Good Morning, Booklovers!
Our guest author this week is Ashli Montgomery, writing romance as Virginia’dele Smith, and featuring her novel, Grocery Girl, first in a series.
Welcome, Ashli. What may I get you to drink?
AM/VS: I love the smell of coffee, but I don’t like the taste of it. Instead, I’m a hot tea drinker. My favorite is spiced, black tea with a teaspoon of honey and cream.
Ally: While my magic pot prepares our drinks, please tell readers something about your background.
Our guest author this week is Ashli Montgomery, writing romance as Virginia’dele Smith, and featuring her novel, Grocery Girl, first in a series.
Welcome, Ashli. What may I get you to drink?
AM/VS: I love the smell of coffee, but I don’t like the taste of it. Instead, I’m a hot tea drinker. My favorite is spiced, black tea with a teaspoon of honey and cream.
Ally: While my magic pot prepares our drinks, please tell readers something about your background.
Bio:
Ashli Montgomery is a wife, a momma, and an author whose passion is sharing love stories, books, quilts, yoga, recipes, and all of her favorite things in life. She is quilting to mend the mind by spearheading and educating a community of friends who love quilts and quilting but hate Alzheimer’s disease through Quilt 2 End ALZ, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit she launched to use her quilting hobby as a platform to advocate for an end to Alzheimer’s disease.
Ashli writes under the pen name Virginia’dele Smith to honor Syble Virginia Tidwell, Adele Gertrude Baylin, and Etta Jean Smith. These three cherished grandmothers were beautiful role models, teaching Ashli to love without judgment and to always put family first. Through Grandma Syble’s journals and appetite for books, through Momadele’s priceless cards and handwritten letters, and through many, many hours of visiting over fabric at Mema’s kitchen island, Ashli also learned to treasure words.
Something unique that isn’t in your bio: “Today — November 3rd — is my birthday, and more importantly it’s Launch Day for my debut novel, Grocery Girl. My favorite reward/celebration is a spa appointment for a fabulous massage, followed by a steak dinner at my favorite restaurant, and of course, something sweet for dessert. Now you know exactly how I’ll be spending the rest of my day!”
To learn more about Virginia’dele Smith, visit AshliMontgomery.com — while exploring her site, sign up to receive an invitation to join her exclusive online community, Welcome to Green Hills.
LINKS:
Website: www.AshliMontgomery.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AshliMontgomery.VirginiadeleSmith
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ashlim.virginiadelesmith/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ashlimontgomery/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeAndCoach
Ashli Montgomery is a wife, a momma, and an author whose passion is sharing love stories, books, quilts, yoga, recipes, and all of her favorite things in life. She is quilting to mend the mind by spearheading and educating a community of friends who love quilts and quilting but hate Alzheimer’s disease through Quilt 2 End ALZ, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit she launched to use her quilting hobby as a platform to advocate for an end to Alzheimer’s disease.
Ashli writes under the pen name Virginia’dele Smith to honor Syble Virginia Tidwell, Adele Gertrude Baylin, and Etta Jean Smith. These three cherished grandmothers were beautiful role models, teaching Ashli to love without judgment and to always put family first. Through Grandma Syble’s journals and appetite for books, through Momadele’s priceless cards and handwritten letters, and through many, many hours of visiting over fabric at Mema’s kitchen island, Ashli also learned to treasure words.
Something unique that isn’t in your bio: “Today — November 3rd — is my birthday, and more importantly it’s Launch Day for my debut novel, Grocery Girl. My favorite reward/celebration is a spa appointment for a fabulous massage, followed by a steak dinner at my favorite restaurant, and of course, something sweet for dessert. Now you know exactly how I’ll be spending the rest of my day!”
To learn more about Virginia’dele Smith, visit AshliMontgomery.com — while exploring her site, sign up to receive an invitation to join her exclusive online community, Welcome to Green Hills.
