Stress Relief

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you! I’m Lisa Orchard the Author of the Super Spies Mystery/Thriller Series. I’m here today to discuss stress relievers. That’s right, we all have stress in our lives and there’s some great ways to relieve it before it causes health problems.

The first thing I do when I’m experiencing stress is get up and move around. I don’t know about you, but if I keep all that frustration bottled up it just seems to build upon itself until everything is a frustration. Before that happens I get up and go for a run or a walk. If I’m frustrated with a scene in a book I’ll go for a run and usually by the time I get done I’ve got the problem resolved.

I also love to hike in the woods especially by myself. That way I don’t have to participate in conversations or be social. Communing with nature seems to bring out the deep thinker in me and I always find a sense of peace when I’m hiking.  I contemplate some of life’s bigger questions and I seem to find answers when I’m out there all alone.    

But what happens when it’s winter and you can’t get outside? Well…that’s when I pick up a book. That’s right reading a book is a great stress reliever. Have you ever noticed when you’re feeling overwhelmed if you pick up a book and get lost in its world you start to relax and your breathing returns to normal?

I’ve noticed that too. I’ve also noticed that after you read for a while and you’ve calmed down, the problem that was causing you so much stress is suddenly manageable.

So there you have it, two great ways to relieve stress that don’t cost an arm and a leg. And remember if your tween is experiencing stress these ideas will work for her too!

 I’ve  also gotten together with some other awesome authors and we’ve got some great tween reads on sale for $.99!  You can check them out at my blog.

http://lisaorchard.wordpress.com/2013/06/16/a-99-sale-for-your-tweens/

You’ll find that the first two books in the Super Spies series are on sale along with some other great reads! So stop on by and check them out. Oh and just one more thing! The third book in the Super Spies series was just released! The cover and blurb are below!

 

Sarah Cole and her sister Lacey are at it once again when their missing parents' cell phone is traced to Alden, Michigan. When the FBI declines to continue the investigation, Sarah takes matters into her own hands. She calls upon the Super Spies and they delve into the situation. Suddenly the teens find themselves immersed in small town intrigue and mystery involving a menacing stranger, who Sarah dubs “The Stalker.” But when Sarah finds out he’s connected to her parents’ disappearance she’s determined to find out what that connection is. The Super Spies embark on a journey that leads them into a web of corporate corruption at its highest level that leaves innocent victims in its wake. Can the Super Spies stop the greedy corporation before it’s too late?

Climbing Heartbreak Hill is finally here!

by Joselyn Vaughn

Time to Celebrate!! Climbing Heartbreak Hill is now available!

Professional runner, Ryan Grant, blows out his knee training for another attempt at the Boston marathon and the dreaded Heartbreak Hill. Ryan retreats home, not looking for anything more than a fast recovery, but he finds solace in the arms of his tax preparer, Tara Mansfield.

Tara’s cheerleading career ended abruptly and she faces an upward climb beating the stereotype as dumb blonde in her new calling as an accountant. Framed with defrauding the IRS during the last weeks of the tax season, Tara’s tentative confidence is shaken, but Ryan coaches her in ensnaring the true perpetrator. She cheers him on in discovering his identity as a coach rather than an athlete.

With the help of the junkyard king and a mechanical bull, can Tara and Ryan find the courage to climb Heartbreak Hill together?

A portion of my proceeds from Climbing Heartbreak Hill will be donated to the One Fund Boston to help those injured at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon. 

Buy Links:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Smashwords | Astraea Press

Excerpt:

Tara tapped her foot while Ryan settled in the tank and

others lined up behind her for their chance to dunk him. A dollar

for three throws at the target. Tara reached for her purse, then

changed her mind. She bent and picked up Ryan’s coat. After a

quick search of the pockets, she found his wallet. Unfortunately, it

was devoid of cash. She flipped it closed, then opened it again to

peek behind the credit cards. Ah-ha! An emergency twenty. She

kept cash hidden to use only for an emergency, too. She slid the bill

out of the pocket and crushed it in her fist. If she didn’t let off some

of this anger and disappointment, it would be an emergency.

She tossed the crumpled bill at the attendant and stepped up

to the line.

“How many throws?”

