Welcome to our special event celebrating the idea that “Love Conquers All.” We’re happy to welcome author Rie McGaha to share in our event today.

CTR: There are lots of old sayings about love such as “Love conquers all”, “The course of true love never runs smooth” and many more! There are also many aphorisms and epigrams meant to inspire and encourage us when we are working to overcome difficulties. Since we are featuring tales of loves and individuals who rise above a variety of hardships, barriers and troubles today, maybe you can tell us what old saw may have inspired you and how you used it to create your special story.

RM: “Don’t be stingy darlin’, always give ’em two, one in the heart and one in the head.”

CTR: Please tell us a bit about the work you are featuring today. The ISBN and buy link is always good and maybe some background or “story behind the story’ to pique our reader’s interest. Readers would like to know any what special people or events may have inspired you to write this particular story. You can provide a blurb here also!

RM: I would like to introduce Written In Stone by Rie McGaha from Silver Publishing.
ISBN # 978-1-920468-53-8
Buy Link: http://silverpublishing.info/product_book_info/coming-soon-c-2/written-in-stone-p-106
Available in e-book & print

Although Written In Stone is purely fiction, an idea to combine a few things from my own life came to me one day. Vampire stories are very popular but I didn’t want to write the usual fang story, so I put the idea of a vamp story on hold and began writing a story about a woman, Angela Stone, who was confined to a wheelchair, yet was able to save children being sold on the black market. As I began writing the story I brought in her partner, who would become her love interest. From there my muse took over and I wound up rewriting the first chapter entirely, changing Angela Stone to Angela Elliott, and making Gavin Richard Phillip Charles Stone, III, our hero and vampire.

I didn’t agree with my muse on where I thought she was taking the story, because it made the story too easy, and I don’t like easy. When I read a book, if I can figure out all the nuances of the story by chapter two, what’s the point of reading? But I continued since my muse wouldn’t listen to me (she is sometimes such a witch, I don’t know why I keep her around). Anyway, as the story unfolded I was taken by surprise at how Gavin became a vamp, and then, to top it off, Melba (my muse) had yet another surprise for me for the ending of this book. What Written In Stone turned out to be both delighted and touched me. Melba was right again (shh, don’t tell her I said that, or I’ll never hear the end of it), and I am thoroughly pleased with the result.

Now, I must add that if you have never read one of my books, you may want to begin with something more traditional from my library and work up to Written In Stone. I am an acquired taste and not for the faint of heart. If you like, or expect, traditional plots when it comes to vampires, you won’t be getting that here.

Here is the blurb to further pique your interest.

BLURB:
Gavin Richard Charles Philip Stone III is handsome, rich and has his pick of any woman he wants. He has no desire to settle down and produce grandchildren for his mother, but after a hundred and fifty years of playing the field, he might just have found the woman of his dreams. Unfortunately, she has no interest in him whatsoever!
Angela Elliott has been confined to a wheelchair ever since an accident killed her husband and unborn child. She detests attending any social affair at all but her caregiver just won’t take no for an answer sometimes. Giving in one more time, she went to the ball only to sit in the back and watch the other young women dance the night away. That is until Mr. Stone introduces himself and asks her to dance. She is polite but has no desire to be pitied and turns him down flat.
But when Gavin is out strolling one night he catches Mrs. Elliott in a very precarious position…
CTR: Do you yourself have any handicap or problem that you may have had to struggle to overcome either in your career or your personal life? Do you have any words of inspiration or hope for others who might be dealing with similar or other problems? Many people rely on faith, friends, family, and other kinds of support to help them. Do you have a favorite cause or charity that you may work to support and help? Have you ever dedicated part of the profits from a book or other work to such a cause?

RM: Yes, I do have a physical handicap. I was born with bilateral hip displaysia. I’ve had three hip surgeries and need a 4th but there are complications since I have no bone left on the right side. Before my first surgery I spent a year in a wheelchair, and that was the worst year of my life. I have mobility problems and can’t walk for more than a few minutes, and even that leaves me in so much pain sometimes all I can do is lay in bed and cry. I also have fibromyalgia and my lower spine is disintegrating, plus I have RA. I have lived with pain for so long, I don’t remember what it’s like to be pain free, or if there is such a thing.

In spite of this, I used to rescue animals, fix them up, get them spay/neutered and find good people for them to adopt. I can no longer rescue on a large scale but I do take in desperate cases from time to time. I also support spay/neuter programs to educate people on the benefits of spay/neutering, besides the main objective of stopping unwanted pups who will become abused or abandoned dogs. I volunteer to drive transport whenever I can, and I bug people to donate to the cause! http://lovefurbabies.chipin.com/rescued-animals

CTR: Do you think our society is more supportive now of people with physical challenges, interracial/ethnic/cultural couples, single parents seeking partners etc. than perhaps we were in times past?

RM: Well, there are more laws that support people with disabilities but I still see a lot of things that could be improved, especially in people’s minds. I still see (and often hear) people who are put out by those of us who are a little slower moving than they are, and now that I’m not only slow and in need of assistance occasionally, my hair has turned white (even though I’m only 40 twelve), I hear younger people who complain when they are behind me. But I’ve never been one to hold my tongue so I turn and say, “One of these days you’ll be my age ““ if you’re lucky, and I hope people are not as rude to you as you just were to me.”

CTR: Do you have a special hero or heroine who has influenced and inspired you? A person you especially admire who has struggled and triumphed against some tough odds?

RM: My paternal grandmother was the most important person in my life when I was growing up. She became an ordained minister in 1924, when women weren’t being ordained in favor of men. Grandma never paid attention to what others might think, she did what she thought God wanted her to do, so she never doubted standing up and preaching in church was what she should be doing. There was no oppression because of gender with her because she never allowed herself to be “oppressed.” That is something she taught me. I could be and do whatever I wanted no matter what anyone else said. She often quoted scripture and told me, “In God’s eyes we are all the same. There is no male or female, no black or white, no prejudice against anyone. So you do what you know God wants you to do and don’t listen to anyone who says you can’t.” She was an awesome grandmother and a great woman I have always admired and loved. She passed away in 1982 and I have missed her every day since.

CTR: Before you leave us today, please tell us where we can learn more about you and your books, how to find your blog, website, twitter or Facebook pages, etc.

RM: I think I’m just about everywhere! But you can follow these links to find me, follow me, and friend me!
Rie McGaha’s Links:

Website: www.riemcgaha.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Rie_McGaha
My Space: http://www.myspace.com/novelsbyrie
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/NovelsByRieMcGaha
Biker Or Not: http://www.bikerornot.com/natenrie
Manic Readers: http://www.manicreaders.com/RieMcGaha/
The Pagan & The Pen Book Reviews:
http://thepaganandthepenbookreviews.blogspot.com/
Man Of The Month: http://spotlightauthor.blogspot.com/
Blogs:
http://anauthorstale.blogspot.com/
http://sizzlingreleases.blogspot.com/
http://riemcgaha.wordpress.com/
http://authorofferings.blogspot.com/
http://lovefurbabies.chipin.com/rescued-animals

CTR: Thanks so much for sharing our event today and giving readers an inside look at you and your work! Go in peace and harmony!

RM: Thank you so much for having me. It’s been a pleasure.