Free for All Friday: Giveaway of Next Year in Jerusalem! by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein

You can enter for your chance to win a copy of the romance, mystery, spiritual awakening book, Next Year in Jerusalem! by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein.

You may be wondering why I chose the title Next Year in Jerusalem! for my new novel. Why not Forbidden Romance or Romantic Travel or Spiritual Awakenings or Lust, Memories and Old Friends on Facebook? After all Natalie and Maggie are two women, both caught up in issues that many of us face: a somewhat dull but faithful husband; a bad marriage leading finally to a divorce; a desire for adventure; unsatisfied spiritual longings. They have a great friendship with each other, something research keeps confirming, keeps us young and emotionally happy, but life is far from easy for either women.

So again, why would I focus on a strange title that comes out of a book written thousands of years ago?

Here is one of the reasons. Next Year in Jerusalem! is actually a phrase that shows up at the end of the Haggadah. Those of you who are not Jewish may wonder what that is. The Haggadah is a book that the Jews have used for thousands of years to celebrate and relive the Passover experience. Many people know that the central theme of the story is how the Jews, who were slaves in Egypt, were finally able to escape and began their long journey of 40 years to get to the promised Land, which was Israel. However, what a lot of people don’t realize is that this theme is universal and can be taken metaphorically for all of us. That is why when the Haggadah ends with the fourth glass of wine being drunk, and the words, "Next Year in Jerusalem!" the phrase becomes so significant.



READ AN EXCERPT!


Natalie didn’t tell David (her husband)about her other dream, the one about Jack, the Jewish fellow from Chicago who’d been around to save her from despair after she decided she wasn’t moving to Iraq. A diamond salesman, Jack now lived in London and traveled back and forth to Israel all the time.

Natalie prided herself on staying in touch with lots of people from her past. Jack was one of them. Occasionally they e-mailed and he’d friended her on Facebook two years ago. Although they hadn’t written recently, if he read her Facebook page he would know she was going to Jerusalem. What if he tried to see her? What if there was still an attraction? Would she tell David? Would he care? Would she act out?

Her life with David was so good and stable and predictable. And boring!

Did I just say boring?

No, she must have meant solid. Or did she mean solid?

Oh, I’m a wreck. I’m miserable and I can’t sleep, she continued to obsess. What about that cute secretary at the college? The one who has a sparkle in her eye whenever she talks to David? How old is she? Forty-two? Divorced and sexy. How would I know if something’s going on there?

I’m going crazy lying here, she began again. Where’s the Xanax? Already packed. Oh, that was dumb.

Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein, internationally known positive psychologist, inspires thousands with her ENCHANTED SELF®. Around the world people benefit from her techniques to enhance well-being, and to live up to their potential. Known for her ability to make complex psychological concepts easy to understand and to implement, she has now turned her talents to novel writing. “A great fiction read is a great escape, and yet, it is more! It is the gateway to new ways of thinking and behaving.”

Dr. Holstein received her Doctorate in Education from Boston University and her BA degree from Barnard College. Dr. Holstein has been a school psychologist and taught first and second grades. She is in private practice with her husband, Dr. Russell M. Holstein, in Long Branch, New Jersey. Find her at www.enchantedself.com
and www.next-year-in-jerusalem.com.



Please use the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win a FREE paperback copy of the book. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Romance Month Starts February 1st!

Make sure you check in with us in February to help celebrate the month of love. All month long we'll be featuring romance novels for your reading pleasure. Visit our Upcoming Events page for a complete list of authors we'll be featuring in February.

While you're here, please consider becoming a follower of Books, Products and More! Once we reach 500 followers a list of great prizes will be raffled off.

Thanks for your support.

February Romance Novel Event: Stranger on the Shore by Roseanne Dowell

Author, Jordan Blake lives in a house along Lake Erie. She’s a recluse and likes it that way. No interruptions while she’s writing. At least not until that day in October when an early Lake Effect Snow storm brews up. Not that she minds snowstorms. Far from it. She loves them. While she’s on her deck securing chair cushions and chairs, something along the rocky shoreline catches her eye. A body? Hard to tell from where she stood. Not being one to ignore someone in need, she rushes across the yard. It’s a body all right–a male’s body. Thank God he was alive, but unfortunately unconscious. After much pulling, rolling and pushing, Jordan manages to get him to her house and finally inside, undressed and into something dry. Jordan finds herself strangely attracted to the man.


