Sometimes it's the unplanned events that are the biggest...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/JC-Wing/495397463851709

I've been on Facebook for a couple of years now as an author. There are many features I don't use on the site, but I navigate it pretty well. My use of Facebook got bumped up exponentially last week, however, when one of the authors I'm working with on Booktrope celebrated the release of her book and I took part in her online release party. Her name is Jennifer Sivic and she's the first of several author's I'm working with who are launching their novels through Booktrope. It's very exciting being part of a publishing team. Jennifer did all the creative work...and I just formatted it for her. I made sure her i's were dotted, her t's crossed and her chapter headings positioned just so. Being an author myself, I know the thrill she felt when it went live and it was a lot of fun to be alongside her. Jen's a sweetheart...and she has an extensive online presence. I knew this about her before Leaving Eva was released, but I was absolutely blown away by the power of it the following day. 

It started out innocently enough. I woke up on Monday ready to be productive. We've been sick in our house and I had every hope that we'd get the week started and get caught up on all of the things we were behind on, like school work for the kids, reading, editing and writing for myself. As much as I wanted to seize the day, it just wasn't there. And then I realized why. It was April 20th, which would have been the day we celebrated my grandmother's 91st birthday. Celebration wasn't really in the cards, though, because we lost Mimi almost two years ago...and I miss her so much it actually hurts sometimes.

I'm big on Instagram...but I do it privately. It's the one bit of social media I reserve for close friends and family. I knew the rest of Mimi's family were missing her more than usual on her birthday, too, so I posted this photo of her.

My picture is a copy of the original, and there is no date to tell me exactly when it was taken, but I think she was somewhere between sixteen and eighteen years old. As I stared at this photo, I got more and more sad thinking about all of the big things that are happening right now, or things that will be happening in the very near future that Mimi won't be a part of. It devastated me...and it made me miss her more than ever.

Then I decided that if Mimi were here, I'd be celebrating...and it became very clear to me that I should still be celebrating. The last thing she would want is for me to feel sad and lonely, so I stopped. She would want me to celebrate, so that's exactly what I did. 

click to purchase on Amazon

Here is the synopsis for my novel, Alabama Skye:

*~~*~~*

When tragedy befalls Cheney McGillivray, she leaves her beloved home on Scotland’s Isle of Skye and arrives unannounced on her sister Meara’s doorstep in Kelby, Alabama. With her she brings a plan not only for her own future but also for that of her niece.

Greer, fresh out of culinary school and two months pregnant, takes the advice of her grandmother Sarah, and agrees to a partnership with her aunt. Together they transform Sarah’s historic home into a proper Scottish B & B right in the heart of southern America.

Both women realize the time to face their pasts has arrived as they prepare for the opening weekend of Gannon’s Glen. Debilitating nightmares make it difficult for Cheney to hide from the painful secret she thought she’d left in Scotland, and a hurricane sweeps in more than stormy weather for Greer when damage to his childhood home brings her high school sweetheart and their unresolved relationship back into town. Although they are nearly strangers separated by a forty year age gap, Cheney and Greer learn to lean on one another as they come to terms with their lives and realize the possibilities of their futures.

Alabama Skye is a story about the strength of four generations of women who discover that the ones who stand by you and carry you through both good times and bad are the ones you call family.

*~~*~~*

Sarah was inspired by Mimi. They are not the same people, but Mimi is who I thought of as I wrote Sarah. Sarah, like Mimi, suffers from Alzheimer's. Here is a passage I wrote about Greer's struggle as she watches her grandmother's decline due to the disease.

*~~*~~*

Greer sighed. “It was a bad day.” Jolly’s arms tightened around her. She could feel his chin as he rested it on top of her head and she felt a sting flare up behind her eyes.

“You’ve heard it before but I’m gonna tell it to you again, and I doubt this will the last time I’ll say it. Your Grandmama has always been the smartest, the prettiest and the sassiest woman I’ve ever known. Feisty, she was, oh, Lord the woman was feisty. And wonderful. Oh, so wonderful.”

Greer shut her eyes and buried her face into Jolly’s skinny chest. She breathed deep the scent of tobacco, could sense the slight tang of licorice that clung to the weave of his shirt and felt the hot sun beat down on her back.

“Now you listen to me, girlie, and listen to me good. You knew her before this disease, this damn thief started comin’ around time and again to take away little bits of what’s always been the best in her. You have to hold onto who she was, who she still is on her good days and always believe that what’s left inside her remembers just how much she loves you even when she can’t tell you so.”

His words took away the last bit of resolve Greer had and the tears came to dot Jolly’s shirt front. He let her cry, his eyes following the slow moving traffic on the street and his hands patting Greer’s back as she sobbed. 

