Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Released! A Change of Heart!

"I want to escape the unrest, to shut out the voices around me and within me, and so I write." - Franz Kafka

My scheduled guest blogger was a no-show today, which actually worked out well for me since it's my release day!!! Now, I can do all this, and not feel guilty:

It's finally HERE! Yay! And the winner of yesterday's contest for a free PDF copy of my story, "A Change of Heart" is AMY!! Amy, email me a marianne AT mariannearkins DOT com and I'll get that out to you.

This story was a challenge I made to myself. I wanted to take a cliche (the secret baby cowboy story) and set it on its ear a bit. That ear-setting was one of the first things my editor mentioned when she contracted the story. I hope you all enjoy it as well!



Excerpt:

When the bell over the ice cream shop entrance rang, Emily dried her hands on the towel hanging from her waist. She stepped through the doorway, a smile on her face. That smile froze as hard as a fresh bucket of ice cream at the sight before her.

Jacob Langley.

"Hey, Emily." He said it like it had been six days since the last time he'd seen her instead of nearly six years.

"Jake." Her throat was tight with fury and hurt and she could barely speak. "What do you want?"

"Some of that caramel peanut butter ice cream on a sugar cone if you don't mind." He flashed his best grin.

Did he think they were still best friends like they were all through school? Had he forgotten what he'd done to her? Worse, what he'd done to Casey? If he thought she'd let him stay in her place any longer, he was mistaken. "Sorry. We're all out." Emily's gaze never wavered, her smile didn't thaw.

"Funny, I'm looking at it right there in front of me." He pointed through the glass case.

She tapped a sign behind her. "Then I guess I'm exercising my rights."

He pursed his lips and read the bold, black words printed on the white board: We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason.

Click here to buy your own copy of this 80 page story!


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To the folks who asked me to do a blog post on creating a book trailer... I'm certainly no pro! It was agonizing for me, and was actually the second I'd created (I played around with one for "Pregnancy Cravings", but it's just not good enough to show anyone at this point).

Still, I'll keep that in mind for a post at a later date after I've messed around a bit more and get better at it!

Thanks.

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Some pictures DD-- the budding photographer -- took yesterday:





And a picture I took -- the dog was looking for DD and when she found her it was full speed ahead and a tackle:



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Your Mind is Green



Of all the mind types, yours has the most balance.

You are able to see all sides to most problems and are a good problem solver.

You need time to work out your thoughts, but you don't get stuck in bad thinking patterns.



You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about the future, philosophy, and relationships (both personal and intellectual).



It isn't easy being green. You knew I had to say that, right?

13 comments:

Sarita Leone said...

Happy release day!! :)

MomJane said...

I am really happy for you. Great news about the story. Keep writing.

Diane Craver said...

Congrats to you and enjoy your release day!

Took quiz and my mind is purple.
Of all the mind types, yours is the most idealistic.
You tend to think wild, amazing thoughts. Your dreams and fantasies are intense.
Your thoughts are creative, inventive, and without boundaries.

You tend to spend a lot of time thinking of fictional people and places - or a very different life for yourself.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the release. And bonus, for me at least--I'll actually be at home tonight to download it.

Charity

Anonymous said...

Congrats on release day!

And I won? whooohoo! I'm collecting e-books to take with my on my trip next week. Yay!

My mind was purple.

Melissa McClone said...

Enjoy your release day! Sounds like a great story. I've done one secret baby (well, kid) and had fun with it!

And do consider a post on the book trailer. What you know is way more than me!

Congrats to Amy on your win!

Chris M. said...

Woo Hoo... Congrats on the release! Gonna add it to my "to be read... eventually" pile! I have about ... well too many to count. It's an addiction, and I have no intention of entering rehab thank you!

Had to laugh at Dakota tackling DD. Harley doesn't quite tackle the boys... but he jumps on DH when he gets home.

Dena said...

Congrats on your release day, the story sounds really good M.
Cute pick of DD and Dakota. It looks like DD is getting good at picture taking.

Dru said...

Happy Release Day!

Congratulations Amy on the book!

Your Mind is Blue

Of all the mind types, yours is the most mellow.

You tend to be in a meditative state most of the time. You don't try to think away your troubles.

Your thoughts are realistic, fresh, and honest. You truly see things as how they are.

You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about your friends, your surroundings, and your life.

Brandy said...

Congratulations on your release day! Whoo!
My mind is green. Not one of my favorite colors, but it works. *G*

Have a wondferful day!

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed the visit. Can't wait to read the book.
JOYE
JWIsley@aol.com

anno said...

Congratulations!!! I'm off to look at the story...

Jen said...

Congrats and YAY! Now I have fun reading to look forward to.