More than a storm rages inside and out.

Read an excerpt!

“Darn, it’s getting cold.” Jordan shivered and zipped her sweat shirt. She hated storms, hated thunder and lightning most of all. Grabbing at some papers that flew across the deck as the wind picked up, a movement caught the corner of her eye. Something washed up on the shore. Something big. A body?

Jordan jumped off the deck and raced toward the craggy shoreline. Dark clouds hovered across the lake. Cold water splashed against her as waves crashed against the rocks like angry arms hurling water at an invisible enemy. The crash of thunder echoed across the lake. Ducking her head as lightening streaked across the sky and the air crackled with electricity, she thought she must be nuts. Probably just a bunch of old clothes washed up. Still, she had to see for herself.

Surely, no one in their right mind would be in the water this time of year? There had been storm warnings on the radio all morning. No one would be stupid enough to ignore the forecast. Would they? Heavy rain and strong winds then turning to snow, with a drastic drop in temperature, and blizzard-like conditions weren’t anything to ignore. Jordan winced as lightning flashed again, back-lighting the dark clouds. Darn it, she wanted to be inside cuddling by the fire not out here in a storm. For two cents, she’d turn around and go back. But something drew her forward.

A man’s body against the rocks.

Oh, Lord, please don’t let him be dead. She had planned for a quiet weekend, writing. A weekend with a corpse wasn’t on her list of quiet. But she couldn’t leave him out here either.

Jordan came closer and stooped down next to him. Lifting his head out of the water, above the crashing waves, she felt for a pulse. Thank God, he’s alive. Now how to get him out of here? She grabbed his arm, rolled him over and tried to pull him from the fury of the lake. Wave after wave pounced on him, their foamy peaks trying to reclaim him. Lord, if she ever needed help, now was the time. Struggling to roll him to higher ground, she lost her breath. His long, muscular frame outweighed her slender five foot two body and felt like dead weight.

“You’re going to have to help me.” Jordan grunted and gasped for breath when the full force of icy waves pulled her down and washed over both of them.

No response.

“Damn it. I can’t do this alone.”

Still no response.

Great, how was she going to pull him to safety? “I hate to do this, but I see no alternative.” Jordan took a deep breath and pushed him over, rolling him like a barrel and trying to avoid cutting him on the sharp rocks. It wasn’t easy, but at least he moved.

“Come on!” Jordan tried to encourage some life from his limp body. Once he was far enough away from the waves, she stared at him for a moment, before leaning down to give him mouth to mouth. His long straight nose, eyes set wide with bushy eyebrows and the grin on his lips, even in his unconscious state, sent a ripple of excitement through her body.

Not a handsome man, but something about him caused heat deep inside her. Shrugging off the urge to run her fingers through his curly black hair, she began mouth to mouth. When her mouth touched his lips, opened them slightly, something familiar tugged on her heart. She hadn’t touched a man's lips in, what, three years. This wasn’t exactly the way she imagined touching them again. Not that she ever imagined it. Never even thought about it. She’d had enough of men to last her a lifetime.

STRANGER ON THE SHORE IS COMING FROM MUSEITUP PUBLISHING IN MARCH 2011!

Roseanne Dowell is married with six grown children, fourteen grandchildren and a great-grandchild. She has had over 10 stories and more than 30 articles published, several at the LongRidge Writers Group website along with The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Good Old Days, Nostalgia, and Ohio Writer Magazines. She also wrote a monthly column for a website and was senior editor of an e-zine. Satin Sheets, her first novel, sold over 35,000 copies.


Roseanne taught two classes on writing at Cuyahoga Community College and now teaches several courses at Long Story Short School of Writing. You can check them out at www.LssWritingSchool.com.


Visit Roseanne online at:


http://roseannedowell.com/
http://roseannedowellauthor.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/roseannedowell 
http://www.google.com/profiles/rodow62

February Romance Novel Event

 
Starting on February 1st, we will be featuring romance novels in a variety of genres. Our special focus will be on the romance novels from new Canadian e-Publisher, MuseItUp Publishing.
 
We hope you'll join us all month long while we celebrate the month dedicated to lovers.
 

Author Interview: Hazel Statham, Author of The Portrait

Hazel Statham lives in England and has been writing on and off since she was fifteen. Initially she was influenced by Austen, the Brontës, and Sabatini but when she turned seventeen, Georgette Heyer opened up the romance and elegance of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. She immediately knew she had found her eras and wanted nothing more than to re-create them in her work.

