I may live and work in a forty-foot trailer, referred to as an RV, but I
don’t consider my home a recreational vehicle just because it’s self-contained,
and has wheels. My home is spectacularly well thought out, cozy, and complete
with everything we need. (washer/dryer, fireplace, even a dishwasher!) So what
does my house have to do with my writing? Everything! When I conceptualized
Smithville, the small-town setting for the Hometown Series, I didn’t realize
that I was creating a hometown for myself.
My husband, Steve, and I, travel for his job with our little dog, Bingo.
We usually live in one place for three to six months, then hitch back up and
head to the next job. Even though Steve has a job waiting when we get there,
the moves are sometimes stressful, but always interesting. I have to put aside
my work, pack up all my do-dads, crafts projects, dishes, and plants. We maneuver
our home through storms, narrow mountain roads, lost RV park reservations, and
traffic. Steve has to start over with a new crew on a different site. Sometimes
it seems that only Bingo truly enjoys all aspects of the journey. We do get to
meet a lot of great traveling folks, as well as weekend campers, and we see
loads of beautiful countryside. Sometimes we even manage to slip a stay on the
beach into a move.
I do miss having my own yard and garden, friends nearby, and of course I
wish my kids and grandkids were close enough to pop in for Sunday dinner. I
miss knowing for sure which way is east. (Am I the only map loving person who
is bothered that the GPS is upside down half the time?) To be honest, I even miss
running into someone I know at Wal-Mart when I look a mess. But I love being
with my husband, and I enjoy meeting new people and seeing new places, so it
works out. I even wrote a stand alone novel based on my husband’s work and the
lifestyle we lead!
I grew up in a small town, number six of eight children, and I’d
describe myself as caring but opinionated, self-sufficient, and very attached
to my husband. Maybe that’s because when we travel, we depend on each other.
I’ve been writing full time for five years and I’m hooked. My stories take time
and effort to mold and shape, but the characters are my companions, my
traveling friends. If that means I’m wacko or quirky, all the better! I collect
input for my books from my husband and grown kids. I discuss story lines with
them, and ask them to read and reread my drafts, helping me create characters
and situations that feel real, and that are entertaining. I couldn’t do it
without them.
I had written three of the books in the Hometown Series before it
occurred to me that, in Smithville, I had created a place for my heart to live.
Smithville is filled with people going about their daily lives, dealing with
their personal issues, irrational fears, and hard-won accomplishments. They can
be silly, flustered, selfish and unaware, as well as resilient and clever, that’s
what makes it feel real. It’s a place I’d
like to call home.
In book one of the Hometown Series, Tara, who grew up in Smithville, is
working to overcome childhood trauma. She learns to loosen up and overcome her
control freak nature. (I may, or may not struggle with this, haha) Her loving
grandmother, Winnie, is partly my own mother and bits of both of my
grandmothers. In book two, Julia comes to Smithville expecting to hide away
after a debilitating illness, but colorful characters like Becky and Bobby draw
her out and build her confidence. This one was written from the heart after I
spent a few rough years healing from my own illness. In book three Lizzie moves
to Smithville to live out the dream of owning her own alpaca farm, as well as
escape her overbearing mother. (I do love alpacas!) Through friendship,
laughter, and Smithville craziness, Lizzie finds illumination where she least
expects it. In book four (a Holiday romance) Gloria struggles to overcome her
past reputation, one that small towns don’t easily forget, but her kindness hasn’t
gone unnoticed. (If you’ve ever had everyone in town know your business, you
understand!) And in book five, the one I’m currently writing, Katherine returns
to Smithville, after years away, to open a vintage RV glamping park, and is
forced to face her first love, as well as her lost naiveté. (I have no idea where
the glamping idea came from!) Of course my leading ladies fall for an
imperfectly delicious man along the way. I suppose that each of these women, their
friendships, and their healing processes, are a part of me looking for
resolution to my own upsets and disappointments, in a place surrounded by camaraderie
and fun.
