Book 'Em North Carolina: Secrets of a Heart

Today's special guest is Samantha Garman. Samantha currently lives and writes in Brooklyn, NY. She loves Scotch, a great conversation with anyone willing to speak their mind and flannel pajamas. While yearning for a backyard and a dog, she's decided to stay busy working on her next book, Dandelion Dreams.

THOUGHTS ON IDEAS

I asked Samantha where she got her ideas, and here is her response:

I have a lot of ideas all the time. Most of the time, I get really excited and want to start writing immediately. But when I sit down to think about flushing them out, I realize there isn’t usually enough of an idea to make a story. Most of the time, things need to be strung together and then it becomes a good, solid story.

I get ideas from everywhere. While reading other books, while falling asleep, while I’m walking down the road listening to music. Inspiration strikes at odd times and it’s rarely convenient because I’m often in the middle of something else. I’m always jotting down notes—on my iPhone notepad, on my journal. I’ll find crumbled pieces of paper in my wallet or a coat pocket, smooth them out and attempt to read them. Often times, they’re almost unreadable, but they help piece a story together and make it more complete.

Like all authors, I draw from life. Not everything can be entirely fictional because then there wouldn’t be a ring of truth that is vital for literature. I like people with real flaws and real problems. They’re so much more interesting. Trying to write a story that makes characters likable but believable isn’t always easy. But the cool thing about crafting your own story is that you can decide where it goes…Okay, that’s a lie. Most of my characters tell me where they want to go and I have to chase after them. Usually, they know better than me anyway.

ABOUT THE BOOK

London, 1815. At the age of nineteen, Blaine Whitmore loses everything dear to him in a brutal assault on his family line. Left with nothing, he finds himself aboard a merchant ship sailing far from home. Years pass as a boy becomes a man, and yet no amount of time or distance will help Blaine forget all that he has lost. After ten years sailing the high seas, he is finally ready to restore the Whitmore name.

Felicity Canton is as lovely as she is penniless, and has been left to care for her three sisters while attempting to maintain a crumbling estate. With no hope for escape from her predicament, she is resigned to a peasant’s fate. She never anticipates attracting the attention of her wealthy and mysterious new neighbor, nor does she expect him to be her savior.

As Blaine searches for truth and doles out vengeance, he becomes increasingly captivated and distracted by Felicity’s beauty and inner strength. Does he dare confide in her the secrets of his heart? Will his future be as bleak as his past, or will he finally have a chance at happiness?

AN EXCERPT

She took a healthy swallow of brandy, unaware of Gray’s steadfast gaze on her. “The sale of the manor will only cover the remaining debts. There will be nothing left to buy even a small cottage so that I can care for my sisters. I can provide them nothing.”

“Your father’s debts are not your fault, Felicity. The choices he made were his, and his alone.”

“Still, it is my burden to carry. Who will provide for Abby, Grace and Phoebe if I do not?” She set her glass down on the desk and took a deep breath. “We have no relatives, but I think I have found a way out of our predicament.” Gray raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. “Would you like to know what my plan is?”

He nodded. “Please, enlighten me.”

She took a deep breath and then stated, “I want to come work for you.”

“You want to what?” he asked in confusion.

“It is a perfectly reasonable request.”

“Reasonable? You are a gently-bred young lady, ill suited to menial labor.”

She sighed, crestfallen. “A paid position in a wealthy home is the best I can hope for. I can run a household. I will gladly be your housekeeper.” Gray was momentarily shocked into silence. “I have no hope for marriage. Winterbourne was my only opportunity. I have no dowry, and I come with three sisters equally destitute.”

“You could marry me,” Gray suggested slowly as if he was just coming to the conclusion himself.