Jamie Beck's Blog, page 2

Paperback Preorder Sale

Woot! Barnes & Noble is running a sale through January 28th (offering 25% off most preorder paperbacks). If you prefer paper books to ebooks, this is a great opportunity to grab my upcoming release at a discount!

Here’s the story blurb:

Wendy Moore hides her collection of pilfered bric-a-brac from everyone, including her husband. He thinks she licked her kleptomania in therapy more than a decade ago. Therapy did help, as did focusing her attention on motherhood. But now Wendy’s gardening and furniture-refinishing hobbies fill up only so much of the day, leaving the recent empty nester lonely and anxious—a combination likely to trigger her little problem. She needs a project, fast. Luckily, Harper Ross—a single, childless younger woman in desperate need of highlights—just moved in next door.

The only thing Harper wants to change is the writer’s block toppling her confidence and career. Then a muse comes knocking. Sensing fodder for a new antagonist, Harper plays along with Wendy’s “helpful” advice while keeping her career a secret so Wendy keeps talking. Sure, she’s torn about profiting off her neighbor’s goodwill—especially when Wendy’s matchmaking actually pans out—but Harper’s novel is practically writing itself.

Just as a real friendship begins to cement, their deceptions come to light, threatening Wendy’s and Harper’s futures and forcing them to reconcile who they are with who they want to be. Easier said than done.

If you prefer ebooks, be sure to add this book to your Goodreads WANT TO READ shelf by clicking THIS LINK and then clicking the green “Want to Read” button beneath the book. That way you’ll get a notice from Goodreads whenever there are Goodreads Giveaways of the book, and again on release day.

Happy reading!

XO,

Jamie

A Holiday Audiobook Giveaway!

Happy holidays, everyone! I’m popping in with a quick announcement about a multi-author women’s fiction audiobook giveaway I’m participating in. The sweepstakes is being sponsored by the Best of Women’s Fiction podcast. On December 31, we will pick three winners (U.S. residents only), each of whom will win 5 of the 15 audiobooks pictured here.

Follow this link for more information about the contest and the books.

Wishing each of you good luck, happy holidays, and a healthy new year!

xo,

Jamie

Release Day!

My pandemic book is finally here! Yes, you read that right. This is the book I wrote during the first six months of the pandemic lockdown and the frenzied national election season. The house was filled with people, all of whom were living in a constant state of worry for our community and country. Accordingly, I wrote a gentler book–an escape from all the doom and gloom.

I want to thank those of you in the Goodreads community who’ve already read and reviewed an advance review copy of the novel. I’m thrilled by the reader response so far!

If you haven’t heard about this story yet, here is the blurb:

Three women wake up to the consequences of one impulsive pact in an insightful novel about friendship, love, and fulfillment by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Jamie Beck.

While at a casino to celebrate her birthday, Jessie Clarke proposes a pact to her reserved sister, Liz, and their childhood friend Chloe: the three women will say yes to any adventure that comes their way. Jessie is mourning her recent divorce, so the other two reluctantly agree. Twelve hours later, they awaken to the shocking consequences of their behavior.

A viral video throws Liz’s career and reputation into question. A major loss at the craps table rocks the foundation of Chloe’s staid marriage. And Jessie’s desperate bid to unblock her artistic creativity results in a life-changing choice. Staring down the crossroads, each woman finds her relationships—with herself, with each other, and with loves both old and new—tested. At every turn, they struggle not to let fear decide their fates. Will they give in, or will their misadventures lead to the greatest fulfillment of all?

Interested? Hop over to Amazon to pick up your digital, paper, or audio copy today!

Happy reading!

XO

Jamie B

Women’s Fiction Day 2021 Giveaway!

June 8th is around the corner, and that’s cause for celebration because it’s Women’s Fiction Day, which “celebrates women’s fiction authors, novels, publishers, booksellers, and most importantly, readers who appreciate women’s fiction and the power of a great story.”

