tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738845799901886132024-03-14T11:00:51.112-07:00The Newport Ladies Book Club4 women, 4 books, 4 lives changed through friendshipMeet the Authors!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15254394979151479384noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-66247602605768808942014-09-27T16:19:00.002-07:002014-09-29T19:23:10.190-07:00Signings for TYING THE KNOT<b>October 4, 2014</b>, we will be signing TYING THE KNOT for Ladies Night at Deseret Book (various stores), all on the same night. Come say hi!<b> 6:00-8:00 p.m.</b> <br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Josi S. Kilpack:</b> Logan Deseret Book<br />
<div>
1309 N MAIN ST STE 150</div>
LOGAN UT<br />
<br />
<b>Julie Wright: </b> Las Vegas Deseret Book<br />
<div>
5750 CENTENNIAL CENTER BLVD</div>
LAS VEGAS NV <br />
<br />
<b>Heather B. Moore:</b> Fort Union Deseret Book<br />
<div>
1110 FORT UNION BLVD</div>
MIDVALE UT<br />
<br />
<b>Annette Lyon: </b>Fort Union Deseret Book<br />
<div>
1110 FORT UNION BLVD</div>
MIDVALE UT<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXB38jLpgHcVSA6MPNsxN2I_A5zc7p67OMogVya7n89SdOgCV5aX9eSBGHglzpStoELJOivJniHaNR3F4Rvy6r7qmQSAtDC2kdQrLXFR0-5bhlrw3vJJA4diumHZ7Mzlpe9eJl1uciVNmJ/s1600/Tying+the+Knot_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXB38jLpgHcVSA6MPNsxN2I_A5zc7p67OMogVya7n89SdOgCV5aX9eSBGHglzpStoELJOivJniHaNR3F4Rvy6r7qmQSAtDC2kdQrLXFR0-5bhlrw3vJJA4diumHZ7Mzlpe9eJl1uciVNmJ/s1600/Tying+the+Knot_COVER.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
+Heather Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11634399663804195312noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-80187647354840435632014-08-11T07:00:00.000-07:002014-08-11T07:00:00.734-07:00How Did You Know?by Annette<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fewer
things are as satisfying as a writer as when a reader comes to you and says
something like, “How did you know what that’s like? You nailed it.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I’ve
had comments along those lines about a number of books. One reader, a woman who’d
married a widower, asked how I’d known how it felt, because my main character
in <i>Lost Without You</i> struggled with
the very same things this reader had. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">More
than once, I had military wives email to say that surely I was a military wife
too, because there was “no way” I could possibly know what it was like
otherwise for <i>Band of Sisters</i> and the
sequel, <i>Band of Sisters: Coming Home</i>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">No,
I haven’t married a widower. I’m not a military wife. Nor do I have an eating
disorder. I’ve never been divorced. I’ve also never dealt with racism personally.
Or a dozen (more) things I’ve written about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
most cases, it’s high praise to think you managed to create characters and
events that ring true when they aren’t things you’ve personally gone through. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But
I ran into a slightly different situation recently regarding my most recent
contribution to the Newport Ladies Book Club, and it made me smile. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Someone
I know beckoned me over and asked in a slightly worried tone, “I just finished
reading <i>Ilana’s Wish</i>. And, um… How
did you know so much about addiction?” Her tone clearly implied that maybe I
had a problem, a dark past, to confess. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">To
ease her mind and lighten the moment, I said the first thing that came to mind:
“I’ve watched a lot of Dr. Phil over the years.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">That’s
actually true, in a sense. I really do watch the good doctor; his is one of the
few shows I’ll bother recording and watching. One reason is that it’s
educational, but another part is purely for characterization and research.
Really. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So
when I began writing <i>Ilana’s Wish</i>, I’d
already seen a lot I could use. After all, Dr. Phil has had a ton of addicts on
his show. After seeing enough of them, you start to see patterns. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
assured the concerned loved one that I didn’t personally have a drug addiction,
but as the conversation moved elsewhere, I realized that I could have given her
a fuller answer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
<i>do</i> know what chronic pain is like. I
drew a lot of Ilana’s experience with pain from reality in that way. I have had
chronic migraines for over a decade (and no, please don’t give me your cure; I
can guarantee I’ve tried it). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And
I’ve <i>seen</i> people with various addictions
in real life, some actively battling the addiction, others in denial, like
Ilana. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I’ve
come to see that most people in the world have something they cling to as a
crutch that can easily become an addiction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
the majority of the population, that addiction isn’t as menacing and scary as
drugs or alcohol, but that doesn’t mean the addiction is any less real. I even
heard a man say recently that his marriage had ended in divorce because of his
addiction to fitness and to triathlons in particular. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Possibly
the most common addiction, and one that’s publicly acceptable to a great
degree, is food addiction. It’s what we celebrate with. Mourn with. De-stress
with. Fight boredom with. And we can’t stop it cold turkey or even gradually.
We <i>have </i>to eat. You can’t be “clean”
of food. For that reason, I think food addictions may be some of the hardest to
fight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">How
many chocolate-themed memes are out there, with sayings like “Hand over the
chocolate, and no one gets hurt”? And we just laugh. And we eat more chocolate.
Sometimes it’s an innocent joke, but many women really are food addicts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I’m
guilty of laughing along, although the process of writing Ilana’s story helped
me recognize the need to face own my emotions head on and to really feel them,
even when doing so is uncomfortable and painful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Numbing
our emotions with chocolate (or potato chips or French fries or a shake or something
else) isn’t the solution. It really isn’t, even when it feels good in the
moment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
that sense, I really do relate to Ilana, and that’s the part of myself I drew
from when writing her story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Having
been on prescription painkillers for pain, I’ve faced thoughts of <i>What if</i> regarding addiction. <i>What if I were to get addicted? What can I
do to be sure I don’t? </i>It’s a scary thing to consider.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
the same way, Ilana’s story came from that vulnerable part of me where emotions
can be scary and hard to face. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
hope a lot of readers can see themselves in her story, as I did. Not in
full-blown drug addiction (or I hope not, for everyone’s sake), but perhaps in
an increased awareness that maybe, just maybe, there could be a healthier way
of coping and managing our emotions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But
back to that reader, and to any <i>other</i>
reader with the same worry: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">How
did I know so much about addiction? I researched it. I talked with a friend who
is a recovering addict and picked her brain thoroughly. I really did think back
on episodes of Dr. Phil. As I mentioned, I drew on my own experience with
chronic pain. I observed other people who I believe are addicts with different
types of addictions. I paid attention to their excuses and justifications and
behaviors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So
no worries that I’m in Ilana’s situation; I promise I’m not. I just do my
research and have a good imagination. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">That’s
what writers do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Annette Lyonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12493583432919249814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-67062180114870727692014-07-09T09:29:00.000-07:002014-07-09T09:29:06.021-07:00Rafflecopter Winners!We've emailed all of the winners, but if your name is below and you didn't receive an email, please let us know!<br />
<br />
<b>Winner of $100 Amazon Gift Card:</b><br />
<br />
Cathy Jeppson<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Winners of 7-book ebook series of the Timeless Romance Anthologies (we added a #6 winner):</b><br />
<br />
Teddie Bateman<br />
<br />
Amberly Stevenson<br />
<br />
Gayle Humphreys<br />
<br />
Jacqueline Stephens<br />
<br />
Sarah Kelley<br />
<br />
Christene Houston Heather Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11634399663804195312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-19981320629648547452014-07-01T07:16:00.000-07:002014-07-01T12:36:23.433-07:00Launch week for TYING THE KNOT!We are excited for the official release of TYING THE KNOT! This is the 9th and final book in The Newport Ladies Book Club series. We hope you'll love it!
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMHzaMiUxrnCPoAoaeN0SwcqOY1JzVrqyrNZIKpaofKvSYz54DvIqSicVEueSa_lliPMgoe6HDLtJOntBGYIrecTtJvzjtnucBYiqaQVt4ozpyvQyg2MR2Yse375cS75m3MTouao5tZp5/s1600/Tying+the+Knot_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMHzaMiUxrnCPoAoaeN0SwcqOY1JzVrqyrNZIKpaofKvSYz54DvIqSicVEueSa_lliPMgoe6HDLtJOntBGYIrecTtJvzjtnucBYiqaQVt4ozpyvQyg2MR2Yse375cS75m3MTouao5tZp5/s320/Tying+the+Knot_COVER.jpg" /></a></div>
We have a fabulous rafflecopter available for one week only!
You'll be entered to win an $100 Amazon gift card and the complete E-book set of the award-winning Timeless Romance Anthology series, which includes romance novellas by all of us.
