Check
Out
By:
Debra Parmley
When Debra asked me to review this book, I of course,
couldn’t refuse her, because I happen to know she is an amazing writer. And
once I find someone whose writing has my attention, I am a fan for life. So as always,
I was honored to do her the honor of this.
And once she sent it to me, I fell in love with the cover
instantly. It is a beautiful cover, looking at just makes you feel like pulling
up a chair next to the fire place, and sitting down with a good book, like this
one!
In the book, “Check Out” we meet a marine vet by the name
of Nash Ware, who is also quite a bit handsome. But Nash wears an eye patch,
and his ex-fiancé was intimidated by it, and walked out of a perfectly good
relationship because of it. Because of this, Nash feels that women are no
longer part of his calling.
However, one day Nash decides to go into the library where
a shy Betsy Bobbin works, and she can’t help but notice Nash. And not just because
of his eye patch, she also noticed his masculine body, and even his attitude.
She is immediately drawn to him.
You know how luck or fate help to guide you onto the right
path, and put two people together? Well what happens next seems like fate, a chance
meeting, and it just makes everything fall right into place perfectly.
Betsy ends up with a flat tire, but not only is it flat,
but it is during a storm. And guess who comes to the rescue? Every woman loves
to be rescued, especially by a hunk like Nash.
Betsy gets to learn about Nash, and that he has PTSD, and
that he isn’t sure if he wants to let anyone in his life. Betsy feels torn, but
she also feels that she just might have found the love of her life.
Nash does have feelings for Betsy too, but he has his own
wounds, and problems to deal with. He isn’t sure what to do.
The book “Check Out” is a deep love story portraying that
our Military Vets do get wounded in so many ways, both physically and mentally.
And from those wounds come even deeper problems. Not only does Debra tell you
an enlightening and touching story here, she also gives you the perspective
into the military veterans, and how one is coping. It is a truly eye opening
five star read. I found it very enjoyable and think everyone should read it! I
could not put it down; I just had to know what was going to happen every step
of the way! Debra truly made this work!
My
questions for Debra:
1. What made you write this book and how long
did it take you?
~
~
I originally wrote “Check Out” after my publisher Secret Cravings invited me to be part
of a military box set where the proceeds would go to Operation Troop Aide. Then
just as the edits were finished, they announced they would be closing their
doors. That was a sad day and it was a thrill for me to finally see the book in
print when I re-released it through Belo Dia Publishing. I wanted to write a
story about a veteran who has PTSD but I didn’t want the story to be so much
about that issue that the story became about the PTSD. I see a lot of that in
military romance when it is used as a plot device. For me the story people
become real and just like meeting a new friend, Nash’s PTSD is just a part of
who he is. If you met him you might not know the entire story of why he has it
or exactly what he does to deal with it. But you’d see him functioning in the
world just like anyone else that does or doesn’t have it, if that makes sense.
I have a lot of friends who are veterans so I wanted to handle Mash’s story
like I might handle theirs and I wanted to give him a happy ending.
~
~
2. Why do you write?
~
~
I write because I love to write. I’d write even
if no one read what I wrote. J I’ve written poetry for years even though people say you can’t
make money writing poetry. As if that were the only reason to do to write
something.
~
~
3. What are your hobbies?
~
~
I enjoy primitive camping
and stepping back into medieval times with the Society for Creative
Anachronism, shooting my Mongolian horse bow (primitive archery), shooting long
guns and shooting pool. I also enjoy yoga, belly dancing, reading and travel. I
also love to collect seashells from each beach I have visited.
~
~
4. What are you working on now?
~
~
I’m finishing the expansion of A Change of Scenery, which was out as a
short story with Secret Cravings. Readers wanted more, so I am expanding the
story and it will be the first book in my Hunger Roads trilogy. Set in the
future it is a world of big pharma running the govt, GMO’s and a secret group
of former Special Forces veterans who are fighting to protect the constitution
and to bring down the corrupt government. A sweet belly dancer that just
happens to grow healing herbs in her spare bedroom finds herself on a government
terrorist list (herbalists have been classified as terrorists) and a former
SEAL rescues her and then they are on the run. It’s taken me longer to
rewrite/expand because I decided to make it part of a trilogy which means
threading everything that needs to be in before the next two books. There’s a
lot of weaving new parts into the first version and that kind of writing is
always slower than writing a brand new story.
~
~
5. Do you imagine yourself as one of the
characters when you write your books?
~
~
It is more like I am their friend and they are
sharing things with me most of the time. I do step inside sometimes and that
can get emotional, much like empathy, when I feel what they are feeling. I read
one of my Christmas stories for maybe the tenth time and it still made me cry
the last time I read it. But I always give them a happy ending and I know it is
coming so maybe that is a little bit silly, to get so emotional. You know that
scene in the movie Romancing the Stone? Where she cries when she’s at the end of
her book? Well that would be me.
~
~
6. Do you ever get writers block?
~
~
I once had it for a very long time. Six long
months after my golden retriever Trixie died, I could not write. I vowed after
that never to have it again. So here is how I avoid it. I change where I write
by moving around with my laptop. I change what I “need” to be able to write by
writing longhand with a legal pad and I have even talked into my phone to
record a scene. That way there is no “I can only write if…” in my mind because
I think I need it. Because Trixie sat by my side when I wrote so when she was
gone that loss froze my writing, as I got too emotional every time I sat down
to write. So after six months of that, I wanted to find all the things that
might freeze it again and work to avoid it ever happening again. I also work on
more than one story so if things start to get slow on one I will switch to
another. I will not spend time in front of a blank page for very long. No more
than five minutes. And I have all kinds of exercises that I can do if I sit
there and am getting close to the five minutes. When I was teaching classes
locally and doing a lot of mentoring I passed those on to my students because I
know they work. I also don’t stick “write every day” in my head so there isn’t
the huge pressure if for a day or two I don’t get to write. That has served me
well when I had to be in the hospital or when my father passed. It is okay to
give yourself permission to take time off from your writing. I used to be so
hard on myself but ironically now that I’m not, the writing is always flowing
unless life gets in the way.
