I’m so excited to tell you about a new collection that I have a novella in. I’ve only done one other collection, and it was quite a bit different than this one. In this collection each of the books have a reunion theme. My characters knew one another in high school.
My contribution to the set is Designed with Love. Here is the back cover blurb.
To save her fledgling landscape business, Jessie Morgan is determined to win an important design competition–even though her major competitors are ex-fiancé Brendon Jacobs and one-time best friend Scott Meyers. Tensions are high in the quaint town of Silver Springs, Oregon as neighbors and friends take sides. Will Brendon drive Jessie and Scott farther apart, or will they join forces…and find love in the process?
Here is a little background about this story. We have a small town called Silverton here in Oregon. It is the home of the Oregon Gardens, pictured at left and below, which I have mentioned here once before. It is also near Silver Creek Falls. I thought it would be the perfect town to set my book, but in this case I wanted a fictional town, so I used a play on words and came up with Silver Springs, Oregon.
My characters are garden nuts. They love to design and implement their ideas, but they have one huge problem–money. They must earn a living, and the competition in Silver Falls is undercutting their profits. When Jessie sees an ad for a landscaping contest she believes this is the answer to all her problems, but it creates a whole new set of issues. Here is a snippet from the opening of the book.
CHAPTER ONE
JESSIE MORGAN PAUSED AS SHE SCROLLED down the computer screen. Her heart rate kicked into double time. The TV show “Fresh and Fantastic” was holding a landscape design competition. The grand prize was fifteen thousand dollars and a television show development deal. The runner up received ten thousand dollars minus the TV show.
“Yes!” With the prize money she’d be able to keep her business afloat. She quickly printed the entry form and rushed down the stairs of her childhood home. “Mom.” She waved the paper. “This is it. This is my ticket to financial freedom.” Mom had lectured her on the topic repeatedly since she’d moved back home three months ago.
Her mother pulled a tray of gluten free chocolate chip cookies from the oven. “What are you talking about?” She placed the pan on the butcher-block counter.
“You know business hasn’t been great, thanks to Brendon Jacobs.”
Mom nodded and held out the spatula. “Cookie? I think I finally nailed the recipe.”
“Sure. Thanks.” Jessie bit into the warm, gooey delight. “Yep. This is good.” All those months of sampling recipes finally paid off.
A movement in the front yard caught her eyes. She leaned across the sink and looked out the window. “Why is Scott mowing our lawn?” Her friend of long ago had followed his dream to be a landscaper too, but they hadn’t spoken much in recent years. Their friendship fizzled back in high school when she’d started dating Brendon Jacobs, and they’d not been close since.
Crossing her arms, she turned to face her mother. “I told you I would take care of the lawn. Don’t you realize he’s the competition, and it doesn’t make me look good when my own mother hires my competitor?”
“I understand. But I was talking to Scott’s mom the other day, and she told me he’s desperate for business. Scott is such a nice boy. I wanted to do my part to help him.”
“’What about helping your own daughter?”
Mom raised a perfectly manicured brow. “Does free room and board count as nothing?”
“Sorry. You’re right, and I appreciate that you let me move back home. It’s just that Scott is my rival.”
Mom scooped dough onto the cookie sheet. “If the two of you would join forces—”
“Don’t say it.” Mom had been on her case for months to talk with Scott about merging their businesses. But she didn’t understand their history. Scott turned his back on their friendship. She couldn’t have a partnership with someone like that.~
I had so much fun writing this story! If you’d like to check out the other books in the collection here is the link.
I enjoy interacting with people on facebook and have created a special group for my fans. If you would like to join, follow this link and ask to join and I will approve you. :) It’s also where I offer readers a chance to get an Advanced Reader Copy (PDF) of my books for reviewing. I would love to see you there too! If you want to get the see the covers before anyone else then be sure to subscribe to my newsletter.
Do any of you enjoy gardening? I must admit, I love a pretty yard, but I’m not one to work in the yard. It messes with my back in a very bad way, and I have horrible allergies. So gardening is not my thing–I wish I could do it though. I love pretty things and would have so much fun planting a flower garden. I did plant some wave petunias along my front porch. They have yet to grow a lot, but it’s still early.
What about you? What is your favorite flower or type of landscape? My house backs up to woods, so we have a woodland landscape in back. As far as enjoying gardening, I’d say I have a love/hate relationship with it. :)
Award winning author Kimberly Rose Johnson married her college sweetheart and lives in the Pacific Northwest. From a young child Kimberly has been an avid reader. That love of reading fostered a creative mind and led to her passion for writing. She especially loves romance and writes contemporary romance, romantic mystery, and romantic suspense that warms the heart and feeds the soul. Kimberly holds a degree in Behavioral Science from Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington, and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.
