Welcome to the tour for Eliza by Joyce Proell. You will find my review of the book posted here.
Historical Romance
Date Published: 10/1/12
Synopsis:
Posing as a widow, Eliza Danton
flees an abusive marriage determined to bury the past and live a solitary life
on the Minnesota frontier. When she finds herself homeless, her livelihood
threatened and her safety compromised, she relies on her only resource, a man
who stirs a forbidden longing and rocks the very foundation of her well-laid
plans. As her world shrinks with lies and deception, the only way out is the
truth, but the truth may strike a deadly price.
Haunted by a tragic past, Will
Heaton hides his scarred heart and vows never to love again. But a chance
encounter with a mysterious widow awakens painful memories and a yearning he
can’t ignore. When she’s harassed by the same man he believes killed his wife,
he grabs at a chance to resolve past mistakes and possibly find love and
redemption in the process.
As Eliza and Will struggle to
trust again, the past returns with a renewed vengeance, testing them in ways
they never thought possible.
Elizabeth Douglas couldn’t think of a better incentive than a husband who wanted her dead. Thus inspired, she packed a bag, changed her name and now gripped the handrail of the Northstar as it shimmied up the Ohio. Despite the warm air, she shivered. Abe would look for her as certain as the glistening blades of the paddlewheel churned the muddied water. When a man loses his greatest possession he himself becomes possessed. ‘If you ever leave me, I’ll kill you,’ he’d promised. She didn’t intend to die, at least not yet. “Mrs. Danton!” Startled to hear someone call her new name, she spun toward the voice. She brushed a hand over the black silk crepe of her widow weeds, loathing the dress and the deception. Against a backdrop of Pittsburgh’s receding factories Reverend Vernon Deeds minced around the thinning crowd on the ship’s deck. One arm clutched a chubby baby to his chest the other hand tugged a small lad behind him. Flushed, Vernon dropped the boy’s hand and pulled a crisply folded handkerchief from his coat pocket. He mopped his beaded brow. “Who would have thought June could be so muggy?”
I laughed when my husband suggested I
write a book. Me? What did I know about writing?
Yet the notion held possibility, so I
hatched a plan. A year later, I sent off my first completed
manuscript and promptly received a score
of polite rejections. Bruised but undaunted, I forged
ahead, new plan in hand. Later, armed with
the knowledge acquired from writing classes,
seminars and the help of fellow writers, I
finished my second story. Eliza is that story.
Contact Information
Purchase Links
Guest post by the author
How to Meet Deadlines and Remain
Sane
My idyllic routine of writing four
to six hours a day came crashing to a halt when my first book, Eliza, came close to being released. Writing
and the business side of book promotion suddenly consumed my days. In addition
to lengthy edits for Eliza, I had
another work in progress. To avoid losing any forward momentum on the project,
I had to find time daily to write. So…How to get everything done and not lose
my mind?
Here are five solutions that work for
me:
Break
things down into small, manageable components. Be realistic about what can
be accomplished in a given time span. A book isn’t written in a day, a week or
even a month. So don’t focus on the whole but maybe a chapter a week. If that’s
not realistic, modify the goal to something that’s doable. No matter what the
task, a smaller job always seems less over overwhelming than a bigger one. And
here’s another benefit. Any task, completed well, is a boost to one’s sense of
accomplishment. Everybody likes to say, “Hey. I did it!”
Work
consistently, every day. This approach chips away at the mountain, and over
time, things get done. Recognize an excuse for what it is: a reason not to
work. Toss the excuse out the nearest window. Then get back to work. If I stick
to my plan of action each day, I never have to burn the midnight oil. More
important, the deadline is met, and I’m still reasonably sane.
Schedule
mindless activity. Writing requires a focused mind. After some hours of
concentrated effort, the brain gets tired. Mindless activities like listening
to music, doodling, drawing, petting the dog, pulling weeds, yoga and
meditation allow our wired brains to relax. For me, a mixture of walking and
listening to music energizes my body, refreshes my heart and soul, and gives me
a creative boost needed to get back to the job of writing.
Exercise
and eat healthy foods. I know. I know. Your mother and every woman’s
magazine for the last fifty years has encouraged embracing this regime. And for
good reason. It works. Meeting a deadline is stressful. Stress can trigger
cortisol which stimulates cravings for sugar and high fat foods. If you can’t
stop at one chip, don’t eat them at all. Instead, keep on hand healthy snacks.
Then get outside and walk, or bike or run. As Mom said, the sun and fresh air
will do you some good. And science has proven Mom to be right.
Schedule
the hardest job first. It’s easy to put off what we don’t like doing. Got a
promotional piece that needs to be written? Need to make arrangements for a
blog tour? Get it out of the way first thing in the morning. When it’s
completed, pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Give yourself a treat.
My reward is sitting down at my computer and getting lost in another story.
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This sounds like a fun read!
ReplyDeleteSince fun is something that always propels me, especially in writing, I do believe Eliza is a fun story. Enjoy!
ReplyDelete