Tuesday, October 25, 2016

I'M NOT HER, by author, CARA SUE ACHTERBERG

Carin, a gorgeous, self-absorbed, entitled young adult, unintentionally swaps lives with Leann, an uneducated, perennially poor, morbidly obese check-out clerk. When Carin’s boyfriend and mother don’t recognize her in her Shop n Save apron and no-name sneakers, she has no choice but to assume Leann’s sad life. 

Meanwhile, Leann wakes up in a body and life much like the soap opera stars she loves. More than a case of trading places, I'm Not Her explores the question of whether appearances or circumstances make us who we are. 

It's a surprising tale about the way the world sees us and the courses we are on.

Some Q & A with Cara:

Tell us a little bit about yourself, and how you started writing.

Ever since I got my little pink princess diary with the tiny lock and key when I was six, I’ve written. For me, it’s compulsive. It’s how I sort out my life and figure out what I really think. That said, I never considered being a writer. I studied music and business in college. It wasn’t until I decided to stay home full-time with my three young children that I got serious about writing. I sent a piece to my local newspaper about raising kids to be voters and they published it. Then I began writing articles for magazines on parenting and organic living (my passion) and they actually paid me! I’d been writing stories but never had the nerve to show them to anyone, but getting money for my writing gave me courage and set the ball in motion. Now fiction writing is my favorite part of my day.

What are some things you enjoy when not writing?

I foster dogs for a nonprofit rescue that saves dogs from high-kill shelters in the south, bringing them northward to be fostered and adopted. I am committed (possibly addicted) to this work and typically have at least one dog, and many times an entire litter of puppies in my care.

Where do you get your ideas?

I’m a serious people watcher and my ideas come from imagining what it would be like to be the person in the car next to me at the light or in the waiting room at the doctor’s office or passing me on the boardwalk. Sometimes I find ideas in music – country music is littered with stories. I think paying attention is the key. I can’t imagine what writer’s block would be like—my problem is too many ideas.

Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?

I pitched I’m Not Her far and wide and no one seemed to ‘get it.’ I rewrote it three times trying to figure out what would set the hook. I workshopped it and everyone loved it. Finally, after nearly three years of trying, I shelved it and turned to other projects and my freelance work. A year later, on a whim, I entered it in a contest. I was a runner-up and won an ipad mini, which was awesome, but then the publisher contacted me directly and asked about the manuscript and my other work, which was even more awesome. I put him in touch with my agent and a month later I had a three book deal. I’ve always been a big believer that when you finally let go of the outcome, good things find you. It was pretty much the same situation when I found my hubby (except there wasn’t a contest!). I stopped looking and he found me.

If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of your novel or getting it published that you’d change?

I would have worked harder on my platform and learned more about getting reviews and getting the word out. So much is dependent on the author now. Books don’t just happen. As much as I’d like to live in a world where I could just write and someone else would sell my book, that rarely happens anymore. You have to partner with your publisher. They won’t/can’t do it for you.

What are you working on now?

Since I’m Not Her was published, the second book of my book deal has come out. It’s titled, Girls’ Weekend, and tells the story of three moms who escape for a weekend away and don’t come back. They wrestle with universal mom questions of who we become and what we sacrifice in the name of motherhood. My third book is in the copyediting phase and will release in June 2017. It’s titled, Practicing Normal.

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences?

When I was a kid, my mom worked tirelessly to help less-privileged people, and as a young adult I worked with Habitat for Humanity and the I Have a Dream Foundation. Those experiences made me question the assumptions we make about people based on their economic situation and their appearance. I’m Not Her grew out of those ideas plus my natural habit of people watching. I began to wonder, what if I was morbidly obese and poor and grew up in a culture of disrespect and never went to college.….who would I be? I simply asked the question and then followed the story where it took me.

Do you have a favorite chapter or scene?

I love the scene in the church with the red F#*^-me pumps (can I say that?). I won’t say more. You’ll have to read it.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Write honestly because you love to write. Set goals and deadlines for yourself. Write from your heart. Be the writer you are, not the writer you think you should be. Learn everything you can. Focus on your craft and be patient. It will happen in its own time.
  
Is there anything you’d like to say to your readers and fans?

If you love a book, write a review. That’s the best way to support an author (that, and paying full-price for their book!) Oh, and-- adopt a rescue dog. Spay and neuter your pets. And thanks for reading!

