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Blurb

COVER REVEAL: “Cards From Khloe’s Flower Shop”

June 1, 2016 4 Comments

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“Cards From Khloe’s Flower Shop” by Isabella Louise Anderson

After a lot of anticipation, I’m thrilled to share with you the final cover of my upcoming release, “Cards From Khloe’s Flower Shop,” which will be released this summer. I’m in love with the cover and hope like it, too!


Blurb: As the owner of a successful florist shop, Khloe Harper trusts her instincts. She has a strong bond with her family and friends, but after being betrayed by her last love, she’s kept herself at arms’ length from romance. When dashing entertainment attorney Derek Thomas walks into her store, Khloe’s interested is piqued. What at first seems like a business relationship quickly turns into romance, and Derek slowly plucks away the petals she’s been hiding behind. Just as Khloe lets down her guard, she discovers that Derek may not be worthy of her love after all…

Frumpy Connie Albright has a faux fascination with an imaginary man named Walt, sending herself flowers from him to feel less out-of-place with the “mean girls” she works with. Gabby Lewis, a recently widowed senior, isn’t ready to give up on love—which means releasing herself from survivor’s guilt and taking a chance on finding happiness and companionship again.

As these stories intertwine through flowers and cards sent from Khloe’s shop, the three women begin to learn that love can only truly blossom when you trust your heart.


**GIVEAWAY**

To win a Scentsy nightlight and bars (2), U.S. residents only, leave a comment telling me about how your significant other surprised or gave your flowers!

**This giveaway ends on Sunday, June 12th, and you must leave your email, so that I can contact you if you win!


 

Filed Under: Isabella Tagged With: Blurb, Cards From Khloe's Flower Shop, Cover Reveal, Giveaway, Isabella Louise Anderson, Scentsy, Upcoming Releases

RELEASE BLITZ: “Waking Amy” by Julieann Dove

February 23, 2016 4 Comments

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“Waking Amy” by Julieann Dove

Blurb: Amy Whitfield is blindsided when she comes home and finds a note on the fridge from her husband, Wesley, stating that after four years of marriage, he’s leaving her. Amy was in the midst of trying to spice things up, to bring life back to their boring marriage. It seems now that she was too late.

As Amy sits with her head between her knees, trying to figure out what to do next, a call comes from Mercer General Hospital. The ER nurse is telling Amy’s answering machine that Wesley has been in a car accident.

When Amy arrives at the hospital, she finds her husband in a coma. The doctors say there is no sign of brain damage, and Wesley will eventually wake up. Relieved, Amy sees this as her second chance: the chance to get it right this time. To channel the girl Wesley won’t leave when he regains consciousness… She just needs some help to pull it off. After all, she was voted girl most likely to die a virgin in high school.

Amy would never figure on getting that help from Mark Reilly…Wesley’s doctor! He’s a non-committer, too-cute-for-his-own-good bachelor, and completely the guy Amy begins falling for. It’s a race against time to see who wakes up first—Amy or her husband.

**Find “Waking Amy: Amazon   Goodreads


julieann dove**About the Author: Julieann lives in Virginia, yet longs to live everywhere else. It doesn’t come as a surprise that along with her gypsy soul, comes an active imagination. That’s why she loves to write and invent worlds and people, so that she can formulate their happily ever after. Hobbies include cooking new recipes, sewing, and spending time with her cute boyfriend/husband and five fabulous children. Vacations happen in Nantucket or the Carolina beaches—anywhere there is inspiration for her next book. One day she hopes to travel to Italy, drive one of those little cars around the countryside, and speak the language fluently!

**Contact: Website   Twitter   Facebook   Pinterest   Goodreads   Newsletter


RELEASE DAY BLITZ

**Check out the other participating blogs for the release blitz for “Waking Amy”:
Jersey Girl Book Reviews   Brooke Blogs   Love Chick Lit   The Phantom Paragrapher   I’m a Book Shark   Around the World in Books   Ai Love Books   Sweet N Sassy Bookaholics   Chick Lit Plus


Filed Under: Waking Amy - Release Blitz Tagged With: Blurb, Books, Chick-Lit, Julieann Dove, New Release, Release Blitz, Romance, Waking Amy, Women's Fiction

BOOK FEATURE: “The Fling Thing–A Christmas Quickie”

December 21, 2015 2 Comments

The Fling Thing E-Book Cover

“The Fling Thing-A Christmas Quickie” by Maggie Le Page

Blurb: When it comes to love, Becky Jordan’s had some spectacular disasters, but all those Mr Wrongs haven’t put her off. One day she’ll find Mr Right. She just needs to be more . . . selective.

