New Inspirational Fiction Novel for Review: Rosemary Opens Her Heart by Naomi King

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

Naomi King will be touring November 5 – December 28, 2012 with her inspirational fiction novel, Rosemary Opens Her Heart !

Another spring reminds the Amish of Cedar Creek, Missouri, that for everything there is a season.

Zanna Lambright is finally marrying Jonny Ropp, and friends and family have come from far and wide to celebrate. Among them is young widow Rosemary Yutzy, mother of toddler Katie, whose husband was tragically killed last fall. With a willing heart Rosemary has taken over care of her in-law’s family and continued to run a baked goods business from home, but privately she still mourns her lost Joe…and is unprepared for the changes that are coming…

Rosemary’s father-in-law wants to merge his lamb-raising business with Matt Lambright’s—a move that will require the Yutzys to relocate from their nearby town to Cedar Creek. Moreoever, it will bring Rosemary into constant contact with Matt, who is making no secret of his romantic interest in her. The challenges of contemplating a future unlike any she expected are overwhelming for Rosemary. And although Matt is strong and kind, his courtship is so persistent, she often wants to run the other way. As Rosemary struggles to see beyond her immediate joys and sorrows, will she embrace the outpouring of welcome and support from the people of Cedar Creek…and accept this new chance to open her heart to a more abundant life?

304 pages

Book Excerpt:

Chapter 1

Matt Lambright slipped out of the stream of nearly two hundred wedding guests who were filing out of the house and into the front yard after his aunt Zanna’s marriage to Jonny Ropp. When he reached the pasture fence, he loosened his stiff white shirt collar. After more than three hours of sitting in front of the crowd as a newehocker, he was ready for some fresh air.

The April sun warmed his face and the breeze riffled his hair. Matt breathed deeply. He smelled the “roast” made with chicken and stuffing, and the creamed celery, which were about to be served for the noon feast . . . heard the bleating of his sheep grazing in the pasture . . . saw his grandmother, Treva Lambright, walking toward her glass greenhouse where long tables had been set up for the traditional Old Amish wedding meal. He saw so many smiles on the faces of family and friends who had come here to Cedar Creek, Missouri, from such far-flung places as Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana.

His parents, Sam and Barbara Lambright, mingled among their many guests, looking happier than he’d seen them in a long while. Aunt Zanna was his dat’s youngest sister and she had given them all quite a shock last fall when she walked away from marrying James Graber, their lifelong friend from across the road, because she was carrying Jonny Ropp’s baby. Now that little Harley had arrived, and Jonny had joined the church and reconciled with his parents, all was well. Family ties among the Ropps had been restored, and that was what mattered most.

Matt chuckled as he noticed James breaking away from the crowd, loosening the collar of his white shirt as though he, too, couldn’t wait to get back into everyday clothes. Aunt Abby had made their new black trousers, vests, and white shirts, but—as perfectly as they fit—most fellows weren’t keen on wearing their collars fastened for any longer than they had to. It was good to see James smiling, apparently enjoying the wedding festivities, considering how Aunt Zanna had forsaken him.

“Well, Matt, you look all dressed and ready to get married yourself,” James teased as he came to stand beside the pasture gate.

Truth be told, Matt had been studying the single girls from his bench up front during the wedding service, because lately he’d been thinking about living somewhere other than his lifelong home, with someone other than his parents, his grandmother, and his three sisters. At twenty-two, with an established flock of sheep and some money in the bank, he was eager to move beyond rumspringa—his “running around” years—into a more satisfying life with a special someone . . . if only he could find her.

“Emma was gawking at you all during the wedding,” James continued in a low voice. “My sister doesn’t talk about marriage much, as busy as she is with our parents, but she’s sweet on you, Matt. Or at least when she bakes brownies, most of them seem to end up at your place.”

“Emma?” Matt shrugged, searching for a polite way to state his case. “What with living across the road from you Grabers, and Emma’s being at our house so much while she and Aunt Abby were growing up, she seems more like one of my sisters than somebody I might court, you know?”

“Jah, that happens,” James murmured with a wry smile. “Sometimes we overlook someone who’s been standing right in front of us for years, even though the connection is obvious to other folks.”

