Maybe falling for the good guy isn’t so bad?
When Rex Somersby’s family matchmaker sets him up with
the famous Evelyn Cadeau, he can’t believe his luck. Evelyn is the woman with
the perfect Gift—the woman every man wants—while Rex’s own magical ability
leaves much to be desired. He travels
from Missouri to meet his dream girl in her rural Mississippi home, where
Evelyn makes it clear that winning her heart won’t be an easy task. Good thing
farm-boy Rex has never been afraid of a little hard work.
Evelyn Cadeau is used to getting her way. As the woman
with the most powerful Gift, she knows she can have her pick of anyone she
wants. And who she wants is slick, handsome, and off-limits Guy McCallister—not
gawky, buttoned-up Rex Somersby. Yet, after an arranged date with Rex takes a
dramatic turn, leading to a bottle of wine and sneaking to the creek for a late
night skinny dip, she realizes there may be more to by-the-rules Rex than meets
the eye.
Just as the young couple start to think their family’s
tradition of matchmaking isn’t quite so backward, Rex is drafted to Vietnam.
With war threatening to tear them apart, will love be able to save them? Or
will it take a bit of magic?
FORGET
ME NOT is Em Shotwell’s 1969 pequel to BLACKBIRD SUMMER. It
is on pre-order for $0.99 and Em is donating all of her royalties to the military
charity OPERATION HOMEFRONT.
Tell
us a bit about the novella and what inspired you to write it.
The main characters are actually from BLACKBIRD
SUMMER. Evelyn and Rex are Tallulah and Delia’s grandparents. In fact, many
people told me how much they loved snappy Evelyn and thoughtful Rex, so I
thought, Why not tell their story.
I first got the idea in Feb 2016 when I was hosting a
Love Letter Challenge on my blog at www.EmShotwell.com. Authors submitted love
letters written in the voice of one of their characters. I originally was going
to write one from Tallulah or Logan’s point of view—but they aren’t really the
love letter types. That got me to thinking about who would be most likely to
pen a letter and it was definitely Rex Somersby when he was a young man. So I
wrote the letter in his voice when he was 18. The idea of how they came to be
just wouldn’t leave me alone until I explored it. That turned into a short
story which turned into a novella and almost a novel! Lol.
Is
there anyone else from BLACKBIRD SUMMER in the novella?
Actually, yes! Aunt Trudy, the matchmaker in BBS, is
Evelyn’s older sister and we get to meet her as a young woman. She is fun, too.
Very dry, but she loves her family. You will definitely want to know more about
her before the BBS sequel releases this winter.
What
made you decide to donate your royalties to Operation Homefront?
The Vietnam War plays a big part in the story. I
started researching the war and the draft and it broke my heart. I chose
Operation Homefront because they have a stellar reputation with making sure
donations gets used in a way that is actually helpful. They find emergency
shelter for vets, they help military families visit their soldier loved ones,
and they actually have programs to help vets find treatment for both physical
and psychological injuries. Basically, it is a great organization.
Tell us about the cover.
I am in love with this cover! I have a big thing for
silhouettes on book covers. As a reader, I gravitate toward them in the book
store, so when City Owl Press’s cover designer showed me mock-ups for Blackbird
Summer, I was thrilled. We continued the theme with FORGET ME NOT, and I love
it even more than BBS, I think. I love
the turquoise background on the back of the paperback cover, you will see Evelyn’s
tree. It has a heart with RS+EC carved in it. So cute!
Where can we get a copy?
FORGET ME NOT is available for preorder on Amazon, and for a limited time the eBook preorder is $0.99! Snag it while it is on sale (and then buy the paperback to contribute more to Operation Homefront).
GET THE FIRST NOVEL IN THE SERIES, BLACKBIRD SUMMER:
AVAILABLE AT RETAIL OUTLETS
PAPERBACK EDITION AVAILABLE AT RETAIL OUTLETS
PRAISE FOR BLACKBIRD SUMMER
“Fans
of Sookie Stackhouse and Beautiful Creatures who are looking for their
next fix from the sticks should look no further than BLACKBIRD SUMMER.
I can't wait for the next book in the series.”
- GoodReads Reviewer, KChase
I can't wait for the next book in the series.”
- GoodReads Reviewer, KChase
“BLACKBIRD SUMMER s dark and entrancing Southern Gothic gold. I couldn't stop reading, and I couldn't catch my breath.”
- Andrea Berhot, Author of THE HEARTLESS CITY