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c4b6ef1/" id="rc-c4b6ef1" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//widget.rafflecopter.com/load.js"></script>
Prizes include $100 Amazon gift card:
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxe-p9ezbYs3e9EJH-9Igt4t0LwolxbO6L6c71LYnQGug0VZm1m7_3buGTy1kR1WHTYbx2ZbF3TGIuhvYrQYE35XKzK2baV0o3dgh8D2XDpCegYaGniOWN6Bw28PnjzzBiLNNTdic2O2GP/s1600/100+Amazon+gift+card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxe-p9ezbYs3e9EJH-9Igt4t0LwolxbO6L6c71LYnQGug0VZm1m7_3buGTy1kR1WHTYbx2ZbF3TGIuhvYrQYE35XKzK2baV0o3dgh8D2XDpCegYaGniOWN6Bw28PnjzzBiLNNTdic2O2GP/s320/100+Amazon+gift+card.jpg" /></a></div>
And 5 people will win the complete E-book set of the Timeless Romance Anthology series:
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDEvGCCC28v1gu5EwIE_jni_kSxZdlGqOUVY3uPTSXkOGEDj3mb9VaaXZ2-uUlmWazvZhA1V3TLFU-ohl14O4peOnC5pX7ts3t15-6WHtHYEHaxRt1Blm3Yz6ltQWI03CjfXyVqtiYbkcN/s1600/TimelessRomance_BANNER+Facebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDEvGCCC28v1gu5EwIE_jni_kSxZdlGqOUVY3uPTSXkOGEDj3mb9VaaXZ2-uUlmWazvZhA1V3TLFU-ohl14O4peOnC5pX7ts3t15-6WHtHYEHaxRt1Blm3Yz6ltQWI03CjfXyVqtiYbkcN/s320/TimelessRomance_BANNER+Facebook.jpg" /></a></div>
You can purchase the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L8BLVG2/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1BERH1PA5QK8AB2QVF7G&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846">Kindle or Paperback version here</a>. Also available at <a href="http://deseretbook.com/Newport-Ladies-Book-Club-Tying-Knot-Josi-S-Kilpack/i/5125975">Deseretbook.com</a> and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tying-the-knot-josi-kilpack/1119730670?ean=9781621087939">Barnes & Noble</a>.Heather Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11634399663804195312noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-72192306351039172932014-05-28T14:44:00.003-07:002014-05-28T14:44:51.881-07:00Coming in July 2014!You can now <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tying-Knot-Newport-Ladies-Novel/dp/162108793X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401313438&sr=1-4&keywords=tying+the+knot" target="_blank">pre-order</a> TYING THE KNOT, the 9th and final volume of The Newport Ladies Book Club series.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Below is the description:</b><br />
<br />
When Athena Di Jasper accepts dashing bookstore owner
Grey Ronning’s proposal for marriage and
they sit down to work out the details of the wedding,
they discover it’s a daunting task. Most of Athena’s
family lives in Greece, so Athena and Grey decide
there’s only one thing they can do: take a cruise and
have a destination wedding in Athens—and with
their trademark show of support, the women of the
Newport Ladies Book Club are going international
with them.<br />
<br />
The cruise turns out to be life changing for more
than Athena and Grey. Aboard the ship, each book club
lady unfolds a new chapter of her life. In this
final installment of the beloved Newport Ladies
Book Club series, discover what’s in store for Athena,
Ruby, Ilana, Olivia, Victoria, Daisy, Paige, and
Shannon. From mending marriages to overcoming
addictions, the women of this remarkable group
meet their triumphs and tragedies as they always
have: together.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirqbr8bDnMl_bHoWXVEbQ8tPSU_vixYPjE_c2oKzRtTkxzGR1Zum41Qo51DTf5jgqYWYYozICOkPR1xkLIyvQsXFonQCObC8YyZATioJPh9VffgZYDQ3VdhVs3XEuDB0Xb52hPxTdrmBw4/s1600/Tying+the+Knot_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirqbr8bDnMl_bHoWXVEbQ8tPSU_vixYPjE_c2oKzRtTkxzGR1Zum41Qo51DTf5jgqYWYYozICOkPR1xkLIyvQsXFonQCObC8YyZATioJPh9VffgZYDQ3VdhVs3XEuDB0Xb52hPxTdrmBw4/s1600/Tying+the+Knot_COVER.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
Heather Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11634399663804195312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-5425687547157746742014-04-21T12:30:00.001-07:002014-05-07T14:09:27.011-07:00COVER REVEAL: Tying the Knot<b>Coming Summer 2014! </b><br />
<br />
<b>Add to your <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22050426-tying-the-knot" target="_blank">Goodreads List</a>! </b><br />
<br />
We are excited to announce the <b>9th</b> and<b> final</b> book in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_18?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the%20newport%20ladies%20book%20club&sprefix=the+newport+ladies%2Cstripbooks%2C266&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Athe%20newport%20ladies%20book%20club" target="_blank">The Newport Ladies Book Club series</a>. If you are amazed, we are just a little amazed as well. This book was written in answer to many of our readers who wanted more of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Newport-Ladies-Book-Club-ebook/dp/B007VP01WE/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=02WFE2ZXQSECGX33TWMF" target="_blank">Daisy's</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Newport-Ladies-Book-Club-Paige-ebook/dp/B008SFPMSY/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398108544&sr=1-4&keywords=the+newport+ladies+book+club" target="_blank">Paige's </a>stories, along with a few of the other ladies. <i>Tying the Knot</i> takes place <i>after </i>all of the other novels in the timeline. All eight of the women are in this novel, and the chapters have alternating points of view from each of the women. We wrote this book in round-robin style, which is why all of our names are on the cover. We spent a day plotting the story, then passed on the manuscript as we finished each chapter. The next author would read from the beginning, editing as she went, then write her next chapter, then pass it to the next person. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHPsVRQvupenBFkG6JsQk0-_r9z7X6x-C0NXS5-sTkqaB3hGf_0Xhkt_uouN9i2UfcLRi4x3Sn0_AmtQZIBJakPSxbjG7Tkv3QqQ3_wXKCffY2D8Sr8euT_7_8-HUpmSe1eruRYhi8CBQk/s1600/Tying+the+Knot_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHPsVRQvupenBFkG6JsQk0-_r9z7X6x-C0NXS5-sTkqaB3hGf_0Xhkt_uouN9i2UfcLRi4x3Sn0_AmtQZIBJakPSxbjG7Tkv3QqQ3_wXKCffY2D8Sr8euT_7_8-HUpmSe1eruRYhi8CBQk/s1600/Tying+the+Knot_COVER.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />Heather Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11634399663804195312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-11971234346698052692014-02-07T19:11:00.000-08:002014-02-07T19:13:27.137-08:00Cover Reveal: Ilana's WishWe're only about eight weeks away from the release of <i>Ilana's Wish</i>, the final stand-alone novel in the series!<br />
<br />
Here's the cover:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicnE5X_4Z6-DZsq6YZQkSAbUWqEAvmrwy7FeN4z2NLNoiqr6RKB7Yhh95QIVPaBQ5vp59-SEozzbLXvOD3J5Nl58YK9DoZdO7fFkngJvf2A8vlJq3rJYI1hJ01e6Q9rQZtvC21Apuo4uY/s1600/Ilanas+Wish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicnE5X_4Z6-DZsq6YZQkSAbUWqEAvmrwy7FeN4z2NLNoiqr6RKB7Yhh95QIVPaBQ5vp59-SEozzbLXvOD3J5Nl58YK9DoZdO7fFkngJvf2A8vlJq3rJYI1hJ01e6Q9rQZtvC21Apuo4uY/s1600/Ilanas+Wish.jpg" height="640" width="425" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I can hardly believe we made it this far. It's been both a very long and very short journey, as so many things in life are. Most of all, this series has been a blessing for me.<br />
<br />
After <i>Ilana's Wish</i>, only one more book awaits: <i>Reunion</i>, which, as we've mentioned before, was co-written by all four of us, round-robin style. It's been officially submitted, and if all goes as planned, readers will finally get to see what happens to all eight women and where they end up. We've had readers asking, especially those without everything wrapping up in a tidy bow at the end of their books like Paige and Daisy. I'm pleased with how <i>Reunion</i> turned out, and I think readers will be happy with it too<br />
<br />
Remember, <i>Victoria's Promise</i> is in stores and available on Kindle now, and <i>Ilana's Wish</i> will be released in April!<br />
<br />
<br />Annette Lyonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12493583432919249814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-29939928251312223242014-01-27T15:14:00.000-08:002014-01-27T15:14:14.469-08:00Author PerksIt's super fun when the doorbell rings and I am still in black yoga pants and a t shirt with my hair pulled into a bedraggled sort of ponytail. Feet are bare. Teeth are not brushed. Yes, it <em>is</em> after ten in the morning. Thank you for asking. (And people think an author's life is so glamorous . . . if by glamorous you mean afraid to answer your own door, then yes, yes it is) It is that moment when I wonder, "Do I dare answer? What if it's important? What if my dog bit the pool guy while I wasn't paying attention? Or what if it's a random stranger selling girl scout cookies?"<br />
<br />
At the thought of the cookies, I actually get up to answer the door. The pool guy can take care of himself. I have homeowner's insurance. The cookie salesman, however, waits for no one.Curses! It wasn't the cookie salesman. I swear the Girls Scouts of America do not try hard enough to search me out and sell me calories I don't need but desperately want. Happily, it wasn't the pool guy missing appendages either. What it was instead was a box on my doorstep. Our postwoman always rings the bell when she's leaving a package. She is terribly considerate that way.<br />
<br />
