Blog Tour: Beyond Circumstances by Gloria Joynt-Lang
Beyond Circumstances
by Gloria Joynt-Lang
Series: Out of the Darkness
Contemporary Romance
Fiery Seas Everlasting
June 12, 2018
Dr. Lexie Draden didn’t want to leave her successful career as a surgeon in Chicago, but she didn’t have a choice. Her family needed to heal, and as long as she was around, it wasn’t going to happen. While adapting to her new community, she meets Zak Tifour, a man as intriguing as he is handsome.
Most of the small-town residents view Zak as a man who likes his privacy, but to a select few, something doesn’t seem right. Long-time resident Cicily McQuay believes she has the key to the man’s odd behavior – a link to terrorism. After all, he just isn’t the type of man who belongs in her community. But to belong, you need to be welcomed; something Cicily has never extended to Zak.
Zak knows plenty of terrorists and has even lived amongst them, but not like Cicily suspects. Escaping from a lifetime of bloodshed and regrets, he attempts to distant himself from the quirky townsfolk; people unable to comprehend boundaries. It appears to be working until he encounters the town’s new attractive doctor. Even though his secrets run deep, she ends up trusting him with her heart. But trust is fragile, and when Zak gets drawn back to his old life, Lexie must decide whether he’s a dangerous man or a broken hero.
20 QUESTIONS:
1. What do you love most about writing?
What I have the most fun with is researching and creating the right flaws for my characters. I spend a lot of time trying to give them a backstory that allows them to grow as the story unfolds.
2. What is your favorite movie?
Silver Linings Playbook starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. Naturally, it’s one adapted from a novel. It’s a wonderful romantic comedy that deals with mental health issues, and did I mention Bradley Cooper stars in it?
3. What’s one thing you’ve always wished for?
The ability to converse in several languages. Being multilingual allows for so many more opportunities and makes traveling to foreign lands easier.
4. What mythical creature do you wish actually existed?
A few years ago, I would have said the Sasquatch, but now that I’ve seen those grainy photos, I’m not so sure it would qualify as mythical. Let’s go with Merman, the male equivalent of the Mermaid.
5. What is one place you’ve always wanted to go to?
It’s a tie between New Zealand so I could tour the Hobbit houses featured in The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit films, and the countryside of Ireland. Kissing the Blarney Stone is on my bucket list.
6. If you could go back in time, what year would you go back to?
I would definitely be careful before I jumped in the time machine, as history wasn’t too kind to women. Maybe 1932, the year Amelia Earhart did her solo flight across the Atlantic. Besides being a pilot, she was also an early supporter of women’s rights.
7. What’s your favorite thing to do during the summer?
We reside in a lake community, so anything to do with water. I love kayaking and lounging in our pontoon boat in the middle of the lake. I even bring the laptop out on the boat and write.
8. What one thing do you really want but can’t afford?
My husband is a car enthusiast, and I never understood spending hard-earned money on something that would depreciate. To me, a vehicle only needs to get you from point A to point B. But then I walked into a show room with a Dodge Viper on display. Immediately, I fell in love and began describing this car like one of my characters – smoldering hot with sexy curves. They stopped making them in 2017, but if I had the money, I’d hunt one down.
9. What job would you absolutely be terrible at?
Police Sketch artist. I suck at drawing. There’d be a lot more criminals on the loose if this were my job.
10. What are you absolutely determined to do?
Travel and see as many places as possible. I have a friend that has been to all seven continents. Although I’m not dissing Antarctica and I adore penguins, I’d be content to reach at least five.
11. Would you rather live for a week in the past or the future?
The future. New technology fascinates me, so I’d love to see what science and inventors have come up with, maybe even get a chance to visit another planet.
12. What weird food combinations do you really enjoy?
I’ve only recently allowed different food groups to touch each other on my plate, so I don’t really have any peculiarities other than the occasional urge to slide that potato away from the carrots.
13. Does fate exist? If so, do we have free will?
I believe in a higher power, so I do believe some moments in our lives are meant to be. But I also believe in free will. God is too busy to micromanage our day to day lives, so I do believe for the most part we make our own choices, good and bad.
14. Could you survive in the wilderness for a month?
A day, maybe, but not a whole month. I love nature, but I love the comforts created by mankind. If I brought a survival expert with me, I’d last a bit longer, but eventually they’d get frustrated and allow wild animals to feed on me.
15. What’s the funniest word in the English language?
Shenanigans. I use it with my sisters all the time. We get a hoot out of this old-fashioned way of saying mischief.
16. What is your biggest pet peeve?
People who constantly chatter during the movies. And it doesn’t even have to be over the top chattering; even talking during the trailers drives me insane.
17. If you were challenged to a duel, what weapons would you choose?
I’ve seen enough violence so I’d probably try and skip town or perhaps I’d jump in the time machine and go visit Amelia Earhart. She seems like the type of woman who could give me sound advice.
18. If someone narrated your life, who would you want to narrate it?
Trevor Noah. I love his accent and I hope he would toss in a few humorous side comments.
19. What song is stuck in your head today?
Whatever It Takes, by Imagine Dragons.
20. If you could change your name, what would you choose?
I love the sound of French names so maybe Chantelle Devaux.
About the Author:
Gloria Joynt-Lang was born in Ars-Laquenexy, France and spent her childhood experiencing the vast landscapes of Canada. A graduate of the University of Alberta with a degree in Criminology, she devoted her career to working in the criminal justice system. She now splits her time living in rural Alberta, Canada as well as Southern California with her husband and their two dogs, a Maltese named YaHoo and Yorkie named Smookie Bijoux. Why the Yorkie has a stripper name shall remain a tight guarded secret. A lifelong nerd, she is most comfortable with a book or laptop close by except when she transforms to cool biker chick, hopping on her motorcycle for a speed limit abiding ride to the nearest bookstore.
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