Rogue's Angels Present: Where the River Bends by Elsa Winckler

Please welcome Elsa Winckler author of Where the River Bends

Elsa Winckler will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Where the River Bends

by Elsa Winckler

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GENRE: Contemporary

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INTERVIEW:

1. What or who inspired you to start writing?

I have always loved reading, especially romances – I love happy-ever-afters! When I left school, I did a diploma in teaching and became a school teacher, mostly because I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do. The idea of writing was always somewhere in the back of my head, though but I felt I had to know more. So when I turned 40, I enrolled for further studies, partly to try and encourage my kids (that unfortunately didn’t happen J) but I so enjoyed it, I went on to complete an Honours in English and also did an Mphil in Document analysis and design. The lovely classic love stories of Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell and even Henry James’s writing inspired me and I eventually tried to write my own story. By that time our three kids have left home and I was thinking about retiring. My mother tongue is Afikaans and I started out writing romances in Afrikaans, but I’ve wanted to reach a wider audience and was fortunate enough find publishers for the English romances I write.

2. What elements are necessary components for this genre.

We obviously need a heroine with whom the reader can identify and a hero worthy of her love. And then we need enough tension, either external or internal, to keep readers glued to the pages. Kalinda, the heroine in Where the river bends, has been in an abusive marriage so getting involved with another man is not something she wanted to do. Zach, the hero of the story, used to get asthma as a child and while he was forced to spend time indoors while his brother and friends could play outside, he spent long hours playing computer games. Now he makes money inventing computer games and is always looking for the next extreme sports adventure. He has a strict three date rule when it comes to women but that was before he met Kalinda, the new guest on his parents’ guest farm.

3. How did you come up with your idea for your novel?

It started out with a vague idea of bringing something about the Anglo Boer War into the story, a war that changed the course of our history in South Africa in many ways. While researching the war, I discovered that a regiment of Canadian soldiers were also sent to South Africa and that eleven nurses also accompanied them. This triggered the idea for Suzie, the ghost in the story, 

4. What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?

I’m a proud grandmother of three gorgeous little boys! 

5. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

I have a three-book series that Tule Publishing will release in 2019 and then another series of stories are waiting to be written. I mostly publish in Afrikaans and have agreed to finish three stories for publishers next year. 

6. Can you give us a sneak peak into this book?

Kalinda Evans works for the Anglo-Boer war foundation in Canada. She's sent to South Africa to make sure everyone who lost their lives in the war will be remembered. On her drive to the guest farm in Kimberley, South Africa, Kalinda picks up a female hitchhiker and is startled when just moments later, the woman vanishes. Kalinda would be convinced she was dreaming…except there’s still a white lace handkerchief on the passenger seat.

Extreme sports enthusiast and computer game designer Zack Carter is always after the next big challenge. He’s far too busy for romance and adheres to a three-date rule, until he meets his parents’ latest guest. When she relays the story of her mysterious experience, Zack’s family shares the local ghost story. Kalinda and Zack work together to solve the puzzle of the ghost and how it all ties in with the war and the work Kalinda is doing.

As their attraction grows, Zack realizes he no longer feels the need to prove anything to himself. He only needs to prove to Kalinda that he’s more than a good time.

7. When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?

I knew it was not going to be easy to find a publisher for Where the river bends, it’s not your usual love story. Jane Porter, author and founder of Tule Publishing, was the key note speaker at our ROSA (Romance Writers Organization of South Africa) conference in 2017 and we were all so inspired by her writing journey. So, when I was looking for a publisher, I contacted her and was over the moon when Tule Publishing accepted the manuscript. 

8. What is the best and worst advice you ever received? (regarding writing or publishing)

The best advice about publishing was to make sure the publisher you go with is a good fit for what the kind of stories you write. And the best advice about writing I got from Stephen King in his book On writing – write your story down as quickly as you can. Afterwards you change and polish but first you have to get it written down.

9. Do you outline your books or just start writing?

I don’t have a detailed outline, no. But I do make sure I know the characters. I want to know where they were born, what is their family like so that I can decide what their issues are and why they would have issues. Kalinda was for instance an only child and after her parents’ death, felt lost. She was vulnerable and didn’t see the red lights in time when she met her abusive husband. Only after they were married, his true nature was revealed. 

10. How do you maintain your creativity?

I read a lot, not only romance but different genres and I listen to other people’s real life stories. Sometimes ordinary events can also trigger a story. I also find that I need to take a break every now and then from the rigid routine of writing (of my own making J) I have a lovely circle of friends I’ve known forever and with whom I can just be – ordinary women but they inspire me no end. And I love listening to music, not while I’m writing but when I’m cooking or doing needlework.

