Book Spotlight and a Giveaway! Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen

Skipping a Beat

Julia and Michael meet in high school in their small, poverty-stricken West Virginia hometown. Both products of difficult childhoods -- Julia’s father is a compulsive gambler and Michael’s mother abandoned his family when he was a young boy – they find a sense of safety and mutual understanding in each other. Shortly after graduation they flee West Virginia to start afresh. Now thirty-somethings, they are living a rarified life in their multi-million-dollar,Washington D.C. home. From the outside it all looks perfect – Julia has become a highly sought-after party planner, while Michael has launched a wildly successful flavored water company that he sold for $70 million.

But one day Michael stands up at the head of the table in his company's boardroom -- then silently crashes to the floor. More than four minutes later, a portable defibrillator manages to jump-start his heart. Yet what happened to Michael during those lost minutes forever changes him. Money is meaningless to him now - and he wants to give it all away to charity. A prenuptial agreement that Julia insisted upon back when Michael's company was still struggling means she has no claim to his fortune, and now she must decide: should she walk away from the man she once adored, but who truthfully became a stranger to her long before his near-death experience - or should she give in to her husband's pleas for a second chance and a promise of a poorer but happier life? ~ from Goodreads

About the author

"Fans of Jennifer Weiner and Emily Giffin will strongly appreciate this rising star in women's fiction." - Library Journal.

Internationally bestselling author Sarah Pekkanen's newest book is The Best of Us (April 2013, Atria/Simon&Schuster). She is also the author of The Opposite of Me, Skipping a Beat, and These Girls. Sarah's linked 99 cent short stories, published by Simon & Schuster exclusively for ereaders, are titled "All is Bright," "Love, Accidentally" and the upcoming "Beginning Again."

Sarah is the mother of three young boys, which explains why she writes part of her novels at Chuck E. Cheese.

Sarah penned her first book, Miscellaneous Tales and Poems, at the age of 10. When publishers failed to jump upon this literary masterpiece (hey, all the poems rhymed!) Sarah followed up by sending them a sternly-worded letter on Raggedy Ann stationery. Sarah still has that letter, and carries it to New York every time she has meetings with her publisher, as a reminder that dreams do come true. At least some dreams - Brad Pitt has yet to show up on her doorstep wearing nothing but a toolbelt and asking if she needs anything fixed. So maybe it's only G-rated dreams that come true.

Other tidbits about Sarah: She was once rejected as a contestant on "Wheel of Fortune." She wrote an article for People magazine on a parrot psychologist. In college, she worked as a model and as an extra on the set of Hollywood movies. Her website is www.sarahpekkanen.com and please friend her on Facebook!

Connect with Sarah

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

Giveaway!

Okay ~ so looking thru my piles of books, I noticed I had 2 copies of Skipping a Beat. How does that happen?? So anyway, one of you can win my extra copy! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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