Robyn Echols's Blog, page 14

Blog Tour Winners: THE FOURTEENTH QUILT

HOORAY! I've got winners for the Rafflecopter giveaway. 




The winner of the 18 square inch Christmas Star block wall hanging/table topper is Cissie P.



The winner of the $25 Amazon gift card is Shannon W.


The winner of the autographed paperback copy of The Fourteenth Quilt is Jennifer C. R.

I will be contacting each of the winners using the email provided me by Rafflecopter.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Robyn Echols Author Links:
Website   |  Blog  |  Facebook   |  Twitter   |  Pinterest
Goodreads   |  Amazon Author Page
Quilt Gateway blog (See posts for September 2015)
The Fourteenth Quilt Facebook Page
The Fourteenth Quilt Pinterest Board
Purchase Links :
Amazon   |  Barnes & Noble  

Blog Tour Day 6: THE FOURTEENTH QUILT

Saturday is Day 6, the last day of The Fourteenth Quilt blog tour. I have 5 excerpts and 3 Q&A interviews scattered throughout the tour, plus a sign-up for a Rafflecopter giveaway. I hope you have been able to catch them all. If not, the links to all the blog posts on the tour are on the right-hand sidebar of this blog.

The blogs featured today are:
Penny's Tales by P.A. Estelle - She is featuring Excerpt #2, "Quiltsters." You may find her blog on the right-hand sidebar or by clicking HERE .Zina Abbott Books - This is my pen name for historical romance novels. I am featuring the interview Q&A with the real couple behind Sarah & Brian. At the end is Excerpt #2, "Quiltsters." You can find this blog on the right-hand sidebar or by clicking HERE.After you have read the book, please remember:

Robyn Echols Author Links:
Website   |  Blog  |  Facebook   |  Twitter   |  Pinterest
Goodreads   |  Amazon Author Page
Quilt Gateway blog (See posts for September 2015)
The Fourteenth Quilt Facebook Page
The Fourteenth Quilt Pinterest Board
Purchase Links :
Amazon   |  Barnes & Noble

Blog Tour Day 5: THE FOURTEENTH QUILT

Friday is Day 5 of The Fourteenth Quilt blog tour. I have 5 excerpts and 3 Q&A interviews scattered throughout the tour, plus a sign-up for a Rafflecopter giveaway. I hope you catch them all.

The blog featured today are:
Author S.E. Daley - She is featuring Excerpt #5, "First Kiss." You may find her blog on the right-hand sidebar or by clicking HERE . After you have read the book, please remember:

S.E, Daley who sent me a set of questions for her blog. I did not get them back to her in time. Here they are:



Author Interview Questions
1.     S.E. Daley: What inspired you to write in the first place?Robyn: I have always loved to read and write. I was sort of a dreamy child who made up stories in my head. I naturally progressed to writing my stories down so others could read them.
2.     S.E. Daley: What inspired this particular book?Robyn: Although much of this book is pure fiction, the main plot is based on real events. At the time I worked with my two friends to make lap quilts for the local rest home I had no idea what would happen, especially that last week before Christmas. We had some crazy experiences. In other words, who could make this stuff up? It was only when I looked back on the real fourteenth quilt and realized the many lives it touched that I sensed its significance. I said, “Someone needs to write a book about this.” So, I did.
3.     S.E. Daley: How do you spend your free time?Robyn: I enjoy reading, mostly fiction, but often non-fiction, particularly history. I love to quilt, although it does not rate as high as reading. I used to garden, but now I am writing more I don’t have the time. Last, I enjoy going on road trips, particularly into the mountains. Research trips are almost as much fun as writing the books set in the localities I’ve researched. I also work at the family history center and participate in my church, the local genealogical society, quilt guild and the local Daughters of Utah Pioneers. I attend way too many board meetings…..
4.     S.E. Daley: What literary character do you most relate too?Robyn: I don’t think in those terms so I have no idea. I do know of most of the prominent people I hear quoted, I enjoy quotes from Abraham Lincoln and Albert Einstein the most.
5.     S.E. Daley: What is the thing you struggle most with when you are writing and how do you defeat it?Robyn: The more I publish, the more time I spend marketing my books: blogs – including on group blogs –Facebook, Twitter, blog tours, making promotional hand-outs – all the things needed to get my name and the name of my books out there so people know what I have to offer. I defeat it by keeping on top of my calendaring, making templates for visuals to use and reuse on Twitter and Facebook, and keeping an organized filing system on my computer not only of my research and other resources, but also of my promotional and publishing deadlines.
6.     S.E. Daley: If you could spend a day inside one book, what book would it be and why?Robyn: I try to spend a little bit of every day inside one book or another, whatever I’m reading at the time. The book I most like to get into is the one I’m writing at the moment.  
7.     S.E. Daley: If your book was made into a movie, who would play the main characters?Robyn: Considering this particular book was based on many actual people, I guess the obvious answer would be…. Frankly, I much prefer to read and write, so I watch very little television and rarely go to movies. I have no idea who could play the three old quilters. For the young couple, Sarah and Brian, there are some wonderful young actors and actresses, but I don’t know their names. Someone else would have to do the casting.
8.     S.E. Daley: Do you listen to music while you write? If so what kind?Robyn: Nope. I like it dead silent.
9.     S.E. Daley: What is your writing snack of choice?Robyn: Do I have to limit it to just one? Chocolate, crackers, Craisins, yogurt, cheese sticks, and soda.
10. S.E. Daley: Which of your personality traits did you write into one of your characters? (Accidental or deliberate)
Robyn Echols Author Links:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest
Goodreads  |  Amazon Author Page
Quilt Gateway blog (See posts for September 2015)
The Fourteenth Quilt Facebook Page
The Fourteenth Quilt Pinterest Board
Purchase Links:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

