Guest Post & Giveaway: Big Sky Mountain by Linda Lael Miller

As part of the blog tour for Big Sky Mountain, please help me in welcoming Linda Lael Miller with today's excerpt and guest post as part of the scavenger hunt! I'm also hosting a giveaway for a copy of the book!

Joslyn, meanwhile, tuned in on Kendra’s face and read her expression, however guarded it was, with perfect accuracy. They’d been friends since they were barely older than Madison was now, and for the past year, they’d been business partners, too—Joslyn taking over the reins at Shepard Real Estate, in nearby Parable, while Kendra scoured the countryside for Jeffrey’s daughter.

“Thank heaven he came to his senses,” Joslyn said, with her usual certainty. “Brylee is a wonderful person, but she’s all wrong for Hutch and he’s all wrong for her. They wouldn’t have lasted a year.”

The crowd in the kitchen began to thin out a little then—Shea, the dog and Madison headed into the family room with their cookies, and Callie followed, Shea regaling her “Grands” with an account of who did what and who wore what and who said what.

Slade ascended the back stairway, chuckling, no doubt on his way to the master bedroom to change clothes.

Can you tell us about your Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women?

Full information is available on my website—www.lindalaelmiller.com—but here’s an overview: each year I give away $10,000 in special scholarships, based on essays explaining the applicant’s goals, what the money will be used for, etc. A number of people read the entries very carefully—in fact, each one is read several times, to assure that the awards are fairly given. I began the program several years ago, as a way to give something back—and I still fund it personally. At this point, I’ve given away something like $75,000. Having been a single mother myself, I have a special place in my heart for women raising children alone—I was very poor in the early years and I know the struggles and the heartache involved well—though we also consider women who are older, and want to change their lives for the better. Over the years, I’ve received a number of graduation photos and lovely thank you notes from winners, and they always warm my heart. I believe very deeply that the scholarships benefit the children of these women if only by proving that somebody out there cares.

http://booktrib.com/booktrib-blog-tour-nyt-bestselling-author-linda-lael-millers-big-sky-mountain/

WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK?

{August 20 - September 3, 2012}

• Only residents of the U.S. and Canada are eligible to win
• No P.O. Boxes please
• Giveaway copy will be sent directly to winner from the publisher
• 1 Winners will be randomly selected using random.org and contacted via email
• Please check my Contest Policy before entering

To enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post & #Giveaway: Linda Lael Miller, author of Big Sky Country

“I have my reasons,” Joslyn said. “I’m counting on you to trust me, Kendra—at least for the next few months. When I can explain, I will.”

“People have been getting mysterious checks in the mail lately,” Kendra said speculatively, “from some big law firm in Denver. And I know you sold your software company…”

Joslyn bolted to her feet, hurried over to the square foot of counter space where the coffee machine stood, turned on the water in the sink and hurriedly rinsed the two plain mugs she’d purchased the day before. “I sold the company,” she admitted, feeling a wrench of loss as she said the words, even though it had been a done deal for weeks now. “But I don’t see what that has to do with people getting unexpected checks.”

“The recipients of the checks have one thing in common,” Kendra persisted. She hadn’t gotten where she was by being slow on the uptake. “They’d all invested in your stepfather’s—business.”

How do you continue to find inspiration after writing so many novels?

That’s a very good question. The answer, I suppose, is that I’m always and forever reading and shamelessly eavesdropping on other people’s conversations. Everything is grist for my mill, so to speak. I might read about a situation and think, “what if--?” and then I’m off and running. My Clare and Tony mysteries, commonly called the Look Books, are a good example—I used to see this guy on TV all the time, when I lived down in Arizona, a lawyer advertising for business. His hair was slicked back and his suit was fancy and I remember thinking he was the ultimate ambulance-chaser, with a clear message: no matter what awful thing you’ve done, we can get you off. I knew that attitude was bound to really tick off, say, a homicide detective, who would have a vested interested in seeing the culprit sent to prison. Voila! Clare Westbrook was my defense attorney heroine, and she was involved with Tony Sonterra, a homicide detective, of course. I’ve been writing for a long time, and I use many techniques to prime the pump—mixed media art is my hobby, and I find that I get some of my best ideas when I’m snipping, gluing, painting, etc. I keep an art journal and make artist trading cards. Trips are always good, too—a change of scene and environment is very stimulating. I need a lot of visual stimulation, I find. I spent a lot of time just looking at things, and imagining things that could happen. I spent a lot of time in Europe, years ago, and oddly enough that was what clued me in that I needed to focus on westerns, since that’s basically my life. You know the old saw, write about what you know.

http://booktrib.com/blog-tour-big-sky-country-by-nyt-bestselling-author-linda-lael-miller/

WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK?

