Thursday, February 25, 2016

The Friends We Keep - Pub Week Review & Giveaway

Review by Marlene Engel
We were first introduced to Nicole Lord in the first book of the series, The Girls of Mischief Bay.  In The Friends We Keep, we continue her story and get to know some new friends.  This book takes us on each of their journeys of ups, downs and everything in between.  But it’s the friendship and bond that they share that is truly the star in this book. 

After her recent divorce, Nicole expected her life to get upended.  But she’s found that things aren’t much different than they were before.  With her ex being unreliable at best, she’s still the main provider for their son.  And his obsession with Brad the Dragon is still going strong.  She’s not thrilled to meet the creator of B the D, but is pleasantly surprised when she does …

Mother of twin girls and a moody step daughter, Gabby, lives for the days when she can have even a moment for herself.  But their lives get thrown for a loop when they receive some news about her step daughter, making the home life rocky at best.  Can Gabby preserve their marriage without compromising her needs?

Hayley is desperate to have a child.  Getting pregnant isn’t the problem, keeping the pregnancy is.  After several miscarriages, her body can’t take much more.  Now it’s affecting her marriage.  Not only is the financial cost a burden, but Hayley’s obsession to birth a child has caused her husband to leave.  How far is she willing to go to have her own child, and at what expense to her marriage?

I thought this was a beautiful story of friendship and life, and who we lean on during our times of joy and sorrow.  The author does a seamless job with each character and their stories making them feel so real and relatable.  If you’re looking for an amazing story, well written characters and an overall great read, this is the perfect book.  Susan Mallery captures real life issues and tells them in a way that makes you feel like you’re living the story along with the cast.

Purchase the book at:

About the Author:
Susan Mallery is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of novels about the relationships that define women's lives—romance, friendship, family. With compassion and humor, Susan keenly observes how people think and feel, in stories that take readers on an emotional journey. Sometimes heartbreaking, often funny, and always uplifting, Susan's books have spent more than 200 weeks on the USA Today bestsellers list, thanks to her ever growing legions of fans.

Susan lives in Seattle with her husband, two ragdoll cats, and a tattletale toy poodle. Animals play a big role in her books, as well, as she believes they're an integral component to a happy life. 

Connect with the author at:

Mira Books is giving one lucky winner a print copy of
The Friends We Keep by Susan Mallery

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, February 22, 2016

The Rain Sparrow - Pub Week Review

Review by Marlene Engel
Author Hayden Winters is staying in Honey Ridge, Tennessee doing research for his next book.  The bed and breakfast where he’s staying, is known to help those having problems and for having a magical quality to it

While there, he meets Carrie the local librarian who is afraid of just about everything … including the thunderstorm that’s currently happening around them.  Their paths bring them to finding a young boy, wet, frightened and afraid to go home.  They come to find that he’s from an abusive home and lives with an alcoholic father.

Shortly after checking into the B&B Hayden begins to have dreams about a couple who lived around the time of the Civil War; Thad a Union soldier and Josie a Confederate.  It’s when the dreams start to mirror his life that he begins to think that the dreams are trying to tell him something.  

This is an emotionally charged story that deals with real-life issues and abuse.  I enjoyed how the author brought two different eras and seamlessly entwined them into the story.  Although this is the second book in the Honey Ridge series, and I didn’t read the first book, I didn’t have any problems following along with the story.  I now want to get the first book and see how that one ties into this story.  Overall an intriguing book that I would definitely recommend.

Purchase the book at:
                                                                                             
About the Author:
Winner of the RITA Award for excellence in inspirational fiction, Linda Goodnight has also won the Booksellers’ Best, ACFW Book of the Year, and a Reviewers’ Choice Award from Romantic Times Magazine.

Linda has appeared on the Christian bestseller list and her romance novels have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Active in orphan ministry, this former nurse and teacher enjoys writing fiction that carries a message of hope and light in a sometimes dark world.

She and husband Gene live in Oklahoma with their daughters, Masha & Victoria.  

Connect with the author at:

Friday, February 19, 2016

A Son's Vow - Review & Giveaway


A Son's Vow
The Charmed Amish Life #1
By: Shelley Shepard Gray
Releasing January 26, 2016
Avon Inspire
Blurb
Shelley Shepard Gray’s first book in her Charmed Amish Life series is set in the quaint Amish village of Charm, Ohio, and tells the stories of the Kinsinger siblings who are each struggling to find both forgiveness and love in the face of tragedy.