For example, she’d never get involved with Mickey Madden. He’s cute, and funny, and knows how to warm a girl’s . . . ahem. But he’s a workmate, and all their flirty sex-talk is just talk.

So when that talk whoopsies into something rather more active, Becky’s left confused. Is this as real as it feels, or is Mickey just another disaster in disguise?

Warning: contains one sexy Santa suit, one cheeky Rudolph, and plenty of heat in the middle.

(This novelette is intended for readers aged 18+.)

**Buy “The Fling Thing-A Christmas Quickie” now!: Amazon-US   Amazon-UK   Amazon-CA   Amazon-AU   B&N   iTunes   Kobo   Smashwords


**GIVEAWAY OFFER**

The first ten people to leave a review of The Fling Thing on Amazon or iTunes will be rewarded with a free ecopy of one of my full-length novels (one of which follows on from The Fling Thing). Just message me on Facebook or email me through my website (see contact details below) and voilà!


 

**About author, Maggie Le Page: Maggie lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. Her life leans toward chaotic, with writing time often losing out to kidstuff, home stuff and part-time work. Being a ditz comes naturally to Maggie, so she has no trouble writing her characters into embarrassing situations. No surprise, then, that she writes chick lit—albeit with serious undertones.

**Contact Maggie Le Page: Website   Amazon   Facebook   Goodreads   Twitter


The Fling Thing new release social media image

Filed Under: The Fling Thing – A Christmas Quickie Tagged With: Blurb, Books, Christmas, Holiday reads, Maggie Le Page, New Release, Sex, The Fling Thing-A Christmas Quickie

COVER REVEAL: “Novelista Girl” by Meredith Schorr

November 30, 2015 3 Comments

Every now and then, a book comes your way and you fall in love it, but then you have wait for the next book in its series. Yes, there might be other books that you enjoy, too, but that one book is still on your mind. Well, that’s how it was with me when I read BLOGGER GIRL. That being said, today I am joyfully sharing you with you its sequel (which can be a standalone, if you wish), NOVELISTA GIRL, by one of my favorite authors, Meredith Schorr.


 

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“Novelista Girl” by Meredith Schorr

**Release date: Coming soon!

Blurb: Readers first met sassy Kimberly Long in Blogger Girl, and now the feisty New Yorker is back in a sequel packed with quick wit, friendship, heartache, and, of course, romance.

Kim runs the most popular chick lit book blog on the web, loves playing house with her sexy lawyer boyfriend, Nicholas, and is finally pursuing her lifelong dream to become a published author. At first glance, her life is five-pink-champagne-flutes worthy.

But is there more to the story than meets the eye?

After hearing the phrase “chick lit is dead” more times than she’s read Bridget Jones’s Diary, Kim is driven to desperate measures, seeking advice from up-and-coming chick lit author, Hannah Marshak, her high school nemesis and resident “mean girl.” As if Kim doesn’t have enough on her plate balancing her secretarial duties with her blog Pastel Is the New Black, shrugging off the growing pile of agent rejections, and keeping her best friend from turning green over Kim’s budding friendship with Hannah, Nicholas is so blinded by his career ambitions, he doesn’t see that their home sweet home could use more than a dash of sugar.

This is the year when all of Kim’s dreams—professional and romantic—are supposed to come true, but will the story have a happily ever after, or will Kim end up unpublished and all alone?

This novel can be read as a sequel or as a standalone and is best accompanied by a cocktail, preferably a pink one.


EXCERPT

To: KimMLong@gmail.com

From: Libby_Knox@Knoxliterary.com

Subject: Re: Query—A Blogger’s Life

Dear Ms. Long,

Thank you for your interest in Knox Literary. While I found the premise of A Blogger’s Life interesting, I’m afraid I wasn’t sufficiently intrigued to ask for more at this time. Because this business is so subjective, and opinions vary widely, we encourage you to query other agents.

After all, it only takes one.

Best of luck on your journey to publication.

Libby Knox

Knox Literary

I let out a deflated sigh before resting my head on my boyfriend Nicholas’s shoulder. It was a Sunday afternoon, and after a late lunch, we had come back to my place to watch television. Well, I was watching television—a romantic movie on the Hallmark Channel. Nicholas was doing work. As the in-house attorney for a cosmetics company, he often took work home with him.

