Author Interview (and a Giveaway!): the authors of Love in Any Season

I am so delighted to chat with all four of the authors of Love in Any Season today and to be part of their scavenger hunt celebrating the release of this romance collection!

LOVE IN ANY SEASON by Regina Rudd Merrick, Amy R. Anguish, Sarah Anne Crouch & Heather Greer
GENRE: Inspirational Contemporary Romance collection
PUBLISHER: Scrivenings Press, LLC
RELEASE DATE: September 27, 2022
PAGES: 423

Spring Has Sprung – by Regina Rudd Merrick

Spring has sprung, the grass is riz …

Laurel Pascal, Assistant City Manager of Spring, Kentucky, is tasked with organizing the town’s beloved Daffodil Festival, and she’s not happy. An allergy sufferer all her life, she dreads the season from the first Daffodil bloom in the yard to the last coat of pollen on her car. Newcomer Dr. Owen Roswell volunteers to help, and soon finds that not only does Laurel need his expertise as an allergist, but help in appreciating the season she’s obligated to celebrate.

What does he want more—for Laurel to fall in love with his favorite season? Or him?

The Missing Piece – by Amy R. Anguish

Beth Norton and Tommy England grew up together with best-friend moms who had a love of quilting and a business celebrating the craft. When high school ended, though, so did Beth and Tommy’s friendship.

When Tommy moves back after seven years and his mother’s death, he can’t understand why Beth is so angry with him. Helping Beth and her mother stabilize the finances of the business, they’re forced to work together. As Tommy sorts through his mother’s things, he finds an unfinished quilt, and it turns into a joint project.

With each stitch taken, they work toward more than just a completed blanket.

A Sweet Dream Come True – by Sarah Anne Crouch

Isaac Campbell is living his dream of running an ice cream shop but fears he won’t last past the first difficult year. Mel Wilson is a busy single mother who longs to be a chocolatier but is too afraid to turn her dreams into reality.

When Mel and Isaac meet at Bestwood, Tennessee’s fall festival, it seems like divine providence. But once Mel agrees to help Isaac bring in customers by selling her chocolates at his shop, she realizes how challenging running a business can be.

Can Mel and Isaac trust in God’s provision and make a leap of faith? Will their partnership end in disaster, or will it be a sweet dream come true?

Sugar and Spice – by Heather Greer

Emeline Becker, owner of Sugar and Spice Bakery, loves New Kuchenbrünn, except for the gingerbread. As the only bakery, she supplies the annual Gingerbread Festival with the one treat she can’t stand. It’s gingerbread everywhere.

Things get worse when Ryker Lehmann is hired as the festival photographer. He was her secret teen crush, her sister’s boyfriend, and witness to her worst humiliation. Plus, he broke her sister’s heart and bruised hers when he left town after graduation. Now, he’s back in town, determined to fix their friendship before the festival ends.

With gingerbread and Ryker together, can Emmie make it through the festival with her mind and heart intact?

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Hi ladies! Welcome to the blog! Let’s start with a seasonal fast-four!

Fast Four: Tulips or Azaleas?

Regina: That’s hard. Tulips are beautiful, but a bower of azalea bushes? AMAZING! Azaleas last longer, too! 😉

Amy: Azaleas. Preferably pink. They make me happy every Spring as they bloom all over the area I live in—huge bushes taller than I am in some cases. It’s like a wall of color.

Sarah: Azaleas- I have both in my flower bed, but I love that azaleas are so easy and always bloom around Easter.

Heather: Tulips. I’m not even sure what an azalea looks like.

Carrie: Oh Heather, you are missing out!! I love both and they both make me happy every Spring, but it’s azaleas that I’m putting in my yard 🙂

PS – here’s an azalea garden in Japan:

Fast Four: Watermelon or cantaloupe?

Regina: Watermelon – I can’t stand the smell OR taste of cantaloupe!