Hazel lives with her husband, Terry, and a beautiful Labrador named Mollie. Apart from writing, her other ruling passion is animals, and until recently she acted as treasurer for an organization that raised money for animal charities.
To learn more about Hazel and her books visit her website: www.hazel-statham.co.uk

Today we sit down with Hazel to talk about her new release.

Welcome Hazel. It's wonderful to have you here.

Where did you grow up?

I have lived in Staffordshire all my life and most of my early years were spent in a town called Hanley.

What is your fondest childhood memory?

It has to be the days I spent at the stables, when summers were hot with few days of rain. I learned to ride at the age of eleven and so began a life-long love of horses.

When did you begin writing?

I wrote my first book, purely for my own amusement, in 1961, at the age of fifteen and have continued writing on an off ever since.

What is The Portrait about?

England 1812

Severely injured at the battle of Salamanca, Edward Thurston, the new Earl of Sinclair, returns home to his beloved Fly Hall. Determined not to present his prospective bride with the wreck he believes himself to have become, he decides to end his betrothal, unaware that Lady Jennifer, for vastly differing reasons, has reached the selfsame decision.

Throughout the campaigns, Edward was often seen relying greatly on a miniature he carried, and it is to this token he clings upon his return. Will he eventually find happiness with the girl in the portrait, or will he remain firm in his resolve not to wed? Reason dictates one course, his heart another.

What inspired you to write it?

The Portrait was inspired by a line from a song from the film Hawks. The singer says he wanted to be the man she thought he was and this brought about the theme of my book – a wounded hero returning from war, ending his betrothal because of his wounds.

Are you a member of a critique group? If no, who provides feedback on your work?

I occasionally ask on-line writing friends to read over my work but, for me, writing is a solitary task as I work entirely alone.

Who is your favorite author?

Can I cheat and have more than one? Charlotte Bronte and Georgette Heyer are the authors that have influenced my writing the most but I have also enjoyed work by numerous others, far too many to commit to a list.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

Barnes & Noble
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?r=1&afsrc=1&EAN=9780803477872

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Portrait-Hazel-Statham/dp/0803477872/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1284298668&sr=1-1

Do you have a website and/or blog where readers can find out more?

www.hazel-statham.co.uk

What is the best investment you have made in promoting your book?
Promoting isn’t my forte therefore, taking an on-line virtual book tour has to be my best investment.
What is up next for you?

I have another Regency romance, Consequence, due to be released with Avalon Books sometime next year. In the meantime, I continue with my current work in progress, which has the temporary title of The Honorable Heart.

Is there anything you would like to add?

I hope my readers enjoy reading my work as much as I enjoy writing it.

Thanks for spending time with us today. We wish you much success.

Author Interview and Giveaway at Linda Weaver Clarke's Blog - By Heart and Compass by Danielle Thorne

Check out this great author interview and giveaway over at Linda Weaver Clarke's blog.

Danielle Thorne freelanced for online and print magazines from 1998 through 2001, adding reviewing and editing to her resume. She is the author of The Privateer, a 1729 historical about British privateering in the Caribbean and Turtle Soup, a sweet contemporary romance set between Atlanta and St. Thomas.

Danielle currently writes from south of Atlanta, Georgia. She lives with four sons and her husband, who is an air traffic controller.

So, what's By Heart and Compass all about?

When Lacey Whitman buys a restored Victorian home, she never dreams discovering an antique diary will lead her back to sea and into the arms of the dive bum she’d rather forget. Her habit of living in the past comes to a screeching halt as diver Max Bertrand and the diary of his ancestor take Lacey on the quest of a lifetime: To discover and raise the privateer ship, Specter, and bring the treasure and legacy of a true hero home again. But will finding it cost her heart?

Read an excerpt!

Sitting outside, one of the divers looked busy replacing the o-ring on a scuba tank.

"I'm looking for Max?"

The long haired employee didn't bother to stand, much less look up.

"So?"

"I'm Lacey Whitman, and I'm looking for the Max that owns the museum."

"You call that worthless shack a museum?"

Dumbfounded, Lacey couldn't think of any reply.

"What do you want?"

"I'm looking for Max," she repeated, feeling a flash of impatience. "I have some papers for him."

"Warrant, restraining order, or paternity test?"

After a pause in which she realized he was serious, she replied in frustration, "I have some research for the Bertrand family and someone at the museum told me to come down here."