Nicholas stopped typing furiously on his laptop. “What’s the matter, Kimmie?”

With my eyes closed, I responded, “I got another rejection from an agent.” Making it fourteen rejections in total for my chick lit novel, A Blogger’s Life. When I finally gathered the courage to write a novel—a complete manuscript with a beginning, middle, and an end, as opposed to a partial story that I shoved in the back of my closet unfinished—I knew the journey to publication would be difficult. Now, I was thinking “impossible” was a more befitting adjective.

Giving my hand a gentle squeeze, Nicholas said, “I’m sorry.”

I opened my eyes and sat up. “Me, too.”

“It’s just one agent. Did you know Kathryn Stockett received sixty rejections of The Help before she got an agent?”

I jerked my head back in surprise. “I did know that. How did you know that?”

Nicholas smiled. “I did some research after your last rejection.”

I kissed his cheek and ran my palm up against his ever-present five o’clock shadow. “How nice of you.”

“I’m a nice guy.” Nicholas paused for a beat. “For a player, that is.”

When I first met Nicholas a little over a year ago, he was an attorney at the New York City firm where I worked (and still work) as a legal secretary. He was single, successful, hot, and flirtatious. Naturally, I assumed he was a player when we first hooked up. Either that, or out of my league. What would someone with his credentials want with me—a measly legal secretary with a nice rack? When Nicholas gently suggested my dreams might extend beyond book blogging to book writing, I worried maybe he was the one who wanted me to be a writer so I would be “good enough” to hang with all of his successful friends. I was blinded by my insecurity, but after some soul-searching, I concluded he was right, and I was wrong—something he enjoyed reminding me of on a regular basis. It had been almost six months since our reconciliation, and sometimes I still had to pinch myself to confirm that the guy I adored—the one who not only caused my knees to go weak and the butterflies to dance in my belly whenever he touched me, but also made me laugh and encouraged my dream to be a published author—was equally crazy about me. I was in love big time but too chicken to be the first to say the words.

I playfully punched his arm. “Are you ever gonna let that go?”

Nicholas flashed me a sexy grin. “Not likely.”

I shook my head in mock annoyance. Inching closer to him on my love seat, I draped one of my legs over his and sighed. “Maybe I should have tried to publish Read My Mind first.” A Blogger’s Life was technically my second novel. I had given up writing Read My Mind in high school only to pick it up and finally finish it ten years later. Although Read My Mind was the novel that qualified me as a “finisher,” I ultimately decided to shelve it and pursue A Blogger’s Life instead.

Crinkling his brow, Nicholas asked, “I thought you said this one was much better.”

Rubbing the opal pendant on my necklace, I said, “Do you not think so?”

Nicholas shook his head. “I can’t say. I haven’t started reading it yet.” Probably noticing my face drop, he added, “I promise I will soon.”

“It is better, but apparently, chick lit is dead among traditional publishers unless you’re an established author in the genre. Young adult paranormal, on the other hand, is hot.”

“Considering how many fans Pastel Is the New Black has, I’d say chick lit is pretty hot, too.” Patting my knee, he added, “Almost as hot as its founder.”

Nicholas was correct that my book blog, Pastel Is the New Black, had thousands of followers. Unfortunately for me, none of those fans were literary agents as far as I knew. “Why couldn’t I have written A Blogger’s Life ten years ago when chick lit was on fire?” I whined. Considering I didn’t even know what a blog was when I was nineteen, it was a rhetorical question.

“It is what it is, Kimmie.” Nicholas ran one hand along my thigh and then slowly up to the zipper on my black skinny jeans. “Anything I can do to make you feel better?” he asked.

“You can try, but it will be hard.”

Placing my hand over his crotch, he said, “It’s very hard, but you’re worth it.”

There was nothing I wanted more—besides an offer for agent representation—than to get down and dirty with Nicholas right then and there, but I was so behind on book reviews for my blog. I also wanted to make some revisions to my agent query letter based on suggestions from one of my author friends. And I knew Nicholas was swamped, too. I decided a compromise was in order. “How about we do it in an hour?”

Nicholas frowned and tugged at my zipper. “But I want to do it now,” he said, adopting the bratty entitled voice of Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Sliding away from him, I said, “It’s called delayed gratification. You should try it.”

