Nanowrimo Novel

Well, it's November, so this is the month I should be writing a lot. I haven't written much so far, feeling swallowed by a heap of paperwork to get our visas and home sale documents, but I plan to jump in there.
I started a novel last November and wrote about 35,000 words. This November, I aim to finish it. Of course, I haven't been dormant in the months since November. I worked on finishing a different
novel, a sequel to The Summer of France which I call Autumn in Aix. That one is out for revisions right now.
When I returned to my novel in progress, I was surprised to find that I like it a lot. I don't always feel that way about my writing. The current title is The Wedding-Dress Theory. It's a mother daughter story.
Ironically, as I'm preparing to move to France, I'm writing a book about a couple who decide to travel to all 50 states in the U.S. But things go awry, as you might imagine.
I'm going to share the first chapter here and hope that you like it so I'm encouraged to continue.

Tess

Tucking a clutch of maps under her arm and transferring a loaded purse to her shoulder, Tess Wright Thompson reached for the doorknob, hoping she could open the door and step inside before all of her belongings fell onto the front porch.

“I got your maps, but these better be the last of them,” Tess called out to her husband, Rick. Even from the living room as she dumped her bag onto the black leather couch, she could see through to the dining room and the white board he had set up there. His handwriting in blue marker scrawled across it with dates, places and reservations for their upcoming cross-country trip. It’s what he had always wanted to do – travel to every state in the U.S. in one big journey. So they were doing it, with an Alaskan cruise at the end and then a flight to Hawaii where they would lie on the beach for a week to recover from so much adventure.

Rick, 10 years older than Tess, had retired just the month before. Today was Tess’ last day at the Things Remembered shop where she worked helping people pick personal gifts then having them engraved or embroidered with names. The store had found a college student to take her place for the summer, so she was free to travel and then return to work in the fall.

“If you even want to come back,” laughed Charles, her 28-year-old manager, who was meticulous about the merchandise, but couldn’t figure out why Tess would want to work if she could have a husband support her.

“What else am I going to do?” she had asked Charles. “Stay home and watch Rick be retired? I suppose he’ll take up hobbies, like wood working or tinkering on old cars, or whatever cliché retired husbands do.” She had sighed.

Tess liked routine, and this trip, Rick’s retirement, would definitely shake up the routine. Ever since her mother died 24 years before and she’d had her “episode” as she liked to call it – clinical depression her doctors called it – she’d lived by routine. She returned from the psychiatric hospital a zombie marching through a fog with strict timelines for feeding the children, getting them to school, picking them up, feeding them dinner – her hectic life as an assistant district attorney thrown aside as she muddled to get through every day. She wouldn’t have survived without Rick’s support, his nightly backrubs, the times he’d come in from work and say, “Let me make dinner; you go read a book and relax.” And he had agreed that getting a small job at a shop might be good for her as the kids finished high school. He never pushed her to go back to being a lawyer, just held a hand at the small of her back, figuratively, whenever she threatened to stumble.

Oh, she groused about Rick’s retiring but she felt closest to her real self with just the two of them, walking for coffee, their hands entwined. Ambling through the farmer’s market and picking out a few zucchinis, a bunch of strawberries, some local honey, and guiltily adding a cinnamon roll loaded with cream cheese icing to their healthy purchases. They would split the pastry at home as she sipped tea and he tipped back strong coffee.

Maybe the entire cross-country trip would feel like their weekly trips to the farmer’s market.

She leaned over to save her overloaded purse from spilling out onto the couch, settling it upright. She’d brought home all of her belongings from Things Remembered today. She was going to be gone for three months – no sense leaving an extra cardigan hanging on the hook in the backroom next to the time clock. She’d also grabbed her deep-purple travel mug, engraved with her name and a blossoming iris. Tess loved all things flowered and all things purple. She pulled the mug from her purse and set it on the side table.

Open maps dotted with post-it notes and stacks of maps yet to be unfolded and notated covered the dining room table, and she would add this latest set of maps. She had stopped by AAA on her drive home. She knew that Rick had already planned every step of the trip, so she wondered why he continued to pour over the maps and order new ones.

They had two weeks yet before the journey, and the next step was to buy supplies.

“We can get supplies anywhere along the route,” Tess had reminded him. “We’re not going to the Australian Outback. There are CVS drug stores around the whole country,” or at least she figured there were.

Tess had put her foot down at the idea of renting an RV. “If we’re going to do this, we’re staying in hotels, and decent hotels.”

So they didn’t need to stock up on road food or plan meals. They’d be eating in diners and restaurants, maybe grabbing Subway sandwiches for picnics. They only needed to pack clothes and toiletries, plus their credit cards.

Tess had a vision of the old days when they would get travelers’ checks before a long trip and chuckled to herself.

“Hey, Rick,” she called as she walked toward the dining room with the maps. “Remember when we used to buy travelers’ checks and then we’d have to search everywhere for someplace that would accept them? That time in the Blue Ridge Mountains when –”

She halted as she rounded the corner of the narrow wall to the dining room and saw Rick slumped over the table, the back of his head toward her. A plate with a few crumbs of cake and an empty coffee cup sat beside him.

“Rick?” Tess called tentatively. Had he fallen asleep?

She moved beside him and touched his shoulder, beginning to shake him but her hand recoiled. His shoulder felt cold and stiff. Not warm and yielding with the bones and muscles resisting beneath.

“Oh, my God! Rick! Rick!”

Avoiding contact with him, Tess scooted his chair in enough so that she could get around the table to see his face. Partially open, his eyes stared straight ahead at the table and the skin above his eyelids looked blue as if he’d applied eye shadow. His mouth hung open, and a little puddle of drool rested on the table beneath him.

