Lindsay Detwiler's Blog, page 31

Win a Without You Prize Pack: Final Day!

Go to my FACEBOOK PAGE to enter to win a Without You Prize Pack, which includes a mousepad, a coffee mug, some hot chocolate, and a $5 Amazon card to pre-order Without You, now on Amazon! Contest ends tonight.

Love Doesn’t Just Disappear: Pre-Order Without You by Lindsay Detwiler

Without You is NOW AVAILABLE  for pre-order. This New Adult/Contemporary Romance focuses on the idea that love isn’t always easy, especially in our twenties.

Pre-order now for Kindle! 

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things: The Things of Without You

When I drafted my novel Without You, I had my fingers crossed that I would see it in print. Why? Because I wanted to see my name on the cover of a book again? Yes. Because I wanted to give a realistic view on marriage and love? Yes.

But more importantly…this book has all of my absolute favorite things.

I’ve been ecstatic since signing the contract for Without You because I knew I’d be able to some awesome giveaways. I’ve been dreaming up the prize baskets to go along with this book since day one….because what book lover doesn’t love coffee, cupcakes, and cats? Below, a list of the favorite things in Without You that’ll make you say, “Yes, me too!”

Cats (specifically my huge black cat named Bob) who visit the nursing home
Coffee (Violet owns a coffee shop)
Cupcakes (the coffee shop is also a bakery)
Books (Violet is an Orwell fan)
New York City
My mastiff Henry (of course, right?)

Don’t forget to pre-order your copy on Amazon starting November 21st!

On the surface, Jenna Landsen has it all…

She’s smart, beautiful, confident, and married to Camden Landsen, who happens to be drop dead sexy and just as successful. But after five long years, all the success in the world hasn’t brought the romantic spark back into her marriage. Jenna fears it never will.

When life gives you lemons, open a bakery and name it Vi’s…

Violet Streiff made the exact mistake her mother warned against—she fell in love with Liam Coffman, a charming finance major. When he left her heartbroken to further his career, Violet drowned her sorrows by opening a bakery, and now relies on Bob, her eighteen-pound cat, for warmth at night instead of a sexy man.

To find love, sometimes you first have to discover yourself…

When Jenna’s job offers an extended trip to New York, she packs her bags and takes a two-month vacation from life. The chance of her marriage surviving looks grim, until the surprise of a lifetime throws a wrench in her plans to stay in the Big Apple for good.

You can bend the rules—but sooner or later they’ll break…

When Violet meets a gloomy but totally drool-worthy guy named Camden in her shop, she’s sure her luck has changed. There’s no denying the chemistry, but he’s married, and that’s a major problem. Violet isn’t a homewrecker. Still, staying away from Camden proves nearly impossible. That is, until his wife comes home.

Two women.

Two men.

Double the chance to find love in the most

unexpected places—or double the chance for disaster.

Pre-Order Coming Soon! Without You, Your Fall New Adult Read

Get ready for another love story along with some laughs, cats, coffee, books, and, of course, Henry!

Without You is my second novel, releasing December 1st by Limitless Publishing. However, you’ll be able to pre-order THIS SATURDAY. I’m so excited to share these characters with you.

For more information, check out the Limitless Publishing website and visit my Facebook page for a contest! This week, I’m giving away a Without You swag pack. Starting Saturday, I’ll be kicking off a contest and giving away some bling :)

As always, thank you for your support. I couldn’t do it without you…

Lindsay Detwiler

Without You Cover Reveal: Lindsay Detwiler

Today’s the day! My official cover reveal for Without You is happening now! Thanks to all of you who liked/shared/commented on my cover…which I am obsessed with!

From today until Saturday, you can enter to win a Without You prize pack (a coffee mug, mousepad, and hot chocolate) along with a $5 Amazon card on my Facebook. There is also a contest on my instagram account. 

Pre-orders begin this Saturday, Nov. 21st, on Amazon.com.

 

On the surface, Jenna Landsen has it all…

She’s smart, beautiful, confident, and married to Camden Landsen, who happens to be drop dead sexy and just as successful. But after five long years, all the success in the world hasn’t brought the romantic spark back into her marriage. Jenna fears it never will.

