Welcome Julie Carobini and Fade to Blue

Please interact with our guest authors by answering the question they provide. IF there is a book giveaway, your response will also enter you in the drawing for a free book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JULIE CAROBINI grew up as Julie Navarro, in a family of truly right-brained individuals. Among them you’ll find writers, artists, and musicians, all willing to talk about the arts at a moment’s notice.

After growing up in Los Angeles, she landed in Ventura County where she made great friends, met Jesus, and fell in love with the dashing Dan Carobini. Despite serious illness and three children delivered by C-section, she managed to hone her lifelong love for writing and sell a few articles. She also edited books for several distinguished authors. Over the years, she's published several hundred articles and stories in magazines and books. As she wrote, she found a common theme cropping up: family, the sea, and God’s timely work in the lives of those around her. She thought it was time to incorporate those into novels. But God shut both doors and windows. So she continued to write and dream and raise her kids with Dan. Eventually she decided to write romantic seaside novels, and that’s where she found her voice.

When she's not writing, marketing, or editing for others, she's driving her kids around town, imagining that her mid-sized SUV is actually a sleek sailing yacht.

FADE TO BLUE
by Julie Carobini
Published by B&H Books

ABOUT THE BOOK

How do you restore a soul? One brush stroke at a time ...

Suz Mitchell is a determined dreamer, and won't allow her ex-husband's jail sentence to ruin their young son Jeremiah's life. An accomplished artist, Suz moves with her child across the country to California's central coast, and lands a job restoring priceless art for the historic Hearst Castle overlooking the sea.

But even dreams have shocking twists. To her surprise, a serious old flame, Seth, works at the castle and jumbles the new aspirations in Suz's heart. While sorting through their past and a palette of spiritual differences, an even bigger brush with yesterday awaits.

Suz must learn to let God be the true restorer of all that once seemed lost.

Readers, buy your copy of Fade to Blue: An Otter Bay Novel today!

MY REVIEW


I don't often have the opportunity to read contemporary fiction. With the time spent researching for my own historical novels and reading other historical novels to stay up to date on what's selling on the market, contemporary novels usually fall by the wayside. But with Julie's Fade to Blue, I took the time. And I'm glad I did.

Julie has a gift for making characters and settings come alive. Having spent most of my life on the East Coast and within an hour of sandy beaches, this book brought back a lot of memories and made me feel as if I were sitting in a lounge chair in that very same sand I once enjoyed.

This book is yet another perfect summer romance as the story of Seth and Suz unfolds. The five years they spent apart carries a lot of burden for both of them. With a divorce hanging on her belt and a young son to raise, Suz faces her hurdles and the hurts of her past with sometimes aching reality. Seth is there in an attempt to help pick up the pieces, but his presence only reminds her of the pain. And the memories of their mistakes makes them both real to the reader. As the flames of attraction are fanned yet again, the realization of second chances becomes a glimmering possibility.

Julie offers a delightful summer read, full of more than romance to satisfy your yearning for a good story. Perfect to escape into the fun and the sun. Be sure to take this book with  you!


AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR

Hi Everyone,

Julie Carobini (www.juliecarobini.com) here. My recent release, Fade to Blue, is set in and around the famed Hearst Castle, designed by architect Julia Morgan. Morgan was the first female to graduate from UC Berkeley with a degree in Civil Engineering, and later, the first woman to receive a certificate in architecture from Ecole Nationale et Speciale des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

On a recent tour of the sprawling castle located on California’s central coast, my husband, Dan, and I were shown this lean-to off one outer wall. This was Julia Morgan's office. Can you imagine? Ms. Morgan spent nearly thirty years working on that hill with some of the most expensive pieces of art from all over Europe, creating a lavish castle that hosted A-list celebrity guests ~ and she worked in a tiny, nearly windowless office. Phew, that woman got a lot done!

With the hot breath of another deadline scorching my neck, I myself am looking for a non-distracting place to write. So, I'm wondering ... do you think they rent that thing out?

Seriously, here’s my question for you, dear readers: What do you do to ramp up your productivity? I’m all ears!

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Thank you, Julie, for sharing with us today.

