Winners of October Book Giveaways

I would like to congratulate the winners of our October giveaways:

- tetewa won a copy of Rain Dance by DeKok

- AmandaSue will receive a copy of My Son, John by Kathi Macias

- And a copy of Stewards of the Flame by Sylvia Engdahl will be going out to Nancye

All winners have been notified by email, so we are ready to start with the November giveaways. I'll be posting about our first one shortly.

Congratulations again to all our winners and thanks to all who participated in our October giveaways. We appreciate your readership and your support. Don't forget, the books we offered as giveaways can be ordered either at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com or directly at the publishers' websites.

All October giveaways were clients of Pump Up Your Book Promotion, an online public relations firm specializing in virtual book tours. To book your tour or to become a tour host, please visit our website at http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/.

Breaking the Mold for a Generation by Carol Sue Gersham

Today's guest blogger is Carol Sue Gersham, author of the memoir, The Jewish Lady, The Black Man and the Road Trip.

A late 60 year old, interracial, innovative, passionate couple travel from Miami to Montreal in a hot yellow mustang convertible visiting family and friends that takes the reader far past the turns of the road.

Cleverly written in flashbooks, this memoir is about life: Marriage, children, grandchildren, race, sex, guilt, loneliness, birthday parties, facelifts, travel, and obsession.

When her lover walked out, it was obsession that drove her to write. Carol Sue Gershman took all of her negative energy and pain and turned it into a book. She hoped that she would shock him with their story; they would read it together, realize their mistakes and go right back together again. She describes her obsession at this age not to be any different from when she was 14 years old.

This book is long overdue; Having grown up in the 50’s she holds back nothing about what it took for her to cross the racial boundary. She details older people having passionate sex telling the younger generations, YES WE DO.

In this page turning and sometimes humorous memoir, she lives agelessly and passionately. Women and a few good men will learn that THEY CAN TOO, if they do not pay any attention to how old they are!

Explore your own passion and purpose as you read this sizzling memoir.


"Breaking the Mold for a Generation" by Carol Sue Gersham

It has been said that I break the mold for my generation. I am adventurous, gutsy, unstoppable and pay no attention to how old I am, especially now at 73. My last lover told me that I live on the edge of the universe, where there is no safety net. Actually, I have no idea what that actually means. I simply live life.

Would I bunji jump or sky dive? No not that kind of gutsy. It is my spirit that is adventurous always re-inventing my self. I may be getting older, but I am not old.

Unlike most women who depend on others, I pride myself on being completely independent, maybe too much so. "Me and Carol Sue get along very well.." The worst thing I can do is bore someone and especially my self. This summer, I decided to go on a book signing tour reliving all of the cities and states I wrote about in my memoir. It kept me on the road for 21 days putting 4500 miles on my hot yellow mustang convertible. Friends told me, Be careful! Alone? How could you? Why would you? They can be naughty out there! Life is not what it used to be! No doubt I would not put myself in harms way, but if I listened to my friends and their fears, my life would be theirs, not mine. And what a blast I have had with lots more to come.

Do I look different than the average 73 year old woman? Probably so; even though my generation is proving to kick themselves up a notch. I eat healthy foods, (ice cream is healthy,isn't it?) exercise, and consider clothes to be fun. Eloquent prim dresses are not my style nor does jewelry interest me to any great extent with one exception. Big earrings. But go find clip ons. I never liked the thought of piercing my ears; suppose somebody decided to pull on one.. ouch....I love hats and have a cool collection and still shop in the junior departments; I simply dress for that second look and get it most of the time. A new tee shirt is what excites me! I never followed the label syndrom; in fact I am completely against showing off a designer label; I would rather show myself off.

I pride myself on being free in the world to do as I please; If that sounds selfish, it could be that I am. I have my responsibilities, I work, and I am blessed with 3 children and 5 grandchildren. However, I never phsically go to work. After my divorce, I made it a point never to HAVE to work so I went the entrepreneur route. I learned to live below my means by never threatening my security. I do not indulge myself in expensive items or expensive travel. I have travelled the world with my back pack; Hostels are fun and a great place to meet other people and have seen more than most people by traveling in my style; oh yes, I guess a luxury hotel would be nice but then who would want to leave my room? This way I am out early checking out the culture and just come back to sleep.

