Rachel Hanna is in the Author Spotlight

 

Are Your Books Based on Real Life People or Events?

One of the most common questions I get as an author is whether my books or characters are based on my life. The answer to that most of the time is no, although I pepper things in each of my books that only those closest to me would get.

However, I have had a couple of books that came from real life. The one that stands out the most is my book LOVE IN THE FALLS. This book starts out with a young woman hiking up to a waterfall with her friend and on the way down, she witnesses a young man having a stroke.

This scene actually did happen to my family and me just a few years ago. We were coming down from seeing the waterfall, and we noticed a young man and woman about a hundred feet in front of us. She called out to me for some reason, but I could barely hear her so I left my family behind and ran to see what she needed.

When I got there, I realized she was holding him up. I helped her get him to a park bench, and we called 911, but they took a long time to get up the mountain. He was only in his early 40’s, and it turned out this was their first date.

I’ll never forget that day. Trevor, the young man, was in the hospital for a long time and eventually he was moved to a long-term care facility. But he remembers me and my family, sitting by his feet in the freezing cold October weather, waiting for the ambulance. And he remembers me bringing him gifts to the hospital.

The character of Sam was based on Trevor in LOVE IN THE FALLS, and it continues to be one of my fan favorites.

Get to know Rachel:

Rachel Hanna is a bestselling contemporary romance author, living just outside of Atlanta with her husband, three kids, two dogs, one cat and a gecko.

Her obsession is talking to her characters in her head, and she often worries this might make her a little insane. But she tells their stories, no matter how crazy or how difficult they can be.

Her most popular series is January Cove, which is set in a small, coastal Georgia town. It’s the kind of place where everyone has a story, but the water’s warm and the endings are happy.

Rachel connects with her readers every single day in her private Facebook group, so be sure to join!

Rachel is giving away to one lucky reader Falling For You. Enter to win below.  

Summary: 

She lost her husband on September 11th, but can this alpha hero heal her scars and prove that opposites attract?  In book 3 of the January Cove series, we meet Jackson Parker, the oldest sibling in his family. After spending his whole life taking care of his brothers and sister, Jackson is hard headed, stubborn and uninterested in true love. He takes the first opportunity he has to make something of himself in the big city, but when he comes home to January Cove for a visit, he wonders if he can ever bring himself to leave again.  Rebecca Evans has been focused on one thing for over a decade – raising her son alone. After losing her husband on 9/11, she became a single parent by default and her love life went way on the back burner. Now this widow finds herself in a small beach town, starting over yet again, and one man is getting on her last nerve. Or is he? 

The book I’m giving away is Falling For You. Here’s the Amazon page for that: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J12MZTW

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