CELEBRATING THE SUCCESS OF
RACHEL JONES
Motto:
Despite the struggles, love survives.
While she continued to work her full-time RN job, it was thoughts of what she would do after retirement from her career in healthcare that spurred Rachel to begin writing her first manuscript in March of 2012. Needing guidance and support with her new endeavor, she joined local and national writing groups.
Release day for Rachel’s debut novel, To Dance One More Day, occurred in June 2014. Her second book, Taking A Chance On Love, released in October 2015. She is working on her third manuscript and is planning her first series. Rachel’s books reflect her love of the performing arts. Working as a registered nurse for twenty-five years has influenced the threads of medical drama woven into her storylines.
A music enthusiast for decades, Rachel resides in Kennesaw, Georgia with her husband of thirty-eight years and their spoiled Labrador retriever. She is a member of Georgia Writers Association, Georgia Romance Writers and is a PRO member of Romance Writers of America.
Rachel writes contemporary romance novels and draws her inspiration from the performing arts.
Rachel's debut novel, To Dance One More Day, is centered around the world of ballet.
Desertion and death of her family leaves Jillian Russell alone in the world. A medical diagnosis takes away her performance career. Starting over in Charlotte, North Carolina, she opens a ballet company which takes all her resources and leaves no time to build new relationships.
Trauma surgeon, Alan Armstrong, is determined to fix Jillian’s life before he moves on to set up a rural community clinic that had been the top priority in his life, until he met Jillian.
Will their undeniable connection cause them to change their ambitions so they can be together? Or will they walk away from each other to continue on the paths they had chosen before they met?
Her second book, Taking a Chance on Love, is focused on a concert pianist.
From childhood, Virginia Manning has planned for a career as a concert clarinetist. Blindsided by family circumstances, her plans are interrupted, taking her down a path she would never have chosen. As a music teacher, Virginia’s relationship with the football coach goes from problematic to romantic. After Blake’s brush with death, a scared Virginia runs away looking for the contentment music has always brought to her life.
Because Blake Oliver has experienced disappointment and pain, he opts for a fresh start in a small New England town. Accepting the position of football coach, he isn’t looking for love when it finds him. But when Virginia leaves to pursue a performance career, Blake realizes it’s not where you live but having someone to love that matters. His only problem is making her understand that as well.
Please take a moment to say hello to me and my readers: Hi, everyone. I’m excited to be here today to share a little about myself and my books.
I have to know, Coffee or Tea? Tea.
Tell us a bit about yourself: We know you’re an author, but do you work another job when you are not writing?
Yes, I do. I’ve been a night shift labor and delivery RN for twenty-five years. I’m three years away from retirement from healthcare. I’m three years away from becoming a full-time writer.
What is your favorite thing to do when you aren’t writing or working?
I love to sew and cross-stitch.
What is your favorite color? Why?
My favorite color is green, the color of nature.
What is your favorite season? Why?
I love spring. From a cold, dismal winter, the days turn warmer. The landscape around me transforms from drab and colorless to one of vibrant colors with the blooming of flowers and trees.
If you could live anyplace on earth, where would it be? Why?
I would live on the coast (not a tourist location). I love the sound of the ocean; it is calming.
Other than writing, what do you have a passion for?
Music – I have a bachelor’s degree in music education and have played the clarinet for fifty-three years. I also play the flute and piano. I love classical music.
Tell us about your writing: How long have your been writing? Was it a dream, a goal or is it just a hobby?
I have been writing for four years. My writing began as a self-challenge to write a romance novel.
How many hours a day do you devote to writing?
On the days I don’t work, I write at least two hours. If the words are flowing from my head to my computer screen, I might be writing for several hours.
Do you have a set routine or do you write when the mood strikes?
I try to write every day, though that’s not always possible. If I’m away from home, I try to have pen and paper or my hand-held audio recorder available to record my ideas.
Is there some place special you like to be when you write?
My home office (just painted from gray to peach – yay!) is where I do the majority of my writing. I don’t think I’m the coffee house kind of writer, but I’ve never tried writing in public. Maybe I should give it a go.
Do you listen to music or do you need a quiet place to write?
I prefer to write in a quiet atmosphere. I know many writers listen to music while they write, but I have found I get pulled into the music and out of my writing.
Tell us about your book: What is the name of it and is it part of a series or a stand alone novel?
Taking A Chance On Love is my second release. It is a stand-alone novel.
Where did the idea come from?
I read a news article about a young woman who gave up the career she wanted to pursue to care for her parents.
What is it about? (You can use your own words or your blurb)
From childhood, Virginia Manning has planned for a career as a concert clarinetist. Blindsided by family circumstances, her plans are interrupted, taking her down a path she would never have chosen. As a music teacher, Virginia’s relationship with the football coach goes from problematic to romantic. After Blake’s brush with death, a scared Virginia runs away looking for the contentment music has always brought to her life.
Because Blake Oliver has experienced disappointment and pain, he opts for a fresh start in a small New England town. Accepting the position of football coach, he isn’t looking for love when it finds him. When Virginia leaves to pursue a performance career, Blake realizes it’s not where you live but having someone to love that matters. His only problem is making her understand that as well.
Your other work: Do you have any upcoming projects in the works or other books that have been published – Tell us about them?
My debut novel, To Dance One More Day, was released in June 2014.
She’s survived the losses and started over with a new focus. Life is not perfect, but it’s getting better. Discovering she can dance again means giving up the love of a good man who holds her heart. Which will Jillian choose – the love or the passion of her life?
My work in progress, Final Acceptance, is near completion.
Thirty-year-old Ella Craig is an accomplished concert pianist who postpones her upcoming tour due to illness and reluctantly returns home to San Francisco for medical treatment. She falls in love with her uncle’s colleague and contemplates remaining in San Francisco with Jackson. But the unresolved grief she has buried since her parents death two years ago threatens to send her as far from San Francisco as she can go.
Thirty-six-year-old Jackson Hart has resided in San Francisco for two years after relocating from Atlanta. Widowed three years ago, he is finally picking up the pieces of his life and moving forward. After meeting Ella, he is surprised when feelings and desires he thought would remain dormant forever come alive. Jackson recognizes Ella’s emotional struggle and wants to help her work through the grief so she won’t leave San Francisco. But he’s concerned it will push him back to the darkness that engulfed him after his wife’s death and he’s not sure he can go there, even for Ella.
I’m in the process of outlining my first series. I am planning three to five books. The setting is a small, coastal town. It is about a family of five musically talented siblings, separated by their careers. Some of them are struggling in the present and others are hiding from their past.
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