Next trip? I have not been to India or Buenos Aires and miss Paris. Life is always beginning for me!

Yes, I am unstoppable....


Constantly reinventing herself, Carol Sue Gershman attended the Miami Dade College memoir class and decided that she would turn her two and a half page “Adventure in Love Story” into a book. Never having written before, it was passion that drove her each day to write.

After spending 25 years in New York City, she was one of the first to arrive into the new phenomenon of Miami Beach (South Beach) She is presently writing her next book while working on laws to ban smoking in residential buildings.

Now at 73 she will take her completed book back on the road re-living the cities and states visited on the road trip. You might just see her driving her hot yellow mustang convertible packed with books, hats and what it takes for life on the road.

You can visit her website at www.jewishladyblackman.com.

Read the Reviews:

"This book is great for any age but especially women over 50. Besides the great story line that evolves throughout the telling of a road trip, it makes you think about all the things that you are missing out on." - Linda A., Amazon Reviewer

"It's an adventure, so honest, so true, so unbelievably great that you just can't put it down for a second." - Mark Lipman, Lip Man and the Lips

"Diversity and acceptance create a sublime backdrop for this story but no matter who you are you should grab your keys, fill up the gas tank and go on this road trip!" - Tracy Fox, Amazon Reviewer

"Detailed description of the characters coupled with the smooth flow of sequence of events result in a fast paced, and an enjoyable read. Happy to recommend." - Midwest Book Review

Interview with Joanne Sundell, Author of Meggie's Remains

Joining us today is Joanne Sundell, the author of several historical romance novels. The latest, Meggie's Remains (Five Star Expressions), was released in July from Five Star-Gale. We’ll talk to Joanne about her writing and her unique new release.

Welcome to The Book connection, Joanne. It’s a pleasure to have you with us. Can you start us off by telling us a bit about yourself?

Born in a tiny hospital in rural Virginia, I cherish my country beginnings. Fond memories of toddling along after my older sisters along the Appalachian Trail, catching tadpoles in a nearby creek bed, chasing after lightening bugs, or falling asleep to the evening hum of katydids, remain with me still; despite the family move to more urban Arlington where I spent my formative school years, and then on to Richmond where I earned my nursing degree. I grew up reading romance, falling in love with heroes and heroines from Regency England to the American West, from London’s pubs to Colorado’s ski slopes, loving that moment when the hero and heroine meet and fall in love. That moment to me is the moment when Jane Eyre meets Edward Rochester, when Elizabeth Bennett meets Mr. Darcy—that’s the heart-stopping, passionate moment for me in romance. That moment is what led me to attempt traditional, old-fashioned, historical romance. I sold my first book, Matchmaker, Matchmaker, in 2005 to Five Star-Gale, Cengage Learning, for their Expressions Line, a combination of romance and women’s fiction. Subsequent sales include A…My Name’s Amelia, The Parlor House Daughter, Meggie’s Remains, and The Quaker and the Confederate series, Hearts Divided and Hearts Persuaded. My books have been reviewed nationally by Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, and Romantic Times. With my three children grown and off on their own adventures, I live part-time in Colorado and California along with my husband and our entourage` of felines and huskies. My writing groups include Romance Writers of America, Colorado Romance Writers, Los Angeles Romance Writers, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and Women Writing the West.

When did you publish your first novel and what was it about?

My first novel, Matchmaker, Matchmaker, was published in January of 2006. If I may, I’m posting the flap blurb of my novel here:

A Jewish girl of nine, Zoe-Esther Zundelevich gives in to fancy and secretly visits the village matchmaker before leaving Russia with her papa, Yitzhak, for refuge in Amerika. The matchmaker gives Zoe-Esther the name of her promised match, when she is of age. Zoe-Esther dreams of him, carrying her dreams across the ocean and into womanhood.