When life gives you lemons, open a bakery and name it Vi’s…

Violet Streiff made the exact mistake her mother warned against—she fell in love with Liam Coffman, a charming finance major. When he left her heartbroken to further his career, Violet drowned her sorrows by opening a bakery, and now relies on Bob, her eighteen-pound cat, for warmth at night instead of a sexy man.

To find love, sometimes you first have to discover yourself…

When Jenna’s job offers an extended trip to New York, she packs her bags and takes a two-month vacation from life. The chance of her marriage surviving looks grim, until the surprise of a lifetime throws a wrench in her plans to stay in the Big Apple for good.

You can bend the rules—but sooner or later they’ll break…

When Violet meets a gloomy but totally drool-worthy guy named Camden in her shop, she’s sure her luck has changed. There’s no denying the chemistry, but he’s married, and that’s a major problem. Violet isn’t a homewrecker. Still, staying away from Camden proves nearly impossible. That is, until his wife comes home.

Two women.

Two men.

Double the chance to find love in the most

unexpected places—or double the chance for disaster.

 

 

 

Another Day, Another Dream: Reflections From a Little-Known Author

It started as a “what if” question in the shower, between shampooing my hair and conditioning it.

What if I started a book with the marriage instead of ending with it? What if I wrote a romance where marriage wasn’t the end game…it was part of the conflict?

Now, tomorrow, that “what if” question moves one step closer to becoming reality.

My official cover for Without You, my second novel in the New Adult genre, is released tomorrow.

The cover reveal is more than just a publicity stunt or a pretty picture. It’s symbolic. It’s a momentous step in Jenna, Camden, Violet and Liam becoming more than just figments of my imagination. Tomorrow, these four characters will become a part of the “real world.”

For me, this is my favorite part of writing. I love getting to see people I invented, characters I toiled over, come to life. I love seeing them take form, take root in the real world, even if they are still fictional.

I thought my second release would be overshadowed by my first. Nothing could be as exciting as a first novel, a first publishing contract, a first cover reveal.

But I was so wrong.

Because I’ve come to realize that seeing your words transformed, seeing them made into something tangible…that’s a magic that never gets old.

I may never be a “big” author. I may never have paparazzi following me. Nicholas Sparks will probably never know who I am.

But that’s okay.

Because tomorrow, when I see the cover of Without You released to the world, I’ll smile. I’ll know that another dream has materialized.

I owe that to Limitless Publishing and all of the amazing people working there.

So thank you to an amazing publishing company for helping me, a little-known author, make a big dream come true.

Lindsay Detwiler, Without You

Follow me at http://www.facebook.com/lindsayanndetwiler to see the official cover tomorrow and to enter one of many giveaways!

Without You will be available November 21st for pre-order on Amazon. The official release will be December 1st.

George Orwell: The Power of 1984

“He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” ~George Orwell, 1984

As a romance author, I’ve never considered myself a science fiction fan. I prefer a love story, I tell myself. I’m not one of those science fiction geeks. But if I’m being honest, I’m in denial. I think, on the inside, there’s a screeching science fiction fan trying to get out of this love story loving girl.

When I think about my favorite classics, it’s always science fiction novels that come to mind. Frankenstein, Brave New World, and, most prominently, 1984.

I adore that Orwell makes a society so stringent, cold, and lifeless that we fool ourselves into thinking it’s science fiction.

And then we start looking around.

I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but is Orwell’s world completely farfetched? Is the concept of Big Brother and a lack of identity so extreme that it is unbelievable?

When I look around my life, I realize how, at times, I am as clueless as Winston. I rely solely on the media for my information; how many of us fact check, after all? How many of us just blindly believe what we’re told, follow laws we’re supposed to? How many of us trudge through our days without questioning, without thinking, without seeing?

Orwell’s work is a warning. It’s not a warning to fear the government or to praise anarchy. I view it as a warning of passively following the crowd, of becoming a drone in the masses. Orwell warns us that if we do this, if we stop thinking and analyzing for ourselves, our life becomes as bleak and meaningless as the world of Oceania.