As a member of the Women’s Fiction Writing Association and author of several women’s fiction novels, including my recent release, FOR ALL SHE KNOWS, I am thrilled to among the group of authors participating in an online celebration. I’ll be giving away a signed copy of my book and the mug pictured here to one lucky winner. Here’s the book blurb:

     Grace first met Mimi when she blew into their sons’ toddler playgroup like a warm bay breeze that loosened Grace’s tight spaces. Despite differing approaches to life and parenting, the fast friends raised their kids together while cementing a sisterlike bond that neither believed could be broken. But when a string of ill-fated decisions results in a teen party with a tragic outcome for Grace’s son, the friendship is ripped apart and an already-splintered community explodes.

     Accusations are leveled, litigation ensues, and the people of Potomac Point take sides, all of which threatens Mimi’s business and her current custody agreement. Her sole salvation is a young cop who just might be her second chance at love. That fact only antagonizes Grace, whose marriage is crumbling beneath the weight of blame and the echo of past mistakes.

     With their lives unraveling, the former friends stand to lose everything they love unless they learn to forgive—both themselves and each other.

For a chance to win, please go on to my author Goodreads page and do the following:

“Follow” or “friend request” me; Find this blog reposted on that same Goodreads page (scroll down once you get to my page and you should find it under the book descriptions) and reply to this post with “Following”; andAdd THE HAPPY ACCIDENTS to your “Want to Read” shelf (use the green button just below the book cover accessed by the title link).

I’ll select a winner on June 10th to give people a chance to find the post. GOOD LUCK!

By the way, if you’re active on Goodreads, you’ll be seeing me whenever I leave book reviews (which I love to do) or post events of interest. If you’d like to keep up to date in other ways, too, follow me on Facebook and Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter. Happy summer reading!

XO,

Jamie B

 

 

Have You Added This to Your “Want To Read” Shelf?

I’m in love with the cover of my next release, THE HAPPY ACCIDENTS. Not only do I think it’s gorgeous, but it also captures the tone of this friendship story, in which three women wake up to the consequences of one impulsive pact and end up discovering new things about friendship, love, and fulfillment.

I’ve taken many trips with my gal pals throughout the years. Each time, I return home with more self-awareness and a sense of deepened friendship (although thankfully we’ve avoided the harsh consequences that Jessie, Liz, and Chloe must confront in this story). I hope that readers will relate to one if not all three of the women in this story while the friends are forced to live more authentic lives. I think that is something we are all striving for every day. When you find the secret, please share it with us all!

You can read the blurb right here for more details:

If you’re on Goodreads, I’d love it if you could add this book to your “Want to Read” shelf (just click the green button beneath the book’s image right HERE). Doing so will ensure that you get alerted about any Goodreads giveaways on the title, and about it’s release!

Thanks so much!

XO,

Jamie B

Parental Compromises: The Good, Bad & Ugly

From the time my children were born, I’ve been on a mission to do things “right.” For me, that entailed reading dozens of parenting books, talking with child psychologists, and volunteering at a local public health nonprofit organization that focused on helping parents foster healthy child development. When my kids were younger, it wasn’t too difficult. My husband and I agreed on topics like nutrition, screen time, and education. We could control their environment, their playdates, and what they saw on television and the internet. For a time, our kids adored us and thought we had all the answers. We started to believe we did, too. Then came the teen years.

We expected peer pressure to be the biggest challenge, and it certainly has been an issue. What I didn’t expect was to butt up against friction with other parents and my own husband when it came to the issue of underage drinking. Being a teen from the ‘80s, I assumed all parents would stand united against keg parties and enforce consequences like groundings if they caught their kids drinking. I was woefully unprepared for how parenting styles have changed in forty years. Suddenly the data I’d learned about the effects of alcohol on brain development, and the statistics about how early drinking substantially increases one’s chances of having alcohol abuse issues later in life, didn’t convince everyone that we should work hard to prevent our kids from drinking alcohol. If anything, it became increasingly clear that many parents’ new tack is to try to teach their kids to drink responsibly.

My husband was raised in a more permissive environment than I, so like many others in my community, he advanced arguments in favor of that stance, such as:

It’s safer to have the kids drinking in our home, where we can watch what’s happening;If kids feel free to be open with their parents, it will lead to better choices if something goes wrong;It’s hypocritical to punish kids for drinking when we did it at their age;It’s better for kids to learn to drink before they go away to college; and finally,Eliminating the taboo makes drinking less interesting.