Nicholas got up from the couch and stood in front of me. Extending his hand, he said, “You don’t want to make my brown eyes blue? Do you, Kimmie?” He frowned, drawing my eyes to his full and completely bitable lower lip.

I couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” had become “our” song the night we got back together. I sang it to him at karaoke in a grand gesture when my two best friends, Bridget and Caroline, dared me to stop moping about and write my own happy ending.

I reached for Nicholas’s hand and allowed him to pull me to a standing position. “I don’t want anything of yours to be blue,” I said as my eyes dropped down to his groin.

Leading me to my bedroom, he said, “That makes two of us.”

As promised, Nicholas made me feel better. He had mad skills. But even as I writhed in ecstasy beneath him, I wondered if my fifteenth rejection letter had already landed in my in-box.


 

Filed Under: Novelista Girl - Cover Reveal Tagged With: Authors, Blogger Girl Sequel, Blurb, Chick-Lit, Cover Reveal, Excerpt, Meredith Schorr, Novelista Girl, Women's Fiction

NEW RELEASE: “Let’s Be Real”

July 1, 2015 2 Comments

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“Let’s Be Real” by Brea Brown

Blurb: Nurse Nate Bingham’s life is finally going according to plan, after a few unexpected modifications. He has the wife, the dog, the house, the career… even a start on that brood of booger-munchers he’s always wanted. Everything is great.

Too great.

Then things get real. Changes at work, revelations at family get-togethers, and disappointments at home threaten Nate’s healthy outlook and force him to diagnose and take action.

Unfortunately, nobody’s walking away from this treatment plan with an easy cure and a lollipop.

* * * * *

**Click HERE to go to the author’s website to read an excerpt!

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**Buy “Let’s Be Real” now!: Amazon   CreateSpace (paperback)   Kobo   iTunes   Nook   Scribd

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BreaBrown**About author, Brea Brown: Brea Brown lives in Springfield, Missouri, with her husband and three sons, but her international support network stretches as far as Australia. She’s an administrative assistant at an environmental consulting firm for forty hours a week and a writer all the other waking hours of the week not taken up by motherhood, wifedom, reading, and watching cheesy TV shows like Sleepy Hollow. (That leaves a surprisingly large number of hours, believe it or not.) Her published novels are Daydreamer, The Secret Keeper, The Secret Keeper Confined, The Secret Keeper Up All Night, The Secret Keeper Holds On, The Secret Keeper Lets Go, The Secret Keeper Fulfilled, Plain Jayne, Quiet, Please! Let’s Be Frank, and Let’s Be Real. Her twelfth book, Out of My League, is set for a Fall 2015 release.

**Contact Brea: Facebook   Twitter

Filed Under: Let's Be Real Tagged With: Authors, Blurb, Book Two, Books, Brea Brown, Chick-Lit, Let's Be Real, New Release, Romantic Comedy, Women's Fiction

BOOK FEATURE: “Feng Shui and Charlotte Nightingale”

June 24, 2015 1 Comment

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“Feng Shui and Charlotte Nightingale” by Pam Ferderbar

Blurb:

This is from the back of the dustcover: Charlotte Nightingale has the worst luck in the world. Every day is a bad hair day. Her boyfriend’s a snake, her job blows and her own family seems to hate her.

For over 4,000 years the Chinese have practiced the ancient art of Feng Shui, a complex body of knowledge that reveals how to balance the energies of any given space to assure health, love and good fortune for people inhabiting it. The Chinese never met Charlotte Nightingale.

A handsome Chinese food deliveryman/Feng Shui master takes pity on Charlotte and breaks out every tool in his Feng Shui arsenal to bring her some modicum of happiness. It rocks her world all right. Charlotte’s life goes from bad to worse.

When everything comes crashing down and run-of-the-mill catastrophes pale in comparison to recent events, Charlotte unwittingly embarks on a great adventure during which she finds romance, a new wardrobe, bags of money and most importantly, herself.

Feng Shui and Charlotte Nightingale is the laugh-out-loud feel good book of the summer.

