Home the Hard Way virtual blog tour Spotlight, Q&A and Giveaway {Riptide Publishing}

Dare Buckley has come home—or at least, he’s come back to Palladian, the small town he left as a teenager. After a major lapse in judgment forced him to resign from the Seattle PD, Palladian is the only place that’ll hire him. There’s one benefit to hitting rock bottom, though: the chance to investigate the mystery of his father’s suicide.

Dare also gets to reacquaint himself with Finn Fowler, whose childhood hero worship ended in uncomfortable silence when Dare moved away. But Finn isn’t the same little kid Dare once protected. He’s grown into an attractive, enigmatic stranger who neither wants nor needs what Dare has to offer.

In fact, Dare soon realizes that Finn’s keeping secrets—his own and the town’s. And he doesn’t seem to care that Dare needs answers. The atmosphere in Palladian, like its namesake river, appears placid, but dark currents churn underneath. When danger closes in, Dare must pit his ingenuity against his heart, and find his way home the hard way.

About the Author – Z. A. Maxfield started writing in 2007 on a dare from her children and never looked back.  Pathologically disorganized, and perennially optimistic, she writes as much as she can, reads as much as she dares, and enjoys her time with family and friends. Three things reverberate throughout all her stories: Unconditional love, redemption, and the belief that miracles happen when we least expect them.

If anyone asks her how a wife and mother of four can find time for a writing career, she’ll answer, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you give up housework.”

To celebrate, all this month you can support a worthy cause and enjoy a heartwarming Christmas story in the hot days of summer! Pick up holiday romance Lost and Found, one of four titles in the Home for the Holidays collection! It's available all this month at 50% off: just $2.49; plus you'll be supporting a worthy cause: The Ali Forney Center in New York, whose mission “is to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) youth from the harm of homelessness." Also releasing this month is romantic suspense novel Home the Hard Way, available for pre-order onsite now. And coming in December, Hell on Wheels, one of several titles featured in the new multi-author contemporary series, Bluewater Bay!

Author links: Riptide | Facebook | Twitter
{Readers can visit ZAM at her website, Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr} 

Q&A and This or That with Author ZA Maxfield

Tell us about your recent Riptide release[s]. What was the inspiration behind it/them?
I’ve been working on Home the Hard Way for a really, really long time. I think it’s because my mother was an avid reader (and viewer) of mysteries, and I used to attend Mystery Writer’s of America with an ex, but there’s something about writing a mystery that I’ve been aspiring to for a long time.
I’ve written romantic suspense, but I think this is the first time I really feel like I’ve written a mystery.  I called HTHW “the Frankenbook,” because it took me so long to get to the place where I was pleased enough with it to sub it anywhere. Fortunately for me Sarah Frantz liked it, and readers will be able to read it very soon!
What can readers expect when they read a story from you? What would you like potential readers to know about you and your books?
I think I hit three notes pretty consistently: Family, Unconditional love, and Redemption. Whether I’m writing something dark, or working on a romantic comedy, whether it’s vampires or virgin coeds, you’ll pretty much see the same three themes.
What was the most surprising thing you learned about yourself while writing your latest release?
I surprised myself by changing horses in mid-stream, as it were. When I began the book I imagined the protagonist, Finn, as a certain type of man, but as I worked, I realized he had way more depth. That original idea evolved very dramatically during the story. Of course that gave me fits, but I believe I created a character who is unique and also a little surprising.
How long does it take you to write a book?
Each book is different. Some just fly from the fingers and others I agonize over. Anywhere from three months to three years.
Describe your workspace.
I have two different workspaces. I share an office downstairs with my husband, which is lovely. I have a massive desktop computer down there and a great office chair. But I often work on my laptop in a wingchair in the dormer in my bedroom on one of those TV craft trays. (In my bedroom, I can always hear birdsong, and most of the time the family is downstairs. Things can get crowded-- especially in summer, when the kids are home from university and their friends come over.)
Do you ever get writer’s block? What do you do to cure it?
If you had asked me that a year ago, I could have scoffed at you. I genuinely don’t believe in writer’s block. I think writer’s block happens when we attach value judgments to our work, especially if we have the expectation of meeting a word quota or a level of perfection and we have anxiety over achieving our goals.
No one can get writer’s block if they’re willing to simply sit down and write dreck and throw it away.  I mean if I write “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” for four thousand words, I’m little better than a typing monkey but I am writing. Now if I substitute a vague stab at writing something original or something that interests me--if I am willing to explore every thread of my consciousness no matter how long it takes, I’ll find one to follow eventually.  No surfer can catch a wave unless she paddles out.  If you leave your keyboard due to “Writer’s Block” it’s the equivalent of leaving your board in the garage, sitting on your sofa, and telling yourself there are no good waves anywhere in the world.
What can readers expect from you in the future?
I….got nothing. Even I don’t know what I’m doing in the future. As I get older, I find myself simply glad to have one. I know I’ll write love stories. I don’t know who will be in them yet, but they’ll all end happily ever after.
Do you have a favorite quote?
“Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.”
John Wooden
Lightning round:
Ebook or print? Gzzzzzt. No fair. Ebook for genre, print for classics.
Sweet or sour? Salty
Leather or lace? Both
Naughty or nice? Nice
Tea or coffee? Coffee
Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla
Jocks or nerds? Nerds (More specifically, GEEKS ALL THE WAY)
Truth or Dare? Truth
Cats or dogs? Dogs
Your first concert? (Must I SAY?) The Osmond Brothers, 1971, LA Forum

A Note from the author...

Hello and thanks to TTC Books and More for letting me be here today!

I’m Z.A. Maxfield, coming at you from lovely sunny southern California where I’m blogging about my latest release, Home The Hard Way.

I’m doing a giveaway and there are a couple different ways to win! At each tour stop, one lucky winner will get to choose any book from my backlist, so if you’re new to Z.A. Maxfield, this is a great way to find out if you want to dive in! At the end of the tour, I’ll be giving away a Riptide gift certificate, so you’re going to want to follow along the whole blog tour HERE for your best chance at a prize!

There’s two ways to win today! Comment below for a chance to win an ebook from my backlist AND you can also…

Enter the Giveaway!

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