Updates of an Author Kind

I've updated my author website a bit.  I've tried to make the Home Page more of a landing pad to direct visitors to where they might want to go.  Not to get that confused with telling you where to go should you decide to visit! My latest baby, Arms of an Angel, is still commanding center stage, but I've also made it easier to check out my blogs, my other books, my works in progress, and the new group I'm co-moderating with the talented Jaimey Grant, Love With The Lights Off.

Speaking of Blogs and Works In Progress... I've added a little teaser excerpt on The Forget Me Not Garden Spot blog about Felicity's impression as she sees a first photo of Gabe.  I've also posted the first chapter of The Forget Me Not Spot on the Book's Page under Works In Progress on my author website.  I hope you'll take a moment to read them and look over the changes I've made.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on them...

Honor - among friends

I am pleased to be a part of breathing life into a new book ... mind you, I did the "easy" part in that I just helped publish it and present it to the world.  The "real" work came from the heart of a dear friend, Laura J. Miller.  You might better recognize her as the wonderful Regency Romance author, Jaimey Grant.  Inside and out, Jaimey/Laura is a lovely woman with abundant talent.  Not only is she a fantastic author, she's also an outstanding cover designer.  I urge you to nose around her author website, blog (she has others that you can link to from her main blog), and her Design Site as well.

Jaimey Grant's current release, Honor, is an amazing book about one woman's plight to overcome her fear of men caused by something that happened to her.  She falls in love, but falling in love doesn't make the fear disappear. It's a touching story with my favorite: a happy ever after ending and, as always, Jaimey Grant's writing skills are outstanding.  If you haven't read her work, this would be a great beginning!

Consider joining us for the release of Honor.  You may find out more over at the Novel Launch Website, via the TreasureLine Books Blog, on FaceBook, or even Jaimey's Author Blog.

Happy Mother's Day

I don't know if there are many mothers out there that could be as happy as I am this 2011 Mother's Day.  It's not because I sort of slept in until almost 8:00 am -- though I desperately needed that.  It's also not because I have played on the computer all morning without getting "the look" from my husband that says "is that all you ever do"??? -- he's being a bit too understanding if you ask me!  It isn't because I got to spend the day yesterday roaming around the town of Independence, KS -- though that is one of my favorite things to do. It's always relaxing. It's not even because I just found out my sister who is battling cancer is going to be at my mom's today and I will get to see her and hug her -- I am extremely excited about that as I have NEEDED to do that for a while now.  No.  Those are all things I could be and am happy about.  But, the main reason is ... and this will come as no surprise to the majority ... I have all four of my children with me to celebrate today.  ALL FOUR!

Those of you who know me or have been following know my oldest daughter (16) had to have brain surgery not so long ago due to a massive brain hemorrhage.  This six month ordeal has been the hardest and yet most awe inspiring time of my entire life and, as additional facts have unfolded, we have realized more and more just how fortunate we are to have her with us still.  On Friday, her Drama class performed their monologues before the entire group.  It's a small and intimate group, as the teacher recommended Katherine participate in the class at the High School to get her back into the classroom (she's in 10th grade.  This is the 11th/12th grade class).  Since it is across town, I get to stay and observe instead of running back and forth (gas is almost $4.00/gallon, you know!). I LOVE the class.  I LOVE watching the students perform.  I LOVE that so much of what the instructor has to say about acting/plays fits writing as well.  But, that's not why I'm so happy either.

When that Friday class was over, the instructor hugged Katherine and reminded her what a miracle she is, not only because she is here but because her brain works!  I won't share the rest, but I did walk out of that room all teary-eyed.  I was reminded all over again of an ambulance ride filled with tears and prayers and my sister's texts reminding me of God's promises and that my initial prayer had been not only that Katherine survive but that all her smarts remain intact.  We received her report card last week.  It was filled with straight As!

We'll be taking her back to Mayo in MN soon for her 3 month check.  She'll see her Neurosurgeon, a team of doctors, and get a new cat scan so they can actually see what's going on in there.  I'm expecting a great report.

So, you see, having all four of my children with me this year is definitely worth celebrating.  I couldn't be happier this Mother's Day and I'm hopeful each of you will find that happiness surrounding you today.

The Forget Me Not Spot

I'm working on a new story and it's pretty exciting -- for me anyway :) Hopefully, as I progress I can share bits and pieces of it; however, it will have its own blog: The Forget Me Not Blog. It's a place where I'll keep you updated on the book with information on the writing process, the characters, the story in general, excerpts from the book, and even gardening tips from others. Today, I revealed my vision of the main characters and gave away a little bit of information on the story ... a very little, though I promise there's more to come.

