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Today is sneak preview day.
But before we here about Betty's lovely book I'd like to roll out the exciting lineup we have for Summer/Fall Book Fun Friday.
Tune in each week to read about a new book and find how to buy or win the authors books.
And here's our lineup:
August 15th - Jennifer Eaton, First Day of Tomorrow, A YA Contemporary, Paranormal
August 22nd- Joanne Stewart, A Second Chance, A Contemporary Romance
August 29th - Marlow Kelly, A Woman of Honour, Historical Romance
Sept 5th-Christy Effiger, Say Nothing of What You See, Paranormal
September 19th-Joanne Stewart, Risking It All, Contemporary Romance
September 23-Lynda Coker- Payback in Wayback, Contemporary Western Romance
September 26th- Jennifer Eaton, Fire in the Woods, Young Adult Contemporary Science Fiction
October 3rd- Janis Lane, Murder in the Neighborhood, Mystery/Supense Romance
October 10th-Karen Dryden, Hell's Bounty, A Paranormal/Erotica
October 17th-Brenda Sparks, Alpha Mine, Paranormal Romance
October 23rd-Lauren Smith, The Shadows of Stormclyffe, A Modern Contemporary Gothic
and
October 31st- Betty Bolte, Ghosts of Roseville, Part 2, A Paranormal Romance
And now for our Sneak Preview,
Meet Ms. Betty Bolté:
Betty
Bolté writes both historical and contemporary stories that feature strong,
loving women and brave, compassionate men. No matter whether the stories are
set in the past or the present, she loves to include a touch of the paranormal.
Get to know her at http://bettybolte.com.
Personal
Motto:
When you
can’t stop trying, dreams come true
More
about Betty:
I
considered giving up many, many times over the past 20 years. Yes, 20 years of
drafting novels, submitting to agents and editors, receiving rejections, and
shoving the manuscripts under the proverbial bed. Believe me. The task was too
difficult, the mark kept being raised out of my reach. Why did I keep beating
my head against the brick publishing wall? I can think of a couple reasons. One
may be because my sister told me I should stick to writing nonfiction since I
wasn’t creative. Is that a challenge or what? I’d show her! Mostly, the stories
and characters kept coming, so I had to write. But all along I worked on honing
my storytelling skills: attending clinics and workshops; going to writing
conferences to soak up the vast wealth of information in workshops; judging
writing contests for unpublished authors; and most importantly working with
critique partners. The end result is my debut novel, Traces, released in April this year and I couldn’t be more proud of
my baby! Readers love my characters and setting and twist at the end. All of
which makes me smile. Because I didn’t give up, I didn’t quit even though I
considered it many times.
Book Title: Traces (Ghosts of Roseville Book 1)
Log Line: Love is never lost; it haunts the heart.
Log Line: Love is never lost; it haunts the heart.
Book
Tag Line:
Architect
Meredith Reed aims to demolish her family plantation to bury her grief. But her
conniving sister, a hunky lawyer, and a spectral Lady all have other ideas. Can
she carry out her plan before they teach her the lessons of family and love she
so desperately needs?
Book
Blurb:
Meredith
Reed, a forty-year-old architect turned demolition expert, desperately searches
for the means to bury her grief. When she inherits her family’s historic
plantation home in Tennessee, she decides to start anew by razing the
antebellum house and replacing it with a memorial garden. A plan met with outrage from her family and
her grandmother's estate lawyer.
James
Maximillian “Max” Chandler needs two things to complete his life plan: become a
senior partner and find his soul mate. He's been promised a promotion once his
proposed legislation to protect all of the county’s historic properties is
approved. The wife part he finds more challenging, having never met the right
woman in all of his forty-six years. If only the talented and attractive
Meredith weren’t so aloof toward him and didn’t want to destroy the very
property he’s grown to cherish.
Meanwhile,
Meredith's estranged sister moves in and refuses to leave. The memories of
their childhood spent there causes turmoil between them. And while Meredith
struggles to reconcile her past and her future, she learns a lesson from the
spectral Lady in Blue that may save both her family and the family home from
destruction.
Excerpt:
Meredith Reed glared at the plantation home she’d
inherited from a grandmother she only vaguely recalled and plotted its demise.
A pair of ancient live oaks, the inspiration for the Twin Oaks name, guarded
either side of the sprawling two-story brick dwelling, providing shade and
funneling cool air through the house. Sunlight filtered through the Spanish
moss draped on the massive limbs. Meredith raised one hand to shield the glare
as she scanned the façade. The architect in her appreciated the symmetry of the
Greek Revival style as well as the quality workmanship of the brickwork, but
neither aspect added value for the salvage companies.