“Rick! Noooooo.” Tess didn’t know how long she howled the word as she fell to her knees and covered her face.

Well? What do you think so far? Would you keep reading?

 

Selected Feature Review -- Paris Runaway

Yesterday, Kirkus Reviews Magazine notified me that a review for Paris Runaway had been "selected as a feature review."

That  means that way back on page 132, they include their thoughts about Paris Runaway -- which were good overall.
But in addition to the entire review, they included a quote from the review at the top of the page.

I love that they experienced Paris with Sadie and that my use of concrete language stood out.

The placement of the review might be only for the dedicated who thumb through the pages to the end, but I'm grateful to be included.
Here's the link for anyone who wants to visit. It's at the bottom of page 132, but here's how the review looks.

 It starts at the bottom of the page then jumps to the top of the next column

Thanks to Kirkus Review and to everyone who supports my writing. I'm grateful and hope you'll visit the page, as well as consider reading Paris Runaway.
Here's the link on Amazon for paperback or Kindle version. And if you have Amazon Prime with the books, you can probably read it free.

Tuesday Intros -- The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading.
Today, I was determined to have an intro that is not connected to France. So I chose The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs by Matthew Dicks.  Truthfully, I hesitate to pick up a book written by a man, especially a man writing from a woman's viewpoint, but the story sounds interesting so I

thought I'd try it.
Here's the intro:

Caroline Jacobs rose, pointed her finger at the woman seated at the center of the table reserved for the PTO president and her officers, and said it. Shouted it, in fact. In the cafeteria of Benjamin Banneker High School, surrounded by crowded bulletin boards, scuffed linoleum, and the lingering smell of chicken nuggets, Caroline Jacobs had shouted a four-letter word. The four-letter word.
The room fell silent. 

 I'm also joining in with Teaser Tuesday which is a weekly bookish meme, hosted Ambrosia @The Purple Booker.
Here's my teaser from page 37:

"Your daughter attacked another student in the biology lab this morning."
"She attacked someone?"
"Yes," Dr. Powers said. "A classmate. Mr. Schultz said that the girls were arguing about something in the back of the classroom and then Polly began shouting. Using profanity, from what I'm told. Before Mr. Shultz could reach them to intervene, Polly had punched Miss Dinali in the face. In the nose to be exact."

Interested to see where this books goes. What do you think?

My Latest Novel -- Paris Runaway

I'm so excited to share that my new novel, Paris Runaway, is available for pre-order on Amazon. And those pre-ordered Kindle books will be available on Thursday, June 30.
I think this might be my best novel yet, so I hope you'll give it a try.

Here's a blurb about Paris Runaway: When divorced mom Sadie Ford realizes her 17-year-old daughter Scarlett has run away to Paris all she can imagine are terrorist bombings and sex slaves. After learning her daughter chased a French exchange student home, Sadie hops on the next plane in pursuit. She joins forces with the boy’s father, Auguste, and the two attempt to find the missing teens. The chase takes Sadie and Auguste to the seedier side of Marseille, where their own connection is ignited. Since the divorce, Sadie has devoted herself to raising kids and putting her dreams on hold, but when her daughter needs her most, Sadie finds that concrete barrier to life beginning to crack. In her journey, she learns the difference between watching the hours pass and living.

A few early readers have left reviews on Goodreads.

"This book is a fun, twisty ride that goes full-speed up until the last page." Goodreads review

and

 "This was a fabulous beach read! I picked it up this morning and never sat it down until I was done. The characters were relatable and their adventure was a joy to watch unfold. If only real life teenage drama ended in a trip to Paris and an adventure with a sexy French man then the teenage years would not seem so bad. I highly recommend this book if you're looking for a fun, sexy read!" Goodreads review

I can't wait for everyone to be able to dive in and tell me what you think about it.
If you plan to buy my novel, and I'm so grateful if you do, I'd really appreciate if you'd pre-order. The more purchases on the day my novel is released, the higher the ranking of my book. The higher the ranking, the more people who see my book and buy it.
Sigh! It's all about marketing, which takes a lot more work than the actual writing of it sometimes.

So, if you want to buy Paris Runaway, you'll find it on Amazon here.
Amazon in the UK, you'll find Paris Runaway here.
On Barnes and Noble, you'll find Paris Runaway on June 30, but can't purchase it early.
And the paperback should be available for online purchase soon on Amazon along with Barnes and Noble. Until then, you can find the paperback here.

As if I'm not asking enough, if you read my book, I'd really appreciate a review on Amazon and Goodreads. And friend me on Goodreads too. I'd love to see what else you are reading.

Parenting Easy A-Style

One of Grace's friends has recently been hanging out at our house some. Grace met her at work, so Earl and I didn't know her until she began to meet Grace here. She and Grace plan to get an apartment together so it's nice to get to know her.
While we've gotten to know her, she has learned some things about our family too.
This morning, she sent Grace a text that said she'd finally figured out who we are like -- the family in Easy A, minus the adopted brother.  Of course, she hasn't been here when Grace's brothers were home, so we might even meet those criteria.
I love the parents in Easy A, and I can definitely see Grace as Emma Stone.
If you haven't seen the movie, it's a lot of fun. I show it in my speech class when we talk about people making assumptions about each other and climbing the ladder of inference.
Here are a couple of clips of the parents in Easy A. Now, if you haven't met me in person, you can get glimpse of what I aspire to act like as I raise my children. And if you have met me, you can judge whether the future roommate is correct.
Imagine how mortified this boy must have been.

Here's the family interacting.

And this one, the mother's comment at the beginning is priceless. When the daughter says she was called to the office at school, the mother says, "Did you get a medal?" That's definitely what I would think.

Hope everyone has an exciting and fun Halloween.