RASPBERRIES AND VINEGAR blog tour and giveaway !! Locavores unite!

Hello everybody!

 Have you all had a lovely week?? I thought this week was going to be same ol', same ol' but it ended up being something else, something else! We went to the drive in, then the water park, then had sleepover friends... You know the drill. Summer time and kids= rocketing around like there's no tomorrow!

 It fits right into my super fun week to be able to bring Valerie Comer's new book to the blog. But first, let me say she's having a fun facebook virtual party, and it's not the usual fb virtual party. This is a LOCAVORE party.

(Now, locavore doesn't mean crazy eater. It means LOCAL eater. As in people who make a conscious effort to eat natural, local food. I've been interested in local eating since I read

this book a few years ago. If you haven't read it, you should. And then you'll love Valerie's book even more because the main characters in this fun, contemporary love story are all about the local eating... and the local loving. I've always been a romance reader, and this story combined two of my biggest passions.


You can get a hint from the "Farm Fresh Romance" part of Valerie's cover that this is going to involve the freshest, most delicious food AND love!   I loved this cover as soon as I saw it and I asked VALERIE if she would share how the cover came to be made. This is what she said:

partybox

2 Seconds to Catch a Reader's Attention

"That's the job of a book cover designer/artist. How many times have your eyes glossed over a cover, not engaged? Maybe a friend says, "Oh, you have to read that one!" and you say, "But I don't like the cover." And you assume, rightly or wrongly, that if you don't like the cover, you won't like the story, either.

So…does this cover catch your attention? What does it make you think the story is about? The words "A Farm Fresh Romance" should give you a clue. Does the cover art enhance those words, in your opinion? Most of all, does it make you want to give the novel a chance?

 

I wrote a novel several years ago with the working title of Domino's Game. Domino is the name of a Border collie puppy, and he's important to the plot all the way through. My daughter, Hanna Sandvig, read a draft of the story. Being a digital artist, she couldn't help creating a mock-up cover for it. (This is the woman who, as a teen, was going to write a novel herself but couldn't get to it until she'd drawn all the characters. In various costumes. And the setting. And the…you get the idea.)

 

When Choose Now contracted this novel as their debut release—with a lead time of about 10 weeks—I suggested my daughter as the cover artist. Although the initial mock-up had been created on the fly, my publisher saw something in it that she liked and contracted my daughter to create the final cover.

 

Hanna realized that a young couple in her church fit the profiles of the novel's main characters fairly well and invited them for a photo shoot. Thankfully they thought it would be great fun and obliged, though it was only a few days before their wedding and I'm sure they had plenty of other things to do!

My daughter narrowed the selection down to her favorite poses and sent them to the publisher and to me. We agreed easily on our favorite and Hanna proceeded to create the digital art for the front, then added the layout and text for the spine and back cover as well. She doesn't have the program or skills to render it in the format required by the printer, so a graphic designer stepped on board to fine-tune the file at the final stage. Hanna blogged about the process HERE.

I'm so thrilled to share the fun of my first solo novel release with my daughter's first book cover. No one else has a cover like mine, and it's sure to catch attention simply by being so unique. I hope it's done its job on you!"

Thank you, Valerie!

Here's her bio:

Valerie Comer’s life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local foods movement as well as their creation-care-centric church. She only hopes her characters enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.

Valerie writes Farm Lit with the voice of experience laced with humor. Raspberries and Vinegar, first in her series A Farm Fresh Romance, released August 1, 2013. Visit her at http://valeriecomer.com.

   Okay, you guys, I hope you check this out. I thought it was such a lovely debut novel! You can go to Valerie's publisher's site and check out a taste of what's in store for you. Sample chapters available here!!

  And here's the book blurb...
   Choose Now breaks ground in the Farm Fresh Romance series, in which Josephine Shaw and her friends renovate a dilapidated farm with their sights set on more than just their own property. Transforming the town with their sustainable lifestyle and focus on local foods is met with more resistance than they expected, especially by temporary neighbor, Zachary Nemesek. Jo needs to learn that a little sweet makes the tart more tasty.

Looking at her publisher's site, I see you can order the book personalized and signed! That would be a great gift for the romance-loving gardener in your life. There is also a GOODREADS GIVEAWAY an while you're over there you can see my starzzzz I gave. :D

 

 

FIVE MINUTE FRIDAY: BROKEN

 

 

 

Today I'd like to do a five minute Friday for Lisa-Jo Baker's writing prompt here. Sad that her site had to crumple up and die before I started this, but honestly, sticking the link in a facebook comment thread seems a whole lot easier than linking to her site. Even though I've been a fan for EVAH, this is my first time joining.

