Friday, January 17, 2014

Road to Somewhere, Giveaways & Celebrate

Exciting stuff today!

Two of my Inklings Literary Agency sisters are revealing the cover of their novel, Road to Somewhere, coming out from Bloomsbury Spark.  They have a giveaway for an ARC of the book.  Woohoo!  I have a guest post and a giveaway of Soul Cutter at Unicorn Bell! Plus, I'm celebrating.  Read on for more!


New! From Bloomsbury Spark, a sunny heartwarming story of discovery and sisterhood. 

A road trip. A singing competition. And super-hot cowboys. 

What could be better? 

For Charlie, a post-high school road trip isn't just a vacation, it's life changing. While her parents think she's helping a friend move, a chance at fame is the real reason to grab her best friends and drive to L.A. But when her super annoying, uber-responsible, younger sister, Lucy, has to tag along, it isn't quite the summer of fun she imagined. 


Add in a detour to her grandparents' ranch in Texas, and between mucking the stalls, down-home cookin’, and drool worthy ranch hands, this could just turn into the best, and most complicated, summer of their lives.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


My guest post
Getting an Agent
is up at Unicorn Bell!
Plus, there's a chance to win a free ecopy of
Soul Cutter
Leave a comment and enter the rafflecopter.


CELEBRATE THE SMALL THINGS

Today I'm celebrating:
1)  The tourist biz isn't going well in Egypt (no surprise, right?), and my hubby's hotel has now cut him down to part time hours.  So why am I celebrating?  I'm celebrating he still has a job at all.  Many who we know don't.
2)  An awesome post by Mooderino made me realize my new WIP's main character doesn't have urgent enough goals.  Ack! Writerly meltdown! Quick -- replot everything!  So why am I celebrating?  It's a lot better to know things like this early than late, right?  Plus, I discovered I just have to re-do the motivation, which was easy!
3)  With hubs home more (due to lay-off) and taking up more of my time, I have less time to write.  So why am I celebrating?  He's kinda sweet and has been offering to cook.  Now if I could just get him to offer to do the cleaning, since I do 95% of it...

What percentage of the cooking and cleaning do you or your significant other do around the house?




This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever! 




56 comments:

Unknown said...

Love the new blog design!

And I also like how you've taken things that could be considered negative and flipped it to focus on the positive! Have a good weekend!

Kate Larkindale said...

Don't even ask about the division of labor at my house! It's definitely not equal..... I'm glad you've found ways to celebrate even things that don't sound that great on the surface.

Anonymous said...

I can't find the guest post.

I love the book cover. Congrats to both ladies.

I'm sorry about your husband's job. I hope the tourism economy picks up.

Patsy said...

Sorry about hubby's job - and other troubles in your country. We were lucky enough to visit two years ago and are very glad we went when we did.

I do most of the cooking at home, but hubby does more of the other household tasks than I do.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Yes, it's definitely something to celebrate that your husband has a job. Sorry about everything going on in Egypt.

My husband has really chronic health issues and working takes all his energy. So I work full-time and do everything for my daughter and all the housework and yard work that I don't hire out.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Sorry your husband is down to part time, but you have the right attitude about it.
Congratulations to Kelley and Jenny.
And you're right - better to know what's wrong now and be able to fix it.

Ms Misantropia said...

I'm sorry about your husbands job, it's hard all around right now. Retail in Sweden has plummeted and I might have to start looking for other employment soon :(
Good thing he cooks, but I agree - he should share the cleaning responsibilities too!

mshatch said...

Wow, you sure do know how to put a positive spin on everything - and nice to see you over at Unicorn Bell :)

Cecilia Robert said...

Great post over at Unicorn Bell. :) So sorry to here about your hubby, Lexa. Hope things pick soon. And yep, cleaning. That would really help. :D I do most of the cooking, cleaning and feeding for my two children..LOL

Cecilia Robert said...

Btw, love ROAD TO SOMEWHERE cover. sounds like a great read. :)

Anonymous said...