*~~*~~*

Mimi never got to read Alabama Skye, but I think she would have liked it. It was published just a little over a year after she passed away, but the book is dedicated to her. For a while, I was stumped as to how I was going to celebrate her memory. 

And then it came to me.

I posted this on my Facebook page:

***** CONTEST! ***** ENTER TO WIN! *****

If you read my latest novel, Alabama Skye, you were introduced to Sarah Guthrie Gannon. What you might not know is that this remarkable woman was inspired by my grandmother, who I affectionately named Mimi when I was two years old. Like Mimi, Sarah suffers from Alzheimer's. I lost Mimi almost two years ago to the disease. Today would have been her 91st birthday. Here's to Mimi, and to the beautiful Sarah whom she inspired.

In honor of Mimi, I'm giving away one signed paperback copy of Alabama Skye. To enter, post a special memory you share with your grandmother. Contest ends at 10 pm mountain time. Good luck!

With it, I posted that beautiful picture of Mimi as a teenager. I got a lot of comments on it. Family that knew her thanked me for posting it. They shared their thoughts about her. Most hit the like button. One of my writer friends even mentioned the fact that Mimi looked like a Hollywood film star. But no one seemed to want to participate in the contest. 

Remember me telling you about my fellow author, Jennifer Sivic? (There was a point to that...and I thank you if you've hung in there while I've slowly made my way to it.) Well, she kindly posted the contest on her Facebook page...and that's when things got really crazy.

Before it was all said and done, the post reached almost 2,500 people, and so many of them shared stories with me about their grandmothers. Some of them were very sad, but most of them reaffirmed the wonderful magic that sometimes exists between grandmother and child. The comments made me cry...they were so personal, and they made me miss Mimi so very, very much. But most of all, they made me incredibly happy. As I read them, I was celebrating the relationship I always shared with Mimi. It was amazing.

This is what I posted at the end of the contest:

***** CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! *****

Yep...I said winners. Plural. I couldn't pick just one! In addition to the signed paperpack copy of Alabama Skye, I am also giving away three e-books. You all were too wonderful and shared so many great stories...I couldn't narrow it down to just one winner. My post on author Jennifer Sivec's page reached 2,477 people...and so many of you commented. Thank you all for participating! Mimi would have loved this. :)

And it's true. I have no doubt that she would have.

2014's NaNoWriMo: A Success in Failure

So, in 2013 I took on the NaNoWriMo challenge.

http://nanowrimo.org/

This was not my first dip into the 'write 50,000 words in a month' pool. Back in 2012 was when I decided to bounce from the diving board and splash into those daunting blue waters for the first time. I had never heard of NaNoWriMo before and I was intrigued. I was part of a writing group assembled by a fellow writer, good friend and extraordinary librarian at the Vogelweh Air Force Base in Kaiserslautern, Germany. We were using the buddy system. No one was swimming alone. I didn't drown, but I only wrote about 35,000 words. I blame my inability to pound out the story I wanted on the fact that my husband got word that his contract would not be renewed and everything in our lives was upended by the daunting task of having to pack up all of our belongings, leave Germany and come back to the states. I have no doubt that those 50,000 words would have been written had it not been for this news. I was so sad about our departure from Europe that I didn't actually write again until the following January.

Now, you might ask if I met the NaNoWriMo challenge of  2014, to which I must answer....

No.

Did I receive more bad news regarding my husband's employment? Were we suddenly faced with another enormous and expensive relocation? Was I feeling unusually sad or distraught and uninteresting in story telling?

Again, the answer to all of these questions is (thankfully) no.

I'm still a part of that amazing writing group...although now it's from afar. We keep track of one another on Facebook and I still support, (and receive support) from the members of that group although the Atlantic Ocean separates us. Many of us dove back into that NaNo pool together this past November...and I even had a bunch of other writer friends who took part in the challenge alongside me. I failed this time around for entirely different reasons. I was annoyed with myself for a while...until I took the time to think about why. Then I realized that the 26,286 words I wrote on my new novel throughout the month of November were really a perfect amount. I might have failed to reach the word count goal set forth by NaNoWriMo...but I learned a lot about myself and about what is important to me. I decided that writing that many words was really quite a feat, and instead of being disappointed, I realized that I am really quite happy, and that I should celebrate all the reasons why I didn't write 50,000 words.