And what did James mean by that? Matt was in too fine a mood to pursue such a deep topic, so he searched for something else to talk about. “Would you look at that?” he said, gesturing toward the crowd beneath the trees. “Aunt Zanna’s holding Harley to her shoulder, swaying from side to side as though she’s rocked him all her life. Who ever thought she would take to raising a baby and making braided rugs? I didn’t see this coming at all.”

“Zanna’s a gut mother.” James nodded his approval, even if he looked a little wistful. “I wish her and Jonny all the best. It was God’s doing, the way they worked everything out, and I hope God will reveal His plan for me sometime, too.”

Matt sighed, wishing he had picked a better topic. “I’m sorry I brought that up. This can’t be an easy day for you.”

“It’s all right, Matt. Everything’s happened the way it was supposed to. Now that she and Jonny have tied the knot, I can move on, too, you see.” James gestured toward the clusters of fluffy white ewes and lambs that dotted the rolling, green hills behind the farmhouse. “Looks like you’ve done right well for yourself,” he continued. “Something tells me you’re better at shepherding a flock than you’d be at storekeeping. Or maybe your dat didn’t want you going in with him to run the mercantile.”

Matt acknowledged James’s candor with a smile: the Cedar Creek Mercantile had been in the Lambright family for generations, so most folks would have expected Sam Lambright to pass the business down to him as the only son. “Never thought much about running the store,” he replied. “Abby has her Stitch In Time shop up in the loft, so she helps Dat quite a lot—knows as much about the inventory and ordering as he does. And my sisters, Phoebe and Gail, have always been better at keeping the shelves straightened and making out the orders than I would ever be.”

He drank in the satisfying sight of his sheep on the lush hillsides. “You know how it is,” he continued in a thoughtful tone. “One business rarely brings in enough to pay for a large family. Just as there’s not enough income from your dat’s farm for you to support a wife and children, we Lambrights can’t all be storekeepers. My dat has no time to farm his land while he’s running the mercantile, so it’s a gut thing for all of us that I can raise sheep and grow enough hay and grain to feed them and our horses, too.”

“Jah, you’ve got that right. I apprenticed to make carriages right out of school, because I was a lot more interested in running the roads than I was in raising crops,” James said with a chuckle. “There’s always a need for buggies and wagons amongst Plain people.”

Matt raised a hand to signal for his two border collies. “Lois Yutzy was telling me her husband Ezra’s brother, Titus, raises sheep over past Queen City and he might be looking to trade some breeding stock. He’s supposed to be here today, but I haven’t had a chance to look for him.”

“You’ve drawn a big crowd today.” James leaned down to rumple the ears of the two black-and-white dogs that had raced up from the pasture. “And you two pups are dressed up just like the rest of us, ain’t so? Always in your Sunday black and white.”

Folks often complimented Matt’s border collies, which were not only well-disciplined flock dogs, but also eager to be friends with anyone who would scratch behind their ears. “Pearl will sit there all day, if you keep rubbing her neck that way,” he said as he watched the white-faced dog close her eyes in contentment.

When Panda stood at attention, Matt followed the dog’s intense gaze and spotted a toddler coming toward them. She wore no kapp, and was still young enough for her pale blond pigtails to be braided and pulled back. Her airy white pinafore drifted above her blue dress with every determined step she took. “Puppy! Puppy!” she said as she approached them.

“Panda is the puppy with the black rings around his eyes,” Matt said, smiling to encourage her, “and the one with the white head is Pearl.”

The little girl stopped. She studied Matt and James for a moment, her expression serious until Panda let out a little woof.

When she laughed, Matt crouched beside her. “If you stand real still,” he murmured, “Pearl and Panda will let you pat them. They want to be your friends.”

When the toddler put a finger in her mouth, Matt thought she was the most adorable child he’d ever seen. James stopped stroking Pearl so the dog could focus on their little visitor, and then both border collies stepped cautiously toward her, as though they understood that such a young child could be easily knocked over. The girl extended a hand and then cried out in delight when Pearl licked her fingers. Not wanting to be left out, Panda nuzzled her other hand.

“Where’s your mamm?” Matt asked, glancing toward the crowd now making its way toward his grandmother’s greenhouse for the wedding feast.