“All of them,” Tara said, holding her hand out for the

marred softball. She rubbed her fingers over the crusty leather and

stared at Ryan. A golden opportunity lost. She wound up and

chucked the ball. It went high and wide of the target. Someone

behind her made a remark about throwing like a girl. Ryan gave

her a thumbs-up. If he thought that was a good throw, he had another

thing coming. He should think twice about encouraging her. She

needed a couple throws to get warmed up. She grabbed the next

ball and wrapped her fingers around the seams.

“You should take the job,” she muttered as she let this one

fly. It dinged the corner of the target, but not hard enough to

trigger the release. The ball ricocheted off the tank, and Ryan

almost dunked himself when he flinched.

He might have said “what was that?” but Tara screwed up

her mouth and reached for another ball. She had been through

enough this week with the stress of tax season, Chuck’s demands,

and Ryan’s stupid, stupid obstinacy. “Lead me on, did you?” She

whipped the ball at the target. She missed again, this time nailing

the acrylic glass surround with a vicious thunk.

“Somebody’s got some anger issues,” the man behind her

said under his breath.

Tara snatched another ball and whirled around on her heels.

She shoved the ball under his nose. “Unless you want this ball

blocking your next sneeze, you’ll keep your comments to yourself.”

The man stepped back a full yard and put his hands up to

protect his ability to shoot germs from his nose.

“Thank you.” Tara pursed her lips and turned back to the

tank. She tightened her focus on the red bulls-eye. This time Ryan

was hers. She whipped the ball with a caveman-like growl.

Running to the Middle of the Road

I’m a mass of m’s (Doesn’t need the apostrophe but other wise you would think I’m a mass of misses.) I’m a middle of the roader. I was a middle child of boys that garnered attention for less than positive things. I live in the Midwest and Michigan in particular and proud of it and the state I live in. 

I was a reporter for a decade but only one a couple of awards and they were for group stories that were shared with others. The stories I liked to write the best were where I could tell someone’s whole story but that wasn’t possible in the rush to be first world.  I’m the workhorse that doesn’t want the credit. I want to do my job and am uncomfortable waving the banner that says: “Buy my book.”

So why did I become an author? The voices in my head refused to be silent any longer. I started my first novel while recovering from surgery and I was so bored, I couldn’t stand it. No lifting, no carrying anything, and no cleaning. Basically I as regulated to the couch in front of the TV and I hated it. After a couple of days of soaps and talk TV, I was becoming psychotic (remember I told you I heard voices.)

Then I remember I always wanted to write a novel and I might as well begin. So I did and before I knew it my recuperation period was over and my novel wasn’t done. I couldn’t finish it unless I changed my quiet days to nights and weekend and that is what I did. After realizing I wasn’t’ cut out to do romance, I settled on…you guessed it another M: Mystery. 

My main character is none other than Mitch Malone who is anonymously given a dog, Molly, in my most recent release, A Case of Volatile Deeds. Surprisingly for someone not interested in attention, my work has won a few awards and A Case of Hometown Blues, my third in the Mitch Malone Mysteries ,was a finalist for the 2012 Kiss of Death Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense.  I also won a contest that resulted in getting my first book, A Case of Infatuation, published. 

Do you gravitate toward one letter? Or do you hate alliteration?

Award winning mystery author W.S. Gager has lived in Michigan for most of her life except when she was interviewing race car drivers or professional woman's golfers. She enjoyed the fast-paced life of a newspaper reporter until deciding to settle down and realized babies didn't adapt well to running down story details on deadline. Since then she honed her skills on other forms of writing before deciding to do what she always wanted with her life and that was to write mystery novels. Her main character is Mitch Malone who is an edgy crime-beat reporter always on the hunt for the next Pulitzer and won't let anyone stop him. Her third book, A CASE OF HOMETOWN BLUES, was a finalist in the 2012 Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. A CASE OF VOLATILE DEEDS, her fourth in the Mitch series was released in February

A Case of Volatile Deeds Link

Summer Reading

By Patricia Kiyono

Summer vacation has always had the same significance for me as it did when I was a child. I guess it's because I became a teacher and still looked forward to the three months when I could do things I didn't have time for from September through May. Even now that I teach only part-time and my children are on their own, I live on a school schedule. There are no papers to grade, no lectures to prepare, and no grandkids to babysit on a regular basis.

So now that it's June, I'm all set for summertime mode, and that means I can start reading some of the books I've collected during the school year. What's on my reading list? Hundreds of books on my ipad, plus several paperbacks I picked up at the writing retreats and conferences. So I've got a plan for deciding which books are most likely to be read.