Inside the box were my author copies of my latest book <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Newport-Ladies-Book-Club-Victorias-ebook/dp/B00HJZOYBK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1390860618&sr=1-1&keywords=victorias+promise" href="http://www.amazon.com/Newport-Ladies-Book-Club-Victorias-ebook/dp/B00HJZOYBK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1390860618&sr=1-1&keywords=victorias+promise" target="_blank"><em>Victoria's Promise</em>!</a> HOORAY! The Newport Ladies Book Club series marches ever onward. I love this book. It's super fun, filled with heart and all those aching love-sicky feelings that a good romance should have. I dedicated it to my ever-inspiring editor, Kirk Shaw, who ditched me to go be a lawyer. He is so lucky I love him and haven't used the voodoo doll I bought of him when he told me he was leaving me. Actually, I am super proud of him for making good choices for his family and am so grateful that he helped me be the writer I am.<br />
<br />
Victoria's Promise turned out really well. I am pleased with my finished written product--pleased with how well it tied into the series and how the other Newport ladies helped Victoria on her journey. Feel free to go see the nice reviews on Amazon. I love people who leave nice reviews. We won't talk about how I feel about those <em>other</em> people. Didn't their grandmothers teach them not to say anything when they didn't have anything nice to say? So sad they missed out on a valuable education. Actually, there's a lot to be learned in the not-so-nice reviews as well. Anyway, I digress.<br />
The point is that I have my author copies and books in the mail is always super fun. Feel free to go buy a copy. I may not be Lord Byron, but I am infinitely more entertaining.<br />
<div class="mceTemp">
<dl class="wp-caption alignnone" data-mce-style="width: 310px;" id="attachment_863" style="width: 310px;">
<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://juliewright.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/IMG_2907.jpg" href="http://juliewright.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/IMG_2907.jpg"><img alt="Author Copies!" class=" wp-image-863" data-mce-src="http://juliewright.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/IMG_2907-300x225.jpg" height="225" src="http://juliewright.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/IMG_2907-300x225.jpg" width="300" /></a></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd">Author Copies! And as a fun aside, my book has a doppelganger. The first person to discover the title of my book's doppelganger will receive a prize. Hint . . . it has something to do with the red bike. Leave a comment with the title to win cool prize.</dd></dl>
</div>
<br />
Julie Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15311231654035295596noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-37463557006794637172014-01-23T06:25:00.000-08:002014-01-23T06:25:25.935-08:00REUNION book is turned in!After months of round-robin writing and editing, we have turned in the REUNION book to our publisher.<br />
<br />
<i>Reunion</i> is the final installment of the Newport Ladies Book Club. After hearing from our readers and reviewers that they wanted more about Paige's story and Daisy's story, we decided to write a final volume.<br />
<br />
We are hoping for a summer 2014 release. We'll keep you posted!Heather Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11634399663804195312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-77343827917719329692014-01-04T09:31:00.000-08:002014-01-04T09:44:23.880-08:00Cover Reveal! Victoria's Promise<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFAFc4sI8NxK8n0rkr-sI-2k38sjzI9kYkd06TNJ7ac-CeKP84HqrC5GcUPUYcGK3NndrXEsBEqnWhpP3o4PxVTJRRf6Q45rE9P5eQhvs_ecCygBg0KZzTRnY0s3JbuvqXwEgceRTiUY/s1600/Cover_FRONT_Victorias+Promise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFAFc4sI8NxK8n0rkr-sI-2k38sjzI9kYkd06TNJ7ac-CeKP84HqrC5GcUPUYcGK3NndrXEsBEqnWhpP3o4PxVTJRRf6Q45rE9P5eQhvs_ecCygBg0KZzTRnY0s3JbuvqXwEgceRTiUY/s320/Cover_FRONT_Victorias+Promise.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
A luxurious mansion. Thirty stunning bachelorettes. One very eligible bachelor. All of the ingredients are in place for a successful reality dating show, and behind the scenes, Tori Winters is set to pull the romantic strings as assistant director of Vows. Despite her distaste for public exhibitions of love—which spelled the death of her last relationship—Tori intends to give the public exactly what they want: scintillating footage of a bevy of beauties vying for the attention of Christopher Caine. But Chris, a consummate Southern gentleman and the star of Vows, seems almost too good to be true—and soon, even Tori finds herself falling under his spell. Despite legal obligations to avoid fraternizing with the talent, it’s clear her feelings are anything but unrequited. With the support of her friends in the Newport Ladies Book Club, Tori must make a life-altering decision: is she willing to jeopardize all she’s worked for in order to embrace her own fairy-tale ending?<br />
<br />
Victoria's Promise releases January 15th! So be on the look out for it!Julie Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15311231654035295596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-86622897526613340732013-10-03T15:02:00.000-07:002013-10-03T15:06:50.969-07:00So What Exactly Is Happening with the 2nd Set, Anyway?We have so many wonderful readers who have followed the women in the Newport Ladies Book Club on the first leg of their journeys, and now some readers are eagerly asking for clarification about what's happening with the second set because they don't want to miss a single book. (Hooray!)<br />
<br />
For a brief period, several parts of the publishing equation were in flux, so we couldn't answer the questions with clarity. While we still don't have exact dates, we <i>do</i> have some solid information and thought it would be good to pass it along to our fans!<br />
<br />
<b>A brief refresher: </b><br />
The first set of Newport Ladies titles cover October through February, and feature <i>Olivia</i>, <i>Daisy</i>, <i>Paige</i>, and <i>Athena. </i>While they were published in that order, they are parallel stories, so they can be read in any order.<br />
<br />
Those who have read them all will know how you'll see the other characters pop up in each book, along with elements of what happens in their stories, but you won't know the end of their story until you read their book, and you won't know what they're really thinking and feeling and all of that without reading their book.<br />
<br />
<b>Now for the second set! </b><br />
We get to focus on the other four ladies in the book club, and the timeline begins where the first set left off, beginning in February and covering the next four months. These are also parallel novels, but you'll find some differences from the last set.<br />
<br />
For one thing, there is less cross-over in plots this time. Some of that was a result of logistics: the four of us weren't able to get together for planning and writing sessions quite as much as with the first set. This means that as before, each book stands alone; it may stand even<i> more</i> alone than the titles in the first set, if that makes sense.<br />
<br />
Another change is in the covers, which have a slightly different feel to them, and which don't include the series banner. The titles are now more than the main character's name.<br />
<br />
<b>Here's the current lineup:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<i>Shannon's Hope, </i>by Josi S. Kilpack. Release date: July 2013<br />
<b><i>On sale now, in both <a href="http://deseretbook.com/Shannons-Hope-Josi-S-Kilpack/i/5110875">paperback</a> and e-book on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shannons-Hope-ebook/dp/B00D4D4GOQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380837950&sr=8-1&keywords=shannon%27s+hope">Kindle</a> or on the <a href="http://deseretbook.com/Shannons-Hope-Josi-S-Kilpack/i/5113251">Deseret Book e-bookshelf</a>!</i></b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Ruby's Secret, </i>by Heather B. Moore. Release date: Fall 2013.<br />
<br />
<i>Victoria's Promise, </i>by Julie Wright. Release date: Early 2014.<br />
<br />
<i>Ilana's Wish</i>, by Annette Lyon. Release date: Spring 2014.<br />
<br />
<br />
This series has been an absolute labor of love for us. We've all learned so much in the process, and the stories these books tell are ones dear to our hearts.<br />
<br />
As always, thank you so much for your support of the series! We had a feeling that there were readers itching for women's fiction, and seeing the concept of the series turn into published books read by excited fans has been enormously fulfilling!<br />
<br />Annette Lyonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12493583432919249814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-37847257038454358202013-09-20T11:08:00.002-07:002013-09-20T11:08:59.761-07:00Book Signing September 28, 2013With the recent release of <i>Shannon's Hope </i>by Josi Kilpack, we'll be doing a book signing at the Seagull Book in Sandy, UT, in conjunction with the Celebrating Sisterhood event. Location is 10673 So. State Street in Sandy.<br />
<br />
<b>September 28, 9:00 am - 11:00 am. </b><br />
<br />