“Can’t say as I saw this little one during the church service,” James remarked as he, too, scanned the group of guests. “Maybe she and her parents are Ropp cousins who came from out east.”

The girl seemed unconcerned about her mamm and dat’s whereabouts. She was running her fingers along the dogs’ silky ears, her expression rapt as Panda and Pearl patiently allowed her to touch them.

Then a woman cried, “Katie!” as she stepped out of the crowd. She was dressed all in black, from her kapp to her shoes, yet her melodic laughter and her wide-eyed, playful expression made Matt’s heart pound. “Katie!” she exclaimed again as she broke into a run. “I’ve been looking everywhere and—oh, punkin, be careful around those strange dogs!”

“Panda and Pearl love kids,” Matt assured her as he placed his hands on the dogs’ heads: he didn’t want them barking and scaring the little girl as a reaction to her mother’s noisy approach. An impish grin lit Katie’s face, and she tottered away as though running from her mamm would be another fun game to play.

James scooped the escaping child into his arms. “She’s been in gut company here. We wouldn’t have let her go into the pasture or down the lane, you see.”

The young woman opened her arms to take her child. “I can’t turn my back for two seconds, or she runs off,” she explained breathlessly. “I was just talking to Aunt Lois and suddenly realized Katie was gone and—”

“Lois Yutzy?” Matt inquired. Now that she had come this close, the woman looked younger than her black clothing had led him to believe. She had smooth, flawless cheeks and eyes as green as the trees that grew along Cedar Creek. Her sleek brown hair was pulled neatly away from a center part and tucked beneath a black kapp that seemed far too harsh for such a fresh complexion. She was awfully young to be a widow. “I’m Matt Lambright, by the way. Zanna’s nephew.”

“And I’m James Graber.”

“Thank you for catching my little runaway. Katie’s a handful.” The young woman hugged her daughter around the waist, planting loud, exaggerated kisses on her cheek. Katie wrapped her chubby arms around her mamm’s neck, happy to be where she belonged.

The sight of mother and child clutched at Matt’s heart and he suddenly had a hard time making conversation. This woman must have been seated in the rear pews, back among the younger women, because he hadn’t noticed her during the wedding. Lois and Ezra Yutzy had kin scattered all over northern Missouri, but Matt was sure he’d never seen this pretty widow. He would have remembered her face, no doubt about that.

“I—I didn’t catch your name,” he said.

She smiled shyly, her face half-hidden by Katie’s dress and pinafore. “Doesn’t matter,” she murmured. “I’m not from around here.” She turned and strode quickly back toward the throng of guests.

“But it does matter,” Matt murmured as he gazed after her. Why hadn’t she told him who she was? After the playful way she’d chased after Katie, he couldn’t believe she was stand-offish or unfriendly. Was she shy about being around folks she didn’t know? Or modest because she was a widow?

“That was odd,” James remarked. “We’ll have to look around during dinner to see who she’s sitting with.”

Matt nodded as they headed toward the greenhouse. Through its big glass windows he could see the long tables draped in white where guests were taking their seats. He glimpsed the tall white wedding cake, too. But all he could think about was the young woman who had come to fetch her child. “Jah,” he murmured, “Lois Yutzy’s her aunt, so I’m going to find old Ezra straightaway . . . to ask him where he’s been hiding his niece all these years.”

* * * * *

If you would like to review Rosemary Opens Her Heart, please email Tracee Gleichner at pumpupyourbookvp(at)aol.com. Naomi is also available for interviews and guest posts.

Award-Winning Book Publicity Company Since 2007

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR, BLOG TOUR & BOOK PUBLICITY ENDORSEMENTS: NICE THINGS PEOPLE SAY ABOUT PUMP UP YOUR BOOK

NEW! "Thank you Dorothy for a lovely tour! Thanks so much for the graphics and wonderful trailer!!"Avery Sterling, PRECIOUS BURDENS

"I just wanted to thank you for everything. You ARE the queen. Your are so personable and professional. Your graphics soared beyond. They are beautiful. It was a pleasure to work with you."Jude Hopkins, BABE IN THE WOODS

"THANK YOU for all of these graphics!!! That was a valuable added perk of working with you on the VBT! Thank you for all the work you put into those, and into the organization and follow-ups on the tour itself. It's been a pleasure working with you, Dorothy!"Allyson Rice, The Key to Circus-Mom Highway

