Impromptu Monday Visit from #author @suzannelilly New #Book Release!

Help me in welcoming the wonderful Suzanne Lilly, fellow Turquoise Morning Press author, to my blog this Monday morning. She has a new book out and would love it if you'd check it out!

What book(s) most influenced you as a writer?

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I read this years ago, and the way he wove all the details together into one seamless story left me in awe. I only hope that someday I will be that talented as a writer.

What book do you read over and over again?

Chocolat by Joanne Harris. I’m telling you, her writing is lyrical, and every time I read this book or the sequel, The Girl With No Shadow, I’m completely drawn into her world.

Tuesday Trio-

1)      Movie- Shadows in the Sun. It’s about a writer who travels to Italy and falls in love with a woman, her family, and the country. Another fabulous one, (because I can’t choose just one,) is Letters to Juliet. Again, it’s in Italy, it’s about writing, and falling in love.

2)      Music- This is going to show my age, but I’m a Beatles fan. I still listen to their music in my car.

3)      Decadent Dessert- Chocolate Volcano Cake. My daughter-in-law makes the best in the world!

What’s the most interesting or bizarre bit of trivia you’ve learned from researching for a novel?

While writing a novel about the gold rush in California, I learned that a gold nugget weighing 160 pounds was found in 1854 at Carson Hill in Calaveras County. That amount of gold would be worth almost $5,000,000 today!

Novel on your Nightstand:

Who/what are you currently reading?

Crush, by Dani LaBue.

Whom would you cast as your Hero & Heroine if your book became a movie?

Jennifer Lawrence from Hunger Games would make an awesome Mariah Davis.

Taylor Kitsch from John Carter is my Kevin Creamer.

Shades of the Future, by Suzanne Lilly available July 15, 2012.

What would you give to see the future? Would you make your dreams come true? Would you change the things you didn’t like?

Mariah Davis loves animals, running, and her hunk of a boyfriend, Kevin Creamer. Everything looks bright for her until the day she finds a pair of sunglasses that allow her to see the future.

When she glimpses a disaster looming, she tries to avoid it but fails. She has a car accident that lands her in a wheelchair, smashing her hopes for a running scholarship to the veterinary program at Ohio State University. She pushes Kevin away, thinking he’ll want to end their relationship now that she can’t walk.

 

Will she ever learn to trust and love again? She could search for an answer in the sunglasses. But she’s afraid what they reveal might destroy her.

Here’s a short excerpt from Chapter 1

Mariah scooted closer to the inside of the booth to read the digital display. As she slid across the red vinyl seat, something poked into her thigh.

“Hey, somebody left a pair sunglasses here.” She picked them up, rubbing her leg where the frame had made a dent in her skin.

“Those are nice,” Hayley commented between fries.

“These aren’t random sunglasses. These are Dita Aviators.” Mariah turned them over, checking the thin metal frame to make sure she hadn’t bent it. She held them up to the overhead light. The lenses were clean and unscratched. “Plus, they’re like brand new.”

“Let me see them.” Hayley took the glasses out of her friend’s hands and started to put them on.

“Give them back,” Mariah told her. “Your hands are all greasy and cheesy. Not to mention saliva-y.”

Hayley laughed and handed the aviators back across the table to Mariah. “When I have clean hands, I’ll try them on. They’ll look good on me.”

“You think? How do they look on me?” She put them on and a warm tingle of fun washed through her veins.

A word or two from Suzanne about what she's up to this month-

I’ll be on blog tour during the month of July, celebrating with a giveaway of a pair of designer sunglasses to one lucky commenter. I’ll be posting the schedule with dates and blogs on my author website, http://www.suzannelilly.com, and my TeacherWriter blog, http://www.teacherwriter.net. Follow me and comment each day to increase your chances of winning!

Where to find Suzanne Lilly online:

Twitter
Amazon Author Page
Goodreads
Author Website
TeacherWriter blog
Fridays at the Honey Creek Books blog
Google +
Facebook Author Page

@RobynLeatherman visits, answers #Author Q&A & has an #Autographed Copy of Summer Rain for 1 Lucky Person!

 Author Q&A and Autographed Print Copy Giveaway

with

Robyn Leatherman

What book(s) most influenced you as a writer?

My mother came home with a college textbook when I was young - Cultural Anthropology. That book made me interested in groups of people and what made them tick. In my teens, my cousin lent me a copy of Child of the Morning by Pauline Gedge. It's the historical novel that pushed me over the edge and made me want to write about things that had happened and shouldn't be forgotten.