Times are hard but Zoe-Esther manages the impossible and becomes one of the few women to graduate from medical school in 1867 Philadelphia. Afraid for her papa’s life when he’s stricken with tuberculosis, she moves him to the Colorado Territory in search of a cure. All she holds dear, Zoe-Esther can never jeopardize her papa’s health and happiness. That is precisely what she faces when rugged, handsome Jake Whiskey comes into her life. She must not give in to her attraction to a rake, a gambler, a non-Jew! It would kill her papa, who wants her to marry “nice Daniel Stein.” But the name given Zoe-Esther long ago wasn’t Daniel. It wasn’t Jake either, no matter how much she might wish it.

It’s not easy to find work, shelter, or enough food in Golden City, where people don’t want a woman doctor and can’t say too much good about Jews either. Zoe-Esther has faced hard times before, but never with so much at stake. When she at last meets her match, can she risk losing the man who now has her heart? Can she sacrifice her own happiness for her papa’s?


In looking over your website, it seems like Colorado plays a role in all of your books and they are set I the mid to late 1880’s. Why do you favor this setting and time period?

I’ve always loved reading historical romance, and so it followed that when I attempted my own romance, it would be in the historical genre. I’ve ever been drawn to the Victorian Era, whether set in England or America. Add moving to the West, to the mountains of Colorado, in particular, and you have my own personal recipe for historical romance set in 19th century Colorado!

What do you find is the greatest challenge in writing historical romance?

Probably collecting the history and then organizing it in a way that I can easily follow, thoroughly understand, and then set credibly in my story.


Let’s talk about Meggie’s Remains. Can you tell us a little about your book?

Meggie’s Remains is a love story—a romantic suspense in which the heroine struggles with far more than meeting the man of her dreams. In fact, she’s scared to death when she does. Why? That’s the question I hope to answer in this novel. I hope to peel away the pretty layers in classic, romantic theme and character, and show the not-so-pretty events that can happen—the dark, complex, emotional path a heroine’s life can take, suddenly, without warning, and with no guarantee of survival.

Afraid of men, afraid for her sins, afraid for her sanity, and right now afraid for her life, Meggie McMurphy flees Boston once the fiendish terror so long stalking her in nightmares surfaces in the light of day. She escapes west to Denver, in the wild Colorado Territory, hoping to lose herself among the multitude of townsfolk. The year is 1874.

Twenty-five years old, alone, and near penniless, Meggie struggles to find honest work and to keep the dark secrets of her past just that: secret. Not so easily done when the handsome, formidable westerner Ethan Rourke stumbles upon her on a snowy Denver street. Why it’s as if he’d stepped right out of the pages of her beloved novel, Jane Eyre! Safe to encounter such a man on the page, it is certainly unsafe, even deadly, for her to encounter such a man in the flesh. Men belong . . . six feet under, six feet away . . . where to stay safe, the devil must stay!

Hired as a teacher, not in Denver, but in an isolated mountain town in rugged Ute country, Meggie is determined to make a home for herself in Hot Sulphur Springs. There she keeps up her masquerade as Rose Rochester, yearning for a normal life, for companionship and even love—all the while knowing it’s only a matter of time until the monstrous changeling from her nightmares will find her, killing any possibility of a life at all. ~

Where did you find the inspiration for this story?

Meggie’s Remains, my first completed manuscript and fourth sale, is near and dear to my heart. The title changed from Columbine Captive—for obvious reasons—to Day Dreams, Haunted Nights, but at the end of the day, became Meggie’s Remains. You might ask what this means, and well you should. Is Meggie dead, buried six feet under, never to take another breath, or is Meggie so shattered, it’s hard to take the next step in life? Number two is closer to the truth. My focus and interest rests solely in the nineteenth century, the Victorian Era. For the average romance heroine, life wasn’t easy. I can’t imagine the challenge to have lived and tried to love during such a restrictive, repressive time. When I first thought of writing romance, I thought of Jane Eyre and its classic romantic themes, wanting to pay tribute to this quintessential romance novel. What makes us root for Jane? Why do we care about her, and about Edward? How did the pair overcome impossible obstacles and find their happy ending?