Author Bio:

Cara Sue Achterberg is a writer and blogger who lives in New Freedom, PA with her family and an embarrassing number of animals. Her first novel, I’m Not Her, was a national bestseller. Her second novel, Girls’ Weekend was published May 2016. Cara’s nonfiction book, Live Intentionally, is a guide to the organic life filled with ideas, recipes, and inspiration for living a more intentional life. Cara is a prolific blogger, occasional cowgirl, and busy mom whose essays and articles have been published in numerous anthologies, magazines, and websites. Links to her blogs, news about upcoming publications, and pictures of her foster dogs can be found at CaraWrites.com.

Social Media Links:






Tuesday, October 18, 2016

THE PERFECT NEIGHBORS, by author, Sarah Pekkanen

Sarah Pekkanen turns her scrutiny to the every-day women living in bucolic Newport Cove in THE PERFECT NEIGHBORS, where picture-perfect lives play out like a modern day Pleasantville, while dark secrets and insecurities bubble just below the surface. 

Newport Cove is one of the safest neighborhoods in the US, where spontaneous block parties occur on balmy nights and all of the streets are named for flowers. Here everyone lives out the American Dream – cute kids, strong marriages, burgeoning careers – but what really goes on behind closed doors? 

Kellie Scott has just returned to work after a decade of being a stay-at-home mom. She’s adjusting to high heels, scrambling to cook dinner for her family after a day at the office—and soaking in the dangerous attention of a very handsome, very married male colleague. Kellie’s neighbor Susan Barrett begins every day with fresh resolutions: she won’t eat any carbs, she’ll go to bed at a reasonable hour, and she’ll stop stalking her ex-husband and his new girlfriend. Gigi Kennedy seems to have it all together—except her teenage daughter has turned into a hostile stranger and her husband is running for Congress, which means her old skeletons are in danger of being brought into the light. 

Then a new family moves to this quiet, tree-lined cul-de-sac. Tessa Campbell seems friendly enough to the other mothers, if a bit reserved. But the neighbors notice that no one is ever invited to Tessa’s house, and there’s something a bit off about her husband. Soon, it becomes clear that Tessa is hiding the biggest secret of all. 

Addictive and keenly-observed, THE PERFECT NEIGHBORS will keep you guessing whose secrets will be revealed til the very end, making it perfect for Summer reading and neighborhood book clubs. 

About the Author: 


Sarah Pekkanen is the internationally bestselling author of The Opposite of Me, Skipping a Beat, These Girls, The Best of Us, Catching Air, and Things You Won’t Say. Her work has been published in People, The Washington Post, and USA TODAY, among other publications. She lives with her family in Chevy Chase, Maryland. 

Q&A WITH SARAH: 

What was the inspiration for your seventh novel, THE PERFECT NEIGHBORS? 

I can follow the roots of THE PERFECT NEIGHBORS back more than a decade, to a morning when I was suddenly cornered by a threatening man. It was a gray, drizzly November day, and I arrived at the zoo with my infant and two-year-old sons just moments after it opened. After we stepped into a small, deserted building to view an exhibit, I looked up to see a man striding down the narrow hallway, his eyes locked on me and his face empty of expression. Had I been alone, I suspect I would have cowered or run. Yet because my children were threatened, I reacted fiercely. 

I lifted my two-year-old up onto my hip and cradled him with my left arm, next to the baby in a carrier on my chest, while thrusting my other hand toward the man’s face and screaming, “Stop!” The man paused, just inches away, and stared at me, assessing me. I knew I would fight him, and that I would win, and I let him see this certainty in my eyes. 

He eventually turned and sauntered away without a word. Later, I realized the man had given me two clues that revealed his intentions: He’d walked directly toward me without glancing at the exhibits lining the hallway as he passed, and just before he reached me, he’d turned and glanced behind him. He’d wanted to make sure no one else was coming. I don’t want to spoil the plot of THE PERFECT NEIGHBORS, but I can say this incident – and the powerful feelings it conjured in me… that I would do whatever necessary to protect my children – inspired the plotline for my seventh novel. 

Wow – it sounds a bit darker than most of your novels, which fall into the women’s fiction category. 

