Book Spotlight Giveaway! Inconceivable! by Tegan Wren

I have sooooo many books! I have a ton of print books and probably even more e-books. The Book Spotlight Giveaway feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to clear my shelves and to share some of the many books I have. There are a lot of different reasons that I might be letting some of my books go, the biggest one is that when we moved a little over 2 years ago I discovered how many books I really do have. This feature is a way for my to cull my collection and to give someone else the opportunity to enjoy them.

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This week I have a Kindle copy of a wonderful book that I read when it came out in November. I loved it and I enjoyed meeting the author, virtually that is. You can read my thoughts about this great story here. I now have Tegan on my author watch list and I will be reading whatever she writes next.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

 Inconceivable!

Inconceivable! by Tegan Wren
Print and e-book, 354 pages
Publication date: November 16th 2015 by Curiosity Quills Press

A popular, young royal couple can't produce an heir? INCONCEIVABLE!

When Ozarks native Hatty goes “whole hog” during karaoke, she catches the eye of Prince John. He isn’t what she expects the heir to a small European nation to be: he's affable, witty, and isn’t put off by her tell-it-like-it-is demeanor. Their flirtation should be short lived, but a force stronger than fate—Hatty’s newspaper editor—assigns her to cover the royals. After spending time together, she and John soon begin dating, and Hatty finds herself making headlines instead of writing them.

But challenges loom that are even more complicated than figuring out how to mesh Hatty's journalism career with life at Belvoir Palace. Hatty and John soon find themselves embroiled in an unusual sex scandal: they can't produce an heir. Tabloids dub Hatty a “Barren-ess,” and the royals become irate. Hatty politely tells them to shove it. But beneath her confident exterior, she struggles to cope with a heartbreak that invades her most intimate moments with John. Pressured to choose between invasive medical procedures and abandoning John’s claim to the throne, the couple feels trapped until a trip to Ethiopia shows them happy endings sometimes arrive long after saying “I do.”

Purchase Inconceivable!

Amazon US | Amazon UK

About the author

The best compliment Tegan Wren ever received came from her sixth grade teacher: “You always have a book in your hand!”

Guided by her love of the creative process, Tegan grew up acting in theatre productions and writing poetry, short stories, and plays. She turned her eye to writing about real life when she worked as a journalist, producing reports for various radio and television stations in medium and large markets in the Midwest and also filing some stories for a major national news network. Wren has both a Bachelor’s of Journalism and a Master of Arts in Communications. After completing her graduate degree, Tegan had the opportunity to teach journalism courses at a major state university. She absolutely loved training the next generation of journalists.

Tegan’s thankful that she’s had the opportunity to travel overseas, and uses those adventures to inform her writing. She also draws inspiration from her own struggles, joys, and life experiences. Tegan and her husband, Patrick, experienced infertility for five years before becoming parents through adoption.

Connect with Tegan

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

This giveaway is for a Kindle e-book gifted from Amazon. If you can receive it, consider this an international giveaway! 

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Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Inconceivable! by Tegan Wren, Voices, and a Giveaway!

Inconceivable!

Inconceivable! by Tegan Wren
Print and e-book, 354 pages
Publication date: November 16th 2015 by Curiosity Quills Press

A popular, young royal couple can't produce an heir? INCONCEIVABLE!

When Ozarks native Hatty goes “whole hog” during karaoke, she catches the eye of Prince John. He isn’t what she expects the heir to a small European nation to be: he's affable, witty, and isn’t put off by her tell-it-like-it-is demeanor. Their flirtation should be short lived, but a force stronger than fate—Hatty’s newspaper editor—assigns her to cover the royals. After spending time together, she and John soon begin dating, and Hatty finds herself making headlines instead of writing them.

But challenges loom that are even more complicated than figuring out how to mesh Hatty's journalism career with life at Belvoir Palace. Hatty and John soon find themselves embroiled in an unusual sex scandal: they can't produce an heir. Tabloids dub Hatty a “Barren-ess,” and the royals become irate. Hatty politely tells them to shove it. But beneath her confident exterior, she struggles to cope with a heartbreak that invades her most intimate moments with John. Pressured to choose between invasive medical procedures and abandoning John’s claim to the throne, the couple feels trapped until a trip to Ethiopia shows them happy endings sometimes arrive long after saying “I do.”

Purchase Inconceivable!

Amazon US | Amazon UK

I loved this novel and you can read my thoughts here. 