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Praise for “Feng Shui and Charlotte Nightingale”:

“Pam Ferderbar’s debut novel Feng Shui and Charlotte Nightingale is the funniest book I’ve read in ages. Ferderbar’s wit and quirky humor kept me laughing, while underdog Charlotte had me rooting for her. The ending is unexpected – and so so satisfying. I cheered for Charlotte!” Julie Tarney, author of the upcoming memoir My Son Wears Heels 

“Feng Shui and Charlotte Nightingale is a fast-paced, hilarious rom-com of a romp that’s not only laugh-out-loud funny, it touches the heart. I couldn’t help but to root for Charlotte as her luck changes and, once a hot neurotic mess, Charlotte metamorphoses into a woman she is proud to be – thanks in part to a handsome Chinese food deliveryman and some on-the-sly Feng Shui. In her debut novel, Ferderbar has created a lovable and relatable heroine in Charlotte. Add in the cast of wacky characters and smart-as-a-whip wit and Ferderbar’s comedic genius shines. Get ready for a wild ride. Get ready for Charlotte Nightingale.” Samantha Vérant, author of Seven Letters from Paris: A Memoir

“Pamela Ferderbar is a witty and wonderful writer, and her book is a great reminder of the magic all around us. A delightful and enlightening read for anyone who’s ever wondered, “why me?”  Read it and get your chi flowing.” Cindy Guidry, author of The Last Single Woman in America

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PamFerderbar**About author, Pam Federbar: Pam was born and raised in Wisconsin, the only child of loving but quirky parents. She moved to Los Angeles, married the first man to see her fall off the turnip truck, wrote a short story that would later become Feng Shui and Charlotte Nightingale, began collecting stray dogs, divorced the man, fell in with a wild group of beachy goddesses, wrote a novel and then moved back to Wisconsin where the goddesses wear long underwear and cheese hats and so do the men.

**Contact Pam: Website   Facebook   Twitter   Hashtag   Instagram   LinkedIn   YouTube

Filed Under: Feng Shui and Charlotte Nightingale Tagged With: Blurb, Books, Chick-Lit, Feng Shui and Charlotte Nightingale, New Release, Pam Ferderbar, Women's Fiction

BOOK FEATURE: “Summer by the Sea”

June 15, 2015 2 Comments

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“Summer by the Sea” by Jenny Hale

Blurb:

They say there’s always one summer that changes you…

Summer by the Sea is a beautiful, heart-warming summer read about sisters, first love and not always getting what we want – but sometimes ending up with exactly what we need.

For Faith the one summer she can’t forget is when she fell in love as a teenager – only for her sister, Casey, to steal her man.

Now, at the request of her beloved ninety year-old grandmother, Faith has agreed to a family holiday – at their childhood beach house, where it all began.

Faith hasn’t seen her sister in years but is finally ready to forgive and forget, enjoy the sunshine and relive happy memories.

What she’s not ready for is meeting Jake Buchanan – the owner of the beach house – or the long-forgotten feelings he ignites in her.

Can Faith overcome the hurt of the past, rekindle the close bond she had with Casey and make this summer THE ONE to remember?

**Buy “Summer by the Sea” now!: Amazon – US   Amazon – UK

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JennyHalePic**About author, Jenny Hale:

When she graduated college, one of Jenny’s friends said “Look out for this one; she’s going to be an author one day”. Despite being an avid reader and a natural storyteller, it wasn’t until that very moment that the idea of writing novels occurred to her.

Sometimes our friends can see the things that we can’t. Whilst she didn’t start straight away, that comment sowed a seed and several years, two children and hundreds of thousands of words later, Jenny finished her first novel. Coming Home for Christmas went on to be a Kindle hit on both sides of the Atlantic – reaching the top 20 in the UK and top 10 in the US. Summer by the Sea is Jenny’s fourth novel.

**Contact Jenny: Website   Facebook   Twitter

Filed Under: Summer by the Sea Tagged With: Blurb, Books, Chick-Lit, First Love, Jenny Hale, Romance, Sisters, Summer, Summer by the Sea, Women's Fiction

BOOK FEATURE: “Letters to the Lost”

June 11, 2015 1 Comment

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“Letters to the Lost” by Iona Grey

Blurb: Just in time for romantic summer vacation reading, get swept up in LETTERS TO THE LOST by Iona Grey (St. Martin’s Press; May 26, 2015; $25.99), a mesmerizing and heartbreaking story about Stella and Dan, young lovers in chaotic London during World War II. Years after their affair, Jess, a singer running from her circumstances, takes shelter in an empty house and happens upon a series of letters that bring Stella and Dan’s tragedy to life.

