This OR That #Giveaway Week 25 ~ Broken Pieces by Kathleen Long OR Inheriting Edith by Zoe Fishman #BrokenPieces #InheritingEdith

 

I have sooooo many books! 

The This or That 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. It's a way for me to cull my collection and give someone else the chance to enjoy these treasures.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

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Both books today are ones that I read and reviewed when they came out in 2016. I loved them both, that's why I've held on to them so long, but I need to clear out my books so I'm passing them on for one of you to enjoy. 

Broken Pieces

by Kathleen Long

Paperback ~ Pub date July 2016

Destiny Jones is doing just fine on her own, thanks. From her thriving one-woman carpentry business to the loving support of her small-town community, Destiny has constructed a life as sturdy and polished as her best cabinets. Twenty years ago, Destiny’s world collapsed when her mother died and her father, Albert, abandoned his daughter to pursue acting in New York. His devastating exit taught Destiny a lesson in self-reliance that has kept her safe—and alone—ever since.

Now Albert Jones is back, begging for a second chance. Destiny suspects he’s simply staging another performance, starring himself as the prodigal father. Should she act on her misgivings? Or listen to her inner child, who still yearns for a family? When Albert divulges a shocking secret, Destiny’s life will again be turned upside down.

Kathleen Long’s warm, wise novel reveals the armor that has protected us in the past is often the very thing we must shed to fully live and love. 

Read my thoughts here.

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Inheriting Edith

by Zoe Fishman

Paperback ~ Pub date October 2016

A poignant breakout novel, for fans of J. Courtney Sullivan and Elin Hilderbrand, about a single mother who inherits a beautiful beach house with a caveat—she must take care of the ornery elderly woman who lives in it.

For years, Maggie Sheets has been an invisible hand in the glittering homes of wealthy New York City clients, scrubbing, dusting, mopping, and doing all she can to keep her head above water as a single mother. Everything changes when a former employer dies leaving Maggie a staggering inheritance. A house in Sag Harbor. The catch? It comes with an inhabitant: The deceased’s eighty-two-year old mother Edith.

Edith has Alzheimer’s—or so the doctors tell her—but she remembers exactly how her daughter Liza could light up a room, or bring dark clouds in her wake. And now Liza’s gone, by her own hand, and Edith has been left—like a chaise or strand of pearls—to a poorly dressed young woman with a toddler in tow.

Maggie and Edith are both certain this arrangement will be an utter disaster. But as summer days wane, a tenuous bond forms, and Edith, who feels the urgency of her diagnosis, shares a secret that she’s held close for five decades, launching Maggie on a mission that might just lead them each to what they are looking for.

Read my thoughts here.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways!

Release Day: Broken Pieces by Kathleen Long

Happy Release Day! 

Broken Pieces

Broken Pieces by Kathleen Long
Genre: Women's Fiction
Print and e-book, 281 pages
Published July 19th 2016 by Lake Union Publishing

Destiny Jones is doing just fine on her own, thanks. From her thriving one-woman carpentry business to the loving support of her small-town community, Destiny has constructed a life as sturdy and polished as her best cabinets. Twenty years ago, Destiny’s world collapsed when her mother died and her father, Albert, abandoned his daughter to pursue acting in New York. His devastating exit taught Destiny a lesson in self-reliance that has kept her safe—and alone—ever since.

Now Albert Jones is back, begging for a second chance. Destiny suspects he’s simply staging another performance, starring himself as the prodigal father. Should she act on her misgivings? Or listen to her inner child, who still yearns for a family? When Albert divulges a shocking secret, Destiny’s life will again be turned upside down.

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Kathleen Long’s warm, wise novel reveals the armor that has protected us in the past is often the very thing we must shed to fully live and love.

   

I absolutely loved this book! 

Read my thoughts here.

Participating Blogs

Jersey Girl Book Reviews

Book Lover in Florida

The Write Review

Adventures Thru Wonderland

Shannon's Bookish Life

The Book Bag

Coffeeholic Bookworm

Granny Loves to Read

Books and Java

A Southern Girls Bookshelf

Chick Lit Goddess

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The Book Fetish Blog

Chick Lit Plus

About the author

Kathleen Long is a USA TODAY bestselling author of sixteen novels in the genres of Women’s Fiction, Suspense, and Contemporary Romance. She divides her time between suburban Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore. When she’s not on deadline or teaching creative writing, Kathleen spends her time bribing her tween to pick up her room and begging her dog to heel.

Please look for BROKEN PIECES, available July 19th from Lake Union Publishing.

Connect with Kathleen

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Broken Pieces by Kathleen Long ~ My Thoughts

Broken Pieces

Broken Pieces by Kathleen Long
Genre: Women's Fiction
Print and e-book, 281 pages
Published July 19th 2016 by Lake Union Publishing

Destiny Jones is doing just fine on her own, thanks. From her thriving one-woman carpentry business to the loving support of her small-town community, Destiny has constructed a life as sturdy and polished as her best cabinets. Twenty years ago, Destiny’s world collapsed when her mother died and her father, Albert, abandoned his daughter to pursue acting in New York. His devastating exit taught Destiny a lesson in self-reliance that has kept her safe—and alone—ever since.