Love the positive attitude here! Wishing your hubby every success with his job and/or finding new work.

cleemckenzie said...

I gave up house cleaning for Lent a few years ago. That was such a great idea that I never returned to it. I decided moving was easier. :-)

Sorry about the layoff. We've gone through that and while it make money tight, it also offers a lot of positives: time together AND sharing those chores.

Suzanne Furness said...

Sorry about your husband's job, but glad you can look on the positives. Wishing you all the best.

stephen Hayes said...

I'm sorry your husband's hours have been cut back. One of the disappointments of my life is that our trip to Egypt was cancelled a few years ago by the statew department. But I haven't given up hope on seeing Egypt one day.

Heather R. Holden said...

Road to Somewhere sounds like such a fun book, and has a great cover, too!

Keeping my fingers crossed that your husband will finally do some cleaning, haha. (At least cooking is a start!) That sucks about the layoff, though. That must be tough...

Jenny S. Morris said...

Thanks for helping us with the cover reveal!! And I'm sorry about your hubby's job but I'm glad you are staying positive.

Kelly Hashway said...

Sorry about your husband's job, but you're right. At least he's still working. I'm glad you can find the good in the situation.

Congrats to your agency sisters!

klahanie said...

Hi Lexa,

I like your philosophical reaction to your husband's job. And indeed, congrats to those fine ladies. I think I'm in the middle of somewhere.

Gary

Cathy Keaton said...

Looks like you are the eternal optimist! But, that's a good thing because you can see a reason to celebrate even things that seem negative on the surface. That glass is half full, dang it!

T.F. Walsh said...

Since I work part time and hubby is full time, I do majority of cleaning and cooking, though bathroom cleaning is always done by hubby not me:)

Cathrina Constantine said...

Great attitude, Lexa. My latest wip or I thought finished ms was declined by my agent. And that's after I sent the first half. Such a bummer. Back to revisions, right.

Melancholy and Menace said...

So sorry about your husband's job, loving your positive attitude :)

Nana Prah said...

Three 'backhanded' celebrations (like compliments), except yours ended up well.

Kimberly said...

The Road to Somewhere sounds so great! Congrats to Kelley and Jenny!

I love your Celebrate the Small things - such a postive outlook - love that so much! :)

Mere Joyce said...

Great positive outlook! Hope things get better for you and your husband soon, =)

Unknown said...

Lexa, I thought I left you a comment here but I'm not sure if it went through.
I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's situation, however, having the wonderful lookout you have I'm sure is helping him get through. I wish the best for both of you!
As far as cleaning goes, I totally hear you! My boyfriend takes care of the "easy" tasks around here like vacuuming and laundry but I do all of the real "dirty" work. And we all know how gross the bathrooms and kitchens can get!
I've tweeted about this giveaway and thank you so much for hosting!

Unknown said...

Lol, I meant outlook instead of lookout!!

VikLit said...

That's a very positive outlook you have. I am sorry your husband's hours have been cut.

Unknown said...

Yes, much easier to know what needs changed early on then later in the game! And it is always nice when my husband cooks - he is actually better than me I think! So I don't mind at all :)

Christine Rains said...

Congrats to Kelley and Jenny! I've been seeing them all over the place. And I've already been to Unicornbell. :)

I do all of the housework and most of the cooking. Sometimes my husband makes a really spicy food that only he likes. I don't mind that I do. He entertains the boy while I do all that.

Chancelet said...

Great celebrations Lexa! Love how you see the good out of the could be bad. :) I'm sending vibes for your husband to offer, and do, housekeeping.

DMS said...

l love your positive outlook on everything. :) Sorry to hear your husband has had his hours cut, but great that he is doing lots of cooking. I do more cleaning too- but less cooking!

Thanks so much for sharing this book. Road trips are so much fun and this book sounds great. Thanks for the chance to win a copy. :)

~Jess

Rachna Chhabria said...

Love the new blog design. Its awesome.