In 1943, Stella Thorne has just married a vicar to become a church wife surrounded by a watchful congregation. Stella soon finds marriage lonely and cold, and is in the depths of loneliness when she has a chance encounter with Dan Rosinski. Drawn together by a love unlike anything they have experienced before, Stella and Dan cannot fight the feelings that spring up between them. But fate is unkind and they are lost to each other, maybe forever. In a last attempt to save that once-in-a-lifetime feeling they shared, Dan writes Stella a letter seventy years later, searching for understanding before it is too late.

When Jess finds Dan’s letter, she feels a need to help Dan with his desperate attempt to reach the woman he cannot forget. Trying to escape her own abusive boyfriend, Jess is an unlikely champion for Dan, but works to uncover where Stella has been all these years. When a stranger appears, he too plunges into the story and a friendship with plucky, passionate Jess. As they pour through years’ worth of letters and records within London, they start to discover the circumstances that caused Stella to abandon her love and the dark secret she kept all these years.

With endorsements from Rosamunde Pilcher, Kate Alcott, Lauren Willig, and Lucinda Riley, LETTERS TO THE LOST is the perfect read for lovers of epic and romantic historical fiction.

ADVANCED PRAISE

“Letters to the Lost is a powerful debut, one of those rare books that grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go.  It’s a heart-wrenching, smile-through-the-tears story of love lost and refound– you won’t be able to put it down! “ Lauren Willig, New York Times bestselling author of The Ashford Affair

“Letters to the Lost pulsates with life, offering a vibrant love story that transcends time and the heartbreak of war. Settle in somewhere comfortable; you are in for an enthralling read.” Kate Alcott, New York Times bestselling author of The Dressmaker and A Touch of Stardust

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**Click HERE to buy “Letters to the Lost” on Amazon!

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About author, Iona Grey: Iona has a degree in English Literature and Language from Manchester University, an obsession with history and an enduring fascination with the live so women in the twentieth century. She lives in rural Cheshire with her husband and three daughters.

Filed Under: Letters to the Lost Tagged With: Blurb, Books, Fiction, Iona Grey, Letters to the Lost, New Release, Romance

Glynis Astie

July 8, 2014 4 Comments

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About author, Glynis Astie: Glynis never expected in her wildest dreams to be a writer. After thirteen years in the Human Resources Industry, she decided to stay at home with her two amazing sons. Ever in search of a project, she was inspired to write the story of how she met and married her wonderfully romantic French husband, Sebastien, in six short months. The end result became her first novel, French Twist.

As this novel is only the beginning the story, Glynis has just released the sequel, French Toast and has begun writing the final chapter in the trilogy, French Fry. When she is not writing, she is trying to keep the peace amongst the three men and two cats in her life, finding missing body parts (Lego pieces are small!), supervising a myriad of homework assignments and keeping a tenuous hold on her sanity by consuming whatever chocolate is in the vicinity.

Contact Glynis: Website   Facebook   Goodreads   Twitter

Buy “French Toast”: Amazon   Google Play   iTunes

INTERVIEW

Describe your writing style in five sentences: Yikes! You started me off with a difficult question. My writing style is very casual. I let the thoughts spill out of my head, sarcasm and all, for the reader to enjoy. I speak directly to the reader often, encasing my questions and rants in parenthesis. I do not have the flair for the dramatic, but prefer to make people laugh. And look at that! I did it in four sentences!

Hard/paperbacks or eBooks? While I love the feel of a book in my hands (and yes, there is a wonderful smell to a book), I prefer the volume of books that I am able to carry with me on my Kindle. A girl has to have options! I am also very happy with the fact the my mischievous three-year-old son cannot lose my place by snatching out whatever random scrap of paper I could find to mark my page in a paperback, so that I could deal whatever his urgent issue happens to be. (Another Angry Birds puzzle, anyone?)

What made you want to become an author? Oddly enough, I never had aspirations to become an author. Truth be told, I HATED writing when I was younger. Over the years, writing became an integral part of my job as a Human Resources Manager (those disciplinary actions can be very tricky) and I found that I had quite an affinity for the written word. After a year of being solely a stay at home mom, I sought a personal project and somehow ended up writing a book! I still remember telling my sister that I had decided to take my adorable meet-cute with my husband and turn it into a Chick Lit novel and thinking that she was going to tell me that I was crazy. Instead, she encouraged me all the way through that book and was an amazing editor. She is also the creative mind behind my gorgeous book covers.