Blog Tour Day 4: THE FOURTEENTH QUILT

Thursday is Day 4 of The Fourteenth Quilt blog tour. I have 5 excerpts and 3 Q&A interviews scattered throughout the tour, plus a sign-up for a Rafflecopter giveaway. I hope you catch them all.

The blogs featured today are:
Author Kristin Holt - She is featuring Excerpt #4, "The Beast." You may find her blog on the right-hand sidebar or by clicking HERE .Author Elaine Cantrell - She is featuring a Q&A with the author, Robyn Echols. You can find her blog on the right-hand sidebar or by clicking HERE.After you have read the book, please remember:

Robyn Echols Author Links:
Website   |  Blog  |  Facebook   |  Twitter   |  Pinterest
Goodreads   |  Amazon Author Page
Quilt Gateway blog (See posts for September 2015)
The Fourteenth Quilt Facebook Page
The Fourteenth Quilt Pinterest Board
Purchase Links :
Amazon   |  Barnes & Noble

Blog Tour Day 3: THE FOURTEENTH QUILT

Wednesday is Day 3 of The Fourteenth Quilt blog tour. I have 5 excerpts and 3 Q&A interviews scattered throughout the tour, plus a sign-up for a Rafflecopter giveaway. I hope you catch them all.

The blogs featured today are:
Author Patricia Kiyono - She is featuring Excerpt #3, "Learning Curve." You may find her blog on the right-hand sidebar or by clicking HERE . Author Kathy Bosman - She is featuring Excerpt #1, "Getting to Know You." You can find her blog on the right-hand sidebar or by clicking HERE. Wednesday Wonders on Robyn Echols Books blog will feature a Q&A about the real couple behind Sarah & Brian. You may find this post on the right-hand sidebar or by clicking HERE .   After you have read the book, please remember:
Robyn Echols Author Links:
Website   |  Blog  |  Facebook   |  Twitter   |  Pinterest
Goodreads   |  Amazon Author Page
Quilt Gateway blog (See posts for September 2015)
The Fourteenth Quilt Facebook Page
The Fourteenth Quilt Pinterest Board
Purchase Links :
Amazon   |  Barnes & Noble

Wednesday Wonders: THE FOURTEENTH QUILT

About The Fourteenth Quilt :
Annie, Celia and Lynn are all that are left of the Relief Society quilting class, but they are still determined to make baby quilts for the new mothers at church. Annie, who is just south of eighty years old, calls the quiltsters (short for quilting sisters) together to ask for more. She wants to make lap quilts to give to some of the “forgotten” oldsters she sings to each week at the nursing home—something to wrap them in love at Christmastime. It’s a good idea, but the trio discovers that life and making quilts don’t always go as planned.
The quiltsters discuss recipes and quilting ideas including a crocheted cat mat to use up their fabric selvage and trim scraps, all of which they share in the book.
Sarah and Brian meet at the university. Their first date is after Sarah’s First Saturday Block of the Month class she attends with her mom at the local quilt shop. Their romance grows, and they plan their future together—a plan that will require them to be separated for six months before their wedding. But, can they bear to be apart that long?
What wraps together this Christmas tale? The Fourteenth Quilt. 