Voices

Welcome to The Book Bag today, Tegan! You know I loved your book and I posted my thoughts yesterday. I love that you were willing to answer my "Voices" questions. It is always interesting to see how authors respond to this idea of the 'voices in their head'. 

I have heard other authors say that they 'hear voices in their head' and that is how they write their books: the characters are telling their stories. Not being a writer myself, that concept has always intrigued me. Does this happen to you? How do you come up with your stories?

Yes! I definitely hear the voices of my characters, especially when I’m writing dialogue. Part of making this magic happen is knowing my characters really well… so well, they do talk to me. When I develop characters, they exist beyond the confines of the story I’m writing. I create a “character cheat sheet” that I refer to frequently when I write. I also add to it as I move through the story. The cheat sheet includes the character’s birthday, interesting ways they’re connected to other characters, unusual physical characteristics, likes, dislikes, and anything else that might add depth to my understanding of who these characters are. 

This process helps me “know” my characters so well that I do hear their words, the cadence of their voice, their accent, and the emotions that come through in their voices. In a way, it’s like watching the movie play out in my head and then writing it down. I don’t know if all writers have similar experiences, but that’s how it is for me. It’s like when you know someone so well, you can anticipate their reaction to situations. It’s similar to that. 

However, my characters sometimes surprise me as I’m imagining the scene. They might do something a bit unexpected. That’s fine as long as it’s not too far “out of character;” as a writer, you do have to keep your characters consistent to make them believable.

Thank you so much Tegan!

About the author

The best compliment Tegan Wren ever received came from her sixth grade teacher: “You always have a book in your hand!”

Guided by her love of the creative process, Tegan grew up acting in theatre productions and writing poetry, short stories, and plays. She turned her eye to writing about real life when she worked as a journalist, producing reports for various radio and television stations in medium and large markets in the Midwest and also filing some stories for a major national news network. Wren has both a Bachelor’s of Journalism and a Master of Arts in Communications. After completing her graduate degree, Tegan had the opportunity to teach journalism courses at a major state university. She absolutely loved training the next generation of journalists.

Tegan’s thankful that she’s had the opportunity to travel overseas, and uses those adventures to inform her writing. She also draws inspiration from her own struggles, joys, and life experiences. Tegan and her husband, Patrick, experienced infertility for five years before becoming parents through adoption.

Connect with Tegan

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Tegan is offering a signed copy of her wonderful book. And there are a lot of ways to enter. 

Thank you Tegan and good luck everyone! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Release Day: Inconceivable! by Tegan Wren, My Thoughts, and a Giveaway!

Happy Release Day!

Inconceivable!

Inconceivable! by Tegan Wren
Print and e-book, 354 pages
Publication date: November 16th 2015 by Curiosity Quills Press

A popular, young royal couple can't produce an heir? INCONCEIVABLE!

When Ozarks native Hatty goes “whole hog” during karaoke, she catches the eye of Prince John. He isn’t what she expects the heir to a small European nation to be: he's affable, witty, and isn’t put off by her tell-it-like-it-is demeanor. Their flirtation should be short lived, but a force stronger than fate—Hatty’s newspaper editor—assigns her to cover the royals. After spending time together, she and John soon begin dating, and Hatty finds herself making headlines instead of writing them.

But challenges loom that are even more complicated than figuring out how to mesh Hatty's journalism career with life at Belvoir Palace. Hatty and John soon find themselves embroiled in an unusual sex scandal: they can't produce an heir. Tabloids dub Hatty a “Barren-ess,” and the royals become irate. Hatty politely tells them to shove it. But beneath her confident exterior, she struggles to cope with a heartbreak that invades her most intimate moments with John. Pressured to choose between invasive medical procedures and abandoning John’s claim to the throne, the couple feels trapped until a trip to Ethiopia shows them happy endings sometimes arrive long after saying “I do.”

Purchase Inconceivable!

Amazon US | Amazon UK

My thoughts about Inconceivable! ~~

First of all, I have to say that I fell in love with this cover: the colors, the silhouettes, the old newsprint, the clock tower. There was just so much there and I had to find out what it was all about. Yes, I admit it, the cover drew me in. And then I discovered the wonderful story inside.

The story starts with Hatty and John, a prince no less, meeting in a karaoke bar. Hatty is a reporter and this could be her big break, reporting on the royals. As she and John get closer, the reporting part of her life gets harder. That part of the story was fun to read, watching as Hatty starts to get to know John better and as she realizes that there is so much that has to be 'off the record'.