Now Albert Jones is back, begging for a second chance. Destiny suspects he’s simply staging another performance, starring himself as the prodigal father. Should she act on her misgivings? Or listen to her inner child, who still yearns for a family? When Albert divulges a shocking secret, Destiny’s life will again be turned upside down.

---

Kathleen Long’s warm, wise novel reveals the armor that has protected us in the past is often the very thing we must shed to fully live and love.

   

My thoughts about Broken Pieces ~~ 

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First line—'My father stood at my front door as if he'd simply run out for bread and forgotten his keys.'

I have to be honest here and tell you that the first thing that grabbed me about this book was the cover. I thought it was intriguing and it captured my attention. Then I read the synopsis and I was even more intrigued. Looking at it a little bit more, I realized that I had already read a book by Kathleen, Chasing Rainbows, and I loved it, so I knew this one would be a good one. But I had no idea that this book would blow me away the way that it did! It touched me like no other book has in a long time. 

Destiny has pretty much lived on her own for twenty years. Then her father shows up again and her world is turned upside down. I felt every emotion that she did and I was not about to forgive her father for what he had done either. He did not deserve her forgiveness. How could he walk away at the time that she also lost her mother? I really did not like the man!

I loved the way this story made me feel so many different emotions and made me feel like I truly experienced what each character was going through. A big part of this book deals with something that I have recently had to face but Kathleen has written about it so beautifully that I felt not only the emotions of the struggle but also the peace that comes after as well.

What more can I say? Broken Pieces is a beautifully written, emotional journey that one family has to take. I loved it and if you like well-written women's fiction, you need to add this to your TBR list! 

Thank you for another fabulous story, Kathleen! 

About the author

Kathleen Long is a USA TODAY bestselling author of sixteen novels in the genres of Women’s Fiction, Suspense, and Contemporary Romance. She divides her time between suburban Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore. When she’s not on deadline or teaching creative writing, Kathleen spends her time bribing her tween to pick up her room and begging her dog to heel.

Please look for BROKEN PIECES, available July 19th from Lake Union Publishing.

Connect with Kathleen

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Guest Post: Kathleen Long, author of Chasing Rainbows and Giveaway

Today, I have Kathleen Long here at The Book Bag. Yesterday I posted my thoughts about Ms. Long's wonderful book. Not only is the cover so beautiful, the story inside is awesome as well. 

Read my thoughts here and then run out and get the book! 

I posed these questions to Kathleen and asked her to comment ~~ 

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. 

When some people hear voices, we get them medical attention, others end up becoming writers. Does this happen to you? How do you come up with your stories? 

Hi, Susan!

While I have friends who “hear” the voices of their characters, I “see” entire scenes. It’s a bit like having a movie projector in my brain. The dialogue for my characters comes along with that, but for me, my moments of inspiration arrive as fully-formed images, settings, clothing, facial expressions, body language and dialogue. More often than not, this happens while I’m in the shower. My family’s grown used to seeing me run—dripping wet and wrapped in a towel—for a piece of paper and a pen. Even my six-year-old barely looks up when this happens, mumbling only, “Mommy’s got another idea.”

My initial story premises come to me in the same way. They can be inspired by anything—a news article, a commercial, an overheard conversation, or real life. Sometimes my mind locks on an opening scene; sometimes it’s the closing paragraph of the book. I wrote my contemporary romance, CHERRY ON TOP, after being inspired by a beer commercial in which the dumped girlfriend had won the lottery. In my book, the heroine wins a mega-state jackpot hours after she’s left at the altar, then seizes the opportunity to reinvent her life.

For CHASING RAINBOWS, the major story events are close to my own life, and the story grew inside me for months. My father died suddenly and I realized how lost I’d been since the death of our daughter a few years before. There had been months in which I sat at our kitchen table and stared out the window. I barely worked. I stopped reading. I hadn’t yet started writing. My husband, bless him, gave me the space and time I needed to come back to life.

Bernadette Murphy and her story appeared in my mind’s eye with one simple question.

What if my husband hadn't hung in there? What if he’d left? CHASING RAINBOWS was born.

I wanted to tell the story of a woman who comes back to life—who pulls herself out of her stagnant existence and embraces the possibilities of everything yet to be. I surrounded Bernie with characters to enhance her journey—friends, family, neighbors. I gave each character unique quirks, shortcomings and redeeming personality traits.

For me, once the characterizations are solid and the story goals are set, the writing flows from being true to how those characters would react and respond to the various story situations. The magic comes on the days I can’t seem to write fast enough, when, even as I close my eyes at 2:00 in the morning, I see a new scene, picture a new story development, and hit the floor running for my notepad or computer downstairs.

So, for me, the stories don’t so much reveal themselves as voices in my head, but rather as fully-formed scenes in my mind. I’m not sure which would be more likely to get me medical attention, but I’m thankful for the gift of storytelling and writing! 