Not necessarily. I’ve written books about a range of morally complex and controversial issues, including the fictional shooting of a Hispanic teenager by a white police officer in THINGS YOU WON’T SAY. Women’s fiction doesn’t mean a book is light – every woman I know faces struggles, even if they’re not readily apparent in the glossy, Facebooked lives we tend to present publically. In fact, that’s a theme of the novel, too: My four main characters – all mothers who live in a bucolic, tree-lined neighborhood where children play outside and neighbors hold spontaneous block parties – are each hiding a secret. As Gigi, one of my main characters, puts it: “The dozens of women she passed every day – the women peering at the covers of tabloids in the grocery store check out lane, and waiting in line with a preoccupied gaze at the bank, and putting on lipstick at the red light in the next car over in traffic – were all holders of mysteries.” 

Is it difficult to write from the points of view of four different narrators, as you’ve done in this book? 

Books are like children, in that they each present unique joys and challenges. For some reason – and I hope I don’t tempt the writing gods to punish me by revealing this – THE PERFECT NEIGHBORS came more easily to me than any other novel I’ve written. I couldn’t wait to sit down at the keyboard and see where my characters would take me every day. It’s always bittersweet when you finish a novel and say good-bye to your characters, but I especially miss these women. Maybe it’s because they formed such a supportive community, and writing can be isolating – like motherhood can be at times. I felt like a part of that fictional community when I shared their stories. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself, and how you started writing.

I’ve always wanted to write. When I was a kid, I actually used to pen novels on three-ring binder paper and mail them to top New York publishers. I was always surprised when publishers passed on my masterpieces, like Miscellaneous Tales and Poems.

What are some things you enjoy when not writing?

I love reading – I always have a few books going at a time. Hiking with my rescue lab, crushing on Blake Shelton on “The Voice,” and seeing movies. And of course, hanging out with my three sons tops the list.

Do you have a ‘day job’ as well?

Caring for my sons and writing one novel a year are my full-time jobs. I’m very lucky to be able to earn a living by writing, and to have a career that gives me flexibility. 

Where do you get your ideas?

I honestly have no idea! They never come to me in a flash, fully-formed. What I would give for that! Instead, they tend to come together slowly. I always think of my book plots as a kind of stew – I add ingredients, like an unusual setting or a particular crisis I want a character to grapple with – and let the ideas simmer a bit. Then I toss more elements into the stew and let it simmer, and repeat until my ideas seem fully cooked.

Is there a particular author or book that influenced or inspired your writing or decision to write?

Jennifer Weiner. She writes in such an engaging and warm style, yet her plots are so compelling you can’t stop turning the pages. Plus, she’s an incredibly generous and kind human being who is an incredible champion of female writers. She’s a terrific role model.

Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?

The trick is you need to have a complete novel before you approach an agent. So the biggest challenge is a mental one: Are you so committed to writing a book that you’re willing to spend literally years of your life on a project with no guaranteed positive outcome? I knew I had to write books, but when you’re up late at night, feeling tired and struggling with thoughts that won’t cooperate when you’re trying to translate them onto the page, it can be easy to get discouraged and wonder if you’ll ever have a book published. But if the desire to write is stronger, you can’t stop.

If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of your novel or getting it published that you’d change?

Not a single thing. I adore my agent, my editor, and my publishing house. My experience has been pretty wonderful.

How do you market your work?

Lots of interviews (like this one!) and I’m very active on social media. Atria Books also sends me on book tours around the country so I connect with readers and booksellers when I’m touring.

What are you working on now?

I’m always working on a new book!

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences?

Not really, but I have experienced all of the emotions of my characters – in order to write convincingly, I need to feel what my characters are feeling. So I cry when I write wrenching scenes, and I rejoice when things go well for my characters.

Do you have a favorite chapter or scene?

The ending of Skipping a Beat may be my favorite finale of any of my books.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Don’t overthink things, just write. Get down a page a day, minimum. If you do that, you’ll have the draft of a book in a year.

What are the downfalls of your writing career? The best parts?

Truthfully, there are no real downfalls. This is a dream job. I’m doing what I have always wanted to do, and in many ways, it’s so much better than I imagined. When someone takes the time to enter the fictional world you’ve created, and engage with it, they transform it. I cherish every email and Facebook and twitter message I receive, and I try to respond to every one personally.

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


A huge thank you for supporting me. I would not have this job without you.


