Adding to your To-Read pile…
Yesterday I threw a question out to the webby world, asking for book recommendations. The best stories that people had read recently, that they would recommend to others. And since we all have nothing to read right now… (cough cough…) Yeah, I know. My Nook, alone has 20-something new books in it, waiting for me. But you never know where that next gem will come from, so here you go.
There is quite the mix here, which is how it should be…we all come from different places and love different types of stories.
THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak (teen historical fiction)
THE SOLDIER’S WIFE by Margaret Leroy (historical fiction)
NUM8ERS by Rachel Ward (young adult) (my daughter personally has read this one twice)
BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP by S.J. Watson (literary thriller)
THE PROPOSAL by Mary Balogh (regency romance)
The Burgundy Club series by Miranda Neville (regency romance listed below…)
THE AMOROUS EDUCATION OF CELIA SEATON
CONFESSIONS OF AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE
THE DANGEROUS VISCOUNT
THE WILD MARQUIS
THE PEACH KEEPER by Sarah Addison Allen (women’s fiction)
TEN BEACH ROAD by Wendy Wax (women’s fiction)
HER SISTER’S SHADOW by Katherine Britton (women’s fiction) (I have personally read this one and it’s wonderful)
Two nonfiction books hit the list as well…
UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand (WWII History)
THE FOUR AGREEMENTS by Don Miguel Ruiz (Spiritual Self Help)
So there you go!! Enjoy!! And feel free to add yours in the comments!!
Friday Linky Love…Brenda Novak’s Diabetes Online Auction
This week’s Friday link up is for a great cause. Yes, it also highlights my giveaway, but all proceeds for these donations go to the fight against Diabetes. I’m talking about an author who goes above and beyond every year to help find a cure. This is the Brenda Novak For The Cure of Diabetes Online Auction.
It runs each year for the month of May… and May 31 is coming up next week, so go check it out. There are SO many things to look at. She’s a bestselling author, so yes, a large category is authors giving away books, but there is also jewelry, crafts, novelty items, people giving away services… it’s huge. And worth your time for a very worthy cause.
I’m giving away a signed copy of THE REASON IS YOU, an Amazon gift card worth $25, and some other surprise goodies. But my donation is just one of thousands.
Go see! And bid on something wonderful!! 
A trip that changed you…
I’m not a big traveler. I mean, I’d like to be, I’d like to be toodling around in a giant Winnebago or flying off to exotic locales like ones I read about. But my very blue collar world doesn’t include scenarios like that. I’ve only really been on a few big trips in my life.
A big vacation when I was in the fourth grade brought me to the Grand Canyon and all up the West Coast. I’ve been scuba diving in Grand Cayman and Cozumel and Honduras. I’ve been to London. I’ve been skiing in Taos, NM. All of those things were in my twenties. And I went to Vegas for my honeymoon. That about sums up my travelling portfolio.
But one trip that wasn’t a vacation, stands out in my head as life altering… Click Here to go read the story…
The Tease… :-)
I’m at Fresh Fiction today, talking about something that all women love… besides chocolate and a foot massage…
The tease! The push and pull of the romance, the foreplay, the dance of almost touches. The tease. Go over and talk with us, and comment for a chance to win a signed copy of THE REASON IS YOU!
And the timing is awesome, because at 9am Central time today, Fresh Fiction is being featured on Good Morning Texas right after Good Morning America! Woot!
Go!!
Friday Linky Love… What Women Write…
Today’s link up is with some Texas girls that are near and dear to me. The girls of What Women Write!
Go see what they have to say today! And have a great weekend!
Dear Reader…
Dear Reader,
Remember the movie “Hope Floats” with Sandra Bullock? That was me. Well, except for the cheating husband outing himself on a talk show. But coming home, a single mom, starting over in a small town that remembers the high school version of you—that was me.
And somehow, it’s the stories that draw on those things—starting over, dealing with a past, reinventing yourself—those are the ones that suck me in like no other. I’m a sucker for a story about returning home to face your past, and even more so if there’s an old love still knocking around, waiting to reignite sparks. There’s just something so hot about sexual tension between two people with a history.
THE REASON IS YOU started with just the image of a single mom with a teenage daughter. I’m a character-driven writer, finding my peeps before I find the story, and all I knew so far was that my main character’s name was Dani Shane, and she was driving down a highway in the hot summer weather in a car with no air conditioning, and her daughter was painting her toenails and hanging her feet out the window. Dani was stressed and tired and headed back to her hometown to start over. Someplace she didn’t want to go. That’s all I knew at the time.