In Without You, Violet’s favorite author is Orwell. This was a purposeful choice. Violet is a zany character who isn’t afraid to be quirky, to say what’s on her mind, to feel things. She isn’t just a drone who follows the way of the crowd. She goes after her dreams, even if the world says they’re impossible. She ignores societal constraints, opting to start her own business instead of follow down the pathway to a corporate office job. Violet embodies sentiments Orwell would certainly approve of: living for yourself, finding your own happiness, and questioning the world around you.

Without You is available December 1st from Limitless Publishing. However, you can pre-order on November 21st on Amazon.

Please be sure to follow my author page on Facebook and my Twitter account for updates.

Life’s Beauty, Life’s Fragility: Why Paris is Making Me Hold My Loved Ones a Little Closer, a Little Dearer

Life is beautiful—but it is never promised.

Such is the hardship, the heart wrenching reality of human existence.

The first time this idea slammed into me was in 8th grade. I plodded through the hallways, off to another dull 42 minutes of study hall only to have life as I knew it ripped away. During those 42 minutes, I watched the second plane hit a building I had never heard of. Later, when I watched the building crumble, when I watched people plummet to their deaths, when I watched the shock and horror of people whose lives would be forever marred by loss, I realized how fragile life is.

An ordinary Tuesday suddenly became a day of terror, and the word terrorism suddenly had meaning, suddenly was loaded with a fear that any normal Tuesday could become a life-changing day of horror.

Fast forward through the years, and the same message slammed into me numerous times. School shootings, bombings, murders…the news is filled with constant reminders that our lives emanate frailty. One never knows when an ordinary day can transform into a horrific, scarring day.

Yesterday’s attacks in Paris certainly underscore this idea yet again. I do not know anyone who lives in Paris, have never even been there. Yet, my heart is heavy with the loss of the victims, the horrific image the survivors must be struggling with, and the agony of the victims’ families.

Paris stirs the fear, the horror we like to try to forget—any moment can truly become your last.

I think the hardest thing as a human, though, is to hang on to that idea. The routines of life help the immediacy of this threat fade with time. For weeks after 9/11, we all held our loved ones a little closer, were a little bit more careful in our interactions, tried to live life a little bit more fully. But as the months crept by and the horrid images faded in our minds, we all returned to our human tendency to forget the fragility of life, the fact that we aren’t immortal.

I know that as the months go by, we will not forget Paris, but we will perhaps forget the lessons we can learn from it. We will go back to arguing with our spouses over where we want to eat or yelling at our children for a messy room. We will roll our eyes at our parents for annoying us. We will complain about the drudgery of daily life.

But I hope that we don’t. I hope that we, at least for a while, remember that life is beautiful and precious…and our loved ones even more so. I hope Paris reminds you to hug a little longer, smile a little more, and to soak in the little moments.

It’s morbid, it’s frightening, and it’s melancholy…but the truth is you never know when that smile, that hug, will be the last. You never know when those words you utter will be the last words you say to your loved ones.

So let’s vow to make each word, each moment, each memory count. Because if we’re going to fight the evil in the world, the fear of terrorism, this is how we can each do it.

Prayers for Paris.

Lindsay Detwiler

Why We Don’t Always Have It Together In Our Late Twenties

“By the time I’m thirty . . .” It’s a go-to phrase for the free-spirited, wild child in her teens or early twenties. It’s the magic cutoff, the point of maturity. It’s the point when we’ll have our stuff together, we’ll have it all figured it out.

By thirty, we will be settled, confident, and secure. We’ll have the man of our dreams who we crawl into bed every night with, cuddling until our heart feels like it will explode. We’ll have the job we wanted from birth, a job that is also well-paying and has limitless room for growth. We’ll have two children, perfectly behaved of course, who cause us only to smile. We’ll have a dog, also perfectly behaved, and a single, cleanly cat. We’ll have a fenced in yard, a perfectly maintained house, and dinner parties the whole town will talk about.

These are the dreams we all dream about, to an extent. Sure, we might substitute a turtle for the cat or five kids instead of two. We might transplant the house from our hometown to a wild city. Regardless, we women seem to set a deadline just the same. Thirty. By thirty. So in our late twenties, well, we better be following the carefully laid stepping stones to get us to our goal.