Hope you can join us!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nk3KAcwEo_wtICA7GvwSJTXerl8MV_l5OMo8yc9UvrBttDlZ11RdAxPLbfYfW_UfpUNU7MEjIpCth8Eth_2Nkvn99q8d2Y8g8wX9u_haOttUhKySZDV5MwJebWgObnUBoKDMqI-Nyc6G/s1600/Shannon+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nk3KAcwEo_wtICA7GvwSJTXerl8MV_l5OMo8yc9UvrBttDlZ11RdAxPLbfYfW_UfpUNU7MEjIpCth8Eth_2Nkvn99q8d2Y8g8wX9u_haOttUhKySZDV5MwJebWgObnUBoKDMqI-Nyc6G/s400/Shannon+cover.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />Heather Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11634399663804195312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-2500731743619506822013-08-20T07:07:00.002-07:002013-08-20T07:11:23.890-07:00Heather's Review of SHANNON'S HOPE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18USAIZEW-dmM0vHmR4QIBSRhuACw0p_ntkQ0ssOMPOShuOAGS3hy28bezMRcTDqjXcdQ7Jx1jcDSCcdXLhEiOqjpdoElWdhTZAXLFUHKr5GraoPEhsbb_iBZF6uIaHCj4RLB5JSDJNX0/s1600/Newport+covers+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18USAIZEW-dmM0vHmR4QIBSRhuACw0p_ntkQ0ssOMPOShuOAGS3hy28bezMRcTDqjXcdQ7Jx1jcDSCcdXLhEiOqjpdoElWdhTZAXLFUHKr5GraoPEhsbb_iBZF6uIaHCj4RLB5JSDJNX0/s320/Newport+covers+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
It might sound strange, but I hadn't read SHANNON'S HOPE by Josi S. Kilpack straight through until it was released last month. The character I was writing at the time (Ruby) has a lot of interaction with Shannon, so Josi and I were continually hammering out scenes together. But I didn't know "the end" of Shannon's journey, or some of the steps along the way.<br />
<br />
Before I met Josi, I was a fan of hers. And when she told me she read one of my books and enjoyed it, I was pretty excited since I thought she was a fabulous author. Over the years, I read everything she put out and became an avid <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lemon-Tart-Culinary-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/1606410504/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1377007338&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=sadie+hoffmiller+series" target="_blank">Sadie Hoffmiller </a>fan as well, often buying the book the first few days it hit the store, then neglecting other duties for a weekend while I read the latest Sadie adventure.<br />
<br />
So, even though I'd read portions of SHANNON'S HOPE (heck, I even wrote a few scenes that Josi then transposed into Shannon's point of view), I went all "fan girl" when the book came out. And... I love it. Josi has a way of endearing the reader to her characters, and her characters are completely flawed, sometimes broken, but always relatable.<br />
<br />
I hope you'll love the book as much as I did! Here's my official review:<br />
<br />
<span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextreview661666755">"SHANNON'S
HOPE kicks off the 2nd set in the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_22?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the%20newport%20ladies%20book%20club&sprefix=the+newport+ladies+boo%2Cstripbooks%2C217&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Athe%20newport%20ladies%20book%20club" target="_blank">Newport Ladies Book Club series</a>. You
can start with this one, or read the 1st set (Daisy, Olivia, Paige,
Athena). Shannon is a pharmacist, married, with a 12 year old son. She's
also Ruby Crenshaw's niece and gets roped into attending the book club
by her aunt. Just before one of the meetings, her step-daughter comes
back into her life after a failed stint in rehab. Determined to help
Keisha in anyway she can, Shannon brings her step-daughter to book club.<br /><br />What
follows it a gripping, heart-wrenching story of a woman who only wants
to help her step-daughter overcome her addictions and get her life back
on track. In the author's introduction to the novel, she says, 'In my
years of writing there are few books I've written that have explored
things that are a part of my personal experience. SHANNON was one of
those books for me . . . I have been a participant in the 'dance' of
addiction and codependency and boundaries and letting go and forgiving .
. . There is a fine line between hope and hopelessness sometimes;
between love and self-preservation; between kindness and enabling . . .
If you are a dancer, on any side of the issue, of which there are many
sides, I wish you peace and perspective as you figure out your own
steps.'<br /><br />Thank you, Josi. I hope my journey will be stronger from learning about Shannon's hope...</span></span>"<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
SHANNON'S HOPE is available on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shannons-Hope-Josi-S-Kilpack/dp/1621084698/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377007557&sr=1-1&keywords=shannon%27s+hope" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://deseretbook.com/Shannons-Hope-Josi-S-Kilpack/i/5110875" target="_blank">Deseret Book</a> and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shannons-hope-josi-s-kilpack/1115773396?ean=9781621085317" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a> in both paperback and e-book! Heather Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11634399663804195312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-67977264693250936572013-08-06T12:22:00.000-07:002013-08-06T12:22:28.465-07:00Cover Reveal! Ruby's SecretComing October 2013...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9qYum4CdWSK3sWZ7LrTae9eGJ0WPGVQ5Wm2ZZAthNG6NB6asuYxgk_NscXGVbiTf0DJZrANk2CD8vyBhRn5YHJEwHODhm_Y9vVelJ1cJGQeB-0r7bwCsICH66XlcIweM1ENEnzGEuDrT/s1600/Ruby's+Secret_COVER+Final-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9qYum4CdWSK3sWZ7LrTae9eGJ0WPGVQ5Wm2ZZAthNG6NB6asuYxgk_NscXGVbiTf0DJZrANk2CD8vyBhRn5YHJEwHODhm_Y9vVelJ1cJGQeB-0r7bwCsICH66XlcIweM1ENEnzGEuDrT/s400/Ruby's+Secret_COVER+Final-1.jpg" width="265" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
At age sixty-two, life is finally beginning
for newly widowed Ruby Crenshaw. Her son is grown and gone, and after long
years spent as a loyal wife to her charming but unfaithful husband, she’s ready
to live the life she’s always dreamed of. Her resolve is firm: she’ll <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">never </i>make the mistake of giving her
heart to another man.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The first step in Ruby’s quest for
a carefree lifestyle was to create the Newport Ladies Book Club, an unlikely
gathering of women who have been her haven. Now she’s ready to take her newfound
independence a step further—along with her friends from the local senior
center, Ruby is jetting off to a much-needed Greece adventure. What she isn’t
prepared for is Gabriel—the group’s tour guide—a native Greek and a true
gentleman. His unquestionable charm is hard to resist. But resist she must—because
no matter their growing attraction, Ruby is not about to fall for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">charming</i> again! </div>
<br /><br />
<br />Heather Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11634399663804195312noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-52569527664761670632013-05-27T13:00:00.000-07:002013-05-27T13:00:04.652-07:00Excerpt from Shannon's Hope<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
*Shannon is Ruby's niece, a pharmacist, a wife, a mother, and a step-mom. When her step daughter, Keisha, needs a place to live, Shannon is quick to volunteer their home, certain that with her help, Keisha can overcome her past issues with addiction and meet the potential Shannon has always seen in her. <br />
<br />
Here's an excerpt from Chapter Five:<br />
<br />
{Shannon arrives home from book group, after choosing next month's book on the fly. She's allowed Keisha to borrow her car to spend the evening with a friend.} <br />
<br />
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-fareast-language:JA;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
</style> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
All the anxiety from
the book group was finished and the pending discussion about the book I’d
suggested was a month away. My two favorite men were in the other room and life
was just good and calm and peaceful here. That’s why I’d wanted Keisha to come
stay with us. I wanted her to feel the feeling I felt in our home. I wanted her
to know what it was like to be a part of a family so that she could see a different,
better future for herself. I spent a few minutes cleaning up the kitchen before
John came in for a soda.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I didn’t hear you
come in,” he said, leaning down to kiss me as he passed me on his way to the
fridge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I just got back,”
I said, adding soap to the dishwasher. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I was going to
clean up,” he said, taking in the clean counters and sinks. Tonight was his
night to do dinner and dishes. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I really didn’t
mind." </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He leaned in and
kissed me on the neck, making me smile. “Thank you.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re welcome,”
I said, looking over my shoulder and giving him a flirty smile. “How was Landon’s
game?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Great. He was two for three with his shots, and made both free throws. He’s come a
long way.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m so glad,” I
said as I rummaged in the fridge for a yogurt—Keisha ate two a day and I was
having a hard time keeping up the supply. “I wish I’d been there. That’s the
second game I’ve missed.” I didn’t say “Since Keisha had come,” but we both
knew that’s what I meant.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Where’s Keish?”
