Around The Fire welcomes best selling author Liz Flaherty.

Hello, everyone! I'm back in New Jersey just in time for my second pollen season of the year. Huzzah! We left Florida in the high 80s and arrived in NJ in the 40s. In between I felt like a mail carrier Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. We hit it all especially in Virginia where we had snow, sleet, and rain. It's good to be back though. The daffodils, hyacinth are in full bloom and Pete got to mow the lawn. We already had a fire in the firepit as well as on the deck with the propane one. 
I'm excited to introduce you to today's guest. Her sweet inspirational book asks and answers this question. Can the comfort of campfires, hayrides, and sweet kisses bring these two lost souls together?

Hi, Liz welcome to the fire. While I grab us some warm beverages, why don't you introduce yourself and tell us Who you are other than your bio?
Thanks for having me around the fire. There’s a cool pavilion built on the footprint of an old tobacco barn in Life’s Too Short for White Walls that has fireplaces on both ends. I swear I got warm just writing scenes that took place there. 
I’m a wife, a mom, a nana. I’m more political than I ever thought I’d be, less social, and…settled. I love my life.

That fireplace scenario sounds wonderful. What interests besides writing do you enjoy? For instance, what do you read or hobbies you have?
I sew, and I quilt. However, the only time I can really do that is when the writing isn’t going well, which means, blessedly, that I haven’t been doing much of it lately. I travel whenever I get a chance, with very little concern about where I’m going.

Ah, a fellow sojourner through life. Who is your network or support system? 
It’s so funny that long after I thought the time for developing deep friendships had passed, writer Nan Reinhardt teamed up. We travel together, share writing days together, roll our eyes at our husbands together, and depend on each other for all kinds of brainstorming help. In addition, I’m part of a few writing groups with whom I share much coffee and commiseration.

Nan sounds like a great companion to share the road and writing with. Who or what books or authors are your inspiration?
I wrote because of Louisa May Alcott. Like many before me, I AM Jo March. Kathleen Gilles Seidel’s writing voice has always been a force for me. Not that I sound like her or even want to, but I want to give a reader the kind of feeling I get from reading Ms. Seidel’s stuff.

Do you have any fun or outrageous talent?
Well, I wish… I do make really good chili.

Yum, chili is one of my favorites to cook in a Dutch oven over the fire. I'll have to get your recipe. What is your neighborhood like? Are there any places you frequent? What makes them special?
We live in the cornfields. The nearest neighbors are a quarter-mile away, but we’re all friendly when we see each other. My church, however, is right across the road, so if I play hooky, there’s no hiding the fact even if I wanted to!
There is a nearby coffee shop, the Black Dog, that we frequent a lot. My husband is a musician, and they play there, plus Scott Johnson, the owner, and a few of us created a writers’ group that is so much fun! Gallery 15 is another place we go, where Sarah and Ron Luginbill support all the arts. I’ve read aloud an open mic a few times there, something I never even thought of doing but is really kind of fun. I think applause is somewhat addictive, whether you deserve it or not.
 
Those places sound great. Years ago, there was a commercial that talked about a “Kodak Moment.” It’s a moment in time you catch in a picture. One you never want to forget. What is yours?
At my younger son and daughter-in-law’s wedding, my granddaughters and some other little girls were standing around the bride—they got married in our backyard—and they had stripped nearly every bloom off my snowball bush. Just as someone snapped the picture, they threw the petals into the air over the bride. I could still cry over how beautiful Laura and all those little girls were in that moment.
 
Do you have a favorite childhood book? 
I have a lot of favorites, but my sister had a whole set of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy books. I read them over and over. Just as with Kathleen Gilles Seidel’s voice, I remember how they made me feel.

What is your worst household chore?
Dusting—it always comes back!

Do you play board games? What games do you like?
I love board games. I never win, but I still love them. I don’t even have favorites. I think it’s because I like sitting around the table with people and laughing a lot.

What’s the most amazing natural occurrence you’ve witnessed?
Watching my oldest grandchild be born.

What was your hardest scene to write?
In a book long ago, a beloved character died. It was easily the hardest thing I’ve ever written. I grieved right along with everyone else in the book. Years later, I still think about her.

Our characters are often like our children. We create them. Nurture them. Learn about them intimately. So losing them can be quite difficult. Liz thanks so much for sharing my fire. Before you leave would you tell our reader where they can find out more about you and your book?

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Life’s Too Short for White Walls
by
Liz Flaherty
​
Still reeling from her divorce, Joss Murphy flees to Banjo Bend, Kentucky, where she'd been safe and happy as a child. The family farm is now a campground. Weary and discouraged, she talks owner Ezra McIntire into renting her a not-quite-ready cabin.
With PTSD keeping him company, Ez thrives on the seclusion of the campground. The redhead in Cabin Three adds suggestions to his improvement plans, urging color and vibrancy where there was none.
Neither is looking for love, yet the attraction they share is undeniable. Can the comfort of campfires, hayrides, and sweet kisses bring these two lost souls together?
Buy links:
B & N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lifes-too-short-for-white-walls-liz-flaherty/1140917290?ean=2940160796727
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09QXPBGG2/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i4
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/gb/book/lifes-too-short-for-white-walls/id1606569657
Bio and social links:
Retired from the post office, Liz Flaherty spends non-writing time sewing, traveling, and doing whatever else she wants to. She and her husband Duane live in the old farmhouse in North Central Indiana they moved to in 1977. They’ve talked about moving, but really…40-plus years’ worth of stuff? It’s not happening. It would require removing old baseball trophies from the attic and dusting the pictures of the Magnificent Seven, their grandchildren.
She’d love to hear from you at [email protected] or please come and see her at:
http://lizflaherty.net/
http://www.facebook.com/lizkflaherty
https://twitter.com/LizFlaherty1
http://wordwranglers.blogspot.com/
http://windowoverthesink.blogspot.com/
https://www.amazon.com/Liz-Flaherty/e/B001J919R4%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3336348.Liz_Flaherty
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/liz-flaherty
https://www.instagram.com/lizkflaherty/?hl=en

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