A Cover Reveal

Wow, it has been a whirlwind few weeks. My oldest daughter started kindergarten and I was in a flurry of writing and editing. I received the first round of edits for "Accept this Dandelion" so I was feverishly working on that every chance I got. My England client also kept my busy with product descriptions. They sometimes even sent things that were already PAST due. Can't meet deadlines that are already behind me!




But the good news is I think I'm catching up now. I returned "Accept this Dandelion" just under the deadline they wanted me to keep if possible. I kept up with England. And now I'm working on catching up with my more deadline friendly clients. All in the midst of a 1-2 hour window while my youngest naps. :) Tis the life of a stay at home mom/writer! Adjusting to a new editor having just come off completing editing with another one on a different book was a challenge, but once I figured out the differences, I went to town! I added several more chapters and changed a few plot points. Otherwise, the changes were more about the way I said things.




"Wrong Place, Right Time," is also moving along in publication. It has gone through the final stages of post-production and is at the point of no return now. As in I can no longer go back and change anything. I'm really happy with the way it turned out and can't wait for it to be released in December. In the meantime, I will reveal the cover here and on blogs all over the place on September 9th, so be watching for that! I LOVE the cover and can't wait to share. If you have a blog, you can sign up to be a part of the cover reveal. The link to the sign up form is on the front page of my website. There are also details about the blog tour in that form.




I have also been working a few Bachelor angles for "Accept this Dandelion." I am searching for someone with a connection to the TV show to read the book and offer a cover blurb. I think it would be awesome to have a past contestant have his or her say about the book. I may be trying futilely, but I'm still trying!




The blog tour for "Someone Always Loved You" in August went well. I was extremely busy during the actual tour so I was relieved I had everything organized in advance. And, speaking of that book, it will be on sale for a week starting September 5th for just 0.99. You can get the link under the books tab. Enjoy!




I feel like my mind runs in a million different directions at once somedays. Today is one of those days! Being a writer and trying to cram it all into an hour or two a day is a challenge. My oldest is off to kindergarten now. Very sad for mama! I struggled with it the first week. It's an adjustment! As hard as it is, I think it'll be even harder when my youngest goes off to school. I still have four years to dote on her, but once she arrives at that stage, it'll be a total life change. I will be all alone all day during the school hours! I have plenty of writing plans and look forward to that aspect. But I know I will be in shock for quite some time. I want to write and an hour a day is never enough. But I don't want to give up my babies either! Time with them means more than anything else in the world.




This blog is very random. :) I know that. I thank you for your attention to it! Stay tuned for more coherent blogs in the future. haha And enjoy the book reviews, cover reveals and things I do on other days of the week on the blog.

I am thrilled to be a part of the Prism Book Group Publishers partly to publish my own work and partly because I get the opportunity to read the work of others and write reviews on them.

This book, "Border Love" by Alice Wootson, caught me by surprise.  I was surprised by how well it fit together and by how much I liked it.  "Border Love" combined action, adventure, and romance all in one novel. 

It started out normal enough with a few set up and opening scenes.  Then, it hit the action hard and it was a page turner.  I was flying through the book so I could find out where it was going and what happened next.  In the middle, it slowed down and concentrated more on the romance.  I was worried that the action was over and the romance would take over.  The middle was slower, but it was a necessary part of the book in order to set up the emotions for the rest.

After the middle part, the action ramped up again and the pages started turning very fast!  I read this book in about two and a half days with not much time on my hands.  I couldn't not read it!  That's how much I enjoyed it.  It was a thrilling read, but had emotion to it as well as faith.

The best part of it all was that it was all very natural.  The faith element wasn't forced and the romance was very believable and natural.  Everything in this book fit together very nicely.  I highly recommend it.  If you enjoy romance, but also like high action, read it!

I read “On the Island” by Tracy Garvis Graves when a friend gave me the book. I was hooked immediately and devoured the book. It was phenomenal. So when she came out with another book I knew I wanted to read it too.
 
When I freed up some reading time I looked over the reviews for “Covet” and I was surprised. There were many they didn't like it. If it had been another book I might not have even wanted to read it myself. But I feel the people were comparing it to the other novel and I didn't think that was fair. Some writers can write the same type of novel over and over and some can't or choose not to. I'm one that likes variety in my own writing and I knew I wouldn't want my books compared to one another because they're often too different.
 
So I got the book and started reading and tried to ignore what others said.
 
In the end I have to say I agree with both sides. Some readers said the plot was slow and not much happened. That was true but I also found that I had trouble stopping when I needed to stop. I wanted to keep reading. So that says something about the author’s writing right there.
 
So while I wasn't as transfixed as I was with “On the Island” I still enjoyed the time I spent with “Covet.” While I highly recommend “On the Island” I’ll only say I enjoyed covet. It was down to earth and very real life. If you enjoy reads of that sort go for it. Or read it and let me know why you couldn't put it down. Because I had trouble with it and still don't know why. Tracy Garvis Graves has the success and following I would greatly love. I appreciate her writing and can only hope to reach her level someday.

And now...the first few pages of "Someone Always Loved You"...Enjoy!


PROLOGUE

The bright yellow taxi nearly took the curve on two wheels.  She told the driver that getting there fast was a matter of life or death.  She just didn’t want to lose her own life in the process.  She thought longingly of her car, up on blocks at the mechanics where it had been stationed for nearly a week.  Glancing out the window and seeing another curve coming, she cursed herself for not maintaining her vehicle properly.  Bracing herself for the turn, she held back tears as the phone call re-played itself in her mind.

“Mrs. James?”

“Yes.”

“This is Memorial Hospital. Your husband had a heart attack. He just arrived a few moments ago…his condition is critical.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

“We just don’t know at this point.”

She clenched her eyes shut as she remembered how her own heart nearly stopped beating as she heard those words….heart attack…critical condition…don’t know.

The taxi had to get her there.  She needed to tell him before it was too late.  Even if he didn’t live, he had to know before he died.  Even if he couldn’t hear her, she was going to try.

As she thought about the exact words she would use, the taxi jolted to a stop across from the towering emergency building.  She glanced at its massive presence with a sense of dread.

She threw bills at the driver, not waiting for change.  After the fancy curve work, the driver deserved every extra penny.  In her rush, she didn’t bother to look both ways.  In her terror, she didn’t hear the siren.

* * * *

It was his first day on the job.  He had studied the maps for days at a time and he knew the city streets better than the back of his hand.  He knew the fastest routes at every time of day.  His first passenger would not die on his clock.  Not a chance.  With the siren blaring, he drove swiftly, but gently, so the emergency medical technician in the back could work without disruption.

“She’s losing a lot of blood, Jay,” the EMT shouted.  “We gotta get there fast, man!”

“Not a problem,” Jay replied.  “I called ahead.  They have her blood type ready.  Plus we’re already there.”

Jay only glanced back for a moment.  He just wanted to see the look on the seasoned EMT’s face as the man realized he’d just taken the quickest ambulance ride of his career right through the city during rush hour. 

The woman darted out of nowhere.  In his glory, Jay never saw her. 

The second he looked away had been one second too long.  As his eyes fastened back on the road ahead, the ambulance pulled under the emergency room over hang, and he caught the worry in her eyes an instant before the impact.  The sickening sound jolted him backward into his seat.