Your wish is granted! 

Hello all my friends – I’m so excited to be a “guest” at this blog where I feel so utterly at home.  I miss you guys!  Since I stepped away from the blog a few months ago, I’d love to tell you I squeezed in an extra book, launched a new series, finally mastered Facebook, and  decimated my TBR pile. Uh, not yet. However, I did finish a draft of the third Barefoot Bay novel, finalized plans for a new romantic suspense series (ahemGabe’sbookahem), snagged a few new FB friends, and read some amazing books. (Highly recommending Gena Showalter’s upcoming YA, Alice in Zombieland – amazing!)

Oh, and I got a new puppy, Ginger! Is she cute enough???

But mostly, I’ve been hanging out with my teenage daughter, Mia. We’ve spent hours in the pool teaching Ginger to swim, mastered a new Wii game or six, and devoured every episode of the Bachelorette.  We also took a trip to New York together and had an absolute blast!

During my years as a regular blogger here, I didn’t talk too much about Mia.  I tended to keep her in the background since she’s not quite 15 years old and I preferred to pepper my posts with mentions of my son, Dante.  I don’t worry about Dante.  If some stranger decided to stalk him, Dante would argue them to death.  But Mia is my girl, and I protect her privacy.  However, she’s a regular here, and has read every blog post I’ve ever written prior to my publishing it, often lamenting that she didn’t get enough air time.  I promised her a post…when the time was right.

I think that as I celebrate this week’s release of my first young adult novel, the time couldn’t be more right to also celebrate the girl who inspired it. Everyone asks us where we get our ideas, and this time I have a fun and true story that some of you may have heard.  One night a few years ago, I stumbled upon (translation: was googling ex-boyfriends) an Architectural Digest article featuring the 25,000 square foot home of a man I’d dated quite seriously back in the ’80’s, and Mia walked into my office.

Of course, I showed her his house……—>

Once she unhinged her jaw and managed to breathe, she hit me with:  “You mean if you’d have married him, I’d be living there? Mom! What is wrong with you???”

I explained that she not only wouldn’t be living there (because, trust me, this relationship wasn’t destined for an HEA) but she might not be living at all.  Still, the conversation electrified my imagination and my first young adult novel was born.

Don’t You Wish came out yesterday and I couldn’t be more excited to dedicate the story to my daughter and recognize her role in helping it come to life.

Not only did Mia give me the idea for the book, she read every page (multiple times), offered feedback, corrected my teenspeak, held my hand when it was rejected, and rejoiced when we sold to Random House/Delacorte.   And, last week, between shopping and sightseeing fun in New York, Mia accompanied me to meet the book’s editor and publisher, and found herself in the hot seat answering questions about YA reading habits and the books she loved.  (They were awesome and showered her with free books, too!)

You’ve probably heard writers talk about the “book of their heart” — meaning a book that for some reason touches a personal chord and makes the writing all that more profound.  This is one of those books. I’ve always been intrigued by the road not taken, the unanswered prayer, the big question of “what if I had done that instead of this?”  The “be careful what you wish for” theme is the heart and soul of my newest book, and I hope the story resonates with young (and adult) readers.

In Don’t You Wish, average and unpopular Annie Nutter gets transported to a parallel universe where her life is picture perfect.  As Ayla Monroe — daughter of the same mother but a different, multi-millionaire father — she is gorgeous, rich, the Queen Bee of her private school, sitting pretty at the very top of the high school food chain. But it doesn’t take Annie long to learn that the price for perfection is very, very high.  Will she pay it and stay in the universe where she has everything she thought she wanted but nothing she really values?  Or will she try and get back to her dreary, if content and solid, former life?   Of course you have to read it to find out!  (Or you could wait for the movie — Don’t You Wish has been optioned for film and the screenplay is done and being shopped.  No news yet, but believe me, you’ll hear me scream when there is!)

I hope readers find my debut young adult novel as adorable, surprising, endearing, delightful, ahhh-inducing, and flat out fun as the girl who inspired the story!

Of course, Mia and I want to give away a copy! So…answer one question: Have you ever Googled an ex and gotten a surprise?  Share!! C’mon, I did! Or just say hello – I miss you all and love to see the familiar names of the MSW community and some new ones, too.