Lacey caught herself biting her lip.

Finally, the man of absolutely no assistance put down the tank and stood up. Short and compact, he had amazing turquoise eyes that glowed from a dark, tanned complexion. Loose strands of sun-kissed brown hair blew about his face in the breeze.

"Max doesn't need anymore paperwork. He doesn't want to see your research, and he is not giving dive lessons."

"I didn't ask for a dive lesson."

The diver sat back down again, crossing thick tattooed arms over himself. They stared one another down until he won. It was cheating to look her over as if she was a sweet little morsel, but it worked.

"I just want to talk to Max," she demanded.

He stared back with no expression. "You just did. Now get off my beach."

Lacey's cheeks were already flushed from getting the once over by this beach bum. His insult made her red all over.

"I'll be sure to let them know at the Bertrand Museum," she threatened, as if it mattered.

She turned on her heel and stalked off but he called after her, "Lady, I am the Bertrand Museum!"

***

Visit Linda Weaver Clarke's blog this week at http://lindaweaverclarke.blogspot.com/2010/10/interview-with-romance-author-danielle.html to read her interview with Danielle and to find out how you could win a copy of By Heart and Compass.

Can't wait that long? Pick up a copy at Amazon.com today!

Visit Danille online at http://daniellethorne.jimdo.com/

Author Spotlight: Tina Murray and A Chance to Say Yes

In the midst of money, glamour and lust, lives a secret so life-changing it could rip their worlds apart.

What if your old high-school flame became one of the world’s most famous movie stars and moved back to town? What if he didn’t know that for twenty years you had been keeping a secret from him--and from the rest of the world?

Heston Demming is at the peak of his acting career--an international celebrity whose face is on every tabloid. He is wealthy, drop-dead gorgeous, and stalked by the paparazzi, but beneath the polished veneer he is a man fighting for emotional survival--a man whose life is falling apart.

When he returns to his hometown of Naples, Florida, his lavish lifestyle is declaration of victory over the poverty and hardship of his youth, but deep down inside he is a man drowning in despair.

During his attempts to make restitution to those he wronged, Poppy Talbot, a woman he had left behind in his quest for money and fame, comes back into his life. Poppy still retains the same sweetness she had when they were love-struck teenagers and Heston realizes she is the one woman who could save him if he could get her to forgive and forget the past. Poppy is now an art dealer in this wealthy town; married but currently separated from her husband, and yet she had never stopped dreaming of seeing Heston again some day. What Heston doesn’t know is that she actually had vivid nightmares about it--about the consequences of a long-kept secret--one so deep that if she lets Heston back into her life it will surely rip their lives apart.

A Chance to Say Yes (Archebooks Publishing) takes you inside the explosive and private life of this exclusive beachfront community’s most renowned son. For anyone who loves celebrity gossip, this book is a must read! The first novel in the Demming family saga from author Tina Murray – this is a love story for both women and men.



Read the Reviews!

"There’s so much fakery in Hollywood, it’s hard to go back to being real. A Chance to Say Yes tells the story of washed up actor Heston Demming. When his life is no longer so glamorous, he has little left to live for, except his old sweetheart Poppy Talbot. But in his quest for fame, he wronged Poppy, and forgiveness is never something that comes easy. A Chance to Say Yes is a novel of facing the mistakes of one’s past, highly recommended."

5 stars‐‐highly recommended, Midwest Book Review

“...Tina Murray skillfully portrays an elite world jam-packed with romance, glamour, lust, greed, deception, betrayal and surprising twists and turns to keep you captivated to the very last word.”

–Jane Kennedy Sutton, author of The Ride

"I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with so many secrets and twists; it certainly kept me on my toes...A Chance to Say Yes is definitely a great ride, with twists and turns galore. It almost made me dizzy. Almost."

-Hollywood Gossip

"This book was one filled with tons of drama, characters, and romance!"

-The Review Stew



Romance readers will recognize Southwest Florida resident Tina Murray from her published work Dead Palm Trees in Jackie Hofer’s anthology Tree Magic and from her essays in the USF literary journal Palm Prints.

A recluse at heart, Tina has ventured her way into the publishing world after years spent in a wide range of pursuits. Insight gained, especially as an actress and artist, subsequently enhanced by degrees in art education, education, art and drama from the Florida State University and the University of Miami, has fed her imagination for her debut romance novel, A Chance to Say Yes. Now she enjoys the sunny shores of paradise as she prepares the sequel in her movie‐star dynasty.

