Spotlight & Giveaway: Don’t Be Silly! At My Age? by Jacqueline Diamond

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Jacqueline Diamond to HJ!

Hi Jacqueline and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Don’t Be Silly! At My Age?!

 
I’m delighted to connect with you!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

This is a fun, heartwarming story featuring an older couple (she’s 54, he’s 60). My heroine, Mandy Matchett, is a never-married nurse who dreams of writing a book. Why not take a class taught by her widowed neighbor, mystery writer Richard Forbes? Well, for starters, she finds him arrogant and her cat hates his dog! In and out of class, these two strong-willed people are on course to learn a lot from each other, about life and love, if they can avoid fighting like cats and dogs.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

What if she’d been wrong?
Mandy Matchett had no trouble admitting she made mistakes. A few, anyway. But as nursing director at Rancho Allegro Medical Center, she wasn’t required to be perfect.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

Don’t Be Silly! At My Age? is the second book in my new Sisters, Lovers & Second Chances series. I didn’t intend to begin a new series, but the Matchett sisters (introduced in Really? At Your Age?, featuring Dr. Cody Matchett) ran away with me! What set all this in motion was when a half-dozen of my writer friends decided we should write loosely linked romances featuring older couples. We invented a small town (Rancho Allegro, California), a few shared events and characters, and an umbrella title for our collection: Better Late Romances. So now I’m writing a series within a “line.” The other authors are Kristy Tate, Terry Black, Beth Black, Michael H. Payne and Michelle Knowlden.
 

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book. As you wrote your protagonist was there anything about them that surprised you?

Mandy Matchett sprang to life in my previous book, Really? At Your Age?, as the heroine’s outspoken older sister. Originally, I thought the hero of her romance might be the younger man she was dating, but he just didn’t inspire me enough. So in the opening chapter of Don’t Be Silly! At My Age?, he breaks up with Mandy and ticks her off royally, helping set her on a new and much more rewarding path.
 

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

I’d use the scene where Richard, walking his German Shepherd, sees Mandy arrive home from work in a bad mood after her now-ex-boyfriend broke up with her and broke his promise to collect her cat at the vet’s.

As they drew closer, Ruff sniffed the air. “What do you sense, boy?” Richard asked.
The shepherd wagged his tail. He had an affinity for small animals, from puppies and kittens to a skunk that had once wandered into their yard. A thorough rinsing from the hose, followed by applications of de-skunking solution and pet shampoo, had eventually tamed the odor.
Richard doubted this well-groomed woman had a skunk in her car. Indeed, an indignant meowing and a rustle of orange fur distinguished the occupant of the cracked old pet carrier she removed from within.
“Pipe down, Beanie. You’ll be fine,” the woman commanded in a no-nonsense tone.
The cat disagreed. Loudly.
“Don’t get uppity with me! I’ve had a rough day.”
The cage rattled in her grasp as she turned toward the house. All might have gone well, had not the usually placid Ruff chosen to make a break for it.
Yanking his leash from Richard’s unprepared grasp, the dog leaped forward with an inviting yip. Eager to cuddle, no doubt.
Actually, there was doubt, at least in the cat’s brain. With near-nuclear force, it detonated out of the carrier but, rather than flee, hurled itself at the dog.
“Arf?” Ruff had apparently never encountered such a direct challenge, not counting the skunk, and that had been a rear-guard action.
Fluffing to twice its size, the cat uttered an unearthly scream, accompanied by a lightning-fast slash at the shepherd’s nose. Howling more in surprise than pain—or so it appeared—Ruff took refuge behind his owner’s legs.
“Tough cat,” Richard observed.
“After what she’s suffered today, who can blame her?” The woman’s hair barely stirred as she swooped down on Beanie. Lots of hairspray, Richard mused, or perhaps it didn’t dare offend her. “The vet told me she fussed through the whole procedure.”
He wasn’t sure how to interpret this response. “They didn’t anesthetize her?”
“Well, she fussed as soon as she came out of it.” A hand waved, displaying dragon-red nails.
Richard supposed he ought to apologize for his dog’s behavior, but he felt a certain loyalty to his injured pet. Seeking common ground, he said, “What sort of procedure was it?”
“Teeth cleaning.”
This woman was seriously off-kilter. “Ruff likes cats. He was trying to be friendly.”
“By attacking her?” The woman and the cat, held close to her shoulder, struck matching offended poses. The little creature’s ginger fur seemed to be coordinated with the color of her owner’s hair, unless that was a trick of the light.
“He wasn’t…” Richard reminded himself to breath deeply. “This is a misunderstanding. He meant no harm.”
“That’s what men always say, isn’t it?” With that parting shot, the dragon lady nudged her car door shut, grabbed the carrier and stalked into the house.