LINKS:
Website: www.AshliMontgomery.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AshliMontgomery.VirginiadeleSmith
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ashlim.virginiadelesmith/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ashlimontgomery/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeAndCoach
INTERVIEW:
Ally: Who or what inspired your featured book?
AM/VS: When my now-twenty-three-year-old daughter was in junior high and high school, we had the opportunity to serve our community together through an organization called National Charity League. One of our favorite philanthropic activities through NCL was a weekly delivery of fresh fruit for a local youth shelter. On Monday mornings I would run to the grocery store to select ninety pieces of whatever was in-season…apples, oranges, bananas, peaches, plums, and even pears.
It was a small task, but a meaningful gift.
Interestingly, there was a fire engine parked outside the grocery store almost every Monday morning when I arrived to shop for the fruit. I figured the crew was there picking up what they needed to prepare meals at the fire house for their shift. The firefighters were always kind and polite, yet they were definitely “on a mission” and quite business-like. My imagination envisioned a sweet and kind young woman and a stoic, handsome fireman noticing one another in the produce aisle – a real meet cute scenario.
The story concept wouldn’t leave me alone. When I tossed and turned at night, I thought about those characters — Rhys and Maree — as well as their story arc, their internal and external conflicts, and of course, their happy ending. I pictured the small town where they lived, and I fell in love with their friends and family.
I had to write their romance, had to share their love story. And I based my lead character on my incredible and lovely daughter, Maci Maree.
Ally: What is the hardest part of writing? Explain.
AM/VS: Time – finding time, creating time, managing time, using time. Time is the hardest part of writing! My ideal day includes at least six hours of writing. But it also includes a workout followed by a quick shower, perhaps fixed hair and a light application of makeup, a task or two of housework, running a few errands, taking phone calls from my loved ones, eating, sleeping, sewing, reading. And I dream of a hot bubble bath to end the day. That is just a normal day… I have at least one bonus activity to tackle most days: Alzheimer’s work, board meetings, football practice, ball games, Mahjongg with friends, teaching yoga classes, quilt projects for others, and tending to Quilt 2 End ALZ business. My fatal flaw is that I love doing all these hobbies and jobs, and I don’t want to give any of them up. That means that twenty-four is not an adequate number of hours in my world. I need more time!
Ally: If you could live in a fictional setting of your choice for the next six months, where would it be? Explain where the setting came from and why you chose it.
AM/VS: After I was born and raised in Texas, our family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, seven years for my husband’s job as the head football coach for the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Upon arrival, I was shocked and surprised to find that Oklahoma is much more than flat plains and red dirt — although, that red dirt creates the most breathtaking sunsets on a daily basis!
Tulsa is located in what’s called Green Country and has the most spectacular landscapes: stunning trees, shrubs, and flowers, gorgeous gardens, and eclectic neighborhoods with all styles and ages of beautiful homes. And as one drives south from Tulsa, through the eastern side of Oklahoma, the vegetation gets even greener and even denser. It’s amazing!
Every time I drive that route across the Indian Nation Turnpike, I can’t look away from the canopy of thick, green trees. I imagine quaint small towns hidden from the rest of the world, the world that is zooming by, too busy to notice the treasure so close.
Even though I know Texas much better, I was compelled to set my fictional small town under that canopy. I named my community Green Hills, and I would absolutely love to live there for six months — or sixty years.
I recently wrote a manifesto, a biographical short story for Virginia’dele Smith — my pen name and alter ego. In it I describe Green Hills this way:
Hidden among the lush green trees, Green Hills has mystical qualities of unity and encouragement. The community is designed and depicted how I wish the world would be: uplifting, supportive, helpful, and kind. There are all types of people in Green Hills, with all types of backgrounds and careers…
…The fine folks of Green Hills will love many of the jobs and hobbies that I love: quilting, sewing, reading, writing, cooking, baking, tea rooms, hair salons, dress shops, boutiques, antique malls, crafts, home decor, architecture, real estate, teaching, and singing. There will be football, and other sports like baseball, dance, and yoga. There will be doctors and nurses, firefighters and EMT’s. There will be police and mayors and civil servants.
