I’m so happy to introduce this week’s TOP AUTHOR, Francine Beaton, on my blog. She’s such an inspiring lady and she has enough energy to power a town! I’m always waiting to find out what she is working on next, as she is a prolific writer and she still finds time to pop to my book group for a chat and to support other authors.
From Francine:
When I embarked on a holiday to New York in July 2016, I never expected coming back as an aspiring author. However, a chance meeting on a 4th of July cruise with a young rugby player, reading a rugby romance on the return flight to Johannesburg that left me dissatisfied, all contributed to my belief I could do better. Of course, I couldn’t, but it didn’t stop me. By the time the flight arrived at OR Tambo airport, I not only planned and plotted a story – I plotted a whole series of five books called Playing for Glory. It took me 18 months of constant writing, however, finishing six or seven books, before I showed it to anyone. It was only after a Romance Masterclass that I believed I could do it. After a 3-month mentorship, I submitted my first manuscript to publishers. I got rejections and plenty of them, but only two months later I signed my first publishing contract for three books.
I soon realized that the traditional publishing process is too slow for me, and self-published Taste for Coffee. Just as well as I did as the publishing house closed its doors before it even published the second book and I could get my rights back. Since then, I’ve published sixteen books in English, spread over six different series, as well as re-publishing ten of those in Afrikaans, my home language.
My latest story formed part of an anthology, Sweet Songs of Summer, published by the Romance Writers Organization of South Africa, with a selection of sweet romances by published and unpublished authors. My story, Chances, is a shortened version of what would be the second book in the On the Sidelines series and will be re-published in September 2021.
A Ray of Hope, the first book in the Hope series, was published in December 2021.
BLURB: A RAY OF HOPE (THE HOPE SERIES)
What you lose in the fire, you’ll find in the ashes
Stuart Mackenzie has a mission to save the world, one fire at a time. When he arrives in the small seaside town of Groenbosbaai on South Africa’s Garden Route, he doesn’t realise how true the saying will be.
Stuart has dedicated years of his life to the International Fire Rescue Team. He has little time for love or relationships. A life-changing meeting with the local town doctor has more significant consequences than Stuart could ever imagine, reminding him of things he buried in the past.
Hayley Evans has given up on love. She doesn’t want to experience another heartache. After all, she’s already lost her husband to cancer. So she buries herself in her studies and her work, but her return to Groenbosbaai to join the family practice brings more than she expected. She finds herself and the peace she so desperately needs.
Can their meeting offer more than a ray of hope for Stuart and Hayley?
BUYING LINKS:
https://books2read.com/u/mdnR1l
BIO:
Born in South Africa, romance author Francine Beaton now lives in Glasgow with her Scottish-born husband and daughter. When she is not reading or writing about love and Happy Ever After, she’s most likely busy painting or taking photos of everything that catches her eye. It’s easy to figure out why her debut novel, Eye on the Ball, as well as the series, Playing for Glory, has rugby as a theme. During rugby season, you’ll find her either next to the pitch or in front of the television, following her favourite teams.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Website: https://www.francinebeaton.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/francinebeaton
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrancineBeatonAuthor
Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/BeatonFrancine
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomfrancinebeaton
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Francine-Beaton/e/B07BJH92HR
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/francine-beaton
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/beatonfrancine/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrfWDZ8HDx1xMf_elYxFbXA
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/francinebeaton
BingeBooks: https://bingebooks.com/author/francine-beaton
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How wonderful to meet Francine here! I loved her story of how she started writing. Thank you for sharing, Lizzie!