Guest Post Olivia's Promise by Diane Merrill Wigginton

Title: Olivia’s Promise
Author: Diane Merrill Wigginton
Series: Jeweled Dagger Series (Book 3) (Part of The Benjamin Franklin Award Winning Series)
Genre: Historical Romance/Suspense
Publisher: Jeweled Dagger Publishing
Release Date: Aug 4 2017
Edition/Format: 1st Edition/Formats ~ eBook & Print
Blurb/Synopsis:
 The year is 1804. Lady Olivia Sophia Allen Townsend has just turned 20 years old, beautiful and considered by some in polite society far too eccentric for her own good. When Olivia was younger, she was very open about her gift of being able to see spirits, but the shunning by her peers has caused her to turn her back on those who need her the most - spirits caught between two worlds. That is until her best friend Lilly Collins comes to her in the middle of the night and asks for her help. Lilly can’t remember what happened to her so finds herself in need of Olivia’s unique gifts.
Olivia’s younger sister, Coco, is also gifted with a unique set of skills - she can touch someone and know things about them that they would sometimes prefer to keep hidden. Together, the sisters set off on a sea voyage, from Ireland to America, intent on solving the mystery of Lilly’s untimely death.
Brody and Quinton Beaumont, fine-looking, eligible, southern American gentlemen, and heirs to a successful cotton empire, are twins hiding a deep dark secret. Their mother, Annabelle Beaumont, died eight years earlier on the night of their annual birthday winter ball, yet she continues to rule over their plantation home with an iron fist.
Olivia, drawn to no man, feels suddenly akin to Brody Beaumont, but she must figure out if she can trust him, and if he or his brother had anything to do with Lilly’s death.

A Day in the Life of Diane Wigginton…

To walk an entire day in my shoes a few months ago, is very different than a typical day today. I started doing daycare in my home sixteen years ago, when my youngest son, Ethan was only two. I needed something to do to earn money and my youngest needed to have children his age to play with, since his siblings were all older than him and in school all day. So that was the start of a second career. I had been a Registered Dental Assistant for sixteen years, when I retired to have our youngest child. Then we moved from San Diego to Sacramento and I started my second career, raising other people’s children, as well as my own.

I had written poems, short stories, and even taken a children’s book writing class years ago and knew that I wanted to be a writer. But life got in the way, and I became so busy raising children, being a wife and well, just living life that I was forced to put my dreams on the back burner.

Then in January 2011 my older brother, David became very ill and passed away suddenly, two weeks shy of his forty-ninth birthday. Nine months later in October, my father called me out of the blue to let me know that he had cancer. Somehow, I knew that I was going to lose him as well. He passed away in early December, and I was devastated. 

When I came out of my funk, I decided that there was a lesson to be learned from the loss of my brother and father, and that was that life was short and that it could end suddenly for any of us. So just after I turned fifty years old, I decided that I was going to pull my dreams off the back burner and make it a priority. I began writing and found that I had a knack for telling a story and that it was just like breathing to me. It felt wonderful.

I retired from doing daycare at the end of April of this year, right after taking our youngest son off to college at BYU Idaho. Now I get up in the morning, feed the animals, water the garden, pick fruit from the trees, say my prayers, make the bed and sit down to write most days. It is a good life and I feel so very blessed to have finally discover what I want to be when I grow up; an author.

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Born in Riverside, California in 1963, my family and I moved to San Diego when I was nearly 8. I had a very rich life growing up, with my brother, David and best friend Gigi, for company. I was married to my current husband, David in 1998 and we moved to Herald, California in 2001. We have a blended family of 6 kids and enjoy the rural life on our 5 1/2 acre ranch, 45 minutes south of Sacramento. I love writing and creating stories that are different and intriguing. I like to give my readers a little something unexpected. I have always wanted to be a published author, but the timing never seemed right. Raising a family and working full time always took precedence. Shortly after I turned 50 I decided that it would never be the right time, and determined that I needed to live my truth and follow my dreams. So I began writing on a whim, and loved everything about it. My first book is out, and the second one is at the publishers, scheduled to be released, April 4, 2017. I am currently working on book 3 of my series, slated to release the first week in August, 2017. I am very excited about the future, and thrilled to be writing. I count my blessings every day because I know how truly lucky I am. Life is good.

Author Links

Amazon Author Page

Facebook Page/Book Page Angelina’s Secret 

LinkedIn

Twitter  @Dianesunny
Website/Publisher Jeweled Dagger Publishing

Book Links
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