 

 

 And GO.

  Some days the world seems so incredibly fragile.  Not in a morning-dew-on-dandelion-puff way. More of a creeping-over-broken-glass-through-the-dark-barefoot sort of way.

  Some days I am sure that every few hours (heck, every few minutes) something bad will happen. A plane won't fall on my house. That would be too easy. But the oven will die. And the cat will barf on the carpet. And the kids will poke each other with sticks I told them to throw in the garden but somehow they ended up back in the fenced yard I thought was safe enough that I could take 2 minutes to run to the bathroom and pee.

 

  Some days this constant barrage of tiny failures wears at me in a way I can't figure out how to fix. Like the scratchy tag that will puncture the back of your neck 379 times in one morning until you're ready to tear off your shirt in the middle of Walmart and do your shopping half-naked. If it was a larger sort of broken, I could DO SOMETHING. But these minute little broken pieces of a day that should have gone well aren't anywhere in the mom's playbook.

  Like my laptop. I'm a writer. Not just a facebook and twitter kind of writer. But a writer who makes money actually writing. So, I need my laptop. I need it to work. Not just sometimes, but all the time. The touchpad was stuck for weeks. Every few words the cursor would jump, sometimes erasing whole paragraphs, or sentences, or I'd find myself typing in the middle of some other scene. I had to stop, fix, begin again, then stop, repeat, begin again, until my train of thought has completely derailed and the muse has fled the room.

 

 BROKEN. But not so broken I could throw it out. It was just a scratchy tag sort of broken, that endless small puncturing of my thoughts and words and pages until I wanted to give up.

  And today I fixed it. I typed this post without a single skip or sudden deletion.

  I have never felt so grateful. My hands feel generous and free. I never want to stop.
 Joy and gratitude amid the brokenness of my life, because one thing that was wrong is now right.

 STOP.

May the k9 Spy! Review and giveaways and scavenger hunt!

Hellooooo, everybody!

  Welcome back! Sorry about that whole 'see you Tuesday' comment. Sometimes my brain goes on the fritz.  So far, I have not lost any of my children or forgotten my own name. I may or may not have locked myself out of my house, car, van, apartment, etc. on a regular basis since I was given a set of keys. I also tend to forget how old I am and whether or not we have food in the house. But that's all minor stuff, right??

How can you possibly complain when I had this cool chicken-in-a-diaper picture??

You're welcome.

 Ok, so today I'm reviewing an awesome middle grade fiction book called

May on the Way: How I Become a K9 Spy

 

(Isn't that the cutest cover EVAH??? Here's the blurb...)

Sometimes I start with a well-thought out plan, and sometimes, me being me, things just happen. In my imagination I'm on my way, heading anywhere. Because anywhere's better than here.

 

Which is why I'm staring at this latch. I'm going to escape today. I've been watching closely to see how they work it, though no one's noticed.

Humans... So unaware...

 

   Caveat: I'm not a dog person. I don't have a dog. I have cats. And some kids. And some chickens. But I like dogs and know how smart they can be. That being said, this book made me LOVE dogs. It made me want to go right out and bring home a dog. And not just any dog. I wanted a rescue dog.

  Puppies are great, but May makes you long for a smart dog that just never got a real chance. And May is as smart as they come.

  I have readers from ages seven to thirteen and we read A LOT.  I can tell within a chapter whether the book is something that kids will finish. I knew I liked the book, but what did I know? I'm pushing forty and don't even Pet the cat when I walk by. I'm not the best beta reader for May.

BUT my kids loved this book!! Forget love, they flipped over this book! We had to get all the others.

Wait, that probably doesn't sound good from a parent's perspective. But it's money well-spent. And the best part?

The FIRST MAY BOOK IS FREE RIGHT NOW!! No kidding! here's the linkydoo: HERE

Also, as a special treat to her fans, MAY has a cool treasure hunt going on! Every blog she's visited has a very special letter somewhere hidden inside. Hmmmmm.... Can you find it?? You find each letter, spell out the word, and there are awesome prizes to be had!

Since I love these books so much, I want to link the cover of the next and the blurbs in this review, too. You know kids LOVE A SERIES.

 

May Finds a Way: Peril in Paris:   An enterprising escape, a perilous mission...

After going astray during K9 Spy boot camp, May tries to find a way to the American Embassy in Paris.
Join her and Léonce, a feral cat, as they sniff out an evil plot leading from Benjamin Franklin's park through the historic Passy Cemetery to The Pantheon...including a journey under the city!

Guess what? This one will be FREE for Kindle: July 23-27, 2013 !!

