FOR THE LOVE OF BOOK CLUBS

Since fall is the time many book clubs start gathering again, this is a perfect time to launch a giveaway for book clubs! You--and your book club--get a chance to win autographed books on my Facebook Author page to celebrate book clubs everywhere. Each contest spotlights a different book!

First up for giveaway--THE BOOK CLUB (appropriate, eh?). Re-released with a beautiful new cover. 

This novel was inspired by book clubs I've been in. Each club is different. Some are academic with presentations on author and/or book. Some are more social where the conversation quickly moves from book to the personal. I believe a good book sparks conversations that can be revealing, inspiring, and thought provoking. Plus, there's always good food, great wine and lots of laughs--good for the body, mind and soul. 

Which kind of book club do you have? Why do you love it? I look forward to reading more about your book club!

Here's how to enter: Click on the GIVEAWAY tab on my Facebook Author page located under the cover photo. The direct link is below.  And answer this one question:

 Why is your book club special to you?

It's that easy!  Winner will receive an autographed copy of THE BOOK CLUB for members of the club (maximum 12), bookmarks, and an opportunity to schedule a video or phone chat during a future book club meeting. If you're not in a book club, why not call your friends and family to form one? Books are best when shared. 

Winner of THE BOOK CLUB will be announced on Monday, September 15th.!

Here's the direct link to the giveaway:
 http://tinyurl.com/pu9sph4

For the love of book clubs everywhere, I'll have more book giveaways with different titles in the coming days. THE SUMMER GIRLS will be the next prize. So keep checking in.  

IN REMEMBRANCE...

Our local writing community lost one of our own recently.  Margot Theis Raven had a gift of crafting stories that preserved the beauty of the past in a way that both educated and captivated readers.

Margot Theis Raven

1950 - 2014

Margot was an award-winning author, and also a talented painter, who told others that she didn’t write children’s books, but rather she wrote historical fiction in the form of a children’s picture book.  If you’ve ever read one of her books then you would agree.

My personal favorite, Circle Unbroken, paid homage to the prized art form of sweetgrass basketweaving here in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.  Raven’s words are lyrical, her stories are emotional, and her work is inspiring. 

Her beautiful life was cut short by the ugly and cruel reality of breast cancer.  It hurt to hear the news.  I knew about her battle, but I had hoped she would pull through and join the growing list of survivors.  I envisioned her becoming one of the many women I met several years ago, when writing Time is a River, at a Casting for Recovery retreat in the mountains of North Carolina.  Gathered at a riverbank just outside of Asheville, breast cancer survivors in all stages of treatment and recovery learned the therapeutic sport of fly fishing through this free retreat. In that cold, mountain water, they shared their stories, their worries, and their support as they re-connected with nature and healed from their battle scars.  I had hoped the same for my friend Margot.  

Margot’s death painfully reminds me though that the road is long in the fight to end breast cancer.  On her website, Margot has a quote posted by Patty S. Hill which states, “The world moves forward on the footsteps of little children.” 

How true that is.  Margot left this world far too soon, but she left us with treasures.  Every time someone turns a page in one of her books, a little bit of herself lives on--moves forward--through young readers and those young at heart.   

Thank you, Margot, for sharing your gifts with us.