There will be tragedy and loss. There will be challenges and struggles. There will be a theme of facing Alzheimer’s disease and the fight to end it.
There will be love — clean and wholesome love, deep and emotional love. Lots and lots of love!
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live in a place like that?
Ally: What is your favorite marketing tool? Why?
AM/VS: Oddly enough, a Facebook Group is my favorite marketing tool. Many authors have online fan groups and writing communities, and I think they do a really good job with them. But I decided to do something a little different.
Welcome to Green Hills is a closed Facebook Group, private and exclusive, and only for fans of Virginia’dele Smith and the Green Hills series of small-town wholesome romance stories.
This community is a place to connect with readers, sew with quilters, participate in book club, take a yoga class, attend quilt guild meetings, swap fabric, share recipes. It’s an exciting and happening place – a hidden gem – and everyone is invited to stop by, stay a while, and visit often.
I look forward to spending time with the people of Green Hills and getting to know everyone. It’s not the normal marketing channel, but I think it will be both a powerful platform for sharing my author journey and a very authentic reflection of my style.
Friends, family, fans, and readers receive an invitation to join the group upon registering to receive emails from me and can subscribe here.
Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
AM/VS: I’m currently editing Book 2: In the Trenches, writing Book 3: Three Times to Make Sure, and outlining book four (title TBD) in the Green Hills series. These first four novels center around the Davenport family — Maree, Max, M’Kenzee, and their close friend Daniel Davis. I used to raise an eyebrow in skepticism when I heard authors say that a book “wrote itself” but I can now testify that the phenomenon really does happen.
When I find time to write, these adventures flow onto the page on their own. Oftentimes, I reread the chapters after a great writing session to discover what I’ve typed. And I am always very happy (and a tiny bit surprised) to rediscover how much I love these characters and how tangibly I feel their struggles and successes.
They are proof that good people exist, that they have ups and downs just like the rest of us, and that happily ever after is not a fluke.
Anticipated release dates? Fingers crossed for early 2022.
Ally: Which of the trivia questions did you choose?
AM/VS:
Ally: Who or what inspired your featured book?
AM/VS: When my now-twenty-three-year-old daughter was in junior high and high school, we had the opportunity to serve our community together through an organization called National Charity League. One of our favorite philanthropic activities through NCL was a weekly delivery of fresh fruit for a local youth shelter. On Monday mornings I would run to the grocery store to select ninety pieces of whatever was in-season…apples, oranges, bananas, peaches, plums, and even pears.
It was a small task, but a meaningful gift.
Interestingly, there was a fire engine parked outside the grocery store almost every Monday morning when I arrived to shop for the fruit. I figured the crew was there picking up what they needed to prepare meals at the fire house for their shift. The firefighters were always kind and polite, yet they were definitely “on a mission” and quite business-like. My imagination envisioned a sweet and kind young woman and a stoic, handsome fireman noticing one another in the produce aisle – a real meet cute scenario.
The story concept wouldn’t leave me alone. When I tossed and turned at night, I thought about those characters — Rhys and Maree — as well as their story arc, their internal and external conflicts, and of course, their happy ending. I pictured the small town where they lived, and I fell in love with their friends and family.
I had to write their romance, had to share their love story. And I based my lead character on my incredible and lovely daughter, Maci Maree.
Ally: What is the hardest part of writing? Explain.
AM/VS: Time – finding time, creating time, managing time, using time. Time is the hardest part of writing! My ideal day includes at least six hours of writing. But it also includes a workout followed by a quick shower, perhaps fixed hair and a light application of makeup, a task or two of housework, running a few errands, taking phone calls from my loved ones, eating, sleeping, sewing, reading. And I dream of a hot bubble bath to end the day. That is just a normal day… I have at least one bonus activity to tackle most days: Alzheimer’s work, board meetings, football practice, ball games, Mahjongg with friends, teaching yoga classes, quilt projects for others, and tending to Quilt 2 End ALZ business. My fatal flaw is that I love doing all these hobbies and jobs, and I don’t want to give any of them up. That means that twenty-four is not an adequate number of hours in my world. I need more time!