Although I understand the pleasure of reading an actual printed book, they are pretty low on my list, unless they are written by a favorite author. It seems that my reading time is often limited to short chunks of time - waiting in a doctor's office, waiting for my mom to get ready to go wherever I need to take her, or relaxing while my granddaughter takes her afternoon nap. Lots of times those chunks of down time are unexpected, and I can't always plan to have a book with me - but I've always got my phone, and I can read one of the hundreds of books I have downloaded. Digital books that I can access on my phone or ipad are most likely to get read. Next weekend I've got an eight hour train ride ahead of me, and I'm looking forward to reading at least a couple of books on my TBR pile.

At the top of my list are books written by GRRWG members. If you've read the emails and Facebook posts lately, you know that our group has been really prolific! I've also picked up a lot of free books, including the 56 titles offered in February at Astraea Press, and books I've won by entering various giveaways. So I definitely have a lot to choose from. After the GRRWG books, I'll start on those by other fellow AP writers.

Of course, I'll be writing. I need to finish a Christmas story by the end of July, and I'm working on sequels to two other books. But summertime means time to relax and enjoy life, and since I enjoy reading, I'm going to do more of it. Besides, what better way to get inspired to write my own stories?

What do they REALLY mean???

I'm asked frequently asked about the best seller list...and when I'm going to be on it. I'm not real sure why I look like the Shell answer writer but....as it happened, this last week a rather interesting article landed in my inbox- this is part of it. "The New York Times Bestseller List, the most influential of the bestseller lists, is a prime example of the problematic methods used to collect bestseller information. The Times gathers its information from approximately 4,000 booksellers and wholesalers each week. Rather than having those booksellers report on their top selling titles, however, the Times sends out a list of 'expected' bestsellers, mostly compiled from books submitted by the major presses. A book selling just as well as the ones on the list could be missed entirely by this system. While booksellers can manually add titles to this list, a recent column by Pat Holt of the Northern California Independent Bookseller's Association indicated that books added by independent bookstores rarely, if ever, show up on the list, and that booksellers take a less than serious approach to filling out the forms. While there are advantages to being a New York Times reporting bookstore, not all bookstores participate. After the NY Times began linking from the list posted at their Web site to Barnes & Noble's online bookstore, many booksellers stopped reporting their sales in protest. Even those independents that do report have less clout than chain bookstores, whose results are given more weight. (The New York Times recently added a list comparing bestsellers at independents and chains to appease smaller book stores.) This system tends to result in a list of books with large PR budgets rather than true bestsellers. Publishers and authors with clout and money can easily subvert the system. In 1995, Business Week ran a story about two authors who successfully pushed their book onto the New York Times list by purchasing 10,000 copies of their own book, and convincing their corporate clients to buy 30,000 more. The New York Times has even included books in their bestseller list before they become available in bookstores. Different Lists, Different Results Of course, the New York Times is not the only publication that compiles a bestseller list. USA Today, for example, tracks book sales at 3,000 booksellers including the online bookstores. The USA Today list is notable in that it mixes all categories of books together, showing how different types of books (fiction, nonfiction, etc.) rank against one another. Comparing the USA Today list of 150 bestsellers with the New York Times list can often be educational. Occasionally books in the top 10 of the New York Times list will not appear at all in the top 150 of the USA Today list. Which list is less accurate is up for debate. Publishers Weekly compiles 9 different lists from stats compiled at 3,000 bookstores. PW's lists are meant to be useful to librarians, bookstores, literary agents and publishing houses rather than the general public, so the lists are compiled a little differently again. And, of course, most daily newspapers have bestseller lists their city, region or state, online booksellers compile their own bestseller lists, and publishing associations often compile their own lists as well. A mention on even the most obscure of these lists can lead a publisher to call the title a bestseller. The consumer, after all, will never know the difference. So the next time you see the words BESTSELLER in shiny bold letters across the cover of a book, grab a healthy dose of skepticism and remember that it sounds more important than it really is. So, now that the secret is out...lists are not all that they are cracked up to be.

May

This is my absolute favorite time of year! Two years ago I chose it as my wedding month because I love it so much.

I'm probably in over my head, but I started a huge garden for the sheer joy of planting something, nurturing it, and watching it grow (not too different from writing when you think about it). I think I was also a bit giddy that winter and the spring flooding came to an end. May is my New Years. The date in my mind that offers new beginnings.

