Tuesday, May 16, 2017

THE TO-HELL-AND-BACK CLUB, by author, JILL HANNAH ANDERSON (my book debuts today!)

Who can you turn to when your life falls apart?

In this moving debut ~ Peyton Brooks, a newly-empty nester with a comatose marriage, loses her three friends in a car crash, and reaches out to women in the To-Hell-And-Back Club, hoping they’ll help resuscitate her life.

Through the “Hell Club”, Peyton learns it’s never too late to begin again. These been-there-felt-that women use their sense of humor, strength, and support to help pull her off the couch and back to living her life.

She rebuilds the life she’d put aside two decades ago. But when Peyton digs up time capsules she and her friends buried years ago, and uncovers secrets about those she loved, she struggles to keep her own life-changing secret buried.

The “Hell Club” women help remind Peyton of the strength within her. She finds a renewed hope in life and love when she faces the mistakes and guilt that have troubled her for years. When Peyton’s secret is discovered, she needs the “Hell Club” women more than ever. The To-Hell-And-Back Club is an inspiring book that reminds us that it’s never too late to start over, and that living a life of regrets is no life at all.

Some Q & A with myself (yes, that sounds weird, even to me!) ~


Where do you get your ideas?

There are endless ideas jumping around in my head every day. Seriously. I hear a conversation, and my brain conjures up a scene about it. Or I see something unusual, and think about a “what if something happened” scene. The problem is getting all of these ideas to make up a story!

What are you working on now?

Honestly? Everything to do with writing except actually writing! I put book #2 aside so I could focus on enjoying my book debut, and help promote it to readers. It is a lot of work, but anything you love and feel strongly about, is worth the time and effort. Hopefully.

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences?

A few experiences are slivers of my life, along with slivers of experiences from people I know. To be clear, yes, I’m divorced, but no, Jerry (the soon-to-be-out-the-door husband in the story) is not based on my ex-husband. Same goes for the friends in my book!

Do you have a favorite chapter or scene?

A scene toward the end with Peyton and her sister, Grace, who comes to visit her all the way from Texas (the story takes place in Minnesota.) It is a heart-wrenching scene, and I choked up writing it. Not having a sister of my own, I imagined how important it would be to have a sister like Grace, to be there for you as she was for Peyton. I hope I did their relationship justice.

Do you have a ‘day job’ as well?

I sure do. I’ve been at a communications company for close to twenty years. The upside? It is a whopping 1.3 miles from my home. The commute is brutal. ;) The downside? All day at a computer, which makes coming home to sit and write on a computer not-so appealing.

What are some things you enjoy when not writing?

I started writing and running, two “bucket list” goals of mine, after I turned forty-five and heard the saying “what would you do if you knew you could not fail?” Those two things came to mind. I’m still running, and absolutely love the sport of curling, and the women I get to curl with. I love being outside (thank goodness for laptops or I’d never write in the summer!) and I especially love time spent with our kids and grandkids.

Is there anything you’d like to say to your readers and fans?

There is no such thing as “I” in writing. Yes, yes, I know, it is in the word twice. But writing a book is just that, writing. Without the editors, publishers, book reviewers, book bloggers, fellow supportive authors, and book lovers, a book will hibernate in the soul of the writer. I appreciate every single person who has helped, cheered, and pushed me along to get to this point.

If you ever think your opinion doesn’t matter, it does as a reader! If you’ve read a book you enjoyed, the best gift you can give an author is to read ~ review ~ recommend.

You can connect with me here:

Instagram: @jillh.anderson






4 comments:

  1. Looking forward to reading and reviewing your debut novel. So happy to see your hard work pay off and your dreams come true!

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    1. Hi Mary, Thanks so much, Mary! I look forward to you reading it. :)

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  2. Jill, you are one of the very most supportive authors out there! I am so excited for you and hope you enjoy this experience!Just picked it up on my Kindle!

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    1. Thanks so much, Ella, both for your kind words and buying my book. I appreciate them both! :)

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