Three months ago, everything changed for Darla Kurtz and her family. Darla’s father was responsible for a terrible fire at Charm’s lumber mill which killed five Amish men. And though he, too, lost his life, the town of Charm hasn’t looked at her family the same since. Even Lukas Kinsinger—with whom Darla used to have a close friendship.

Now her brother’s anger at the town is spilling over onto Darla, and she has the bruises to prove it. The accident already cost five lives, but if something doesn’t change soon, Darla fears it will cost her—and her family—even more.

Lukas Kinsinger wants to mourn the loss of his father, but he can hardly find the time to breathe. Suddenly the head of his father’s lumber mill and responsible for taking care of his three siblings, he’s feeling the pressure. He has also never felt more alone—especially with the new tension between he and Darla. But when he learns of her troubles at home, Lukas knows he can’t simply stand by and watch. Someone has to help her before another tragedy occurs.

As Lukas and Darla attempt to repair their families, they discover something deeper than friendship growing between them. But will Lukas and Darla’s love be accepted after so much loss? Or will the pain of the past overcome any chance of future happiness?

Buy Links:
Amazon | B & N | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo

Review by Deb Czajkowski
Because I’m a football fan, I’m going to start with a football analogy.  Let’s say there are ten seconds left in the game and the home team is down by two points.  The kicker runs onto the field to kick the score that would win the game, but the kick is blocked and the home team loses.  Should the kicker now be held solely responsible for his team’s loss?  Should he now be kicked off the team?

If you’re a football fan, you’ll know that a football game has sixty minutes of playing time, sixty minutes for the team as a whole to score points.  But, also in those sixty minutes, players drop passes, miss tackles, fumble the ball, and commit errors that result in penalties.  Many players and many actions ─both positive and negative─ make up a game.  And when the sixty minutes are up, the team with the most points on the board wins, and the other team loses.

John Kurst had worked for Kinsinger Lumber Mill for many years, until the day he threw a rag, dampened with a flammable liquid, into the dumpster. A fire started in the dumpster that killed five people, including John.  The fire, of course, was investigated and ruled an accident.  Many contributing factors, many errors, were identified; John’s act may have been the last one, but it was just one of the many.

Still, countless people blame John.  Blame him entirely.  They consider him to be the ten second kicker, and they want him kicked off the team!  Wait.  Isn’t he already gone? Isn’t he dead?  True, but his family is still there.  The people of Charm can’t punish John, but they can punish his family ─his wife and his six children.  Until his wife can’t take it anymore, can’t take any of it, can’t take all of it.  One day she simply walks out of the house, out of Charm, and out of the lives of her children.

Darla Kurst is John’s eldest child, so now, with both father and mother gone, the responsibility for the family is hers.   She’s working at the post office during the day so they have income, but evenings are spent on household chores and family needs.  That alone is difficult for her, a young woman, but the hardest part is facing the townspeople every day, hearing them blame her father, hearing them blame her.

And then there’s Lukas Kinsinger, her best friend for as long as she can remember.  He still wants to be her friend, but even that is complicated.  It’s complicated for two primary reasons: 1. He’s a Kinsinger; the lumber mill is his family’s. Many people want him to shun her for the deeds of her father ─certainly to no longer be her friend, or, worse yet, want to help her. 2. Darla’s feelings of friendship toward Lukas long ago turned to love.  Now, to be merely friends, to see the pity in his eyes, is just too painful. 

Will the town of Charm ever come to understand, to forgive?  Can Darla’s family learn to work together in the absence of both parents?  Can Darla find a way to accept Lukas’s hand of friendship?

A son’s vow conveys the strong feelings that result from tragedy. The author, Shelley Shepard Gray, shows us in her novel how suffering a personal loss, especially in a tragedy, can sometimes interfere with our seeing the facts.  Our hurts interfere with our healing; blaming others can feel like we’re keeping our loved ones alive. Shepard Gray also shows us how carrying anger and withholding forgiveness is an awful poison, harming ourselves as well as those around us.

A son’s vow is a wonderful story of faith and forgiveness, of finding a way to go on ─creating a new normal─ after tragedy.  No matter how your story reads, whether your journey has included many twists and turns, whether you’ve encountered more than your share of ups and downs, or whether you’ve experienced real tragedy, a son’s vow will show you that you’re not alone.  And because life often throws challenges in our paths, we must take joys when we find them.  I found a son’s vow to be one of those joys.  I hope you will, too.