One randomly-selected commenter wins a copy of Don’t You Wish signed by both of Mia and me! 

And here’s the link to Amazon, just in case you’re dying to read more, hit the “like” button, or leave a glowing review! Also, if you miss me, my Facebook Author Page is always fun and lively!

xoxo

Rocki

Your wish is granted! 

Hello all my friends – I’m so excited to be a “guest” at this blog where I feel so utterly at home.  I miss you guys!  Since I stepped away from the blog a few months ago, I’d love to tell you I squeezed in an extra book, launched a new series, finally mastered Facebook, and  decimated my TBR pile. Uh, not yet. However, I did finish a draft of the third Barefoot Bay novel, finalized plans for a new romantic suspense series (ahemGabe’sbookahem), snagged a few new FB friends, and read some amazing books. (Highly recommending Gena Showalter’s upcoming YA, Alice in Zombieland – amazing!)

Oh, and I got a new puppy, Ginger! Is she cute enough???

But mostly, I’ve been hanging out with my teenage daughter, Mia. We’ve spent hours in the pool teaching Ginger to swim, mastered a new Wii game or six, and devoured every episode of the Bachelorette.  We also took a trip to New York together and had an absolute blast!

During my years as a regular blogger here, I didn’t talk too much about Mia.  I tended to keep her in the background since she’s not quite 15 years old and I preferred to pepper my posts with mentions of my son, Dante.  I don’t worry about Dante.  If some stranger decided to stalk him, Dante would argue them to death.  But Mia is my girl, and I protect her privacy.  However, she’s a regular here, and has read every blog post I’ve ever written prior to my publishing it, often lamenting that she didn’t get enough air time.  I promised her a post…when the time was right.

I think that as I celebrate this week’s release of my first young adult novel, the time couldn’t be more right to also celebrate the girl who inspired it. Everyone asks us where we get our ideas, and this time I have a fun and true story that some of you may have heard.  One night a few years ago, I stumbled upon (translation: was googling ex-boyfriends) an Architectural Digest article featuring the 25,000 square foot home of a man I’d dated quite seriously back in the ’80’s, and Mia walked into my office.

Of course, I showed her his house……—>

Once she unhinged her jaw and managed to breathe, she hit me with:  “You mean if you’d have married him, I’d be living there? Mom! What is wrong with you???”

I explained that she not only wouldn’t be living there (because, trust me, this relationship wasn’t destined for an HEA) but she might not be living at all.  Still, the conversation electrified my imagination and my first young adult novel was born.

Don’t You Wish came out yesterday and I couldn’t be more excited to dedicate the story to my daughter and recognize her role in helping it come to life.

Not only did Mia give me the idea for the book, she read every page (multiple times), offered feedback, corrected my teenspeak, held my hand when it was rejected, and rejoiced when we sold to Random House/Delacorte.   And, last week, between shopping and sightseeing fun in New York, Mia accompanied me to meet the book’s editor and publisher, and found herself in the hot seat answering questions about YA reading habits and the books she loved.  (They were awesome and showered her with free books, too!)

You’ve probably heard writers talk about the “book of their heart” — meaning a book that for some reason touches a personal chord and makes the writing all that more profound.  This is one of those books. I’ve always been intrigued by the road not taken, the unanswered prayer, the big question of “what if I had done that instead of this?”  The “be careful what you wish for” theme is the heart and soul of my newest book, and I hope the story resonates with young (and adult) readers.

In Don’t You Wish, average and unpopular Annie Nutter gets transported to a parallel universe where her life is picture perfect.  As Ayla Monroe — daughter of the same mother but a different, multi-millionaire father — she is gorgeous, rich, the Queen Bee of her private school, sitting pretty at the very top of the high school food chain. But it doesn’t take Annie long to learn that the price for perfection is very, very high.  Will she pay it and stay in the universe where she has everything she thought she wanted but nothing she really values?  Or will she try and get back to her dreary, if content and solid, former life?   Of course you have to read it to find out!  (Or you could wait for the movie — Don’t You Wish has been optioned for film and the screenplay is done and being shopped.  No news yet, but believe me, you’ll hear me scream when there is!)

