A giveaway of Allie and Bea!

I'm excited about this, and I hope you'll be half as excited to hear it. I was out of town for five days on a camping trip in the desert. When I got back, there was a mysterious box on my table, brought in by the catsitter. (Okay, there was a mountain of boxes, but one was extra mysterious.)

I opened it to find this. Brand new Advance Readers' Copies of my forthcoming novel Allie and Bea, which releases on May 23rd! And if I do say so (I didn't design the book, so I think I'm allowed), it looks fantastic.  And of course my very first thought was "I'll give some away on the blog." So I'm putting three of these babies up for grabs.

Entering is easy. I just include a short paragraph about how to enter and ask people to read it. And I can always tell that some people don't. Look, I can't force you to read this. But if you do I'll be able to put you in the running for an ARC. And I want that. And you want that, too. Right? Okay, good. This takes about twenty seconds.

Leave a comment below to be entered. Please DO leave your email address in the comment form (even though it will say it's optional). I promise I won't use it for any other purpose but to notify you if you win. Please DON'T leave your email address in the body of your comment unless you want everybody to see it. (It will seem there is no place for your name and email. But when you hit "Post Comment," you'll see those fields come up.)

 And if you're reading this on Goodreads, please click through and leave your comment on my original blog. Otherwise I worry I'll forget you when the time comes to draw names.

I'll leave this open for about a week and then draw three names at random. Good luck!

Deal alerts for Australia and the UK!

I remember saying recently on this blog that I was sorry the price promotion was available in the US market only--but that other territories would get their chance soon.

Well, here we go!

My novel LEAVING BLYTHE RIVER is a Kindle Monthly deal in both Australia and the UK!

In Australia you can find the book here for only $1.49AU, and in the UK you can click this link to find it for only 0.99GBP.

Happy reading!

That cover reveal I promised

In case you're a new subscriber and are wondering, no. I don't usually post to this blog so often. Usually more like twice a month. But there's a just a lot of exciting stuff going on right now.

For example, on the 8th of this month I posted a sneak peek into what's coming up in new releases. A lot of you have just finished SAY GOODBYE FOR NOW, or are reading it. And when you close that book, your mind may go to what's next for my novels.

So here is the brand new cover of ALLIE AND BEA, finalized today.

I've made an ALLIE AND BEA book page on this site, in case you don't yet know what it's about. It will be released on May 23rd, 2017. Sounds like a long way away, but it will be here in the blink of an eye. Time is like that.

And it can be preordered anytime in Kindle, paperback, or Audio CD.

Hope you are enjoying SAY GOODBYE FOR NOW, and Happy Reading!

SAY GOODBYE FOR NOW book birthday

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As I write this post, it's the 12th of December. Those of you who subscribe to the blog may be reading this on the 13th.

December 13th is the day my newest novel, SAY GOODBYE FOR NOW, drops. In other words, it goes on sale. If you preordered it, as I know many of you have, you will see it magically drop onto your Kindle somewhere around midnight tonight, the 12th. If you are reading this on Tuesday, check your device. It's probably there.

And if you preordered a paperback, they tend to ship them a couple of days early so they arrive on or around the 13th.

I'm excited for this one, and I hope you are, too! Happy reading, and I'll look forward to hearing what you think!

A sneak peek at what's coming next

Five days until SAY GOODBYE FOR NOW! Okay. Sorry. Had to say that. Had to get that out of the way. :-)

But in case you're wondering what will be next up to read, here's a little sneak peek. Amazon already has a detail page for my next book, Allie and Bea, which is scheduled for release on May 23rd of 2017. No cover yet, but when we get the final I'll do a cover reveal right here on this blog.

CLICK HERE to check it out.

Hope you enjoy Say Goodbye for Now in the meantime, and, as always, happy reading!

So. Many. Paper. Book deals.

December is a great month to buy physical (paper) books, because they can be stuffed into stockings and wrapped in paper and bows and tucked under trees.

So I was extremely happy when I found out that seven (7!) of my Lake Union novels are for sale for the month of December as part of Amazon's 50 Popular Fiction Books for up to 50% off promotion.

The titles currently on sale are: Walk Me Home, Ask Him Why, Leaving Blythe River, The Language of Hoofbeats, Worthy, When I Found You, and Take Me With You.

And the prices are very attractive!

Happy shopping, wrapping, and reading!

SAY GOODBYE FOR NOW a "Best Book"

I just found out that my brand new December 13th release, Say Goodbye for Now, is one of ten "Best Book of the Month" picks for Literature and Fiction on Amazon.

Also, reviews opened early, and the book already has five 5-star reviews from people who read an advance readers copy, including some of you who won a copy on this blog.

Only eight days until the book drops!

Happy reading! 

BIG deal alert for the month of December

I just found out that five of my ebooks are on sale for only $2 each for the whole month of December.

Amazon regularly runs a sale of collected books called "50 Kindle Book Deals for $2 Each."

