Jen Gilroy's Blog, page 21

Hitting the “pause” button

For the past few years and, much like the dogs in one of my favourite early childhood stories, my life has been on “fast forward.”

Between moving from England to Canada, launching my career as a published author, managing several family estates, and becoming the primary caregiver for a teen daughter diagnosed with a chronic illness, I’ve been hurtling through my days at warp speed.

While some of this busy-ness has been good (the published author part is a dream-come-true I’m thankful for each and every day), I’ve had little time to stop for breath. At many points, I’ve also been emotionally and mentally exhausted.  

In the past week, I sent the third book in my Firefly Lake series, Back Home at Firefly Lake, to my editor. It releases in March 2018 and is the sequel to The Cottage at Firefly Lake (January 2017), and Summer on Firefly Lake (July 2017).

For the first time in my published author life, I’m between books. While there is still work to do, including checking page proofs for Summer on Firefly Lake, I’m temporarily embracing the kind of “pause” I haven’t experienced in several years.

As someone who finds clutter stressful, I’m sorting out my home and, in particular, the teetering piles of paperwork in my home office.

I’m rediscovering my cookbook collection, and the joy of eating slowly at my (newly uncluttered) dining room table.

I’m watching movies and reading for pleasure. 

I’m reconnecting with friends by ditching the electronics to write several long-overdue letters with a pen and special paper.

And I’m taking rambling walks to see my community with fresh eyes. 

Even though I’m not tied to a daily word count, I’m still thinking about writing, and new characters and ideas are bubbling away.

I’m getting out and about because as someone for whom eavesdropping is an art form, some of the best stories are inspired by random snippets of conversations  overheard in coffee shops and stores.

I’m delving into my “inspiration file” for pictures and news articles that have piqued my interest over the years. 

And I’m going to bookshops both new and second-hand because, well, just because!

Stopping, breathing and reflecting are good for everyone, not only writers.

Soon I’ll hit “play” again and put my fingers to the keyboard to work on proposals for several new books, but for now I’m enjoying this metaphorical spring cleaning for the soul.

And since my local ice cream stands are reopening after a long, snowy winter, some sweet treats are on the agenda, too.

What about you? Like me, is this new season an opportunity for some mental spring cleaning? 

Too many blonds and a magical dog

One of the many wonderful things about being a published author is having the support of a team of people who help me become a better writer.

In the past week, I’ve worked on agent’s edits for my third book, Back Home at Firefly Lake (March 2018), and copyeditor’s queries for the second book, Summer on Firefly Lake (July 25, 2017). Once again, I’m grateful for the often unsung publishing professionals who work with authors to make the reader experience the best it can be.

In Back Home at Firefly Lake, my agent pointed out that there were four blond characters in the first two pages. More popped up as the story progressed. Since the book is set in Vermont, it’s unlikely there would be that many blonds in one small New England town. Back to the editing cave I went with the editorial equivalent of hair dye.

Even though I supposedly write in US English, my agent also picked up multiple instances of British usage. In addition, there were several occasions where characters were standing without having first arisen from where they were sitting, as well as a building with an architecturally suspect staircase.  

In Summer on Firefly Lake, most of these problems, including a dog that magically appeared in a character’s arms without ever having been introduced into the scene, had been resolved in previous drafts. At copyedit stage, though, I’m always reminded of my erratic comma use and unfortunate devotion to sentence fragments. There was also a character wearing a “vest top” and doing the “weekly shop” —more vestiges of my beloved British English.

As an author, I put bits of myself into everything I write. While my life experience shapes my characters and their stories, it also influences how I construct sentences and the individual words I use. And, like all writers, when I get too close to a manuscript, I don’t see the often-funny inconsistencies so evident to those reading it for the first time.

As for those blond characters? I’m a brunette who always hankered after fair hair.

When I was a teen, I tried lemon juice, sunshine and every product then advertised in Seventeen magazine in attempts to lighten my dark locks. Several years later, I went for salon highlights that on one occasion turned my hair orange instead of the promised “sun-kissed” look.

Now in middle age, I thought I was resigned to my brown-haired fate, more concerned with covering grey than chasing my inner blond. However, the subliminal truth was in my fiction all along.

Since it’s unlikely I’ll set stories in Finland (the country often reported to have the highest number of blonds per capita), I’ll have to stick to animal characters with light coats instead.

