11 books in 18 months

A friend just pointed out that I've had 11 books published in 18 months. Wow, putting it like that kind of makes me proud. 

For those of you who have been with me on this journey, thank you for your love and support. It hasn't been easy. There's been a lot of hurdles along the way and many disappointments. I've made a lot of mistakes and I've learned tons. Mostly I've learned to believe in myself even when no one around me is.

I'm grateful to my readers who have given me a chance in a world crowded with great books and great authors. Thank you for choosing my books and I hope there are many more to come. 

Blessings, B

Get rom-com 'It's in the Stars'

10 days until IT'S IN THE STARS is released. Preorder today. Here's the skinny:

Love always turns up…

Newspaper journalist Sydney Turner Davies is the last person you’d call clueless when it comes to romance. She knows what she wants in a man (if in a little too much detail!) and is everyone’s go-to girl when it comes to relationship advice. So why is she still single? Turning 26 only makes it clearer—it’s time for a change!

Where you least expect it. 

When inspiration strikes in the form of her daily horoscope, Sydney decides to turn her eyes to the sky and leave her love life up to fate. What her horoscope says, she does! With her straight-talking best friends and the zodiac to guide her, what could go wrong?

Navigating the dating game has never been simpler. But for Sydney, finding love is just the first step. When romance finally blossoms…will she be brave enough to follow her heart?

Cover reveal: It's in the Stars

Here's the cover for my newest book, IT'S IN THE STARS, coming Feb. 12, from Carina/HarperCollins. *Happy Dance*

Poll: Favorite winter-themed children's book

Crazy idea for a new year: Tracks inside supermarkets

How's that saying go? Necessity is the mother of invention? Well, I and a lot of other people have a necessity and I have a solution that would be a win-win for a supermarket. Don't stop reading. Just hear me out.

When it's cold outside, people need a place to walk. When it's hot outside, people need a place to walk. For me, this used to be the nearby mall, but the mall is being torn down and replaced with a strip mall. There goes my place to walk over my lunch hour when it's too cold or too hot to walk outside.

Here's my solution. Supermarkets should invest more completely in the health craze and provide a walking/running track on the perimeter of their store. Don't laugh. Just think about it. When it's hot, people flock to the freezer section of the supermarket to hang out for a while. So, imagine if a supermarket (those located in areas where there is extreme cold and heat) integrated tracks into their designs. People would flock to the supermarket to walk or run. And, they might need a drink afterward or pick up a loaf of bread or bananas or whatever. The supermarket offers a service, gets people in its doors who might not normally come there, and so forth. Seems like a win-win.

So, if you're a supermarket and you want to talk out my idea, contact me. I have a billion ideas running through this crazy head of mine!

New year brings new possibilities

I love new beginnings. It's exciting to wipe the slate clean and start fresh. A new year brings new possibilities. It's full of hope and promise. Of new opportunities and challenges. Of wondrous adventures waiting to be had.

And yet, as much as I look forward to a new year, it's hard saying goodbye to this one. I've been blessed in so many ways and I'm thankful for the opportunities I've had and the memories I've made. From judging the Pulitzer Prizes to serving two fellowships at DePauw University to publishing four books, it's been a year filled with great accomplishments. I hope that 2015 will be even better.

When I think back over my yesteryears, there are some things I've learned.

I've learned never to give up on my dreams. I hope you never do. Tend to your dreams like you would anything you care deeply about. Guard them and protect them from the naysayers of the world and hold onto them tightly. Don't let them slip through your fingers and leave you holding nothing but thoughts of what might have been. Success is about hard work, passion and will.

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How to promote your book

A friend asked me this the other day and I sent him some ideas that he turned into a blog post. I'm sharing the link with you. There might be ideas in here you haven't tried yet.

Please share your ideas for book promotion in comments. Let's help each other!

Cover reveal: High Street Dares

Here's the cover for the upcoming middle-grade novel, The High Street Dares: Locket of Doom and The High Street Dares: The Ghostly Connection. Two books in one! Coming January 2015.

The Christmas Violin special: Only 99 cents

BUY TODAY 

This book has never been on special so don't miss your chance. 

...

One Christmas. Three lives. One unforgettable story.

A widower, a grieving mother and a homeless woman have one thing in common – a cemetery.

Willow, a concert violinist, begins each morning by playing her son the lullaby she wrote for him at his tomb. The melody enchants Peter during his daily visit to his wife’s grave. The homeless woman, who finds refuge in the cemetery, is equally drawn to the haunting music.

Like a violin concerto, the story unfolds in three movements, unexpectedly intertwining the fates of these characters.