Who or what inspires you? My beautiful boys inspire me on a daily basis. Granted, they often make me want to tear every last hair out of my head and the only thing that prevents me from actually doing this is that I totally cannot pull off the bald look. But they are also wonderful, charming and insightful. They make me strive not only to be a better mother but to be a better person. They give me a unique perspective of the world that I would not trade for anything.

Between writing/editing/publishing, which was your favorite process? I love the process of writing. The concept of pulling a story out of nowhere and nurturing it until it is just the way you want it to be is amazing. (Not to mention REALLY hard.)

How did you celebrate when your first book was published? I jumped around like a little school girl for a good ten minutes and then went out for ice cream with my three boys (husband included.) Nothing says celebration like a brownie sundae!

How do you come up with the titles of your books? My current book titles are fairly easy, since they all start with the word “French” as a reference to my relationship with my very romantic French husband. 😉 I am a big fan of playing on words. I called my first book French Twist since my husband was a most unexpected plot twist in my life. I chose French Toast for the second book as a question for the reader – would Sydney and Louis be raising a glass in celebration or would their marriage be toast? And the next book, will be called French Fry. I am going to leave that one a mystery…

Describe your typical day? A typical day means dropping my older son off at school and running to the gym with my younger son. He gets to play with his friends while I force myself to exercise in an attempt to keep the stress at bay. We then come home, have lunch and I try to convince him that a nap would be a great idea. He absolutely needs the rest (cranky much?) and I need the time to work. Eventually I get him to sleep and I hurry around Twitter, Facebook, blogs and my email account doing my best to catch up with everyone and everything so that I can work on my book. Unfortunately, I never seem to get to it! Before I know it, my older son comes home from school, we do homework, have dinner, play games and get ready for bed. Then I try to make myself do work before falling asleep by 10pm.

What is the most challenging part of being an author? Finding the time to write! At least, that is my current predicament. I try so hard to get everything else done so that I can concentrate on my story, but inevitably life interferes. One of my kids gets sick, a friend needs some last minute help or my house is just so messy that I can’t even look at it anymore. On the rare occasions that I have time to write, inspiration will not always strike. My characters are as tempestuous as I am and I’m guessing that they are pouting after being ignored for so long.

If you could meet any author, who would it be? That is such a tough question. There are so many good choices! My top three would be Agatha Christie, Lucy Maude Montgomery and J.K. Rowling. (I am a HUGE Potterhead.) Since J.K. Rowling is the only one that is still living, that would have to be my choice since I am not currently in possession of a time machine.

What do you want readers to take away from your books? I want them to laugh! As a reader, I tend to go for light, fun books since my life is so busy and can be quite stressful. When I actually have five minutes to myself and I decide to be decadent and read, I would like to laugh out loud. It is such a wonderfully cathartic feeling that I would like to share with as many people as I can.

What are you working on now? I am currently working on the last installment in my French Twist series, French Fry.  Sydney and Louis have finally gotten through their three weddings (intrigued, aren’t you?) and are ready to settle into a quiet married life. Given that their courtship and marriage was quite the rollercoaster ride, it is highly unlikely that this will happen for them…

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Blurb of “French Toast”: Sydney Bennett is back! And her pursuit of perfection is alive and well. Naïve to the core, Sydney believed that when she finally married the man of her dreams, the hard part was over. Following a civil ceremony as a means to keep Louis from being deported, Sydney continues to plan the fairytale wedding that she had dreamed of since the age of five. Much to her chagrin, she discovers that her mother-in-law is planning what seems to be a rival wedding in France that SHE has been dreaming about for her only child since before he was born. How will poor Sydney be able to ensure two perfect weddings in the midst of Louis’ fruitless job search? Especially when her mother-in-law’s idea of perfection appears to be having Sydney embarrass herself in front of hundreds of French people that she has never met?

As if she didn’t have enough on her mind already, Sydney finds herself faced with the trials and tribulations of being a wife. Sydney had always heard that marriage was hard, but she thought that this was just a ruse that married couples portrayed in a bid to make single girls feel less desperate. But as the bills pile up and emotions run high, she realizes that there may just be some truth to this statement. And as she watches Louis’ perfection fade away before her very eyes, she begins to wonder if she made a rash decision in marrying a man that she had known for a mere six months.

