SEELIE KAY: Postcards from The Ledge: This week in The Loft: Author Judythe Morgan!

Joining me today in The Loft is award-winning author Judythe Morgan. A military child and wife, Judythe is a native Texan who returned to her roots after years of roaming the world. Her stories tend to blend several genres, but all end with a happily-ever-after. Life with three children, eleven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and an Old English sheepdog named Finnegan provide Judyeth with plenty of ideas for her stories. Her fifteenth book is set for release in November.

Author Judythe Morgan

S: Good morning, Judythe! Thanks for joining me today.

What is the best thing that has ever happened to you as a writer?

J: Lots of good things have happened to me as a writer. I’ve made great friends. I have had great writing teachers. I’ve had my writing recognized with awards. But the best thing is when a reader tells me they’ve loved a book I wrote.

S: It's always gratifying when your writing is appreciated, isn't it?

What’s the best advice you have ever been given?

J: My father told me to “Just keep going. No matter what.” That coupled with my favorite quote from author Ray Bradbury, “Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way.” The two complement each other and remembering both keeps me going when obstacles cross my path in my life or my writing.

S: That's sound advice, just keep writing.

What do you want inscribed on your tombstone? How do you want to be remembered?

J: I’d love to have, “Irish She Was, In Love with her God.” The words come from an Irish poem titled “Irish She Is.” Those who know me well will recognize the truth. Those who don’t know me personally will be able to remember who I was.

S: I love that!

What inspired "Claiming Annie's Heart?"

J: The idea for "Claiming Annie’s Heart" was born on my first trip to Ireland and nourished by my Irish roots and other trips to Ireland. On one of those trips, I visited an Irish girls’ boarding school in Connemara, County Galway, where I experienced one of those rare writer moments—a character sprang fully formed into my head, commanding me to tell her story. That character was Annie Foster, the heroine of "Claiming Annie’s Heart."

S: Is there anything special you would like people to know about "Claiming Annie's Heart?"

J: "Claiming Annie’s Heart" blends two genres--Women’s Fiction and Romance. That’s why I call it an Irish love story. It’s sprinkled with a bit of an Irish history lesson and a touch of suspense. One reviewer called the story a sonnet to Ireland. Another reviewer wrote that Ireland and its people become another character in the story. I hope you enjoy reading Annie’s story and all my stories as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.

Here's the blurb--

He never doubted he’d find her.

She moved on without him.

Can he reclaim her heart before it’s too late?

Annie Foster’s outraged parents discover she’s living with her boyfriend Chad Jones and banish Annie to a remote boarding school in Ireland. Believing Chad has deserted her, Annie refuses to return to Texas when she graduates. Instead, she remains in Ireland to nanny a widower’s infant daughter. Five years later, she accepts the widower’s marriage proposal.

Chad has never forgotten Annie or the way her parents tore her from him. He refuses to give up hope that someday he’ll find her. A private security contractor with NSA, he arrives in Belfast weeks before Annie’s wedding.

The only problem is, he’s there to investigate her fiancé’s connection with terrorists. Without revealing his role, Chad must protect Annie while convincing her she still loves him because he’s never stopped loving her.

Unexpectedly faced with truths she never anticipated, Annie must choose between the man she’ll always love and her fiancé and his child, the daughter she has promised not to abandon.