First of all, I'm not a full time novelist. I do write a lot, and eventually, I hope to become a full time novelist. For right now, though, it's only one of my many jobs. I'm a homeschooler. I've homeschooled our two awesome kids for more than twelve years now, and I love it. These guys are my top priority, and I tend to do things unconventionally when it comes to home learning. I don't buy packaged programs. I have in the past and found that they don't work for us. I put each part of our curriculum together on my own, using the web, the library, workbooks and advice from other homeschooling moms. I'm involved with several bloggers, all of whom homeschool, and the better part of my day is filled with Algebra, World History, foreign language studies and science experiments. My daughter will be sixteen later this spring, and my son turned twelve...actually during NaNoWriMo month. :) They're very intelligent kids. They keep me extremely, (and happily) engaged.

We boarded this bus back in May of 2003. I haven't wanted to get off even one time since.

I'm also an avid reader. It takes time to read...especially when your 'to read' list stretches out mile after mile after mile. Since publishing my first novel, A Color of Thunder, back at the end of 2012, I've come to the realization that reviews make an author's world go round. I've made it a habit to review as many books as I can, and I've rarely been known to say no to an author who has contacted me in the hopes that I might add to their review numbers. It's hard to ask for reviews. I know. I've been there. I AM there. I will constantly be there. I hate to say no when I know just how important reviews are. So, not only do I love to read, but I also enjoy writing reviews. This keeps a person busy, and I like spending my time doing these things. I'm a firm believer in karma. You put good things out into the world; you work hard to do good things for others and eventually it comes back. If there's actually no truth in this, well, color me disappointed...but I'm a positive thinker. It might take a little bit of my time, but I'm having a hard time seeing how that can be detrimental. Besides...I've met some amazing writers over the last couple of years, and read books I might not have even known about because of my willingness to review. It's a win-win situation in my opinion, no matter how I look at it.

Speaking of those amazing writers, I was also lucky enough to be chosen to be a beta reader for a few different books last fall....specifically during NaNoWriMo time. There's no way I'm going to say no to this. I'd be crazy. It's a pretty special thing being handed a manuscript that hasn't been published yet and asked what your thoughts and feelings on said work might be. I look at being chosen as a beta reader as an honor...one I would never say no to. I love my own beta readers, and find them enormously helpful when it comes to my own writing. (Note to those authors who have asked me to beta read...PLEASE ASK ME AGAIN!)

So...I didn't get my 50,000 word count during NaNoWriMo. I'm well past that amount of words in my novel now, and I'm right on track for the completion date I've set for myself. NaNoWriMo might not have been successful in the way in which I'd hoped when I embarked upon it late last October...but it taught me a valuable lesson. I am so grateful that I have so many wonderful things filling up my every day...and because I had a goal in mind for NaNo, I did write nearly 30,000 words in November. That's a thousand word a day average. Not too bad. I also did a hell of a lot more than write in those 30 days as well. 

You might say I'm crazy...but I call my NaNoWriMo failure of 2014 an absolute success. So much so that I'll be sure to do it again next year.

It's almost here....

Yep...in about a week. Am I ready? Nope. But I will be.

This is my second year participating in NaNo. Last November I'd written about 35,000 words when we got news that my husband's contract was coming to an end and that we'd be leaving Germany to come back to the states. That's a very long story...one I won't bore any of you with here, but I will tell you that the news was not good for me. I was overwhelmed. I wanted to stay where I was. I didn't want to come back home and I quit writing for a couple of months. Even though I was incredibly sad, I probably would have continued to write, but it's hard to create a novel when everything you own, including your computer, is packed into a huge container and bobbing somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean.

So...here I am, settled into our new/old house back in Colorado. It's October 23rd and I've been busting my tail to get organized for NaNoWriMo. This year I will succeed.

You get the picture. We even bought a Keurig today which will come in handy, I'm sure. I'm a huge iced chai drinker, but I'm thinking I'll need a bit more caffeine than my usual tea can deliver.

There are still many things I will be working on throughout November. I'm a full time homeschooler, and I have one more book to review for a group on Goodreads. I'm hopeful that I will still be entrusted with a beta reading project (or two) that I have been looking forward to, (and that means I have a second review that needs to be posted as well.) I'll be really busy come Saturday. I'm sure glad my youngest knows his way around a microwave. Both my husband and I are delving into the world of NaNoWriMo this year...without my son's wicked zapping skills, both of our children might starve altogether. Hey...there's always Thanksgiving. We're celebrating it at our house this year. The kids can make up for a month's worth of lost calories that day.

If I don't post for a while, you'll know why. If you don't hear from me come December, you might want to send a rescue party. 

Oh, yes. I can.

Author Spotlight: RP Dahlke

I'm an avid reader. I always have been. I attended Sunset Ridge Elementary School as a child. I remember a lot about that school...Mrs. Johnson, my beloved second grade teacher who called me Jemmy instead of Jenny because she said I was precious, breaking two fingers when I was flipped off the slide, and the wonderment of the music room and after school movies in the gym. What I remember most vividly, however, is the library. I can still recall exactly what it looked like and how I felt when I walked inside that enchanted room. Oh how I loved the library! 