"Oh, awesome!! Thank you so much! You ran such a lovely tour. Those images are great, I look forward to using them and will miss seeing the regular postings on Twitter ;-).
I really appreciate your steadfast and ongoing support. It means a lot!!"Palmer Pickering, MOON DEEDS

"Just wanted to send you a quick note to say thank you again for the amazing blog tour and to tell you that we will be adding the tour to Mark's author website in the next few days. We will of course be recommending your company to other authors we know. And when Mark's next book is out, we will use your services again." Kirsten Grenside on behalf of Mark Grenside, FALL OUT

"Thank you for all the great, creative, work you have done on behalf of my book. You are
a special lady, as a kind hearted woman and a professional."
Maria Andrade, DEFIANCE AND REDEMPTION

"Everyone did an excellent job. The blog pages were beautiful, and the trailer was so clever and funny. Thanks for sending these lovely "souvenirs" from my tour. I will be able to use all of these posts on Twitter. I enjoyed this so much and look forward to my next tour!"
Irene Woodbury, HONEYMOON ROULETTE

" I am delighted with the results of my recent tour with Pump Up Your Book. Dorothy is meticulous and professional, presents beautifully laid out pages, maintains constant contact with the client, and gives more than expected value for money. In a nutshell: you get what you pay for and more on top! I will certainly be using Dorothy’s services for my other Regency romance books.”
Arabella Sheraton, THE LORD BLACKWOOD REGENCY ROMANCE SERIES

"Thank you so much for The Shadow of Atlantis tour. I've really enjoyed all the posts and seeing my book being promoted. I will definitely come back to you with another of my titles!"
Wendy Leighton-Porter, THE SHADOW OF ATLANTIS

"Thank you so much for the great job on the book tour! Pump Up Your Book was a driving force in the launch of THE PILATE SCROLL!"
M.B. Lewis, THE PILATE SCROLL

"Thank you ever so much - it was a fun tour. I will continue singing your praises to my fellow authors. And grateful for the images, I will put them to continued use."
Kathleen Shaputis, HIS KILT DROPPED HERE

"I appreciate you and your hard work. Thank you for creating these awesome images for my book and allowing me to use them. I am very thankful to have them!"
Joni Ankerson, TO KILL OR BE KILLED

"Thank you for an Amazing Virtual Book Tour for Son of a Soldier! I really appreciate all the work you put into it!"
Aiken Brown, SON OF A SOLDIER

"Thanks so much for getting ANNA INCOGNITO out there and reviewed and shared with so many people. It was great to see it on so many twitter feeds!"
Laura Preble, ANNA INCOGNITO

"Thank you so much for such a fantastic tour! You did an amazing job getting it together so quickly, and I couldn’t have been happier!"
Lena Gregory, GRAVE CONSEQUENCES

"Thank you so much Dorothy! I appreciate your hard work. Love the graphics!"
Jennifer Chase, FLOWERS ON HER GRAVE

"This has been one of the best things I’ve done as an author. Not only am I getting the word out about my books but I’m learning about my own work and my readers along the way. I love it!"
Elysia Strife, A PROMISE IN ASH

"Today my blog tour ended, with another great review which made me end the tour with a big smile! What a fun way to end this incredible 4-week tour. I will surely miss it. I want to thank you for arranging it so well and for being there for me whenever I needed. Thank you!!!"

Miri Leshem-Pelly, SCRIBBLE & AUTHOR

"I think you did an excellent job last time, thank you!"
Shami Stovall, KNIGHTMARE ARCANIST

"Just wanted to thank you for the book tour. :) You did a great job. :)"
Suzanne M. Hurley, THE TEDDY BEAR EYE CLUB

"I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful virtual tour in August for Brimstone and Water. I was very happy with the amount of attention given to the book and to me. I am mentioning it to friends on line that haven't gone to the site yet to be sure and take a look. Thanks for all your work."
Sharon House, BRIMSTONE AND WATER

"Thank you for running my book promotion for BlackJack. I am so pleased with the reviews that came in and appreciated all you did. My sales have improved from being around 800,000 down to the 200,000 on Amazon and hopefully dropping still. I will definitely be contacting you for a promotion again."
Christine Donovan, BLACKJACK