What book do you read over and over again?

The Grapes of Wrath

Tuesday Trio-

1)      Movie- The Man in the Iron Mask

2)      Music- School Boy Humor

3)      Decadent Dessert- Pecan Pie with vanilla ice cream

What’s the most interesting or bizarre bit of trivia you’ve learned from researching for a novel?

This is going to sound odd, but when I researched to origin of barbed wire, I discovered it had been in use even before 1863, but because nobody had patented the concept, it didn't catch on at that time. In 1873, a type of "barbed" fencing caught the eye of a man by the name of Glidden; I wonder if his family developed the line of paint? (Maybe an idea for a future historical story there …) I have no idea why this has stuck in my mind, but here is the website for anyone else who wants to learn about it!

Barbed Wire Museum

Novel on your Nightstand:

Who/what are you currently reading?

I'm almost finished with Jenny Wingfield's advance reader's copy of The Homecoming of Samuel Lake; it's one of the best books I've read in a long time!

Whom would you cast as your Hero & Heroine if your book became a movie?

Tijer Lily Company is a Native American arts and entertainment film company that deals with not only the cast calls and media, but with props as well. She has access to a list of Native actors and actresses who would be perfect for the movie version of my book.

 Click Image to purchase on Amazon

Also available from

Barnes and Noble

Your Book Launch

Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency

About the Book
Welcome to the life of a young Cherokee girl named Rain, as she grows into maturity just as the Trail of Tears begins. Summer Rain: Getsikahvda Anitsalagi (The Removal of the People) is an unforgettable story that taps into a sad part of American history.

This journey begins in Georgia in a typical Cherokee village in the early 1800s, where a young girl and her best friend realize there are strangers poised to take their land and home away from the Cherokee and from neighboring tribes.

The girls witness the birth of the new written language of Tsalagi in the year 1821 and the printing press in the year 1827. The Cherokee Nation’s growth is also financial, and would mark the first newspaper to ever be printed and circulated by a Native American tribe.

Rain falls in love with a white boy and is forced to follow her heart and save her own life, or to remain loyal to her family, knowing that in doing so, she could lose not only her true love, but her very life as well.

The first 2 chapters of Summer Rain may be read on my website: Preface and First Two Chapters

To find out more about Robyn, her book and Cherokee Life

WEBSITE

Twitter

Goodreads

And don't forget to leave a comment (and you (at) email (dot) com) to say hi or ask a question so you can be entered to win a 

AUTOGRAPHED PRINT COPY

of

Summer Rain!

Comments must be posted before MIDNIGHT

Eastern Daylight Savings Time, Winner will be announced here

 and notified via email and then Robyn will be in touch as well

to get your contact info to send your book.

Tune in Next Monday- #Author @RobynLeatherman will be with me- Chance at an #Autographed copy- her debut #historical novel ~Summer Rain~

Next Monday, June 25th, I am having a special guest visit from author

Robyn Leatherman

Robyn contacted me recently via my website and I was really intrigued by her story about the life of a young Cherokee girl named Rain, as she grows into maturity just as the Trail of Tears begins.

Robyn lives in Arkansas with her husband of 21 years. “I just tried to put myself in the shoes of our ancestors. My husband and I are both Cherokee, and we have imagined the things they must have gone through from what we’ve researched along the way, and from stories told by grandparents.”

I'm honored to have her joining me for an Author Q&A, like on my Tuesdays with Taryn, but in addition to visiting, she's also going to share an excerpt from her recent debut historical fiction novel-

Summer Rain

Getsikahvda Anitsalagi

(The Removal of the People)

 (cover image takes you to Amazon)

 AND

She's going to give away 1 free autographed copy to one lucky commenter!

 

So, in the meantime, please go visit Robyn's site (click on her name at the top) to find out more about what Robyn's up to, history about Cherokee life and their language, Tsalagi, and her novel, Summer Rain. Then tune in next Monday and say hello to Robyn. I'm sure she'd be happy to answer questions and chat!

Visiting @halleeb on Her #Blog Today #Author #Interview #writers #readers Come join me!

Today, I'm visiting Hallee Bridgman's Blog

(click image below)

I'm answering questions and hope you'll join me and leave a comment, even if it's just to say hello!