John asked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
I paused for half
a second, then kept any hesitation out of my voice when I spoke. “I let her
borrow my car to meet up with a friend.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“A friend?” John
said, pulling up on the tab of his soda until it made the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pop-hiss</i> sound. He sipped the soda from the rim. “What friend?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Her name is
Jessica, I guess they were in rehab together.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Distrust pulled
his eyebrows together. “She’s never said anything about Jessica.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m sure it’s
fine. Jessica’s going to college; Keisha says she’s a good influence.” I turned
my attention to pulling the foil top off the yogurt. “She’ll be back by 11:00.”
I said the lie before I even realized I was doing it. I knew why I’d lied,
though; because John would be in bed before 11:00 and I didn’t want him to know
I’d allowed his daughter to stay out later than that without consulting him. My face
went hot with the lie, though. It wasn’t like me to be dishonest.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hmmm,” he said
before taking another drink. He looked at the clock on the stove. “I’ll wait up
for her and make sure everything’s okay when she comes in.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t do that,” I
said quickly, finding a spoon in the drawer. “You don’t want her to think we’re
checking up on her.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why not?” he said
as I took my first bite. We were both leaning against opposite counters. “She
needs to be accountable, and know we’re paying attention.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“She <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> accountable,” I said, waving my spoon
through the air. “And this is the first time she’s asked for the car; we knew
it would happen sooner or later. It’s okay. She needs to build herself a new
life here, and that means we have to let go enough for her to do that. She’s with
someone who’s clean and goal-oriented. Let’s not make too big a deal out of
this.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He was
contemplative for a few more seconds, but then he gave me a playful smile. He
reached across the space between us to grab my belt loop and pull me closer. I
offered no resistance even though I almost dropped my spoon as I crossed the
floor. “It’s good you’re here,” he said, putting his pop down on the counter
behind him and placing both hands at my waist, moving my hips as though we were
dancing. It was kinda sexy. “I’m always thinking the worst and you’re always
willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It felt good to
have his compliments, or at least it would have felt good if I deserved them,
but the lie I’d told sat heavy in my stomach. I did like seeing him softening
toward this experience, though, and held on hard to that justification for what
I’d done. I reached up and tapped him on the nose with my spoon. “If we don’t
give her a chance to prove herself, she’ll never feel successful or know how
strong she can be.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
John arched one
eyebrow. “You don’t think keeping her locked up in a tower will help her prove
her strength?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
I laughed.
“Probably not.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He leaned in and
kissed me. I put my arms around his neck even though I was still holding my
yogurt and spoon and kissed him back. “Thanks for loving my girl,” he whispered
against my lips before pulling me into a hug.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">His girl? Wasn’t she </i>our<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> girl?</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
John held me
against him for a few seconds until Landon came in and made gagging sounds,
then John dipped me and kissed me hard on the mouth, causing Landon to leave
the room completely and me to drop my yogurt. He stood me back up, kissed me
once more and helped me clean up the mess before returning to the game, leaving
me with a smile and a reminder of why I’d married this wonderful man. He had
always brought out the best in me and I liked to think I did the same for him.
Especially with Keisha. I could tell him over and over again that he’d done the
best he could at the time, but her drug issues had really done a number on his
confidence as a father. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s different
this time,” I said to the cupboards and dishes hanging out with me in the
kitchen. That was why I’d fudged on the curfew, because I needed things to be
different and I could see how easy it would be for John to lose all hope. I
could think of nothing worse than John giving up on her when she was unsteady
on these new legs. So I would hold her hand through this, and hold John’s too
and one day we’d all raise our hands triumphantly over our heads and know that
we made it work. Keisha couldn’t do this without us, and John couldn’t support
her without me. I would make this work. I had to.</div>
</div>
Josihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10615874450489497826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-30498349696619251522013-05-20T06:00:00.000-07:002013-05-21T13:28:22.167-07:00Writing Round Robin by Annette Lyon<br />
<br />
If there's anything that writing something a extensive as the Newport Ladies Book Club has taught the four of us, it's how to write differently. We've set aside our typical ways of writing and plotting and learned from each other as we've come up entirely new ways of writing as we've collaborated on the series.<br />
<br />
The second set of books (about Shannon, Victoria, Ilana, and Ruby), are already written, and as <a href="http://thenewportladiesbookclub.blogspot.com/2013/04/title-changes.html">Josi mentioned recently</a>, some this set will have some changes, including titles that are more than the characters' names.<br />
<br />
We're now in the stage of drafting the long-promised reunion book, which has been a total blast . . . in yet a totally different way.<br />
<br />
Picture this: The reunion book (as yet untitled), will be written by <i>all four</i> series authors. And it will feature all eight book club members, showing where they've traveled since we last saw them, and where they end up.<br />
<br />
All in one book.<br />
<br />
(Daunting, no? A little bit!)<br />
<br />
I know that with <i>Daisy </i>and <i>Paige</i> not ending all tied up in pretty bows, readers are eager to learn where they end up. I have a feeling that when readers see the next set of books, they'll have similar questions about some of the other characters, too.<br />
<br />
Because the reunion book is totally different than the series itself, we needed a new way of working on it.<br />
<br />
We started out by meeting together one day and hammering out an outline that included the entire arc for each character and how the different characters interact and influence each other. The challenge: Finding a way to resolve all eight stories in a short space in a way that will feel organic and satisfying rather than overwhelming and chaotic to the reader.<br />
<br />
By the end of that first day, we'd taken a ton of notes, and, I think, had a solid game plan for creating an awesome final volume.<br />
<br />
Up next came actually writing the book, which is in progress but moving right along. The master file began with Heather as she began the book with a chapter about Athena. Then she passed it on to the next person, and the next, and the next, round-robin style. Each writer edits and comments on the chapters that came before to help polish them up and maintain consistency in timeline and plot, and then they move forward with drafting the next chapter of their character's story before passing the file on to the author in charge of the next chapter's main character.<br />
<br />
Each chapter begins with the name of the character it focuses on, and those chapters are written by the same authors of the original books about those characters. (So I write the chapters about Paige and Ilana, and Josi writes about Daisy and Shannon, and so on.)<br />
<br />
By the time we're done with the round-robin drafting phase, we should have a solid book that's already been revised on some level three or four times.<br />
<br />
It's so much fun to be working on these stories, especially after looking back over the years and seeing what a long way this project has come, from a germ of an idea back in 2008 to a series that will have nine total volumes.<br />
<br />
I am continually amazed at what we've accomplished working as a team, and with the reunion book, we're once again writing something unique in a way totally new to us.<br />
<br />
I'm excited for the end product, and I'm positive readers will come away happy with where their favorite characters ended up!<br />
<br />Annette Lyonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12493583432919249814noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-37952355349451111702013-05-16T10:31:00.000-07:002013-05-16T10:31:02.537-07:00Cover Reveal: Shannon's Hope<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