"You’ve been a joy to work with, and I’d do another tour with you in a heartbeat. Overall, it was an excellent experience and a good value. I’ll be sure to look you up when it’s time to release my next book."
Michael Allan Scott, GREY DAZE

"Just wanted to thank you for putting together a great tour for You Won't Remember This. I think the author was pleasantly surprised and overall very pleased."
Bacon Press Books

"Dorothy, thanks so much for another great VBT!!! The Twitter-Party was a new feature this time that I particularly enjoyed. I will continue to recommend PUYB to my writer-friends, because you are simply the best!!!"
T.M. Wallace, WINTERGARDEN

"Thank you for a great blog tour for my “Depression and Your Child.”
I’m in the middle of my third book and will definitely call on you again when it’s time to market it."
Deborah Serani, DEPRESSION AND YOUR CHILD

"Your hard work and professionalism hasn't gone unnoticed. When I release my next novel(s), I will definitely use your service. I have already recommended you to several authors."
Ashley Fontainne, GROWL

"Thanks for a very good experience with Pump Up Your Book. Fighter Pilot's Daughter has sold out of the first printing (still available as POD on Rowman & Littlefield's site, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.). My editor at R & L says there's a very good chance the book will come out in paperback in the summer. He asked me "Did you hire a publicist or something?" I told him about you, and he was impressed."
Mary Lawlor, FIGHTER PILOT'S DAUGHTER

"You are amazing Dorothy and I love what you do to get the spirit of our books out to the world. Thank you!"
Lee Papa, TEMPLE OF ALL KNOWING

"I can't believe the response this book is getting! I am so very thrilled that she liked it!!! You are THE BEST, Dorothy, for hooking up this amazing tour with all these stunning reviews! This was the book I was going to keep under my bed forever and ever and now WOW. I can't believe this is happening. It's like a dream come true!"
Madeline Wynn, DAUGHTER OF THE FALLEN

"Just wanted to say I'm appreciating your tweets so much. This is really helping my book sales, and I'm telling writer friends about you."
Mary Lawlor, FIGHTER PILOT'S DAUGHTER

"Thank you SO much!!!! I had a blast on the tour and appreciate all the time the bloggers and reviewers spent promoting Ash to Steele:)"
Karen-Anne Stewart, ASH TO STEELE

"When it comes to looking for a virtual book tour coordinator, Dorothy Thompson of Pump Up Your Book Tours is simply the best. I have tried several virtual book tour coordinators and have even set up a book tour on my own, but none of them were as successful as my tours with Pump Up Your Book Tour, which has the combination of expertise and experience needed to get the author the results they need. On this latest tour, TWELVE TO MURDER made it up to number three on Amazon! Thank you, Dorothy!"
Lauren Carr, Best-Selling Mystery Author of Mac Faraday, and Lovers in Crime, Mysteries

"Thank you again for all of your help and support for my recent book tour. You were so supportive and responsive, and I enjoyed working with you. It was a great tour and I really enjoyed it, especially when my book hit the top 100 in the two subcategories! That was awesome! Thanks for "pumping up my book!""
Monique Roy, ACROSS GREAT DIVIDES

"Thank you for another amazing tour, Dorothy!! I loved the sites I had an opportunity to visit and the people I met along the way. I even made a few new friends and found wonderful supporters that I'll never forget - I promise! The exposure you gave my book was absolutely unbelievable, and I can't think of a better way to welcome and expose an author's new creation to the literary world. Happy New Year to all your readers and may your success continue to grow. "
Kaylin McFarren, BURIED THREADS

"Thank you for a great virtual book tour. I thought it went really well and it was great to have a wave of PR that flowed through the two month period of my book release. I'm working on my next book - and will definitely reach out to you when it comes time to market! You were a delight to work with and really made me feel looked after. As I've mentioned before, I just don't know how you do it all."
--Deborah Serani, DEPRESSION AND YOUR CHILD

"I just wanted to let you know how wonderful I felt my book blast went for Be Careful What You Wish For in the month of August. So many emails and contacts that I would never have gotten. The publicity was just phenomenal!"
--R.K. Avery, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