~
~
7. Do you have any photos of the characters or
maybe character descriptions for this book?
I don’t have any photos as I could just close
my eyes and see them but I always have to describe my characters for Sheri, my
wonderful cover artist. Nash Ware is six foot tall with dark hair that has
grown out enough since he came back from active duty that it sometimes falls
into his eyes. Or would if he had not lost an eye in the war. He wears a dark
eye patch to hide his scars and it’s winter so he wears a fatigue jacket and
military style boots when he comes stomping into Betsy’s library and her world.
Betsy Bobbin has long blonde hair and always wears red lipstick. She’s a shy
librarian who dresses modestly. Her younger sister Leann has dark hair and
dresses more to catch a man’s eye. Unfortunately she caught the eye of the
campus stalker, which turns dangerous for her.
~
~
8. If you could meet ONE Author who would it
be?
~
~
Oh it is so hard to pick just one. I get to
chat with so many authors on my radio show on Tuesday nights and I wish I could
meet them all in person too. Okay so just one. I would love to meet Alice
Hoffman. She is one of my favorite authors. I was just thinking about her book
Practical Magic the other day. It was made into a movie and I’ve put it on my
list of movies to watch around Halloween.
~
~
9. What is it that led you to writing in the first place?
~
When I was a small girl I would imagine stories
but never wrote them down. In college I started writing short stories and
eventually switched to novels. I still write short stories and you can find a
few of those out in eBook. So I have been writing stories in my head ever since
I was a child.
~
10. What all education have you had?
~
~
I went back to college when my sons were in
high school and junior high and got a bachelors degree in English. I’d been
working at a bank as a head teller and you couldn’t get a higher-level job in
banking without a degree. So I went back to finish my BA and then still
couldn’t find a job after I graduated because we lived in the Pocono mountains,
where there just weren’t that many jobs. That’s when we moved to the Memphis TN
area to be near family and I started working at a weekly newspaper. That was
twenty years ago and now here I am writing books and using that degree. So
people are no longer asking me “What can you do with an English degree?”
~
~
11. Please share with us your book links and
social media links:
Author Media Links:
Book links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Debra-Parmley/e/B002BM9H4A/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1473839815&sr=1-1
My eBooks and audio books on itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/author/debra-parmley/id411082477?mt=11
My eBooks on Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/search?query=debra%20parmley
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/debra+parmley
All Romance eBooks:
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html
My audio books
on Audible: http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_hp_tseft?advsearchKeywords=debra+parmley&filterby=field-keywords&x=0&y=0
12. Anything extra to add?
Thank you for this interview and for reviewing 'Check Out!' I always enjoy answering your
questions.
My first audio book is out and I’m so excited
about that. Something I wasn’t able to do when I was with the other publishers.
So… Check Out is now available in
audio book, it’s my first audio book and I hope everyone will check it out! (I
have such fun saying that. Librarian heroine, Check Out title, check it out. Makes me giggle.) ;-)
Here are links to my radio show, which airs
every Tue night 8:30 eastern http://bit.ly/BookLights
Upcoming shows Readers Entertainment on Blog Talk Radio: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/circle-of-seven
Readers can find me online and if signed up for
my newsletter can win prizes.
Newsletter
sign up link: http://eepurl.com/ZUyC1
I love to hear from my readers!
Check Out by Debra ParmleyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
When Debra asked me to review this book, I of course, couldn’t refuse her, because I happen to know she is an amazing writer. And once I find someone whose writing has my attention, I am a fan for life. So as always, I was honored to do her the honor of this.
And once she sent it to me, I fell in love with the cover instantly. It is a beautiful cover, looking at just makes you feel like pulling up a chair next to the fire place, and sitting down with a good book, like this one!
In the book, “Check Out” we meet a marine vet by the name of Nash Ware, who is also quite a bit handsome. But Nash wears an eye patch, and his ex-fiancé was intimidated by it, and walked out of a perfectly good relationship because of it. Because of this, Nash feels that women are no longer part of his calling.
However, one day Nash decides to go into the library where a shy Betsy Bobbin works, and she can’t help but notice Nash. And not just because of his eye patch, she also noticed his masculine body, and even his attitude. She is immediately drawn to him.
You know how luck or fate help to guide you onto the right path, and put two people together? Well what happens next seems like fate, a chance meeting, and it just makes everything fall right into place perfectly.
Betsy ends up with a flat tire, but not only is it flat, but it is during a storm. And guess who comes to the rescue? Every woman loves to be rescued, especially by a hunk like Nash.
Betsy gets to learn about Nash, and that he has PTSD, and that he isn’t sure if he wants to let anyone in his life. Betsy feels torn, but she also feels that she just might have found the love of her life.
Nash does have feelings for Betsy too, but he has his own wounds, and problems to deal with. He isn’t sure what to do.
The book “Check Out” is a deep love story portraying that our Military Vets do get wounded in so many ways, both physically and mentally. And from those wounds come even deeper problems. Not only does Debra tell you an enlightening and touching story here, she also gives you the perspective into the military veterans, and how one is coping. It is a truly eye opening five star read. I found it very enjoyable and think everyone should read it! I could not put it down; I just had to know what was going to happen every step of the way! Debra truly made this work!
View all my reviews