With the second set of books in this series, the publisher has chosen to go a different direction with covers. Therefore, the look is different, but hopefully it will communicate the genre just as well. Click on the cover to read more about the book. The release date is set for the first week of July! Stay tuned for more details. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://thenewportladiesbookclub.blogspot.com/p/shannons-hope.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiad6O09koMTR7j-rnfYVXOIGVDr94iO6COpFdVJEarbyCuvnJxNPpF8nHdfv6H42uujam_uZJ7WwwwzhNsLCCpNw1Ux2z0wYSG4oFFMbyUcYTDgaLCeVTtQLbGfnQaDAMmTN9XY_kqqw/s320/Cover_FINAL_Shannonlr.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Meet the Authors!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15254394979151479384noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-73262891441462711592013-04-26T12:48:00.000-07:002013-04-26T12:48:00.569-07:00Title Changes With the production for the second set in the Newport series ramping up we have all been trying to gather what we learned from the first set so as to ensure success of the next four books. There was a lot learned in the process of the first books. For instance, while we all loved the beach/reading scenes on the covers for the first set, some readers had expected the books to be light fun-loving romance novels due to the bright colors and 'soft' scenes. Even<i> <a href="http://thenewportladiesbookclub.blogspot.com/p/athena.html" target="_blank">Athena,</a></i> which is the only romance of those first four books, wasn't a light fun-loving story as much as it was a woman's journey to make peace with hard changes in her life. That there was an attractive man who pushed some of those issues into the spotlight for her, wasn't the only driving force of her story. While we had great response from our readers to the stories, the cover confusion is something we want to remedy with this second set. We're not yet sure what the covers will be, but we know they will still 'match' the first set, but be more reflective of the depth of story we're telling. It is interesting to note that <i>Victoria</i> (Julie Wright 2013) <i>Ruby</i> (Heather Moore 2014) do deal with fabulous love stories. <i>Ilana</i> (Annette Lyon 2014) and <i>Shannon</i> (July 2013), however, are solid women's fiction.<br />
<br />
The other change that was suggested, to better reflect the content was to change the titles a little bit. While the first set were just the names of the character that book was about, the second set will be two word titles that include the main character's name, but also have a descriptive word. For <i>Shannon</i>, the title has been changed to <i>Shannon's Hope</i>. I will admit that I'm not in love with the change--I really like the idea of all eight books in the series matching through the single name title thing. But, I also realize that while I like to think I know how everything should be done, my part of this process is writing a really great story. The publisher studies trends and marketing aspects and reader feedback and all the other details that go in to choosing a title. So, <i>Shannon's Hope</i> it is and though I don't personally love it, I do see that it might better explain the story contained inside the pages and I am hopeful that it will help the readers as they dive into the pages.<br />
<br />
<i>Shannon's Hope</i> will be published in July of this year. I'll post a cover and a pre-order link as soon as they are available. Josihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10615874450489497826noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-88772755136368852762013-04-25T19:55:00.000-07:002013-04-25T19:58:26.592-07:00Book Club in Orem, UtahBy Heather Moore <br />
<br />
Last night I spent a great evening at a book club in Orem, Utah. It took place in the neighborhood I grew up in, and most of the ladies remembered me as a child and teenager. It's a bit disconcerting to meet up with someone 20 years later and wonder, "Was I a brat in their church class?" I think I was pretty good overall. I was fairly shy growing up, and I'm not as shy now, but I'm also not usually the loud one in the room :-)<br />
<br />
The women had all read the Newport Ladies Book Club books, some of them had read all four. I updated them on the next set of books coming out, and told them a bit about the writing process. I was very impressed with this book group. They plan well in advance, and they were already planning out their fall books. <br />
<br />
Here are some pictures from the evening.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7Wx05NL1riAYm0P-X6UFTLa28cy6gZUxf63-azEtb5CQFtI5y5WnvUl3ePF3gpnqMI6CMSLOEPA2Je0NRT9AWakwu0D7mXSVUh72aFSvOQO0nFz5AXwv94e1tJKDXZqsL8gbrXhPmk42/s1600/Orem+book+club+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7Wx05NL1riAYm0P-X6UFTLa28cy6gZUxf63-azEtb5CQFtI5y5WnvUl3ePF3gpnqMI6CMSLOEPA2Je0NRT9AWakwu0D7mXSVUh72aFSvOQO0nFz5AXwv94e1tJKDXZqsL8gbrXhPmk42/s320/Orem+book+club+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDkyZQ5uySCP92os2KnYN62hpyJrYgLqqWiU8CFcpgy9uHGxTvONqiQYtFKRe98rUHZbZq7B2k_VlzQTdPCFJ6S6_YBSjagyh8yUfi8mI491GHPyTYywjqieFLY-cm-uyHzOiS2GR-kT-/s1600/Orem+book+club+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDkyZQ5uySCP92os2KnYN62hpyJrYgLqqWiU8CFcpgy9uHGxTvONqiQYtFKRe98rUHZbZq7B2k_VlzQTdPCFJ6S6_YBSjagyh8yUfi8mI491GHPyTYywjqieFLY-cm-uyHzOiS2GR-kT-/s320/Orem+book+club+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWUPjY3pHHMvrrgmOFCYDYVvjo2fLZ6K1a6IVNHVPqE3OYhEEfQgggi8IKKSXKj4m8_79mCS-5L2zF-doSxCkGh9R-5kI5wNNxfs8Xyq_F4mW91_LJLQq5_-rphRvLouJ58lyf_cABiun/s1600/Orem+book+club.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWUPjY3pHHMvrrgmOFCYDYVvjo2fLZ6K1a6IVNHVPqE3OYhEEfQgggi8IKKSXKj4m8_79mCS-5L2zF-doSxCkGh9R-5kI5wNNxfs8Xyq_F4mW91_LJLQq5_-rphRvLouJ58lyf_cABiun/s320/Orem+book+club.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Heather Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11634399663804195312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-61959694184310768722013-03-29T04:33:00.002-07:002013-03-29T04:53:29.546-07:00Who Will Publish Shannon? Back in 2010, after Annette, Heather, Julie, and I had developed this idea and written the first 50 pages of the first set of Newport Ladies Bookclub books, we had a meeting with our publishers. I was under contract with Deseret Book and the three of them were under contract with Covenant so we brought them together to notify them of this project which was unlike anything any of us (including the publishers) had ever done.<br />
We pitched the idea of the series to them and brainstormed how this would work with two publishers interests to consider. We all then went our separate ways and for almost a year we had no idea how it would all work out. We expected that one publisher would end up doing all the books--of which we only had four planned at the time--but that's not how it came together. Instead, Deseret Book and Covenant agreed to work together on the books. They would coordinate covers and typesetting and release dates and marketing but, in the end, focus on the book(s) they were producing by the author(s) they had under contract. And it worked great. I was very pleased with the way they worked together and, from my perspective, things went quite smoothly.<br />
When all four books were done, Covenant purchased some copies of <a href="http://www.deseretbook.com/Newport-Ladies-Book-Club-Daisy-Josi-S-Kilpack/i/5076985" target="_blank"><i>Daisy</i></a> in order to make a 'set' of the books, and then we began exploring an e-book bundle. That's where things started to struggle. Would Covenant 'buy' some e-books of Daisy and bundle them with their titles? How would that work with copyrights and listings and permissions? Would they pay Deseret Book for every digital copy of Daisy, and if so, how much? If Deseret Book then sold the bundle, would they subtract the portion of profit from Daisy and pay Covenant for the other three? How would they track this? How would it work with combining ISBNs assigned to different entities? This was uncharted territory and many a brain was working on how to do this fairly, smoothly, and in the best way possible.<br />
Meanwhile, I had turned in <i>Shannon</i> and <a href="http://www.leosdungeon.com/" target="_blank">Lisa Mangum</a>, my editor, was polishing it up for publication in May of 2013. Some weeks ago I got a call from Deseret Book exploring the idea of letting Covenant publish <i>Shannon</i>. Because of the issues that had arisen in regard to <i>Daisy</i> not being produced by the same company as the other three, they were wondering if it wouldn't make everything simpler to have Covenant do all four. While <i>Daisy</i> had "worked" it had created some time consuming considerations none of us had anticipated. I wanted whatever would work best for the book and the series and all the people involved and the more we had talked, the more it sounded like my working with Covenant would be the best solution.<br />
It was a few more weeks before the shift was made but as of now, <i>Shannon</i> is in the hands of the talented Samantha Millburn. It had already been edited by Lisa Mangum, so Sam is focusing mostly on typesetting and overall production. Because of the change, <i>Shannon</i> was pushed back to July of 2013 for release. <i>Tori </i>(by Julie Wright) is slated for October 2013, with <i>Ilana</i> (by Annette Lyon) and <i>Ruby</i> (by Heather Moore) to be released in 2014. I'm positive about the change and very much appreciate Deseret Book's willingness to forgo their position (which meant giving up significant revenue) and Covenant's willingness to take on the project (which meant shifting their production schedules.) I'm grateful to both companies for doing such a great job with the first set of books and I'm eager to have the second set come out as well.<br />