Kelly Steel said...

The book sounds great! Congratulations!

PK HREZO said...

Road to Somewhere sounds too cute!! Sorry about your hubby's reduced hours. But that just means more time to spend with him. Sometimes we need to be forced into those situations. :D

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Yep, I definitely prefer to know where I'm going wrong in the early stages rather than later.
Love the cover!

And now you have a cooking companion and soon a cleaning one too!! ;)

Beverly Stowe McClure said...

Hot cowboys, Texas ranch, and mucking the stalls. Sounds like my kind of story. :) I do all the cleaning and cooking (or deli buying). My cats aren't very good at domestic tasks.

Bish Denham said...

I like the road trip story! I think hubby and I balance things out pretty well at our home. It all depends on who's busy doing what.

Stephen Tremp said...

I forgot all about Celebrate The Small Things. I'll have to get back into that.

I help with a lot of the housework and cooking. If we keep up on things, then we're in good shape with the house. Its too easy to get behind, then boom, the house is an instant disaster.

Jay Noel said...

They should change the title of their book from Road to Somewhere to Road to EVERYWHERE! Congrats ladies.

And that stinks that your hubby's hours are cut. Hopefully things will look up for you. And yes, you need to get him to do more of the cleaning. I do about 33% of it. But I'd do more if my job didn't require so much travel.

Beth said...

Heading over to check out your guest post.

Catherine Stine said...

Very cute cover-kind of reminds me of an updated Thelma & Louise!
And here's to keeping the job! My hubby does a fair amount of cooking, and for some reason, he likes to vacuum. Go figure.

Ellie Garratt said...

Love your new header! So glad your hubby still has some hours at work. Think of all the extra writing time you'll have with him doing more chores.

I keep seeing Road to Somewhere popping up everywhere. It's on my TBR list.

Anonymous said...

Love your attitude! It's easier to be positive than negative (and healthier too). Hope the tourist biz rebounds soon. <3

Heather M. Gardner said...

Could be a really fun book!

My husband says he does the outside work and I do the inside work. Not only is there more inside work but he always wants a hand with the outside work. I think I got the bad end of the deal.

I won't be doing the A to Z challenge BUT...I think Stormy might be doing it. :)
You should join him!
Heather

TL said...

That book sounds like fun!

I'm very lucky to have a husband willing to pitch in any time I ask, and often when I don't. :)

Jocelyn Rish said...

I've been locked in my revision cave, so I missed the redecorating of the blog, but I love the new look - very striking!

It's so great that you have such a positive attitude. Every time I hear a scary story in the news about Egypt I think of you. Hope things get better there soon.

Carol Kilgore said...

I love that cover - reminds me of Thelma and Louise! And I love your celebrations this week. All great ones!

Unknown said...

Nice giveaway. The books looks great. Thanks for sharing.

Magaly Guerrero said...

You had me at "super-hot cowboys"!

Tammy Theriault said...

i have heard a buzz about mooderino's post! hmmm... no worries. sometimes we need to that little gut punch to get us going!

LD Masterson said...

Nice job pulling out some silver linings to celebrate. Sure better than moaning about the clouds.

And mood's post send me back to my WIP, too.

Cherie Reich said...

Road to Somewhere sounds like such a fun book! Congrats to Kelley and Jenny!

And it's much better to find out where problems are earlier in the novel than later.

Ava Quinn said...

Pretty cover Kelley and Jenny!

Great celebrations. It was awesome that you turned some things that could have been problems into celebrations. Well done!

erica and christy said...

I love your positive outlook on life. Best of luck with jobs and writing. Christy

Bellas Shelf said...

this book by Kelly and Jenny sounds absolutely delightful. I am new to your blog and I'm looking forward to reading something that you wrote. After this I'm going to stop by your guest post and check out what your book is all about. I loved your post by the way. It is hard nowadays to stay positive and upbeat when things seem to fall apart all around you. even small disappointments can turn many people into negative people.

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