If you want to follow along, jump over and become a Follower. Read the first two posts to find out more about what's going on inside The Forget Me Not Spot.

What A Great Day!

I love that I can say "it's a great day!" even though the air conditioner went out in my vehicle as we're nearing 90 humid degrees in Oklahoma and I've got way more on my to do list than I could possibly get done. But, you know what? I can say it and I am! I'm working on a new story and it's coming together nicely. Yes, I know I'm supposed to be finishing the edits on A Marriage of Necessity but, for some reason, I keep pushing that one back. It's a super special story and maybe, just maybe, it's not its time yet! Not sure, but I'll keep you posted.

Anyway, the new story is currently called The Forget Me Not Spot and I'm pretty excited about it. It popped into my head one day when I was emailing back and forth with my friend, award-winning author Andrew E. Kaufman (do you love how I ALWAYS get that award-winning and that we're friends in there? I'm hopeful his success will somehow rub off!). We were discussing plants he could use to landscape the yard of his new home (complete with acreage, horses, and a pool in sunny southern California, no less), when the idea just blossomed (sorry!). I ran it by a couple of other friends and then began to let it bloom (go ahead, roll your eyes). There will be a blog attached to this one that is specifically related to the book: http://forgetmenotgardenspot.blogspot.com/ This would be a great time to start following! I just revealed my images of the main characters, Gabriel Saunders (yummy) and Felicity Anderson (sweet) on my FaceBook page and will probably share them on the blog very, very soon.

So, circling back to Andrew E. Kaufman ... you didn't know we were going to do that, did you?! Well, we are so that I can tell you I've got a copy of his bestselling While The Savage Sleeps and we're giving it away on the TreasureLineBooks Blog. Yes!!! Giveaways of Drew's books are rather rare so you'd do well to take advantage of the moment :) It's a great book, if I might say so myself. Though you might want to consider reading it while your sweetheart is nearby. The only catch ... the giveaway is TODAY ONLY so you need to get over there and comment.

What? Okay, okay. I'll be quiet so you can go. TreasureLineBooks.blogspot.com. Go. Go already!!!

Giveaways

The Goodreads Giveaway is over and Arms of an Angel is on its way to the winner. Congratulations to Beth Martin of North Carolina. Doreen Mcgettigan in Pennsylvania, Rachelle Adams in Utah, and Tiffany Davis also from North Carolina have won copies as well. The book is also making its way through the Goodreads Group: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Book where, I must say, I am enjoying the interaction with a great group of readers and other authors. (Authors, if you are interested, I'd suggest checking them out - they're an author friendly group!).

Arms of an Angel is just one of many books included in a Virtual Treasure Chest of books on my friend, awesome author Jaimey Grant's blog. Over 25 ebooks will be given to one lucky winner on April 1 ~ no fooling! Jaimey is celebrating her 2 year blog anniversary. She knows how to celebrate right!

And please don't forget to stay tuned as we gear up for the continuing of the Parade of Authors on the TreasureLine Books blog. Learn more about the TreasureLine Authors as well as enter for a chance to win more books! We love giveaway!!!

What do you get when you fall in love...

What do you get when you fall in love? I'm sure that is debatable. Remember the old song that said you get enough germs to catch pneumonia? Then there are all those sayings about what love means - like love means never having to say you're sorry and stuff like that. I guess those are some of the things you could get when you fall in love.

In the real world you can get a lot of things out of falling in love. Anyone who knows me, even a little, will know I am in love with the idea of love. I read romance. I write romance. And, if there's an aaaah involved, I'm there! I simply love love.

In the world I create on paper, I expect one thing and that is for my main characters to fall in love and to somehow find a happy ever after. (Okay, so maybe that's two things...just go with me here). I guess the happy ever after is something I've always wanted and expect in the real world so it seems reasonable it would spill over into my written world. I do my best to create that and to offer it to my readers. One reviewer recently posted the following:

"I still like happy endings, and Linda never fails her readers on that! It's good to know you can count on authors to deliver a good story with a good ending."

Another reviewer wrote of my Arms of an Angel that "the ending is a gift you will want to keep with you forever".

I like that. Their words let me know I've accomplished what I set out to do.

So what do you get when you fall in love? Well, if you fall in love with my books and my characters, you get a roller coaster ride to a happy ever after ending, guaranteed. My characters definitely fall in love, bumpy as the trip may be at times, and they do end up happy. I sure hope that somewhere along the way, you'll decide to take a ride in my world. If happy ever after sounds good to you, you're on the right track. Join me...

For more information on my writings, be sure to visit my website: LindaBoulanger.com, follow me here at my blog, and "like" me on FaceBook. I look forward to seeing you!