I hope readers find my debut young adult novel as adorable, surprising, endearing, delightful, ahhh-inducing, and flat out fun as the girl who inspired the story!

Of course, Mia and I want to give away a copy! So…answer one question: Have you ever Googled an ex and gotten a surprise?  Share!! C’mon, I did! Or just say hello – I miss you all and love to see the familiar names of the MSW community and some new ones, too.

One randomly-selected commenter wins a copy of Don’t You Wish signed by both of Mia and me! 

And here’s the link to Amazon, just in case you’re dying to read more, hit the “like” button, or leave a glowing review! Also, if you miss me, my Facebook Author Page is always fun and lively!

xoxo

Rocki

BAREFOOT IN THE SAND — out today!!! Start of a new contemporary series!!! RT gave it a 4.5!!!  Publisher priced it at lovely $5.99!!!  Read it and be happy ever after!!!

Oh, I could go on and on and really turn this into a promo blog, with review quotes and pleas for purchase and more exclamation points than ought to be legal.  But I’ve been around here too long for that.  In the spirit of what makes Murder She Writes such a special place, I’d like to share with you the answer to that one question we writers get so damn sick of hearing:  “Where do you get your ideas?”  Because this time, I actually have an answer.

In the opening scene of my new book, a hurricane rips through the inlet of Barefoot Bay and tears down a fifty year old beachfront house and strips away all the lush foliage of the Gulf Coast island known as Mimosa Key. The heroine and her daughter survive by holing up in a bathtub under a mattress.  The scene, I’m sorry to say, took very little imagination for me to write.  I’ve been there.  On August 24, 1992, one of the worst hurricanes in the history of this country slammed into Dade County, Florida, and changed hundreds of thousands of lives.  Mine was one of them.

That day, I was exactly one month pregnant with a baby that had taken four years and a quadrillion deals with God to conceive, so we decided to head just eight miles north to my sister’s house when Hurricane Andrew approached Miami.  Despite the fact that the forecasters predicted the storm would turn before making landfall, we worried that our proximity to the coastline made the house vulnerable, and that our east-facing double front doors might buckle with the wind.  We braced the doors with the living room sofa (and by we, I mean my husband; I basically stood around and acted hormonal), then we left.  Hurricane Andrew was a tight, dry storm, and my sister’s house sustained little damage that night, though freight-train winds ripped her patio screen and took down some beloved trees.

We headed home the next morning and with each passing mile, it was clear that the southern section of Miami had taken the brunt of the 153 mph winds.  We sure hoped our sofa held the doors closed.

We still laugh about that because, well, we never did find that sofa.

When we arrived at what we thought was our street — all the trees were uprooted or stripped bare and not a single street sign survived — all we could do was stare.  The sofa was long gone (but our neighbor’s love seat was in our driveway!) along with our doors, every window, all the roof tiles, the garage doors, and just about everything we’d ever owned.   Everything.

Inside, all the ceilings had collapsed, leaving snow drifts of insulation.   My beautiful home was covered in mud, drywall, and broken glass. Every remaining wall was green from the chlorophyll in the leaves that had blown around during what had to have been mini-tornadoes in the house. (I’d love to show you a picture, but this was pre-digital and we gave every picture to the insurance company. This book cover from The Miami Herald’s photo essays is a fairly good image of our neighborhood, which was in the path of the storm’s northern eye wall.)

I’ll never forget how I stood in the midst of that wreckage and started to cry.  I shook, in shock, barely able to process the sight of my rain-soaked wedding album and shattered bits of my precious Waterford crystal.

Everything we had was gone.

Then my husband gripped my shoulders, gave me a stern shake and shut me up with two words:  The baby.  The baby. (Oh, I think he might have said “Oh f***!” when he saw what used to be his Porsche in what used to be the garage.)

Of course, he was right. The baby was all that mattered and he was safe and sound in my tummy.  (As you know, we did NOT name him Andrew.)  Stuff doesn’t matter.  It’s the people left behind — and how they rebuild their lives — that is the legacy of a disaster.