Among dog breeds, there are Golden retrievers, Apricot Poodles, Yellow Labradors and more. There are also tan cats with elegant cashmere-like coats and, in the poultry world, silkie bantam chickens, cuddly balls of sunshiny fluff. 

Although I’ll never know what it’s like to be a natural blond, for a creative mind, the possibilities—and yes, maybe even future book boyfriends—are endless.

—

And a news flash for those of you who may have missed it on social media…BookSweeps Romantic Women’s Fiction book giveaway (6-13 March 2017)* 

If you enjoy reading romantic women’s fiction (that may or may not feature blonds, animal characters and British English), this giveaway offers a chance to win my first book, The Cottage at Firefly Lake, as well as novels by more than forty other authors, and a Kindle Fire. 

Enter the contest by clicking here.

*Runs from 6-13 March 2017 and open to those in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Making a joyful noise

As some of you know, I joined a choir last year. Every Thursday night, I gather with friends and neighbours at my church to sing together and prepare to lead the congregation in the musical part of the Sunday worship service.

During that practice time, I’m not connected to social media. I’m not thinking about writing deadlines, my to-do list, or the myriad of other things that, like all multi-tasking women, usually occupy my mind.  

Instead, tucked inside a stone building that dates to 1878 (old by Canadian standards), life and time slow and everyday worries slip away. I focus on my breathing. I listen. I read the language of music. And I use a different part of my brain than I do during the rest of the week.

The physical, social and emotional benefits of singing are well documented, and I’ve seen many of them in my own life. Singing has helped me better manage stress, increased my sense of community and, as a round-shouldered writer, regular reminders to sit and stand up straight have improved my posture.

The weekly choir practice is fun, too. Although we work hard, there is laughter and I leave feeling happy and centered. And sometimes, there’s cake!

Music was part of my life from early childhood. I sang at home, in choirs both sacred and secular, and it was a bond I shared with my dad and paternal grandmother. Yet, without making a conscious choice, singing was one of the things I lost in the transition to adult life. And as the years rushed by, I never stopped to question why something I’d once found joyous had become an almost forgotten footnote.

We all have turning points in our lives. One of mine came when I took a step back to consider what I really wanted and then worked to get it.

Although that turning point resulted in my writing career, it gave me other good things, too, some of which I never expected. Singing is one.

I have a small, soprano voice. The choir I sing in is also small. We range in age from high school to retired and come from different walks of life. Yet, when we sing, we blend our voices together to create something more than we could individually—a whole that’s bigger and more resonant than the sum of its parts.

No matter what else is going on in my life—or in the wider world—choir practice is a time to stop and simply “be.” For a brief moment, both the place and music co-exist and become timeless. As I lift up my voice alongside those friends and neighbours, that’s perhaps the best and most joyous benefit of all.

A memory, a bookstore and an “epoch in my life”

 

My mom loved books and reading. I have cherished childhood memories of not only time spent reading together, but also going to bookstores with her on Saturday afternoons, my carefully saved allowance tucked into a pink purse in the depths of her bag.

Those book-buying excursions gave me some of my first lessons in budgeting and fiscal responsibility, while also introducing me to the world of working writers—people who wrote stories in exchange for my hard-earned money and inhabited a mysterious world far removed from the one I then knew.

With the release of The Cottage at Firefly Lake ten days ago, I’ve become one of those writers and the writing world, much less mysterious than it once was, is my happy new reality. In this time of “firsts” and joyous moments large and small, one of the most momentous has been seeing my book on store shelves “out in the wild.”

First came pictures. Tech Guy and my literary agent tracked it down in Toronto and Virginia. A  friend spotted it while waiting for a a bus on Vancouver Island.

And then I saw it myself. I was in Ottawa, the Canadian city closest to my small town, for a hospital appointment with English Rose. After her appointment, we detoured to a big, Chapters bookstore. At first, I couldn’t find the romance section so a helpful staff member guided me to it. By a quirk of fate, he stopped in front of the “G” authors where The Cottage at Firefly Lake was displayed mid-shelf and cover out.

“That’s my book,” I said.

Mindful of English Rose and teen girl embarrassment, I refrained from squealing and doing an impromptu happy dance in the middle of the aisle.

“Your book?”

“I wrote it,” I said.

He hesitated, his expression puzzled.

Would I have to flip to the inside back cover to show my author photo? I had better hair in that photo.

Then he smiled. “Sorry, it took me a second to put the pieces together.”