At that same time, I was heavy into reruns of “Moonlight”, with a fangirl infatuation with the hottest vampire ever, Mick St. John. I loved the sexy all-black-wearing, soft spoken, supposed-to-be-bad-but-not vampire that was so in love with the female lead. I love a love story that’s forbidden or impossible or tortured in some way. Then Moonlight was over. And I wanted more. And suddenly my strong and stubborn character, Dani, needed a forbidden love like that. Maybe someone she could never really be with. Maybe someone that was going to make her return home both exciting and migraine-worthy. While I love vampire shows, I don’t write about them, so it couldn’t be a vampire. But a ghost….ooooh, someone she couldn’t even touch. Like The Ghost and Mrs. Muir meets Hope Floats!
Maybe she could see ghosts and hid that her whole life…maybe that’s why she left…maybe this guy was her only friend because the townspeople shunned her. Maybe he would be the example she’s held every man up to ever since, because he’s all she’s ever wanted. Maybe I could still have Mick if I wrote about him as a ghost!!!! LOL! And Alex Stone was created.
At that point, it grew and morphed and so many things changed and expanded into a story that constantly astounded me, as they all do because I don’t plot. I take what you just read above, and feed that into a seed of a beginning and start typing. I love it.
I hope you have fun reading about Dani and Alex and the rest of the (sometimes) crazy people in the town of Bethany, Texas. For an excerpt, click here. To talk about how stories come to life, meet me over at Twitter all day today at hashtag #dearreader
Friday Linky Love ~~ with Author, Jody Hedlund
Today’s link-up is with a phenomenal author who also spends a gi-normous amount of time helping other authors. If you aren’t already following her blog, following her on Twitter, and liking her on Facebook, go do all of those things now. She’s a one-woman plethora of information. And I just used plethora in a sentence…so I’m feeling kinda proud.
Oh, who am I talking about? Sorry… I’m talking about Jody Hedlund. Otherwise known as Superwoman.
Her latest book THE DOCTOR’S LADY is out now…
So show Jody some love and follow her, like her, subscribe to her, and buy her book! Notice I didn’t mention Pinterest. (eyeroll) Yes, she’s there too, so look for her there too. She has an amazing board there. I just can’t jump on the Pinterest train yet. So I’m in denial. But YOU go. Go now.
Unconditional Love…
I’m over at Women Unplugged today with a post about our furry family members, and honoring the passing of a very special one…my best friend’s dog, Roxie. Come share your pet stories!
It takes a village…or just some really cool people…
WANT TO HELP ME?
It takes a village! LOL!
No, I don’t need you to raise my kids. Just maybe raise a little awareness of a certain book…
You can help a debut author breathe a little easier and spread the word! The best way for an unknown book to become known is by word of mouth. So share the news with your friends, family, that chatty chick at work… Facebook it, Tweet it, blog it, put a review on Amazon or Barnes and Noble… and know you have my undying gratitude. I’ll even send you chocolate. And if you want me to do a video chat on your blog telling your followers I’ll give you chocolate, to nail that down… I’m on it!
~~~~~~JOIN ME!~~~~~~
On that note, I’m starting something new. I’m on a mission to try to make THE REASON IS YOU hit the bestseller list. My agent and editor tell me that people just need to find out about my books, that’s the biggest obstacle with a new author.
So I’m putting out a call for helpers.
A “street team” of sorts. I know some other authors who have established this, and it’s amazing. People around the country that would be interested in helping put REASON in front of new readers. I’m getting some chapter booklets made up that will have teasers from both books, and anyone who would like to join my team can get a stack of these and bookmarks and postcards with purchase links–to throw in your bag and hand out to your coworkers, your book club members, your bunko group, your church social, people at the gym, people at your daycare, even your local bookstores and libraries! Wherever there are readers. I can’t be everywhere, but I’d like my book to be. LOL!
You can also Facebook and Tweet about it, whatever you are comfortable with, and give me feedback on what’s stirring interest. In return, you’ll get the secret handshake and decoder ring to know things before anyone else… . Seriously, once this team is formed, I will give you a heads up on releases before they are made public, and will draw one name to win a signed finished book of BEFORE AND EVER SINCE. And my busy little productive team members will be mentioned in the acknowledgments. OH, and did I mention? Y’all can come up with a name. I’ll set up a yahoo loop just for you and so you can all communicate, and come up with the name for our promo team. What do you think?
So far I have two really cool people signed up. Who’s next?
Friday Linky Love
Today’s quick link is for my friend and fellow BookEnds author, Melissa Cutler! Her first book, THE TROUBLE WITH COWBOYS, comes out in November!! Go check it out!
Hot, right?
And she and I are both in the Brenda Novak Diabetes Auction this month, helping to raise money for the cure. Melissa is giving away an advanced reading copy of THE TROUBLE WITH COWBOYS, and I am giving away a goodie basket including a signed copy of THE REASON IS YOU and a $25 Amazon gift card. You can click on those links to be brought to our auction pages!
Everyone have a fabulous Friday and an awesome weekend!