Buy links

Amazon US

Amazon UK

iBooks US

iBooks UK

Ella's Rain: Cover reveal, pre-order

PRE-ORDER TODAY 

Ella's Rain will be released Feb. 25, 2015. Pre-order ebook today! It is also be available in paperback. 

Here's the skinny:

My dearest Ella,

I wish we would have had more time together, but we both know that we don’t always get what we want…

When Ella’s grandma Dorothy dies, she is consumed by grief. Left with Grandma’s ashes in an alabaster urn, Ella dreams of rubbing it like a magic lamp and Grandma suddenly appearing.

But it’s only a dream.

To protect herself from experiencing this kind of heartache ever again, Ella pulls away from Trey, the love of her life. Better to leave him than to lose him, she thinks.

Slowly Ella learns to live again as she reads the letters Grandma left behind -- one for every day of the coming year.

My dearest Ella,

I can’t believe that I’m writing the last note you will ever receive from me.  By the time you read this, a whole year will have passed since my death. I hope my notes have helped you find your way...

...................

BUY TODAY 

If you haven't read The Christmas Violin, you won't want to miss it. I hope this becomes a movie someday. 

One Christmas. Three lives. One unforgettable story.

A widower, a grieving mother and a homeless woman have one thing in common – a cemetery.

Willow, a concert violinist, begins each morning by playing her son the lullaby she wrote for him at his tomb. The melody enchants Peter during his daily visit to his wife’s grave. The homeless woman, who finds refuge in the cemetery, is equally drawn to the haunting music.
Like a violin concerto, the story unfolds in three movements, unexpectedly intertwining the fates of these characters.


Like a violin concerto, the story unfolds in three movements, unexpectedly intertwining the fates of these characters.

Black Friday deals: Freaky Frank and Gina and Mike

Get FREAKY FRANK for 99 cents.

Here's the skinny: In many ways, Frank Fratello is a typical teen. He plays baseball, hangs out with his friends at the mall and gets in trouble at home. But there’s something very different about this sixth-grader—he can read minds. And reading minds can cause problems. Like when Frank says what someone is thinking before they say it. Or answers a question before they ask it. 

Despite being telepathic, Frank must deal with everyday middle school life, which includes battling a bully who hates him. Nasty Nate and his flunkies live to get others in trouble—especially Frank. 
But Frank and his friends aren’t giving up. There has to be some way to bring Nasty Nate down. They just have to find it.

...

FREE contemporary romance

The Yearbook Series: Gina and Mike. 

Review: This was such a fun book to read. Ok so let me rephrase. It was a sad and trying book because the drama was killing me. It was fun because I love how the author switches POV's between the two main characters often. In any given chapter you can go back and forth a couple of times, I happen to really enjoy it. As for the story it was so exhausting. You know from the blurb what happened to Gina and that it tore her and Mike apart. A good chunk of the beginning of this story takes place in the past showing you what happened. Ok so then we jump ahead 20 years and all I can think is wow that is a lot of wasted time. Mike is this fantastic guy who loved his girl and had no clue what happened. Gina was a loving girlfriend whose life was ripped apart and didn't know how to cope. The entire time I'm reading I wanted to scream TELL HIM but life kept getting in the way. It was a sad book but with a very happy ending. The drama just kept coming and I kept wondering when will my HEA come. I enjoyed reading this story, it had humor and sadness but the story was so well done. It was a quick read, at least for me, and I was sad to see it end. I was very excited that I already had book 2 ready to go.

There's a lot of me in 'Ella's Rain'

I’m often asked how much of what I write comes from personal experience. I don’t think you can be an author and not have what you are be a part of what you create. 

I was recently editing my book “Ella’s Rain,” due out early next year. At the end of the book are 365 letters Grandma wrote to Ella before she died. Grandma instructs her best friend, Maddie, who becomes Ella’s guardian upon her death, to give Ella a new note every day. 

When I wrote the notes, I thought about my sons and what I’d want them to know if I wasn’t able to grow old with them. I also thought about my sister, Wendy, and her husband, Brad, and all of my friends who have passed away and the children they left behind. What would they want their children to know? 

What I discovered while writing the notes is that many of them were born out of actual conversations I’ve had with my sons over the years. When I completed them, I felt not only good about the guidance Grandma had provided Ella, but also a sense of pride in the legacy I’m leaving behind.

Here are some of those notes. 

Believe in yourself: Sometimes it’s hard to believe in yourself. That little monster called Doubt taps you on the shoulder and makes you question if you really have what it takes. Shoo that beast away. You must believe in yourself, even if no one else believes in you. Too many dreams are lost because a person gave up too soon.