It brings sunshine, hope, and beauty....a little of which I thought I'd share with you today.

Happy Spring!!

Lynn Doezema

http://lynndoezema.blogspot.com/

It's time for a Vacation!

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you! I don’t know about you, but now that we finally have warm weather in Michigan I’m ready for a vacation! Bring on a hot, sandy beach, lounge chair, and an awesome book! And don’t forget the Margarita! J

Sometimes, it’s hard to justify the expense of a vacation especially when you’re watching your pennies. So, this is how I justify it and I thought I’d pass it on to you. Vacations are important to our health and well-being. That’s right. I take vacations for health reasons! The same reason I eat chocolate! (It has anti-oxidants in it.)

Studies show that vacations relieve stress. It has been proven that a good vacation can lead to fewer stressful days on the job at least five weeks later. A vacation is a gift you give to yourself.

Studies also show that taking time off to recharge your batteries keeps you healthier, which makes you less likely to call in sick, which increases productivity. I find this interesting and I wonder why more companies don’t encourage their people to take their vacations.

In fact, workers who take regular vacations are less likely to experience burnout. This makes them more creative and productive than their co-workers who don’t take a vacation.

According to the Virginia Women’s Center  53% of employed US adults report feeling rested and rejuvenated after a vacation, and 34% come back from vacation and feel better about their jobs and are more productive at work.

But let’s not just focus on the positive benefits of vacations on your career. Vacations can also strengthen bonds between family members.  They are a great way to reconnect with your spouse and kids.

Having a strong bond with your kids is very important to their well-being also. Everyone knows if you have a strong family unit your kids are less likely to fall prey to peer pressure and less likely to be bullied at school.

Vacations do cost money though. So what happens when you want to take a vacation but just can’t afford it? Then go on a staycation.

That’s right, stay home but take vacation time away from work. Most major cities have activities that parents can do with their kids. And if you don’t live in a major city you can probably drive to one. It won’t be like that tropical dream vacation that you have in your mind’s eye, but it will give you the same benefits as that one in the tropics would.

Thanks for stopping by today! I’d love to hear from all of you. Please share your thoughts on where your favorite vacation spots and/or activities are. I’d love to hear from you!

And if you have a tween/teen who needs a good read on vacation. Check out the Super Spies series! The covers, blurbs, and links are below. The third book in the series is scheduled for release sometime in August. They’re a great way to keep your teen away from the TV too. J

This book opens in a small town in Michigan where fifteen-year-old Sarah Cole is stuck spending the summer at her Aunt and Uncle’s with her sister, Lacey. She’s not happy with the situation until she befriends a girl named Jackie. The three girls stumble upon the ruthless murder of a reclusive neighborhood woman. One of the officers investigating the crime believes the girls are responsible for her death. Fearing that this officer will frame them for the murder, the girls organize their own detective squad. They become the Super Spies and start their own fact-finding mission.  The Super Spies can’t understand why anyone would want to murder the “Cat Lady” until they start digging into her past and discover a horrible crime that happened thirty years ago. They uncover a connection between the two crimes and attempt to bring this information to the police, only to be reprimanded for meddling in the inquest. Not only are the girls upset by the admonition, but they also struggle with the fact that their exuberant investigating could provide a legal loophole allowing the killer to go free. To make matters worse, the police don’t even believe them. Frustrated by this turn of events, the Super Spies realize it’s up to them to snare the Cat Lady killer, or die trying…

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Super-Spies-Lady-Killer-ebook/dp/B007JZH61K

Barnes and Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-super-spies-and-the-cat-lady-killer-lisa-orchard/1109518725?ean=2940014338202

This book opens in a small town in Michigan where Sarah and her sister Lacey are now living with their Aunt and Uncle. Still reeling from the fact her parents have disappeared, Sarah starts the school year with her new friend Jackie Jenkins. When Sarah learns the school has been bombed, she’s filled with dread. Uncle Walt is a teacher, and he was in the school when the bomb exploded. Taking matters into her own hands, Sarah decides to search for him. The rest of the Super Spies are right behind her. When a fireman chases them away from the school, Sarah becomes suspicious. She decides to investigate. The FBI arrives on the scene. Sarah realizes this bombing could have even bigger implications. Searching for the bombers, Sarah is introduced to the world of terrorism. She fears that the bombing and her parents’ disappearance are connected and terrorists are involved. To make matters worse, the bombers are determined to finish the job. Can the Super Spies find the bombers before it’s too late?