SARAH PEKKANEN’S NOVELS ARE… 

“Gripping reading.” —People 
“Sparkling.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) 
“A standout among standouts.” —Glamour 
“Compelling.” —Library Journal (starred review) 
“Fresh, funny, and satisfying.” —Jennifer Weiner, #1 New York Times bestselling author 
“Page-turners.” —Marie Claire 
“Fantastic and realistic.” —Examiner.com 
“Smart and soulful.” —Redbook

To connect with Sarah:








Tuesday, October 11, 2016

THE GATE OF DAWN, by author, MARINA J NEARY


Welcome to 1880s Vilnius, a volatile Northeastern metropolis where Balts, Germans, Poles, Russians, and Jews compete for a place in the sun. After sustaining fatal burns in a fire instigated by his rivals, textile magnate Hermann Lichtner spends his final days in a shabby infirmary. In a hasty and bizarre deathbed transaction he gives his fifteen-year-old daughter Renate in marriage to Thaddeus, a widowed Polish farmer who rejects social hierarchy and toils side by side with his peasants.

Renate’s arrival quickly disrupts the bucolic flow of life and antagonizes every member of the household. During an excursion to the city, Renate rekindles an affair with a young Jewish painter who sells his watercolors outside the Gate of Dawn chapel. While her despairing husband might look the other way, his servants will not stand by and watch while their adored master is humiliated.

Taking us from the cobblestone streets of old Vilnius, swarming with imperial gendarmes, to the misty bogs of rural Lithuania where pagan deities still rule, The Gate of Dawn is a folkloric tale of rivalry, conspiracy, and revenge.


Some Q & A with Marina:

Tell us a little bit about yourself, and how you started writing.

I grew up in Central Europe, in a family of classical musicians. My mom is Russian and Jewish, and my biological father is Polish-Lithuanian. They made it a point to introduce me to English early on, so I grew up reading and writing in both Russian and English. I always had a very vivid imagination, so I would replay various fantasies and prospective disaster scenarios in my mind. I have a very grim worldview and a dark sense of humor.

What are some things you enjoy when not writing?

I am a crazy cat lady, and I converted the rest of my family to that religion. We are not Cat-aholics ;-) I don’t consider myself a cat-owner. A more appropriate term would be “cat hostess” or “cat guardian”.

Do you have a ‘day job’ as well?

I work for American Institute for Foreign Study, and I feel truly privileged to be part of a mission that’s almost apostolic – bringing the world together. My knowledge of foreign languages and different cultures really come in handy every day.

Where do you get your ideas?

I draw a lot of inspiration from history. My focus is on the lesser known figures that for whatever reason were obscured by historians. Usually there is a political reason why a particular historical figure was swept under the proverbial rug.

Is there a particular author or book that influenced or inspired your writing or decision to write?

Interestingly, I am more influenced by music and folklore than by the works of other novelists. I think it’s important to be familiar with other landmark works in your specific genre, just so you know what you’re up against and what you should be aspiring to. At the same time, you have to resist the temptation to become a so-and-so knock-off. It’s important to discover your own authentic voice.

Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?

Amazingly, finding a publisher was not hard. It took me 16 years to finish the first presentable draft of “Wynfield’s Kingdom” and only a few weeks to find a publisher.  I guess it was worth the wait.

If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of your novel or getting it published that you’d change?

Actually, the opportunity presented itself. My first publisher is struggling after the death of the founder, so I got my rights back for three of my novels, so I am in the process of editing, changing the covers and republishing with another publisher.

How do you market your work?

Oh boy, that’s my least favorite part. Marketing is not same as sales. You can get great reviews and exposure, and that may or may not translate into sales. There are so many people trying to get through the same narrow doorway. Seriously, I write because I have no other choice.

What are you working on now?

I am working on a sequel to The Gate of Dawn. It’s set during WWII on the Polish-Lithuanian border.

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences?

Absolutely. The Gate of Dawn is set in rural Lithuania, the land of my paternal ancestors. Raven’s Bog is a real place that my family inherited. Some pretty horrifying things happened there.

Do you have a favorite chapter or scene?

From the point of view of writing or reading what I’ve written? Personally, I find that battle scenes come to me a lot more naturally than love scenes. I start laughing when I try to write something remotely erotic, and it ends up being grotesque and a little violent. Definitely not the stuff of romance novels.

What are the downfalls of your writing career? The best parts?

