When I
was approached to participate in this amazing anthology, my first reaction was
along the lines of “um, no. I’ve never really written a fire fighter story
before and don’t anticipate it happening.”
But you
know, something funny happened right about the time I wrote my response to the
bundle’s organizer. My Muse snapped out of his previous stupor and yammered an
idea into my brain. If you are a Liz Crowe reader already, you know I’m the
worst sort of romance novel rule breaker so once I absorbed His concept, I sent
Him back to his corner to sulk, opened up an empty Word document and wrote
these lines:
“Are you
sure this is the right space, Mister…ah…”
“Yeah,” the very tall man in the mirror
reflective sunglasses grunted out his reply, ignoring my lapse with his name.
Which is forgivable, considering he mumbled it to me on the phone, demanded to
see my stale commercial listing, then hung up without giving me a half second’s
chance to protest. Dropping everything and showing the old building that had
once housed a downtown Detroit fire station, which had now languished for so
long on the market it was collecting graffiti and wildlife, had not been my
idea of a great way to spend a warm Friday afternoon.
One
thing I like to do when writing books is to set them in or around businesses
that I know well. One of these is real estate. The other: craft beer. I’m not a
huge consumer of standard fire fighter romances, which I think worked in my
favor as I was able to work the fireman connection in, but in a different sort
of a way, around these two worlds of mine.
My
firefighter, George Lattimer III or “Trey” is retired. But he’s young, or at
least younger than your average retiree. And he’s on the hunt for an old fire
house to open another branch of his brewery, this time in Detroit. Which is
what put him right in the path of Harriet Jane Terrance, the heroine of my very
first attempt at a first person point of view novel.
Why he’s
such a young retiree from the brotherhood and why he’s keen on opening a new
branch of his successful “FireBrew” breweries in Detroit is something you can
find out by reading the novel, included in the upcoming INTO THE FLAMES fire
fighter anthology, but I assure you it is, as they say Something Completely
Different, Liz Crowe style.
The
whole first person thing was a lot of fun and something I’d avoided to this
point, even through my thirty book backlist. It was freeing, in a way I didn’t
anticipate that it would be but I also learned a lot about only offering one
perspective on an emotional story about one self destructive woman’s emotional
growth, thanks to the utterly chance meeting with “her” fireman.
I hope
that you enjoy it. But I would recommend heeding the trigger warning at the
beginning so as not to be unpleasantly surprised by certain portions of it.
Happy
reading!
Liz
Liz Bio:
Amazon
best-selling author, mom of three, Realtor, beer blogger, brewery marketing
expert, and soccer fan, Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the
University of Louisville currently living in Ann Arbor. She has decades of
experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as a three-continent,
ex-pat trailing spouse.
Her
early forays into the publishing world led to a groundbreaking fiction hybrid, “Unconventional Romance. Worth the Risk,” which has gained
thousands of fans and followers interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA”
(“What Happens After?”).
With
stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, in
successful real estate offices and at times in exotic locales like Istanbul,
Turkey, her books are unique and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe
backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and
complete casts of characters that will delight, frustrate and linger in the
imagination long after the book is finished.
Don’t
ever ask her for anything “like a Budweiser” or risk bodily injury.
Website/Blog
Now here's a little bit about Into the Flames!
INTO THE FLAMES: Firefighter Multi-Author
Boxed Set Anthology
Release Date: Tuesday, September 29, 2015
ISBN: 9781626228832
(Seaside Publications)
Eight smoldering stories. One great price. Only .99!
Firefighters. The word ignites
bold images of heroes in dust covered helmets and ash stained turnouts who defy
the odds and press on in the presence of danger.
Men and Women of
Valor. A dedicated brotherhood of first responders whose honor, strength,
and courage overcome obstacles to save lives.
Into The Flames. Eight NYT, USA
Today, bestselling and award-winning authors offer romantic suspense,
contemporary, historical, and paranormal tales of tough, iconic heroes who risk
it all for their communities—but at the end of the day, seek the tender embrace
of the one they love.
JOIN US ON THE
ADVENTURE…
Rescue Me by N.J. Walters
When firefighter Frank Ellis rescues an old
flame from a burning building, sparks ignite. He’ll do anything to protect her,
even if it means she discovers he’s a mythical phoenix.
Flashpoint by Desiree Holt
...When everything explodes
Where There's
Smoke by Cindy Spencer Pape
Firefighting in the 1920's is dangerous
business, but so is falling in love.
FireBrew by Liz
Crowe
Fate throws them together. But the horrific
memory of a fiery disaster could tear them apart.
Hook Me Up by Adele Downs
Firemen don't free cats from trees anymore—until
a pretty schoolteacher gets trapped on a limb with her kitten and the county's
hottest firefighter comes to their rescue.
Slow Burner by Sam Cheever
A love that burns slowly burns longest, creating
the greatest heat.
Uncontrolled Burn: A RISEN
Team Novel by Nina Pierce
A woman forced to live a life she didn’t choose.
A vampire bound by honor to protect humans. A deadly game of revenge that
threatens both their lives …
About The
Authors:
N.J. Walters is a New York
Times and USA Today Bestselling
author who’s always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days
writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers,
seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie
for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.
Desiree Holt is an
award-winning author known the world over as The Oldest Living Erotic Romance
Author. She has won an EPIC E-Book Award, the Holt Medallion and many other
awards. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice,
The Daily Beast, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The London Daily Mail and
numerous other national and international publications.
Cindy Spencer
Pape is an award-winning author of 19 novels and more than 40 shorter
works. She lives in southeast Michigan. When not hard at work writing she can
be found dressing up for steampunk parties and Renaissance fairs, or with her
nose buried in a book.
Liz Crowe is an Amazon
best-selling author of 27 books, mom of three, Realtor, beer blogger, brewery
marketing expert, and sports fan. She is a Kentucky native and graduate of the
University of Louisville currently living in Ann Arbor. She has decades of
experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as a
three-continent, ex-pat trailing spouse. Her early forays into the publishing
world led to a groundbreaking fiction hybrid, “Unconventional Romance. Worth the
Risk,” which has gained thousands of fans and followers interested less in the
“HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”).
Adele Downs is the
best-selling, award-winning author of more than 20 romance titles, including
those written under another pen name, and is a former journalist with hundreds
of articles to her credit. When not writing in her home office in rural
Pennsylvania, she can be found reading a book on the nearest beach or riding in
her convertible.
Sam Cheever is a USA Today Bestselling author who writes
romantic paranormal/fantasy and mystery/suspense, creating stories that
celebrate the joy of love in all its forms. Known for writing great characters,
snappy dialogue, and unique and exhilarating stories, Sam is the award-winning
author of 50+ books and has been writing for over a decade under several noms
de plume.
Nina Pierce is a USA Today Bestselling author who spends
her days at the keyboard writing stories of fated loves and soul mates,
blissfully creating chaos for her characters by throwing in a villain or two, a
little murder and a whole lot of mayhem as they struggle toward their
happy-ever-afters. When she’s not writing, Nina enjoys spending time with her soul
mate of nearly 40 years, their three adult children, one love-sick son-in-law
and two precious grandsons.
Preorder INTO THE FLAMES