Check out the rules and join May the K9 Spy’s Scavenger Hunt at May’s Blog Tour HQ! Also, if you grab the book and review it, you can be entered for MORE prizes! 

 

About the Author:

KC Frantzen learned to speak critter at a young age. She and her husband volunteer with a variety of projects, including the Joni & Friends Wounded Warrior Getaway. They enjoy traveling just about anywhere, which helps formulate ideas for May the K9 Spy. The family lives in the country hills of middle Tennessee with two Arabian horses and several rescue dogs, including the real May.

 

*whew* Summer days are long for a reason.

Helloo everybody!!

 So, Leaving Liberty is out and about!

Sitting right at #2 on the Christian fiction lists right  here .  I'm loving how much easier this gets every single time. I do get nervous, but it's not as bad as the first few times. Maybe by book #205 I won't even blink!!

  My next project is another historical and I'm loving this story! It's one I've wanted to write for a long time, about a girl who is a secret newspaper columnist in a time when women weren't really respected for doing anything outside the home. I have a soft spot for trailblazers and women trailblazers make me happy. :)

  Nest week we've got some very fun blog posts coming up! May the K9 spy is going to be here!! Giveaways and a treasure hunt and all sorts of fun!

  As a mom of middle grade readers, I'm always searching for good books. May is a treasure!

  Ok, all, until next Tuesday! I'll leave you with a picture of this chicken. It's wearing a diaper. We have chickens. They don't wear diapers. This little gizmo is for people who want chickens to be able to roam in their house.

Why?

No idea. People are weird.

 Until Tuesday, my friends!

New releases!

Hello, my pretties!

 I'm pretty far behind with this blog thing. I keep saying I'll pop over here to write down some quick thoughts but then end up just blogging at Yankee Belle Café. Here's my most recent post... Here.

You should click it. There are pictures of food and cabins and books and my feet. You must admit, those are some stylish feet.

And here's a new cover for a new book that's going to be up July 1st!

Whee! And it will start with a free run, so watch for it. :)

Love's Miracles blog tour comes to meeeeeeee! Five stars!

Hi everybody!

 This is a review post for a friend who has a new book out. I volunteered to spread the word because Sandra has such a beautiful way with a story. This sweet book is one of those that will keep you company on a rainy afternoon.

 I like a little edge to my stories. I like some history. I like the characters to have REAL issues, not just dealing with wacky parents or a job they don't like or the fact they can't bake a good cake. (Oh, I thin I just described my own books, haha!) Anyway, this is a beautiful story that is relevant today, even thought it was written in the 80's.

 Newly released and ready for you to enjoy, this is one you don't want to miss. A real story for real people, with real love involved. We're not talking fluff. We're talking PTSD, family tragedies, war, and having the guts to work toward healing.

 But then it had the romance I expected from the cover. I'm  romance fan and I'm proud to stand up an shout it to the world... and then I promptly sit down to read another book. Anyway, this couple wasn't contrived. This love grew from a true meeting of minds and hearts.

 Definitely a keeper... AND a re-reader. :)


I reviewed a complimentary review copy in exchange for posting my honest opinion of the book for the blog tour.


 Enjoy! And I'll see you all in a little bit

New covers!!!

Ok, everybody, it was wayyyy past due but I finally got some real covers made for these two books out now.

 First off, my baby....

My first....

My New Year's Eve moment of insanity....

All grown up. :)

 

 Of course, what comes next? Paper copies! yes, for all of you who eschew the Kindle and embrace the ancient art of paper publishing, this little (mercy, actually about 368 pages) book will be in paper soon! Until then, you all can buy it here on Kindle.

 

 

All right, ready for the next one???? Now, my historical always had a cover I hated. It was slapped together (ok, it took me 4 hours) on Powerpoint and it admittedly... sucked the big Kahuna.

But it still sold better (five thousand copies so far!) than quirky Southern Jane Austen. Everybody loves a historical, right? But not everybody loves a crapalicious cover. Here's the old one...

Yikes. What can I say? It had to go.

Much better!! And since she's a portrait painter, I really like the model's position. Isn't that SO much better??? And I think the covers are helping sales, too. (I mean, duh, of course they would but it's nice to see it for realz.)

  Ok, that's about it. Remember you can find me on facebook here and here, depending on what series you want to follow. :)

  Now, back to the AA's for Season of Hope (releasing Nov 2012) and tonight, digging back into 'Emma, Mr. Knightley, and Chili-Slaw Dogs', which I'm absolutely loving!

  I've always loved Emma and Mr. Knightley. But as Southerners, I just have to love them a bit more.

  Take care and be good and get out into the sunshine!!