Please give Lucie Ulrich a warm Inspy Romance welcome! Her book, The Rose Ring, is a RONE Award finalist this year, and I’ve invited her to tell us about it. Lucie is, in my humble opinion, a woman after God’s own heart. She has a great sense of humor, too, which never hurts. I’m sure you’ll enjoy getting to know her.
My desire to write novels didn’t begin until I was forty-seven. My goal was to be published by the time I hit fifty. I missed it by eight years. Through lots of trial and error, fabulous critique partners, and a new imprint, my first book hit the shelves, or should I say the digital world, a little over three years ago. Though I didn’t reach my goal, I never gave up on my dream. 
I’m not a romantic at heart, and my husband is less so than me, yet romance is my genre of choice—perhaps that’s why. Lol! In all honesty, my first two books don’t really fit the classic romance mold, but I’m good with that. I kind of like being the square peg that can’t be shoved into a round hole.
As an example, my first book, Broken Vessels, was told using six different points of view—definitely not standard practice for a romance. As a newbie with no formal training, I honestly didn’t know I was doing anything “wrong.” Thankfully I found a publisher who liked the story well enough to offer me a contract.
With my second novel, The Rose Ring, I reduced my POV usage to three; still unorthodox, but necessary for the story. The romance is there, but so is major family conflict. With brother pitted against brother, deep-seated hurts, a long-kept family secret, and an in-name-only marriage, the actual love story had to be woven in and around everything else.
For the most part I’m more of a conformist than a trouble-maker, but there are times I feel rules need to be broken, or at least bent a little. I was fortunate enough to find two publishers who allow my slightly unorthodox methods. For the most part readers and critics seem to agree. The Rose Ring is one of four finalists in the inspirational category vying for a RONE award, sponsored by InD’tale Magazine. What makes it more fun is that my buddy Heather Gray’s book, Redemption, is also in the running. There’s nothing like a little friendly competition, right?
Here is a short excerpt from The Rose Ring:
***
Micah leaned forward and set the cup and saucer on the table. He turned his head to look at her. “Noah’s decided not to fight the will.”
A slight tremble overtook Sky as the reality of her offer set in. She placed her cup next to his. “What’s our first step?”
“I need you to hear me out before we make any plans.”
“Okay.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Did you know I asked Morgan to marry me?”
Sky’s heart thumped against her ribcage. In all the time he and Morgan dated, she’d never heard either of them mention the word marriage. He’d been even more in love with her than Sky realized. She shook her head, unable to respond verbally.
“I guess I shouldn’t have expected you to. Only people I told were Sam and Annie.” He sat back. “Took me six weeks to find just the right ring. I planned a special night and even got down on one knee. Morgan took one look at the ring, and with tears in her eyes shut the lid.” He scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “She pretty much shut my heart down in the process.”
“Micah, I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not telling you this because I want your sympathy. I’m telling you because you have to understand that I’m not ready for any type of emotional attachment right now.”
Sky wanted to kick herself for ever having said anything about the crush. It was stupid and desperate, and now she had him worried. “Look, Micah—”
“Let me finish.” He took hold of her hands. “There’s no question that you’re one of the nicest people I’ve ever known, but the simple truth is I don’t love you. At least not the way a husband is supposed to love his wife. You have to go into this marriage knowing it’s temporary.”
Tears threatened, but she blinked them back. His words hurt, but they were truth, and she’d take truth over a lie any day. “I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but I’m going in with my eyes wide open.”
“I don’t deserve you, but I sure do appreciate you.” He squeezed her hand. “Now that that’s settled, where do we go from here?”
“Good question.” She took a sip of her tea. Its warmth and rich flavor did nothing to quell the flutters in her stomach. Getting her heart to line up with her good intentions wasn’t going to be easy, but she loved him enough to risk the pain that was sure to come.
***
For a chance to win an ebook of The Rose Ring, (Amazon or B&N) simply leave a comment below. I’ll choose a random winner this Friday (6/26).
If you’d like to read more, you can find The Rose Ring at Amazon or B&N .
I can be reached on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/inspywriter . To read about my adventures in retirement or check out my other books, go to http://lucieulrich.com/.
Finally, I’d like to thank Heather Gray for allowing me to post a bit about myself and my books. Happy Reading!
***********PRIZE WINNER UPDATE*********
The drawing winner is Sarah Venable. Congratulations Sarah!!
Heather Gray loves coffee, God, her family, and laughter – not necessarily in that order! She writes approachable characters who, through the highs and lows of life, find a way to love God, embrace each day, and laugh out loud right along with her. And, yeah, her books almost always have someone who's a coffee addict. Some things just can't be helped. Despite their different lives and situations, Heather’s characters have something in common. They're all flawed...but loved anyway.