As I mentioned before, marketing is not pleasant. I get so many high fives and thumbs up, which don’t always translate into sales. Or people promise to read and review your book, and then it’s “dog ate my homework”. It’s always thrilling to get a publishing offer. And then brainstorming on the cover! My publishers allow me to use real actors and models for the covers. It’s such a thrilling process to go through dozens of headshots to pick the people who fit the parts perfectly.

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

Thank you so much for your interest in my work. It’s such an intimate experience. I invent so much of myself into my work. I realize that a lot of what I write falls outside of many people’s comfort zone. I touch upon subjects that are still taboo in our society. On several occasions, publishers declined to publish my work, despite its alleged literary merits, due to the risqué content. 

To purchase this book:
Amazon link:

To connect with Marina:

Marina's blog & Facebook links:

https://www.facebook.com/marina.j.neary




Tuesday, October 4, 2016

FRACTURED, by author, Catherine McKenzie

Trust thy neighbor…Or not? That is the question at the heart of international bestselling author Catherine McKenzie’s forthcoming novel, FRACTURED (Lake Union Publishing; on-sale October 4, 2016; hardcover & trade paperback), a psychological thriller about an idyllic neighborhood rocked by tragedy and the dark truths lurking behind the drapes of each home that questions just how well we know those that live closest to us.

Julie Prentice is looking for a fresh start. A novelist, Julie was launched into the spotlight following the publication of her first book, The Murder Game, a bestseller with a storyline loosely drawn from her own experiences in law school. The novel created a bit of controversy with some speculation as to how close to fact her fiction actually was—a theory exacerbated by a woman from Julie’s past whose obsession with her becomes dangerous. As the obsession goes from creepy to completely terrifying and potentially life-threatening, Julie and her family relocate from Tacoma to the quaint and quiet Mt. Adams community in Cincinnati in the hopes of evading her stalker once and for all.

Settled in her new home, she strikes up an instant connection and unexpected friendship with her new neighbor, John Dunbar, and begins to feel a measured sense of hope that the worst is behind her. But it doesn’t take long for things to go south. After a series of misunderstandings, Julie and her family become the center of negative attention in the community, and worse, become the target of unsettling harassment. As tension in the neighborhood mounts, no one is safe: new friends turn into enemies, spouses begin to question one another, and the bond between parent and child are tested.

With FRACTURED, McKenzie weaves a gripping, complex, and highly addictive story told through the alternating perspectives of Julie and John and structured around a deadly accident in the neighborhood that will keep readers guessing until the final page is turned.

Catherine McKenzie is a graduate of McGill University in History and Law, and she practices law in Montreal, where she was born and raised. Her novels, Spin, Arranged, Forgotten, and Hidden are all international bestsellers and have been translated into numerous languages. Her last novel Smoke (2015), was named a Best Book of October by Goodreads and one of the Top 100 Books of 2015 by Amazon. 


A tightly drawn narrative that begs the question: How much can we really know about those living closest to us? Truly riveting!”—Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl,  Pretty Baby, and Don't You Cry


Some Q & A with Catherine:

What are some things you enjoy when not writing?

I am an avid runner and downhill skier. I love to read. And I watch a lot of TV.

Do you have a ‘day job’ as well?

I do. I am a partner in a litigation firm here in Montreal.

Where do you get your ideas?

The universe. All over, really. The idea for FRACTURED came to me from a judgment I read and a newspaper article, both about crazy neighbors in Toronto, and a few other little things here and there.

Is there a particular author or book that influenced or inspired your writing or decision to write?

Early on in my career I was definitely trying to be the female Nick Hornby.

Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?

There was a lot of rejection. A lot. Like not 12, which is the number I always hear about JK Rowling. Getting used to that – I’m still not – is hard.

If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of your novel or getting it published that you’d change?

A couple of things, but who wouldn’t? I think I did a lot of things right, too, so there’s that.

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences?

No. In fact, one of the themes of the book is how readers often expect or assume that writers base their books on their own experiences and how that can affect the writer.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Read, read, read, write, read, read, read, write. Repeat.

What are the downfalls of your writing career? The best parts?

The best parts is the writing and then getting positive feedback from readers. The difficult part is the writing and the business end of the book business. I run a company called Catherine McKenzie and I make all the content! That can be hard sometimes.

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

Thank you.

To connect with Catherine:

Follow me on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter 
Instagram: @cemckenzie1