About the Author:
Shelley Shepard Gray is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time Hold Medallion winner. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.

Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads




Giveaway for 3 complete sets of
THE AMISH BRIDES OF PINECRAFT series books 1-4

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Kiss Me in Christmas - Virtual Tour & Giveaway


Kiss Me in Christmas
Christmas, Colorado #6
By:  Debbie Mason
Releasing February 23, 2016
Forever

Blurb:
It's always been you
Actress Chloe O'Connor has become America's sweetheart, but back in little Christmas, Colorado, she's still remembered as a shy, awkward schoolgirl. And there's no one she dreads (and secretly wants) to see more than her high school crush, Easton McBride. Just one look from the former star quarterback and it's like she's instantly transformed from daytime drama queen to tongue-tied teenager. She's kissed Hollywood actors and famous cover models, so she can certainly play it cool while turning up the heat, right?

After an injury ended his military career, Easton McBride built a good life in the rugged countryside of his hometown. And the last thing he needs is his quiet solitude shattered by a high-maintenance temptress who isn't anything like the sweet Chloe he misses. While he enjoys the flirtation with this new bold and beautiful woman, he can't help but wonder whether a kiss could have the power to bring back the small-town girl he's grown to love.

Buy Links:

About the Author:
Debbie Mason is the USA Today bestselling author of the Christmas, Colorado series. Her books have been praised for their "likable characters, clever dialogue and juicy plots" (RT Book Reviews). She also writes historical paranormals as Debbie Mazzuca. Her MacLeod series has received several nominations for best paranormal as well as a Holt Medallion Award of Merit. When she isn't writing or reading, Debbie enjoys spending time with her very own real-life hero, their four wonderful children, an adorable grandbaby, and a yappy Yorkie named Bella.

Connect with the author at: 

Giveaway For Four $15 Amazon Gift Cards

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, February 15, 2016

The Bride Wore Starlight - Blog tour/Giveaway


The Bride Wore Starlight
Seven Brides for Seven Cowboys #3
By: Lizbeth Selvig
Releasing February 9. 2016
Avon Impulse

Blurb:
Once comfortable on stage in front of thousands, Joely Crockett is now mortified at the thought of walking—or rolling—down the aisle at her sisters’ wedding. Scarred and wheelchair-bound, the former beauty queen has lost more than the ability to walk—she’s lost her fire. But when one handsome, arrogant guest accuses her of milking her injuries and ignites her ire, Joely finally starts to feel truly alive again, and soon it’s impossible for her to resist her heart’s desire.
Alec Morrissey knows a little something about loss. A famous rodeo cowboy before he was injured in Iraq, he’s managed to create something of a normal life, even if it’s not the one he always imagined. Encountering stunning but damaged Joely, he sees a kindred spirit who can learn from his mistakes.
As these two healing souls begin to fall in love under the Wyoming stars, they must discover if they are willing to give in to the tragedies of life or fight for a future together.

Buy Links:

About the Author:
Lizbeth Selvig lives in Minnesota with her best friend (aka her husband), and a gray Arabian gelding. After working as a newspaper journalist and magazine editor, and raising an equine veterinarian daughter and a talented musician son, she won RWA’s prestigious Golden Heart® Contest in 2010 with her contemporary romance The Rancher and the Rock Star. In her spare time, she loves to hike, quilt, read, horseback ride, and spend time with her new granddaughter. She also has four-legged grandchildren—more than twenty—including a wallaby, two alpacas, a donkey, a pig, a sugar glider, and many dogs, cats, and horses (pics of all appear on her website www.lizbethselvig.com). She loves connecting with readers—contact her any time!

Author Links: 

Giveaway for a Digital Download copy of
THE BRIDE WORE DENIM & THE BRIDE WORE RED BOOTS
(books 1 & 2 in the Seven Brides for Seven Cowboys Series)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, February 11, 2016

The Hundred Year Walk - Review & Giveaway

Review by Deb Czajkowski
Battlefield advantage. Is there such a thing? In sports there’s home field advantage, and it’s widely believed that it truly is an advantage, some would argue a huge advantage. So why not a battlefield advantage?