"Just wanted to touch base with you and extend a huge thank you for the wonderful and successful book blast you arranged for Love Vindicated for me. I was very happy with your services and will be passing your name and brand along to some writer friends with a stellar recommendation. Again thanks and I look forward to working with you again in the future."
--Lila Munro, LOVE VINDICATED

"Thank you so much for all your hard work in putting together the virtual book tour for The Sixth Power. I appreciate it so much."
--Carol Nicolas, THE SIXTH POWER

"Thank you SO MUCH for such a great blog tour!"
--Sandra D. Bricker, ALWAYS THE BAKER, FINALLY THE BRIDE

"Wow - you are absolutely fantastic. Can't believe how lucky I was to find you :)"
--Jo Sparkes, THE BIRR ELIXIR

"I just wanted to let you know that tonight Steven Manchester's Twelve Months became The Story Plant's first #1 Kindle bestseller. This couldn't have happened without you. Barb's cover is an absolute showstopper, Sue's copyediting boosted the overall work, Jackie's proofreading kept all of us honest, and Tracee Gleichner's blog tour started what has become an avalanche of great reviews."
-- Lou Aronica, STORY PLANT

"Blog tours have been the most effective promotion I’ve done. Dorothy Thompson and her company Pump Up Your Book are the greatest. I’ve spent money with other promotion companies that advertised packages then didn’t deliver the service they advertised, inflated their audience and reach and point blank falsely represented themselves. Dorothy has been a Godsend, and by far, her services are the best promotional endeavors I’ve invested in thus far."
-- Alicia Singleton, DARK SIDE OF VALOR

"I didn't realize that there is a place on amazon that you can see your stats for foreign sales; mine are really good and I believe it is your tweeting service. I think I might have found the key to successful self-publishing when I found Pump Up Your Books."
-- Suzanne Jenkins, PAM OF BABYLON SERIES

"Dorothy Thompson helped promote my book, Gringos in Paradise: Our Honduras Odyssey. Taking part in it was so much easier (and less expensive) than the travel schedule I was hving to keep doing on my own. She set up everything, coached me through my part, and I found my book and I promoted it all over the Internet. It definitely increased my book sales."
-- Malana Ashlie, GRINGOS IN PARADISE

"Dorothy was not only a lot of fun to work with but she helped me get the word out about my book. I would recommend her to both debut and experienced authors."
---Deborah Woehr, PROSPERITY: A GHOST STORY

“Dorothy is a firecracker promoter. She is skilled at finding the most visible placements in promoting your book with unmatched enthusiasm.She is creatively talented and a wonderful person to have on your team.”
--Kathy Holmes Eckardt, REAL WOMEN WEAR RED

“I invested in a three month virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Books promotions for my noir thriller, Moonlight Falls. Not only did the marketing campaign work wonders for spreading the word about the new novel, in the very last month, on the very last day of the tour, Moonlight Falls became an Amazon Kindle bestseller!”
–Vincent Zandri, MOONLIGHT FALLS and THE REMAINS

“I’m so pleased every day when I look at Google Alerts and see our titles all around the blogosphere, so thanks for that!”
–-World Ahead Media

“This has been a wonderful experience. Dorothy Thompson and her whole team are very committed to each author, take each author’s tour very seriously, and work towards maximum exposure in the right places. This is the best book promotion expenditure I’ve made in terms of return on investment. I highly recommend Pump Up Your Book Promotion.”
--Phyllis Zimbler Miller, MRS: LIEUTENANT

"I used Pump Up Your Book promotions a few months ago for my novel, Nephilim. My publisher is a great person, but when it comes to promotions, she encourages authors to do that on their own. Enter Dorothy Thompson at Pump Up Your Book. I had 8 reviews of the book and was featured as a guest author every day of the week at various websites during the month that I used her company. Amazing! She secured everything for me which was really nice and I didn't have to do anything but write a few blogs or answer interview questions. I would use Pump Up Your Book again in a heart beat!"
--Mary Ann Loesch, NEPHILIM

Visit here to find out what others have to say!

Follow Us!

Click on image to see who’s touring in March!

Book Mockup Graphics for $49!

Click on image to find out more!

PUYB Book Trailer of the Week

Raising the Dead by Jayne Lisbeth

Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

-- Sheila Roberts, Author of Winter at the Beach