Amy: I am going to be the odd-ball because I don’t like melon of any kind. I’ve tried for years to like it, but I just can’t.

Sarah: I am going to be the odd-ball because I don’t like melon of any kind. I’ve tried for years to like it, but I just can’t.

Heather: Both? They’re better together.

Carrie: I’m with Heather – they’re better together! Yum!

Fast Four: Apple Cider or Pumpkin Spice

Regina: Apple cider. Love it! If there’s pumpkin spice, it had better have actual pumpkin involved. Have you had the Pumpkin Pie Shake at Culver’s???

Amy: Pumpkin spice in baking and apple cider for drinking. Or pumpkin spice more from September through Thanksgiving and then apple cider through winter. But I love both. Just in different contexts.

Sarah: Pumpkin Spice- But only because I love coffee so much. I will happily eat any flavor of fall food!

Heather: Apple cider, because most pumpkin spice drinks are coffee. I can’t drink it.

Carrie: I am definitely more of an apple cider gal but I do love me some pumpkin pie!

Fast Four: Fake Christmas Tree or Real One?

Regina: I’m conflicted. Fake is consistent and doesn’t make a mess. Real smells SO GOOD!!

Amy: Fake. Between the price-point of a real one, the risk that comes with it, and the mess of the needles, I’ll always choose the fake. Though mine is old enough it still drops needles like crazy.

Sarah: Fake- I have a hard enough time convincing my husband to buy a cheap fake one every ten years. There’s no way I’ll ever get that man to chop down a Douglas Fir and haul it in our house.

Heather: Real in my dreams. Fake in reality. Less work that way.

Carrie: I agree with all y’all!

Q: If you could live in just one season for the rest of your life – would you do it? Why or why not? And, if so, which season would it be?

Regina: I waffle between Spring and Fall. Spring appeals because you’re in recovery from winter, and the bugs aren’t out quite yet. Fall appeals for the same reasons – you’re recovering from SUMMER and the bugs are dying!! LOL! The colors are amazing for both!

Amy: Honestly, I don’t want to only live in one season because I love all four. But, if I did, I’d choose fall. The colors, the crisp weather, the rain, the food. They’re all my favorites. Spring would be the second choice.

Sarah: Nope. I did do that for two years in Southern California where it’s spring year-round. The weather was always gorgeous, but I missed the changing seasons. There’s something so exciting about the rituals of a new season.

Heather: Yes. I would live in perpetual fall. But only if I could keep Christmas. I love the colors and the scents. Summer is too hot. Winter is too cold. Spring is too wet.

Carrie: I could gladly do without Summer but I do love the changing seasons of Spring, Fall, and Winter!

Q: What is something you enjoy most about ‘your’ season in the Love In Any Season collection, and how did that influence your novella (if it did)?

Regina: Spring is about rebirth and the ability to start fresh. In my story, Maia, the hometown girl, tries to rekindle her appreciation of the spring season. Owen, who grew up in the southwest, is experiencing it for the first time.

Amy: Fresh veggies from my garden are probably my favorite part of summer. And fireflies and butterflies. Summer also includes a bit more downtime because school is out, so it’s more relaxed. Of course, in most of my story, you don’t get that relaxed feeling because my characters are scurrying to prepare for the festival. But they do sneak a few fun evenings in, complete with a picnic under a willow tree and fireflies.

Sarah: The leaves. I just love watching God show off in the fall. In one scene I had my characters decorate with fallen leaves and autumn flowers. That’s something I love to do in my own home.

Heather: My favorite thing about winter is Christmas. The idea of snow and the look is wonderful, but the cold it takes to have it dampens my enjoyment a little bit. Christmas, however, is wonderful from a spiritual perspective and from the physical perspective of traditions. The scents and sounds and activities of Christmas played into my story very much. One of my favorite traditions is making Christmas cookies to give away, and my story is all about a baker.

Carrie: Y’all have picked out my fave things about each season, too! I can’t wait to read this collection 🙂

Q: What is one of your favorite quotes from your story in Love in Any Season, and why do you love it?

