Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome ZA Maxfield to the blog for her first visit
ZA, can you please share with us a little about yourself?
I’m a wife and a mother of four, and a native of sunny Southern California. I grew up with the television on. I Love Lucy and Bonanza and The Brady Bunch and The Partidge Family. Charlies Angels and The Six Million Dollar Man.
I’m afraid I’ve let my kids grow up in the middle of pop culture too, with the television on. (Although we’re no longer restricted to what three or four television networks want us to watch.) We all love story, whether it’s books, comics or graphic novels, film, or television. We’ve even become so engrossed in the Podcasts for Welcome To Nighvale we all got Nightvale presents from Santa last year.
Have you always wanted to be an author?
Yes! Always. Since the first book I read, probably, although I don’t remember that far back. Of course I thought it would all staring moodily out to see and setting up an iv drip of cheap booze with a dirty needle. I thought there’d be more random filthy sexual encounters. Only on the pages, I’m afraid.
What is your most interesting writing quirk?
I WISH I had an interesting writing quirk. Does writing in my pajamas count? I’m so pedestrian. I’m linear. I now make outlines. Nothing quirky. I like to use a photo calendar to mark my current word count every day. It’s usually something meditative. Does that count?
Can you please tell us about your latest book(s)?
I have a few things on the burner. I’ve got a mystery coming from Riptide later this year, and I’m working on another romantic comedy. Plus I’m writing more J-Bar Cowboy stories. I really enjoy small town settings, I like nature, and getting people to open up to one another. There are a lot of reasons for me to write these stories.
The latest is, of course My Heartache Cowboy, about Jimmy Rafferty and Eddie Molina, a couple of middle aged cowboys who have to redefine their friendship when Eddie reveals he’s gay.
Jimmy drinks too much, and things are changing at the J-Bar. They might not have jobs when the dust settles. Eddie takes it upon himself to straighten Jimmy out and get him sober, with some pretty interesting consequences.
How did you come with the idea for this story?
It came naturally as the two main characters are secondary characters in book one, My Cowboy Heart, and had unfinished business.
My current work in progress is a total change of pace from the heartfelt cowboy stories in that it’s an opposites attract romantic comedy set against the backdrop of a small town dealing with the invasion of a film crew on location shooting a popular television series. There will be strong emotion but lots of situational comedy. I hope. (Crossing my fingers.)
Who is the one author that you would love to meet someday and why?
I HAD the immense pleasure of meeting my IDOL of all time, Laura Kinsale, at RT last year. I was so delighted. WOW. Perfect moment. Got a piccie and everything. I’m such a fangirl at heart.
What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?
Oh, wow. I’d say it’s just write. Keep writing. Never stop writing, even though you might get something published and it’s in edits and it could be the next big thing.
No matter what you’re getting published and no matter what anyone says about it, what you’ve written is past. It’s prologue. Always be working on the Next Thing, and believe that Next Thing going to be EVEN better, because it will be. I guarantee it.
Can you share with us something off your bucket list.
Riding a Harley Davidson. Firing a Glock. All the stuff my hot characters do that I only imagine doing.
What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?
This is so hard. I am currently drooling for Dirty Deeds by Rhys Ford.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Well, of course I’d like to add that if readers go right now and buy every one of my backlist books they’ll reach oneness with the universe or lose 50 pounds overnight or something, but of course that’s not true, so I can’t say that… But I will say if they want to drop me a line and tell me what they think about me or my books, I LOVE to hear from readers. You can reach me through my website or contact me directly at zamaxfield (at) zamaxfield (dot) com. Thanks so much for having me here!!!
Thanks so much for having me here, you’re awesome.
ZAM
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By Z.A. Maxfield
Can love conquer all?
Jimmy Rafferty and Eddie Molina go way back at the J-Bar ranch. They’ve worked together, bunked together, camped out, and drank together. So how has Jimmy failed to notice that Eddie is gay? Eddie has not failed to notice that his friend has a serious drinking problem, and he’s determined to help Jimmy kick the booze cold turkey.
Taking him up to a snowbound cabin to detox, Eddie is confronted with Jimmy’s fierce denial. But the pains of withdrawal are nothing for Jimmy compared with the heartache of denying his true feelings and his deep longing…for the one man who cares for him more than anyone else on earth.
myself in a truck outside in the freezing cold? My pa and my older brother,
Jonas, used to do that. We’d be on the road, and when I fell asleep, they’d
leave me in the parking lot of some dive bar or motel—just leave me asleep
outside in the dark. I’d wake up with no clue where I was, no idea if they were
coming back or if I should go in and try to find them.
hadn’t forgotten what Eddie said. I hadn’t forgotten the plans him and boss
Malloy made for me behind my back. It would serve them right if I up and
hightailed it back to the J-Bar with Eddie’s truck and no Eddie.
Eddie get the idea I’d go quietly? I slid over and tore the wiring out from
under the dash. Found what I needed without hardly even looking.
should . . .
strands and tried again. I was frowning down at the mess of tangled wire when
someone tapped on the window behind me.
at what I’d done to his truck. Serves you right for leaving me
like that, you prick.
opened the door. “One that has a battery.”
you’re talking about. You were sound asleep and I thought maybe you needed it.”
like that.”
was trying to see through my skin. “I didn’t know.”
a fucking duffel bag. You can’t be bothered to even wake me up and take me in
out of the fucking snow.”
the fact. “I’m sorry, Jimmy. I didn’t think how you’d feel waking up alone like
that. I won’t do it again.”
you up here to walk back to civilization, wherever the hell that is. Would have
served you right if I’d died out here.”
me.”
welcoming front door. “I almost didn’t bother to disable the damn thing, but I
thought on the off chance you knew what you were doing and could—”
was a dog and I was supposed to just follow along and yip around at his heels.
tough buzzard. He wasn’t too much older than me, just forty-two compared to my
thirty-eight. But I was a lover, not a fighter, or at least that’s how I
thought of myself. Back there on the road, Eddie had proved he wasn’t above
using violence to get his way in this, so I went along.
nice for the middle of nowhere. There was a place for us to hang our hats just
inside the door, over a table with a passel of pictures on it. There were old
time black-and-whites of families and framed pictures of a good-looking man, a
pretty woman, and some kids. There were some of the kids alone, and holy cow, there were probably a dozen pictures of Ed. He
looked so young in a couple of them, they must have been from before we met.
about the difference in height, the casual way they leaned together, the way
they looked at each other, made me think this was Ed’s friend from the road,
Don. Even though they’d both aged some since it was taken, I was almost sure of
it.
looking, without a doubt. He was lanky and chiseled. He had an intelligent face
and a smile that drew the eye. He seemed sure of himself and charming. Whatever
I’d seen in the darkness outside the car had to be a trick of the light.
breath away. Brawny and tan, he wore a yoked Western shirt with the sleeves
rolled up past well-muscled forearms and he eyed Don like he would follow him anywhere.
Ed, as well.
Haven’t read it; sounds interesting
It sounds like a lovely premise!
I haven’t but would like to soon.
I haven’t read it, but it sounds like a good read.
Not yet, but soon I hope.
Lost and Found is on my wish list. I want to read it but I have a ton of books in the queue.