Spotlight & Giveaway: What Remains True by Nancy Naigle

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Nancy Naigle to HJ!

Hi Nancy and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, What Remains True!

 
Hey, y’all! I’m so happy to be back with another new novel.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

What Remains True is set in the fictional mountain town of Antler Creek. Sound familiar? Well, that’s because Antler Creek is where Christmas Angels was set. I loved that town so much, that it kept niggling at me to set another book there. I was so delighted to bring Merry Anna to Antler Creek and get all mixed up in the goings on there.
 

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

There are several, and there will be quote blocks on my website for folks to download, but I’m going to stick with the first line. It’s sort of what drove the whole story for me.
“Merry Anna Foster loved spring for its promise of new beginnings, and this year she needed one desperately.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

Well, originally this book was called Sweater Weather. Isn’t that a great title? Well, don’t worry I’ll recycle it into a new story where I can use all the fabulous fall settings I’d already written when my publisher decided we weren’t going to release in the fall after all. LOL. Well, it had been pure delight to write about fire pits, marshmallows, leaves crunching beneath my feet and a nip in the air, but I never mind switching gears or seasons in this case, and actually the summer brought so many new things to the story. It worked out for the best.

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

Adam is our bull-riding national title chasing hero. He’s intrigued by the beautiful woman he’s seen walking through town of late and when she comes into the feed and seed store he owns, he’s happy to oblige with a little customer service and a free bucket of strawberries. He’s drawn by her forthcoming honesty and can’t resist offering his assistance when she admits she’s never baked a strawberry pie. Despite the fact he’s got one mission right now and that’s winning the national title, he offers to teach her. There’s no room for a woman in his life, but this will be just friends, and just a one-time thing. She’s nice. No problem.
Merry Anna’s not looking either, and she’s already been warned about the handsome cowboy in town who’s not the type to settle down. Plus, he’s reckless! A bull rider for a living? She’s not the least bit interested in someone like that, but hey if he wants to teach her to bake a pie with these strawberries, that could be fun.
I had this idea of a professional bull rider on track to win it all at the big finals and laser-focused on that goal in mind. Rugged, gritty, a little broken, fearless and seemingly indestructible. Or is he? I think you’re going to enjoy getting to know Adam and all sides of him. He’s going to surprise readers, and you’re going to want Merry Anna as your best friend.

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

My heart was pounding like crazy when I was writing this scene with Merry Anna watching as Adam comes bucking out of the chute on a bull named Rocket Fuel. I love the rodeo and bull riding is one of my favorite to watch, but I had never really put myself in the place of someone who knew the rider on a personal level. I really felt for her at that moment. This right after he makes the buzzer and she can finally breathe again…

Here’s a snippet of that scene:
The buzzer sounded and Merry Anna whooped a joyful holler, so thankful Adam had made the eight second ride.
But the cheering hushed as Adam rose into the air over Rocket Fuel’s back. The powerful thrust from the bull forced Adam’s body forward, and in a single nasty nanosecond, the bull lifted his head, catching Adam in the skull.
Blood flooded the right side of Adam’s face, and then he folded over his own arm and hung from the side of the animal,
The bullfighters did a deadly dance with the bull, who wasn’t showing any sign of slowing down. Clearly, this bull didn’t understand that the buzzer meant it was the end of the ride.
One of the bullfighters teased the bull while the other finally worked Adam loose. Adam fell to the ground in a heap.
Emergency personnel rushed to the gate, but the bull wasn’t exiting. He snorted and spun toward the crowd. He pounded his foot, then scraped it back, turning slowly toward Adam. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the cowboy on the pickup horse roped Rocket Fuel, his horse pulling the unwilling bull toward the gate.
Adam tried to get up, but the medics raced to him and wouldn’t let him move.
Merry Anna held her breath as she watched the team lift him onto a stretcher and carry him out of the ring.

Readers should read this book….

That’s a hard question to answer objectively! I wrote it. So, I queried my launch team and had them help me out. This is what they had to say:
Readers should read this book to experience the true friendship and community, and to see how Merry Ann and Adam, who both have very clear ideas of their future that get upturned finally journey to a better future than either had ever dreamed. Sometimes you just don’t know what you really want, until you get there.

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

I’m currently working on a new women’s fiction and trying to come up with a plot for a sequel to What Remains True. I am so eager to return to this town. I hope readers will share their ideas or hopes with me when they finish the book!

o What Remains True 5/3/2022
o The Wedding Ranch 12/10/2022
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: One trade paperback copy of WHAT REMAINS TRUE, US ONLY.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Another fun thread in this book is the barn quilt trail. I love painting barn quilts. They are so unique and I love how the same design can look completely different just by switching up a color. Before today, or this book, had you ever heard of a barn quilt? Try your hand at it by downloading the coloring page from my website at www.nancynaigle.com/whatremainstrue then post it with the hashtag #WhatRemainsTrue so we can all share in the fun.

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Book Info:

Working at a little shop on Main Street in a small town is exactly the break that executive Merry Anna Foster needs following her divorce. She’s made a bet with her ex-husband that she can live on the amount of money she’s giving him in alimony. If she can do it, then Kevin will have to stop complaining and leave her alone. But after three months of this new life, will she even want to leave Antler Creek?

Adam Lockwood, bull rider and owner of the local feedstore, is having the best year of his rodeo career. He’s also a bit distracted by the pretty new neighbor living in his old bunkhouse. But Adam has no time for matters of the heart. He’s got his future all mapped out, and that future doesn’t involve a woman just yet. It doesn’t involve parenting a little girl either. However, Carly Fowler still suddenly leaves five-year-old Zan—the daughter Adam didn’t know he had—in his care.

Is it possible that the future holds a life even better than what Merry Anna and Adam had each dreamed of? One that includes both tenderness and even love—not just for each other but for Zan too.
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Meet the Author:

Nancy Naigle is a USA TODAY Bestselling author of over thirty books, and several novel adaptations now airing on the Hallmark Channel. Fans of Nancy’s ECPA Bestselling 2021 release The Shell Collector will be excited to learn the movie is now in production. In her novels, Naigle uplifts readers with heartwarming stories of hope and second chances all set in charming small towns.
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