Once in A Blue Moon - Book Giveaway

Good morning to all my readers! I am delighted to have Leanna Ellis as my guest today. Hi and welcome, Leanna!

Hi Edwina, thanks for having me.

Leanna, tell us a little about you. Inquiring minds want to know!

I’m just your average wife, mom, daughter, sister…busy carting my kids to and from activities, letting the dogs in and out, in and out, except I also have quirky characters in my head talking to me all day long…and sometimes they don’t play nicely.

Please tell us how long you've been writing and how you got into writing.

I quit teaching and started writing in 1991 and sold my first book in 1995. I wrote 12 books in the romance genre before moving into women’s fiction. My sister was the one who first suggested I start writing. She said, “You’re always writing in that journal of yours.” So I jumped in and didn’t look back.

Where did the idea for Once in a Blue Moon come from?

I read an article about a woman who wrote obituaries and I wondered what it would be like for someone to write her first obituary for her mother. I was instantly intrigued by this character and had to know more.

I believe you have three other published books with intriguing titles: Elvis Takes a Back Seat, Lookin' Back, Texas, and Ruby's Slippers. Please give us a brief synopsis of each and how you came up with the title.

I do! Thanks for asking!

Elvis Takes a Back Seat:
A young widow, determined to fulfill her husband’s last request, hauls a three foot bust of Elvis strapped in the back seat of a vintage Cadillac from Texas to Memphis to return it to its rightful owner. The road trip with her eccentric aunt, who knew the King of Rock n’ Roll, and a temperamental teen, hits roadblocks and detours as the three women uncover pieces of their own past along with the bust’s mysterious history. The discoveries change the course of their lives forever.

That wasn’t my original title for the book. I had a critique buddy who kept saying I needed to get ‘Elvis’ in the title. I resisted for a long time, then sat down one day and put it together. When I wrote it, I knew it was right. It fits the story in a literal way but also thematically.


Lookin’ Back, Texas:
A devoted wife and mother must return to her Texas hometown of Luckenbach, Texas to help her mother plan her father’s funeral. Trouble is – he isn’t dead! And neither are the secrets she buried there years ago.

After I finished the rough draft of this story, I ended up moving the location to Luckenbach, Texas. When I visited the quirky little town, I discovered that’s what locals often call it. Again it fit in a literal way but also thematically. That’s a very important thing for me obviously. J

Ruby’s Slippers:
When Dottie Meyers loses her ‘no place like home’ during a Kansas tornado, she wakes up to find a pair of ruby slippers left by her father who abandoned his family thirty years ago. With her sister hot on her trail to find the treasured ruby slippers, Dottie travels a yellow brick road with three friends to find her father. No wizard can solve her problems. Only the love of a heavenly father can heal her wounds and give her the desires of her heart.

This is a Wizard of Oz meets Cinderella story. There’s no place like … the heart for God’s healing touch.

With this one, I had thought about what would happen if Dorothy lost her somewhere over the rainbow but I didn’t have a story until one day the title hit me…Ruby’s Slippers.


What are you currently working on now?

Right now, I’m doing the line edits for a book called Facelift. I just got the cover last week. It’s on my Facebook fan page. Facelift comes out September 2010.

LeAnna, It’s been a pleasure having you visit today and I wish you great success with Once in a Blue Moon and with all your future books!

Thanks so much, Edwina! I appreciate you having me here!

Here is a brief review (I loved this book!) and the back cover summary:

Once in a Blue Moon
Intrigue, laughter, family, love, mixed in with characters you immediately like makes Once in a Blue Moon a fun book to read! Here is the back cover summary:

She was only nine years old when her mother died under mysterious circumstances on the same day Apollo 11 made its historic lunar landing. In the decades since, thrill-seeking journalist Bryn Seymour has defied gravity, pushing each moment to count. Inwardly, though, she’s resisted any close encounters. Skydiving is easy. Staying in a relationship? Not so much.

On assignment to write about the fortieth anniversary of the first moon-walk, Bryn meets Howard, a loopy old gent full of conspiracy theories who drops a bomb on her world: he knew her mother. Could a small Texas town hold the secret to her mother’s demise? Seeking closure, Bryn goes along for this men-in-black ride .But upon meeting Howard’s attractive son Sam, an outspoken Christian, she can’t decide whose beliefs are more pie-in-the-sky.

The gravity of life has always pulled Bryn back down to earth, but a perfect love could be her first step to soaring. The kind of love that only happens once in a blue moon.

This is a great book to help you relax after a crazy day and would be fun to take on spring break or add it to your summer reading list. I have an autographed copy that Leanna has generously donated to give away. To enter the drawing, please leave your name and tell us about a fun book you’ve read recently. Drawing will be held on Wednesday, March 17.


Also, don’t forget the drawing from Monday – a copy of Desperate Hope! Drawing will be held on Monday, March 15!

MARANATHA!

© Edwina E. Cowgill