Padme's Library: Daughter of Valor by Emily Mims

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Daughter of Valor by Emily Mims

Title: Daughter of Valor

Author: Emily Mims

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Release Date: January 2015

Publihsher: Boroughs Publishing Group

Summary:
Wounded war hero Holly Riley has come home to the lakeshore community of Heaven’s Point to recover from her injuries and build a new life for herself with her band of fellow wounded warriors. Temporarily employed as a nanny by charismatic Congressional candidate and neighbor Jimmy Adamcik, Holly and Jimmy quickly begin to care for one another in spite of Holly’s distrust of politics. But Jimmy finds himself sucked deeper and deeper into the seamy side of the political process, and an old enemy from Jimmy’s past targets Holly’s soldiers one by one. Will Jimmy and Holly’s love survive the double onslaught-or will they be the final target of their unknown enemy’s rage?

Jimmy took one look at Holly’s face and ushered her in grimly. “They decided to support Navarro, didn’t they?” he demanded tersely.
“I tried to get them to change their minds,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” he demanded incredulously. “You and your buddies are going to embarrass the hell out of my campaign and you’re sorry? May I be so bold as to ask what made them throw their support to Navarro?”
“Jimmy, get real,” she shot back. “You have platitudes. He has a plan.”
He flinched. “So they realize the position I’m in with your mother and her buddies?”
“That’s part of the problem,” she admitted. “They feel like you won’t have the freedom to represent their best interests and Navarro will.”
“Why didn’t you fight them?” he asked. “Why are you just going along with what they’re doing to me?”
Holly was silent for a moment. “Because if I weren’t involved with you, I would be doing exactly what they are. And as much as I hate to admit it, I think Alex Navarro would be light years better for me and my soldiers than you would.”
“Oh, really? Then your buddies can take a hike and you can go with them,” he said angrily.
It was Holly’s turn to flinch. “If that’s how you feel I will most certainly be taking that hike. But first I’m going to tell you to your face that you are a hypocrite of the highest order. Yes, you are,” she said when he started to object. “You expect me to separate my feelings for you from my work with the soldiers. You expect them to understand when you would rather brown-nose my mother and her supporters for their money than support them. And then you act like a spoiled brat when my soldiers throw their support to the candidate who might actually do something for them. That, my friend, is hypocritical.”
She jerked open the front door and turned back around. “You know, Jimmy, an election isn’t just about money,” she said softly, “it’s about votes. And if you run off all your votes chasing the money, you’re going to lose the election, no matter how much money mom’s cronies put into your coffers.”

1. What is the biggest influence/interest that brought you to this genre?
I love to read romances, and because I love to read them I wanted to write them also. I started as a reader back in the 1980s and then started writing them when I felt I could write a better book than I had been reading.

2. When writing a book, what is your favorite part of the creative process (outline, plot, character names, editing, etc)?
The hardest part is coming up with a plot. I am a ‘plotter’ and don’t even try to write until I have a detailed synopsis to work with. My favorite part is writing snappy dialogue or a good argument, but I also love the editing process, especially when working hand-in-hand with a really talented editor.

3. When reading a book, what genre do you find most interesting/intriguing?
I love a number of genres, but my favorite, even though I couldn’t write a decent one to save my life, is paranormal romance-think Deborah Harkness or some of Nora Roberts’ paranormals. I also love slightly sci-fi medical save-the-world-from-plague thrillers.

4. If you could co-author with any author, past or present, who would you choose?
Hmmmm. I’d choose someone out of my genre-Michael Crichton, maybe? We could bring different strengths to the book.

5. Have you always wanted to write or did it come to you ʺlater in lifeʺ?
I’ve had two writing careers. I wrote my first book on a dare in 1982 and wrote eighteen for Candlelight. They ended the series in 1986 and I couldn’t get on with another publisher, so I taught school and raised kids. A few years ago I decided I wanted to write again, wrote ‘Solomon’s Choice’ and Boroughs Publishing put me back in the business.

Author Bio:

The author of twenty romance novels, Emily Mims combined her writing career with a career in public education until leaving the classroom to write full time. The mother of two sons, she and her husband split their time between central Texas and eastern Tennessee. For relaxation she plays the piano, organ, dulcimer and ukulele. She says, “I love to write romances because I believe in them. Romance happened to me and it can happen to any woman-if she’ll just let it.”