Roses and Readers, join me in welcoming Jody Vitek to our site today.
Thank you, Brenda and fellow
Roses, for having me here today. It’s great to be back to share my latest
release, Rescue Me, a contemporary romance set in Minnesota.
The idea of this book came from
wonderful childhood memories of visiting my great aunt and uncle, my second
cousins and their grandparents. Grandma and grandpa, as my brother and I called
them, lived on the farm in a small separate home a few steps from the old farm
house. They had cows and chickens, and if memory serves me correctly, pigs too,
and farmed acres of land.
Farmland is being eaten up by
new housing developments throughout the state and it saddens me because where
else will we get our crops. But, most children don’t know what a farm smells or
looks like other than what they see in pictures. My great aunt still owns some
of the farm, and I have taken my children to see where I spent some of my time
as a youth. Unfortunately, the barn and farm house have been condemned for
safety reasons, but they enjoyed seeing it all. They were a bit envious that I
got to experience the farm and they didn’t.
At the Minnesota Zoo, visitors
can experience and learn more about farming and farm life, but it’s not the
same as living it. Okay, so I didn’t truly live a farmer’s
life but more so than my kids ever will. There’s nothing better than smelling
the pungent odor of manure or hay bales in the hay loft. So maybe there are
other, better smells than those but they always remind me of my childhood and
bring a smile to my face.
Do you have a childhood smell or
memory that makes you smile? Leave a comment, with your email, for a
chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card.
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At this time, Rescue Me is only
available through the publisher, Melange
Books, LLC. Look for it later at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other
sites.
You can find Jody on Facebook:
Jody Vitek Author, on Twitter: @JodyVitek and you can email her at:
info@jodyvitek.com
Bio:
Born and raised in Minnesota,
Jody remains close to home, living with her husband of more than twenty years
as well as three children and a cat named Holly. Growing up, she enjoyed
reading V.C. Andrews' Dollanganger series, S.E. Hinton and
Stephen King to name a few.
She’s traveled throughout the
United States, to the Bahamas and Cancun, Mexico. Between watching soccer
games, scrapbooking and being the COO of the Vitek household, she writes
contemporary romances.
Excerpt:
Sunday
morning Catherine strolled to the barn. Opening the red wooden door, the strong
smell of fresh hay engulfed her. Her senses came to life. She closed her eyes
and inhaled deeply. The memory of children’s laughter played in her mind. Eyes
opened to see the rope hanging from the rafters where they would swing and drop
into the hay piles.
Eyes
down now, shuffling along the floor, she remembered the trap door that led into
the stalls below. The well-worn iron ring was cold to the touch. She lifted the
heavy door by the ring, letting it fall back with a thud on to the wood floor.
Peering through the opening to the cement floor below, she missed the sounds of
cows, pigs and chickens. Nothing but emptiness now.
Despite
the silence, she heard something. And it wasn’t her imagination.
Mewing
from the haystacks. At the edge of the stacks, straining to hear for a sense of
what direction to look, she climbed and moved to the left. There they were—a
litter of kittens. She guessed them to be at least four weeks old. Mama cat
wasn’t around, probably out hunting for food. Catherine wouldn’t intrude on the
small family; however, she would periodically check on them.
Outside,
she hopped down over the wood retaining wall where the slope was, as the barn
was built into a hill. Although there were no cows, the aroma of manure was
present when she strolled through the lower level of the barn. Her hand ran
along the round metal gates of the cow stalls. This would’ve been the horses’
new home. Saddened by the thought, she exited the barn.
She
hustled up the slight incline, approached the swing and yanked the heavy ropes
to test them. A little weight on the seat and a tight grip on the side ropes,
in case the seat failed, she kicked out and set the swing in motion.
The old school bus parked by the shed caught her attention.
She and the foster kids had played school in the thing for hours on end and
take turns being the bus driver. Catherine smiled at the memory. They all loved
pretending to drive and pull the lever to open the door, which would make the
Stop sign pop out from the side.