On one hand, I understood the appeal of those arguments. All of us are doing our best to juggle our experience, knowledge, and fears as we shepherd our kids into adulthood. We want to engender trust so that our kids will be honest with us. At least in these spaces, all parents find common ground.

Of course, we also know from experience that alcohol-impaired brains rarely make “better choices” in the heat of the moment, and that rampant permissiveness normalizes illegal, risky behavior. Then there’s the issue of legal liability, and the instances of parents who get arrested for hosting parties and of children who get injured at them. And I’m not convinced it’s fair to label maturity and the recognition of the inherent danger you misjudged in youth as hypocrisy. So, at times our home felt like a battleground, with my husband and I parrying and making compromises to forge some peace while trying to keep our kids safe.

My experience navigating this minefield is what spurred me to write FOR ALL SHE KNOWS, in which two friends and mothers must face the consequences of their choices and find forgiveness or risk destroying their friendship and families. I am not a perfect parent, and the story does not cast aspersions or preach. Instead, it raises questions about how to protect teens from reckless behavior. I hope the choices Mimi and Grace make in the book foster discussions about how our own decisions—whatever they may be—affect not only our immediate family, but also the community around us.

I think it’s clear at this point that I don’t have the answers, but maybe together we will find them.

XO-

Jamie

Recovering From Mistakes

Every day I make parenting choices based on a combination of instinct, experience, and fear, and then I pray for the best. These two kids mean everything to me, so I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bargained with God, especially during their teen years. Of all the goals in my life, the biggest one is to get them into adulthood happy, well-adjusted, and in one piece. Fortunately, most of my daily decisions have worked out fine.

But have you ever made one parenting decision—one uncomfortable compromise that you felt compelled to make—and had it blow up in your face? It’s bad enough when that mistake costs you something, but ten times worse when it hurts one of your children. This situation is one of the things at the heart of my upcoming release, FOR ALL SHE KNOWS.

When something terrible happens, our first reaction often is to lash out and blame other people or external forces. Perhaps fear and panic short-circuit our reasoning skills, and it feels good in the moment to identify a villain or some other reason why fate went against you. But in truth, I think we simply need time to digest what has happened before we can accept the fact that we did something that caused someone we love pain. And it also takes time to admit to making a mistake, especially for those of us with perfectionist tendencies and control issues!

This brings us to Grace’s journey in my next book, which is a journey of acceptance and forgiveness–of others and of herself–for sins both past and present. I suspect every reader will relate in some way to her struggle. If they are beating up themselves and others for some mistake, I also hope they are inspired to extend an olive branch and move forward.

Most of all, I hope you love this story.

Happy reading!

xo

Jamie B

 

A Reading From My Upcoming Release

Hello, friends!

I’ve decided to mix things up with a video today.

I hope I do the prologue of my upcoming release, FOR ALL SHE KNOWS, justice. I’m not an actor, so have pity on me and remember this is why my publisher hires actors to perform my audiobooks! LOL

The prologue is only 2.5 pages, so it won’t take long.

Click here for the VIDEO EXCERPT

Hope you enjoyed it. If you’re seeing this on Goodreads, let me know your thoughts!

XO-

Jamie B

A New Year Means New Books!

Happy new year to all!

Like most of you, I’m pleased to put 2020 behind us and move forward. I’m filled with hope and determination to show up each day with my A-game, and am excited about my current work-in-progress. That said, I’m equally excited about my 2021 releases.

For All She Knows comes out in late March and is a story about two mothers and friends who must face the consequences of their choices after a teen party goes awry. This tale is very dear to my heart as a mother of teens who are navigating the high school and college social scenes. During the time between my legal career and my writing career, I volunteered at a local public health non-profit that focused on children and parenting. I learned a lot about the prevalence of teen alcohol use, as well as the dangers to brain development and risks for future addiction that can spring from early alcohol abuse. In recent years, the stories of alcohol-related deaths on college campuses, as well as injuries at parent-sponsored teen parties, have also weighed on me.