The whole thing has also been a reminder of how much goes into a published work. So many people, so much investment, so much ability and time and passion and thought--all so that words can go out into the world and, hopefully, do some good.<br />
Onward and upward, I hope you'll mark your calendars to get to know <i>Shannon</i> come July. :-)Josihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10615874450489497826noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-1895761282667333272013-03-08T23:06:00.003-08:002013-03-08T23:08:35.556-08:00Meeting with Book Club in Gilbert AZA couple of weeks ago I went to the ANWA Writers Conference in Mesa, AZ. My sis-in-law organized her book club to meet while I was in town. Members of her book club read at least one of the books from The Newport Ladies Book Club series.<br />
<br />
The women took turns talking about one of the characters/books, and it was really interesting to hear what they had to say about each of the characters.We agreed that Daisy, Paige, Olivia and Athena felt like out friend.<br />
<br />
I was able to share the news that we'd just plotted the REUNION book a few days before, and I was in the process of writing the first couple of chapters (before handing it off to the next co-author). <br />
<br />
My sis-in-law served pumpkin pie and homemade hot chocolate after :-) <br />
<br />
Some pics from the evening.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1hpbdU4pxfZhuFOtIrt7e99EtEnRH0EYWz1F1cpYRFktWZv3t4CMG2BwyakBFMUbi-dC95uV2Is-z2KpJHGhNwgOZ3WyAVOViluo3DF4Jyy1bMg2RWzlXWlu3uqniollDzFnlfLuVfTw/s1600/February+2013+067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1hpbdU4pxfZhuFOtIrt7e99EtEnRH0EYWz1F1cpYRFktWZv3t4CMG2BwyakBFMUbi-dC95uV2Is-z2KpJHGhNwgOZ3WyAVOViluo3DF4Jyy1bMg2RWzlXWlu3uqniollDzFnlfLuVfTw/s320/February+2013+067.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMEkI86ZChigdCCm13rol7zDse01yO2elufcvSkJAmQx_qF6fjGGgxjMgbYHQQd_k1hBbGp6oTB6-gVi91Rwu0kXe7WxtNIxWmtqYno6ZF8egNNFL9Em_vwA9SbtXW6YjDla19oKoaNN0/s1600/February+2013+070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMEkI86ZChigdCCm13rol7zDse01yO2elufcvSkJAmQx_qF6fjGGgxjMgbYHQQd_k1hBbGp6oTB6-gVi91Rwu0kXe7WxtNIxWmtqYno6ZF8egNNFL9Em_vwA9SbtXW6YjDla19oKoaNN0/s320/February+2013+070.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaEpaVk8pJEXJXC-MazGf3-JOLXJBA-IT6oKabNHccNxxxlIpqn1oMMbKh17VKjvZVzbO0TdtpBoc1zkmy1fJdh3MRXeukrKo5l1h6-Zn0u-bJrkmHwyiFFQda5iLyyEidJAnEi2yIjbKG/s1600/February+2013+073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaEpaVk8pJEXJXC-MazGf3-JOLXJBA-IT6oKabNHccNxxxlIpqn1oMMbKh17VKjvZVzbO0TdtpBoc1zkmy1fJdh3MRXeukrKo5l1h6-Zn0u-bJrkmHwyiFFQda5iLyyEidJAnEi2yIjbKG/s320/February+2013+073.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2uZaYLG9-sb4Xjayroh5mIITcvr4PI2gLtdFMqlUuH9giS7GD5zfPRBUysUhoa-ERrBJGWzI8f6DyNypT-NWgGWBmj8SvfJihWhFqmuvwGrPJxam0aUch6w6ZJh6nI1Ie4PvEabEgPN_a/s1600/February+2013+071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2uZaYLG9-sb4Xjayroh5mIITcvr4PI2gLtdFMqlUuH9giS7GD5zfPRBUysUhoa-ERrBJGWzI8f6DyNypT-NWgGWBmj8SvfJihWhFqmuvwGrPJxam0aUch6w6ZJh6nI1Ie4PvEabEgPN_a/s320/February+2013+071.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2aoDtUGYX0AdBnlm0jNS0aSUx1_A-R5vW56TvpNp_fPDsbtHPUnhuUJCS98y1A5ZHy9402EFCmymNB7xioFkflIbvTN6aNzsBYXVM8vb7dwdhqhVLx0Vaiv8Dt-R0_Jvq2kNAHsxjLjWE/s1600/February+2013+076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Recent reads from the Gilbert book club include <i>Edenbrook </i>by Julianne Donaldson and <i>The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society</i> by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I've actually read both books and enjoyed them both.</div>
<br />Heather Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11634399663804195312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-60475565609830714522013-01-28T12:10:00.000-08:002013-01-28T12:13:41.968-08:00What's Coming NextWith Athena, the last of the four 2012 books in the series, being released in November, we have many readers asking, "what's next?" We've been asked about whether or not there will be second installments of the four books or if we'll write about the other women in the group. The answer is yes and yes.<br />
<br />
We have all completed our second 'set' of books in the series:<br />
<br />
Ruby by Heather Moore (Romance)<br />
Shannon by Josi S. Kilpack (Women's Fiction)<br />
Ilana by Annette Lyon (Women's Fiction)<br />
Victoria by Julie Wright (Romance)<br />
<br />
They are all in the hands of our editors and timetables are being decided, covers coordinated, and semi-colons fixed (except for Annette's cause she knows her punctuation.) Shannon is expected for release in May, but we're unsure if one of the other books will beat it to press. Each of our careers are continuing forward and moving us in new directions that didn't allow us the same time together that we enjoyed so much the first time around, but we still very much enjoyed taking the journey with these new women as <br />
<br />
These four books will be the final 'set' in the series, but we're not quite done yet. Because most of the books do not end with a tidy little bow in top, we will be working on a Reunion Book, where all eight women will get a few chapters each to give readers an update on what's happened since we last left them. We are very excited to put this volume together and hope that it will come out shortly after book 8. Stay tuned for more details. We'll have book information, release dates, first chapters, and covers posted here as soon as we get that information. <br />
<br />
Thanks for all the great feedback we've had on the books--we sure do appreciate the support. It's been a labor of love and brought each of us so much enjoyment. Knowing it does the same for readers is frosting on the cake. Josihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10615874450489497826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-30391267542957257192013-01-14T07:12:00.000-08:002013-01-14T07:16:55.931-08:00Interview with Deseret News, with reporter Hikari LoftusIn December, we had a great meeting with Deseret News reporter, Hikari Loftus. She was fascinated by the idea of a parallel-series written by four authors. We met at <a href="http://www.mini-cupcakes.com/" target="_blank">Mini's Cupcake</a>s in Salt Lake City, which is incidentally a Cupcake Wars finalist.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3BVl3i7Crs-FcJ3KpCpjm1P5fbIZ8sH7-sU71NgRBO403fDEZbvo_rkQq96rpFR1eEt-mGRG-ody-OlmJ9re_ohCqMvo0TBRPQUP1W6e965bOaQKDLWo8JrFYg38My7LDIt2eXsjSoTRZ/s1600/Mini's+cupcakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3BVl3i7Crs-FcJ3KpCpjm1P5fbIZ8sH7-sU71NgRBO403fDEZbvo_rkQq96rpFR1eEt-mGRG-ody-OlmJ9re_ohCqMvo0TBRPQUP1W6e965bOaQKDLWo8JrFYg38My7LDIt2eXsjSoTRZ/s320/Mini's+cupcakes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Eating a few too many cupcakes, we had a great time recalling all that went into the series. As I listened to everyone chat, I marveled at how we pulled it all over. It was a three-year journey from idea to when the first 4 books in the series was completed and released.<br />
<br />
We met on a December day in 2009 at Amber's Restaurant in Spanish Fork. That was the beginning of our brainstorming session:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQ92w2rnAult4mVTNEbKoAKvYg5ICmiZow4tq2P8U_eJzAxqW5RpeykADLgIoNfLXwS3bj_GqMquKNnRU7vuFjq3bbPpiCOnqy0Gaoi7T3trIBkHf5rDqOtO__QtHIz9nuXLeg3tg6ymk/s1600/Amber+Restaurant--the+beginning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQ92w2rnAult4mVTNEbKoAKvYg5ICmiZow4tq2P8U_eJzAxqW5RpeykADLgIoNfLXwS3bj_GqMquKNnRU7vuFjq3bbPpiCOnqy0Gaoi7T3trIBkHf5rDqOtO__QtHIz9nuXLeg3tg6ymk/s1600/Amber+Restaurant--the+beginning.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Today, Hikari's article was released. I loved what she said here: "It is easy to make assumptions when you don't know the full story."<br />
<br />
This is referring to meeting someone new and making an assumption about their lives or personalities. Once you get to know that person, you almost always change your first impression and your understanding and compassion for the person expands. This is a central theme of The Newport Ladies Book Club series. Compassion, friendship, and understanding.<br />
<br />
For the full article in the <a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865570532/New-parallel-book-series-by-four-LDS-authors-provides-the-full-story.html?pg=1" target="_blank">Deseret News, go HERE</a>.<br />
<br />
Thanks, Hikari! <br />
<br />
<br />Heather Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11634399663804195312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-78130727040208908662013-01-07T10:00:00.000-08:002013-01-07T10:00:03.663-08:00We Just Don't Knowby Annette Lyon<br />
<br />
I imagine that I'm like many writers in that often a certain theme will latch on to my psyche and find its way into my writing in different ways.<br />
<br />
For me, the current theme my brain apparently loves looking at from different angles is that of judging others, and how no matter how much we <i>think</i> we know another person, including who they are and what they're going through, we really don't. Even when we have a lot of information. We just don't know.<br />
<br />
I explored that theme extensively in my novel <i>Band of Sisters,</i> and it was something that came up again and again from readers who appreciated the book. (It went on to win a <a href="http://whitneyawards.com/wordpress/">Whitney Award</a> in its category; I think the idea hit a nerve for many people, in a good way.)<br />
<br />
Going into the Newport Ladies series, I didn't realize how much the same concept would become a dominating element of not only my book, <i>Paige,</i> but of all the books.<br />