Questions and Answers for Sarah in The Fourteenth Quilt :
The character Sarah in The Fourteenth Quilt is based on a real person. Almost all of the story of the romance is fictional. However, there was one scene in the book from the viewpoint of Lynn that is written pretty much as the real “Lynn” experienced it. You will find a few more details about it in the Quilt Gateway blog post dated September 22, 2015 which you can see by clicking HERE .
As for the real person behind Sarah, here is the rest of the story:
Question: How did you and the man on whom the character Brian is based actually meet?
Sarah’s answer: I could give the quick easy answer, but he is a romantic and wanted me to tell the longer version. I had ended a long relationship with my high school sweetheart that same year, and my older sister encouraged me to set up an online dating profile since I had never dated as an adult. The very first, and only, date I went on was with "Brian". We went to a cafe and talked until we ended up being asked to leave because they were closing. We've been together ever since.
Question: In the book you two planned a big wedding with all your family present and your father walking you down the aisle. Did you ever have that wedding ceremony?
Sarah’s answer: It wasn't what I would call big, but it was beautiful. One of the most emotional and beautiful moments of my life was my father walking me down that aisle and giving me away. It was one of the rare times I've seen him shed tears of joy.
Question:  Did “Brian” actually join the military?
Sarah’s answer: Yes he did. It can be a challenging life sometimes, but we are a proud military family. He continues to impress with his impeccable record and has reached the rank of Sergeant. His favorite award, as there have been a few, is probably when he won Soldier of the Year in his battalion. Its an award given to the soldier who can complete a land navigation course, vigorous physical standards, a medical safety course, and display their knowledge of the Army to a board of officers.
Question:  What are you doing these days?
Sarah’s answer: We bought a house and are fixing it up little by little. I spend my days learning what it means to be a new mom to my baby boy. When I have the time I try to teach myself how to use the sewing machine my mother bought me. When that becomes a challenge and I need a break, I'll work on the very large blanket I've been crocheting for my husband. I'm hoping that once my baby is big enough, or perhaps when we move closer to family, I'll have time to volunteer at the library again.
Question:  Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers of The Fourteenth Quilt?
Sarah’s answer: My mother has been working on my wedding quilt since before she even knew I was going to get married. At first I just wanted her to make me something pretty, but she insisted it be perfect and just what I wanted. So we spent countless hours looking at different fabrics. She named me after her favorite flower, which became my favorite flower, and so we had to include them in the quilt.
What she came up with was a beautiful quilt that I cannot wait to arrive. It’s even more beautiful because I know she made it with love. She loves her son-in-law, the man who secretly met with my parents to ask my father for his blessing before proposing to me, and it shows in the quilt. I'm so proud of my mother for making such a beautiful blanket, which took years to evolve into what it is today. She was so excited to be finished with it she almost sent it to me instead of putting it in the quilt show, but I insisted she enter it and I know she had a great time.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Robyn Echols :


Robyn Echols has been writing since she was in junior high school. By choice, she spent most of her evening hours in her "dungeon", as her mother called her downstairs bedroom, writing stories, only joining her family in front of the television upstairs when her favorite programs were playing. She has spent hours learning and teaching family history topics, and focuses on history from a genealogist's perspective of seeking out the details of everyday life in the past.

Now Robyn resides with her husband in California near the “Gateway to Yosemite” and has fun researching and writing the books that she hopes will interest and entertain her readers. She writes Young Adult/New Adult and contemporary fiction under Robyn Echols and adult historical romance under her pen name, Zina Abbott.

The author is a member of Women Writing the West, American Night Writers Association, and Modesto Writers Meet Up. She currently lives with her husband in California near the “Gateway to Yosemite.” She enjoys any kind of history including family history. When she is not piecing together novel plots, she pieces together quilt blocks.