BLURB:

Kalinda Evans works for the Anglo-Boer war foundation in Canada. She's sent to South Africa to make sure everyone who lost their lives in the war will be remembered. On her drive to the guest farm in Kimberley, South Africa, Kalinda picks up a female hitchhiker and is startled when just moments later, the woman vanishes. Kalinda would be convinced she was dreaming…except there’s still a white lace handkerchief on the passenger seat.

Extreme sports enthusiast and computer game designer Zack Carter is always after the next big challenge. He’s far too busy for romance and adheres to a three-date rule, until he meets his parents’ latest guest. When she relays the story of her mysterious experience, Zack’s family shares the local ghost story. Kalinda and Zack work together to solve the puzzle of the ghost and how it all ties in with the war and the work Kalinda is doing.

As their attraction grows, Zack realizes he no longer feels the need to prove anything to himself. He only needs to prove to Kalinda that he’s more than a good time.

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EXCERPT:

VBT: Where the River Bends by Elsa Winckler

Contemporary

            "Well, well, well and what do we have here?" It was a new voice.

Kalinda glanced towards the door. At first she thought it was Luke, but then ice blue eyes landed on her and she realised this was someone different. Entirely different. He radiated energy; his mere presence seemed to fill up the room. Something inside of her moved. Breathing was suddenly difficult.

Like Luke, this man was big and tall. And, like Luke, he was attractive. Impossibly attractive. He had Luke's black hair and bushy eyebrows, but there the similarities ended. Instead of a clean-shaven face, he had what was probably a week’s worth of stubble and instead of Luke's easy, open smile, his was mocking. Challenging. And it was doing strange things to her insides.

Her reaction to him was also totally different. She'd smiled easily when she'd seen Luke but now she couldn't get her mouth to move. Her tongue felt too big, her legs were rubbery, and her heartbeat had increased rapidly. What the hell?

She quickly looked down at her hands, willing herself to breathe. But her body refused to behave normally. 

"Zach!" Madeline called out and rushed forward to hug him. "I didn't know you were coming to visit." She cupped his face. "What's wrong? Why are you so pale? Has your asthma been bothering you again?"

He smiled and grabbed her hands. “Relax, Mom, nothing happened; I'm fine. I'm pale because I've been to the Antarctic."

"But that was in November last year …"

Ignoring his mother, he crouched down in front of Kalinda. "Who is this gorgeous woman and what is wrong with her hands?"

Kalinda thought it safest to keep looking down on her hands. What this guy did to her insides was ridiculous. He even had a dimple, for goodness' sake.

Madeline sat down next to her again. “Miss Evans …"

"Kalinda. My name is Kalinda."

Madeline patted her arm. "Kalinda is from Canada and she will be a guest here for a week. We only expected her to arrive tomorrow, but then we found her on the road. On her hands and knees. She still has to tell us what happened," she added teasingly.

Zach took Kalinda's hand in his and turned it, palm upwards. The minute he touched her, the air around her became too thick to breathe. Damn it, this was ludicrous. He was merely a man.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

I have been reading love stories for as long as I can remember and when I ‘met’ the classic authors like Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Henry James The Brontë sisters, etc. during my Honours studies, I was hooked for life.

I married my college boyfriend and soul mate and after 43 years, 3 interesting and wonderful children and 3 beautiful grandsons, he still makes me weak in the knees. We are fortunate to live in the picturesque little seaside village of Betty's Bay, South Africa with the ocean a block away and a beautiful mountain right behind us. And although life so far has not always been an easy ride, it has always been an exciting and interesting one!

I like the heroines in my stories to be beautiful, feisty, independent and headstrong.  And the heroes must be strong but possess a generous amount of sensitivity. They are of course, also gorgeous!  My stories typically incorporate the family background of the characters to better understand where they come from and who they are when we meet them in the story.

Buy links: 

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/za/en/ebook/where-the-river-bends-1 

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/where-the-river-bends/id1398104869?mt=11

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Where-River-Bends-Elsa-Winckler-ebook/dp/B07DPBN5XC 

Amazon USA: https://www.amazon.com/Where-River-Bends-Elsa-Winckler-ebook/dp/B07DPBN5XC

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Where-River-Bends-Elsa-Winckler-ebook/dp/B07DPBN5XC 

Social Media links:

Webpage: www.elsawinckler.com 

Personal Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/elsa.winckler

Author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ElsaWincklerRomanceAuthor?ref_type=bookmark

Twitter: https://twitter.com/elsawinckler @elsawinckler

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6557709.Elsa_Winckler

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elsaw1/ 

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/elsawinckler/

Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/elsaw1

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/111046023755042052612/posts

Youtube video of Where the river bends: https://youtu.be/GLLK3CyrZF4

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Elsa Winckler will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f2779