#BookReview: Counting Stars by Kathleen Long
Reviewer: Annie I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Summary: When Bernadette Murphy’s brother, Mark, dies unexpectedly, her…
Book Review: Changing Lanes by Kathleen Long
I received a copy of Changing Lanes by Kathleen Long in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Abby Halladay has the perfect life. Or, rather, she will…as long as everything goes exactly according to plan. Abby never leaves anything to chance—not her job as a syndicated columnist, not her engagement to her fiancé, Fred, and certainly not her impending wedding in Paris (New Jersey, that is).
Unfortunately for Abby, even the best-laid plans often go awry—like when Fred runs away to Paris (France, that is), her column is canned, and her dream home is diagnosed with termites. Forced to move back in with her parents and drive her dad’s cab, Abby’s perfect life has now officially become the perfect disaster.
Then a funny thing happens. Slowly but surely, Abby begins letting go of her dreams of perfection. As she does, the messy, imperfect life she thought she never wanted starts to feel exactly like the one she needs.
Poignant and heartfelt, Changing Lanes celebrates the unexpected joys of everyday life—and the enduring promise of second chances.
Review:
I have also read Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long, and absolutely adored it. I was looking forward to reading another offering from her, and am pleased to say I highly enjoyed Changing Lanes as well. I thought it was interesting that we never get a clear picture of her relationship with fiancé Fred. We learn right off the bat that he’s fled to Paris, France claiming “boredom” and Abby doesn’t go into a lot of details about him, or have flashbacks of their relationship. I liked that because I think it kept the story moving without having a lot of back story for readers to grasp. Sometimes I almost forgot that Abby was engaged and weeks away from walking down the aisle, but I still thought that part of plot was well-orchestrated. I loved the family dynamics in the story, from her parents and her dad’s well-kept secret, her grandmother who is also trying to move on, and her sisters – especially Frankie – who give an oomph to the story. I appreciate that the story is about second chances and truly living the life you want to live, and I would recommend this book!
4 stars
2012 Favorite Reads: Samantha’s Picks
Sad Desk Salad Jessica Grose 5 stars Sarah’s Key Tatiana de Rosnay 5 stars Blackberry Winter Sarah Jio 5 stars Don’t Let Me Go Catherine…
Guest Post by Kathleen Long
Thank you, Samantha, for inviting me to visit Chick Lit Plus today! I’m thrilled to be here.
I spent a lot of time thinking about what I’d like to say, and then I remembered a blog I wrote four years ago in which I said writing is about doing the legwork. Well, four years later, writing is still about doing the legwork, even though much has changed for me during that time.
I took a break from deadlines and promotion to watch my two-year-old grow into a beautiful, funny, and smart six-year-old. I shopped two new series proposals, neither of which sold. After thirteen contracted books, the rejections were tough to swallow, but did they stop me? No.
Writing is about doing the legwork, but it’s also about shifting tactics when you hit a wall. Writing is about coming up with Plan B when Plan A doesn’t work out. It’s about brainstorming Plan C when Plan B falls apart.
Writing is about never saying, “I quit.”
Writing is about believing your dream is worth chasing. It’s about dusting yourself off and trying again each time you face an obstacle in the road. Writing is about reading how-to books, favorite authors, and market news. Writing is about learning pacing, plotting, and story techniques. Writing is about writing—first drafts, second drafts, third drafts, and more. It’s about starting over time after time simply because you refuse to quit, and because the need to write is part of who you are.
Writing is about setting the alarm to wake up two hours before your family to steal time in front of your computer. It’s about staying up far too late—or early—because the story in your head won’t take no for an answer.
Writing is about setting free the words and characters and places in your mind that form so clearly and purely you couldn’t ignore them even if you wanted to. Writing is about creating worlds into which readers might escape for an hour or two or three.
Writing is about accepting that those same worlds won’t appeal to all readers. Some readers will love the story worlds you create. Some readers won’t.
Writing is about believing in your work enough to take the good with the bad. Writing is about moving forward.
What did I do after taking a career break and facing back-to-back rejections? I pulled out the book of my heart—a manuscript my agent liked but didn’t love—and dusted off the story. I watched friends and acquaintances dip their toes into the self-publishing pool, and I thought, “why not?”
I studied the market. I designed a cover. I networked. I planned. I edited and polished. I had my book professionally formatted. Then, when the book was ready, I published.
For me, self-publishing has been a career changer—utterly and completely. CHASING RAINBOWS became a Wall Street Journal and USA TODAY bestseller. I’m about to sign a new two-book women’s fiction contract, even as I make plans to self-publish a new suspense trilogy.
Did I get lucky? Heck, yes!! The self-publishing and e-reader revolution could not have come at a better time for me as an author, but what if I’d stopped after those rejections? What if I hadn’t believed in my story enough to show it to the world?
