Whoa, Monday snuck up on me! Since I don’t have anything
prepared, we’ll just have us a little hodgepodge today. Hope you had a great
weekend, by the way.
First off,
here’s the unveiling of the cover of Jar
of Dreams, my January release from Carina Press. Oh, and the blurb—I may as
well unveil it, too.
For as long as she can remember, Lucy
Dolan has been jotting down her hopes on slips of paper and saving them in a
pickle jar—her jar of dreams. It was the first thing she saved when the beloved
family diner went up in flames, and it's safely buckled in her beat-up minivan
when she lands in Taft, Indiana, to start over. She rents a room and goes into
business with her landlady, but then Gert's nephew comes charging in to
"rescue" his aunt.
Boone Brennan will be damned if he'll
let Lucy take advantage of Aunt Gert, who raised him and his sister. Believing
that she's just passing through, he's deeply suspicious of her—despite the
sparks that fly between them.
Just as Boone and Lucy are starting to
open up to each other, a series of fires throws Lucy under suspicion. Boone
wants to trust her and his feelings, but with the whole town against her, will
he stay by her side? Or will Lucy move on and find another place to make her
dreams come true?
Does Jar of Dreams sound good to you? I hope so, and I hope you order it…er,
as soon as you can. It’s not on sale yet, but it’ll be a great way to spend
your Amazon, B & N, or Carina Press gift certificates after Christmas!
Now, the other thing I’m going to
bring up is tomorrow. You know, Tuesday. Election Day. First item of business
is to tell you, as a retired postal worker, that, yes, the post office is open
on Election Day. Always has been. Second, I’m going to be a precinct worker for
the first time ever and I’m excited about that.
I was laughing a little at myself
because, after all, what does voting have to do with writing? My rose-colored
glasses are dimmed enough by time to know that many of the people we vote for
mysteriously change their views on things after they’re elected. There are a
lot of self-serving agendas out there. And worse. I get that. I know this country
has problems. Lots of them. My own personal picks for the worst of those
problems are greed, violence, and not taking responsibility for one’s own
actions.
But somewhere across the world, a 14-year-old
girl named Maliala Yousufza, “a relentless advocate of education for girls,”
was shot and seriously wounded because of her views. Because a terrorist organization was frightened
by a little girl with a book.
I hope and
pray this never happens again anywhere and, mostly, selfishly, that it never
happens here. Because we write—and read—what we want, when we want, and if we
want. One way to make sure we keep that particular freedom is to vote.
See you
tomorrow.
Love the new cover and blurb!
ReplyDeleteI like the pickle jar. That's a cute addition!
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with you about the little girl with the book. I feel so thankful to live in freedom, where being a little girl with a book only opened doors for me. We don't appreciate how good we have it!
Me, too, Patty. Or maybe it's just that we forget sometimes.
Deletefirst, LOVE the new cover and blurb!!!! Can't wait for this one...
ReplyDeleteand have fun with your volunteer day - you're right, we are incredibly lucky and blessed to live in a country where we can read, talk and debate without fear of this kind of retaliation...and only our votes will keep it that way.
DeleteI agree, Kristi!
DeleteFor a hodgepodge you did good. Love the new book cover and your wise words are appreciated. We must always value our right to vote and exercise it every time we're given a chance.
ReplyDeleteTake care tomorrow, and thanks for volunteering for a tough job.
Thanks, Lynne. :-)
DeleteVibrant cover - very eye-catching! And for all the troubles we face as a country, we're very fortunate in our freedoms and liberty, as well.
ReplyDeleteCovers are always weird for me, and this one was no different, but I do love my publisher. Thanks, Melissa.
DeleteLove that book!
ReplyDeleteVote for Maliana, if for no other reason!!!
Absolutely, D. Thanks for coming by.
DeleteThe book sounds great, and who knows? Maybe your next hero and heroine will meet while watching the polls. Maliana is yet another good reason to vote. Thanks for mentioning it!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chris, and that meeting sounds possible--and fun. :-)
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ReplyDeleteThe book cover is gorgeous, and I love the blurb! (the concept is awesome as well!) Blessings to you, Gem!!!! xo
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gem-sister!
DeleteLove, love that book! And way to spread the word on the vote. I was amazed yesterday to read that 90 million people won't vote. I don't get it. Oh, and I voted last week. In WA state, all of our votes are mail-in--so last week we sat down as a family, read the measures and explanations and all voted--sometimes not the same, but we voted ;-)
ReplyDeleteThat is so neat, Margie. We have family discussions--dare I say shouting matches?--about elections, but actually making it a family event is cool.
DeleteGreat post, Liz! Your book sounds amazing. And thank you for bringing up how important voting is. My heart goes out to that young lady.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shawn. I know--she struck a chord with many of us.
ReplyDeleteLove the cover! Congrats! I also loved the blurb.
ReplyDeleteLove the cover and blurb. I don't know why the notice hadn't appeared in my inbox by the time I went to bed. Off to vote now.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ella. I appreciate you coming by.
DeleteLovely cover, Liz!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Delete