Regina: “I wouldn’t call you a pessimist, but you do lean more toward Eeyore than Tigger, that’s for sure.” – Maia’s mom

I think I love it because it reflects conversations with my adult daughters. Sometimes you just have to add a little levity when dealing with overly-dramatic conversations! 😊

Amy: “You’re asking me what would look better?” He snorted. “You know my taste is all in my mouth.” – Tommy

I love this one because it’s literally something my husband has said to me. I did warn him I was going to use it in a story. 😉And Tommy is a bit like my husband in that he’s around sewing all the time, but still doesn’t know much about it.

Sarah: “In hindsight, the plans she’d thought were so big were tiny in comparison to what God had done with her life.”

Although this character’s journey is very different from my own, her thought process here is similar to mine. I love those moments when you realize God has been right there with you all along.

Heather: “Ginger is perfect for redheads, but it does not belong in my kitchen.”

I think this quote gives a great picture of Emmie’s personality and the problem she has as the town’s baker with the Gingerbread Festival.

Regina Rudd Merrick is a multi-published writer, church musician, wife, mother, former librarian, lover of all things beachy and chocolate, and grateful follower of Jesus Christ. Married to her husband of 35-plus years, she has two beautiful daughters and a delightful son-in-law, and lives in the small town of Marion, KY. Her books include the Southern Breeze Series set in South Carolina, her favorite beachy state, and the RenoVations series set in Kentucky. Find her books on Amazon or other retailers, and connect with Regina on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or on her website at reginaruddmerrick.com.

Amy R Anguish grew up a preacher’s kid, and in spite of having lived in seven different states that are all south of the Mason Dixon line, she is not a football fan. Currently, she resides in Tennessee with her husband, daughter, and son, and usually a bossy cat or two. Amy has an English degree from Freed-Hardeman University that she intends to use to glorify God, and she wants her stories to show that while Christians face real struggles, it can still work out for good. Follow her at abitofanguish.weebly.com, on Facebook, or Twitter. Learn more about her books at pinterest.com/msguish/my-books. And check out the YouTube channel she does with two other authors, Once Upon a Page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEiu-jq-KE-VMIjbtmGLbJA)

Sarah Anne Crouch lives in Arkansas with her husband, three children, and thousands of books. She always wanted to be an author, but spent some time as a teacher, earned a degree in library science, and makes feeble attempts to corral her small children as a stay-at-home mom. Sarah loves reading books, recipes, piano music, and emails from readers. Visit Sarah at sarahannecrouch.wordpress.com

Heather Greer is a preacher’s kid and pastor’s wife who loves using her passion for reading and writing to encourage others in their faith. She has been a finalist for the Selah awards twice. In addition to all things book related, Heather loves baking. Christmas baking is her favorite, and each year, she makes dozens of treats to pass on to her family and friends in southern Illinois. And while it isn’t her favorite, she’s even been known to add gingerbread people to her cookie trays. Visit Heather at heathergreer.com

The authors of Love in Any Season are offering ebook copies of A Summer in Shady Springs by Sarah Anne Crouch, No Place Like Home by Amy R. Anguish, Love in the Squared Circle by Heather Greer, and Heart Restoration by Regina Rudd Merrick to one of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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Join the Love in Any Season Social Media Scavenger Hunt. Collect all 15 clues to complete the phrase. Submit the phrase to enter the drawing. Clue # 11 is SPRING. If you’ve missed a clue, check out Amy’s website (abitofanguish.weebly.com/writing/love-in-any-season-social-media-scavenger-hunt) where an updated list of clue links and the link to entry submission can be found. Contest ends 11:59pm on October 4th. Open to US Only.

What about you? What makes you want to read Love in Any Season by Regina Rudd Merrick, Amy R. Anguish, Sarah Anne Crouch, and Heather Greer? What’s your favorite season & why?