My love of books goes as far back as I can remember, and I still feel that way about them. Hardback, paperback, eBooks, PDF's...it doesn't matter. I'll take them in any form. I have an enormous collection of favorite authors, but since becoming an author myself, I'm happy to say that a lot of the writers that fall into my favorite category are actually people I know. How cool is that???? They are my friends. They are an email away when I have a question, (and believe me...I have had a lot of questions since I jumped into this big pool of self publishing...) and they are a never ending source of entertainment. They have been my beta readers, and I have been fortunate to read for them. They are sounding boards and inspiration. They are talented and imaginative. Oh, did I mention that these people are my friends?!?  

I have never done an author spotlight before. I'm excited about this first one, and know there will be many more in the future. One of the things that excites me about this author is that I enjoyed her books long before I ever met her. I sent her a friend request on Goodreads thinking she'd never accept it, but that was just one of the many surprises she had in store for me. This author's name is RP Dahlke, and she's a mystery writer with several titles under her belt. She's also a wonderful person who not only accepted my friend request but wrote me a personal note telling me she noticed I'd just recently published myself. After that I received from her a collection of information she'd gathered and written up about marketing and being a self published author that has been indescribably useful to me. Another bonus for me is that, not only is RP a tremendously talented author, she's hilarious and giving, supportive and caring. She was the first author I formed personal ties with, and that makes her very, very special to me. 

Enough of the gushy stuff already! Here is RP Dahlke's biography:

I sort of fell into the job of running a crop-dusting business when my dad decided he’d rather go on a cruise than take another season of lazy pilots, missing flaggers, testy farmers and horrific hours. After two years at the helm, I handed him back the keys and fled to a city without any of the above. And no, I was never a crop-duster.

I write about a tall, blond and beautiful ex-model turned crop-duster who, to quote Lalla Bains, says: “I’ve been married so many times they oughta revoke my license.” I wanted to give readers a peek at the not so-perfect-life of a beautiful blond. Lalla Bains is no Danielle Steele character, she’s not afraid of chipping her manicure. Scratch that, the girl doesn’t have time for a manicure what with herding a bunch of recalcitrant pilots and juggling work orders just to keep her father’s flagging business alive.

RP Dahlke released the fourth book of her Dead Red Mystery Series in late August. It's called Dead Red Alibi, and it has already received more than 100 five star ratings on Amazon. 

Here's a bit about this newest book from the author herself:

A successful, but reclusive young artist with a secret life.

A wannabe lawman and his dotty gun-toting granddad

An abandoned mine pit

A curious dad and a very dead police chief

When Lalla and her dad take a trip to Arizona to inspect her new property, Dad disappears. But when Lalla enlists the help of a local tracker she's relieved to find him unharmed, but in the bottom of a mine pit. Unfortunately, he's got company--a local police chief, and it looks like he's been murdered. Then too, a young woman artist living nearby has also been murdered. What're the chances that these two murders are going to be related? Well, if you're Lalla Bains, you don't guess, you start looking for the killer!

There are three more in the Dead Red Mystery Series, starting with:

#1-A Dead Red Cadillac http://getBook.at/B004QOAZO2

#2-A Dead Red Heart http://getBook.at/B004W9NIOU

#3-A Dead Red Oleander http://getBook.at/B008ALR6GC

Or get all three as a boxed set on Kindle: http://getBook.at/B00GY8W5D2

And coming in 2015, A Dead Red Miracle.

Lalla Bains isn't RP Dahlke's only heroine. She's written another series, as well as a guide to help the self published author jump start their book promotions.

Other books on Kindle by RP Dahlke

A romantic sailing mystery trilogy:

A Dangerous Harbor http://getBook.at/B0062D4GM2

Hurricane Hole http://viewBook.at/B00FT1EI1C

Coming next in the trilogy – Dead Rise

and

Jump Start Your Book Promotions http://viewBook.at/B00HZ2RM70

Want to get in touch with RP Dahlke yourself? Here's where you can do that:

Her webpage:  http://rpdahlke.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/rpdahlke

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18664399-hurricane-hole

DIRT CHEAP MYSTERY READS

http://DIRTCHEAPMYSTERYREADS.COM

If you're looking for tightly constructed mysteries with interesting locales, colorful and vibrant characters and a lot of humor, you've just found your author. It's obvious that I am very fond of RP Dahlke and her talent for writing incredibly entertaining tales. I know you will be, too.