Ally: If you could live in a fictional setting of your choice for the next six months, where would it be? Explain where the setting came from and why you chose it.
AM/VS: After I was born and raised in Texas, our family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, seven years for my husband’s job as the head football coach for the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Upon arrival, I was shocked and surprised to find that Oklahoma is much more than flat plains and red dirt — although, that red dirt creates the most breathtaking sunsets on a daily basis!
Tulsa is located in what’s called Green Country and has the most spectacular landscapes: stunning trees, shrubs, and flowers, gorgeous gardens, and eclectic neighborhoods with all styles and ages of beautiful homes. And as one drives south from Tulsa, through the eastern side of Oklahoma, the vegetation gets even greener and even denser. It’s amazing!
Every time I drive that route across the Indian Nation Turnpike, I can’t look away from the canopy of thick, green trees. I imagine quaint small towns hidden from the rest of the world, the world that is zooming by, too busy to notice the treasure so close.
Even though I know Texas much better, I was compelled to set my fictional small town under that canopy. I named my community Green Hills, and I would absolutely love to live there for six months — or sixty years.
I recently wrote a manifesto, a biographical short story for Virginia’dele Smith — my pen name and alter ego. In it I describe Green Hills this way:
Hidden among the lush green trees, Green Hills has mystical qualities of unity and encouragement. The community is designed and depicted how I wish the world would be: uplifting, supportive, helpful, and kind. There are all types of people in Green Hills, with all types of backgrounds and careers…
…The fine folks of Green Hills will love many of the jobs and hobbies that I love: quilting, sewing, reading, writing, cooking, baking, tea rooms, hair salons, dress shops, boutiques, antique malls, crafts, home decor, architecture, real estate, teaching, and singing. There will be football, and other sports like baseball, dance, and yoga. There will be doctors and nurses, firefighters and EMT’s. There will be police and mayors and civil servants.
There will be tragedy and loss. There will be challenges and struggles. There will be a theme of facing Alzheimer’s disease and the fight to end it.
There will be love — clean and wholesome love, deep and emotional love. Lots and lots of love!
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live in a place like that?
Ally: What is your favorite marketing tool? Why?
AM/VS: Oddly enough, a Facebook Group is my favorite marketing tool. Many authors have online fan groups and writing communities, and I think they do a really good job with them. But I decided to do something a little different.
Welcome to Green Hills is a closed Facebook Group, private and exclusive, and only for fans of Virginia’dele Smith and the Green Hills series of small-town wholesome romance stories.
This community is a place to connect with readers, sew with quilters, participate in book club, take a yoga class, attend quilt guild meetings, swap fabric, share recipes. It’s an exciting and happening place – a hidden gem – and everyone is invited to stop by, stay a while, and visit often.
I look forward to spending time with the people of Green Hills and getting to know everyone. It’s not the normal marketing channel, but I think it will be both a powerful platform for sharing my author journey and a very authentic reflection of my style.
Friends, family, fans, and readers receive an invitation to join the group upon registering to receive emails from me and can subscribe here.
Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
AM/VS: I’m currently editing Book 2: In the Trenches, writing Book 3: Three Times to Make Sure, and outlining book four (title TBD) in the Green Hills series. These first four novels center around the Davenport family — Maree, Max, M’Kenzee, and their close friend Daniel Davis. I used to raise an eyebrow in skepticism when I heard authors say that a book “wrote itself” but I can now testify that the phenomenon really does happen.
When I find time to write, these adventures flow onto the page on their own. Oftentimes, I reread the chapters after a great writing session to discover what I’ve typed. And I am always very happy (and a tiny bit surprised) to rediscover how much I love these characters and how tangibly I feel their struggles and successes.
They are proof that good people exist, that they have ups and downs just like the rest of us, and that happily ever after is not a fluke.
Anticipated release dates? Fingers crossed for early 2022.