#MemoryLane Mondays- #Guest #Interview on @deepintheheartr @ReneeVincent #readers #writers #RT

Come join me today at Deep in the Heart Romance where I've answered some interview questions and I'm doing a FREE EBOOK GIVEAWAY! Come by and see me and leave a message and you could be the lucky winner of an ebook copy of Castaway Hearts! (Winner chosen by Random.org a week after my visit)

Come See About Me- #Author #Interview at @KathyLLogan's #Blog Today! #readers #writers #free #ebook #GIVEAWAY#CastawayHearts

Today I'm visiting the blog of Katherine Lowry Logan, author of The Ruby Brooch, which I just started reading yesterday and I'm totally loving it.

I'm answering a few questions on

Kathy's BLOG

 and also giving away

~1~

FREE eBook (in format of choice) of

CASTAWAY HEARTS

to one lucky commenter!

So, let's make it an amazing day- Stop by and visit Kathy and me,

say hello and get your name in the pot!

I'm over at @Amy_Durham's #Blog Today- Come see me! #readers #writers #Author #Interview

Please stop by and see me today while I sit in with Amy and answer some questions. Would love the company as I'm making my rounds visiting other blogs.

Pls #RT! #Readers I'm at @kristaames #blog #Author #Interview & #MeatballRecipe

Please don't forget to stop by Krista Ames'

A Passion for Romance
my Author Author Interview today!
I welcome the company & I'm sharing my
MEATBALL recipe!
You know you want it!

#GuestBlogging at @suzannelilly's #Writer's #Inspiration #Author #Officespace

Besides hosting a Tuesdays with Taryn today,

I'm also visiting

Suzanne Lilly's TeacherWriter Blog



Stop by and say Hi! Talking about Writer's Inspiration- their office or work space. Come by and see me!

#Journey to #Publication & #Spotlight on @DevonMatthews_ #Blog #Excerpt #Readers

My journey to publication has really been a long time coming, at least in my mind. I've known I wanted to write since I was a child, but it wasn't until 2006, with my stepson already in school and my daughter soon to be heading that way, I knew the time I spent as a stay-at-home-mom was going to open up and that besides housework, I would have time for other things.

Something I hadn't spent much time doing since I'd moved in 2001, gotten married and had my daughter, was write. I thought about it constantly but kept believing, with the self-doubt I'd carried most my life, that I probably couldn't accomplish it. I knew there was a partially finished novel tucked away in my closet or a drawer somewhere, and several other novel "ideas" scribbled and scratched out in notebooks and on scraps of paper, but there was no encouragement nearby to say, "You should definitely take your writing back up."

And then I got a friend request from an old schoolmate and therein came the encouragement, so I really started digging in to the unfinished manuscript and in a fit of frenzy, I finally put the finish on a nearly 10-year-old project. It had been hard to give birth to because some of the situations in the novel hit so close to home for me personally, but I did it. To that friend, and my mom, I'm forever grateful for your encouragement. You will NEVER know how much!

But just like getting my first tattoo, finishing that first manuscript was addictive. It bolstered me, lifted me up- I was hooked on that feeling of self-satisfaction of creating something and finishing it. Of course, that manuscript might never see the light of day- or I might someday polish it up and publish it, but it was with great enthusiasm and confidence from completing that 1st one, that I dove headfirst in and started writing with serious intentions and with a sense of pride I hadn't felt before. I'm working on my 11th manuscript at the moment and hoping I finally found my mojo again because for a while, I think I'd lost heart. The burnout nearly wiped out my desire to write, but I'm getting it back, bit by bit... (bird by bird)

Castaway Hearts is actually the 3rd novel I wrote, over the summer of 2007, between a computer crash and the relief when those files I hadn't backed up were recovered before the hard drive was trashed completely. So that gives me even more joy to be able to share this story with you, the public. It was saved from oblivion, once upon a time.

And so, today I'd love it if you would swing by and join me at
Western Historical Romance Author Devon Matthews' Blog
where she's honoring me with an author spotlight and I'm sharing another excerpt from the now available Castaway Hearts.

#MemoryLane Monday- Sexy #Excerpt #GuestBlogging at @MadisonJEdwards #Blog

We interrupt this regularly scheduled Memory Lane Monday because Madison J Edwards invited me to share a little something over on her blog, so flutter on by to read a sexy excerpt from Castaway Hearts!

Please stop by to enjoy this extra little snippet, only a week before Castaway Hearts is released!

Madison J Edwards Blog