About the Book

Book: Persuade Me Not

Author: Joanne Markey

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Release date: April 4, 2023

Forgiveness is only a prayer away… or is it?

As the oldest daughter at Kellynch Station, Elizabeth Elliot prides herself on her exemplary public image. In fact, women could learn a thing or two by following her example—her public example.

There are things Liz doesn’t want known, and she guards them closely. In fact, keeping everyone except her best friend from ever seeing the truth behind her impenetrable facade is the only thing she can control.

Enter Michael Page. Unassuming and too stubborn for his own good, Mick bucks trend by bringing sheep back to cattle country. Just a small flock at first, but their numbers are growing. There’s just one problem to deal with now. Liz Elliot.

With all her airs and fancy ways, and the unreasonable demands she makes of the town and its people, Liz is a walking antagonism. Maybe he should’ve stayed home after that first meeting, but something keeps bringing him back. If nothing else, someone has to foil her outrageous attempts to do who-knows-what with the town.

Then a carefully worded slip of the tongue hints at a mystery that might be worth digging into.

As the truth comes to light, and Liz’s carefully crafted world comes crashing down, who can either of them trust?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Originally from Australia, Joanne Markey now lives in Ohio with her husband and seven children. When she’s not reading or writing, you might find her wandering the property with her kids in search of whatever seasonal treasure they’re trying to find.

More from Joanne

I don’t remember exactly when it was that I first started thinking about writing Persuade Me Not. I know I was still writing Persuade Me, the first book in the Daughters of the Bush series. At the time I started writing, I only planned to write one book in that setting. However, the more I wrote, the more I thought about the other characters. And somewhere along the way, I started thinking that, if Liz ever got her happily-ever-after, it would have to be with someone unexpected.

That idea slowly took hold. It would have to be a man as unlike her father as it was possible to be. Someone humble and down-to-earth. Someone with both the integrity to dig deeper to find the truth, and the stubbornness to knock down all the walls Liz had put up.

Right about then I came across an interesting coffee table book about old shearing sheds in Australia. Being an Aussie living in the US and finding that book on the shelves in a store here meant I instantly bought it. And after flicking through the pages, another idea started to form…

At one point in time, Clermont—the town where my book is set—had a substantial wool industry. Which meant sheep. Which meant it could theoretically be possible for there to be a run-down shearing shed on one of the cattle stations in that area. And, to Walter Elliot, what could be worse than running sheep in cattle country?

As far as Walter Elliott is concerned, he is a cattleman with a long and illustrious heritage. Therefore, only those who emulated his lifestyle would be worthy of the attention of his daughter. (Obviously, no other man would rise to the heights of perfection as he, but they could try.)

I don’t know if there are any sheep in the Clermont area now, but if there are, they’re not a big thing. I don’t remember ever seeing any when I lived there as a kid. It was cattle country, and sheep were something we saw when we were driving to visit my grandparents in Victoria (south of the dingo fence, in other words).

With all of that in mind, if, for the sake of the story, one man brought sheep back… and that one man ended up being stubborn and determined to uncover the truth… we’d have a book.

And that is how Persuade Me Not came to be.

Interview with Joanne

What book is currently on your bedside table?

Alistair MacLean’s Breakheart Pass. When I was a teen, my parents introduced me to Alistair MacLean, a British spy/thriller author who published during the 1950s-1970s. I have since introduced my teenaged daughter to his writing and we’ve been attempting to collect all the books we don’t own. Breakheart Pass and River of Death were two I didn’t own, and couldn’t find in any used bookstores nearby, so I ordered them new online.

As odd as it seems, coming from a romance author who loves reading romance, Alistair MacLean is one of my favorite authors, and his book Ice Station Zebra, that has no romance in it at all, is my favorite of his books.

What has been your favorite part of the publishing journey? 

It’s kind of an amazing feeling to hold a book in your hands, to admire the cover, and know that you put all those words between the front and the back. All of that was your doing, the ideas came from inside your head, and now people are picking it up and reading it, falling in love with the same characters’s whose stories you told. That feeling never gets old. Each new book is a new story, a new set of characters to share with the world.

What is the key theme and/or message in the book?

Forgiveness.

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

I spend most of my time on my Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100041338608955

The best way to keep track of my books though, and be notified of preorders and new releases is my Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Joanne-Markey/author/B07TX5G195

You can also keep up with my writing through…

My website/newsletter: https://joannemarkey.com/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/joanne-markey

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard?ref=nav_profile_authordash

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanne.markey/

Any current or upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?

I’m actually between books right now. Dial G for Gravity and Persuade Me Not released a week apart, which took up a lot of mental energy, along with all the little bits and pieces of time, the marketing, and constant effort to get those books in front of readers, so I’m kind of taking a little break. My publishing schedule is set for this year with three more books due to release this summer and fall.

Meeting Maggie, the forth book in my Postcards From the Sea series should release sometime in June or July. When the Curlews Call, my contribution to the second series of multi-author Ever After Mysteries releases the first Tuesday in September. And then, A Voice In the Shadows, a standalone romcom suspense will hopefully release sometime in October/November.

However, while I’m taking a short break from writing, an idea is forming for a new romantic suspense series that will possibly be part romcom. Our second oldest son is creating a map for me, and while he works on that, I’ve been developing the characters in my head. I’m looking forward to getting started, but before I can do any writing, I need a series name and a book title. So… there’s more planning to be done, a lot more thinking, and a bit of waiting too because this new series won’t publish until sometime in 2024.

Blog Stops

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 5

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 6

Simple Harvest Reads, May 7 (Author Interview)

Christina’s Corner, May 7

Texas Book-aholic, May 8

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, May 9

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 10

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, May 11

Artistic Nobody, May 12 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, May 12

Guild Master, May 13 (Author Interview)

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, May 14 (Author Interview)

For the Love of Literature, May 15 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, May 16

Blossoms and Blessings, May 17 (Author Interview)

Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, May 18

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Joanne is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/25ca5/persuade-me-not-celebration-tour-giveaway