You can find Tina Murray at http://www.tinamurrayauthor.com/.

Also available in a Kindle edition!

Interview with Romance Author Marcia Lynn McClure and Giveaway at Linda Weaver Clarke's Blog

Linda Weaver Clarke has another international giveaway going on right now, this time with romance author Marcia Lynn McClure. Up for grabs is a copy of Weathered Too Young.

When Lark appears on the Evans’ porch, Tom instantly hires her to keep house and cook for himself and his cantankerous elder brother, Slater. It doesn’t take long for Slater Evans to unknowingly capture her heart. Lark’s true age is not the only truth she has kept from Slater and Tom Evans. Darker secrets lay imprisoned deep within her heart. However, secrets are made to be found out. Would Lark discover the love she’d never dared to hope for?

Now, this sounds like a romance novel I can certainly get into. McClure has this to say about one of the Evans brothers, "Slater Evans is delicious! Masculine, brooding, and hiding secrets…yet with a clever wit and sense of humor!"

Who doesn't like delicious, masculine, brooding, and secretive men who are witty and have a sense of humor?

How can you win a copy of Weathered Too Young? Follow this link to Linda's blog and leave a comment that includes your email address.

This giveaway ends on July 2nd, so you better do it right now while you're thinking about it. Go ahead, you know you want a copy of this book!



Marcia Lynn McClure is surrounded by the gorgeous and captivating desert land of New Mexico, creating the perfect mood to write her romance novels. Her parents and grandparents were a great influence. She grew up hearing “tales of runaway buckboards, mule-drawn plows; stories of hardship and tragedy, love and loss.” These family legends led Marcia to writing novels. She is the mother of three children and has one grandson. Marcia is a romantic at heart and the author of 22 “clean” romance novels.

You can visit Marcia online at www.marcialynnmcclure.com.

Book Review: Lingering Spirit by Marilyn Meredith (Contest)

If you want a romance novel that will fascinate you while it tugs at your heart strings, pick up a copy of Lingering Spirit by Marilyn Meredith.

Nicole Ainsworth is angry with her husband Steve when he tells her he applied at several Northern California sheriff and police departments. He never even discussed it with her first. Nicole adores Channel Harbor where she has lived her entire life and with her family close by. Then Steve tells Nicole about his premonition--the one where he sees his own death, and he is certain if he stays in Channel Harbor, he'll die.

Nicole and Steve pack up their family and move to Quail Meadow, where Steve now works at the Goldfield Country Sheriff's Department. The night the doorbell rings and Nicole opens the door to find Sheriff Zahn and Chaplain Kober on the other side, her life changes forever. Now a widow, Nicole's once perfect world crumbles into pieces.

Distraught, miles from her family, and a single parent to her young girls, Nicole struggles to get beyond the pain of losing Steve. When strange things begin happening, Nicole is certain Steve is trying to communicate something to her. But what? Even moving back home to Channel Harbor only stops the images and feelings of Steve's presence for a short time. And when Nicole finds someone else is watching over her too, she wonders if this could mean a second chance at happiness.

I have to get the disclaimers out of the way first with this one. Marilyn is one of my clients through Pump Up Your Book Promotion. I've read all of the books in her Rocky Bluff P.D. series, and own all the books in her Deputy Tempe Crabtree series, which I began reading starting with Judgment Fire. That said, I was a bit nervous about reading Lingering Spirit. I'm a fan of Marilyn's writing, but all the books I read were of similar genres. Could she write a romance novel I would enjoy?

The answer is, oh yes!

Lingering Spirit's prologue sets the stage for this heartrending romance novel. The reader enters into the argument between Nicole and Steve over his not telling her about applying for a new job miles away from where Nicole has always lived. As with all the books of Meredith's that I've read, she drops you right into the middle of things. I'm immediately hooked. As a wife, I can feel Nicole's dread when she learns of Steve's premonition. That feeling is heightened when the doorbell rings at three a.m. and Nicole briefly considers not opening the door. What you don't know, can't hurt you.

Meredith truly makes the reader care for Nicole and her children throughout this novel, especially young, Sarah, who is having a great deal of trouble with the loss of her father. While the book focuses on Nicole's grief, I'm glad to see that the author didn't ignore what the children were going through.

