Monday, October 20, 2014

Author Spotlight--Jim Cangany

Welcome to Author Spotlights on Mondays! I have a very special guest this week. IRWA's own kilted Token Dude, Jim Cangany, writes sweet romance, and the final installment in his North Star trilogy, Wish Upon a Star, is now available! He's donating a portion of his royalties from the sale of Wish Upon a Star to the Avon Foundation for Women's Breast Cancer Crusade, so pick up a copy!

Blurb:
She's battling cancer. He's battling demons from the past. How will their love survive?
An unlikely love. An unseen enemy. A lesson in faith.

Annie and E.J. are on top of the world. Her concert world tour as Cassandra Lawrence was a smashing success and they've just announced their engagement to the world. Now that they're settled in at Annie's Northern California estate, it's time to relax and enjoy life. Until E.J. gets a call from her with news that's as devastating as it is unbelievable.
Annie has breast cancer.
Their love is tested in unimaginable ways as chemotherapy robs Annie of her health and her hair, but not hope. She holds on to the hope of beating the cancer and marrying the man she loves. While the key for Annie is to hold onto that hope, their future together may be lost forever unless E.J. can learn to let go. For its not until he can learn to forgive himself and let go of the guilt that haunts him that he can truly move forward and be the man Annie needs him to be.
Will the chemotherapy, mastectomy and radiation be enough to help Annie beat the cancer? Will E.J. face down the demons that haunt his past in time to save their love? Will they ever get that happily ever after Annie so desperately wants? While trust and faith in each other has gotten them this far, they'll need one more thing to make it to their finish line--hope.

Excerpt:
After a brief interview and the routine temperature and blood pressure check, the nurse left. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. In the blink of an eye, a razor-wire knot formed in my gut. Here we go.

The door opened and a woman about Annie’s size stepped in. She had shoulder length, brown hair that was streaked with gray. Her hazel eyes glittered when she smiled.

"Ms. Wilson, I’m Dr. Ann Furman. It’s a pleasure to meet you." They shook hands and Annie introduced me. Something about the doctor’s demeanor put me at ease, and I got the sense it was the same for Annie. Maybe it was her warm smile, or the fact that her sweater had little yellow ducks woven into it.

Annie had designated me as her official note taker, so I focused on writing things down while the doctor went through Annie’s medical history. When that was completed, the doctor pulled out two x-rays and hung them from a backlit exam fixture.

She flipped a switch and the x-rays lit up to reveal images of Annie’s breasts. With a pen she pointed out two masses, one very small, the other larger, in her right breast. Each mass was identified with a tiny, bright square.

"These are images from the MRI you had taken. As you can see, there are two tumors. The bright spots are markers that were put in place when the masses were biopsied. The markers can help us identify the locations of the tumors as your treatment progresses."

She pointed to the other image. "In your left breast, there’s a single tumor here. This is where I need to be honest with you. The fact that there are multiple tumors is indicative of a malignant form of breast cancer."

"Form of breast cancer?" Annie’s voice came out uneven.

Dr. Furman nodded. "Yes, there are many forms or types of breast cancer. The name of this type is Invasive Ductile Carcinoma."

Annie steepled her fingers in front of her while I flipped to a new page. "All right, what does that mean?"

"Invasive Ductile Carcinoma is a very common type of cancer that grows rapidly, but is very treatable."

"In what way?"

"The standard course of treatment at this stage would involve chemotherapy, mastectomy, reconstruction, and potentially radiation."

A chill came over me as my pen dug into the paper. This sounded bad.

Really bad.

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N81EVUI
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/wish-upon-a-star-14
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/wish-upon-a-star/id914651535?mt=11

Bio:
A lifelong resident of the State of Indiana, Jim Cangany is proud to call himself a Hoosier. The youngest of eight children, he grew up in a household full of books and people. Thanks to the influence of his older siblings, Jim gravitated toward fantasy and sci-fi when looking for something to read. He wrote his first story at age fourteen. A school project, The Magic Coin was a fantasy that involved a king, some bad guys, and, not surprisingly, a magical token.

These days, Jim writes romance on the sweet end. If you ask him what is a guy like him is doing writing romance, he'll reply, "Those are the stories in my head." A believer that the world has enough doom and gloom, he likes stories with a happy ending, regardless of genre. He lives in Indianapolis with his wonderful wife Nancy and his two sons, Seamus and Aidan.

Links:
Website: http://jimcangany.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Cangany-Author/193385657452953
Twitter: @jimcangany
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00DEWZUJM

Congratulations to Jim for his new release and to his wife, Nancy, for five years of being cancer-free!

Be sure to check out the rest of Annie's and E.J.'s journey with Fallen Star and Lucky Star while you're buying Wish Upon a Star!

Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With A Kick!

6 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for having me today, Mellanie. Have a great day!

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    1. Glad to have you visit, Jim! Enjoy your day as well!

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  2. I love the excerpt, Jim, though I must admit to my stomach being in knots now--I haven't read the book yet!

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    1. Thanks, Liz! Yes, the cancer scenes were difficult, but don't worry, since it is a romance, they will get their well-deserved HEA.

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  3. Better late than never. Good luck on your most recent release, Jim.

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    1. Thanks for coming by, Jill. Better late than never works for me. :-)

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