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Lauren Clark

Here’s Your Chance to Name a Christmas Anthology (and win prizes)!!

August 28, 2013 Leave a Comment

While it’s still hot in most of the US, especially here in Texas, I’m ready for colder weather and holiday seasons, Christmas in particular!

As some of you might know that I’ve written a short story for a Christmas anthology, which is being published by Simon & Fig! Along with mine, the anthology will be a collection of short stories written by five other amazing women: Cindy Arora, Lauren Clark, Laura Chapman, Libby Mercy, and Nancy Scrofano. This will be my first publication, and I’m more than thrilled. I will be an author! The title of my publication is “Meet Me Under the Mistletoe”. In the next few weeks, I will be sharing more about it, but today we’re focusing on something much more important — the title of the book.

Would you like to name the Christmas anthology? Well, if so, here’s your chance. The winner will get a free e-copy of any current Simon & Fig title, plus a $15 Amazon gift card!

Simply click HERE and leave a comment on the Simon & Fig page! It’s that easy!

**The deadline to enter your title suggestion is Tuesday, September 10th. The winner will be announced on Thursday, September 12th!

GOOD LUCK!

Filed Under: Meet Me Under the Mistletoe Tagged With: Christmas anthology, Cindy Arora, Laura Chapman, Lauren Clark, Libby Mercer, Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, Nancy Scrofano, Simon & Fig

Stardust Summer

February 20, 2013 4 Comments

StardustBanner

Blurb of “Stardust Summer”:  Single mom Grace Mason doesn’t believe in miracles, magic, or love at first sight. She likes the quiet life, complete with her eight-year-old son, their tiny house, and her teaching job. For Grace, happiness means that nothing much ever changes in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Then, one thousand miles away, tragedy strikes. A massive heart attack leaves Grace’s estranged father comatose in an Upstate New York hospital. While a team of doctors fight to keep Henry Mason alive, Grace and Evan rush to his bedside to say their final goodbyes.

Henry’s passing brings little closure for Grace, but she finds herself inexplicably drawn to her new surroundings. What begins as a short trip results in an entire summer spent with Henry’s second wife, Kathleen, and her next-door neighbor, Ryan Gordon, the town doctor. When a series of unlikely events lead to Evan’s disappearance, Grace must face her worst fears to find her son and bring him back home.

Stardust Summer explores the complexities of forgiveness, what it means to be a family, and the fabulous possibility of falling in love—again.

Guest Post

“Releasing A Backlist Title:  Scary and Satisfying”

Being a published author is frightening. Really scary.

For me, a novel’s release day is the equivalent of bungee jumping or cliff diving—complete with a pounding heart, racing pulse, and sweaty palms. (And I should mention that I’m terrified of heights!)

I have perpetual anxiety about the storyline, the characters, even the punctuation. I worry about the ending, the first sentence, and a potential sagging middle, even though a  manuscript has been read and reread a dozen times.

So what’s a writer to do?

As many of my author-friends have discussed, it would be SO nice to have a formula. A tried-and-true, no fail, plug-and-play guarantee for a blockbuster novel. If such a formula existed, I imagine the equation would go something like this:

500 Hours of Writing +  50 Hours of Editing  + 10 Hours of Proofreading

= A Great Story that Everyone Loves

 Unfortunately, no one’s discovered this equation—and when someone does—it’s unlikely that he or she will share it with me.

Don’t get me wrong—many readers DO appreciate the time spent planning a manuscript, the research that goes into a book’s development, and all of the time spent writing. Readers especially love careful proofreading—this I know for sure! But in the end, for the same readers—those people who’ve been super-sweet enough to pay hard-earned cash for an ebook or paperback—it’s only the story that matters.

I’ll say that again.

It’s only the story that matters.

Whether the effort takes five hundred hours or five minutes, the actual time spent creating a novel is irrelevant.

The story is key. Do the characters resonate? Is the setting interesting? Is the dialogue realistic?

I’m also an avid reader, so when I choose a new book and dive in, I ask myself those same questions, plus a few more. Is there enough conflict? Is the ending satisfying? Does the story stay with you after you’ve turned the last page?

With all of that in mind, the decision to release Stardust Summer was not an easy one. After all, I’d written the novel seven years earlier. It was a different time in my life. I hadn’t grown as much as a writer. It wasn’t exactly chick lit.

But, I liked the novel on a basic level. The setting—my favorite childhood vacation spot—is still a place I love. And no matter how hard I tried and how long the manuscript sat in a virtual “drawer” on my laptop, I couldn’t quite forget about the characters, their stories, and an ending that made me pretty darn happy.

More than a year ago, out of curiosity, I dug out the manuscript and sent it through cyberspace to a few trusted friends. Reliable writer-friends who would give me an unfiltered, unbiased opinions. And I braced myself for the constructive criticism. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long.

Yes, the novel needed work. No, it wasn’t terrible.

So, when life threw me a few unexpected curve balls recently, Stardust Summer nudged me again. As if to say…I’m still here. And it ended up being the perfect project on which to focus my energy. I attacked the novel with renewed vigor. Over the course of three months, I streamlined chapters, cut sections, revised dialogue, and polished each page.

I’ll admit that I’ve had a lot of questions and much advice about my decision. Why this story? Why a backlist title? Isn’t it risky? Shouldn’t authors should stick to the same genre? What if Stardust Summer isn’t successful?

