Welcome to the Campfire, Fran Thomas

Hi, Fran. Thank you for joining me today at the campfire. While I grab some refreshments why don't you tell us if you're a camper and if not,  about your favorite adventure. What can I grab while you do that?
I love wine!
Wonderful! The camper is always well stocked. Often while we're camping we check out the local wineries. I'll pour while you dish on your adventures.
I have never camped in my life, nor do I ever plan to. I am decidedly not an outdoor gal. My favorite vacation was a trip my husband and I took driving up the California coast. We visited lots of wineries-yay! We had a memorable dinner at Half Moon Bay where it was pumpkin season. The sight of fields full of pumpkins stayed with me and found its way into my latest book.
 
No worries about not being an outdoor gal. I once put on a show for my neighbors as I stomped around my yard yelling at the top of my lungs, "I hate outside." It was a spider incident.  But enough of that, I love when life inspires a story. So tell us about your latest project. 
The title of my book is Pie á la Love. It is the third in what I’m calling my Just Desserts series. Each is a standalone. The characters and settings don’t overlap. The common theme is that each one includes a dessert. I started planning the quartet last Christmas when my sister was visiting. She is the one who came up with the title. Then I had to figure out a plot around that title. My husband is a proud Army veteran, so he suggested the hero should be a veteran. The heroine is the head of a social service agency who is a micromanager, something I have been accused of. The heat level, as in all my books, is strictly G-rated. The genre is sweet romance.
 
Sounds um, delicious? LOL, sorry I couldn't help my self. What a great premise. An your sister deserves a toast for coming up with the title. Also, thanks to your husband for his service. What are you working on now?
I’m working on the fourth book now. The title is Cookie Courtship. I guess that gives away what the dessert is. I expect to publish it on or around November 1.
 
Please let me know when it gets closer so we can remind everyone. Do you have a tagline or life motto?
My husband has had a several health problems and hospitalizations this past year, and my motto has become “one day at a time.”

Our prayers for continued healing and health for him. Would you like to give a shout-out to anyone or their books?
I would like to give a shout-out to Craig Martelle and all the members of the Facebook group 20Books to 50K. They are so very generous in sharing what works for them and what doesn’t in the business of being a writer.
 
I'm definitely going to check them out. In the meantime can you give us a Life Hacks for Authors. Do you have any tips, tricks, or anything you specialize in that you would share with others? 
I wish I did. I have a long history of learning things the hard way. I’ll happily accept any tips and tricks your readers can send my way.
 
Now the fun questions 
1.      If they made a movie about your life, what would the title be, and who would play you?
The title would be “It’s Never Too Late to Be Who You Might Have Been.” Playing me would be Ruth Gordon, who acted well into her 70s. I published my first romance at age 67.
2.      Do you have a special object like a piece of jewelry or keepsake of some sort? Can you tell us what makes it special to you?
I have my late mother’s wedding and engagement rings. I wear them whenever I’m facing a particular challenge and need to feel closer to her.
3.      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?
My moment would be standing on stage at the Three Rivers Art Festival in Pittsburgh with two of my insurance company coworkers performing an hour’s worth of Broadway songs. It was our first and only performance together. We brought bags of hats and props with us to transform ourselves from Cockney flower girls to Russian peasants to Hot Box Girls to Puerto Rican seamstresses. It was one of those "flow" times when an hour goes by in an instant.
4.      If you could only choose one song to play every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I adore Stephen Sondheim and would love to hear “Beautiful Girls” from Follies every time I walked into a room. His lyrics are so brilliant. The internal rhymes are killer: “Beauty celestial, the best, you'll agree” and “Faced with these Loreleis, what man can moralize?”
5.      Did you ever win something? What?
I used to enter a lot of recipe contests. Once, I won a trip to New York City to take a class at a culinary school. My winning entry was the Simon Sandwich, named after the American Idol judge. French’s was the sponsor, and one of the ingredients was their mustard which was “as sharp as Simon’s tongue.” Writing skills can be used in all sorts of ways.

How fun was that? Fran thanks so much for popping by even though we're outside I hope you enjoyed yourself. One more request? Please leave a bit about your Pie á la Love and others in the series. Where we can find out about them and you.

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​Pie á la Love
by
Fran Thomas
Sara’s been a do-gooder all her life.


Ken’s retired from the military and looking for his purpose in the civilian world.

When her grandpa needed her, Sara left her job in the city and her child-averse boyfriend. Now she’s heading up the neighborhood community center.

Although she’s accustomed to solving everyone else’s problems, she needs Ken’s help to expand the center. Teaming up with the handsome veteran is a no-brainer. Giving up on her dream of motherhood isn’t so easy.

​https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099Y58YGX


More about Fran
www.francesothomas.com/
https://twitter.com/FrancesOThomas
www.facebook.com/FranThomasAuthor/

Frances O. Thomas is a native of Pittsburgh, PA, who now makes her home in southwest FL. She earned a B.A. in English from the University of Pittsburgh and an M. Ed. in educational psychology from the same school. She is also a National Certified Counselor.
Fran believes everyone deserves a happily ever after, so she writes books in which she can make that happen.
She is also interested in positive psychology, emotional intelligence, and career development.

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