I hope you will join me in Smithville, and get to know and love the
people there like I do. Bingo and I will be waiting for you in the fifth-wheel
parked just outside of town.
Hometown
Girl at
Heart
Hometown
Series Book 1
by
Kirsten Fullmer
Genre:
Contemporary
Romance
Tara
has always been too engrossed in her work -
refurbishing the
historical homes in Smithville. She keeps a
tight rein on her jobs
and her emotions buried, but she’s losing
control of both since
that ridiculous city boy investor showed
up.
New
in town, Justin is confident that his ultra
modern resorts will bring
Smithville into the twenty-first century. If
only the local-yokels
and their ringleader, the gorgeous and
peculiar Tara, would stop
interfering.
With
her quirky and protective hometown behind
her, will Tara confront
Justin and the town’s long buried secrets to
take on the financial
and emotional risk of a
lifetime?
* Amazon
Hometown
Girl After
All
Hometown
Series Book 2
Julia
lost everything while she was ill.
Self-conscious and alone, she’s
moved to Smithville, determined to hide away
in her rundown Victorian
house. Little does she know, she can’t hide
anything in a small
town, including her interest in the
deliveryman.
Resolved
to keep his life simple, Chad has his hands
full running his delivery
business and supporting his adopted family.
So why can’t he get
that withdrawn city girl, Julia, off his
mind?
Will
the eccentric but well-meaning Smithville
folk push Julia and Chad to
open up, or will the emotional toll drive
them both back into
seclusion?
* Amazon
Hometown
Girl
Forever
Hometown
Series Book 3
Lizzie
gave up her stressful job in Boston to
embrace her love of all things
country in Smithville PA. Her farm, a new
job at the spa, and her pet
alpacas are a dream come true, if only her
meddling, matchmaking,
socialite mother would back
off.
Elliot,
a successful architect from Washington, DC,
designed the new spa, but
he certainly hadn't envisioned the exotic
bohemian style manager or
her intriguing, demanding mother. Small town
antics and his interest
in Lizzie extend his visit to Smithville,
but will the allure of
country life draw him in for
good?
Once
again, Smithville’s folk interfere with
plans at every turn,
forcing Lizzie and Elliot to face their
personal dilemmas and each
other, head on.
* Amazon
Christmas
in
Smithville
The
Hometown Series Book
4
Even
though Gloria is determined to change her
reputation, most of the
women in town still think she’s a tramp.
Sure, she may have dressed
a little flashy and dated pretty much every
single guy in town, but
that’s the past. Now that she wants to make
a fresh start, will
Smithville give her a second
chance?
Ned
has heard all the gossip, but being the Sheriff’s
Deputy, he sees
all the kind things Gloria does behind the
scenes for the folks of
Smithville. It looks like the upcoming
Christmas Pageant will offer
him the opportunity to spend time with her,
but can he overcome a
frustrating stutter and talk to her, face to
face?
Your
favorite characters from the Hometown Series
bring craziness, love,
and Smithville Christmas style, to a whole
new romance about
overcoming your past and sharing your
deepest secrets. Fall in love
and be swept away with the Christmas Eve
celebration of your dreams.
* Amazon
Kirsten
grew up in the Western US and
graduated from high school in
1984. She married soon there after
and quickly built a family.
With three young children and number four on
the way, she returned to
college in 1992. Her career as a draftsman
included many settings
ranging from a steel fabrication shops to
prestigious engineering
firms. Balancing family life with
the workplace forced her to
become the queen of multitasking. In 2001, bored
with the cubical
life, she moved on to teach drafting in
technical college, then to
opening her own consulting firm teaching 3D
engineering software. Due
to health problems, Kirsten retired in 2012
to travel with her
husband for his job. She now works writing
romance novels and enjoys
spoiling her three grandchildren. Since 2017
Kirsten has lived and
worked full time in a 40' travel trailer
with her husband and her
little dog Bingo.
* Facebook
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