Alabama Skye Featured by Elite Book Promotions

A couple of weeks ago I was surprised by an email in my Goodreads mailbox. It was sent to me by a very friendly woman named Misha Almira who runs Elite Book Promotions. She wanted to know if she could feature Alabama Skye as a book of the day, then if she could list it on her blog. 

Um, let me think about that for .2 seconds....

Let's see...How about YES!!!!

I was very excited to say the least and wrote her back immediately. She then asked me to write a little something about my relationship with the characters of the book. This I could do.

I actually had eighteen chapters of the book written before I went back to focus on my first book, The Color of Thunder, which was published in December, 2012. When I came back to Alabama Skye, so much had changed in my personal life. The basic story stayed pretty much the same, but I added another character. I added Sarah Guthrie Gannon. She's a very, very important character; not only to the story that's told in Alabama Skye, but to me personally. She's based on someone I've loved dearly my whole entire life. But, instead of me explaining that here, please take a moment to click on this link and read what I wrote for Elite Book Promotions.

http://www.elitebookpromotions.com/getting-to-know-author-j-c-wing/

I'd love to know what you think about it. Please leave me a comment if you have a minute. Thanks so much!

Blog Tour

I'm part of a review group on Goodreads and have met some pretty amazing Indie authors there. During the last round I participated in, a fellow writer, Rebecca Hazell, invited me to take part in a blog tour. I would like to introduce her here as my sponsor. 

Rebecca Hazell is an award winning artist, author and educator. She has written, illustrated and published four non-fiction children’s books, created best selling educational filmstrips and educational craft kits for children and even designed award winning needlepoint canvases. I took a look at some of the art she has up on her site and she's a pretty phenomenal painter as well. Visit her here.

I was given four questions to answer, so here we go!

1) What am I working on?

I’ve got several projects going on at once right now. I just published my second novel, Alabama Skye, at the beginning of June. I had no plans to write a sequel until many readers told me they thought there should be more from this cast of characters. Thrilled with this response, I got to work on a story line and and am excited about going back to the fictional seaside town of Kelby, Alabama once again. There has been some buzz on my Facebook page as of late that there should also be a third installment to this series. (I'm so grateful for readers!) We'll see what happens. :) I am also writing a trilogy based on a smart, funny but unlucky in love loan officer who lives in Sparrow, Nebraska and the Greek goddess Aphrodite. This is a more light-hearted story that has allowed me to entertain my life-long fascination with Greek mythology. I hope to have the first book of the series, Dead Beat Dates and Deities, published by the end of this year. Yet another project I have in the works is a mix of both historical fiction and ghost story. I just recently returned to the states after living in Germany for two years. I became quite interested in the emperor Frederick Barbarossa and, with the help of my German landlord, did an extensive amount of research into his life and the lives of his family. That book, titled Red Beard and the Ravens, will hopefully be published sometime in 2015.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

This is a hard question to answer because I think that every author, no matter what genre they write, is different from other authors. Each one of us has our own style; something about the way we write that sets us apart from our fellow writers. I have a tendency not to always stick to the same genre, so I think that makes it harder to make comparisons between my work and someone else’s.

3) Why do I write what I do?

My first novel, The Color of Thunder, was a mixture of historical and literary fiction. I believe Red Beard and the Ravens will most likely fall into the same category. I really love research. I love to dig around in places I’ve never been, time periods I wasn’t alive for and find out what they were like. Alabama Skye turned out to be more in the women’s fiction category. I really enjoyed writing it because it dealt with the relationships between four women in the same family. That was fun because it was close to home without being autobiographical. My Goddess series deals with a topic I’ve long been interested in, and I get to be a bit silly. It’s all a lot of work, but so much fun. I enjoy dabbling in several different kinds of things and it’s interesting to put different voices into the books that I write.

4) How does my writing process work?

Writing process? Well...I'm a full time homeschooling mom of two kids, one in high school and the other in middle school, so I pretty much fit writing in whenever I can! I usually do my best work first thing in the morning. I focus on writing, whether it be actual writing, editing, research or marketing every single day. Some days are definitely more successful when it comes to word count than others, but I do something to further my progress on a daily basis.

Now, I'd like to introduce you to two more authors, both of whom I've read and enjoyed very, very much. 

First up is Alison Ripley Cubitt. Here is her bio and the link to her blog:

I am Alison Ripley Cubitt – author, screenwriter and novelist who co-writes thrillers as Lambert Nagle.  I worked in TV for the BBC and Walt Disney but my passion has always been for writing.  I love to explore the countryside on a horse, a bicycle or on foot. Visit Alison here.