As a twenty-seven-year-old, however, I’ve come to realize this: the thirty goal is ludicrous. It seems manageable as an eighteen-year-old, even feasible at twenty-one. Thirty seems like a distant, airy planet, a place we’ll get someday.

But as I near the milestone and look at my life, I’ve realized . . . I haven’t got everything figured out. Not even close.

What’s more?

I’ve realized it’s okay,

Women in the modern society still maintain the pressures of generations past. In the not-so-distant past, women were expected to be bearing children in their early twenties. Career goals weren’t really a part of the equation. Thankfully for many of us, all of this has changed.

We’ve got new dreams and more opportunities before us than ever before. We are not limited by societal demands for multiplying, for avoiding intellectual thought. We can, we can, we can. That’s what we’re told.

So it’s no wonder that it’s taking some of us a while to figure out what we want to do with that “I can.” Travel the world? Teach? Write? Climb the corporate ladder? Farm? Find a cure? The sky’s the limit. So thirty, therefore, can no longer be our arbitrary limit to self-realization, self-fulfillment, and self-labeling.

For some of us, thirty is the magic number. By our late twenties, we’ve settled into a routine, surrounded ourselves with people we want to be with forever. That’s awesome. There’s nothing wrong with finding yourself.

But for some of us, thirty isn’t even close to the magic number. Our late twenties become times of self-exploration, self-questioning, and even confusion. Dreams we thought we wanted become distant. People we thought we were madly in love with become strangers. We realize our lives aren’t following a perfectly laid course we had in mind.

So, no, we don’t all have it figured out by thirty. Some of us haven’t even come to terms with the fact we’re not teenagers anymore. Some of us haven’t learned how to “adult” yet. But the beautiful thing about the modern era? It’s okay. Forty can be the new thirty. Or even fifty.

Because there’s no rush on finding happiness, and there’s no deadline on solidifying your dreams.

 Without You, Released by Limitless Publishing on December 1st

Pre-order on Amazon starting November 21st!

@Lindsaydetwiler

www.facebook.com/lindsayanndetwiler

Undercover in Six Inch Stilettos by Carolyn Laroche

UNDERCOVER IN SIX INCH STILETTOS
by CAROLYN LAROCHE
Series: SECRET LIVES #1
Publisher: Limitless Publishing
– SYNOPSIS –
Every woman has secrets, and Cyndi Mills is no exception…

Cyndi has a beautiful daughter, and her husband Jason is totally hot for her, but something is missing. As a cop, Jason is extremely vigilant about safety and security, and Cyndi longs for some time to herself, so she takes a Friday night job.

Jason thinks she’s cleaning offices, when she’s actually dancing in a red bustier and six-inch stilettos at a club called Sugar Shakers, something only her three best friends, also police wives, know.

When club employees start disappearing, the truth comes out…

A young runaway, Jade, and a military widow, Lola, vanish, and Lola’s body is later found in the ocean. Cyndi begins investigating—with some help from her friends—but when anonymous threats put her daughter in jeopardy, she has no choice but to confess her lie to Jason, rocking their previously solid marriage.

Jason is furious, but Cyndi has to ask for even more if she hopes to solve the mystery…

Cyndi convinces Jason to sign her up as a confidential informant, and she officially goes undercover at the club, while Jason struggles to control his jealousy. As the evidence mounts and the danger becomes all too real, Jason fights to keep Cyndi safe.

But no amount of security can protect someone when lies are more common
than the truth and no one is who they appear to be.

 – PURCHASE – 
AMAZON US: http://amzn.to/1kHNaEW
AMAZON UK: http://amzn.to/1RJy64t
PAPERBACK: http://amzn.to/1Y0OFN7



– MEET THE AUTHOR –
CAROLYN LAROCHE


Carolyn LaRoche grew up in snow country but fled the cold and ice several years ago. She now lives near the beach with her husband, their two boys, two finicky cats and one old dog. When she is not at the baseball field cheering on big hits and home runs, she is busy teaching science to unwilling teenagers.

Limitless Publishing: http://www.limitlesspublishing.net/authors/carolyn-laroche/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolynLaRoche
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarolynLaRoche
Website: http://carolynlarocheauthor.blogspot.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7734909.Carolyn_LaRoche