Congratulations on your new collection, Kimberly! I enjoyed reading the excerpt. As for gardening, I love to have pretty flowers around the property, but I leave that to the man of the house…he loves gardening. :)
Your new story sounds fun:) Gardens are great, but I am better at picking the flowers/vegies than growing them!! That I leave to husband and kids:)
Thanks for sharing your newest romance. I enjoy reading boxed sets with a common theme. Ordered my set. While I enjoy admiring flowers and picking fresh vegetables, I am not a gardner, neither do I enjoy gardening. Every year in May, I plant geraniums and inpatients in pots on my deck and front entry. I also have a spot where I plant 3 tomato plants. I enjoy having fresh tomatoes. Easy care and no fuss.
Hi Kimberly, Congrats on your upcoming release! Your novella is set in Oregon, so I had to pre-order the collection, lol :) We have a small veggie garden and we mainly grow low maintenance native Aussie plants. The peppers, chilli and spinach are doing particularly well. Our tomatoes crop was great last summer, and our lemon tree is currently weighed down with nearly ripe fruit. My husband makes exceptional lemon meringue pies with the lemons :)
Thanks for sharing a bit about your new novella.
I also have a love/hate relationship with gardens. Since I moved to an apartment, I’ve only been able to have plants in pots and there’s only a few plants that are okay in pots. I miss having a garden but not the work it takes.
I can pretty much kill the hardiest plants out there, so I am not a gardener. I try every year. And every year it’s a disaster yet again. Sad, really. :)
I do, however, love reading about gardeners — so I’m going to have to go get a copy of your collection. It sounds fun!
I love gardening, but, I , too have terrible allergies and sinus problems. Our place has a small deck and I like to plant petunias in flower boxes. I love hummingbirds and they love the flowers. I am looking forward to reading this new collection of stories. I love all your stories Kimberly Rose Johnson. :-)
Your story does sound fun. I would love to say that I have an amazing green thumb, but that would not be the case. I’m able to keep a few things alive that don’t need much attention and are forgiving when I forget to water them. I’m great at buying veggies at the local farmer’s market though :)
Thank you, Julianne. I love shopping at the farmer’s market. My bugles problem there is that I want to buy too much.:)
Hi, Melissa. Thanks! It sounds like we have some things in common.:) I’m sorry you suffer from allergies too. Petunias are one of my favorite annuals.
Thanks, Elizabeth.:) I truly believe if I lived outside the Pacific NW where nature waters and cares for my yard most of the year I’d have to plant rocks. Lol
Container gardening is fun for me too, but it does have limitations.
Thank you, Jill! My neighbors are the same way. I’m thinking of three different ones and the men do the gardening at each of them.
Thanks, Wemble! Someone must pick them or else they’d rot. :)
LOL, Renate. That is MY kind of gardening. Love it.:)
Thank you, Narelle! I love lemon trees, but they won’t grow year around where I live–at least I don’t think they will. Lemon sand limes have the best scent. They put a smile on my face.
I know a lot of busy people who say they can’t wait until they can hire a housekeeper. For me, it is a landscaper and then maintenance. I do have a veggie garden, and I can barely keep up with that, let alone a flower garden, but I would love to have a beautiful yard, with WEEDED flowerbeds, nice lighting, a little fountain, a sitting area. I can see it, but I just run out of oomph before I implement. It is always too hot, too cold, too rainy, too buggy, or something for me to spend time making it a reality, which simply means it isn’t a high priority, no matter what I say. However, if I could hire someone, that would be the best of all possible worlds!
A gardner, now that would be living the dream!
Valerie! You summed up the problem so well. In SW Mochigan it is also too hot, too cold or too rainy. This year we are hiring one of my former students, who has a lawn care service to help us get caught up. He will take or old bushes, spread mulch, and spruce up the landscaping. There comes the time to call in reinforcement. May call him we very spring! Love to support local small businrpesses. Win, win!
Sounds like an interesting book! Somehow, I’m thinking Jessie’s perception of Scott turning his back on their friendship might not be completely accurate. Anyway, as far as gardening goes, I love looking at beautiful landscaping; however, I have absolutely NO gardening skills. My sister’s pretty good at it and my mom likes gardening, but I’ve just never been able to do it, make it look good, and keep it up.
My lips are sealed.:) It seems we are all in good company when it comes to gardening.
I’m no gardener, have no desire really for it or landscaping! I see all that maintenance & upkeep and I want to go take a nap…haha! Anything beyond basic mowing or weeding is much more work than I want to do. Now, I do admire other people’s beautiful gardens or landscaping. I had a next door neighbor were we used to live and she had flowers all over her yard. I’d see her out there tending to them, watering them and doing whatever was necessary to keep them looking beautiful. She did a marvelous job :-)
Thanks for the book excerpt and link to your FB page, I’m gonna go over there and “friend” you :-) I love that little red round door, it reminds me of a hobbit hole!
It reminds me of a hobbit hole too, Trixi. :) I’m with you are gardening.
I certainly don’t have a green thumb, but I do enjoy the results of other peoples efforts!
My mom loves to work in her yard and is probably out there working at least three or four days a week if not more. I’m counting on that to keep her young.
That should do it, Patty.:)