Although I didn’t say so, I understood. As I looked at my book on the shelf alongside books by authors I admire, I hadn’t put those pieces together either.  

Would you like to sign our copies of your book?” he asked. “I can also add stickers with ‘author signed’ to the cover.”

I did.

He did.

And like Anne of Green Gables in one of those books I saved up to buy so long ago, it was “an epoch in my life.”

As I left the store and pulled my woolly winter hat onto my head to cover my non-camera-ready hair, my happy excitement was mixed with another emotion. Sadness. On my best bookstore visit ever, my mom hadn’t been there to share it with me.

But perhaps she was. And perhaps she did a happy dance of her own in a pair of those fabulous shoes we also sometimes shopped for on Saturday afternoons.

And perhaps in the middle of that big store full of books, ending up in front of the shelf with my book on it wasn’t such a quirk of fate after all.

From up there in heaven, my mom may well have given that Chapters staff member a gentle celestial nudge. It was a special day. And she was a special mom.  

Sending my book baby out into the world

My very first published book, The Cottage at Firefly Lake, releases on January 31. Although advance review copies are already in circulation, the shiny, finished book doesn’t hit shelves and e-readers until next Tuesday.

In the author world, a book release is called a “book birthday.” Much like the birth of a child, the excitement, and also anxiety associated with birthing a book and sending it out into the world, are immense.

Although I’ve had months to prepare for this day, it still feels somewhat surreal. The characters who have lived inside my head for so many years (much longer than a nine-month pregnancy!) all of a sudden will have a life independent of me.

When English Rose was ten months old, I returned to my day job from maternity leave and left her at a nursery near our home. The staff were kind, the learning opportunities wonderful, and I knew she’d have experiences that would enrich her life and growth.

Yet, as I left her there and hid behind a door to peer through a high window at her little blonde head bent over a brightly-colored toy, I had a lump in my throat. It was her first big step into the world without me and, even though she was ready for it, I wasn’t sure I was.

As I look ahead to next week, I have a similar feeling about my book. With the help of my wonderful agent, editor and publishing team, The Cottage at Firefly Lake is as good as I can make it. However, once it goes out into the world of readers—via libraries, bricks-and-mortar stores and digital platforms—it’s out of my control.

People I don’t know will read my story and talk about it in ways I can’t anticipate. Some of those ways will warm my heart. Others will hurt because although people never tell you they dislike your baby, that’s not the case when it comes to authors and their book babies.

Much like parents of teenagers, authors must develop a thick skin, effective coping strategies and remember why they write for publication in the first place. For me, it’s about sharing my stories to bring even a small measure of the joy, comfort and hope to other readers that books by my favourite authors have brought to me.

English Rose thrived at her day nursery and soon made friends. That big step towards independence was but the first of many she’s taken in the past thirteen years.

As for me? After release day excitement (and celebratory ice cream), I’ll go back to writing my next book and then the one after that, working hard and continuing to learn my craft to tell my stories in the best way I can.

For those of you who read my book, thank you. I hope you fall in love with the world of Firefly Lake and take the characters into your heart.

If you spot it at your local library or store, or read it on vacation or in your favorite cozy reading spot, please take a picture and send it to me (jen@jengilroy.com). Authors love “shelfies” and seeing our books “out in the wild.”

And if you haven’t already done so, you can sign up for my author newsletter here. The first issue goes out on January 31 and includes details about book inspiration and a special giveaway, just for members of my VIP reader community.

You can also pre-order in mass market paperback, audiobook or digital format via Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo,  Google Play and Chapters-Indigo.

“A cup of kindness”— how a memory inspired my word for 2017

If you read my blog regularly, you know that I choose a “word for the year.” Sometimes it’s an easy choice and, as the new year turns, I’m anticipating how to incorporate my word as a guiding principle in everyday life.

Other years, and as was the case as 2016 limped to a close, it’s been more difficult. In those last weeks of December, I was tired in mind, body and spirit. English Rose was unwell. The winter weather was inhospitable. World news was grim. And, not least, having pulled a muscle in my back, I spent five days either lying flat or sitting bolt upright, popping anti-inflammatories that never quite numbed the pain.

When 31 December arrived, I wasn’t in a celebratory mood and indeed wondered if I’d even choose a shiny, new word to take me forward into 2017. On New Year’s Eve, I slept through midnight but was up several times with English Rose. In that middle-of-the-night haze known to parents everywhere, I reflected on the year just gone as well as the fresh one that awaited.