And my friend, G.J. Griffiths:

G J Griffiths is a UK baby-boomer who worked for quite a while in the Photographic industry, and then he became a Science teacher for about twenty years. He likes reading (lots!) walking in the countryside, birdwatching and being a Grandad. Having retired he thought he would try to write a novel, which has since become three novels. Visit G.J. here.

I highly recommend both of these authors. If you have the time, please check them out. They are both definitely worth a read.

T-shirts and reviews

In Alabama Skye, Cheney and Greer sell t-shirts and sweatshirts out of the front room of their Scottish B & B. This charming bed and breakfast is called Gannon's Glen. I was lucky enough to receive my own shirt yesterday, although I didn't have the pleasure of traveling all the way down to the coastal town in Kelby, Alabama to get it.

I've been working on an outline for a sequel to Alabama Skye. I've gotten some amazing feedback and many readers telling me they aren't yet ready to say goodbye to the cast of characters in this book. I am so surprised and thrilled by this. I believe the second book will be mostly about Noah. That's the way it's going right now, anyway. I have many ideas running through this crazy head of mine, and once I start writing, the characters kind of take over. We'll see what I can come up with.

I received a four star review on Amazon yesterday. The book has gone out to many different people. This one was left by an unknown reader. 

4.0 out of 5 stars Climax a little bit of a let down, but otherwise a fantastic novel!, July 30, 2014

By 

SonOfASailor - See all my reviews

Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Alabama Skye (Kindle Edition)

I really enjoyed this book - the characters were well fleshed out, the dialogue was realistic and fun, and the overall story was great .

SPOILERS

There was only one thing that really threw me: the whole book builds toward a big, dramatic scene about Cheney's past, and when that big secret is finally revealed....it just doesn't quite make sense. She accidentally kills her husband Callum by hitting him over the head with the butt of a gun, thinking he's an intruder, which, by itself, would have been plausible. It also goes a long way in filling out Cheney's character. The problem is, the exchange is several pages long, and the whole time he is breaking into the house (shooting through the door, even), Cheney keeps calling out to him, "Who are you?? What do you want with me??" He never responds, not until after she hits him over the head. It's mentioned that he smells of whiskey, so it's supposed to come off that he was inebriated, but that didn't feel like enough of an explanation. Even Cheney asks why he didn't respond, and he never gives her an answer. I kept waiting for more of an explanation, and it never came. It was jarring, because the whole book was so good; the whole scene leading up to Callum's death was gripping! My heart was beating faster, the pictures just flowed through my mind. So the climax was a little bit of a let down. Otherwise, I loved it!

I'd love to know who SonOfASailor is so I can acknowledge whomever it was. I like to thank those personally who take the time to sit down and write out a review. If it was you, thanks!

I'm always looking for more reviews. If you're interested in reading and reviewing for me, I've got a free eBook copy of Alabama Skye waiting for you. Just send me a note. :)

*****UPDATE - I have since found out who left the review and have been able to give my thanks to this reader. 

Press release for Alabama Skye on PRWeb

I've self published both of my novels through a company called Xlibris. I retain all the rights to my work, plus I get to say what my cover looks like and what the inside format of the text looks like. It costs more money than it would to do it other ways, but I also get quite a bit of marketing for the price I pay. I was interviewed by Xlibris shortly after I published The Color of Thunder in late 2012. Xlibris has a blog and I was featured on their Indie Author's Roundup. Here's a link to that interview:

http://authors.xlibrispublisher.com/in-the-news/xlibris-author-j-c-wing

Xlibris put together a press release for my newest book, Alabama Skye, and sent it out to more than 1,000 media outlets. These include web sites, newspapers, magazines and radio programs. Members of the media rely heavily upon the press releases that cross their desks on a daily basis to fill out every column inch and every broadcast second. When the media responds to a press release, Xlibris acts as the primary contact and forwards interview requests to me. They send free copies of my book to these members of the media, and I just saw the press release they created in action.

Here is what my press release looks like on the PRWeb website:

http://authors.xlibrispublisher.com/in-the-news/xlibris-author-j-c-wing

Of course I'm hoping that Xlibris receives some requests for copies of Alabama Skye, and I'm very interested in doing some interviews. I've gotten a lot of positive feedback on this collection of characters in my fictional little town of Kelby. It's been an amazing two months.

Like Sarah says in Alabama Skye, "Opportunity is like a bird. It never perches."

I'm taking every opportunity that I can to help Alabama Skye soar. I feel a little bit of wind beneath this novel's wings. Here's hoping there's enough to get it up into the great big blue sky.