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Super-Spies-School-Bomber-ebook/dp/B008P8O7OY

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-super-spies-and-the-high-school-bomber-lisa-orchard/1112263058?ean=2940014992244

**** I would like to thank the Virginia’s Women’s Center and About.com for some of the information provided in this post. Here are their links.

Virginia Women’s Center http://www.virginiawomenscenter.com/services-psychology-the-importance-of-vacations.html 

About.com http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/jobstress.htm

http://stress.about.com/od/workplacestress/a/vacations.htm

24 Ways to use Pinterest to Increase Sales

 24 Ways to use Pinterest to Increase Sales

“Pinterest is a huge time waster.”

“It’s one more thing to do.”

If these are your reactions to using Pinterest to market your product and increase your blog/website traffic, stick around.  I’ve got a few things to teach you.

Pinterest is growing at such a fast rate, it’s hard to “pin” down any statistics, but this is how it stacks up against Twitter and Facebook in the data I found:

	Facebook	Twitter	Pinterest
Users	1 billion	500 million	17 million
Time spent per visit	12 minutes	36 minutes	****1 hour, 17 minutes***

Look at that data again.  An average visitor spends 77 minutes on Pinterest per visit, twice as long as on Twitter, and it’s thirty times smaller.  Plus, Pinterest has a high “half-life”, an indicator of how long its content stays alive on the internet.  Think about it – Tweets have no long-term benefits, while YouTube and Pinterest content is passed from one user to another.  The rate of referrals, hopefully back to your blog or website, is priceless.  Would you rather spend your precious marketing time on a Tweet or a Pin?

Pinterest is highly visual.  Each pin is a mini ad campaign, pulling in your customers and touching their emotions.  The best sales are based on relationships and emotions.  But, you have to know how to connect with your niche and how to position yourself so that your visual promotion makes your target audience click their way to your website and product.

How do you do that?  I’ve studied the experts and made tons of notes on what makes a successful pinner.  Here’s what I’ve learned:

1. Create a Pinterest name that either identifies your brand (Oahu Homes) or is the public face of the brand (CherylsOahuHomes).  There is a space limitation.  I had to truncate my profile name to www.pinterest.com/cheryloahuhomes, but I’m satisfied with it as I can use the correct name in the header.

2. Create a profile.  I can’t emphasize this enough.  You have 200 characters to describe you, your brand or your product to anyone who clicks on your name.  Remember, every time you repin something, the person before you gets an email announcing the fact.  I click back on each one because I want to know who they are and if they are worth following.  If enough people follow them, and they’re following me, that increases my exposure.  But, in 99% of the cases, all I see is their name.  Maybe their city.  This is a golden opportunity to promote yourself, so make those 200 characters count.

3. Pick beautiful, unique, clear, inspiring or remarkable images to repin.  Wipe out the description and add your own, rich with keywords, phrases and hashtags or @theotherpinnersname, so when people are searching for antique sewing machines, fantasy fiction or a good real estate agent in Hawaii, your image will pop up.

4. Link to useful articles, videos (under 5 minutes long), audio files, podcasts, tutorials, slideshows and excerpts.  People want content, and you can be the outstanding expert in their niche.

5. Know your niche.  It’s powerful.  Tap into the passion of its users, whether it’s American Girls, Nascar, D&D, or people looking for homes on Oahu. In fact, the narrower the niche, the more passionate your audience.  Go small.  Find out what’s popular and tailor your pins accordingly.

6. On the flip side, keep marketing to less than a third of your pins.  No one wants the hard sell, so intersperse your pins with other subjects.  You’ll be pulling from a different audience that might be interested in your main product.

7. Verify your website through Settings to lead people to it.  Your website will appear under your profile, the first place Pinterest takes people when they click on your name.

8. Tie your Pins to Facebook and Twitter so that every time you pin, it shows up on other social media.  Add your Pinterest address to your email signature and on other social media sites.

9. Generate pins from your website.  Install a Pin It button on your website. http://tinyurl.com/adbydxf is a great site to help you do this.

10.         Schedule your pins through www.pingraphy.com so you’re not bunching them all at once.

11.         Saturday is the most effective day to pin, followed by Wednesday, with 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. the most popular times.

