Spotlight & Giveaway: A Soldier Saved by Cheryl Harper

Posted April 14th, 2020 by in Blog, Spotlight / 38 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Cheryl Harper to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Cheryl and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, A Soldier Saved!

 
Hey, Harlequin Junkie friends!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Jason is a wounded vet who is ready to get on with the rest of his life…and will sign up for a creative writing class to show his mother he’s fine. JUST FINE.
Angela loves her job, leading students through poetry, even if they go kicking and screaming. Her daughter is great. Life is JUST GREAT…except her ex is getting remarried. Finding her own adventure is the only answer; she just needs a partner.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“We’ve already got to go parasailing to make your mother happy. Want to be my adventure coach? My guide?” Angela asked before she thought better of it. “I’m guessing skydiving, bungee jumping, rock climbing… Those are nothing to a soldier.” And he’d have to physically catch her and strap her into the harness to get her rock climbing, but she wasn’t going to mention that.

“Why does ‘guide’ make me think of uniforms and learning to make fires to earn badges? People talk about skydiving as if it’s hard.” Jason shook his head. “It’s one step. Then you just fall. Falling is easy.”

“But you’ve got to stick the landing…or else,” Angela drawled. His chuckle sent that fizzy spark through her. She was the funniest woman in the world at that moment.

 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

My first experience with a creative writing course was as a college student. The rules were the same: just turn in the work and sit through the critique and earn an A. To me, enduring the critique was almost as impossible as performing my own root canal. I did not make an A, but I will never forget the cutest boy, wearing tie dye and a beret, re-titling one of my poems “Metal Urge-y”.

 

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

He’s handsome. She’s funny. They really click here:

“So, Jason, what music speaks to you?” Angela asked, prepared to agree with whatever came out of his mouth. Even death metal would have some kind of connection if she dug deep.

“Lots of music, but based on your description of images and the power of the words…” He paused.
Was he regretting his decision to step out? She hoped not. This was all part of the process.

“Smokey.” He cleared his throat. “Smokey Robinson. ‘My Girl.’ It gets at the way love, especially when it’s new, makes a man float, bright and warm, sunshiny. He’s bouncing along and ready to tell the world.”

 

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

I wrote some bad poetry for this book, of the “roses are red” variety. I like that neither Jason nor Angela take themselves too seriously.

“Roses are red, violets are blue, candy is sweet, and so is honey,” Jason drawled to match Sean Wakefield’s delivery. “That’s the best I’ve got, and I didn’t even write it.”

“The rhyme was right there, literally. ‘Blue’ and ‘too.’ ‘Candy is sweet and honey is, too.’” Angela slowly tilted forward on the bench, so it was difficult to see her face until she turned her head. “I did not expect that, Jason.” Her reluctant laugh was gorgeous, free and too loud. “I’ve been teaching a long time. It takes a lot to shock me. You did it. Your poem would work, except you admitted you didn’t write it. Can’t let that go. Fortunately, it shouldn’t be hard to write something similar.” She plopped back on the bench, one hand wrapped over her stomach.

Jason would drop the class if that was the best poem he could write. “A note on the rhyme. Got it. That’s why you’re the teacher.”

 

Readers should read this book….

  • This book has everything:
  • Parasailing.
  • Salsa dancing.
  • Sweet kisses
  • Cubanos in Miami’s Domino Park
  • Mermaid theater
  • Ghost stories
  • Bad poetry
  • Good friends
  • Forty-year-olds finding love
  • Champagne on a boat…

 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

The next book in the series is The Dalmatian Dilemma. Reyna Montero is a superstar Air Force pilot who wants to be a Miami firefighter. Sean Wakefield? He’s not hero and he’ll be the first to tell you that, but he’s the guy everyone can count on. Also, there is a deaf Dalmatian-Dane, a dog beach, cute kids, and disco dancing. August 1!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: For US readers, I’ll send a signed set of the Otter Lake Ranger Station books:
Smoky Mountain Sweethearts
Saving the Single Dad
Her Heart’s Bargain
Her Unexpected Hero
A reusable shopping bag perfect for Miami
And some other goodies….

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: To research for this series, I made a quick visit to Miami. Sun. Sand. Alligators. Little Havana. I did everything I could. This is how I visit every new place: see everything as fast as I can! When you go on vacation, do you go for relaxation or adventure? What is your favorite destination?

 
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from A Soldier Saved:

Dissatisfied with his answer, Angela took one of the pastries, the ooze of filling landing on her thumb before she managed to get it to her mouth. To avoid a mess, she put the bite-size pastry in her mouth and then licked off the filling. An explosion of tart guava caught her off guard.
As she chewed, she closed her eyes because the whole experience was sweet. This place. This perfect bite. And when she opened her eyes, her companion on the bench was watching her closely.
“Delicious.” Angela pointed at the bag. “Dangerous.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “I was thinking exactly the same thing.” His tone. His eyes locked to hers.
As little as she knew about flirting with men who weren’t Rodney Simmons, Angela was certain Jason wanted to kiss her. Right there, in that perfect moment, only a kiss made any sense. It was the only way to make something so perfect any better.
Before she could scoot closer to him, one thought flitted through her brain.
He’s a student. For two more weeks, you have no business kissing him.
Ignoring the voice of her ethics or her conscience or whatever it was that kept her from making bad but exciting decisions would have been easy.
The loud blare of horns and drums from the stage was her first speed bump.
The second bump brought her to a stop.
“You kids are missing everything over here,” Mae Ward said from her spot behind the bench. “The whole world’s having a party and you’re gathered by the appetizers.” She motioned at their empty sacks. “You ate all the appetizers, more like.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

 
 

Book Info:

A Soldier Saved
He’s rebuilding his life

Could she be his happy ending?

