Stories that Matter

Newsy Book Related Stuff and Giveaways!

March 26, 2018 /

So blogging is clearly not at the top my ‘things to do’ list lately. Life is crazy busy and I’m working hard to carve out writing time in between babysitting and book release stuff and laundry and trying to remember to make dinner. 🙂 But anyhow, for anyone still popping over here, I’ll share a few fun things with you today.

My new book, Where Hope Begins, releases May 22nd! You can pre-order it on Amazon and various other places. I’m already getting amazing feedback from early readers/reviewers, and I’m humbled and excited to see what God will do with this one. Here’s what Library Journal had to say in its STARRED review –

“Empty nester Savannah Barrington is blindsided when her husband, Kevin, leaves her for another woman after more than two decades of marriage. Adrift, she retreats to her parents’ house in the Berkshires in Massachusetts to lick her wounds and put her life back together. But as she finally starts to believe she is worthy of love, thanks to a new relationship, Kevin returns, hoping for a reconciliation. Although Savannah realizes that she will always love her husband, can she forgive his betrayal? VERDICT West’s (The Things We Knew) compelling and heart-wrenching, rising-from-the ashes novel realistically delves into the tough issues of suicide, anger, and guilt with a touch of grace and hope. As with Julie Cantrell’s The Feathered Bone, it will leave readers wrung out but satisfied.”

I’m really looking forward to this one, and if you’re interested in an early copy, there are a couple of ways to get your hands on one. If you’re a member of Netgalley, Where Hope Begins is available to request. Or you can hop on over to GoodReads, where my publisher is doing a giveaway, and enter to win! Oh, and they are also doing a giveaway for The Memory of You, so you can enter that too!!

I’m so grateful for the early reviews and the excitement Where Hope Begins is already generating. So many stories of heartbreak, but also of healing. And hope. I love that.

To keep up with news and events as release day gets closer, be sure to sign up for my Newsletter, like my Author Page on Facebook, and/or join my Readers Group!

Depending on how you got to the blog today, you might have noticed I have a brand new website! I’ve been meaning to update for quite some time, and with a new book on the way, this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Thanks to Micah Murray and his creative abilities, I think we’ve got a cool updated look that really reflects me, who I am, what I write, and what’s on my heart.

And what’s on my heart these days? Ah. Probably too much. Trying to make sense of the world and the people in it seems futile. Reading my Facebook newsfeed exhausts me some days. Wrestling my own thoughts and anger and sadness over current events can be all-consuming, so for the most part, I’ve stopped. Instead, I’m trying to focus on loving. Myself, first and foremost, because that’s a biggie for me. I can get all judgy and up in my face a lot. I really need to quit that. Maybe one day I will. I’m trying to love others better. This means occasionally I have to leave the house, which kinda sucks, or I have to make sure the house is clean so people can come here. But our church has embarked on the launch of small groups, which we’re calling Agape Life Groups, and I’m looking forward to that. Even though it means I’ll have to talk to people. And be honest. Gulp. More on that in another post one of these days.

I’m writing. Or trying to. Fiddling around is more like it. But I’ve got 60 pages of words, and that’s better than none. I kind of like these new characters even though I don’t know them very well yet. We’ll see how long this one takes. I’m just going along with it and hoping one day it’ll turn into an actual book. Meanwhile I’m enjoying my days with our little munchkin, who is growing by leaps and bounds, and is going to be ONE at the end of April. I don’t even know how that happened.