If you know anything about what’s happening in Syria right now, you know the country’s been going through a five-year civil war, and Syria’s President Assad is claiming home field advantage. Today Russia and Iran are siding with Syria with the US and assorted others in opposition. One key focus is the battle for the city of Aleppo. Because of this, the Syrian government has cut off the city’s supplies, causing thousands of civilians to flee Aleppo for the Turkey. And Turkey’s reaction to so many refugees literally knocking on their gates? Sorry, we’re full; our refugee status is currently at capacity! Basically, you’re not our problem, and good luck to you! Oh, that last part ─ the good luck part? I added that. They probably didn’t.

There’s real irony here. Turkey has a history of events that are ominous at best and odious at worst. Here’s one first-hand ─ and second-hand ─ account.

In The Hundred-Year Walk: An Armenian Odyssey, author Dawn Anahid MacKeen documents the journey of her Armenian grandfather, dating back to 1910, and then her own journey in 2007, where she personally followed the paths her grandfather took a century prior. Why did she do this? What’s the significance that prompted this journey, this book?

Dawn’s grandfather, Stepan Miskjian, was born in the Ottoman Empire, specifically, an Anatolia region known as the Armenian Highlands. This lies within present-day Turkey and Syria and overlapping into Russia. Both Ottoman Muslims and Allied Christians lived in Anatolia.

In 1914, Sheikh ul-Islam, the influential religious leader of Ottoman Muslims, issued a ruling that urged fellow Muslims to wage a holy war against the Allied Christians. Remember, the Ottoman region is in both Turkey and Russia. So the war against the Allied Christians became a war of the Turks against the Russians. The Turks lost badly and needed someone to pay. And by someone, they meant the Armenian Ottoman, accusing them of siding with Russia against the Turks which resulted in many lost Turkish lives.

For the Armenians, April 24, 1915 was the beginning of the end of the Armenian population at large. It is on this date that the Ottoman authorities began arresting and deporting Armenian intellectuals and community leaders, the majority of whom were murdered. For the next four years, the Ottoman government systematically exterminated an estimated 1.2 million Armenians. Some estimate the deaths to be as high as 1.5 million.

Thanks to Stepan’s copious notes ─ he filled at least four notebooks, these four horrific years are accurately and extensively documented. As per his journals, the Armeniain genocide was implemented in two phases. The first was the wholesale killing of all males between the ages of twenty and forty-five through massacres, days and weeks of incessant marches, and forced labor. The second was the deportation of women, children, the elderly, and the infirm. Driven by military escorts, many were forced on marches to the Syrian Desert ─ later labeled death marches ─ where they were left to die of starvation and dehydration. Others were robbed, raped, and, ultimately, massacred. Few survived.

What became of Stepan and his family? What impact has this event in history had on the Miskjian family, on the Armenians nationality? What has changed over the past one hundred years to ensure such occurrences never happen again?

Given my opening paragraphs on current events with Syria, this novel by Dawn Anahid MacKeen, The Hundred-Year Walk: An Armenian Odyssey, is as applicable today as it was when Stepan’s journals were written one hundred years ago. Though at times it is difficult to read, to hear of the brutal murders of so many innocent people, it is a thorough, detailed, and informative account of this real and historical devastation. MacKeen’s book is extremely well written, and it is one that I highly recommend for anyone interested in learning more about significant and catastrophic world events, especially those similar in nature to the Holocaust and those pertaining to Armenian history.

Purchase the book at:

About the Author:
Dawn Anahid MacKeen is an award-winning journalist who spent nearly a decade researching and writing her grandfather's story. Previously, she covered health and social issues for Salon, SmartMoney, and Newsday,where her investigative series on assisted living facilities' poor care helped prompt legislative reform. Her work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Elle, the Sunday Times Magazine (London), the Los Angeles Times, and elsewhere. She lives in Southern California.

Connect with the author at:
Website Twitter

Tandem Literary is giving one lucky winner a print copy of
The Hundred Year Walk by Dawn Anahid Mackeen

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Kasey Michaels (An Improper Arrangement) Valentine’s Day Tour & Giveaway


Reminiscing On My First Valentine’s Day-Themed Story

A guest post by New York Times bestselling author Kasey Michaels


In 1998, I was asked to write a “sweet” Valentine’s novella for Harlequin, to be part of a collection titled Key To My Heart (“sweet” meaning the bedroom door stays closed, by the way).  Each novella somehow had to have a key involved.  I remember the title of my novella, Love, Emmaline – but I’d forgotten everything else.  Hey, 1998 was a long time ago!

The book is out of print, so I searched my bookshelves and found a copy, sat down to read it.  Ah, I remembered now, just reading the first page…and by the end of the story I was sort of teary-eyed and feeling pretty good about the power of love.

