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

Joining me today in The Loft is author Judythe Morgan. Judythe writes small-town romance, military romance, and romantic suspense. A native Texan, Judythe returned to her hometown after years of roaming the world as an Air Force daughter and then, Army wife. Her experiences as a Department of Army civilian employee, a schoolteacher, an antique dealer, a former mayor’s wife, and sometimes, church pianist fill her books with interesting twists and turns. Judythe and her husband have raised three children, and now enjoy eleven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and nine granddogs.

Author Judythe Morgan

S: Good morning, Judythe! Welcome back to The Loft!

What’s love got to do with writing romance?

J: Maslow's hierarchy includes love, acceptance, and belonging. Writing romance capitalizes on that need for emotional relationships. Love is the emotion that threads our stories. I fear without our human need for affection, there’d be no writing romance.

S: The need for affection certainly drives the search for love and romance.

Do you write in other genres?

J: I’ve labeled my books love stories a/k/a Nicholas Sparks. All have romantic elements not necessarily the standard romance tropes. I also write non-fiction and a weekly blog.

S: What attracted you to your current partner?

J: My husband and I are high school sweethearts. I was a lowly freshman. He was a big, bad senior. His sister was my best friend and that made connecting easy… and hard. The first time I saw him in that crazy yellow plaid shirt, I knew any guy who wasn’t trying to fit in with the crowd was the man I needed. Sixty years later, he still makes me swoon.

S: That's so sweet. My parents were married 65 years.

Do you read reviews?

J: I skim reviews. I don’t obsess about what’s written. I’ve very grateful when I see someone has taken the time to write a review, but I recognize readers' tastes vary. Some of my books will strike a connection, while others will not.

S: I think that's the best approach. Like you, I'm grateful for the positive reviews. I read the negative ones, but don't allow them to hold me back.

How do you get in the mood for writing?

J: My brain knows when I sit at my computer it’s time to write. I have a cup of Irish breakfast tea, a handful of M&Ms, and all is go for words on the page.

S: You had me at "M&Ms!" I got through college and law school with pound bags of that candy. It's still my go-to snack!

What inspired "When Love Comes Home?"

J: The Fitzpatrick Family series began as a single contest entry and blossomed into a six-book series. Each sibling had his own background story. Sammy’s backstory in "When Love Comes Home" reminded me of one of my favorite romance movies, Sweet Home Alabama. I wove his story plot around the movie, with an added touch of mystery.

S: Is there anything special you would like people to know about "When Love Comes Home?"

J: This book is the last in the six-book Fitzpatrick Family series. Sammy is the last Fitzpatrick sibling. I had plenty of material for plotting. Hubby-dear is a preacher’s kid and our son grew up to be a preacher. I have a sense of relief that all the brothers and sisters have found their HEA, but this lonely feeling keeps creeping in. I will miss their voices in my head. I’ve started a new manuscript. This one will be a standalone romantic suspense. The new characters and I are doing that dance of discovery. Soon they'll begin to talk to me, and argue then I’m sure I’ll be able to bid Sammy and Tiffany and the others farewell.

Here's the blurb--

Sammy Fitzpatrick and Tiffany Fischer eloped on prom night. The next day her father caught them, forced them to sign annulment papers then whisked her off to art school in North Carolina. Despite the distance and her father’s disapproval, Sammy and Tiffany exchanged letters and calls, making secret plans to go to Guatemala with a missionary group.

When Tiffany’s letters and phone calls stop unexpectedly, Sammy hitchhikes from Texas to North Carolina to find her. But she and her parents have disappeared without a trace. Resigned to a life alone, he left for Guatemala missing a chunk of his heart.

Ten years later, he learns the annulment papers were never filed. Tiffany is still legally his wife, but she doesn’t know it and she's engaged to someone else. Sammy’s heart has never let him forget. But is he too late? As secrets unravel, will they be able to find the love they once shared again?