And, I’m thankful for the chance to stop by and share a bit about my process with you here at The Book Bag today.

Thank you, Susan!

Thank you, Kathleen, for the wonderful insight into your mind!

Check out the author interview over at ChickLitPlus


Visit the tour page for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card. 


**Everyone who leaves a comment on the tour page will be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card! If you purchase your copy of Chasing Rainbows before March 12 and send your receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, you will get five bonus entries!**

I received a copy of this book for my honest opinion. 

On Tour: Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long and Giveaway

Bernadette Murphy likes her life. Really, she does. What's wrong with carrying around an extra ten pounds from fertility treatments? Or having your dog kicked out of obedience school? Again? What's that saying about the devil you know? For Bernie, it's the devil she never expected that changes everything.

Her father's sudden death leaves a gaping void in her life and is one in a series of events that rock her world. Her husband leaves for another woman, and her best friend announces an unplanned pregnancy at the age of forty-one. Bernie's behavior goes from acting out to out-of-hand, and she finds herself in trouble at home, out of work and banned from the mall after a confrontation at the cosmetic counter.

When her mother discovers her father's book of cryptograms, Bernie realizes his encoded lessons in living might be exactly what she needs to survive. From dealing with her family's grief and bonding with her best friend's thirteen-year-old daughter, to dieting, dating and mindless almost-sex with the landscaper, Bernie discovers what her father always knew.

In life, you either choose to sing a rainbow, or you don't. For Bernie, the singing is about to begin. ~~synopsis from Amazon 

My thoughts about Chasing Rainbows ~~ 

First things first ~ love the cover! Ok ... that's done. 

Let's talk about the book ... loved the book!!

Ms. Long wrote a great story with wonderful characters that I immediately cared about. The situation that Bernie finds herself in; her child dying 5 years ago, the recent death of her father, her husband leaving her for another woman, is a situation that, God forbid, we could all possibly find ourselves in. So the story was very believable. And the characters are very real and likeable. 

Bernie has a little break-down (wouldn't we all?) and lashes out at her best friend, fights with her neighbors, has issues with the way her brother is grieving the loss of their father. These people do not desert her and are there for her when she needs them.

I loved how her father left her a book of cryptograms to decipher (something I cannot do!) and how those sayings were there to guide her through her troubles. It was like her father was watching over her and helping her. Many of them, once they were deciphered, are ones that all of us could learn from.

This story stirred several emotions in me. Parts made me laugh, parts made me cry and parts made me reflect on my own life. I loved her dog, Poindexter (love the name!), who didn't just do what normal dogs do and chase after cars. No, he chased airplanes, what? And Bernie getting banned from the mall, hilarious. Her niece and her pea binges, funny but peas? Yuch! Going through the process of losing her little girl, so sad. Life lessons from her father, amazing. 

The one saying from her father that Bernie kept thinking about was the statement 'In life, you either choose to sing a rainbow or you don't.' We should never stop chasing our rainbows, whatever they are ~ a happy life, our dreams or even airplanes.

This is a fabulous book that I am sure I will read again. It is a world I want to go back to so that I can spend time with all the people in Bernie's world. Along with the cryptograms, Ms Long has also written some great lines in this story. I pulled out a few that I really enjoyed and you can read them here. You will find many other 'words of wisdom' when you venture into Chasing Rainbows. Happy reading! 

Author Bio:

A long time ago, in an elementary school far, far away, a very young Kathleen scribbled a story idea in her journal. Then she wrote another, and another. She added several poems, the lyrics to a song or two, a love letter to David Cassidy, and so on and so on. While her early writings never saw the light of day, many of her later works did. And while she did not marry David Cassidy, Kathleen did marry her own Prince Charming. Together, they are raising one drama queen and one obedience-challenged border collie mix in a kingdom divided between suburban Philadelphia and the Jersey shore.

Kathleen is the RITA^® nominated, RIO Award and two-time Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence winning author of fourteen novels of contemporary romance, romantic suspense and women’s fiction. Her additional honors include National Readers Choice, Holt Medallion, and Booksellers Best award nominations.

She divides her time between plotting her next book, bribing her little one to pick up her toys, and begging the dog to heel. Life is good. Very, very good.

Connect with Kathleen!

Web: www.kathleenlong.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathleenlong
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/KLWords

Buy the Book!
 
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Visit the tour page for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card. 

**Everyone who leaves a comment on the tour page will be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card! If you purchase your copy of Chasing Rainbows before March 12 and send your receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, you will get five bonus entries!**

I received a copy of this book for my honest opinion. 

Great lines from .........

......... Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long

"No matter how hard we women tried to become anything but, when all said and done, we were our mothers. In most cases, this is a good thing"

"Anyone who wore purple toenails couldn't be all bad." 

"Sometimes you had to wait a little while for the good times to kick in. But when they did, you realized every moment and experience that came before was necessary ... necessary to bring you here."