2013 LDS Authors Giveaway Hop (results)

Thanks everyone for entering the giveaway! The two winners of an autographed copy of Unexpected are DEBRA and ERIN!!

Want a chance to win a free book (or other cool stuff) from some of your favorite LDS authors? Come and hop along with me, then! Join the LDS Authors Giveaway Hop, hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer and American Night Writers Association.

From October 8th to 15th, you can hop to any (or all) of the blogs listed below and sign up for their giveaways. It's the easiest kind of hopping you can do—and not nearly as tiring, either! Last year I participated in the Giveaway Hop and it was a lot of fun!  This year I'll be randomly selecting TWO winners of my latest novel, Unexpected!

My giveaway:

All you have to do, for a chance to win an autographed copy of my novel Unexpected, is:

1) sign up to follow this blog on Google Friend Connect or by email, and

2) fill out the form below so I can contact you if you win.  (I will not share any email information with an outside source, but to be Internet safe (because I'm a mom) only enter if you are 13 years old or older, please. 

To find out what the story is all about, check out this blog post, titled Unexpected (difficult as this will be to believe).

For an additional chance to win, repeat the process at my other blog: A Tuft Act to Follow. And you can follow me on Facebook, too!

Unexpected

My latest novel, Unexpected, is now available! 

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

Eleven years ago, Ross McConnell was devastated by the betrayal of the woman of his dreams. Time does not heal all wounds, and after more than a decade, Ross is no closer to finding love. When his well-meaning family attempts to play match maker, he concedes by creating an unrealistic list detailing his perfect mate. Perhaps he'll give love another try, if such perfection exists. . . 

Natalie Forrester is no stranger to heartache. After two failed marriages, the single mother of three is determined to make it on her own. Without a college degree, she starts at the bottom: working as a housekeeper may not be glamorous, but it's her first big step toward independence. And Natalie's most recent cleaning job is ideal--the guy is always out of town, and the pay will go a long way toward supporting her missionary son. 

And then Ross and Natalie meet . . . and meet again. And following a series of awkward encounters, Ross is shocked by his growing attraction for this woman. Natalie couldn't be further from his ideal woman, and she is firm in her determination to keep her heart closed to love. But as their tenuous friendship develops and deepens, will the unlikely pair have the courage to set aside the disappointments of the past to catch hold of a bright new future?

Writing Unexpected was a lot of fun. I asked my cute, artistic sister-in-law if I could loosely base my main female character after her, and she replied, "Why not? My life is stranger than fiction!" (Too true, that.)

I'll be posting another blog soon to describe what elements I borrowed from her, and what she is doing to help me launch Unexpected! In the meantime, you can find Unexpected at Deseret Book and Seagull Book, and Amazon, for starters. 

Happy reading! And go have some cookies and hot chocolate, while you're at it!

Historical Novels: Past Perfect

My thoughts, posted to the Word Wenches blog, regarding historicals:

I grew up with Margaret Evans Price's Myth's and Enchantment Tales. Before I could read I drank in the pictures: fiery gods, willowy nymphs in tunics with flowing hair. I was a kid with a pixie cut, glasses, and two missing front teeth. But I became those willowy nymphs. I needed to feel like a willowy nymph.

It got even better when I could actually read the stories that went with the pictures!

Later, I discovered Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt, and others. And I wasn't just Psyche or Andromeda anymore. I was a governess in a castle, and a sassy saloon girl, and a debutante, despite the cat-eye glasses and short hair.

And then a terrible thing happened! Middle school, high school, college, and The Classics. Don't get me wrong, they were great books and I learned a lot. But I wouldn't have picked up Lord of the Flies or Heart of Darkness out of choice. And somehow, in those school classes, it became impressed upon me that The Classics Were the Only Books Worth Reading.

And I forgot what it felt like to be a nymph or a saloon girl.

Life, good life, continued, with marriage and kids and a reading urge filled by newspapers and magazine articles.

And then, after watching Timothy Dalton, I mean Rochester, plead with Jane Eyre not to leave him, I had to read the book. I discovered Mr. Darcy way too late in life. Why had I never found Jane Austen's books before? And, hey? Aren't they classics? I say they are.

I've had a lot of reading to catch up on! And there are a lot of modern authors (Word Wenches included) whom I consider classic.

Side benefit: I'm an avid genealogist, and there is nothing I like better than to find my ancestors and have a living, breathing model of life that makes them more than a name on a page for me. I understand who they are and who I am as part of their legacy; historicals have given that to me.

I'm reading a historical right now. And my good life is even better!

Illustration of As the dragon came near, Perseus darted downward like an eagle by Margaret Evans Price, from the book Myths and Enchantment Tales, also by Margaret Evans Price. Also published under A Child's Book of Myths, and A Children's Treasury of Mythology.