My parting thought for you all today? No matter whether your goal is New York or Indie publishing…or both, do the legwork.
Believe in yourself. Keep writing.
And never, never quit.
Interview with Kathleen Long
Why did you want to write Chasing Rainbows?
Hi, Samantha! Thanks for letting me visit with you all at CLP today. Chasing Rainbows is truly the book of my heart. I never fully understood that phrase until I sat down to write this story. Much of Chasing Rainbows is based in truth, so the writing journey was emotional and personal for me.
At the time I wrote the book, I’d been writing romantic comedy and romantic suspense, but longed to write a bigger, deeper book. My father had died suddenly, and I found myself writing a story that mirrored much of my emotional journey. In Chasing Rainbows, Bernie’s father dies in exactly the same way my father died. Her grief makes her realize she hasn’t fully dealt with the grief of losing her daughter, much like my own life. Although the emotions are based on my own, the characters and their individual stories are pure fiction, offering what I hope is an entertaining mix of quirky characters and poignant moments.
With Chasing Rainbows, I wanted to write about one woman’s journey out of the fog of grief back to a life full of possibilities.
What is the hardest part about writing for you?
For me, the hardest part of writing is starting the story. While I don’t plot out every single detail of a book, I need to know where each character is headed and why. If I’m not fully immersed in the characters and their motivations, I find it difficult to write quickly, and I love to write quickly. Writing fast is the process that works best for me. Once I have the foundation of the story ready to go, I’m set. It’s that initial brain work that takes the most time, and considering I spend much of my time negotiating deals with a stubborn six-year-old, quality brain time is a precious commodity in my world.
What is the most rewarding part of being published?
The most rewarding part of being published is two-fold for me—the personal and the professional. Personally, being published is the achievement of a life-long dream. I’m proud that I set a goal and worked hard to succeed. I studied my craft, studied the markets, entered contests and attended conferences. I did my homework. My greatest joy is in knowing I’ve set an example for our daughter, letting her know that dreams can be achieved if you’re willing to work for them. Professionally, the most rewarding part of being published is the contact with readers. I love receiving reader mail and hearing one of my stories struck a chord with someone. There are over one million copies of my books in distribution worldwide. That’s a humbling number. I’m very fortunate to do what I do.
Are you currently working on another novel?
Yes! I’m currently working on the first book in what will be a romantic thriller trilogy centered on The Body Hunters, a group of private citizens who use their skills and capabilities to pursue the victims and criminals society has forgotten. The first book, Vanished, will be released in April. Vanished is the story of Grace Arthur, whose young daughter disappears in exactly the same manner in which her sister vanished years earlier. When the police declare her daughter’s disappearance a case of parental abduction, Grace joins forces with The Body Hunters to bring her daughter home.
Do you have a writing routine you try to stick to?
Before my daughter was born, my time was my own. I primarily wrote in the early morning, but if I was in the thick of a story, I had the freedom to write for fourteen hours straight. I no longer have that flexibility, so I’ve had to relearn my process. For a while, I tried to write late at night. That didn’t work out very well. Now, I’m back to morning writing, working on my portable keyboard as soon as I return from walking my daughter to school. My rule is a minimum of 1000 words when I first sit down. Anything after that is gravy. When the book is flowing, the word count piles up, but even on those tough writing days, I make sure the first 1000 words happen before I shift gears to anything else on my to-do list.
How important do you think blogs and/or social media are to authors?
I believe blogs and social media are very important, but that’s just my opinion. They don’t work for every author. I think an author’s approach to social media depends on their personality. For me, blogging and social media provide a means to build relationships, and I think book marketing—like any other sort of marketing—is about relationship building. That being said, I am not the most active blogger or social media whiz in the world. Far from it! I do what works for me, and I’m happy for the friendships and contacts I’ve made.
I used to maintain my own blog and tried to post something every day. Then I realized writing my blogging was cutting into my creative writing. I phased out the blog. I miss that communication with readers, and think about going back to it someday, but a daily blog isn’t what I need most at this stage in my career. Right now I need daily page production on the next project…and the next…and the next.
What is your advice for aspiring writers?
My advice for aspiring writers is always the same. Learn your craft. Study the markets. Educate yourself. Network. Read. Write. Most importantly, never quit!
Thanks for hosting me today, Samantha!
Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long
Kathleen Long is on tour with CLP Blog Tours. I absolutely adored Chasing Rainbows. Once I started, I simply could not put it down. If it weren’t for work beckoning my name, I would have sat and read this is one sitting. The main character is Bernadette Murphy, a woman who has been having some rough years. From the death of her daughter to her husband leaving her for another woman to her dad passing away, Bernie finally snaps under the pressure. I think it would have been easy for Bernie to come off as whiny or even pathetic – she lets herself binge eat and gain weight, she lashes out her best friend, she seems to always be rude to the friendly next door neighbor – but she didn’t seem that way to me at all. For everything she has been through, the breaking point has to eventually come. I believe it’s what happens after you reach that point. Bernie may struggle throughout the novel, but she learns and is opening to the life lessons, many which come through a series of cryptograms that her father left her before he passed. Bernie’s story really touched me. I was laughing during the book, I shed a few tears, and it’s a book that just made me sit and think. Long is an exceptional writer, and Chasing Rainbows is the latest novel to be added to my Favorites List. A must read for women!
[Rating: 5]
On Tour: Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long
Kathleen will be on tour February 20-March 12 with her novel Chasing Rainbows Bernadette Murphy likes her life. Really, she does. What’s wrong with carrying…
In My Mailbox: Week of January 8
In My Mailbox: Week of January 8
Title: Chasing Rainbows
Author: Kathleen Long
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: Bernadette Murphy likes her life. Really, she does. What’s wrong with carrying around an extra ten pounds from fertility treatments? Or having your dog kicked out of obedience school? Again? What’s that saying about the devil you know? For Bernie, it’s the devil she never expected that changes everything.
Her father’s sudden death leaves a gaping void in her life and is one in a series of events that rock her world. Her husband leaves for another woman, and her best friend announces an unplanned pregnancy at the age of forty-one. Bernie’s behavior goes from acting out to out-of-hand, and she finds herself in trouble at home, out of work and banned from the mall after a confrontation at the cosmetic counter.
When her mother discovers her father’s book of cryptograms, Bernie realizes his encoded lessons in living might be exactly what she needs to survive. From dealing with her family’s grief and bonding with her best friend’s thirteen-year-old daughter, to dieting, dating and mindless almost-sex with the landscaper, Bernie discovers what her father always knew.
In life, you either choose to sing a rainbow, or you don’t.
For Bernie, the singing is about to begin.
Title: Forged in Fire
Author: Trish McCallan
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: Beth Brown doesn’t believe in premonitions until she dreams a sexy stranger is gunned down during the brutal hijacking of a commercial airliner. When events in her dream start coming true, she heads to the flight’s departure gate. To her shock, she recognizes the man she’d watched die the night before.
Lieutenant Commander Zane Winters comes from a bloodline of elite warriors with psychic abilities. When Zane and two of his platoon buddies arrive at Sea-Tac Airport, he has a vision of his teammates’ corpses. Then she arrives—a leggy blonde who sets off a different kind of alarm.
As Beth teams up with Zane, they discover the hijacking is the first step in a secret cartel’s deadly global agenda and that key personnel within the FBI are compromised. To survive the forces mobilizing against them, Beth will need to open herself to a psychic connection with the sexy SEAL who claims to be her soul mate.
Title: Favorable Conditions
Author: Kathleen Kole
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: Can you imagine being forty-five, your last child has moved on to college and the time is ripe for you to blaze a new trail into your future? Pat Keegan can. Well, except for the tiny detail that all her preconceived notions about how that future was going to shape up are completely out the window. Pat was under the impression that once her child rearing years were complete she and her husband would walk hand in hand toward a rose colored future. Fat chance. Before their daughter had even been accepted by a College, he was blathering about needing space to rediscover himself and made quick strides to the nearest exit. Suddenly, Pat is divorced, rattling around her large house and asking the empty rooms, “What now?” She knows she has to carve out new dreams – after all, forty-five is a far cry from the end of the line – But how? Join Pat as she jumps feet first back into the world outside her door, takes on a new business venture, is pursued by a much younger man and has to muddle her way through more emotions that she knew she had – all to finally attain her goal of rediscovering who she is and what she wants from the next phase of her life.
Title: Idol Hands
Author: Cynthia Hill
Received: From Cynthia Hill
Synopsis: Tara can pinpoint the moment when everything in her life changed: it was when she fell in love with Aidan Forrest – who just happened to be a part of the biggest boy band in the world, Idol Hands. She spent two years as his “secret girlfriend,” hiding from the media to protect his career, until he broke up with her, breaking her heart, and leaving behind a secret that Tara has never shared. Fourteen years after their breakup, she’s in a bad marriage, and a dead-end job. When she sees a television documentary in which Aidan confesses that he still loves her, she makes a life-changing decision: she leaves her husband to go and find Aidan. With no real plan of attack it’s not going to be easy, but Tara knows that she can’t give up.
Future Tour: Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long
Kathleen will be on tour February 20-March 12 with her novel Chasing Rainbows Bernadette Murphy likes her life. Really, she does. What’s wrong with carrying…
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