12.         Celebrate seasons and holidays with like-minded pins.

13.         Rearrange your boards so the most popular are in the first two rows and center.

14.         Give stuff away through Pin It to Win It contests.  Conduct a poll.  Fuel dialogue. Ask questions.  Keep your pinners engaged.

15.         Open up some of your boards to other pinners with group boards.  You must follow at least one of their boards to invite them to join you, but inheriting some of their followers is a great strategic move.  I investigate everyone who re-pins me.  If they have a large following, and their boards are similar to mine, I’ll invite them to join me on a group board I’ve set up.

16.         Don’t just like a pin.  Add comments.  These will show up below the image, giving you more exposure.

17.         Don’t pin everything.  Steer clear of poor or too small images.

18.         Keep your pins organized on boards with clear categories, using keywords for searches.

19.         Check the link to make sure it leads back to a content page, not an image only, or the dreaded 404 error.

20.         Credit the source.

21.         Go outside of Pinterest.  Better than repining is finding new content online.  Best is to upload original images to your website with original content, then Pin It.

22.         Follow the top influencers on Pinterest at www.pinreach.com.  What are they pinning?  Does it tie in with your brand?

23.         Pin every day.  If you know your audience and what will serve them the best, you won’t have to spend a lot of time on the site.

24.         Keep educating yourself on how to market on Pinterest.  A good source is www.marketingonpinterest.com

Have fun and report back if you see a noticeable increase in followers and sales!

This Crazy Life

Live, as I know it, is always changing, but I'm getting pretty tired of the changes that hvae come of late. First a dear friend found her cancer has spread, then my sister gets diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, another friend recently lost her mother-in-law, and yet another lost her beloved dog (yes, fur kids 'count"). These kinds of "changes" I can do without.

The one kind of change I can deal with is changes that relate to my writing. Last week I flew out to be with my sister, help install her new organic garden, and to bake, bake, bake, and bake. Baking is one of my stress relievers During my major bake-fest, I developed a modified version of one of my quick breads using spelt flour and no sugr, along with a guaranteed soft-bake version of my favorite oatmeal cookies with an easy substitution.

That means, it's back to the recipes once again, a few more updates and some rearranging of my soon-to-be-released cookbook. I had targeted June for my self-published date, but I've yet to arrange to bake for the necessary photoshoot. I hope to do that soon.

Life is crazy, always has been. I could do with a little less crazy these days. I long for a single day of peace and quiet where I'm not thinking about work, yardwork, finances, writing, or any of the other mundane day-to-day concerns.

Someone please stop the world, I'd like to get off for at least one day!

My love/hate relationship with galleys

by Joselyn Vaughn

If you're not familiar with them, galleys are the very last editing step before your book is released or goes to print. All of your content and line editing should be done and now you are just looking for typos.

My first set of galleys (for CEOs Don't Cry) looked like a photocopied version of the book. I was so excited when the stack of paper arrived in the mail, I almost cried. My writing was really going to be published.

The whole editing process for that book took several months, so there was lots of time to breath between in between drafts and rereading the book.

Since then the timeline has become more compressed. Galleys become the sixth time I've been through my manuscript in six weeks. I feel like I've read the words so many times, I only see what I expect to see. I'm supposed to be looking for typos, missing words, etc. and my eyes are glazing right over. All I can think about is how tired of this book I am.

But underlying all that the excitement of having a book published is still there. A new book with a fabulous cover with my name on it will soon be available for sale. And hopefully people will enjoy reading it.

The upcoming book, Climbing Heartbreak Hill:

Professional runner, Ryan Grant, blows out his knee training for another attempt at the Boston marathon and the dreaded Heartbreak Hill. Ryan retreats home, not looking for anything more than a fast recovery, but he finds solace in the arms of his tax preparer, Tara Mansfield.

Tara’s cheerleading career ended abruptly and she faces an upward climb beating the stereotype as dumb blonde in her new calling as an accountant. Framed with defrauding the IRS during the last weeks of the tax season, Tara’s tentative confidence is shaken, but Ryan coaches her in ensnaring the true perpetrator. She cheers him on in discovering his identity as a coach rather than an athlete.

With the help of the junkyard king and a mechanical bull, can Tara and Ryan find the courage to climb Heartbreak Hill together?

Check my blog (http://joselynvaughn.com) on May 21 for purchase information.