Please help us welcome D.V. Stone to the blog this week. Ms. Stone is here to share her upcoming contemporary romance, Rock House Grill. Welcome D.V.! We are excited to hear more about Rock House Grill.
Q&A with D.V. Stone:
Hi Maddy,
Thank you for having me today. I wish you and all your fans a happy, healthy, and joyful New Year.
Where is your favorite place to write?
I move around quite often. I do have a library/office. It was my son’s old room and when he moved out, my husband built it for me. But you’ll just as easily find me outside at a patio table. We do have a camper and I often take it on the road.
Why do you write romance and why your genre of romance?
Some of my work outside of writing has been difficult. For example, I’ve dealt with death as an Emergency Medical Technician as well as a volunteer in an Emergency Room. I worked in a woman’s state prison for 12 years, where pain, hopelessness, and despair infuses you. I’ve also lost a business and suffered from illness. All of that can bring a person to a pretty bad place. Romance is usually a happy ever after or a happy for now. It can bring you hope as well as life lessons. Reading romance is uplifting. Those who disparage it as a genre are missing out and missing the point. Life is a struggle. But hope, love, and relationships are what get us through the dark days. I am an optimist despite my past. Romance is optimistic. We make a good team.
What are you working on next and when can we expect to see it?
I’m working on several projects. The second book to the impact series is called Jazz House. I’m also working on a second fantasy to my independently published Shield-Mates series.
How do you spend your free time?
I love to camp. Actually we “Glamp”. I have what’s called a 5th Wheel, and her name is 2HOOTS. My husband and I love to travel and are both history buffs. There’s so much beauty in our country. Also, the sense of community in campgrounds is amazing.
Do you listen to music when you write? What is your go-to playlist and why?
I can’t have books called Rock House and Jazz House without being a fan of music. Rock House references mostly Classic Rock. Aden House my hero, has a signature song. Like a Rock, by Bob Seeger. When I write fantasy, I’ll often have Celtic music in the background.
About Rock House Grill:
**Coming in 2020**
One man’s choices—One woman’s impact
Aden House, successful but driven chef and TV personality, refuses to slow down. His life implodes one night, damaging him both physically and emotionally. He’s rescued by a woman he thinks of as his angel.
Shay McDowell has rebuilt her life after her divorce. She juggles volunteer EMT duties and her job, while dreaming of becoming a chef. She finds her way to Rock House Grill and back into the life of the man she helped save.
Can love be the ingredient needed to survive the many obstacles they face?
Excerpt from Rock House Grill:
“Easy, you’re going to be okay.” A soft voice eased through the chaos around him. The owner of the voice grabbed his arms and held them in a firm but gentle grip. “I’m right here with you. You are not alone.”
“Can hardly m-move.” His voice slurred. “C-can’t see anything.”
“You’ve been in an accident. I’m an EMT with the ambulance squad,” the velvety voice calmly explained. “Hold still, okay?”
“’K.” A small light flickered at the edge of his vision. It shone into a bag next to him. Penlight.
“You’re restrained to a board. It’s to keep your head from moving, and you injure yourself further.” She continued to talk to him.
The voice reached down somewhere inside him, calming and peaceful, so he focused on it. A glow from spotlights on the outside lit whatever covered them. The shadow gave the woman the appearance of a halo-like an angel.
“It’s dark because we’re covered while we extricate you. The noise is from the rescue crew cutting the car away.”
Even in his pain, Aden winced at the thought of his baby being chopped up. The voice was busy shuffling something around. While she worked in the dark, he tried piecing together what happened. He grabbed at her hand when she began to place something over his face.
“Stop. It’s just an oxygen mask. It won’t hurt.” The steady order was backed up by compassion in the tone.
His angel meant business.
“Hold on, Shannon. We’re going to pop the lid.” A man’s voice called from outside their inky cocoon.
“Told him not to call me that,” she muttered under her breath.
Shannon, my angel’s name is Shannon. A loud pop came from the front end, and then scree. Some metal-eating monster was taking a big bite out of his baby. The car jostled, sending a flame of pain shooting up his legs. He moaned.