A few more amazing reviews for Alabama Skye

The feedback on Alabama Skye has been overwhelmingly positive. It's such an amazing thing! I am so grateful to all of those who have read and reviewed it. There have been a couple of stinkers...one reviewer said she thought the story was too sweet, and another one even made fun of the title saying the combination of Alabama and Skye is too cute and unusual. This second reviewer, incidentally, is absolutely convinced that this is a memoir and that it was not worth either writing or reading. I don't know this person, so this is nothing but conjecture on his part. In this case, I have to say that he's wrong...at least about the memoir part. The only thing even remotely autobiographical about Alabama Skye is that my grandmother, like Sarah, had Alzheimer's. Oh...and I do have a mother...but that's where the similarities between me and any of the characters in the novel end.

I wasn't on Facebook, didn't have my blog or a web site, and certainly didn't have a following of any sort, (other than my loyal family members and friends...and thank God for them) when The Color of Thunder was published. I was an absolute unknown. I was in a different place, however, while getting ready to release Alabama Skye. I was totally taken aback when it was published and  people I didn't even know were paying attention told me that they'd been anxiously awaiting the book's release. I've had readers push the book for me, getting their friends and family members to read it...and the response I've gotten has really been an amazing and wonderful surprise. Sometimes you put things out there and don't hear a thing about them. I built up the release of Alabama Skye like nobody's business on Facebook, posting pictures of the different characters, blurbs from the book and all sorts of other things. It's easy to get frustrated when you're trying to let the world know that you've accomplished something you're enormously proud of and you don't think anyone's listening. I learned a big lesson about that in the last month. Someone is always listening.

Here are a few more reviews from Amazon I'd like to share.

5.0 out of 5 stars a wonderful story of twists and turns, June 30, 2014

By 

Tammy Fritz - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alabama Skye (Paperback)

This is the first book I have read by J.C. Wing and I'm looking forward to reading more of her books.
Alabama Skye is a treat, a wonderful story of twists and turns. It's a beloved inspiring and uplifting story of family, loyalty, loss, forgiveness, coming together.
It's a well written book about Cheney who lost her husband and left Scotland to make a fresh start in Alabama with her family. The plot moved along well and had me so interested it was hard to put it down, the only bad part was it was over and now the wait to see if there is a sequel to the book.
Congratulations on your first book J.C. Wing looking forward to reading more from your :)

5.0 out of 5 stars Hooked from the first chapter!, July 5, 2014

By 

linda thompson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alabama Skye (Paperback)

J. C. Wing has written a book that pulls you immediately into the setting of the story and keeps you there through the last chapter. Her descriptions of the surroundings and characters bring the story and people to life and make you feel as if you are there with them and know them personally.
Ms. Wing writes about situations that are part of many people's everyday lives which allows you to identify with the characters and their issues. However she has a way of writing so that you aren't bored but instead anxious to find out the outcomes to the circumstances she has presented.
At different times while I was reading Alabama Skye I chuckled, I smiled, I felt sad and I felt happy, yes I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Well done!
Although the story did have closure I was sorry when it was over. Maybe a sequel written from Noah's perspective?

4.0 out of 5 stars Wish it was longer......, July 4, 2014

By 

Elisabeth J Swem - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alabama Skye (Paperback)

I really enjoyed Alabama Skye. All of the characters are so likeable and it is easy to imagine their interactions. It's fun to have both the Scottish and the Alabama sides of the story. I liked how the background stories came out throughout the book, and not all at once. I wish it had been a bit longer. 200 pages goes quickly.

One of the other reviewers commented that there were opportunities for confrontations/drama/problems that weren't taken by JC. She saw this as a problem. I actually saw it as refreshing. It was a nice escape - it's easy to get caught up in our day-to-day where negative things do happen so I thought it was enjoyable to read a story about a really close family that doesn't even recognize challenging situations because they have each other.

I'll definitely recommend this to friends and look forward to reading another book by JC.

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely a must-read., June 30, 2014

By 

Bethany Bolton - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Alabama Skye (Paperback)

Alabama Skye is a treat, a wonderful story of twists and turns. It is one of those "can't put down" type stories, a beloved inspiring and uplifting story of family, loyalty, loss, forgiveness, coming together. It will impact you in some way, bringing these characters to life, making you feel connected in some fashion. You will feel like you know the characters, thanks to the detail and images created by the author JC Wing.

My only complaint is that it ended. I look forward to a sequel or more, from some of the other characters viewpoints. Definitely a must-read.

I also loved this review I got on Goodreads today.

Janet Richardson's review 

Jul 08, 14

5 of 5 stars

Read in June, 2014

I absolutely Loved this book by J.C. Wing. I have read both of her books now and will continue to read her novels.

This was a book that captured my interest, held it, and left me wanting more when I reached the end.

The very interaction between characters, the story line, and the history of both Scotland, and the south have a way of pulling you in and keeping your interest during the whole book.

