Interview & Giveaway ~ THE FIXER UPPER by Maggie Mae Gallagher

The Fixer Upper (Echo Springs, #1)
by: Maggie Mae Gallagher
Series: Echo Springs
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 6, 2019
Publisher: Blushing Books Publications
Amazon | Paperback | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Blushing Books | Goodreads

Abby Callier is more in love with Shakespearean heroes than any real man, and she’s beginning to wonder if there is life for her outside the pages of a book. It doesn’t help that her esteemed parents tend to view her as they would one of their science experiments gone wrong. On the eve of finishing her dissertation, she escapes her staid existence to live in the house she inherited from her Great Aunt Evie in the small town of Echo Springs, Colorado. Because, let’s face it, when a woman starts comparing her life to horror films, it might be time for a break.

Sheriff Nate Barnes believes in law and order and carefully building the life you want. In his spare time, he has been remodeling his house in the hope that one day it will be filled with the family he makes. But Nate doesn’t like drama or complications and tends to avoid them at all costs. And yet, when Miss Abigail Callier, his newest neighbor, beans him with a nine iron, he can’t help but wonder if she might just be the complication he’s been searching for all along. It doesn’t hurt that he discovers a journal hidden away by the previous tenant and decides to use Old Man Turner’s advice to romance Abby into his life.

Abby never expected her next-door neighbor, the newly dubbed Sheriff Stud Muffin, to be just the distraction her world needed. The problem is she doesn’t know whether she should make Echo Springs her home, or if this town is just a stopover point in her life’s trajectory. And she doesn’t want to tell Nate that she might not be sticking around—even though she should because it’s the right thing to do, the honest thing—because then all the scintillatingly hot kisses with the Sheriff will come to an abrupt halt. Did she mention that he’s a really great kisser?

Hi Maggie. Welcome to Read Your Writes Book Reviews. Congratulations on the release of The Fixer Upper. I have to say, I like the sound of this book. Tell me about the book and what readers can expect from it.
Thank you so much! The Fixer Upper is the first book in my Echo Springs Series, where you will meet Abby. Now Abby just inherited her Great Aunt’s stately Victorian and she runs away from her life on the east coast, uncertain if the path she is on career wise is still what she wants. Her first night at her aunt’s house, she and Nate Barnes, have a rather awkward first meeting where sparks fly.

I love when a couple first meets each other. Tell me about Abby Callier and Nate Barnes, and what is it you like/love about them.
Abby Callier is what I like to call an old soul and the black sheep of her family. She tried to fit in and be what they wanted her to be, but in the end decided she needed to be herself, which was quite at odds with what her parents wanted for her and from her. I love Abby’s resilience and courage to break with the mold of her upbringing to find a life that satisfies her. Or at least, she’s trying to do that. It’s how she ends up in Echo Springs living next door to one sexy Sheriff Barnes.

Nate Barnes is the sheriff of Echo Springs. He was born and raised in Echo Springs. With the exception of going off to college and living in Denver for a few years, Echo Springs is home. He is steady, quietly rehabbing his home, and working to give back to the town. I’m such a sucker for Nate. He’s the guy that there’s no problem too big that can’t be solved, you just might need some elbow grease and some patience.

There’s this character I would really love to know more about. What can you tell me about Rufus?
Oh my goodness, Rufus! When I first started plotting and putting this story together, I never intended to write a dog. He just bounded onto the page and I fell instantly in love with him. He’s a one hundred and fifty-pound, three-year-old, black Great Dane who thinks he’s a lap dog. Nate adopted him as a puppy, and he plays quite a roll in bringing Nate and Abby together.

Generally, books tend to surprise authors in some way. What surprised you about this story?
There’s a secondary story line that runs through the book. It gutted me. I still can’t think about the couple without tearing up.

Oh wow. What was your favorite part of writing The Fixer Upper?
You mean besides the end? I loved getting to watch Abby and Nate fall for each other.

As you mentioned, The Fixer Upper is the first book in your Echo Springs series. What can readers expect from the series?
They can expect quite a bit more. I’m putting the finishing touches on the next book in the series, Civil Disobedience, as we speak. Then we will have both Beauty Meets Her Beast and Mooning Over Her Muffins to follow. I don’t have the release dates for them yet, but I always announce release news on my newsletter first, and then it goes out onto social media.

Maggie, thank you so much for answering some questions for me.
Thank you so much for having me! This has been great!

Purchase The Fixer Upper from:

Amazon | Paperback | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Blushing Books | Goodreads

If you’d like to read a couple of excerpts from The Fixer Upper, you can here and here.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Maggie grew up listening to Cardinals baseball and reading anything she could get her hands on. She remembers her mother saying if only she would read the right type of books instead binging her way through the romance aisles at the bookstore, she’d have been a doctor. While Maggie never did get that doctorate, she graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri-St. Louis with an M.A. in History.

Maggie is a bestselling and award-winning author published in multiple fiction genres. She also writes erotic romance under the name Anya Summers. A total geek at her core, when she is not writing, she adores attending the latest comic con or spending time with her family. She currently lives in the Midwest with her two furry felines.

And if you like your romance with a bit of spice and kink be sure to check out Maggie Mae Gallagher writing as Anya Summers on Amazon!

Places to find Maggie Mae Gallagher:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram | Amazon Author Page

You can follow The Fixer Upper Blog Tour here.

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