“Shh, I’m sorry. There’s no way to make this not hurt.”
His car screamed again, and the steering wheel pinning him began to pull free of his legs. Even in the dark, there were spots of light before his eyes. Bile burned in the back of his throat. Everything started to fade away, as he recognized her taking his blood pressure.
“Aden?”
He felt muddy. Then tapping at his face.
“Aden!” The tap came harder. “That’s his name, right?”
“Yeah, it’s who the plates are registered to,” a male voice answered.
“Aden, come on, open your eyes. You need to stay with me.”
He forced his eyes open but could barely make out any features behind the helmet’s shield. He latched onto the woman’s voice like a lifeline.
“We’re almost ready to move you, Aden. I don’t want you to fight us or try and help. Let us do all the work.”
After a few more minutes of torturous screeching, the tarp covering him pulled up and away. Glass tinkled to the ground and crunched under boots. The air was thick with the smell of diesel.
He couldn’t lift his head. Right, they’d strapped it to a board. His gaze skittered around, taking in red, yellow, and blue flashing lights. At first, he was grateful when they uncovered him. But when they began to remove him from the remains of the car, the pain grew unbearable. He groaned.
There were moments of clarity as he slipped in and out of consciousness. The noise and the flashing lights gave a dreamlike quality to the scene. The world slithered by in slow motion. Flat on his back, he floated through the air as they carefully carried the stretcher toward the flashing red-and-blue lights of an ambulance.
“Angel?” He’d lost her.
“I’m here.”
She grasped his flailing hand.
The warmth of her hand and sound of her voice cut through everything else, calming and encouraging him. Things he could lock onto. Her face now visible, free from the protective shield, held his gaze. Worry creased the space between her eyes.
“Aden, right?
“Yeah.” He licked his split lip and could taste the metallic tang of blood. A man’s shout cut through the increasing buzz in his ears.
“He’s crashing!”
“Hold on, Aden.”
For the first time since he initially heard her voice, she sounded unsure—shaky.
I’m dying. Visions of what this would do to Olivia filled him with regret.
When they loaded him into the ambulance, the pain in his legs overwhelmed all other thoughts. Darkness seeped back into the edge of his vision. The last thing he heard was his angel curse.
About the Author:
Hi, my name is D. V. Stone. Recently, Rock House Grill, a contemporary romance, has been signed with Wild Rose Press. I host Welcome to the Campfire, a weekly blog. I am also a multi-genre author of two independently published books. Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar is a fantasy romance. Agent Sam Carter and the Mystery at Branch Lake is a mid-grade paranormal.
Born in Brooklyn, D.V. Stone has moved around a bit and even lived for a time on a dairy farm in Minnesota before moving back east. Throughout her wandering, she always considered herself a Jersey Girl. She met and married the love of her life, Pete—a lifelong Jersey Man. They adopted Hali, a mixed breed from the local shelter.
D.V.’s career path varied from working with the disabled to become a volunteer EMT, which in turn led to working in hospital emergency rooms and then in a women’s state prison. After a few years, she took a break from medicine and became the owner of Heavenly Brew, a specialty coffee shop and a small restaurant. Now, when not writing she is a medical receptionist.
“Thank you for taking the time to read about me. Each time you open the pages to one of my books, I hope you’ll be swept away by the story and find encouragement in your own life, never to give up on hope.”
D.V. Stone
- Website
- Bookbub
- Goodreads
- Newsletter
- Welcome to the Campfire Blog
- Amazon Author Page
I want to thank you again for hosting me.
Wow, this excerpt from Rock House Grill. reeled me in immediately! I am excited to find out what happens to Aden as well as how their instant connection evolves. Reading this excerpt made me feel as if I was an eye witness, experiencing Aden’s pain as well as the mystery of a blossoming romance. A MUST READ!!!! Enjoy everyone!
Enjoyed the blog. It’s nice to earn how a writer thinks, etc