The December group of sale books will include the following five titles of mine: WALK ME HOME, WHEN I FOUND YOU, THE LANGUAGE OF HOOFBEATS, LEAVING BLYTHE RIVER, and TAKE ME WITH YOU.

I do need to note that these deals apply only to the US marketplace, so my apologies to my readers in other countries. But more and more Amazon is including these titles in deals taking place in other territories. I'll keep you posted on that news.

Happy holidays and happy reading! 

100-copy ebook giveaway on GoodReads

I just learned from my publisher that they are doing a Goodreads giveaway of my newest soon-to-be-released novel Say Goodbye for Now.

The format is Amazon Kindle, and there are 100 copies up for grabs between now and December 12th. 

So go put your name in the hat. It costs nothing to enter, and you just might walk away with a copy.

CLICK HERE to be taken to the giveaway page.

Good luck, and happy reading!

More brand new discussion guides!

Book groups take note!

Some of you may remember that my publisher, Lake Union, had a great response to the requests I'd been getting for discussion guides. My editor went to Andrea Hurst, the wonderful author/agent/editor who does the developmental edits on my Lake Union novels, and asked her to write questions for every book of mine that Lake Union published.

That's: When I Found You, Walk Me Home, Take Me with You, The Language of Hoofbeats, Worthy, Ask Him Why, and Leaving Blythe River.

And my next release, Say Goodbye for Now, will have the discussion guide included with the book.

I was so happy with all these discussion guides that I went back to Andrea on my own and asked her to write guides for my more popular backlist titles Don't Let Me Go, Where We Belong, and When You Were Older, and they are available now! You can click on the links in the previous sentence, find them on their individual book pages on this site, or go straight to the page "Book Group Discussion Questions" in the "Extras" menu.

And remember my offer to all book groups: If you want any of my always-free swag--such as hand-signed and personalized bookmarks, book plates, or both--there is no SASE required and I will cover the postage. It's my way of saying thank you for choosing my book.

More Information HERE.

Happy reading and discussing!

Here's where giveaways get really fun

So, look what the UPS guy brought me yesterday. Finished copies of my new December release SAY GOODBYE FOR NOW.

I think these look wonderful, I love the cover, and I can't wait to give some away. I always think it means more to be able to win a book you couldn't buy today even if you wanted to. (You can preorder it anytime, but it won't "drop" until December 13th.)

So, you know the drill. Except some of you don't, because a handful of entries always come in with no email address, which means I can't notify you if you win, so I can't enter you. So PLEASE take a minute (less than a minute, actually) and read some simple guidelines for entering: 

Leave a comment below to be entered. Please DO leave your email address in the comment form (even though it will say it's optional). I promise I won't use it for any other purpose but to notify you if you win. Please DON'T leave your email address in the body of your comment unless you want everybody to see it. (It will seem there is no place for your name and email. But when you hit "Post Comment," you'll see those fields come up.)

 And if you're reading this on Goodreads, please click through and leave your comment on my original blog. Otherwise I worry I'll forget you when the time comes to draw names.

I'll leave this open for a week to ten days and the draw five (five!) winners at random.

Good luck!

Silly me. I forgot Where We Belong is also in Prime Reading.

So this morning I wrote a blog post introducing the new Prime Reading program and telling my readers that if they have an Amazon Prime membership they can read LEAVING BLYTHE RIVER absolutely free.

What I forgot, until one of my in-the-know readers pointed it out, is that WHERE WE BELONG is also in the Prime Reading program launch. If you are a Prime member you just go out to the WHERE WE BELONG detail page and hit "Read for Free."

That's all for now. Happy reading!      

Amazon Prime members can Read Leaving Blythe River for free

So have you heard about the new Prime Reading program?

If you have Amazon Prime you can read free from a select catalogue of books, and Leaving Blythe River is featured in the launch of the program.

You can check it out the new program HERE.

Or you can go straight to the detail page for Leaving Blythe River and hit "Read for Free."

Happy reading! (Because how can it not be happy when it's FREE?)

More "SAY GOODBYE FOR NOW" ARCs to give away

I think a lot of you will remember that in late July I got six of these beautiful ARCs of my December 13th release, SAY GOODBYE FOR NOW.

Of course I gave away a few on this blog, but they went fast.

I decided to ask the publisher if they could spare more. After all, there's not a much happier or more fun purpose for an ARC than to be given away to readers. Lake Union was happy to comply, and sent me another carton.

I'm putting three of these up for grabs.

NOW: I always ask that people read this next paragraph. And a portion of people don't. I can tell, because they don't provide an email address. So I can't enter them. I can't make anybody do anything, of course, but please bear in mind that I'm trying really hard to give you free stuff! :)

Leave a comment below to be entered. Please DO leave your email address in the comment form (even though it will say it's optional). I promise I won't use it for any other purpose but to notify you if you win. Please DON'T leave your email address in the body of your comment unless you want everybody to see it. (It will seem there is no place for your name and email. But when you hit "Post Comment," you'll see those fields come up.)