With all of the obstacles that Sydney and Louis will encounter, will they be raising their glasses in celebration or watching their impulsive marriage crash and burn? One thing is for certain, Sydney and Louis Durand are headed for one hell of a toast…

Excerpt of “French Toast”:

Meet Sydney Durand

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.  She couldn’t possibly be serious.  Could she?  I opened my eyes, looked over at Louis and tried to smile.  I can only imagine the look that registered on my face, but I highly doubt it was anything remotely positive.  Louis had just finished telling me about his mother’s latest plans for our wedding.  I took another deep breath and reminded myself, yet again, that I had agreed to let her plan the wedding in its entirety (with the exception of choosing my wedding dress.)  Why would I agree to something so completely insane?  It might have had something to do with the fact that this would be our third wedding.

That’s right, I said THIRD wedding and no, I do not have an Elizabeth Taylor complex.  And I can prove it!  Allow me to give you the short version.  After a disastrous romantic history dating back to college, I, Sydney Bennett, was swept off of my feet by the incredible Frenchman, Louis Durand.  Louis was in California on business, but following our first week together, he accepted a transfer from his company’s Paris office to the San Jose office.  To the great shock of our families and friends, we became engaged a few weeks later.  We began planning a beautiful wedding in Monterey for the following September, only to be thwarted by Louis’ unexpected job loss in January.  In order to avoid his deportation, we were married shortly thereafter in my home town of Haverstraw, New York.  So that my dreams of a beautiful wedding would not be crushed, we elected to have the originally planned event in Monterey as well.  Everyone needs gorgeous wedding photos!  The first wedding was definitely more practical than gorgeous.

One would think that two weddings would be more than enough for one couple in love, but due to Louis’ status as an only child with an extremely large extended family and his mother’s dream of a wedding that his whole town (population four hundred) would attend, we simply had to have one more wedding.  Besides, a wedding in the beautiful French countryside sounded amazing, right?   This way my family and I would have the opportunity to experience the wedding customs of Louis’ country as he and his family would experience the customs of ours at the wedding in Monterey.  (The first wedding was kind of light on customs as it was predominantly a vehicle to keep Louis in the country.)  My mother and siblings were thrilled at the prospect of a trip to France, while my father bemoaned the fact that he would have to set foot in traitorous territory.  He is German and likes to complain.  Although I was absolutely sure that he was practically drooling at the prospect of the gastronomic experiences in his future.

While three weddings did afford a certain amount of stress, in the end, I think that it helped me.  My mother had planned the first wedding (in the span of one week), I was planning the second wedding (in the span of one year) and Louis’ mother was planning the third (in the span of Louis’ lifetime.)  This allowed for all parties to end up with a wedding they were happy with.  I must admit that the idea having three different wedding dresses is kind of fun.  Hey, now!  There is no need to judge!  The three events are very different levels of formality.  The first was an informal town hall wedding, the second would be a formal evening wedding and the third would be an afternoon wedding in the French countryside.  If you really think about it, you will realize that having three wedding dresses is an absolute necessity.

Now that my seemingly ludicrous statement of three weddings has been explained, we can return to the problem at hand.  Louis has just informed me that his mother, Simone, has purchased an ensemble for me to wear to the rehearsal dinner.  (Honestly, this is becoming comical.  This will be our THIRD rehearsal dinner.)  Let me remind you that Louis’ mother has a very…particular fashion sense.  All of the garments she wears are short, tight, brightly colored and/or bedazzled.  Given the fact that she is sixty years old, my hat goes off to her.  I hope that I have the guts to wear miniskirts into my sixties.  She is my hero!  Having said that, I have never been one to dress that….um…how do I put this?  Let’s just say that my taste is slightly more conservative.

Louis was practically in tears from laughing so hard as he described the dress to me.  Simone had chosen a gold sequined halter mini dress with red satin roses on the straps and red satin ruffles along the bottom of the skirt.  She also saw fit to purchase red satin stilettos with matching red satin roses on the toes.  I resisted the urge to strangle my husband and began to pace the room.  Clearly I made a serious error in judgment when I allowed Simone to make all decisions for the wedding except for my wedding dress.  In my defense, I really didn’t think that her purview extended to my wardrobe choices for pre wedding events.  It was becoming quite obvious that I had a lot to learn about her…

Excerpt from French Toast by Glynis Astie, Copyright 2014

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Filed Under: Glynis Astie Tagged With: Author Interview, Blurb, Books, Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours, Chick-Lit, Excerpt, French Toast, Glynis Astie, Romance

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