This is what I want to read next! I love the storyline in the excerpt.
This book sounds very interesting. I can’t wait to read it when it comes out! I loved the excerpt.
Thank you for stopping by today!!
This book sounds amazing. I love books about a marriage of convenience.
Thank you so much for stopping by Sarah!
The book sounds interesting. Thanks for the chance of a giveaway.
Thanks for stopping by Linda! Good luck in the giveaway! :)
So glad you could stop by Dana! Marriage of convenience stories are almost always fun, aren’t they?
Thanks for your kind words!
Thank you, Sarah! I sometimes struggle choosing the right excerpt. Glad you liked it. By the way, the book is out! :)
Thank you, Dana. This book was certainly a labor of love.
Glad you think so, Linda. I wish you luck. :)
Good morning, Lucie and Heather. I enjoyed the blog today. I would be interested in reading The Rose Ring. I have read some authors who mix POVs to my great confusion, but I have read some that were well done and added to the uniqueness of the story. I wish you all the best in your nomination for the RONE award!
Thank you so much, Stacey. I’m very excited to be nominated, and looking forward to the awards ceremony. As for POVs, yes, they can be confusing at times, especially when too many are used, or you feel like you’re hopping from one person’s thoughts to another. I kept it simple with The Rose Ring for just that reason. Thanks for taking the time to comment. :)
Great book. Just read third one and loved it too. I want to share.
Thank you, Nancy!!! <3
Hi Lucie! I’d have to agree with Stacey in the fact that (for me) if you have too many POV’s in a story, I tend to get confused and give up on the book. And, I’m sure, that’s not what an author wants! From your excerpt here, I can easily follow the characters conversation. I’ve read books with only one person’s side and I’ve read some with several people’s side…it’s all in how the author balances them all out. As long as the story flows well together and at a good pace, it’s fine for me :-) And yes, all the best on your nomination!
Thank you, Heather for introducing me to a new-to-me author. I really liked getting to know her & her background a bit. I think I would enjoy reading this just from that excerpt! :-)
Hi Trixi! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. I agree that my first book probably had too many POVs, though I never had any complaints about it. I made sure to give each character a voice and they weren’t all talking at the same time–if you know what I mean. The Rose Ring has only three POVs, and since the story is as much about the feuding brothers as the romance, I felt it was important to the story. Shoud you read it, I hope you agree, and I hope you let me know one way or the other. :)
I am embarrassed to admit, but I have had The Rose Ring on my Amazon wishlist since last Nov/Dec. I know it got itself buried on my list and forgotten. Thank you for renewing my interest and I am even more eager to read it. I, also, love a good “marriage of convenience” story. :) I only read a tiny bit of the excerpt, b/c I am an all or nothing person. I am the one who covers her ears and hums if someone starts talking about a book or movie I want to read/see.
Lol, Terrill, please don’t be embarrassed. I can’t tell you how many book I have on my TBR list that I haven’t gotten to yet. :) And I know what you mean about all or nothing. It’s one reason I avoid reviews. Good luck on the drawing.
Hi Everyone! A huge THANK YOU to everyone who entered! I’ve announced the winner at the very bottom of the post but thought I should put the name here in the comments, too, just in case people check here instead. Sarah Venable, congratulations!! Again – thank you to everyone to participated. Y’all are an awesome group of people and readers!!
POV is such a tricky thing, isn’t it? What I find the most interesting is that when I pick up something that was popular 40 or 50 years ago, the POV is all over the place. One second you’re in the hero’s head, then you’re in his aunt’s, then you’re in the gardener’s head, and there’s no indication that a change has occurred, so you either have to keep up with it or get lost. Today’s standards would say that was bad writing, and I don’t know if I entirely agree with that, but the one thing I do know – reading those stories makes me exercise my brain! :)
Thank you so much for stopping by Nancy! Lucie is a great author, isn’t she? Diamonds and Donuts is fun, too. I love a fun read now and then. :)
Yay Trixi! So glad you could stop by, and I’m glad I was able to introduce you to a new-to-you author! :) Lucie’s not just a great author, but she’s a fantastic person, too. I can’t speak for everyone, but it’s so much easier to throw my support behind someone I respect and admire. (The good writing doesn’t hurt, either!) ;)
Terrill – I’m glad you were able to stop by today and enjoy a snippet from The Rose Ring – and that your interest has been renewed! It’s so easy to lose books on the TBR list…especially when our TBR list is burgeoning. :) Have a marvelous day, and happy reading!