First, she’d dismantle it one piece at a time, removing
anything of value and selling it off quickly to whomever had the money to buy
it. She studied the once-elegant antebellum house, its wide front steps missing
a brick here and there, its six elaborate Corinthian columns and intricately
carved woodwork surrounding the double doors. The property description listed
ten bedrooms, four bathrooms dating from the early twentieth century, a gourmet
kitchen, two parlors, an upstairs ballroom, and several outbuildings. Despite
the building’s grand scale, the house was too small to warrant using dynamite
to implode. Damn. But she could
visualize a nice, hot fire licking up the exterior. Yes, a fire would serve the
purpose of bringing it down.
Please
answer the following question and place your answer in the comment section:
Have
you realized a lifelong dream or goal because you couldn’t stop trying? Even
when those around you couldn’t understand why you had to continue? Or are you
working toward a goal that’s been eluding you but now you can taste success?
What dream do you have worth devoting your precious time to achieving?
Here
are Betty Bolte’s Links:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BettyBolte
Buy links:
Giveaway:
Betty
will give away one copy of Traces to
someone who leaves a comment. Paper or digital. Your Book Fun Friday host Celia will draw the winner and
notify you. Betty will then send the book in your requested format.
So make a comment and win a chance at your book today!
So make a comment and win a chance at your book today!
I was very fortunate to achieve my dream of becoming a published author. It took a lot of hard work, years of reworking my manuscript, and perseverance, but it is well worth it. Loved the excerpt, Betty. Happy writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brenda! I agree that perseverance is very important! Having a long term as well as short term goal(s) is very important! Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteBetty, I think it took over 20 years to realize my dream of being published. Frankly, I've never tried to calculate the number of years because I didn't want to know. But this wasn't wasted time. Like you, I continued to spend my time learning my craft, but I also cultivated my persistence and endurance during this time, qualities that supersede even my writing.
ReplyDeleteBarbara Barrett
I agree, Barbara, that it's not wasted time as we work(ed) toward the goal of sharing our stories with others. And the lessons learned from rejection and challenge absolutely influences how we view the rest of our lives. Good for you!
DeleteBetty asked, "Are you working toward a goal that’s been eluding you but now you can taste success?"
ReplyDeleteYes - like you, I've been crafting stories for years and could literally wallpaper a room with rejection letters. But we all know wallpaper is not in style right now, so it's time for them to stop coming! I'm finally getting a "yes, we love your story." I love the premise of Traces, and will be adding it to my "to read" list!
You make me smile! Thanks so much. I wish you the best and know that with your dedication and persistence, you'll definitely achieve your goal(s)! Thanks so much for adding my book to your TBR list. I appreciate it!
Delete"I considered giving up many, many times over the past 20 years. Yes, 20 years of drafting novels, submitting to agents and editors, receiving rejections, and shoving the manuscripts under the proverbial bed."
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like me! I started writing when I was 16. Gave it up for "The real world" and after getting married and having three kids, the itch came back. I experienced similar heartache with my novel, and was about to give up, when I sent it out ONE LAST TIME to a "dream house".
That novel is now set for release in a little over a month, and is already getting a lot of buzz. Even better-- it is book once of a contracted series. So much waiting, so much doubt, but here I am. You just can't give up, and you need to push on, better yourself every day, and work to make your goals a reality.
I'm grinning ear to ear for you! Such a fabulous story! Congrats to you and thanks for sharing your story of persistence!
DeleteFinally . . . in 2003 I finished my BFA in Creative Writing. :)
ReplyDeleteAvery, that's one goal I had to give up on. I would have loved to accomplish that particular goal, but didn't have a university/college nearby with such a program. I'm blown away by your achievement! What a great thing. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteHi, Betty! You have no idea how much I admire your sticktoitness. Twenty years is a long time and yet, you stayed with your passion. You didn't give up. You didn't let the naysayers get you down. Very proud of you. And very happy we are online friends and that we met in person. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Vicki! It was great seeing you in San Antonio last month!
DeleteBetty, I admire your tenacity and wish you the best of luck with all of your books. This book is interesting to me b/c I am a fan of the paranormal. I look forward to reading more.
ReplyDeleteRandy, thanks for your best wishes! If you enjoy Traces, you'll want to watch out for its sequel coming in October, Remnants. In fact, I just sent the first round of revisions back to my editor. It's a busy year for me!
ReplyDeleteOn behalf of Melissa Despina Fragiadaki (she tried numerous times so I did this for her):
ReplyDeleteI love hearing about new books and discovering new authors!
How inspiring to read the comments here and learn about everyone's dreams.
As for me. . . I moved to Israel two years ago, with the dream of building a life here. To say it's been tough is an understatement. The job search, starting a new business, not to mention the war (I've experienced five air raid sirens and "booms" since I moved here), I'm determined to make this work.
Oh yes, and I'd love to get a book (or two, or a hundred) published!