Eliza Blog Tour: excerpt, guest post & giveaway
Welcome to today's stop on the Eliza Blog Tour presented by Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours. Author Joyce Proell has provided us with an excerpt and there's a giveaway to enter at the bottom.
Historical Romance*Publisher: Champagne Books*Date Published: 10/1/12
Purchase: Kindle
Posing as a widow, Eliza Danton flees an abusive marriage determined to bury the past and live a solitary life on the Minnesota frontier. When she finds herself homeless, her livelihood threatened and her safety compromised, she relies on her only resource, a man who stirs a forbidden longing and rocks the very foundation of her well-laid plans. As her world shrinks with lies and deception, the only way out is the truth, but the truth may strike a deadly price.
Haunted by a tragic past, Will Heaton hides his scarred heart and vows never to love again. But a chance encounter with a mysterious widow awakens painful memories and a yearning he can’t ignore. When she’s harassed by the same man he believes killed his wife, he grabs at a chance to resolve past mistakes and possibly find love and
redemption in the process.
As Eliza and Will struggle to trust again, the past returns with a renewed vengeance, testing them in ways they never thought possible.
An excerpt:
Why is this happening? She’d never encouraged him. But perhaps she hadn’t discouraged him either. As guilt nibbled away at her she knew she had to put an end to this fruitless pursuit.
“Listen to me. I won’t marry again.” She slapped each word into the air with a distinct pop, pop, pop.
He reared back as if her words proved a glancing blow. He stiffened and she flicked an apprehensive look at Karl’s powerful hands. Would he slap her or use his fists on her like Abe used to do?
“I give you time,” he said, his voice brusque with anger. “You forget ache. Then you marry me.”
Eliza shrank back.
“You think, Eliza. Marriage is best way.”
His departing footsteps pounded on the wooden deck and thudded loudly on the stairs as he went below.
Eliza stood there, too astounded and alarmed to move. After a time, she glanced at the moon, hoping it might have some curative power to quell her rioting nerves. To her disappointment, the golden disc streaked by wisps of gnarled clouds offered no answers or comfort. Suddenly, all the anger and frustration inside exploded. She kicked out. Her foot smashed into a deck chair with an earsplitting thwack. The chair arced then slammed and scuttled noisily against the planks.
“Who-o-oa, lady.”
Eliza gasped, spun about and peered into shadows near the pilothouse. “Who’s there?”
A chair creaked.
“Make yourself known, please,” she snapped.
Will Heaton stepped out from behind the big potted palms near the pilothouse and jolted her clear through.
He’d seen everything! The kissing, the intimacy. Heard her lies. Oh, God. She wanted to sink right into the river.
“How could you?”
A muscle quirked in his cheek.
“Good Lord! You find this amusing.”
He crossed his arms and casually leaned against a tarp-covered mound of gunnysacks, his lips pressing back a grin. “Couldn’t avoid it. I had the best seat in the house.”
Her mouth gripped so tight she couldn’t talk. She glared at him expecting the intensity of her anger to light up the sky. Her body trembled as she waited for him to break the silence. When he did, it left her stunned.
GUEST POST:
Starting Out As A Writer—5 Things
You Should Know.
Writing is like a wonderful puzzle filled with all sorts of amazing secrets. As you move along your writer’s journey, you can’t help but discover new and exciting things. Here are just a few of the things I learned.
- Everybody has a story to tell. Whether they choose to share it is a different matter. The important thing is every person has their own unique perspective. That perspective comes out in the writer’s voice. The plot may be familiar, but the mood, theme, details and overall presentation will be unique to each storyteller.
- Nothing beats a solid plot. Some people sit down and simply write. They allow the words to flow, unimpeded, content to see the story and characters take shape without much forethought. Others prefer a map, a careful, studied progression of clear steps moving from point A to B to C. They take comfort in knowing where they’re going and why. What’s important is to figure out which writing process works best for you. Knowing saves time. And the outcome is worth it.
- Practice makes perfect. Or…the more you write, the better the outcome. Make time to write daily even if it’s only for thirty minutes. Know when to criticize and when to turn off your internal editor. Establish a writing goal. Then write. You’ll only get better.
- Staying connected is important. It’s easy to get lost in a story, whether you’re reading a fascinating book or writing one. After an engrossing day intertwined in the lives of fictional characters, it’s important to get back to reality. I have a husband and family that need me. We keep each other grounded. The same goes for friendships with other writers. They keep me focused in the right direction. The benefit from their support and feedback is essential to growing as an author. And it’s true. You learn so much more when you help somebody else.
- Getting published takes longer than you think. A year seems a reasonable time to write a book. Since I didn’t have a full-time job, it wasn’t difficult to meet my deadline. Without another soul ever reading a sentence, I sent off the story, ever hopeful a publisher or agent would love it as much as I did. Wrong. Comments like ‘has potential’ and ‘keep on trying’ suggested I had more to learn. Hmmm. How to do this? I signed up for online writing classes, read books on writing, studied the elements of editing, studied other authors, joined a critique group, began revisions and started another book project. Needless to say, all this effort takes time. But over the course of years, something wonderful happened. I became a better writer. Getting published was just the cream in my coffee.
About the author:
Contact Information: Website
I laughed when my husband suggested I write a book. Me? What did I know about writing? Yet the notion held possibility, so I hatched a plan. A year later, I sent off my first completed manuscript and promptly received a score of polite rejections. Bruised but undaunted, I forged ahead, new plan in hand. Later, armed with the knowledge acquired from writing classes, seminars and the help of fellow writers, I finished my second story. Eliza is that story.
Next stops on the tour:
October 2 - My Reading Addiction & My Devotional Thoughts
October 3- Anatea's Bookshelf & My Cozie Corner
October 4- Kaisy Daisy's Reviews & The Adventures Within
October 5- Books For Me & Taking it One Page at a Time
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Good advice.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the release of your debut book; & here's wishing you every success in your writing career!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. I appreciate the kind words.
ReplyDeleteI like the guest post. I didn't realise until recently how long it DOES take to get traditionally published.
ReplyDelete