Around the Fire Book & Author Blog. Today's guest is USA Today Best Selling author, Meredith Bond.

Thanks for joining me once again Around the Fire. After a few days of lovely teaser 60s and 70s, here in New Jersey we're back to the normal 40s for March. It is hard to believe Spring is already on the calendar for the year. Just a quick note. Sea Hunter has celebrated its one year anniversary and I'm celebrating with a sale! If you haven't had the chance to read it nows the time. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BRYJLLW1 and to check out all the others in the Mortar and Pestle series. Speaking of Spring, today's guest sent a photo of her looking very springlike. So lets get to her and her story.

Meredith, welcome to the fire. What can I get for you?
Tea. Love it! Drink it hot or cold all day long.

Great! I recently purchased and electric tea kettle. Let me get her bubbling while you introduce yourself. 
I’m a mom, although my kids are all grown up, and I’m an editor and book coach.

When you are not immersed in the world of writing what interests do you enjoy? 
I love needle crafts: knitting, crochet, embroidery (my latest kick)

I pick up the crochet hook periodically. The blanket I'm working on has been lingering for a few years. I love this quote from Misty Copeland. Be strong, be fearless, be beautiful. And believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you. Who is your network or support system? 
​My family. I couldn’t do it without them.

What is your neighborhood like? Are there any places you frequent? What makes them special?
​I live in a pretty ugly neighborhood of high-rise buildings and a court house, but I frequently go for walks into the historic part of town where the houses all date from the 18th century.
 
I love visiting historic places. The archetechture is astounding. Would you rather have unlimited international first-class tickets or never have to pay for food at restaurants?
Ooooh, you caught me with this one! My husband and I have decided that we’re going to travel the world once he retires. We want to go and stay in one place for about a month so we can really get to know it inside and out. So, naturally, I’d certainly go for the first-class tickets. Sigh… to not have to fly economy…

True. Unless it's an emergency I won't fly. Let's chat about books. Who or what books or authors are your inspiration?
MaryJo Putney and Catherine Maxwell are my favorites, but really any Regency romance authors.

Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I love bringing characters from other books into the book I’m writing. I hope my readers enjoy seeing old friends there too. I’ve got a rather large and complicated world I’ve built and I love it.

There is so much discussion in the writing world about reviews. Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
I do sometimes. When I get a good one I bask in the joy of knowing I made someone’s day a little better. When I get a bad one, I scour it for ideas for how I could have made the book better. Sometimes, however, not every book is to everyone’s liking and there’s nothing I can do about that. 

That makes a lot of sense. Many new authors struggle. What would you suggest to assist them? 
New writers so frequently don’t understand point of view. It’s whose head we are seeing the story, whose thoughts we can “hear”. Lots of new authors either try to tell us what everyone is thinking (omniscient point of view) or they hop from one person’s head to another—back and forth and back and forth. It makes a reader dizzy so they no longer are certain whose head we’re in. Writers need to stick to one point of view per scene and no more than three or four per book.

I agree. I recently read a book that I wasn't sure what point of view or at time whose it was. Very disconcerting. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
Last October, I think it was? It was “Prime Day” at Amazon. They had their Kindle Scribe on sale and I bought one. I LOVE that thing! I love to write long-hand and this allows me to do that and then it converts my handwriting to text and emails it to me. I wrote my last book entirely by hand.

Sigh. I don't think it would be able to transcribe my chicken scratch. What are your thoughts about putting yourself out there and publishing, The Willful Wallflower?
Out of the frying pan and into the fire? That’s what it feels like every time an author releases a new book. We work really hard to write the best book we can. We spend months writing, and even more time re-reading and editing. But once you let that baby go out into the real world, you feel like you’ve just jumped from the safety of your home into the burning flames of reviewers and publishing house editors. But the one thing I’ve learned is that you can’t let that stop you. 
Yes, you might get scorched by bad reviews or singed by mediocre ones, but not every book is for everyone. People are going to have their opinions. The key is to take every review as if it were constructive criticism and use it to make your writing better. 
Everyone, no matter what you do for a living, will get reviewed and critiqued. Don’t let yourself get burned up by it. If you love what you do, keep doing it, no matter what!

Meridith, what a pleasure this has been. Before you head off into the historical streets of your town, will you leave us more information about your book and where we can find it and you?

The Willful Wallflower
by 
Meridith Bond
A sweet, tender, romance with a touch of humor.
March 26, 2024
PG

At the tender age of fifteen, Emilie Pelham fell for a handsome older man of eighteen who kissed her and then never wrote or sought out her company again. Five years later, Emilie is a happy wallflower who wants nothing to do with men—and especially not one in particular, now the Marquess of Willingham. And yet that is precisely who the matchmaker, hired by her mother, insists is Emilie's soulmate. Well, she would rather see the surprisingly thoughtful nobleman disgraced than marry him. She is formulating a plan to do just that for she is not one to change to her mind once it’s made up.
Gabriel, the Marquess of Willingham, was a young man ruled by his passions, but he learned his lesson. Now, he keeps a tight rein on his emotions. Since inheriting his father's title, however, his grandmother has insisted he begin looking for a wife. He is happy to marry, just so long as no emotions are stirred. This is not good enough for Gran, though, who hires a matchmaker to find Gabriel's soulmate. When the woman pairs him with the beautiful girl who opened his eyes to the dangers of passion, however, he annoyed when the same feelings try to overpower his newfound control.
Neither Emilie nor Gabriel are prepared, however, for the feelings they stir in each other. Neither could have foreseen that a passion sparked years ago could possibly rekindle no matter how hard they fight against. Will hearts be broken a second time or will love prevail?
In this cat and mouse game, it’s possible they both might lose—or both might win.

Get a copy today!


www.amazon.com/Willful-Wallflower-Regency-Romance-Wallflowers-ebook/dp/B0BZQ3SX6G
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-willful-wallflower-meredith-bond/1143267081?ean=2940185734957
books.apple.com/us/book/the-willful-wallflower/id6446845468?ls=1 https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-willful-wallflower
play.google.com/store/books/details?id=Qt21EAAAQBAJ&pli=1
books2read.com/u/b6aEOA
About the Author 
Meredith Bond's books straddle that beautiful line between historical romance and fantasy. An award-winning author, she writes fun traditional Regency romances, medieval Arthurian romances, and Regency romances with a touch of magic. Known for her characters “who slip readily into one’s heart,” Meredith loves to take her readers on a journey they won't soon forget.
meredithbond.com