While Hatty is getting a tour of the royal home, they stop in to look at the family library. I love the following line since I am a library lover and have worked in one for many years. It warms my heart when authors acknowledge the importance of libraries and the passion some of us have for them.

'Libraries are magical. I could spend hours surrounded by books. It's like hanging out with your closest friends.'

Prince John and Hatty also take a tour of the cathedral, another one of my favorite parts of the story. Tegan writes so very well when she is describing the beauty of the building, that I felt like I was there with them. I love it when the author's words can transport me to another place.  

I have to admit that it took me a long time to warm up to Prince John. I had a hard time trusting him and I did not want to see Hatty get hurt. The royal family and their traditions are very strong, maybe too strong to allow Hatty and John to find the happiness they are seeking. I felt like he had his own agenda most of the times and maybe he wasn't as sincere as he made himself out to be.

The author also deals with the very serious topic of infertility, which probably affects a lot more people than we know. Hatty and John go through so much as they try to conceive the Baby King. Infertility is not something that I have had to deal with so this was a very eye-opening and educating part of the story for me. Tegan handles the topic very well and gives us great insight since she and her husband have gone through this themselves.

Inconceivable! is a wonderful, entertaining, heart-breaking but heart-warming, beautiful debut novel by an author I will be watching. I can't wait to read whatever comes next from Tegan Wren. 

Be sure and stop back tomorrow when Tegan will be here talking about her 'voices'.

About the author

The best compliment Tegan Wren ever received came from her sixth grade teacher: “You always have a book in your hand!”

Guided by her love of the creative process, Tegan grew up acting in theatre productions and writing poetry, short stories, and plays. She turned her eye to writing about real life when she worked as a journalist, producing reports for various radio and television stations in medium and large markets in the Midwest and also filing some stories for a major national news network. Wren has both a Bachelor’s of Journalism and a Master of Arts in Communications. After completing her graduate degree, Tegan had the opportunity to teach journalism courses at a major state university. She absolutely loved training the next generation of journalists.

Tegan’s thankful that she’s had the opportunity to travel overseas, and uses those adventures to inform her writing. She also draws inspiration from her own struggles, joys, and life experiences. Tegan and her husband, Patrick, experienced infertility for five years before becoming parents through adoption.

Connect with Tegan

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Tegan is offering a signed copy of her wonderful book. And there are a lot of ways to enter. Good luck everyone! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? November 16, 2015

Hello! Welcome to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? This weekly meme, hosted by Book Date, is where we share what we have read this past week and what our plans are for the upcoming week. It’s a great way to see what others are reading and to discover books to add to your own To Be Read list. You never know where that next great read may come from!

Click on the book image to read more on Goodreads.

What I'm currently reading/listening to

First & Goal (Queen of the League, #1)

by Laura Chapman

My thoughts will be posted Thursday.

Christmas Bliss (Weezie and Bebe Mysteries #4)

by Mary Kay Andrews

What I recently finished reading

The Torment Of Rachel Ames

by Jeff Gunhus

Wow, just wow! My thoughts will be posted later this week. 

Inconceivable!

by Tegan Wren

My thoughts will be posted later today. 

Clutch: A Novel

by Lisa Becker
Loved this one! And there is a giveaway you can enter.
Click here. 

The Language of Hoofbeats

by Catherine Ryan Hyde (audio-book)
Catherine's books are always wonderful.

What I am going to read next

A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding

by Jackie Copleton

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? November 9, 2015

Hello! Welcome to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? This weekly meme, hosted by Book Date, is where we share what we have read this past week and what our plans are for the upcoming week. It’s a great way to see what others are reading and to discover books to add to your own To Be Read list. You never know where that next great read may come from!

Click on the book image to read more on Goodreads.

What I'm currently reading/listening to

Clutch: A Novel

by Lisa Becker

My thoughts and a tote giveaway will be posted on Thursday.

The Language of Hoofbeats

by Catherine Ryan Hyde (audio-book)

What I recently finished reading

This is Where I Leave You

by Jonathan Tropper

Book club tonight to discuss this one.

Christmas Kisses (Echo Ridge Romance, #1)

by Cami Checketts, Lucy McConnell, Rachelle J. Christensen, Heather Tullis, and Connie E. Sokol
Enter my giveaway to win a copy of this wonderful anthology!

Merry Mary

by Ashley Farley
My thoughts will be posted later today.

What I am going to read next

Inconceivable!

by Tegan Wren

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!