Returning veteran Jason Ward hopes a creative writing class will jump-start his life’s second act. Falling for his instructor is a major plot twist! Professor Angela Simmons is trying to move on after divorce, just like her soon-to-be-remarried ex. Though she’s drawn to Jason, his scars run too deep to let anyone get close. With a little poetry and a lot of courage…could this be the new chapter they deserve?
Book Links: Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Cheryl Harper discovered her love for books and words as a little girl, thanks to a mother who made countless library trips and an introduction to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House stories. Now she spends her days searching for the right words while she stares out the window and her dog snoozes beside her.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |
 
 
 

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38 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: A Soldier Saved by Cheryl Harper”

  1. erahime

    For relaxation but a dash of adventure would be nice.

    Hmm, no fave place yet.

  2. Diana Tidlund

    Disney world! I get emotional too. Hubby just rubs my back as I walk in the gates and stop and start crying. My big brother always wanted to go there and unfortunately he died just as make a wish was getting ready to send him their . ( he had Duchene’s Muscular Dystrophy ) so we all vowed to make it there for him ( all 12 of his surviving brothers and sisters ) . It’s weird but I feel Closest to him there and he never made it there but 6 years ago after 25 years we had all made it there. !
    Anyway when I go to Disney from Massachusetts I go to relax but feel closer to my big brother

  4. Pamela Conway

    I don’t travel much so definitely relaxing! Went to a great place in Florida.

  6. Janine

    I don’t get to take vacations anymore, but when I did, I had a mix of relaxation and adventure. I always loved learning more about the places I visited. My favorite vacation was Hawaii.

  7. dbranigan

    We are pretty adventurous ourselves and try to see it all. As far as favorites, I really enjoyed our last trip to Norway and Iceland and could see a second trip in the making.

  9. Karina Angeles

    Adventure! My favorite family vacation was to Alaska. We went kayaking, hiked up a mountain to view glaciers, zip lining, and panned for gold. We had so much fun!

  10. laurieg72

    Adventure! Last year we visited 3 national parks: Rocky Mt, Olympic and Glacier. We also stopped to visit Portland and Cannon Beach, OR. 6000 miles! 3 years before that we visited North Rim Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, Arches and Capital Reef National Parks.

    My goal is to visit and hike all the national parks.

  12. Amy R

    The only vacations I’ve taken recently were for sporting events for mt kids. I did enjoy when we when to theme parks in Orlando.

  15. Joye

    I usually find where the art museums are and visit those for sure. Then I visit the touristy type places everyone else visits. To go on a relaxing vacation, I go to the mountains. Otherwise, I go to visit a place to learn about their culture, and their arts.

  16. Kay Garrett

    Being senior citizens and traveling with our furbaby, we plan our vacations well in advance. One not every place allows pets to stay and second we try to make sure we have the opportunity to see everything in an area that we might want to see. Nothing worse than getting home and finding that there is a place you would have loved to see and missed only 50 miles from where you stayed.

    Our favorite destination is the one next on our list. As seniors and now retired, we are determined to see as much of this great nation as we possibly can while we can. Hubby and I both love photography so that plays a big part in what we want to do and where we want to do. Last year we made a big round trip through Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Glacier and the Badlands. It was awesome! This year we were to have left this Friday going to Utah to see the 5 national parks in that state, but it has all been cancelled now. Maybe later -or next year.

    We had been coming to the Ozarks as our favorite destination for a vacation in years. Three years ago, we sold out, downsized and moved here. So now we live in our favorite destination and go visit new places. 🙂
    2clowns at arkanasas dot net

  17. diannekc

    My favorite destination is Charleston SC. There is so much to see there, historical homes and plantations and civil war sites. Plus, it’s a beautiful city.

  20. Diana Hardt

    I would go for relaxation with a little adventure, but I don’t yet have a favorite destination.

  21. Caro

    Adventure, for sure. I can rest at home, lol. I like to see everything I can.
    My fave destination was Disney when I was young, we had so much fun with my siblings and parents. We walked all day! And NYC when I was in college, I went with a few friends, and again we walked so much, trying to see everything we could.
    Love.

  28. Glenda M

    Both. My favorites have been: a family trip to England (Bath, Stonehenge, Avebury, the Cotswolds, London, Colchester and Chelmsford-hubby’s extended family); Rome, Naples, & Pompeii for our 25th anniversary; multiple trips to multiple national & state parks with family, friends, and just me and hubby; and finally family beach trips.

  30. Angel

    Relaxation and time with the family!! Right now my kiddo loves zoo and wild animal parks, so he picks which one he wants to visit and I plan it and we go

  31. Vicki Clevinger

    A little bit of both. When I was a kid we went to Wallowa Lake Oregon. It is still one of my favorite places

  38. Patricia B.

    Vacations are for seeing and doing as much as possible. There is so much out there to explore, discover, and experience, I can’t imagine just sitting around.