Ally: Which of the trivia questions did you choose?
AM/VS:
- Favorite accessory: SHOES…my husband is an awesome shoe shopper, so I have a fabulous collection — especially amazing high heels!
- If I were a color, it would be: YELLOW
- Favorite quote: IT IS NOT OUR ABILITIES THAT SHOW WHAT WE TRULY ARE; IT IS OUR CHOICES. ~ Albus Dumbledore
- My hobbies: QUILTING and WORKING TO ENDING ALZHEIMER’S…in 2019, I launched a nonprofit called Quilt 2 End ALZ, Inc. which connects quilters with the fight to end Alzheimer’s disease; quilts, quilting, and quilters — as well as families facing dementia struggles — all have roles in every one of my stories.
- The supernatural ability I would love to have: INTUITION…I often wish that I knew exactly what to say in exactly the right way at the exactly right moment.
Ally: It was a pleasure to meet you Ashli (and your alter-ego Virginia’dele). Happy Birthday, and good luck with the launch of your book. Do come back again and tell us about the next one. But before you go, show us your series debut, Grocery Girl.
Grocery Girl: Book 1
Author Pen Name: Virginia’dele Smith
Genre: Small-town, wholesome romance
Heat Rating: PG
ASIN: B09KQDK8D8
She inhales life with every breath. He’s suffered a world of pain. Can they rise above tragedy to find their happily ever after?
Maree Davenport refuses to let a tearful past rule her future. After losing her parents at the age of five, the big-hearted fabric designer is determined to embrace her feelings and find happiness no matter what. So when she literally runs over a handsome new firefighter in the produce section, the hopeless romantic is certain she’s just collided with destiny.
Everyone Rhys Larsen ever loved has died. And though he may have hit it off with the pretty girl at the store, the haunted EMT knows better than to let her into his heart. But when an accident leaves her wounded and in need of care, he vows to nurse her back to health.
As Maree struggles to break through the grieving man’s walls, she fears his deep-seated superhero complex will make him unreachable. And as Rhys grapples with trying to protect the beautiful woman from his curse, he worries he’ll have to choose between doing the right thing and true love.
Can this conflicted couple reconcile their opposite takes on adversity and find purpose in each other’s arms?
Grocery Girl is the touching first book in the Green Hills wholesome small-town romance series. If you like strong but vulnerable characters, emotional growth, and quaint backdrops, then you’ll adore Virginia’dele Smith’s celebration of joy.
Amazon Buy Link:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09KQDK8D8?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref_=dbs_mng_calw_0&storeType=ebooks
Author Pen Name: Virginia’dele Smith
Genre: Small-town, wholesome romance
Heat Rating: PG
ASIN: B09KQDK8D8
She inhales life with every breath. He’s suffered a world of pain. Can they rise above tragedy to find their happily ever after?
Maree Davenport refuses to let a tearful past rule her future. After losing her parents at the age of five, the big-hearted fabric designer is determined to embrace her feelings and find happiness no matter what. So when she literally runs over a handsome new firefighter in the produce section, the hopeless romantic is certain she’s just collided with destiny.
Everyone Rhys Larsen ever loved has died. And though he may have hit it off with the pretty girl at the store, the haunted EMT knows better than to let her into his heart. But when an accident leaves her wounded and in need of care, he vows to nurse her back to health.
As Maree struggles to break through the grieving man’s walls, she fears his deep-seated superhero complex will make him unreachable. And as Rhys grapples with trying to protect the beautiful woman from his curse, he worries he’ll have to choose between doing the right thing and true love.
Can this conflicted couple reconcile their opposite takes on adversity and find purpose in each other’s arms?
Grocery Girl is the touching first book in the Green Hills wholesome small-town romance series. If you like strong but vulnerable characters, emotional growth, and quaint backdrops, then you’ll adore Virginia’dele Smith’s celebration of joy.
Amazon Buy Link:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09KQDK8D8?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref_=dbs_mng_calw_0&storeType=ebooks