For Linda Fletcher, the sign in front of her new business says it all. Past Promises Antiques is her declaration of independence from her powerful and manipulative family-and a vow to herself that her future will be different.
She never considered herself the no-strings-affair type, but the chemistry between her and her newly hired handyman is too intense to ignore. Moving to Jamesville was a bold step, so what's the harm in taking one more-into his arms?
Levi Mann's shadowed past keeps his bags packed light and his feet on the move. But one look at Linda, and he finds himself willing to hang around-just long enough to figure out what it is that triggers their explosive passion.
Read an excerpt from Past Promises
Visit N.J. Walters' web site
About N.J. Walters
Once upon a time N.J. had the idea that she would like to quit her job at the bookstore, sell everything she owned, leave her hometown, and write romance novels in a place where no one knew her. And she did. Two years later, she went back to the bookstore and her hometown and settled in for another seven years.
One day she gave notice at her job on a Friday morning. On Sunday afternoon, she received a tentative acceptance for her first erotic romance novel, Annabelle Lee, and life would never be the same.
Book list:
Ellora's Cave Publishing:
Katie's Art of Seduction-Awakening Desires, Book 1 (E-book) & (Print)
Erin's Fancy-Awakening Desires, Book 2 (E-book) & (Print)
Capturing Carly-Awakening Desires, Book 3 (E-book)
Craving Candy-Awakening Desires, Book 4 (E-book)
Enticements-(Print-Contains Capturing Carly and Craving Candy)
Jackson's Jewel-Awakening Desires, Book 5 (E-book)
Harker's Journey-Dalakis Passion, Book 1 (E-book)
Lucian's Delight-Dalakis Passion, Book 2 (E-book)
Dalakis Embrace- (Print-Contains Harker's Journey and Lucian's Delight)
Stefan's Salvation-Dalakis Passion, Book 3 (E-book)
Eternal Brothers-Dalakis Passion, Book 4 (E-book)
Annabelle Lee-Summerville Secrets, Book 1 (E-book)
Heat Wave-Summersville Secrets, Book 2 (E-book)
Summersville Heat- (Print-Contains Annabelle Lee and Heat Wave)
Lily Blossoms-Summersville Secrets, Book 3 (E-book)
Christina's Tapestry-Tapestries, Book 1 (E-book)
Bakra Bride-Tapestries, Book 2 (E-book)
Tapestry Dreams- (Print-Contains Christina's Tapestry and Bakra Bride)
Woven Dreams-Tapestries, Book 3 (E-book)
Threads of Destiny-Tapestries, Book 4 (E-book)
Beyond Shadows-(E-book)
Amethyst Moon-Birthstone Series (E-book)
Three Swords, One Heart-Torrid Tarot Series (E-book)
Anastasia's Style-Valentine Vixens Quickie (E-book)
Candy Caresses- (Print Anthology containing the Valentine Vixens Quickie, Anastasia's Style)
Drakon's Treasure-Autumn Animalia Quickie (E-book)
Feral Fixation- (Print Anthology containing the Autumn Animalia Quickie, Drakon's Treasure)
Jessamyn's Christmas Gift-White Hot Holidays Quickie (E-book)
White Hot Holidays 3- (Print Anthology containing my White Hot Holiday Quickie, Jessamyn's Christmas Gift)
Tempting Tori (E-book)
Unmasking Kelly (E-book)
Over Time, Under Him- (Pocket Books Print Anthology containing EC Quickie Unmasking Kelly)
Ellora's Cavemen: Legendary Tails IV (featuring "A Love Eternal") (E-book) & (Print)
Ellora's Cavemen: Dreams of the Oasis IV (featuring "Shadows Stir") (E-book) & (Print)
Ellora's Cavemen: Seasons of Seduction III (featuring "Sunshine for a Vampire") (E-book) & (Print)
Ellora's Cavemen: Jewels of the Nile IV (featuring "Moon Magic") (E-book) & (Print)
Samhain Publishing:
Discovering Dani-Jamesville, Book 1 (E-book) & (Print)
The Way Home-Jamesville, Book 2 (E-book) & (Print)
The Return of Patrick O'Rourke-Jamesville, Book 3 (E-book) & (Print)
The Seduction of Shamus O'Rourke-Jamesville, Book 4 (E-book) & (Print)
A Legal Affair-Jamesville, Book 5 (E-book)
By The Book-Jamesville, Book 6 (E-book)
Past Promises-Jamesville, Book 7 (E-book)
An Interview with N.J. Walters
By Holly Hewson for The Romance StudioHH: N.J., thanks for talking with us at TRS. Please tell us about Past Promises. NJ: It's my pleasure to be here! Past Promises is my latest Samhain Publishing release and it follows Linda Fletcher, who readers will recognize from an earlier book, The Seduction of Shamus O'Rourke.
Linda Fletcher has moved to Jamesville to get away from her powerful and manipulative family and to open her antique's business -- Past Promises.
Levi Mann takes a job doing renovations on Linda's new building in exchange for free rent. Passion explodes between the two during an argument over her family. Linda has never contemplated a no-strings affair before, but the chemistry between them is too intense to ignore.
