review

The Butterfly Girls are back in Michele Ashman Bell’s new release Hometown Girl. The second book in the Butterfly Box Series, the much anticipated sequel to A Modest Proposal opens with Lauren, Chloe, Emma, Jocelyn, and Andrea endeavoring to navigate the twists and turns of their individual lives. Though they are each pulled by the varying forces in different directions their determination to support one another through thick and thin is as strong as ever.

In this book we find out more about Jocelyn, her life, and the forces that have shaped her. The book gets off to an unhurried start with a Butterfly Girl Reunion; for readers who haven’t read the first volume the ample back story helps each woman come into focus. As the story builds steam, Jocelyn departs and, despite misgivings, attempts to begin a new life. Michele has penned a cast of affable townspeople in the small community where Jocelyn finds herself after inheriting her grandmother’s house. The characters keep the story moving forward and the town itself comes alive through Michele’s vivid description and attention to detail. With Michele’s knack for intriguing dialogue we follow Jocelyn as she faces a series of difficult decisions.

When a secret she has kept woven into the depths of her soul for fourteen years begins to unravel, Jocelyn turns to the Butterfly Girls. Though they nurture her with support and understanding, she must summon inner courage to steer her life back on course. Handsome Jack Emerson is appealing to her, but he has secrets of his own and doesn’t get too close. Michele tackles some difficult subject material with tact and we see Jocelyn emerge as a strong and capable woman.

All in all I found the Butterfly Girls to be an enjoyable read. I look forward to more installments in this series and to discovering more about Ava’s mysterious death.

From the book:

Jocelyn Rogers’s life is in a rut. Maybe she should step outside her comfort zone and move to Milford Falls, where she has inherited her grandmother’s house. With the encouragement of the other Butterfly Girls, Jocelyn musters her courage and starts a new life.

However, when she arrives in the small town that holds both good and bad memories for her, she discovers the house in worse shape than she expected, and getting repairs done is anything but easy — especially when it comes to dealing with Jack Emerson, a man who seems to be agitated by Jocelyn and everyone else within a fifty-mile radius.

To make matters worse, she has begun to worry that moving back to the place where she once spent a troubled summer will expose the deep personal secret she has kept hidden for fourteen years. But Jack also has a hidden secret that has prevented him from getting close to anyone in a long time. And now it seems that interfering neighbors may prevent both Jack and Jocelyn from moving forward with their lives.

Michele is having a launch party today!

Saturday, July 17th
11 a.m.- 1 p.m.
Redwood Seagull Book
(1720 S. Redwood Road, SLC)

Giveaways, gift baskets, Utah Truffles, refreshments, fun, prizes. Don't miss the party!




Read more about Michele and her books on her website or blog.

Read my August 2009 interview with Michele here.

book cover

I just received an email from my editor with the cover of my new novel.

Wow!

Thanks, Sam. You made my day.

These past few weeks have been a jumble of trying to merge old commitments with new responsibilities.

In the middle of it all my website went down--permanently it seems--and I had to change email servers. Comments for the book contest I ran a few weeks ago got lost in the shuffle. Deleted. I know they were there . . . once . . . I just don't know where they are now.

Humble apologies!

If you see your comment here with the original contest post, you're okay. Entered in the book giveaway. Not lost. Counted among the commenters, etc.

If your comment is not there, you can assume your remarks were unintentionally lost in cyberspace. Poof. Gone. Misplaced without intentional misplacement. Please, if you see fit, feel free to comment again.

I'll try not to lose you . . . again.

For those lost, I'm extending the contest to July 31.

Sincere thanks for your understanding.

contest

I've been wanting to give away a signed copy of the new book I illustrated What Are You Thinking? in preparation for its release in July.

It's been almost two years since Valerie and I first met and started to toss around ideas. In some ways that seems like a long, long time ago. In other ways like it was just yesterday.

Initial response to the book has been wonderful, and we couldn't be more thrilled to finally have it in our hands. Valerie is a talented author whose message is sure to touch many lives. I'm honored to have been given the opportunity to be a part of her vision.

A couple of reviews:

"Fantastic! I love to see these principles taught in a fun way to kids. I will definitely share this book with my children, and strongly recommend that if you want to give your kids a tremendous advantage for reaching their highest potential, you'll do the same." --Garrett B. Gunderson, Entrepreneur and New York Time best selling author of Killing Sacred Cows

"At the earliest age our children need to be introduced to the idea that their thoughts are powerful. They need to be taught how to become more aware of how their thinking affects every aspect of their lives. Our children are not taught how to do this. I applaud this simple but powerful book for introducing this critical concept at the earliest of ages." Gordon S. Bruin, M.A., L.P.C., American Board Certified, President, Innergold Counseling Services, Inc.

In celebration, I'm giving away a copy of the book. All you need to do is comment on this post and tell me:

1. Why you'd like like to have a copy--either for yourself or a child in your life.

AND

2. Why you believe positive thoughts are so important.

The deadline is two weeks from today: midnight (mountain) Wednesday, July 7. U.S. residents only.

Haley

Haley is my hero...

friends

One of the best things about being on the road is making new friends. I loved meeting these girls from Oregon. Their enthusiasm was contagious, their smiles unforgettable. Sometimes those you spend the shortest amount of time with stay in your heart the longest.

I hope you met your fundraising goals, Outlaws. If you play ball as well as you tackled the Hawg, there's no stopping you this season.

expectations

Every Monday morning I wake up with the same misconception: I think I can conquer the world. Well, at least my world. Today was no exception.

Write two chapters--each--for two different novels. No problem

Finish pictures for current photo shoot. Sure.

Catch up on almost a week's worth of laundry. Bring it on.

Clean not just a few rooms--clean the entire house top to bottom. Piece of cake.

Catch up on correspondence and answer phone calls. Heck, yeah.

Run a zillion errands. Why not?

Rearrange blog per feedback from a person who made blog suggestions. Check.

Like all the other Mondays in my life, today my enthusiasm ran wild and free--until mid-afternoon. That's when I rediscovered that rushing, and hurrying, and cramming things into one day (things that really should take a week to complete) never, never works.

The chapters never left my fingers.

The photo shoot is only half-done.

So is the wash.

The house is only one-third of the way clean.

Correspondence and phone calls. No and no.

Blog? Well, the header I tried to put on, took an hour to take off. Suffice it to say it was large. Obnoxiously large. I couldn't figure out why, but the new photo of me contained in the header was about six inches tall. On a blog that's billboard size. It revealed wrinkles and nose hairs I didn't even know I had.

On the verge of tears--lots of tears--I nearly pulled the plug on the whole blog. Seconds before meltdown, I finally got things fixed. That is to say, the blog is back to its original state. Which is much better than having a blog where my giant nose hairs frighten innocent people.

All in all, I have to give myself some credit. I did make marginal progress.

Enough that next Monday I'll wake up and try to conquer my world all over again.