What I truly enjoyed watching unfold, however, was the slow evolution of Nicole's relationship with the mysterious stranger from her husband's funeral. He's one of the pallbearers, so Nicole figures he must have been a good friend to Steve, but she's never met him. There's tension between them as he is invading territory Nicole hasn't invited him into. The mystery surrounding this man leads to a satisfying and touching conclusion to a superb novel.

I polished this book off in two days and you won't want to stop reading it once you pick it up.

Lingering Spirit is the type of book that romance lovers dream of finding.




Title: Lingering Spirit
Author: Marilyn Meredith
ISBN-10: 189234369X
ISBN-13: 978-1892343697
SRP: $12.95

Also available in a Kindle edition for only $1.95.


CONTEST: Have you ever dreamed of being immortalized in print? Well, here’s your chance! Award-winning author Marilyn Meredith is running a contest during her Lingering Spirit Virtual Book Tour, which runs from July 6th through July 30th. Marilyn will name a character in her next Rocky Bluff P.D. book after the reader who comments at the most blog stops during her virtual book tour. This book is currently scheduled to be released in 2012.

Author Spotlight: Cindy Bradford and Promises Kept

Promises Kept is Faith’s story, an unforgettable young woman whose life’s journey has been filled with uncertainty, of searching for people and answers that others take for granted. Compassionate and courageous, she never gives up, showing strength and character beyond her years. It is also the story about the power of the human spirit, of family, friends and love.

The book is a sequel to Cindy Bradford’s first novel, Keeping Faith, but can also stand alone as an independent book. Avid readers of the romance genre will fall in love with Faith O’Brien’s gritty determination. After finding the father she never knew until adulthood, and graduating law school, she is focused on bringing down the priest who abused her father as a child. She wants the cunning, deceitful cleric put behind bars long enough that no other young boy will ever have to fear his touch. To do this, she takes on a veteran, highly experienced and shrewd Boston lawyer who will go to any means to win a case. But, he underestimates her passion for justice, her fight for right against a wrong.

The story transforms from the legal battle on behalf of her father into a beautiful love story as she falls madly in love with her colleague, Tyler England. Soon, her fighting instincts are called on like never before. Only this time her intelligence, perseverance and resolve may not be enough.
Excerpt:

He knew that several years earlier she might have finished her sentence and gone a step further, but during the last few years, she had become more refined, softer around the edges. In law school she had learned cases, canons and codes, and she had acquired sophistication as well. Both made her more confident, determined, and firmer in her resolve. The refinement made her delivery poised and articulate, although she could still be brash and blunt with a comment. Undoubtedly, she was tough, but sensitive, a fighter with a heart. She cut no slack, yet she was generous in her compassion. It is the total package of complexity and contrasts that makes her a good lawyer already, before her first case, Patrick thought.

“When can you come to Maine?” Patrick asked.

“As soon as I get a ticket and pack. Where should I fly into?”

“Why don’t you see if you can get a ticket to Bangor? If not, then Portland. We’ll probably want a couple of days here to talk and plan.”

“Okay. I’ll call you back as soon as I know times and which airport.”

“Faith, hang on. How’s your mother?”


“Good,” she said. “She wants to come as soon as things begin.”

“Really? She really wants to do that?”

“Yes, she has a lot of vacation coming and she can stay with me.”

“Tell her that would be good and that I asked about her, will you?”

“Sure, Dad, but you could tell her yourself, you know.”

“Yes, maybe I will. We’ll see.”

But Faith knew he wouldn’t call Sue nor could she figure out why. She had asked him several times why he wouldn’t make the first move to mend the scars of their past, but he never had an answer. She wasn’t sure he knew.



Cindy Bradford, Ph.D., is also the author of Keeping Faith and Promises Kept. She lives at South Padre Island, Texas, and spends several months a year in Ruidoso, New Mexico. She is a retired public school educator and university professor. She often incorporates her knowledge of wine into her writings and shares the beautiful places she has visited with her readers. You can find out more about Cindy online at www.doccbradford.com

We invite you to join us on the Promises Kept virtual tour and every comment you leave on the tour posts will get you an entry into a drawing for a copy of the first book in this series – Keeping Faith. Visit http://bookpromotionservices.com/2010/03/02/promises-kept/ for the complete schedule. For more details about Cindy Bradford, visit -www.KeepingFaithTheNovel.com and www.DocCBradford.com/my-books

In Pursuit of an Idea by Kim Smith, Author of A Will to Love

Kim Smith is today's guest blogger. She is the author of the romance novel, A Will to Love.