I decided to release anyway. And today is the novel’s official debut! Of course, I’m back to standing on the edge of the imaginary cliff. I’m a little giddy. My nerves are shot. There’s a pit in my stomach. And, for about a month, my mind will spin off track with “what-ifs.”

As scary as it all is, this particular release day also brings with it a huge sense of relief and satisfaction—the same sort of content that comes with finishing a long project or accomplishing a difficult goal.

Now, it’s all up to you. Seven years later, it’s still only the story that matters. And you, as the reader, have the final say on that!

StardustSummerCover**Buy the “Stardust Summer!”

Amazon Kindle

B & N Nook

**About the book:

Title: Stardust Summer

Author: Lauren Clark

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Number of Pages: 280

**Contact the author, Lauren Clark:

Website  Blog  Facebook  Goodreads  Twitter  YouTube

Filed Under: Stardust Summer Tagged With: Book feature, Chick-Lit, Lauren Clark, Stardust Summer, Women's Fiction

Book Cover Reveal – PIE GIRLS

November 19, 2012 6 Comments

Today, I’m proud to reveal Lauren Clark’s book cover of PIE GIRLS!

Princess, Southern belle, and spoiled-rotten social climber Searcy Roberts swore on a stack of Bibles she’d never return to her hometown in Alabama. After eloping with her high school sweetheart and moving to Atlanta, Searcy embraces big city life Carrie Bradshaw-style. But now, Searcy has a teeny, tiny problem:  Her husband’s had a mid-life crisis. He’s quit his job, cancelled her platinum American Express, and run off with the “new” love of his life. Searcy finds herself back in Alabama with no job, no money, no husband, and no plan. After a frigid welcome home, she finds out that life in the small town Deep South is much harder at 36 than it ever was at sixteen. When she’s forced to take over her mother’s fledgling business, Searcy deals with sullen employees, strange ingredients, and the business owner next door who’s made it his mission to make her life miserable. Will ‘Pie Girls’ be an epic failure, or will Searcy find the courage to persevere?

**About the Author, Lauren Clark:

She has been a voracious reader since the age of four and would rather be stranded at the library than on a desert island. In her former life, she worked as an anchor and producer for CBS affiliates in Upstate New York and Alabama. Lauren adores her family, yoga, her new Electra bike, and flavored coffee. She lives near the Florida Gulf Coast. Visit her website at LaurenClarkBooks.com.

**Contact Lauren!

Lauren Clark Books

Facebook

Goodreads

Twitter

Filed Under: Lauren Clark Tagged With: Book reveal, Chick-Lit, Lauren Clark, Pie Girls

Lauren Clark

August 20, 2012 8 Comments

Q & A with Lauren Clark

In five sentences, tell us about yourself:  I am a mom to two great boys. I live in a historic house (aka The Money Pit) in a wonderful neighborhood in the Deep South. I adore the color pink (I have a pink cell phone case, a pink Kindle cover, etc). I used to be a TV news anchor and once interviewed Eliot Spitzer (client # 9…eww!). I have no sense of direction (It’s terrible. Ask my husband).

Have you always wanted to be a writer?  Not always. My parents love to remind me that I wanted to grow up to be an Indian Princess named Tiger Lily!

Do you have a system for writing and editing? If so, what is it?  I have to plot first, as my writing meanders all over the place if I don’t! My first-ever manuscript (probably 7 years ago) was a mess to fix!! I learned my lesson then, and now start out with note cards to brainstorm ideas for chapters, later type up a rough outline on my Mac, and then, get to work. The library is one of my favorite places to work, as it’s really quiet, allows coffee (with a lid), and I don’t have the password for the Internet connection!

What kind of research do you do for your books?  With Dancing Naked in Dixie, I had visited Eufaula a dozen or more times, so I was very familiar with the setting. Now, however, I live four hours away, so I spent a lot of time on MapQuest and GoogleEarth to make sure my locations were accurate. I also fact-checked with books about the history of Barbour County and, of course, the official “Eufaula Pilgrimage” website.

George Clooney or Ryan Gosling?  Ryan Gosling.

Which do you prefer, coffee or tea?  Coffee. Flavored coffee, please!!

What are your guilty pleasures?  I adore flavored coffee and drink wayyyy too much of it! I am also totally smitten with Downton Abbey. I loved every episode and cannot wait for Season 3!!

What are you reading right now?  Divergent (audiobook). It is sooo good that I want to stay in my car and keep listening!

If you could write anywhere, where would it be?  Santorini, Greece

What other authors inspire you?   Sophie Kinsella, Jodi Picoult, Stephen King (love his book, On Writing)

Do you have any upcoming projects?  I am working on story about The Pie Lab, which is an actual restaurant in Greensboro, Alabama. It’s a great little place, has wonderful pies (both dessert pies and quiche-type pies), and provides a place where local folks can get on-the-job training. My protagonist is a young woman who’s vowed never to return to Greensboro (her hometown), but is forced to do so when her husband leaves her for another man.

Additional comments by Lauren:  The highest compliment a reader can pay an author is to write a quick review for sites like Amazon, BN.com, and GoodReads. It means the world to me and it’s helpful to see what people liked about the book (or thought could be improved). Also, I love getting email and answer every message!

**Visit Lauren at any of the below links:

Email: laurenclarkbooks@gmail.com.

Lauren Clark Books Website

GoodReads Lauren Clark

Facebook Lauren Clark

Twitter Lauren Clark

Filed Under: Lauren Clark Tagged With: Books, Chick-Lit, Guest Author, Lauren Clark, Writing

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