And in that space between sleeping and waking, when I least expected it, I found the perfect word.

Throughout my childhood, my paternal grandmother sang “Auld Lang Syne” each New Year’s Eve night, her sweet soprano lingering on the words “we’ll take a cup of kindness.” That memory had lain dormant for years, but as I comforted the great-grandchild she never knew, for a whisper of time Grandma’s loving voice was as clear as if she were at my side.

The meaning was clear, too. My word for this year would be “kindness.”

Except at the most superficial level, it’s a word that has nothing to do with writing. It does, however, have much to do with life. Indeed, in many cultures and religions, kindness—that warm-heartedness, consideration, concern and care for others that makes the world a nicer and happier place—is singled out as a virtue.

Throughout 2017, I’ll consciously look for opportunities to show kindness to others. I’ll also try to be kinder to myself, and true to my own feelings, values and needs.

As an author, I’m growing my career one reader at a time. This year, and no matter what it brings in writing and life, I also want to make a positive difference one kind gesture at a time. 

Even though I can’t change the world, in my own, small way I can help make it a better place.

Thank you…

The week between Christmas and New Year is a punctuation mark at the end of the year. For me, it’s a lull before launching headlong into the blank calendar pages to come.

In a year that’s been more surreal (dictionary company Merriam-Webster’s word for 2016) than sparkly, I’m ending it with a different kind of post. Mindful of “gratitude,” my word for this year, and inspired by my friend, historical saga writer Susanna Bavin, I’m taking this opportunity to say “thank you.”

First and foremost, thanks for reading, commenting on, and sharing my blog. I’m grateful for each and every one of you—those who subscribe, those who read via social media links, and those who have come across my musings about life and writing through friends or book clubs.   

Many of you have also been staunch supporters on Twitter (@JenGilroy1) and Facebook. As a new author, I often feel like a minnow swimming in a big and sometimes stormy sea. Each post like, retweet, share, or comment reminds me that although I may be that minnow (in good shoes!), there are other fish swimming with me who care.

I also want to thank you for sharing in my life. One of the blessings of my writing journey thus far is that many of you have also become friends. You’ve celebrated high points with me (cue virtual ice cream), and you’ve also reached out when life has been tough. 

In 2017, I have two books releasing. The Cottage at Firefly Lake (31 January) and then its sequel, Summer on Firefly Lake (25 July). The third book in the series, Back Home at Firefly Lake, follows in March 2018. 

I’m looking forward to celebrating these milestones with you, but alongside them also sharing in the minutiae of the everyday that, when taken together, are the threads that make up our lives.

For me, like many others, the twilight of the year is also about introspection. As such, I want to leave you with the official music video for “Time” by Canadian country artist Dean Brody.

This song resonates with me as a poignant reminder that life goes by in the blink of an eye, and a new year can also be an opportunity to reassess our lives and choices.

 

Hope, love and the meaning of life in a Christmas cactus

The past year has been difficult for many of us, and my word of the year, “gratitude,” has taken on a poignancy I could never have anticipated when I chose it last January. In some ways, I’ll be grateful to see the end of 2016 for it’s been a year of turbulence and loss both personally, as well as on the wider global stage.  

In my own life, relationships have been tested and friendships lost. Health and family challenges have brought a myriad of stresses. Domestic appliances have failed like clockwork, and thanks to a recent leaky pipe and basement flood, even Christmas decorating is complicated, somehow in keeping with this unusual year.

At many points, it’s been easy to feel low, particularly as I contemplated water flowing across the basement floor and bemoaned the delay in occupying the new home office space I’d eagerly anticipated.

Yet, in the midst of that immediate chaos, two things made me stop and take stock.

First was Tech Guy, who after wading through water to temporarily stop the leak, reminded me that in the broad spectrum of life, this was but a temporary setback.

 And then, behind the teetering pile of household goods relocated from the basement to the dining room table, I spotted a tiny, pink bud. It was attached to the Christmas cactus I rescued after my Cousin Mary’s death in October 2015.

She passed away in a care home at the age of 105, and in the few days that elapsed between her death and my arrival in a city many miles away to coordinate her funeral, her possessions had been bundled into large, plastic bags.

When I opened one of the bags, the cactus tumbled into my lap. It was upside down, foliage bent and broken, and with soil everywhere. A less sentimental person would have thrown the plant out, but I couldn’t.

