Interview with Entangled’s Author Jennie Marts and her new book Hidden Away
Hidden Away:
Secrets have a way of revealing themselves….
Right after a fire breaks out in her diner, a phone call changes Cherry Hill’s life. The tragic death of her cousin leaves Cherry sole guardian of her eight-year-old nephew. But the upper crust side of the Hill family deems her unfit and is determined to take Sam away from her. The only one on her side is the sexy sheriff, Taylor Johnson, the man who broke her heart nine years ago when he left town.
Taylor Johnson has sworn to protect the citizens of Broken Falls, but should that extend to a fake engagement to the woman who captured his heart so long ago? It doesn’t take long for his pretend feelings to turn real for both Cherry and her adorable nephew, Sam.
But Cherry’s been hiding a secret from Taylor that could rip this new family apart…Buy links:Amazon:Barnes & Noble: ibooks:
Hi guys! Today is a dreary and a long day, but I got some brighter news. Please welcome author Jennie Marts to the blog today as she answers a couple of questions for us. Her new book Hidden Away is expected to be published November 16th 2015 by Entangled: Select Contemporary .
Tell us a little about your recent release?
Hidden Away is the 2nd book in The Hearts of Montana series. It’s a small town love story about second chances. Cherry Hill’s life changes in a single moment with a phone call telling her that her cousin has been killed and has left her the guardian of her eight year old nephew, Sam. Sheriff Taylor Johnson left Broken Falls and the girl he loved nine years ago, but now he’s back and determined to save Cherry and Sam. Their pretend family quickly turns into something real, but secrets have a way of revealing themselves.
This book is funny and tender and will pull on your heartstrings, but hopefully you will fall in love with Cherry, Taylor, and Sam the way I did.
How did you first come up with the inspiration to write Hidden Away?
After graduating from college, my husband and I moved to a small town in Montana, and we absolutely loved it. I am originally from a small town in Kansas, and I just love the closeness of small towns and how everyone knows each other and pitches in to help when one of their own is in trouble. I also love second chance stories. People make mistakes all the time, and I’m a big fan of getting that second chance to make things right and turn a mistake into a happy ending.
Which character did you find easiest to write and why? Do you ever base characters on people you know?
My heroines are usually the easiest characters for me to write. Writing Sam’s dialogue and the scenes with Sam would rip my heart out, and I would often find myself crying as I wrote some of his scenes. And I have absolutely based characters on people I know. I had very close relationships with both of my grandma’s and they both tend to seep into all of my older ladies characters. And a lot of secondary characters of people in the small towns tend to have similiarities of people I actually know. My main characters are usually complete figments of my imagination though with their own personalities and quirks.
What do you like about the relationship between Cherry and Taylor?
I love the way they laugh and tease each other. And that they’ve known each other since they were kids so they have a lot of history. There is something special about those couples that went to school together and grew up around each other’s families.
What is your favorite thing about Montana?
Oh gosh, there are so many things. The people mostly. The way the people take care of each other. Life is slower in Montana. There are fewer people and fewer towns and most of the towns are small. The sky really seems bigger and is so beautifully blue. The scenery is gorgeous and the Northern Lights are amazing to witness. We had our kids while we were there and made some of our closest friends while we lived there- people that we are still close to today. So Montana holds a lot of amazing memories for us. We really loved it.
How did it feel to publish your first book?
Amazing! Surreal! The best! It’s a long journey to publish your first book and I learned so much along that journey. But it was an amazing experience. And I am so blessed to be able to be living my dream. And every new book I write is such a huge fist-punch feeling of accomplishment and excitement.
What inspired you to become an author?
I have always wanted to be a writer. I wrote my first mystery in fifth grade. I always knew that someday I would write a book. Then my kids were graduating high school, and I just knew it was time. So I took classes, joined RWA and found a local chapter, went to writing conferences and I actually sat down and wrote a book. Then I rewrote it a couple of times-haha. And then I just kept writing.
How would you describe your writing style?
I try to write at least five days a week and I give myself word count goals of 2000 words a day. I still work part-time 3 days a week, so my days off are spent writing. I used to be a ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ writer, but now that I am trying to write 3-4 books a year, I HAVE to plot. I just don’t have time to wait for the story to come to me. When I am writing, I am consumed by the book—I go to sleep thinking about it and I wake up thinking about the new scene I plan to write that day.
Doing
anything for halloween? any family traditions?
We did dress up for Halloween and attended a Halloween dance. I love to dress up and I get a kick out of all of the trick-or-treaters and passing out candy. I am including a pic of me from this year’s Halloween- when you have a purple witch’s hat- you use any excuse to wear it. 
What are you working on next?
I am currently working on a new series called the Bannister Brothers about a family of brothers. So far, the first two brothers, Bane and Owen, play hockey, the third is a rock star, and the fourth is the cute, smart nerdy little brother who is an accountant and takes care of all of their money. The first novella- Worth the Shot is available right now in the Mischief Under the Mistletoe box set and Icing On the Date is available for preorder from Amazon. You can find all of my books on my Jennie Marts Amazon author page.