Living in the West, in the Colorado Rockies, I realized the beauty all around me was a character befitting any romance novel. My first heroine would have to be a woman trying to make it in the rugged west. I decided to bring Jane Eyre to the American West and see what might happen if I took Jane’s situation and made it worse … and then worse . . . ever curious about how a nineteenth century heroine might have dealt with sexual trauma and upset. In Meggie’s Remains, Meggie’s life mirrors Jane’s in many respects, but the mirror shatters when Meggie’s life takes a turn away from romantic conflict, toward dangers that Jane Eyre never faced. Beyond the suspense, I wanted to capture the romance, the moment when passion ignites between heroine and hero. Such is the stuff of which romance novels are made!

How long did it take you to bring this book from the first draft to the final published product?

Meggie’s Remains, my first completed manuscript and fourth sale. I spent many years crafting and re-crafting my first manuscript; at last finishing it yet hesitant to submit. It’s common for our first manuscripts to be our worst and so I waited until I’d written several more books, and then sold three, before re-crafting Meggie’s Remains and then taking a more serious plunge into submission. Prior to that, I was represented briefly by the Carroll Grace Agency, who submitted Meggie’s Remains to various publishers under the title, Day Dreams, Haunted Nights. This is like a submission hiccup to me, since the agency folded almost at the same time they began submitting my manuscript. Long story short, the publishers that did take a look, politely answered, “Not for us at this time.”

All of those crafting and re-crafting exercises I mentioned earlier, in the writing of Meggie’s Remains, took place over eight years. I was working and busy doing many other things, with learning to write romance a hobby. A lot of my “writing” time was spent joining writing groups, joining critique groups, and entering contests. I wanted feedback and boy did I get it, heh heh! When I first sold, I turned my hobby into a more serious hobby, for sure! The process from sale to signed contract to release took about a year. That’s standard from what I understand.

According to one review, this book “takes a unique perspective on romance, suspense, and the paranormal.” How is this true and why do you think it worked so well?

The amazing Heather Graham made that comment. I imagine Ms. Graham was referencing Meggie’s struggle—walking that fine line between what is real and what is not—with the fiend from her nightmares now surfacing in the light of day, forcing Meggie to run for her life. I hope readers agree with your kind words that it “worked well.”

Who is your favorite character from the book? And is there a villain you had a fun time creating?

I would have to say my heroine, Meggie, is my favorite character, and she shares the stage with her heroine, Jane Eyre. These two heroines are bound by theme and character and … grit.

Ah … the villain! Yes, it was quite fun to create and then decimate the villain, Benjamin Howard! Let me correct here … Meggie has the opportunity to perhaps decimate the villain herself. You have to read the story and find out, heh heh.

The villain was tricky, I must admit. I envisioned him a snake-like, monstrous serpent beneath his handsome, charming, ever-so-smooth veneer. He had to morph from handsome to inhuman in front of Meggie and … the reader. This was the “tricky” part, absolutely.



Where can readers purchase a copy of Meggie’s Remains?

Meggie’s Remains can be purchased at amazon.com and on-line at any bookstore. Readers can also visit my website to order. My book will also be in library systems throughout the country, where purchased.

Can you tell our readers where they can find you online?

My website: http://www.joannesundell.com/.
My e-mail: author@joannesundell.com
MySpace: www.myspace.com/joannesundell
My blog: http://www.joannesundell.blogspot.com/

What is up next for you? Anything that Joanne Sundell fans will be thrilled to know?

Marketing is next up as I have a Civil War series out next year:
The Quaker and the Confederate ~ Hearts Divided, 5/10
The Quaker and the Confederate ~ Hearts Persuaded, 9/10

I’d love it if readers will be “thrilled” with this series!

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I appreciate very much this opportunity with you today. I’m in love in the romance novel—always have been—always will be. I can tell you that no one is more surprised than moi` that I’ve actually written and sold six historical novels!

Thanks for spending some time with us today, Joanne. I wish you continued success.

Thank you so very much,

Joanne Sundell

Interviewer's note: Look for our review of Meggie's Remains, coming soon!