Cousin Mary was renowned for the beautiful flowers and tasty vegetables she lovingly cultivated in her garden each summer. In her memory, I packed the cactus into a smaller bag and brought it home on the plane with me, checking on it almost as frequently as I once did a baby English Rose.  

Once home, I researched Christmas cactus care online, added new soil to the pot, watered it to schedule, talked to it, and waited and watched. When a moving company delivered Cousin Mary’s vintage plant table to my house, her cactus took pride of place on top of it.

 Now the cactus is set to bloom for Christmas, just when I needed a symbol of hope, love, and a tangible reminder of what’s most important in life.  

As it turns out, I’m not alone in my need for such validation. Always attuned to trends, advertisers have seized on the public mood and from Heathrow Airport’s Coming Home for Christmas film to the Christmas Spirit for Allegro, a Polish auction website, many advertisements this year have at their heart a return to the intangible values that transcend individuals, countries and cultures.

No matter what, how and where you celebrate this season (and from my desk tucked in beside our still undecorated Christmas tree), I wish you happiness, love and hope to carry you into the new year.

Meet me at the diner: Debut author Arlene McFarlane

With this post, I’m launching a new, occasional series on my blog featuring interviews with author friends about their new releases. I’ve called it “meet me at the diner” because in the small communities I write about, diners are gathering places with a special, hometown feel.

My first guest is Arlene McFarlane, whose debut release, Murder, Curlers, and Cream, a cozy mystery with a helping of romance, came out in November 2016.

Arlene is a two-time Romance Writers of America® (RWA®) Golden Heart® finalist, and amongst many other contest wins and finals, has also been nominated twice for the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense.

I met Arlene in 2015 when I also was a Golden Heart® finalist, and she lives with her family in southwestern Ontario so we share Canadian roots, too.  

Murder, Curlers, and Cream is set in a beauty salon and the heroine, Valentine Beaumont, is a feisty beautician who is determined to keep her struggling business afloat. She has a meddling mother, a quirky staff and, when the story starts, a dead client. Sexy Detective Romero is assigned to the case and, as the story unfolds and more mayhem ensues, sparks fly between he and Valentine.

Since I’m among friends, I have to confess that I have a complicated relationship with the beauty industry. After a cut that left me with hair of different lengths on each side of my head, highlights that turned my naturally brown hair orange, and a facial that gave me an itchy rash, I approach beauticians with caution.

However, the fictional Valentine is a heroine everyone can root for. She cares about people and, behind her glamorous façade, she has a touching vulnerability. And although it’s a murder mystery, it’s also a very funny book—as I discovered when I started reading it after English Rose had gone to bed and laughed so loudly I woke her up.

It’s a pleasure to have Arlene join me today. Slide into a booth, grab a mug of your favourite brew and piece of homemade pie, and let’s chat with her.

Before you became a writer, you worked in the beauty industry and indeed had your own salon. How did that experience shape Murder, Curlers, and Cream?

First, thank you so much, Jen, for having me! Owning a salon indeed inspired the setting of my series, and some of the funny incidences lent way to quirks of certain characters.

After reading your book, I’m going to keep my eyes and ears open on my next hairdresser visit. What kind of reader will Murder, Curlers, and Cream appeal to? 

It will appeal to anyone who loves a funny mystery and female sleuth, plus, anyone who’s ever stepped foot in a salon. And let’s not forget every hairstylist and aesthetician out there who will relate to the goings-on in the salon.

Before reading your book, I didn’t realize that a salon could be such a place of intrigue. What’s your favourite place to write?

I can write anywhere, as long as it’s quiet and comfy!

Quiet and comfy sound good to me, too. And a chair with good back support!

Who was your favourite childhood author and why?

I didn’t read much as a kid. I wasn’t one to hide under the covers until the wee hours of the night with a flashlight and a book. Probably surprising since most authors are voracious readers. But later, much later, I discovered Beverly Cleary and the Ramona books. That woman knew humor! To this day, I still enjoy a good Ramona Quimby story.

Ramona is a fabulous heroine, and English Rose and I love those books. Have you always written “funny,” or did it take time for you to find your writing voice?

When I was in university, my first English essay was on starving children. I remember poring my heart out in that essay, moved to tears at times. That was my first of many A+s in that course, and though it was academic, I learned a lot about voice. I also had a fantastic English professor who encouraged my style and who told me, “Whatever you do, don’t stop writing!” Having said that, I prefer to write “funny” because I like to see people happy and make them laugh. On top of which it’s not as emotionally draining.