I feel that this is a great avenue for J.C. Wing to consider a series, as with these characters, there is still so many avenues to investigate, and journey through.

There have been two things I've heard the most from readers. They want to know where the recipes are for all the different foods I wrote about in both The Color of Thunder and Alabama Skye. They also want to know when the sequel for Alabama Skye will be published. As for the sequel...I'll be honest. When I finished writing Alabama Skye, it felt complete to me. I had no thoughts whatsoever about ever writing a sequel to this book. I am so excited, though, about the fact that so many readers want more of these characters! I have written up a loose outline for a sequel and have begun the first chapter. I can't promise anything for sure...I have to love the story and the way it turns out before I spend the time and energy to get to it published. I love these characters. I love Kelby, Alabama and Gannon's Glen and I have been happy about going back and working on the continuation of the story. I've also got plans to put together a cookbook filled with all original recipes from both novels. I've got a collaborator...my son, who loves to cook. If I write a sequel to Alabama Skye, however, a cookbook will have to be delayed. I can't imagine that Greer will go through an entire book without cooking up more amazing treats.

Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed for me. Please, please, please...when you read a book - mine or any other author's - if you enjoyed it, take the time to post a review. Amazon is always a good place to do that. Reviews make an author's world go round. It effects sales and promotion...and it let's us know what you like and don't like about books. Every review is useful. Every review is helpful. Every review matters.

What an amazing week it's been!

I've gotten some wonderful feedback on Alabama Skye! Here's what some of my readers are saying:

4.0 out of 5 stars Teaghlach, June 16, 2014

By 

Kathie Inman - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alabama Skye (Paperback)

This is the first book that I have read by J.C. Wing and I must say that it was a delight. I read the entire thing in a single sitting.

JC has done a wonderful job of interweaving Scotland and Alabama, the past and present, in addition to sharing with the reader a family to whom many of us can intimately relate. At the core it is about family (teaghlach), friendships, forgiveness and love.

I will definitely recommend this book to my friends.

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book is Brilliantly Written!, June 17, 2014

By 

Heidi Erickson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alabama Skye (Kindle Edition)

I came to the book with no expectations. It is so brilliantly written and the characters so deep and interwoven within each other. I laughed at the simple sayings two best friends can share, visualizing the looks they would share. I cried at the tragedy that can enter ones life, but then feel hopeful as that tragedy can bring us each lessons and the hope to forgive and understand, that in most cases, we all do the best we can. These characters will stay with me and have reminded me of life's great lessons...friendship matters, family is everything and healing comes from forgiveness.

The author is a genius and she has simply woven a beautiful quilt of words and of love between these characters. Sophisticated, but also visual and warm. You can feel love in this book.

Absolutely adored it! Looking forward to more from this great author!

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Read, June 17, 2014

By 

Amber Fox - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Alabama Skye (Kindle Edition)

I enjoyed this book so much I didn't want it to end and it was very difficult to put down. I enjoyed the character Cheney who lost her husband and left Scotland to make a fresh start in Alabama with her family. The author described the relationships between the characters so well that I quickly began to empathize with several of them. The characters are well developed, real and believable, each facing their own flaws, hopes, fears and dreams. The plot moved along well with enough bumps and problems to keep my eyes riveted to my Kindle until the very end. Through all the secrets and struggles, it was evident that family would prevail because, after all, family is what is important.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Story, June 20, 2014

By 

Katherine Dunley - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Alabama Skye (Kindle Edition)

This book brings back the beautiful, rich descriptions and complex relationships that readers have come to expect from J.C. Wing. This book draws the reader into the world of a small town on the Alabama coast when Cheney McGillvray, a scottish native, proposes a scheme to turn the family home into a B&B with a distinct Scottish flair. With a bit of mystery and a lot of love the author weaves the lives of 4 women into a compelling tale that keeps you awake long past bedtime.

On Facebook, I have offered anyone who is willing to review the book for me on Amazon a free eBook. If you're interested, please let me know in the comments and I'll get right back to you. I'll need to know whether you'll be reading it on an iPad (or other Apple device), a Nook or a Kindle and a good email address so I can send you the file.

Thank you to everyone who has read Alabama Skye and for those of you who are in the process of reading it now. It's been a crazy, wonderful, surprising and fantastic week. I can't wait to see what's still in store!

To purchase Alabama Skye in either paperback or hardback, please visit Amazon at:

http://www.amazon.com/J.-C.-Wing/e/B00AZXVS1W/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1

or my publisher, Xlibris at:

http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-000756452/Alabama-Skye.aspx

It is also available on Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/alabama-skye-jc-wing/1119680972?ean=9781499031669