Benton Jessup wants his bed and breakfast to be successful. He will go to no lengths to insure that it does. But when Kitty Beebe, a famous romance author, arrives at The Inn, his desire for success becomes a struggle of wills with love.





In the Pursuit of an Idea by Kim Smith

Recently, I was out of town on a business trip. No great thing but for the fact that I had horrible trouble with the airlines that was supposed to move me from point A to point B. The long wait times (two different days!) gave me plenty of opportunities to think about situations and writing and what worked and what didn’t.


For most beginning writers, the pursuit of an idea wide enough to carry an entire book is a big deal because many agents and publishers say “make the story universal, make it something that is timeless”. Most beginners (some who are not as well) take this advice seriously. They want to do everything right straight out of the gate.

I know many established, multi-published authors who take the idea that flashes through their mind and keep building on it “off the paper” for extended periods of time. Some have even developed their characters, their settings, or their plot for years in their pre-planning. But, for some of us, this simply won’t work. I happen to be one of these other writers, the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants sorts. This post is not for the writer who can create for extended periods before writing their first word, but rather the ones who cannot.

As I sat in the airport contemplating writing something (anything!) because my heart felt that I had put it off too long trying to make it into something useful not wasted, I remembered William Faulkner.

He is quoted as saying, "Let the writer take up surgery or bricklaying if he is interested in technique. There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no shortcut. The young writer would be a fool to follow a theory. Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer, he wants to beat him"

So I am here to tout the news that it is okay to write out the idea on paper, not carry it around in our heads, go forward, dive right into the story by writing a few thousand words. It is okay to turn those few thousand into a few thousand more in an attempt to see if it will go anywhere, only to discover that you do not have a story. Yes, I am an advocate of broken beginnings, saggy middles, and books with no hope.

Why, you ask, would I do such a thing? Why would I encourage writers to write anything less than their best, and most well-thought out work? Waste paper, muddle a mind?

Because writers write. That’s what we do, that’s who we are!

Beginning writers (especially) need to keep poking the muse to see what she has to offer up. When we censor our writing mind, and toss out ideas before they have a chance to be developed (because someone says “that won’t work” or “that’s been done before”), we get into a mind-set that hobbles our creativity.

Let that weak idea flow! You may have a short story, not a novel. You may have a character sketch, or a mood piece, not necessarily a short story, but that is perfectly fine. You still have something to write. Something that moves your writing life forward a little bit more than yesterday. Along the way, you will know when it is right, when it is something that can be stretched, or developed, when it will go into a bigger piece of the puzzle, and who better to know such as that? It is your story to tell, your character to develop, your plot to pursue.

After returning from my business trip, I walked the grounds of Rowan Oak, Faulkner’s home in Oxford, Mississippi. I smiled when I felt the urge to write hit me. I didn’t tarry either. Maybe ole Will was standing somewhere under one of those huge, old trees in the avenue, waving at me—(laughing, probably) telling me to go, go, go at my fierce determination to wrestle something out in the name of writing. Telling me to be free in my methods, my failures. I had a small amount of success, churning out one small story. Thanks, Will.

Kim Smith is the hostess for the popular radio show, Introducing WRITERS! radio show on Blog Talk Radio. She is also the author of the zany, Shannon Wallace mystery series available now from Red Rose Publishing and also the new romance novel, A Will to Love. You can visit Kim’s website at www.mkimsmith.com.

Video Trailer for Beyond the Code of Conduct by K.M. Daughters

Here is the latest trailer I created. This is for the romantic supsense novel, Beyond the Code of Conduct, Book 2 in the Sullivan Boys series by K.M. Daughters, which we reviewed here.

FBI Agency Brass and Sullivan family connections force Special Agent Bobbie Leighton into an undercover operation with inactive Homicide Detective Joe Sullivan.

Posing as a cattleman and his arm-candy wife the couple is assigned to infiltrate NY attorney Bradley Sterling’s illegal operation. Suspected of baby trafficking, Sterling maybe be connected with Joe’s brother, Jimmy Sullivan’s murder.

How do Bobbie and Joe adhere to their professional code of conduct living under the same roof? Can they forget their personal history, ignore their volatile feelings for each other and ensnare their target when they might be next on Sterling’s victims list?

You can visit the authors' website at www.kmdaughters.com and follow them at http://twitter.com/kmdaughters!



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