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

The theme is that, even after fifty, you have a lot to learn about yourself. You can grow and (not without pain) change. And discover a whole new kind of happiness.
 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

My next book will be the story of Mandy’s youngest sister, Sara. She’s been guarding a secret all these years, a pregnancy and a baby given up for adoption. Rather than face her family and friends and the jerk who impregnated her, she ran off and married an older man–whom she later divorced. Now turning 50, Sara returns to her hometown for what she believes will be a temporary visit that includes meeting her daughter for the first time, and helping her 70-year-old aunt prepare for a blast of a wedding. It’s called Going Home, At Your Age?
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Ten ebook copies of Really? At Your Age? via Smashwords.com–downloadable in whatever format you prefer. Or if you’ve already read it, another of my books of your choice.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What do you think is the best or the hardest part of falling in love with someone the second time around, especially in middle age or later?

 
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Excerpt from Don’t Be Silly! At My Age?:

This scene takes place after Mandy participates in Richard’s writing class for the first time.

Richard turned toward Mandy. Again, an awareness of his masculinity rippled through her.
Maybe it was that powerful frame, or the glint of kindness on his face, or his male pheromones. Brain imaging scans had shown that men and women could detect subconscious signals from each other.
She was definitely picking those up. Perhaps he was, too.
“Did you enjoy the class?” he asked.
“Very much, despite my less than stellar showing,” Mandy said.
“Everyone has to start somewhere.” His teeth glinted when he smiled. “I hope you plan to continue.”
“I don’t discourage that easily.” Mandy decide to ask a question of her own. “My aunt had the impression you weren’t crazy about teaching. Why do you do it?”
He paused to think. “Several reasons. Sharing what I’ve learned. Helping my father-in-law attract customers. But, to be honest, this class started a year after my wife died and I needed to get out of the house.”
She hadn’t thought of that. “I can understand.” Not that she’d lost anyone as close as a spouse.
“Now I have a question for you.” Richard tilted his head. “My grandson said his friend refers to you as Aunt Mandy. Not to pry, but does that have anything to do with that fellow who came into the bookstore?”
Mandy considered ordering him to butt out. But his interest was flattering, and scored her points over Nanci, not that they were competing. Much.
“Until recently, Quent and I were dating. He asked to move in with me and then, less than a week later, announced he was getting back together with his ex-wife.” Mandy’s voice quivered. “And he ducked out of picking up my cat at the vet, five minutes before they closed.”
“Which was the worse offense?”
She chuckled. “The cat. Definitely.”
“Was that last Friday? No wonder you nearly bit my head off,” he remarked when she nodded.
“My apology for overdoing it.”
“And mine for letting Ruff yank his leash out of my hand.” The curve of his smile warmed her. “Well, I look forward to hearing the next passage in your book.”
“I look forward to the next passage in my life.” Mandy had no idea what she meant by that, but it felt right. “See you next week.”
“Next week.”
She wished it could be sooner.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 

Book Info:

At 54, the strong-minded nurse doesn’t believe in romance. At 60, the successful novelist is sure he knows all about it. They both have a lot to learn, mostly from each other!

Nurse Mandy Matchett dreams of writing a book. Why not take a class taught by her neighbor, mystery writer Richard Forbes, even though she finds him arrogant and her cat hates his dog? This outspoken duo is on course for a collision that will rock both their worlds.

Don’t Be Silly! At My Age? is the second book in the Sisters, Lovers & Second Chances series. Reviewers raved about Really? At Your Age?, which features Mandy’s sister, Dr. Cody Matchett. J. Molynick called it “…a riveting read! I finished it in a matter of a few hours.” Irene S. wrote, “This is a book that I will keep and reread again.”

Both novels are part of the Better Late Romance line featuring older couples. USA Today bestselling author Jacqueline Diamond has sold more than 100 novels, including romantic comedies, medical romances, mysteries and Regency romances.

Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo |
 
 

Meet the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Jacqueline Diamond has sold romantic comedies, medical romances, mysteries and Regency romances—more than one hundred titles! A former Associated Press reporter and TV columnist, Jackie is best known for her Safe Harbor Medical series, and has been honored with a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. She currently writes the Sisters, Lovers & Second Chances series, part of the Better Late Romance line featuring older couples.
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