Emmaline Whipple, married fifty years, widowed for two, was about to lose her bed and breakfast in Ocean City, New Jersey.  She had only two last guests before the inn was put on the market and Emmaline moved to a retirement home.  In truth, the inn had already closed, but she couldn’t turn down a young couple soon to be married, who had booked a room for the Valentine’s Day weekend.  The problem was, Molly and Tim had called off the wedding three weeks earlier…they loved each other, but they both had a lot to learn about living with each other.

Because I’m a sucker for happy endings, without each other’s knowledge, both showed up at Emmaline’s just in time to be stranded there by an ice storm.  That’s the fun of being an author, by the way—I can conjure up an ice storm if I darn well want to!

The “key” was the key to the Bridal Suite—with a heart shape on it that actually became the front cover art of the collection.  Or at least that was the idea.  But the real “keys” were Emmaline; sweet, wonderful, only slightly conniving Emmaline, and the utterly charming inn that bore her name.

Her late husband, the beloved Albert, had proposed to Emmaline on Valentine’s Day in the parlor of this very inn, and to Emmaline, Valentine’s Day was the most romantic event of any year.  She decorated the inn with cherubs and cut-out hearts.  She even made heart-shaped meatloaves for her only two guests for their first night’s dinner.  Poor Molly and Tim—they knew they were stuck playing the loving couple for the weekend or else break this darling woman’s heart.  They had to put aside their differences, even if it killed them.

And, thanks to the ice storm perhaps, or perhaps because love always wants to find a way, they actually talked to each other.

I loved the story then, and after reading it again, I realized I still love the story.  Sweet love.  New love, old love.  Love that outlasts even life itself.    Maybe that’s what Valentine’s Day is all about—remembering the love, reminding ourselves of what we have, who we’ve been fortunate enough to love, and counting our blessings.

What are some of your favorite stories that incorporate Valentine’s Day? Share them with me in the comments section below!

Experience the drama of the Little Season in the first of a new series by USA TODAY bestselling author Kasey Michaels, in which three dashing war heroes have finally met their matches…

Gabriel Sinclair has returned from battle as reluctant heir to a dukedom. As if his new responsibilities weren't enough, Gabriel's aunt enlists him to sponsor a young heiress through London's Little Season. Yet Miss Thea Neville is hardly the tedious obligation he expected. She's exotic and enchanting—and utterly unaware of the secret poised to destroy her family's reputation.

After ten years in America, Thea is ready to do her duty and marry well. Deportment lessons, modistes, balls—the ton is a minefield she could scarcely navigate without Gabriel's help. By rights, she should accept the first bachelor who offers for her. Instead, she's succumbing to a dangerous attraction to her wickedly handsome chaperone—one that could unhinge her plans in the most delicious way.

About the Author: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author KASEY MICHAELS has written more than 100 books to date and has 10 million copies in print around the world. During her impressive writing career, Kasey has coped with time travel, ghosts, the dark side, the very light side and just about everything in between.  Hers is also the creative mind behind the innovative Maggie Kelly mystery series.  Lastly, Kasey is the author of the highly praised nonfiction book, written as Kathryn Seidick, …Or You Can Let Him Go, which details the story of Kasey and her family during the time of her eldest son’s first kidney transplant.  You can find out more information about Kasey and her books at www.KaseyMichaels.com



Enter to win all 10 books, a special notebook & a $50 gift card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Second House From The Corner - Pub Day Review and Giveaway

Review by Marlene Engel
Stay at home mom Felicia seems to have the perfect life; an adoring husband, three great kids and the occasional acting gig.  But her life isn’t quite what it seems as a secret from her past threatens to surface.

While her husband spends many hours at the office, and more times than not coming home after the children are already in bed for the night, Felicia is left feeling stressed out.  Having to keep up with the daily demands of the home and children often makes her fantasize about escaping from it all.

When she receives a phone call from a man from her past, he holds the ability to bring Felicia’s house of cards tumbling to the ground.  As she goes from one bad decision to another, her husband reaches his breaking point and chooses to leave.  Felicia goes to great length to bury her past, but as the adage goes … everything done in the dark eventually comes to the light.

A compelling book from a new (to me) author.  Second House From The Corner will have you wondering what secrets may be hiding behind the closed doors of your neighbors.

