Author Guest Post with Virginia’dele Smith, Grocery Girl

She inhales life with every breath. He’s suffered a world of pain. Can they rise above tragedy to find their happily ever after?

Welcome to the December 16th stop on the blog tour for Grocery Girl by Virginia’dele Smith with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, author guest posts & interviews, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means there is no additional cost to you if you shop using my links, but I will earn a small percentage in commission. A program-specific disclaimer is at the bottom of this post.

Author Guest Post

One aspect of Grocery Girl that no one has asked about yet is the significance that quilts have throughout the story, so I’d love to share a little about that today.

As an admirer of hand crafts and homemade treasures, I am in awe of quilts. I believe every quilt tells a story through the pattern, the colors, the fabrics, the inspiration behind the desire to make it, and what was happening in the lives of the people touched by the quilt. As a quilter, I know exactly how much love and intentional thought goes into every quilt.

Quilting is experiencing a resurgence in America these days. In fact, quilting has become a $4 billion industry in the United States alone. The interest in quilts, quilting materials, sewing techniques, and quilting methods is fantastic. The people who are making, selling, teaching, and sharing quilts are fascinating and incredibly talented.

I wanted to connect with quilters through my stories, and I wanted to introduce quilts, quilting, and quilters to my reading audience. In Grocery Girl (Book 1 in the Green Hills series), we see how one quilt can touch many lives, how a single quilt can comfort and ease one through challenges, pain, heartache, and joy.

Miss Sadie creates the featured quilt to cope with her husband’s progression through Alzheimer’s disease. After his death, finishing the quilt helped her process her grief. When she wraps Maree in the quilt, Maree feels the love and devotion that went into the blanket; it bolsters her courage and hope. When Maree makes Green Hills her home, Sadie gifts the quilt to her, and it symbolizes a new life of untold possibilities. When Maree is in the hospital, the quilt brightens her day, gives her strength, and reminds Maree that she has a wonderful support network, that she is not alone.

I designed Miss Sadie’s quilt to enjoy in the real world, and I am working on it when I’m not promoting Book 1 or writing Book 2. I am excited to share the “Widow Jones” block and the full quilt pattern with my readers. I am hopeful that it will bring joy to quilters and their families for years to come.

About the Book

Grocery Girl
Green Hills Book One
by Virginia’dele Smith

Published 30 October 2021
Books are Ubiquitous LLC

Genre: Wholesome Smalltown Romance
Page Count: 272
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

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 US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK

Excerpt

“Is it safe to return to my candy store?” Mrs. Dawsey asked, beaming under his praise.

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll walk you and Maree back over,” he decided for everyone.

Mrs. Dawsey chattered like a magpie, telling Rhys everything she had noticed about the man in the alley. Rhys didn’t get too far away from her, but Maree was grateful that they went on ahead of her, since she was rather slow on the crutch. By the time she made it to the front door of her quilt studio, he had already seen Mrs. Dawsey to her store and even walked through it to make her feel safe and comfortable.

The short walk from her shop to Maree’s turned out to be plenty of time for Rhys’s anger to resurface.

“Why didn’t you call me, Maree?” For a guy who liked to look down when he was unsure of what to say, he had no problem directing his stern gaze right through her eyes and into her heart.

Why must I love him so much?

“I called 911, Rhys. That’s what we all learned to do back in kindergarten, remember?” She was suddenly feeling a little testy herself.

“You just left,” he said, switching gears on her in a heartbeat.

“Yes, I—” She blinked a few times to catch up, but he stopped her before she could explain herself.

“I can’t protect you if you’re gone.”

“Rhys, you’ve taken the very best care of me this week. I can’t tell you how much that has mea—”

“Then let me take care of you now,” he interrupted again, obviously still antsy and agitated.

“No,” she replied.

“Because I can’t keep you safe.” His words were flat and defeated, said as both a question and a statement of fact.

“No, you can’t, Rhys.”

About the Author

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. (https://quilt2endalz.org/) , a 501(c)(3) nonprofit 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.

You are invited to join Ashli in Green Hills (https://www.facebook.com/groups/welcometogreenhills) and learn more about Virginia’dele Smith by subscribing to Ashli’s newsletter, The Gazette (http://eepurl.com/gJIDcv), at AshliMontgomery.com.

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Giveaway Alert!

Virginia’dele Smith will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B&N gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.