an author whose passion is sharing love stories, books, quilts, yoga, recipes, and all of her favorite things in life. She is quilting to mend the mind by spearheading and educating a community of friends who love quilts and quilting but hate Alzheimer’s disease through Quilt 2 End ALZ, Inc. (https://quilt2endalz.org/) , a 501(c)(3) nonprofit she launched to use her quilting hobby as a platform to advocate for an end to Alzheimer’s disease.

Ashli writes under the pen name Virginia’dele Smith to honor Syble Virginia Tidwell, Adele Gertrude Baylin, and Etta Jean Smith. These three cherished grandmothers were beautiful role models, teaching Ashli to love without judgment and to always put family first. Through Grandma Syble’s journals and appetite for books, through Momadele’s priceless cards and handwritten letters, and through many, many hours of visiting over fabric at Mema’s kitchen island, Ashli also learned to treasure words.

You are invited to join Ashli in Green Hills (https://www.facebook.com/groups/welcometogreenhills) and learn more about Virginia’dele Smith by subscribing to Ashli’s newsletter, The Gazette (http://eepurl.com/gJIDcv), at AshliMontgomery.com.

Website: www.AshliMontgomery.com

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09KQDK8D8

Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/virginiadelesmith

FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AshliMontgomery.VirginiadeleSmith/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashlim.virginiadelesmith/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeAndCoach

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ashlimontgomery/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/dy4m35uz51h4vasexqwy30e8g?si=0d9ba9c8948d49a4

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