{June 25 - July 9, 2012}

• Only residents of the U.S. and Canada are eligible to win
• No P.O. Boxes please
• Giveaway copy will be sent directly to winner from the publisher
• 1 Winner will be randomly selected using random.org and contacted via email
• Please check my Contest Policy before entering

To enter:

1. Please fill out the form below
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour & Guest Post: Diane Chamberlain, author of The Good Father

I needed to make sure she didn't need to go back to the pharmacy any sooner than that. I hoped I'd figured this out right.

"Don't remind me." She rubbed Bella's back. Bella had blueberry stuck in her teeth and I was glad I'd remembered to put her toothbrush in her little pink purse.


http://bit.ly/I56ozq
How did closing your private psychotherapy practice influence your writing? Do you have any regrets or do you still believe in following your dreams?


When I first started writing, I’d hoped to continue my private practice, but as the demands of my writing career grew, it quickly became clear I would have to pick one or the other. I loved them both, but my dream of being a writer went back to my childhood. Plus, I knew how hard I’d worked on my books and how fortunate I was to be published. I couldn’t give that up.

It was very hard to end my practice. I’d published three books by that time, but my identity had still very much been connected to being a clinical social worker. Plus, my practice had been primarily with adolescents and I would miss working with them so much. Many of my clients touched my life as much as I touched theirs. I still hear from a few of them and it’s wonderful to see them grow into a happy adulthood and know I had a small part in that.

Obviously, I believe in following your dreams, but I also believe in making enough money to keep a roof over your head and food on the table. In my case, my husband of twenty years was willing to carry the main financial burden as I built my writing career—or so I thought. The very week that I ended my practice, however, he told me he’d fallen in love with someone else, and just like that my “perfect marriage” was over and with it, my financial support. It was a panicky time in many ways. However, I signed a wonderful new contract and for the first time, I actually could support myself writing. That was sheer luck, though, and I don’t advise quitting your day job without a safety net. The bottom line for me is that I feel very blessed to have had two careers that have allowed me to touch people in a positive way.

Next Stop on the Tour: Broken Teepee

Blog Tour & Guest Post: Lori Foster, author of A Perfect Storm

Not when she’d once been held captive by human traffickers who, after using her, had tried to kill her as punishment for running away.

Her death would have been a lesson to remaining trapped victims. Instead, the bastards had died—and good riddance.

Luckily—at least for Spencer’s peace of mind— Jackson was already in love with Alani, so his interest in Arizona wasn’t romantic in any way. But for Arizona? He just didn’t know.

Jackson was a good man. A protector.

And right now, Spencer felt like a destroyer of evil. Nothing protective in that.

“Oh, for crying out loud.” Arizona slugged him in the shoulder. “What the hell is wrong with you? No one died. Lose the sad face, will you?”

Next stop on the Tour:  http://myoverstuffedbookshelf.blogspot.com/

Lori’s Advice for Aspiring Romance Novelists

I suggest that budding romance writers write what excites them. Avoid the traps of trying to jump on the bandwagon, or emulate a successful author. If it’s not YOU, you won’t enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy it, why would anyone else?

Some writers prefer stand alone books. Some, like me, have characters that take over and show up again and again. Some like writing sweet romances, and some like super-steamy and explicit. It is such an amazingly personal thing that you can’t, and should never try to, write for anyone but yourself.

I’ve had books that readers hated. Some that readers *really* hated. LOL. But I’m a realist. I know I can’t please all the readers all of the time. When disappointed readers write to me, I apologize. I AM sorry that they spent time on a book they didn’t enjoy. But will I change what I’m doing for them? I can’t.

What works for me is writing what I want, what I enjoy, the way that I want to write it, and the way that works for me. All writers should do the same.

Another tip for new writers – stay away from critique groups. It’s YOUR book, not a book by committee. Just because your critique partner doesn’t like it, just because she thinks it’s awkward, doesn’t mean you need to change it. The only opinions that matter are #1) yours, and #2) the editor’s. Your critique partner cannot buy your book. All she can really do is point out typos, which is great, discourage you with criticism, which is self-defeating, or bolster you with praise, which may or may not jive with an editor’s opinion.

So avoid it.

Contests can also be a catch 22. Sure, you get immediate feedback and sometimes you get a connection with an editor or agent. But you also get immediate gratification – something you should get after you’ve _finished the book!_ NOT because you’ve written one to three chapters.

I’ve know unpubs who’ve polished that first chapter a dozen times. It’s been submitted in at least that many contests. It’s even placed in a few, or won in some. But the whole book? Why finish a book when you can send just one chapter in to win another contest?

Contests make it so easy to lose sight of the end goal – which is publication.

New writers – keep your eye on that end goal! As soon as you finish a book and get it mailed off, start another. And another.

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