In writing this tale, my goal was not to cast judgment on anyone’s parenting style, but rather to start a conversation about how and why we make certain choices, and whom and what we might want to consider when doing so. Most of all, I hope that Grace’s and Mimi’s journeys of discovery—with each other and within themselves—will resonate with you.

You can check out early reviews on Goodreads HERE!

My fall release is entitled The Happy Accidents. I don’t yet have a cover or back jacket copy to share, but it is about three friends who make a “just say yes” adventure pact on a girls’ weekend and wake up to deal with the fallout in each of their lives. This book is a bit lighter than my recent stories, so I hope you all enjoy the escape!

Stay healthy and safe, and keep reading!

xo

Jamie B

Just Call Me Tony–and Other Advice For Moms

When I was young, I couldn’t wait to be an adult. Then I hit thirty and wanted to stop time. Similarly, when I had babies, I eagerly awaited each milestone, believing that mothering would become easier and more enjoyable after they could walk and talk and do amusing and amazing things. Then they became teenagers…

Don’t get me wrong. I love my kids with my entire being and wouldn’t trade this wild ride of motherhood for anything, but this role isn’t for the faint of heart. Not only doesn’t the learning curve level off, but at times it appears to escalate, so the job often seems to get harder, not easier, with time. Despite knowing myself much better in my fifties than I did in my thirties, I feel I understand kids less as I shepherd my adolescents through various crises while they inch their way toward adulthood.

And this is all hard enough when dealing with a typical child, let alone coping with the extra struggles that accompany parenting a child with a special challenge (whether that is a learning-based, emotional, or physical one). Often it appears that the harder we moms try, the worse things get. That confusion makes us question every parenting decision we’ve ever made. All that questioning not only wreaks havoc on our families, but can also really mess with one’s sense of confidence and accomplishments. It is shockingly easy to feel alone and a failure, especially when wading daily through a social-media sea of overachieving, gorgeous, happy-as-a-pig-in-mud kid posts by your peers. But the worst part of all is shouldering all the blame for anything that actually goes wrong. How often has everyone from your child to society foisted the responsibility for whatever mistakes your kids make onto you?

I’m aware that I’m not covering new ground here. My grandmother used to tell her kids, “Just call me Tony,” as if she were some random person on the street, when she needed a break from them blaming “Mom” for everything from an unwanted genetic trait to a poor test score because “she didn’t make them study.” When I first heard about that, as a child, I didn’t understand her at all. Now I wish I could conjure her ghost so I could hug her and bow down to her wisdom. The best part about my Gram’s plea is that it forces the kid to cope with his or her own problem, which is what will best prepare him or her for adulthood. Oh, the irony!

If you, like me, have experienced any of this roller coaster when raising your family, then you will relate to the main protagonist of my new release, TRUTH OF THE MATTER. While not biographical, the story is infused with many of the issues we middle-aged women face, both as mothers and as women. In every conceivable way, Anne is smack in the middle of things: her marriage is falling apart, she’s raising a highly anxious teen, she’s caring for a beloved grandparent with dementia, and she’s abandoned her artistic career. But not until she’s thrust outside the comfort zone of her familiar life is she able to confront how out of touch she’s become with her own needs and dreams.

It is so easy for women to fall into this trap, particularly for women of my generation and older. We are groomed to care for others—to be effortlessly and endlessly empathetic, which can be exhausting on many levels. Self-sacrifice becomes a badge of honor, a test of worthiness. But what happens to these good mothers and daughters and wives when their kids leave, their parents die, and their husbands walk away? How do they move forward when so much of what they’ve done with their time is wrapped up in the people who are leaving them behind? These are some of the questions I explored while working my way through this story with Anne, her daughter, Katy, and her grandmother, Marie. If you’re interested in the answers, I hope you’ll pick up the book.

In the end, I do recommend taking my grandmother’s advice from time to time. We don’t need to accept responsibility and blame for the many and varied things we cannot and will never be able to control. It is equally important that we embrace the things we love and remember not to put ourselves last on everyone’s—particularly our own—list of priorities.

I hope you pick up and enjoy my newest book. I’m super proud of this one, peeps.

XO-

Jamie