Happy Book Birthday!
As part of the A Promise to Keep Book Birthday Bash tour, I’ll be celebrating the 1-year anniversary of the book’s release.
I asked Melony to share with us what is was like to be a 2020 debut (pandemic and all) and asked her what’s next for her.
There will be a giveaway so make sure you enter to win a $5 Amazon gift card. It will run from Jan 18 – Jan 22. The winner will be announced the week of Jan 25th.
Giveaway entry link at the end of this post.
Take it away, Melony!
Hello Laurie, and Laurie’s readers!
Thank you for having me today and celebrating the 1-year book birthday of A Promise to Keep with us!
What was it like to be a 2020 Debut author? Let’s just say it wasn’t at all how I envisioned it would be. Other than the thrill of opening my brand-new box of books and sniffing the pages, things were different, and that was for a few reasons.
First off, although A Promise to Keep released on Jan 21, our big kick off was delayed due to a snowstorm. Quite a few of the scenes in the book were set in Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara-on-the-Lake, so the plan was to go down, eat at the restaurant that Michael and Savannah had their first “not-date” and to film some live footage from some of the other locations featured in the book. But, no. Because there was a snowstorm.
“We’ll postpose that to when the weather improves,” we said, not knowing that by the time the weather improved, COVID-19 would cause shutdowns and travel restrictions.
I got good at baking bread and pretzel buns. I even tried making macarons, which are quite difficult to perfect. Zoom has become a thing I do now, and our cats are more than happy to have us around the house all the time.
I can just imagine the meowing that will happen when everyone goes back to in class school and university campus.
So here we are, a year later having survived all that and anxiously awaiting the vaccine and the return to some sort of newer, new normal.
This year came with some challenges in marketing and promoting books. Bookstores were no longer allowing browsing, authors had to learn to ZOOM and move promotion online.
I think the most challenging thing was a lack of focus and creativity. I’d love to say book two is hot on the heels of this book’s birthday, but the reality is that for the first few months of the pandemic, my mind was occupied with getting my teens adjusted to online learning and readjusting everyone’s study spaces and schedules.
No longer did I have a space to myself to write in. And it wasn’t safe to go write at my nearest coffee shop. My on-site research was no longer allowed, and travel to potential locations was out of the question. We made the most of it, knowing that eventually it would all end. By the time my creativity did return, it was the start of a new year, a second wave of lockdown and a remaining feeling of thankfulness that this will all be over soon.
However, all is not lost. I was able to write a short story for StoryTimeForGrownups which aired on You Tube on Christmas Eve. You can find it here. It’s called, CHRISTMAS EVE COOKIES.
It is an excerpt from a longer story, which will be free for all my newsletter subscribers sometime this year. I’m finishing that up now. I hope you enjoy the narration by the lovely Jacqueline Belle.
Thank you, Laurie, for having me!
HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY!
“With charm, wit, and romance, Teague’s debut novel takes readers on a journey of second chances, grace… and a trusty fern. Hope and humor blend throughout the story, balancing deep emotions with lighter moments and a sweet romance besides. A bright new voice in Christian fiction!”—Carrie Schmidt, ReadingIsMySuperPower.org
A Promise. A High School Reunion. And a pact that proves harder to keep.
Research librarian Savannah Sanderson wants nothing more than to escape into her happily-ever-after novels with their larger-than-life fictional heroes. But a promise to her late husband has her attending her dreaded twenty-year high school reunion, drinking ghastly punch, and taking desperate measures just to keep her vow, even if she has to hide behind the décor to do it.
Once a reckless troublemaker, Michael McCann fled town after graduation. Now a professional technical rescuer, he’s back for the reunion, but on his trip down memory lane, he soon comes face to face with unresolved issues, namely Savannah. Before the night is over, a pact between these two old friends will lead them on an adventure into uncharted emotional territory where Michael must confront his past regrets and find the courage to reveal the truth. But can Savannah fly from her sheltered nest and risk her heart on a real-life hero?
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What skills did you refine while at home during the pandemic?
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