Author Links:
Website   |  Blog  |  Facebook   |  Twitter   |  Pinterest
Goodreads   |  Amazon Author Page
Quilt Gateway blog (See posts for September 2015)
The Fourteenth Quilt Facebook Page
The Fourteenth Quilt Pinterest Board
Purchase Links :
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

 

Day 2 of Blog Tour: THE FOURTEENTH QUILT

Tuesday is Day 2 of The Fourteenth Quilt blog tour. I have 5 excerpts and 3 Q&A interviews scattered throughout the tour, plus a sign-up for a Rafflecopter giveaway. I hope you catch them all.

The blogs featured today are:
 Author Shanna Hatfield - She is featuring Excerpt #3, "Learning Curve." You may find her blog on the right-hand sidebar or by clicking HERE .
Author Carol Malone - She is featuring Excerpt #4, "The Beast." You can find her blog on the right-hand sidebar or by clicking HERE.After you have read the book, please remember:

  Robyn Echols Author Links: Website   |  Blog  |  Facebook   |  Twitter   |  Pinterest Goodreads   |  Amazon Author Page Quilt Gateway blog (See posts for September 2015) The Fourteenth Quilt Facebook Page The Fourteenth Quilt Pinterest Board
Purchase Links : Amazon   |  Barnes & Noble

Blog Tour: THE FOURTEENTH QUILT Begins Today

Today is the start of my blog tour and Facebook event.


I was featured on the Sweet & Clean Romance event this morning. 


If you are on Facebook, you can access the event HERE and scroll down to find what I had to say. I am offering a chance to win one digital copy of The Fourteenth Quilt to one person who leaves a comment by today, Monday. I will announce the winner tomorrow morning, Tuesday, October 20th.

You may also want to take a look at the comments by some of the authors participating in this event. 

Today also starts my blog tour. You can find all the blogs on the sidebar to the right of this blog. I have five  excerpts and three Q&A interviews plus pictures scattered throughout the blogs. All of them have a link to Rafflecopter for a chance to win one of three prizes.

The following are the blogs that are featured today:
The Romance Room by Sarah McNeal. Her blog features Excerpt #1, "Getting to Know You." Click HERE to see this blog. Author Linda Broday is featuring an author Q & A. Click HERE to see her blog. A Storybook World by Laura Watkins also features Excerpt #1, "Getting to Know You." Click HERE to see her blog. The prizes offered through Rafflecopter are a $25 Amazon gift card, an autographed copy of The Fourteenth Quilt , and an eighteen inch square Christmas Star wall hanging/table-topper. This is what the top looks like:


And, after you read the book, please remember:

 
Robyn Echols Author Links:   Website   |  Blog  |  Facebook   |  Twitter   |  Pinterest   Goodreads   |  Amazon Author Page  Quilt Gateway blog (See posts for September 2015)  The Fourteenth Quilt Facebook Page   The Fourteenth Quilt Pinterest Board
  Purchase Links :   Amazon   |  Barnes & Noble

Almost Here: THE FOURTEENTH QUILT Blog Tour & Facebook Event

It's almost here!
 All the blogs participating in the blog tour are listed in the sidebar to the right of the bar. Just click on each of them the day they are scheduled to read about the book and use Rafflecopter to sign up for prizes. I am offering a quilted Christmas Star wall hanging (USA participants only), a $25 Amazon gift card and an autographed copy of The Fourteenth Quilt as prizes.

I have five excerpts and three author or character Q&As (questions and answers) scattered among the blogs. Check out each blog and catch them all.

In addition, I have a Facebook event scheduled. The main purpose of the event is to notify you of the blogs available each day of the event. You can find that Facebook event for The Fourteenth Quilt and sign up for it by clicking HERE.  

The Fourteenth Quilt  Facebook event also has a link to another Facebook event in which I am participating as part of this tour. My time slots are as follows:
Monday at 9:00a.m. Pacific time (10:00a.m. Mountain)Thursday at 4:00p.m. Pacific time (5:00p.m. Mountain)
It will also introduce you to other authors of sweet & clean romances. You can sign up and participate in this event by clicking HERE .

Whether you chose to check back on this blog each day to follow the blog tour or join up on the Facebook event, I hope you enjoy learning more about The Fourteenth Quilt . Be sure to let me know what you think.

And, please remember, after you read the book, I love book reviews. Please go to Amazon or Barnes & Noble and write a review about what you thought of the book.