So, when I needed the catalyst to set Lacey Armstrong’s story in motion and start the Barefoot Bay series, the lessons I learned from surviving and rebuilding after a hurricane were still fresh in my heart, even almost two decades later.  It wasn’t hard to imagine riding out that storm in a bathtub; I had many friends and neighbors who did just that.  It wasn’t impossible to put myself in Lacey’s shoes the next day, digging for optimism in a mountain of rubble.

But I also had twenty years of perspective and knew that no matter what nature threw at Lacey, she could come out the winner.  Barefoot In The Sand is the story of second chances and, of course, true love.  Because there is a certain younger, sexy architect who shows up to help Lacey rebuild…and he’s as good at taking down emotional walls as he is at building new ones.  (That so didn’t happen to me, but, for the record, our builder was really, really cute.  I almost *did* name Dante after him, LOL!  Valentino Sanchez. Sigh.)

With the “hometown” (for me) Florida beach setting, the hurricane opener, and the girlfriends from college who remind me so much of my own dorm buddies, the Barefoot Bay quadrilogy is close to my heart.  And, you might notice, it’s a departure from romantic suspense…which brings me to my moment of bittersweet news.  Speaking of departures…

Regulars here know that I have been at this blog every other Tuesday for three and a half years.  It’s been an amazing, wonderful, delightful opportunity to share my writing life and my personal insights with so many special friends in this community.  I’ve had the chance to meet dozens of our regulars, and have forged real friendships with many of you.  And don’t even start me on my nine fellow bloggers.  These talented, warm, funny, and generous women have become like treasured family and I love them like I love my own sisters.  

However, I have some very daunting deadlines stacking up in the next year.  I don’t see a lot of breathing space in 2012, and that means I’ve had to make some very difficult choices.  Sadly, I’ve decided to stop blogging and use the hours to write more Barefoot books and another YA. (And let’s not forget Gabe still needs a book — not like my readers would let me!) So, my dear, dear friends, this is my last regular blog at Murder She Writes. I have no doubt my fabulous MSW sisters are cooking up a riveting replacement, most likely a person truly writing “murder” in her books.  

To celebrate my three and a half remarkable years and the release of BAREFOOT IN THE SAND, I’ll be giving away FOUR copies of my new book today!  Leave a comment about any disaster you’ve overcome (natural or otherwise) or just pop in to say goodbye.  But don’t you dare make me cry!

Thank you for every comment, every click, every chance to share my writer’s life here at Murder She Writes.  I love you all!! 

xoxo

Rocki

As you read this, I’m most likely in a car traveling from Chicago, where I’m attending the Romantic Times conference this week, up to Milwaukee for the FABULOUS Barbara Vey Reader Appreciation Luncheon.  Maybe some of you will be at one or both of these events!  Please look for me.  I’ll be the Floridian in open-toed shoes and sleeveless tops.  In my absence, I’ve asked one of my very favorite people in the world to step in and inspire.  Because that’s what inspirational author Rachel Hauck does every time she puts her fingers to a keyboard. Rachel is celebrating the release of her latest novel, The Wedding Dress.  All I can say about this book is…prepare to have your breath taken away, your heart stolen, and your list of favorite authors to grow by one.

Rachel is an absolutely glorious writer who tells a story that lifts you up, makes you laugh, and most definitely stays pressed on your heart forever.  I’m so proud to call Rachel a sister, a fellow Space Coast Authors of Romance member, and a dear friend.  I know you’ll enjoy her, too!  I may not be able to comment from the car, luncheon, or hotel, but that shouldn’t keep you all from chiming in and welcoming my friend Rachel as she addresses one of our favorite subjects:  dreaming big!  Just please try not to have too much fun without me today.

 * * *

… And in for the lovely and gracious Roxanne St. Claire this week on Murder She Writes. Me. Rachel Hauck, the PC author from Roxanne’s RWA chapter, STAR.

Um, yeah, PC doesn’t stand for Politically Correct but Perky Christian. The perky part is debatable, the Christian part, not so much.

But hang on before you click the X-outta-here-button, I promise not to preach. No, no, not me.

Let’s turn in our Bibles to Ephesians chapter 1 verses 17….

I’m kidding, I’m kidding.

Roxanne is off doing something fabulous like schmoozing with muscled men and drinking chilled wine at RT, so she asked me to sub for her this week.