Purchase the book at:

About the Author:
Sadeqa Johnson, a former public relations manager, spent several years working with well-known authors such as JK Rowling, Bebe Moore Campbell, Amy Tan and Bishop TD Jakes before becoming an author herself. Her debut novel, Love in a Carry-on Bag is the recipient of the 2013 Phillis Wheatley award for Best Fiction and the 2012 USA Best Book award for African-American fiction.  She is a motivation speaker, inspirational blogger, wife and mother of three incredible children.

Connect with the author at:

Thomas Dunne Books is giving one lucky winner a print copy of
Second House From The Corner by Sadeqa Johnson

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, February 5, 2016

Missing Pieces - 12 Things About Heather & A Giveaway

Summary:
Sarah Quinlan's husband, Jack, has been haunted for decades by the untimely death of his mother when he was just a teenager, her body found in the cellar of their family farm, the circumstances a mystery. The case rocked the small farm town of Penny Gate, Iowa, where Jack was raised, and for years Jack avoided returning home. But when his beloved aunt Julia is in an accident, hospitalized in a coma, Jack and Sarah are forced to confront the past that they have long evaded. 

Upon arriving in Penny Gate, Sarah and Jack are welcomed by the family Jack left behind all those years ago—barely a trace of the wounds that had once devastated them all. But as facts about Julia's accident begin to surface, Sarah realizes that nothing about the Quinlans is what it seems. Caught in a flurry of unanswered questions, Sarah dives deep into the puzzling rabbit hole of Jack's past. But the farther in she climbs, the harder it is for her to get out. And soon she is faced with a deadly truth she may not be prepared for.

Purchase the book at:

12 Things About Heather Gudenkauf
                        
1.    I’m the youngest of six siblings. I have the best big brothers and sisters ~ they have always looked out for me. And still do!
2.    My parents have been married for 57 years. Everything good about being a spouse and parent I’ve learned from my mom and dad.
3.    I’ve been told I have a pretty serious addiction to Diet Coke. This may be true. My Diet Cokes have to be fountain pop with lots of ice and a skinny straw. Is that weird? Yeah, I know.
4.    My favorite book of all time is Willa Cather’s My Antonia. I reread it every year and it continues to enthrall me.
5.    The night I met my husband he dropped a crawdad in my drink and didn’t notice for a half an hour. I married him two years later.
6.    All five of my novels are set in my home state of Iowa. Many people don’t realize how beautiful and diverse the Iowa landscape is and I love sharing
7.    We have an incredibly sweet and gentle German shorthaired pointer called Lolo. We named her after Olympic medalist and Iowa native, Lolo Jones.
8.    In college I met one of my favorite novelists, John Irving, at a University of Iowa Hawkeye basketball game. After I gushed about how much I loved his books, Mr. Irving was kind enough to sign the back of my ticket and offer kind words of encouragement about pursuing my own writing dreams.
9.    In addition to be a writer, I’m also a Title I Reading Coordinator for my local school district.
10. I have three children, two of whom attend The University of Iowa, my alma mater. I’m working on getting my third child to consider going to school there once she graduates high school. No pressure ~ Go Hawks!
11.One of my favorite pastimes is hiking through the woods. We have several nature preserves near my home and I find it incredibly relaxing and reinvigorating to be able to take Lolo for long walks surrounded by nature. This is where I work out the twists and turns of my novels.
12.I begin all my novels in longhand. I buy myself a beautiful journal or notebook and start writing. Eventually I transfer what I’ve written to the computer.

About the Author:
Heather was born in Wagner, South Dakota, the youngest of six children. At one month of age, her family returned to the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota where her father was employed as a guidance counselor and her mother as a school nurse. At the age of three, her family moved to Iowa, where she grew up. Having been born with a profound unilateral hearing impairment, Heather tended to use books as a retreat, would climb into the toy box that her father’s students from Rosebud made for the family with a pillow, blanket, and flashlight, close the lid, and escape the world around her. Heather became a voracious reader and the seed of becoming a writer was planted.

Heather Gudenkauf graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in elementary education, has spent her career working with students of all ages and continues to work in education as a Title I Reading Coordinator.
Heather lives in Iowa with her husband, three children, and a very spoiled German Short-haired Pointer named Lolo. In her free time Heather enjoys spending time with her family, reading, hiking, and running. She is currently working on her next novel.

Connect with the author at:

MIRA Books is giving one lucky winner a print copy of
Missing Pieces by Heather Gudenkauf

a Rafflecopter giveaway