Grocery Girl by Virginia'dele Smith - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hi, lovelies!!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Virginia’dele Smith aka Ashli Montgomery and her new book, “Grocery Girl,” here on FAB!!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Virginia’dele aka Ashli and to increase your chances of winning!!

Thanks for stopping by!!  Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!

Grocery Girl

by Virginia'dele Smith

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GENRE: Wholesome Small-Town Romance

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BLURB:

She inhales life with every breath. He’s suffered a world of pain. Can they rise above tragedy to find their happily ever after?

Maree Davenport refuses to let a tearful past rule her future. After losing her parents at the age of five, the big-hearted fabric designer is determined to embrace her feelings and find happiness no matter what. So when she literally runs over a handsome new firefighter in the produce section, the hopeless romantic is certain she’s just collided with destiny.

Everyone Rhys Larsen ever loved has died. And though he may have hit it off with the pretty girl at the store, the haunted EMT knows better than to let her into his heart. But when an accident leaves her wounded and in need of care, he vows to nurse her back to health.

As Maree struggles to break through the grieving man’s walls, she fears his deep-seated superhero complex will make him unreachable. And as Rhys grapples with trying to protect the beautiful woman from his curse, he worries he’ll have to choose between doing the right thing and true love.

Can this conflicted couple reconcile their opposite takes on adversity and find purpose in each other’s arms?

Grocery Girl is the touching first book in the Green Hills wholesome small-town romance series. If you like strong but vulnerable characters, emotional growth, and quaint backdrops, then you’ll adore Virginia'dele Smith’s celebration of joy.

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EXCERPT ONE:

And then her gaze locked with a set of uniquely gray eyes.

Maree had never seen this firefighter before. Their stare held for a smidge longer than a split second. Then he nodded a brief acknowledgment and kept walking. It took her a blink or two — or maybe ten — to get her wits about her.

He was definitely new in town, because there was no way she would have forgotten having seen him before. Taking a deep, intentional breath and with a little shake of her head, she broke out of the mini-trance she’d found herself in, forced herself to refocus, and finished her shopping.

She giggled at herself when she recounted the whole second-and-a-half time lapse of the not-quite interaction to Miss Sadie when she delivered her fruit a half hour later. When Sadie asked what the rest of him looked like, Maree honestly had no idea.

“Miss Sadie,” she confessed, “I didn’t make it past those eyes.”

“Well, that’s surely a shame,” Miss Sadie crooned. “Now you’ll never know if it’s the same fellow when you meet him in town or simply walking down the street.”

She was giving Maree a hard time, teasing in good fun, but Maree wasn’t worried.

“Oh, I’ll know him,” she replied with dreamy confidence. “I’m certain I’d know him anywhere.”

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GUEST POST:

Brain Food for Writers: 5 Healthy Snacks to Eliminate Writers Block

I love this question, and in all the interviews I’ve done since releasing Grocery Girl, you are the first one to ask it! Thank you 😊

In addition to writing novels, I spend a lot of time quilting, practicing yoga, and advocating to end Alzheimer’s disease. At first glance, you might not see the connection, but all four of those pastimes lend themselves to a healthy lifestyle, both mentally and physically, and all four of my favorite activities are made better by healthy snacks.

Here are five of my go-to combinations:

1.)  Granola Bars and Applesauce – the blend of oats, nuts, cinnamon, honey, and fruit are the perfect balance of filling and sweet. I’m constantly experimenting with different combinations to discover the world’s best granola…as soon as I find it, I will definitely let everyone know.

2.) Greek Yogurt and Blueberry Parfait – you’ll notice that my snacks almost always include fruit; I have a sweet tooth, and I can’t function without fresh fruit throughout the day. A great way to incorporate a good dose of calcium and a tangy flavor is by serving plump blueberries over Greek yogurt. Yum!!

3.)  Apple Slices and Almond Butter – We all know the saying: an apple a day keeps the doctors away. Well, I believe it! I love all varieties of apples, and there is not much better than slicing a cool, crisp apple and dipping it in a bowl of almond butter. It’s easy to grab while typing away on my next book, very tasty to eat, and filling so I can keep working without feeling hungry any time soon.

4.)  Ants on a Log with Cold Milk – Another tried and true childhood favorite: celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins. When I have leftover celery from a dinner recipe, I wash and cut the stalks into 3-4” pieces, fill the trench with peanut butter, and then top with 3-4 raisins. I set them in an airtight container and eat on them all throughout the week. I’m a milk girl…not much beats an almost-freezing glass of cold milk. Paired with the peanut butter and raisins? Heaven on earth!

5.)  Energy Bites and a Cup of Hot Tea – No matter the weather, I love a cup of black tea with thick cream and a teaspoon of honey. No-bake energy bites are wonderful with my tea; they are quick to toss together, the recipe makes a huge batch, they have just a touch of dark chocolate, and they are quite healthy. I do have to ration them so that they last all week; otherwise, I can look up from a writing session to find that I’ve eaten the entire plateful.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Ashli Montgomery is a wife, a momma, and an author whose passion is sharing love stories, books, quilts, yoga, recipes, and all of her favorite things in life. She is quilting to mend the mind by spearheading and educating a community of friends who love quilts and quilting but hate Alzheimer’s disease through Quilt 2 End ALZ, Inc. (https://quilt2endalz.org), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit she launched to use her quilting hobby as a platform to advocate for an end to Alzheimer's disease.

Ashli writes under the pen name Virginia’dele Smith to honor Syble Virginia Tidwell, Adele Gertrude Baylin, and Etta Jean Smith. These three cherished grandmothers were beautiful role models, teaching Ashli to love without judgment and to always put family first. Through Grandma Syble’s journals and appetite for books, through Momadele’s priceless cards and handwritten letters, and through many, many hours of visiting over fabric at Mema’s kitchen island, Ashli also learned to treasure words.

You are invited to join Ashli in Green Hills (https://www.facebook.com/groups/welcometogreenhills) and learn more about Virginia’dele Smith by subscribing to Ashli’s newsletter, The Gazette (http://eepurl.com/gJIDcv), at https://www.AshliMontgomery.com.

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CONNECT WITH ASHLI:

Website:

https://www.AshliMontgomery.com

Newsletter – The Gazette:

http://eepurl.com/gJIDcv

Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/AshliMontgomery.VirginiadeleSmith

Facebook Group – Welcome to the Green Hills:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/welcometogreenhills

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/MeAndCoach

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/ashlimontgomery

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/ashlim.virginiadelesmith

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/user/dy4m35uz51h4vasexqwy30e8g?si=0d9ba9c8948d49a4

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21962644.Virginia_dele_Smith

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59494533-grocery-girl

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/3sDA6ae

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/3mxwx1C

Amazon US Hardcover:

https://amzn.to/32xMLAA

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Grocery-Girl-Green-Hills-Book-ebook/dp/B09KQDK8D8

Amazon CA Hardcover:

https://www.amazon.ca/Grocery-Girl-Green-Hills-Book/dp/1957036052

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book-1-virginiadele-smith/1140532889

The Book Depository Paperback:

https://www.bookdepository.com/Book-1-Virginiadele-Smith/9781957036045

BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Book/Virginiadele-Smith/9781957036045

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Ashli will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those fabulous community outreach projects and awesome giveaways on here**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.