Guest Question: What do you do to ramp up your productivity?

ENTRY RULES Readers, IF there is a book giveaway, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of the book above. If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.

Spotlight on James L. Rubart and Rooms

Don't forget the new rules of the spotlights here. Random questions will be inserted in each spotlight for you to find and answer in the comments in order to be entered. So, be on the lookout!

I'm doubly pleased to feature Jim on my blog today. Not only is he a great guy, but he's an amazing marketing specialist who has helped me immensely in revamping my web site so I'm presenting my best foot forward to the world and remaining unique. Plus, his debut novel has received multiple awards with reviews that are heating up the cyberwaves of the Internet. You'll definitely want to take a look at this book and spotlight.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JIM RUBART is an author, speaker, husband, and dad. He loves God, his wife, his boys, writing, speaking, playing guitar, and golf, in that order. And he dabbles in photography. Most of the shots on his web site are his. Since 1994, he's owned a marketing company which he recently changed the name of, to Barefoot Marketing. Some his favorite memories come from jumping off cliffs with his boys, long walks & talks with his wife, and going deep with friends. Feel free to contact him through his web site.

What little book did Jim expand to become ROOMS?

ROOMS
by James L. Rubart
Published by B&H Publishing

ABOUT THE BOOK

On a rainy spring day in Seattle, young software tycoon Micah Taylor receives a cryptic, twenty-five-year-old letter from a great uncle he never knew. It claims a home awaits him on the Oregon coast that will turn his world inside out.

Suspecting a prank, Micah arrives at Cannon Beach to discover a stunning brand new nine-thousand square foot house. And after meeting Sarah Sabin at a nearby ice cream shop, he has two reasons to visit the beach every weekend.

When bizarre things start happening in the rooms of the home, Micah suspects they have some connection to his enigmatic new friend, Rick, the town mechanic. But Rick will only say the house is spiritual. This unnerves Micah because his faith slipped away like the tide years ago, and he wants to keep it that way.

But as he slowly discovers, the home isn’t just spiritual, it’s a physical manifestation of his soul, which God uses to heal Micah’s darkest wounds and lead him into an astonishing new destiny.

Readers, buy your copy of Rooms today!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. What gave you the inspiration for this story?

Comic books, C.S. Lewis, Field of Dreams, Waking the Dead and Wild at Heart. The Matrix. It’s a Wonderful Life. And a little pamphlet called My Heart, Christ’s Home. For years I thought turning that story on it’s head and exploding the idea up to novel length would be cool. So I mixed in some of my favorite movies and books and out came ROOMS.

2. How much of your own experiences influenced your characters? What aspects became traits that were theirs and theirs alone?

When my oldest son was ten he said, “We need to get to Grandma and Grandpa’s post haste!” I thought was hilarious and wondered how he came up with ‘post haste.’ Turns out he heard the phrase on Adventures in Odyssey. My point is we write most compellingly out of our own experience. If we don’t I think it can come across as stilted and false. Consequently many of the elements in ROOMS come from things I’ve been through or have impacted me in movies and other books.

As my characters developed they took on a life of their own. “I wonder why he did that!” happened often. So although the characters started off with some of my traits and from friends, they definitely became their own people.

3. If your hero/heroine were an ice cream flavor, what would he/she be and why?

Great question! Did you know an ice cream shop plays a prominent role in ROOMS? Micah Taylor would definitely be Rocky Road—metaphorical allusion intended.

4. Are there any themes in Rooms that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

Freedom. Christ said that’s why he came, to set us free. Gal. 5:1. And stepping the destiny God has designed for us.

As for themes that developed? All of them! Having never written a novel before I didn’t know what I was doing so it spilled out as I wrote it. I was constantly surprised which made writing the story a blast.

5. What were your most difficult parts to write? Your favorite?

When I wrote ROOMS I felt more like a scribe than an author. I saw the scenes playing my head like a movie and I simply wrote them down. So I can’t think of any parts that were tough to write.

Favorite? There are two confrontation scenes near the end of the book that I think are some of the most powerful in the novel. I love rereading them, so those would probably be my faves.

6. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

Book of Days will hit the shelves January 2011. It’s the story of a man in his early thirties who goes on a search for God’s book of days—described in Psalm 139—that has recorded the past, present and future of every soul on earth. His mind is slipping and he’s losing memories of his wife who passed away two years earlier. Although he’s skeptical that the book is real—he doesn’t believe in God—he’s willing to give everything to find out if it exists on earth.

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Thank you, Jim, for being in the spotlight with us.

NEW!! Readers, find the question associated with the spotlight and answer it in the comments, then leave your email address for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of Rooms. If you do not answer the question, you will not be entered.

Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net). You won't be entered in the drawing without it. If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.

Spotlight on Leanna Ellis and Ruby's Slippers

To all my regular readers, it's still a challenge to get back into the swing of things with my new daughter, Victoria, and this new schedule. I will do my best to get to all of the drawings from previous spotlights next week. Thanks so much for your patience.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

LEANNA ELLIS is a winner of the National Readers' Choice Award and writes quirky women's fiction. When she's not busy writing, taxiing her kids to and from dance and fencing, or taking the dogs in and out, then she's contemplating some new weird plot. Visit her website at http://www.leannaellis.com/.

Leanna is also running a contest through Mother's Day for a chance to win $50! Check out her blog for more details. It's found on her web site.

RUBY'S SLIPPERS
by Leanna Ellis
Published by B&H Publishing Group

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Wizard of Oz meets Cinderella story

When Dottie Meyers loses her 'no place like home' during a Kansas tornado, she wakes up to find a pair of ruby slippers left by her father who abandoned his family thirty years ago. With her sister hot on her trail to find the treasured ruby slippers, Dottie travels a yellow brick road with three friends to find her father. No wizard can solve her problems. Only the love of a heavenly father can heal her wounds and give her the desires of her heart.

There's no place like ... the heart for God's healing touch.

Buy Your Copy of Ruby's Slippers today!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Hi, Tiffany! Thanks for having me here.

1. What gave you the inspiration for this story?

The Wizard of Oz is one of my favourite stories, and I also love the musical Wicked. One day I thought, what would happen if Dorothy lost her somewhere over the rainbow? So I started kicking around the idea. Then a few weeks after that the title Ruby's Slippers hit me. Sometimes certain ideas just click and my heart starts racing and I know I'm onto something. II knew I had to write this story.

2. How much of your own experiences influenced your characters? What aspects became traits that are theirs and theirs alone?

Very interesting question. I suppose I could make an argument that all my characters experiences must first start with an experience in me, but that's not necessarily true. There's usually an aspect or some emotion in my own life that I can tap into in order to bring them to life. But in many ways they are simply their own person, just living in my head. Completely separate from me. And yet they are a part of me. Are you confused? I know I am! :)

3. If one of your characters were an ice cream flavor, what would he/she be and why?

Starting out I think Dottie would be vanilla and be very content with that. But I think along the yellow brick road she’d discover many aspects of herself that would bring out a rainbow of flavours.

4. Are there any themes in Ruby's Slippers that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the stories progressed?

Living your dream, home and friendship, belonging and forgiveness. I never imagined the 'Cinderella' part of this story but it definitely emerged throughout the book. It was part of Dottie discovering herself and her own path ... finding that perfect fit.

5. What were your most difficult parts to write? Your favorite?

This was probably the hardest book I've ever written which really surprised me. And yet at the same time so many parts were such fun to write – the sister scenes, anything with Maybelle and definitely Leo.

6. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

My next book is Once in a Blue Moon and it releases March 2010. Despite death-defying feats, guilt has always pulled Bryn down time and again. But a perfect love shows her taking a leap of faith is the first step to soaring. But it only happens ... once in a blue moon.

Thanks, Tiffany, it was lots of fun!

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Thank you, Leanna, for being in the spotlight with us.

Readers, leave a comment for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of Ruby's Slippers.

If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post. Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net). Wouldn't want you to miss out on winning a book. :)

And if you want to make certain you don't miss anything, check the box that says 'email follow-up comments to:' when you leave a comment and they'll be sent to the email address associated with your blogging account. That way you'll be notified of any comments and will know when I announce the winner.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.