I’m really honored to be here. I love Murder She Writes. And Roxanne is about the most encouraging woman on the planet. Five minutes in her company and you start to believe you really can fly to the moon with the paper wings you bought at Walgreens.

Seriously!

For the last three years, I’ve joined Roxanne and two other writers for a January Goal Setting Lunch. One of the other writers is also one of the most encouraging women on the planet.

She inspires us all to dream big. BIG. Capital B. Capital Guh! At this year’s luncheon she came with a long list of goals and ideas, dreams that could fill a stadium.

I hunkered down over my salad, awed and inspired, by my friend’s lists, knowing full well she’d succeed. That’s just the way she rolls.

When it came to me to share my goals, I muttered something like, “Finish my novel on time.”

Oh yeah, I dream real big! Honkin’ big.

Maybe not that day, but I do, I do have a few big dreams. Dreams matter. They really do. Even the big out-of-reach ones.

Goals are the stepping stones to achieving dreams. From elementary school, I wanted to be a writer. It was a pretty big dream. Yet if I never set the first goal to start writing, to learn the craft, to attend conferences, I’d have never realized my dream.

When I contracted my first trade book with Thomas Nelson, I’d landed at my dream publisher. I’d wanted to write for them from the beginning, when I sat in the back of writer’s conference workshops wondering how I’d ever scale the publishing fortress.

When my agent called to let me know Nelson had offered the contract, I acted all cool and calm. Well of course they offered a contract. (snort!)

But inside? Tremors and earthquakes.

What if I can’t do it?

After a few days of musing on the consequences of 1. Writing a sucky book and 2. Missing my deadline, I had a God-tap on my shoulder.

He said, “Hey, if you keep confessing you can’t do it, don’t be surprised when you fail.”

Ooops. Right-o. Got it. Shut me right up.

I changed my musing to 1. How great I’d feel when the called to tell me it was the best chick lit they’d ever read. 2. How the award people handed over the awards to my story without even reading it. Yes! It was just that amazing! 3. Praise and appreciation for signing with them in the first place.

Yeah, if you’re going to think positive, go for it, blow the whole shooting match.

I wrote seven books for Thomas Nelson and it was an incredible partnership. Including the Songbird Novels with award-winning country music artist, Sara Evans.

Having confidence, belief in ourselves, is hard. It’s just sooo easy to be negative. Especially when life seems to knock us down then kicks us where it counts.

But yet, there is always hope. We know a situation can change in a heart beat. We’ve all heard the saying, “You are what you eat.”

I think the same applies to what we fix our hope in and on. “We are what we believe.”

If you’re facing a hard time in life, remember the good times. Remember that things change. Turn around can happen in a moment. Miracles still happen.

My passion in life more than writing a great brilliant book is for people to walk in their destiny. One of the downfalls of poor countries and cultures is the oppression of freedom, free thinking and markets. Control hampers people from exploring the creative, bright, brilliant things in their hearts and minds.

My heart especially breaks for women who cannot attend school so they can one day write novels, teach, run for office, practice law or medicine.

No matter what your current limitations or struggles, believe for change. For a better tomorrow. Cue music. That anything is possible.

Goals are great. They can be broken, modified and changed, but most of all, they can be achieved!

I had a saying over my computer for a long time:

Aim small. Hit small.

Aim big. Hit big.

I figured if I aimed for the stars and hit the moon, I still would’ve left this earth for something pretty amazing.

How about you? Are you aiming small? Don’t let fear hold you back. Anything is possible. Aim BIG!

Let’s talk about Big Dreams!  One commenter will win an autographed copy of The Wedding Dress today.  (Note from Rocki:  Trust me, you want to read this book.  Go check out the Amazon reviews, and make space on your Keeper Shelf!)

Rachel Hauck is an award-winning, best selling author living in central Florida with her hubby and schnauzer. Her latest release, The Wedding Dress, was a Romantic Times Top Pick.

“…an intricately beautiful story. Taken at face value, the tale is superlative, but considering the spiritual message on the surface and between the lines, this novel is incredible. Readers will laugh, cry and treasure this book.”

Visit her at www.rachelhauck.com

www.twitter.com/rachelhauck

www.facebook.com/rachelhauck