<br />
For that matter, at its core, these books are about seeing the world, and often the very same situation, from a different point of view. I remember one reader saying that after reading <i>Olivia</i>, they felt that Paige was rather spineless and mousy. Until they read <i>Daisy,</i> and saw more scenes with her and realized that there was more to Paige than Olivia saw. That reader looked forward to the release of <i>Paige</i> so they could see the story from <i>her </i>perspective.<br />
<br />
Fans of the books seem to frequently come back to the same thing. They appreciate the rare opportunity to see into someone else's head to understand what is really going on in there.<br />
<br />
As time has gone on, I've wondered why this theme has resonated so much with me personally. After some time of pondering, I realized that, like so many of us, I've been misjudged at times in my life, and have wished I could explain, that I could crack open my brain so someone else could see what I see, feel what I feel, think what I think.<br />
<br />
Part of my problem (and I'm aware it's <i>mine</i>, not something I can blame on anyone else) is that I'm horribly shy, but not in the classic way. If I'm in a room with even one good friend, I can be chatty and comfortable and look like I'm totally in my element. Just don't ask me to interact with the other 50 strangers in the room, and I won't have an anxiety attack.<br />
<br />
I've realized that in some situations, people have viewed my behavior as stuck-up (their word, not mine), because, as far as they can see, I'm deliberately leaving others out of the conversation, that I'm "too good" for them.<br />
<br />
The reality: I am paralyzed by shyness to the point that I have a painful time opening my mouth around people I don't know. The one exception is when I'm teaching a workshop. Somehow lecturing a room of people is different than engaging on an individual level. It's a different kind of scary. Instead of thinking I'm somehow better than others, I almost always see myself as not good enough, that I'm lucky to be allowed into the group of friends I have or other circles I'm in, and that at any moment, I could get kicked right out.<br />
<br />
An example: My senior year of high school, I was walking across the commons with a friend I'd been on the drill team with for three years. Her mother was with us, and she said something like this: "I'm so glad we've gotten to know you over the years. You've been such a good friend to my daughter. You're just great. Good thing we had a chance to get to know you, though, because when I first met you, I thought you were totally stuck up."<br />
<br />
I was 18, stunned, and ready to burst into tears. I had no idea why she'd thought those things about me (although I have my suspicions now--it was the shy thing), but to this day, I'm still stumped as to why she'd <i>tell</i> a teenager such a thing. I was devastated.<br />
<br />
More than two decades later, I can look back and see her words as a blessing of sorts. This wasn't the first or the last time someone said something similar to me, but it was enough of a pattern for me to finally see that people viewed me a specific way even though it wasn't remotely close to reality.<br />
<br />
Understanding how others have viewed me, and how they may view me in the future, has helped me in a couple of ways, but the most important is to recognize exactly what the Newport Ladies books have hammered home to me so well: That I shouldn't judge others, because chances are, I have no <i>clue</i> what's really going on in their heads and hearts.<br />
<br />
For all I know, they could be inwardly shy, like me, and show it differently than I do.<br />
<br />
In short, I'm reminded to give others the benefit of the doubt. I'm not perfect at it, but I'm learning. I hope that in some small way, our readers may look on other women, whether in their family, their neighborhood, or their community--and view them with a softer lens too.<br />
<br />
I know doing so has been a great thing for me. Seeing people and the world from new perspectives is a wonderful gift fiction writers receive in spades.Annette Lyonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12493583432919249814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273884579990188613.post-26756512998487717762012-11-26T18:18:00.002-08:002012-11-26T18:18:30.450-08:00New Challenges: First Personby Annette<br />
<br />
For the non-writers out there, one of the big decisions novelists have to make before beginning a work is what point of view the story will be told in. The most common points of view in modern fiction are first person and close third person.<br />
<br />
<b>Third person</b> is when scenes are told as "he said" and "she did' and so forth. Close (or tight) third person is what modern readers are most accustomed to reading, when individual scenes get into the head of one character at a time. Some books have multiple point-of-view (POV) characters, such as a romance where the scenes switch between the hero's POV and the heroine's POV.<br />
<br />
A great example of tight third is the Harry Potter series, which is told almost exclusively from Harry's POV. We get a few scenes here and there (usually at the beginning of books) from other points of view (the prime minister, of Voldemort himself), but most of it is Harry's.<br />
<br />
<i>What we don't see in those books is first person.</i><br />
<br />
<b>First person</b> is when the character is narrating the book as if it happened them personally. "I went to the store," and "I fell down." A popular series written in first person is The Hunger Games trilogy.<br />
<br />
An odd quirk exists with first person: For several reasons, which I won't get into here due to space, first person tends to be one of the hardest POVs to do well.<br />
<br />
Ironically, first person tends to be the POV of choice for beginning writers, because it <i>seems</i> like it'll be easy.<br />
<br />
I have to raise my hand here as one of the newbies who thought first person would be easy. One of my early manuscripts was first person, and I loved the immediacy it brought to the story. But there were pitfalls, many of them, and eventually, I realized that the story would be served better by third person. I rewrote the whole thing (which, by the way, is almost as time-intensive as writing a whole new book), and it was eventually published.<br />
<br />
That book was originally drafted close to fifteen years ago. After rewriting the whole thing, I pretty much swore off first person, knowing that (1) it lacked certain tools I liked to use as a writers and (2) I didn't have the chops to pull it off.<br />
<br />
<b>Enter The Newport Ladies Book Club. </b><br />
<br />
I don't remember how the point of view discussion happened, but we agreed that each book would be in first person, from the title character's perspective.<br />
<br />
Whoever had the idea first was right on the money: To show just how differently women see the world, and even the same situation, the books really did need first person.<br />
<br />
So, after over a decade of swearing off the POV, I was faced with writing a book in first person. Yikes.<br />
<br />
Turns out that writing and publishing a whole bunch of books and editing professionally for years helps hone a writer's skills. I'd learned a lot about the craft, and I didn't fall into the same pitfalls I had before.<br />
<br />
For that matter, first person was <i>fun</i> while writing <i>Paige. </i>One of the best parts is that I didn't have to worry about how another character came across, which tends to be an issue with first person. The other characters had their own books to tell their stories! No, I had to worry about one character, and one character only: Paige.<br />
<br />
Somehow I found myself diving into her mind and understanding her in a way I never expected. Early in the drafting process, I found myself slipping into third person here and there, but eventually, first person came naturally. The story flowed. I laughed with Paige. I cried with her. And when the end came, I was right there with her.<br />
<br />
The only part that took a lot of work after that was the opening chapter, which I must have rewritten close to a dozen times before I felt it worked. But that's not a point-of-view issue. That's a <i>me </i>issue. Openings are my Achilles' Heel.<br />
<br />
I had so much fun writing in first person, that my next work-in-progress adopted that POV without me giving it much thought. Then I wrote <i>Ilana</i>, also in first person, and also a great learning experience.<br />
<br />
Alas, that other manuscript has fallen into the same pit at my initial first-person attempt: I've decided that it needs to be third person after all. I'm in the trenches of revision with it right now. While I'm sure I'll reach moments of wanting to bang my head against a wall in frustration, I know the end result will be worth it, and for now, as I write new scenes from a different POV (one that didn't exist originally), I'm having a ball, knowing that the story is coming to life in a way it hadn't before.<br />
<br />
I don't know what points of view my writing future will hold, but for some reason, The Newport Ladies Book Club is where my first person efforts just <i>work,</i> and my other writing, at least, so far, does better in third.<br />
<br />
Just one more example of how this whole project has taken on a life and certain magic of its own.<br />
<br />Annette Lyonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12493583432919249814noreply@blogger.com4