Guest blog: Erma Ullrey and Journaled with Love *Prize of E-Book to Commenter

Readers, please help me welcome debut author, Erma Ullrey.

Introduce yourself—name, where you’re from, and something people notice when they meet you.

Erma Ullrey (my paternal grandmother, aunt, and cousin were all Ermas, so here I am).

I’m originally from New Jersey, moved to California with my parents when I was 19. Met my husband in a psychology class at California State University, Sacramento. We lived in CA for 35 years, moved to Virginia for one year, lived in Oregon for 10 years, and have lived in Idaho for seven years ago. Unless the Lord says move, this is our last home on Planet Earth.

Tell us about your book—title and back cover blurb.

If you liked You’ve Got Mail, Journaled With Love, a 250-page clean Rom-Com, will capture your heart.

Macie Grammerly’s mother delivers an ultimatum—come home and work for the family business, or forfeit further financial support. Booted from her privileged jet-set life, Macie leaves sun-soaked Hawaii for Idaho. On her unglamorous bus ride to and from work, she pours her heart into her journal, writing about her dreams and the love she longs for.

Focused on his career, Ryan Tiggs’s five-year plan includes climbing to the top of a family-owned business. Then he can buy a car and move out of the garage apartment at his sister’s home. When he’s assigned the boss’s spoiled daughter as his intern, and they’re tasked with saving the floundering company, Ryan wonders if his days are numbered.

Everything changes when he finds a journal left on the bus. The anonymous writer’s vulnerability captivates him and sparks a secret email exchange that soon feels more real than anything else in his life.

As Macie and Ryan continue to work together, an undeniable attraction grows. Yet things are complicated by their individual online correspondence. When the truth is revealed, will they fight for the love they never saw coming or walk away from the one person who has always been there for them?

Share one thing that you found difficult or challenging about writing this book.

To be honest, this book was a delight to write. I found myself laughing along with the characters. From start to finish, I thanked the Lord for His gift of humor!

As opposed to other books I’ve written, languishing over each word and wishing the characters would talk to me and/or each other, Macie and Ryan came alive in my heart and flowed out onto the page.

Something tells me they’ve got more to say, too, so stay tuned.

Ask the blog reader a quirky question or two?

Have you ever felt trapped in a job that, if not for the paycheck, you would’ve never returned to?

That was Macie in Journaled With Love. Her grandparents started the company. Her mother demanded she intern at the family business, learn the ropes, and one day take over as chief executive officer (CEO). The problem with that? Her heart wasn’t in it … at all! She loved sketching, designing clothes, and bringing her concepts to life.

In the real world, we don’t always get to follow our dreams. I started writing stories when I was four, but didn’t write my first book until decades later. Because of limited choices, I became a secretary. Then, I started a medical transcription business which I sold years later. The good news is the business paid the bills. The better news is I learned a lot about storytelling from every dictation. Each patient had a problem, and each provider’s challenge was to find resolve the problem.

What about you? How have you learned from a not-your-first-love situation/occupation?

Share your social media and buy links!

https://www.facebook.com/erma.ullreyhttps://www.instagram.com/author_erma_ullrey/

https://x.com/AuthorErma53781https://merryheartink.substack.com (website)https://onceuponaromance.substack.com/

Amazon (eBook):

https://a.co/d/jaDemSA

Goodreads (Reviews):

https://www.goodreads.com/review/new/235634873-journaled-with-love

YouTube Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ONagK_jSSmM