Book Tour

The Leaving Yesterday book launch tour gets underway this week! Woo hoo! I'll be making stops in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia (complete schedule here). While I'm touring, I'll be doing my best to keep count, so I can add the total to my Books for Hope campaign (details below).
If you're in the area, stop by and say "hello".

Books For Hope

Want to make a difference in the world?
Looking for something new to read?

During the month of October, for every copy of Leaving Yesterday sold through my website or at any Borders store nationwide, $1 will be donated to Bridges of Hope. This is a wonderful organization which has impacted so many lives in South Africa. I encourage you to visit their website and learn more about their work.
FAQ
What do I need to do? If you purchase Leaving Yesterday through either of the above outlets, your purchase will be counted without any other action required.
What if I'd rather buy from my favorite bookstore? Great! Send me an email telling me when and where you bought the book and a $1 donation will be made for each book. This will not put you on any sort of mailing list!)
Why specifically Borders or your website? They are two of the easier places from which to get specific sales numbers. NOTE: If you buy through my website, it will connect you with CBD.com. You just need to go through my website first so I can count the sales numbers.

Leaving Yesterday Review

Leaving Yesterday officially launches on October 1. Right now, reviews are just starting to come in. This is definitely one of my favorites!
BTW- For all you techies out there, all three of my books are now available on Kindle. Woo hoo!

Looking for a bargain?

Doesn't everyone love a good bargain? Well, right now, CBD.com is selling my books at $7.99 each (cover price is $13.99). This includes pre-orders of the not-yet-released Leaving Yesterday. Not only that, but they're selling the complete 3 book set at $21.99. Early Christmas presents anyone? Here's the link, check it out!

A Beach Vacation for Under $15

My beachy writer pal, Julie Carobini, has a brand new book out. It's set in "Otter Bay", and by the time I finished reading it, I felt like I'd been on a beach vacation. Here's a little interview with Julie, to give you just a taste.

Hi Julie, it's great to see Sweet Waters hitting store shelves. As with your first two books, Chocolate Beach, and Truffles by the Sea, this book has a beach side setting. What about the ocean inspires you?

To me, the sea represents God’s infinite creativity. Just think about all the life that’s swimming around in those waters! Or how the sea stretches and lolls toward the horizon. I even like to jog the beach (when my bum knee cooperates).

The tagline on my website is “Faith, Flip Flops, and Waves of Grace.” That’s an intentional description of the types of stories that I write; stories that intertwine faith with my own God-given love of the sea and our constant need for grace.

What is your favorite part of being a writer? What's your least favorite?

I love the process of writing, of mulling ideas in my head during my shower and then letting my fingers fly across the keyboard while my hair is still wet. Those are the times when writing comes easiest.

However, it’s often in the re-writing or editing process when the degree of difficulty increases. Not a bad thing—but a necessary one!

What's a typical writing day for you?

With three kids, I prefer deadlines during the school year—although with Sweet Waters, that didn’t happen. I have a tough time pulling my mind away from the story, so the best writing days are when I can work without interruption (nearly impossible). So back to your question, after getting the kiddos off to school, I generally warm up my mind with a blog post, some Twittering and another cup of coffee. Then I write until I can no longer comfortably sit in my chair.

How is this book different from your other books?

My first books were fun-filled chick-lit romps with lots of asides. I laughed all through writing them.

With Sweet Waters, I enjoyed a bit of a transition. Humor exists within the pages, but it’s more understated than in the past. This story also contains a couple of ‘dark’ issues that I had to research to better understand, and while I can’t say that I ‘enjoyed’ learning about them, I did find them fascinating.

Tell us a little about the story in Sweet Waters.

Sweet Waters tells the story of sensible Tara Sweet, a woman hoping that moving back to the California coast her family left years before will lead to the fairytale she remembered. But Tara discovers fairy tales are fragile—and truth is often one ugly layer after another of secrets, accusation, rumor, and a past an entire church wants to forget. Enter Josh Adams, a rugged firefighter battling his own demons. Soon they find themselves at odds with their families, their faith, the townspeople of Otter Bay—and each other. Only in facing the lies from the past can they find the truth.

What's next for you?

The second of the Otter Bay Novels, A Shore Thing, will be released in June of 2010. The story centers around Callie Duflay and her fight to keep a huge development from destroying the central coast—while also protecting her heart from the charming architect on the proposed project. You can learn more about this and other stories on my website: http://www.juliecarobini.com/

Thanks so much for dropping by Julie!

You're welcome!

The rat is back!

Last week, I visited a book club--not just any book club--these were some women I met in 2008 while doing a mini book tour with Lauriane Snelling, Cathy Marie Hake, and Julie Carobini. These women are mostly a Bible study group, but in the summer they do a book club. They have a special mascot, a large plastic rat (she's sitting on my shoulder in the picture). They call themselves the Yahweh Sisterhood of the Traveling Rat. How fun is that?

They invited me to come hang with their group for brunch and a chat-- great food, awesome women, talking books. Few things in life are better than that!

Book News

Leaving Yesterday is going through final copy edits (thanks Natasha!) and will be hitting store shelves this fall. Here's the back cover copy:

A Powerful Drama of a Mother's Unfailing Love
Alisa Stewart feels like she's lost two sons: her eldest to a terrible tragedy and her youngest, Kurt, to a life ruined by addiction. But now Kurt has checked himself into rehab and found a healing faith that seems real. It's like he's been raised from the dead. But then a detective arrives at Alisa's door asking questions about a murder--the death of a drug dealer before Kurt entered rehab. Alisa fears losing her son again, and when she finds evidence linking him to the killing, she destroys it. Her boy is different now. He's changed and deserves a second chance. But when another man is charged with the crime, Alisa finds herself facing an impossible choice: be silent and keep her son or give up everything for the truth.

In other book news, Waiting for Daybreak is a finalist in the Women's Fiction category of the Inspirational Reader's Choice Contest. It's amazing how this happened just when I was needing some extra encouragement-- I'm so grateful for God's timing!