PERSEVERENCE PAYS OFF!

"AWAKENING AVERY"

The contracts arrived yesterday, so it's official, and I can finally announce some details about my new book. I began working on this project several years ago, but although my contracted publisher gave me excellent , glowing evaluations on the manuscript, it wasn't a genre they handled, and so they passed on the story.

During my promo trip for "Dawn's Early Light," I accepted an invitation for a meeting from another publisher, Walnut Springs Press, and they are rushing "Awakening Avery" to print for an April release!

This sweet novel is a literary drama, similar to Nicholas Sparks' style, where the primary conflict comes from the emotional struggles of the characters rather than from actual antagonists or disasters. But "Awakening Avery" is also a chuckle-out-loud comedic read as well, as our very vulnerable characters put themselves "out-there" in their attempts to heal.

Here's the briefest, most hyperactive synopsis you'll ever read:

A recently widowed LDS woman named Avery, from Baltimore, and an anti-religion widower from Anna Maria Island named Gabriel both see trouble brewing in their respective families, so they each seek a change of scenery in which to heal themselves and their children.

When Rider and Teddie, an ex-rodeo couple from Texas who run a real estate company, arrange for the pair to "swap" homes for the summer, Avery's and Gabriel's tidy, private lives are invaded by a host of quirky characters who teach them how to laugh again, and most importantly, they remind them what things truly last.

Most of the book is set along the breathtaking views of Anna Maria Island in Florida, and we'll introduce readers to one of the most spectacular homes in America, the famed Ca d'Zan, the summer home of the Ringlings, on Sarasota Bay. This is a fun read, and I'm so excited to see it coming together!

I'll be ramping up the PR and marketing on this in the next few weeks. If you're a blogger, interested in reviewing an advance copy of the book, contact me and we'll get you on board the "Awakening Avery" blog tour!

Fans of FREE MEN AND DREAMERS, fear not! I'm hammering out book four right now and we're aiming for a July release! So keep posted. What a summer we're going to have!

For all you aspiring novelists, if you beleive in your piece, never give up!