As I said earlier, you certainly made me laugh and right from the first page.

Like a lot of authors (me included) you dedicated your first book to your mom. Did she have a special influence on your writing journey?

My mother was my greatest supporter, even when my earlier works weren’t all that great. That’s the biggest hole in my writing journey, that she’s not here to share the joys, to know that I finally became a published author.

Having lost my own mom, I appreciate that feeling. *Hugs*

There are a number of mouthwatering food references in Murder, Curlers, and Cream—from Valentine’s great-aunt’s Armenian paklava to Boston cream donuts “as good as a donut could get.” Are you a foodie, and did you include any family favorites in your book?

I LOVE to eat, anytime, anywhere! Yes, the paklava is a family favourite. And any foods mentioned in the story are likely favourites of mine as well. Like sugared cereal. Great bedtime snack. And who doesn’t like Cocoa Puffs?

English Rose loves Cocoa Puffs. Me not so much as all that sugar makes her even more “energetic” than usual.

Murder, Curlers, and Cream is the first book in a series. What’s next for Valentine and her friends?

Murder, Curlers, and Canes (releasing spring 2017) is next for Valentine. This time, she tries to find out who had it in for an old nun, while at the same time dealing with a sexy new stylist. And as usual, she spars with Detective Romero. 

The third book in the series, Murder, Curlers, and Cruises, which sees Valentine mixed up in a murder on a “Beauty” cruise, is tentatively scheduled to release in the fall of 2017.

I look forward to more of Valentine’s adventures. Thanks for joining me today, Arlene, and happy writing. 

Thank you, Jen. It was my pleasure!

If you’d like to find out more about Arlene, please visit her website (where she has pictures of some of the fabulous makeovers she’s done), and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

And just in time for the holiday season (a gift for your favorite beautician, perhaps?), you can buy Murder, Curlers, and Cream on all Amazon platforms, as well as Apple, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and (in Canada) Chapters-Indigo.

Remembering my mom…and a special giveaway

Sunday, November 20th is World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. It’s a day I’ve marked since my mother was killed crossing a street while returning home from an ordinary, afternoon shopping trip.

Road death is sudden, shocking, and it forever changes the lives of loved ones left behind. Although the loss of my mom in such a terrible way is something I have to learn to live with, it isn’t something I’ll ever “get over.”

When my first published book, THE COTTAGE AT FIREFLY LAKE, releases on January 31, 2017, it’s dedicated to “my dear mom, in loving memory.” Almost five years after her death, that dedication celebrates her life and what she means to me.

The writer I am owes much to my mother’s influence. She shared her love of reading with me and, as a small-town girl, she nurtured my affection for the kind of places where my stories are set—small communities where neighborliness is a way of life and family ties are strong. And at a time of often seismic upheaval in the world at large, they’re also places where change comes more slowly.

Sean, the hero of THE COTTAGE AT FIREFLY LAKE, is rooted in the small, Vermont town where he grew up. As he says to the heroine, Charlie, in Chapter One:

“Everywhere else, life has sped up, everybody rushing without knowing what they’re rushing to or why. Here things stay pretty much the same. At least the same in the ways that matter.”

I spent many happy childhood summers in the small town where my mom grew up; a town much like Firefly Lake. It’s a place steeped in the sense of caring and connectedness that represents what’s best about community, and it’s where she now rests in an old rural cemetery beside my dad and several generations of her family.

When I visit my mom for a day of remembrance I wish I didn’t have to mark, I’ll take an advance reading copy (ARC) of THE COTTAGE AT FIREFLY LAKE with me. Mom always believed I’d be a published author, and I want to share this milestone with the woman who gave me life and so much more.  

Giveaway

Would you like to read a pre-release, ARC (uncorrected page proofs copy) of THE COTTAGE AT FIREFLY LAKE? I have three signed paperbacks to give away. To be eligible to win one, all you have to do is subscribe to my new, quarterly, author newsletter here. I’ll pick three subscriber names at random on Tuesday, November 22 and announce winners that day. 

My fortnightly blog posts are musings about life and sometimes writing. My author newsletter (from January 2017) will keep you updated on my book releases, including exclusive subscriber content, contests, and giveaways.

Terms & conditions

This giveaway is open internationally.
It runs until midnight ET on Monday, November 21, 2016.