 And if you're reading this on Goodreads, please click through and leave your comment on my original blog. Otherwise I worry I'll forget you when the time comes to draw names.

 I'll leave this open for about a week. Good luck!

A deal alert for lovers of physical books

I realize most of the deal alerts I share are for Kindle ebooks. They are easy to discount deeply. That's one of many things I love about ebooks. 

But I know many of you still love "the feel of a book in your hands." And many of you, like me, enjoy adding a paper book to your library if you loved it in Kindle.

If that describes you, here's a deal you might like.

Four of my books are featured in paperback in the month-long Amazon promotion "Up to 50% Off Select Literature and Fiction Books."  

The titles are: Leaving Blythe River, The Language of Hoofbeats, Ask Him Why, and Take Me with You.

They are each just $6.99.

This deal lasts through September 7th, so plenty of time to get in on it yourself or share the idea with friends. 

Happy reading!

Deal Alert: Leaving Blythe River

If you haven't yet read my newest, Leaving Blythe River, you might be interested to know that all this month the Kindle ebook edition is on sale for only $1.99!

And if you have read it, maybe you'll feel inclined to share this deal news with your reader friends.

Happy August, and happy reading! 

Win an ARC of my next book!

Last week I got six of these beauties in the mail. Not all of my ARCs have the full cover design, but these do. And I adore this cover, so I'm very happy with these. I think these are just beautiful ARCs.

Say Goodbye for Now will be released on December 13th, and you can read more about it HERE.

Now, I only got six of these, as I say. Usually I end up with a carton. I've already committed to give one away on the Facebook group Readers Coffeehouse (check it out if you haven't already). So of course I'm still having a giveaway, but right now there are only two up for grabs. If I can get my hands on more, I'll do another giveaway at a later date.

As always, please take a moment to read the paragraphs below. If you don't, and it results in my not having your email address, I can't enter you.

Leave a comment below to be entered. Please DO leave your email address in the comment form (even though it will say it's optional). I promise I won't use it for any other purpose but to notify you if you win. Please DON'T leave your email address in the body of your comment unless you want everybody to see it. (It will seem there is no place for your name and email. But when you hit "Post Comment," you'll see those fields come up.)

 And if you're reading this on Goodreads, please click through and leave your comment on my original blog. Otherwise I worry I'll forget you when the time comes to draw names.

I'll leave this open for about a week. Good luck!

Brand new discussion guides for book groups!

Lately I've been getting a huge number of emailed requests from book group members looking for discussion questions. Particularly for Take Me With You. This makes me very happy. It means book groups are reading my novels.

What made me unhappy was having to say no discussion guides existed.

So I mentioned the issue to my editor at Lake Union, who picked up the ball in an excellent way. She went to Andrea Hurst, the wonderful author/agent/editor who does the developmental edits on my Lake Union novels, and asked her to write questions. For all of them! For every book of mine that Lake Union published.

That's: When I Found You, Walk Me Home, Take Me with You, The Language of Hoofbeats, Worthy, Ask Him Why, and Leaving Blythe River. And my next release, Say Goodbye for Now, will have the discussion guide included with the book!

I couldn't have asked for a much better result than that!

The guides are available as links on each book's individual page on this site, and all the links are together on my new page Book Group Discussion Questions.

Happy reading, and have great book group discussions! 

Cover reveal for my next book!

For those of you who have finished Leaving Blythe River and wonder what's coming up next, here's what you wanted to know:

It's called Say Goodbye for Now, and it will be released by Lake Union (Amazon Publishing) on the 13th of December. And I have to say, this is one of my favorite covers of all time. I love, love, love this cover. Talk about representing the story and getting it right!

The book is available for preorder right now, in Kindle, paperback, and audio CD. I'll create a new book page today with the short synopsis. In the meantime, any of those Amazon links above will take you to a detail page with a synopsis.

I know it seems long, but it's less than six months. It will pass in the blink of an eye.

40 Free ebooks for my readers

Okay, so I tried my hand at Amazon giveaways. With limited success, through no one's fault but my own.

I purchased 50 ebook copies of DON'T LET ME GO to give away. First I set the odds too high. I had no idea what was right until I saw it play out, so I just took my best guess. The second time around I set the odds much lower, but figured they would go fast at that rate, so I only scheduled it for a week.

Long story short (unless it's too late for that) I ended up with ten ebook winners on Amazon and 40 leftover books in the form of free download "gift codes." As promised, I am giving them away via the old-fashioned method, right here on the blog.

So leave a comment if you would like to win one. If you already have it on your Kindle or Kindle software, this won't work. You can't have two copies of an ebook on one device. So feel free to pass this giveaway info on to your friends. And... I say it every time and it never works with everybody, but here goes: If I don't have your email address, I can't send you a gift code. So please enter it in the space that will come up after you hit post. I don't harvest your email for nefarious gains.

Good luck! The odds on this one should be great.