However, the past won't let her go. Her family threatens her home, business, and the new life she's built. The final confrontation will test the tentative bonds of her and Levi's relationship.
HH: This is the seventh book in your Jamesville series. First, how did the series come to be? NJ: I started writing this series back in 1995. Discovering Dani, the first book in the series, was actually the first book I ever wrote. Not the first book I published, but the first one I wrote. I'd been an avid romance reader most of my adult life and had thought about trying to write one of my own. We'd moved for a year for my husband's career and I decided that the time was right for me to try my hand at writing. Jamesville is actually loosely patterned on the town where we lived for that year.
HH: What can you tell us about the previous stories in the series? NJ: The first book, Discovering Dani, features Dani O'Rourke and her two younger brothers, Patrick and Shamus. The second book, The Way Home, took a slight detour away from the O'Rourke family and focused on Jake Tanner, who was featured briefly in the first book.
I always knew I wanted to write books for Patrick and Shamus. It took a few years, but when the time was right, the stories flowed. The tone of the later books is different from the first two, mostly because almost a decade had gone by since I'd written them and I'd changed as an author. Plus, both characters demanded it. The books are edgier and sexier.
Shamus's book introduced quite a few new characters that appear in the later books -- A Legal Affair, By The Book and Past Promises. Again, these books are sexier and edgier than the original two, but the focus is still on family, friends and true love.
HH: How does Past Promises continue the series? NJ: Past Promises brings back antiques dealer, Linda Fletcher, who was first introduced in The Seduction of Shamus O'Rourke. She's friends with several folks in Jamesville and decides to move there to start a new life for herself.
Levi Mann is a man at loose ends, trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. He arrived in Jamesville in By The Book to help his friend Jonah Sutter, and decided to stay. Now, he's living rent free in the building that Linda purchased in exchange for labor.
The two of them have incredible chemistry and have come to know one another over the months they've worked to rehab the building Linda purchased. But they finally come together when Levi discovers that Linda has problems with her family. He's determined to help her, whether she wants his help or not.
HH: What's your favorite story in the series so far and why? Will there be more in this series? NJ: That's really a tough question. I love all the books! I do admit to having a huge soft spot for Shamus. If I had to choose, I think The Seduction of Shamus O'Rourke is my absolute favorite. It's a story of family, love and redemption. Close seconds are The Return of Patrick O'Rourke, By The Book and Past Promises.
When I finished Past Promises, I said it was the last book in the series. I figured seven books was a good number for a series. Now, I'm not sure. Readers, and my editor, have been asking for more. I'm thinking about it!
HH: What else do you have coming up for lucky readers? NJ: My latest book, Endless Chase -- book 5 in the Dalakis Passion vampire series-was just released from Ellora's Cave in May. I had a blast with this book. I've got a sexy hero and a kick-ass heroine, nasty villains and family problems. Who could ask for more? =)
Amethyst Dreams, a ménage a trois set on earth and in an alternate world, will be released by Ellora's Cave later this year. I also just signed a two-book contract for the first two books in a new series I'm working on for Ellora's Cave. More details will follow later this year.
HH: What's your favorite part of the creative process in writing? NJ: The beginning and the end. LOL
I love that moment of sitting down to a blank screen and beginning a new book. The ideas are flowing, the characters are coming alive in my mind, and I can't wait to start writing their story. The end is also wonderful. That sense of accomplishment, of finishing the project, can't be beat. The in-between is the hard part. There are plenty of days when it's difficult to make myself work, or I think everything I write is garbage, but you get through it and push on to the end. You can always fix things on the rewrite. You can't fix an empty page.
HH: What challenges do you face at this point in your career? NJ: Like any writer, I want to keep getting better at my craft, and I work hard to do just that. I never want to disappoint my readers. The biggest challenge right now is finding time to work on new ideas. The more you publish, the more time you have to spend on "non-writing" stuff, that is all very necessary to your career, or working on continuing series that are already contracted. Not that I'm complaining. I love what I do.
I'd like to find time to develop some new ideas that I've had kicking around in my mind for a while now. I'd also love to break into the New York market. I love both my publishers, and will continue to write for them, but it's most every writer's dream to make it to the big publishers. I'd love to walk into the grocery store or Wal-Mart and see my book on the shelf. =)
HH: What are you reading now? NJ: I just finished the new J.R. Ward book and Linda Howard's Death Angel. These two ladies are masters of their craft! I love to read, but don't get nearly as much time to indulge in it now that I'm writing full time. I have my favorite authors that I have to read everything they write, but I also like to try a new author now and again. I'm just starting the first book in S. J. Day's new series, Eve of Darkness and I'm really enjoying it so far.
HH: How do you plan to spend the summer? NJ: My plan this summer is to carve out some time to work on several ideas I've had kicking around in my head for more than a year. I figure I owe myself at least two months of uninterrupted time to do that before I head back to work on my next couple of projects, which will be new books for ongoing series.
I'm also hoping to spend a lot of time outside. The winters are long and I have to soak up the sunshine when I can get it. Long walks, picnics, afternoons in the movie theatre, and hot afternoons watching baseball are definitely in my plans. And somewhere in there, I'll probably find time to curl up and read a few books. =)
HH: Thank you!
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