Robyn Echols Author Links:
Website   |  Blog  |  Facebook   |  Twitter   |  Pinterest
Goodreads   |  Amazon Author Page
Quilt Gateway blog (See posts for September 2015)
The Fourteenth Quilt Facebook Page
The Fourteenth Quilt Pinterest Board
Purchase Links :
Amazon   |  Barnes & Noble  

Wednesday Wonders: MAIL-ORDER GROOM

Today’s Wednesday Wonders features Mail-Order Groom by Cindy Flores Martinez.
About Mail-Order Groom (Second Edition) :
MAIL-ORDER GROOM (Second Edition) is a sweet romantic comedy novel about an American woman who marries a handsome stranger from Poland after her fiancé leaves her right before the wedding.
Lisa is about to marry the love of her life, but her world is shattered when she finds her fiancé, Jeff, in the arms of another woman. When he calls off the wedding, she's heartbroken.
In a twist of fate, she meets Krzysztof Zielinski from Poland on Mail-Order-Grooms.Com. He needs to marry an American woman so that he can stay in America, and he’s willing to pay money for it. His reason for needing to stay is what tugs at Lisa’s heart and convinces her to say “I do” to him. After all, it’s going to be strictly a business deal.
Lisa races to the altar with Krzysztof, but things become complicated when she finds herself falling for him, and he’s not planning to stay in America forever. Will her heart break all over again?



Excerpt:
"Without further ado," said Pastor Dan, "I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Was it really over? I remained there, unmoving, as reality sunk in. Yes, it was over. I had married Krzysztof Zielinski. Despite my good intentions for having married him, I couldn't escape the enormity of what I had done. I hardly knew Krzys, but I needed to make our marriage look real, or else he and Jerzy would lose everything. What made it even harder was that my heart was still breaking over Jeff, and nobody could ever know how I felt. Would I really be able to do this?

Pastor Dan clasped his hands together and turned toward Krzys. “You may now kiss the bride.”
Somehow, I had forgotten about this part of the ceremony. I wasn't ready to kiss Krzys, or anyone else for that matter. Jeff was the only man I had kissed in years. What was I going to do now?
The photographer that I had hired for the day positioned the camera directly in front of us, and everyone in the room waited in silence for our blessed union.
I caught a glimpse of Mario and Jerzy who stood beside Krzys, and Magda who sat behind them in the front row of the church looking beautiful in a flowing floral dress. Daphne, Chloe, and Zoey were at my side in matching bubble gum pink maid of honor and bridesmaids gowns. They all watched me and Krzys with anticipation.
There was no way around it. I had to kiss Krzys, and it had to look as if it was something other than the first time.
As I prepared myself mentally for the inevitable, I decided that our kiss couldn't be just any kiss. It had to be better than anything Jeff and I had ever shared and better than what he and Vivian experienced on the night I found them together. I was going to give Krzys the biggest, most overly exaggerated kiss in the history of my love life, and I was going to make sure we were in full view of the camera. I hoped with everything inside of me that Jeff would see a picture of that moment and that somehow, someway, he would feel the same pain I felt when I saw him kiss Vivian.
I stepped forward, but Krzys's lips met mine first. The kiss that followed between us was gentle, soft, tender, warm, and kind. Yes, those are the words that come to mind when I think of that kiss. Nothing ever happens exactly as you plan it. Life is never the way you think it’s going to be.
When it was over, Krzys didn’t move, and neither did I. We watched each other as if we were the only two people in the room. We had just experienced the most perfect kiss, and it had rendered us immobile. Before that moment, our marriage was going to be a clear, straightforward business deal with no emotions involved, but our kiss had just complicated it.
“Ladies and gentleman,” said Pastor Dan, “I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Krzysztof Zielinski.”

About Cindy Flores Martinez:
My name is Cindy Flores Martinez. I was born and raised in a suburb of Los Angeles. I have an MFA in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Screenwriting. I have been a screenwriting instructor, screenplay consultant, script reader, and screenplay collaborator. My debut novel, Mail-Order Groom, started out as a screenplay and movie project. I spent years shopping it around Hollywood, New York, and other parts of the world and had two well-known actors, one of them Academy Award nominated, interested in portraying the lead character's parents. After not finding the success I wanted, I officially canceled my film production company, Mail-Order Groom LLC, in November of 2009 and embarked on the journey of turning my screenplay into a novel.
Author Links:
 Amazon Author Page  |  Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  
Goodreads
Purchase Link :   Amazon