Interview with Timeless Escapes anthology author Julie Rowe

I have the honor of interviewing Julie Rowe today as part of the virtual tour for the anthology Timeless Escapes: A Collection of Summer Stories happening now with Goddess Fish Promotions. Julie is one of the five authors involved in the project.

The authors will be awarding several prizes during their tour to lucky commenters. The prizes are:

• First prize - $50 gift certificate plus e-book Timeless Keepsakes: A Collection of Christmas Stories by Ruth A. Casie, Lita Harris, Emma Kaye, Nicole S. Patrick, Julie Rowe
• Second prize - $25 gift certificate plus 3 e-books 1) Molly Gets Her Man by Julie Rowe 2) Knight of Runes by Ruth A. Casie 3) Timeless Keepsakes: A Collection of Christmas Stories by Ruth A. Casie, Lita Harris, Emma Kaye, Nicole S. Patrick, Julie Rowe
• Third prize - 3 e-books 1) Love at Christmas by Lita Harris 2) Time for Love by Emma Kaye 3) Keepsakes: A Collection of Christmas Stories by Ruth A. Casie, Lita Harris, Emma Kaye, Nicole S. Patrick, Julie Rowe 

To be entered for a chance to win a prize, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit other tour stops and enter there, too.

Bio:

Julie Rowe’s first career as a med lab tech in Canada took her to the North West Territories and northern Alberta, where she still resides. She loves to include medical details and a lot of adventure in her romance novels. Julie writes contemporary and historical medical romance, and fun romantic suspense. Her writing has also appeared in several magazines such as Today’s Parent, Reader’s Digest (Canada), and Canadian Living. You can reach her at www.julieroweauthor.com, on Twitter @julieroweauthor or at her Facebook page: www.facebook.com/JulieRoweAuthor.

Welcome, Julie. Please tell us about your current story, "A Pirate's Vacation" in Timeless Escapes: A Collection of Summer Stories.

A year ago, Emergency Room doctor Josie Zizzo lost her husband to the violence in war-torn Syria. Watching him die while bullets rained down on their makeshift hospital, left her suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress disorder. Returning to work in the ER proved impossible, the PTSD throwing her back in time to the awful day her husband died. In an effort to heal, Josie buys a B&B in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but the property needs more repairs than she anticipated. Her best friend promises to come help, but it’s her best friend’s brother who steps off the plane, firefighter Mark Durant. Mark is the last man she dated before meeting her husband, a man she loved, a man who walked away from her when she asked for more than a casual relationship.

Mark has come to help Josie because he’s suffering his own PTSD nightmare and hopes the sun, sand, and time spent with the most giving woman he’s ever met will help him heal. It isn’t until he steps off the plane and sees Josie’s shocked face that he realizes his sister has set them both up. Now he’s sharing a house with a woman he wants more than his next breath, who’s also fighting her own terrifying memories. It isn’t until a storm hits the island that they’re forced to face their pasts and all the ghosts that haunt them. Can love survive nature’s wrath and their personal demons?

What inspired you to write this story?

Every story I write involves recovery from loss or trauma in some way. Doctors, nurses, firefighters and other emergency response people are often traumatized by what they see and do. Many of them cope as best they can, but sometimes it can get to be too much and they need to take time away to get themselves sorted out. Some (like me) never go back. I believe telling their stories is important.

Excerpt:

Years disappeared and it felt like yesterday when he’d last kissed her, put his hands on her body, and made love to her. It weakened her knees and turned her breathing into something totally optional.

Well, wasn’t this just ducky. Hell of a time for her libido to come out of hibernation.

Josie sighed, put some starch in her legs and refused to succumb to the seduction of her memories. She would be polite and friendly, that was all. “Come on, you’re here. You might as well get the nickel tour.”

He didn’t move. “Not necessary. I can grab the first plane going back to mainland USA.”

That duffel bag was full. He hadn’t planned a short trip.

She raised one eyebrow. “Did you take time off to come here?”

He froze like she’d just caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. “Um, yeah.”

Shit. “How long?”

“Four weeks.”

That rocked her back on her feet.

“From the pictures, I can tell your new place needs a lot of work.”

Heh, she should have asked his opinion before she bought it. And he’d come all this way to help her, despite knowing the status of the B&B.

“What made you decide to want to help me?” She tried that smile thing again, maybe this time it’d work. “I mean, we haven’t seen each other in a few years.”

“Five.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“We haven’t seen each other in five years.”

He kept track?

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m currently working on a military romance series that features a team of infection disease specialists who respond to biological emergencies around the world.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I started writing poetry and shorter works of fiction in my teens.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like?  If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I write, or perform writing related tasks, full-time and work part-time at my local college where I teach a variety of communication workshops to adults and corporate clients. I spend about a quarter of my day on social media, email, etc. I tend to write in 30- to 60-min blocks throughout the day. I find I stay more energetic if I change tasks every hour or so.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Hmm, probably my love of the words “look”, “smile” and “just”. I’m always surprised at how many times I use those words and always have to edit a lot of them out.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a doctor. Now I write about them, so I’m pretty satisfied.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is no different than suffering from diabetes. There are coping strategies, therapies, and lifestyle choices that can help. Nothing can magically cure either disorder, but lots of things can make them easier to live with.

If you or someone you love needs help coping, please check out http://wyshproject.org/ The organization was started by Andrew O’Brien, who attempted suicide himself. He’s been there and can help.

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