A blissful visit from Dee Ernst...plus a book giveaway

We're pleased to have Dee Ernst here today. Her latest novel, Maggie Finds Her Muse, published this week. Dee has TWO copies to share with some lucky readers!

Dee Ernst was born and raised in New Jersey, which explains a great deal about her attitude towards life. She loved reading at a very early age, and by the time she was ten she had decided to become a writer. It took a bit longer than she expected.

She went off to college, moved around a bit, had a job or two, a husband or two, and a daughter or two. It was the birth of her second daughter at the age of forty that got her thinking about what to do with the rest of her life. That was when she decided to give writing a real shot.

Dee loved chick-lit and romantic comedy, but hated the twenty-something heroines who couldn't figure out how to go and get what they wanted. She began to write about women like herself -- older, confident, and with a wealth of life experience to draw upon. She got an agent but no sales, and took the plunge into self-publishing in 2010.

In 2012, Better Off Without Him became an Amazon bestseller. She signed with Montlake Publishing, which went on to re-release Better Off Without Him and launch A Slight Change of Plan in 2013.

2016 brought two 'firsts' for Dee -- a series of cozy mystery novellas, and the release of her first full-length novel with Lake Union Publishing, Stealing Jason Wilde.

She is still in New Jersey, where she writes full-time. She lives with husband #2, daughter #2, a few cats and a needy cocker spaniel. She loves sunsets, long walks on the beach, and a really cold martini. (Bio adapted from Amazon.)

Visit Dee online:

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Synopsis:
All Maggie Bliss needs to do is write. Forty-eight years old and newly single (again!), she ventures to Paris in a last-ditch effort to finish her manuscript. With a marvelous apartment at her fingertips and an elegant housekeeper to meet her every need, a finished book―and her dream of finally taking her career over the top―is surely within her grasp. After all, how could she find anything except inspiration in Paris, with its sophistication, food, and romance in the air?

But the clock is running out, and between her charming ex-husband arriving in France for vacation and a handsome Frenchman appearing one morning in her bathtub, Maggie’s previously undisturbed peace goes by the wayside. Charming and heartfelt, Dee Ernst's Maggie Finds Her Muse is a delightful and feel-good novel about finding love, confidence, and inspiration in all the best places. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

What is a favorite compliment you have received on your writing?
The best thing that’s ever been said to me – and I’m pleased to say it’s been said several times – is that the writer was in a bad place (usually left by her partner!) and that reading my book helped her get through the tough time. Doesn’t get better than that.

What is something you've learned from writing your previous novels, that you applied to Maggie Finds Her Muse?
I’ve always written the ‘older heroine ‘and all the feedback I’ve gotten from my previous works has reinforced the idea that readers want to see themselves on the page, especially if they’re over forty!

If Maggie Finds Her Muse was made into a movie, what are some songs that would be on the soundtrack?
Wow – I really had to think about this one. I’m a huge fan of older music – Gershwin and the like, so of course  I’d want Edith Pilaf in there, and Chopin. I think Frederic Chopin is very romantic and evocative.

What is the last book you read that you would recommend?
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. Just a wonderful book.

What is something you've learned about yourself during the pandemic?
That as much as I missed my friends, I was okay being by myself. I’m happily married and my daughter still lives with us, so I wasn’t ALONE alone, but I was fine with my own company. With books, of course.

What is your go-to dessert item?
Rice pudding. I try it whenever I eat out someplace new. Still searching for the perfect combination of creamy to soft rice. No raisins please!

Thanks to Dee for visiting with us and for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends April 27th at midnight EST.