No Author is an Island: Thanks for the Mentions

We writers depend on many people to help get the word out about our books and I’d like to express my gratitude for the readers, reviewers, media outlets, and bloggers who are giving my books a chance and spreading the word. Thank you to my incredibly supportive readers, and thanks also to the following blogs and media outlets for showcasing Waking Up Joy. 

WAKING UP JOY was included on the 2014 favorites list from Chick Lit Central. After three published novels, two of them with a large publisher, this is my first end-of-the-year fiction favorite list that I’ve ever been on. I love Chick Lit Central for their great book selections and posts, and I’m honored and grateful to be included on their yearly list. Wow!

 

 

 

 

And just when I didn’t think life could get any better, WAKING UP JOY WAS listed on another 2014 Favorites list at Story Matters at another great blog all about books and authors. Again, I’m super excited and thankful. Check it out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, I’m getting around a little late, but since this ones still circulating out there in the print magazine, I wanted to mention that WAKING UP JOY is listed in the Ultimate December Book Guide in The San Francisco Book Review. Again, wow. I’m very flattered and grateful to be mentioned and hope this one caught/will catch some new readers who might want to meet Joy Talley.

 

 

These are only a few of the many sites/media who have mentioned Waking Up Joy, but I’m grateful for anyone from the top bloggers to the reader standing by the water cooler during their break and sharing Waking Up Joy with their co-workers. No writer is an island. We couldn’t do this without the help of booklovers.

Happy Reading!

-Tina

Remembering Ruby and the Possibility of a New Book Club Guide for Joy

Six years ago, while Waking Up Joy was still simmering on the back burner, I wrote a couple of books about California. I lived there for five years in my early twenties and the stunning scenery and lifestyle of the wine country stuck with me. When he novel released a book club guide was included in the back, but I also compiled an additional guide that you could only get from me. I’m reposting it today, in case your club is looking for a good read, and I’m also thinking about putting together a Waking Up Joy book club guide. If you’ve read ‘Joy’ and have a good question for book clubbers, leave it in the comment. Who knows? I might include it.

Happy Reading!

-Tina

 

Ruby Among Us at the 2008 ALA Convention

Is your Book Club or Reader Group considering Ruby Among Us? Here are some bonus questions that aren’t already included in the back of the book. Feel free to print them out, rewrite them, use one of them or all of them. I hope they provide you with some thought-provoking conversations. Thank you for selecting Ruby Among Us! I really apprecate it and hope you enjoy the book:

1. Kitty is very neutral about her heritage, calling herself an American only. Why do you think Lucy and Kitty have differing feelings about their heritage? Have you ever felt a need to research your family’s heritage? Why or why not?

 

2. Ruby is a single mom and Kitty essentially lives as a single mom when she is raising Ruby and later as she raises Lucy. How do you think the single parent journey affected the relationship between Kitty and Ruby? How did it affect Lucy and Ruby? Kitty and Lucy? Do you think it would be hard to be a single parent? Do you think you would have made similar or different choices as a parent if you were in the same place as Kitty? How and Why?

 

3. There are many maternal aspects in Ruby Among Us, but what about the men?  Their parts in the book may seem small, but their significance to the story is strong. Why do you think this is? How do you feel about the actions of each of the men? In what ways has their decision-making contributed to each woman’s journey?

 

4. Why do you think Max falls for Lucy? And Lucy for Max? Do you think Lucy is mature enough to know how she feels for Max since he is the first “boy” she has ever dated? Is he too old for her? In what other ways could their relationship be considered complicated? If you could write their story, what would you have happen with Max and Lucy?

 

5. The author’s favorite scenes in the book all involve the mothers and daughters when the daughters are still very young. Can you recall any of those scenes? What do they show about each mother’s deepest desires?

 

6. What sort of influence do you think the mothers are having on their daughters in this story? Positive? Negative?

 

7. Lucy, Ruby and Kitty all have very different understandings, opinions, and feelings about faith. Why do you think this is?

 

8. Why do you think Max and Susannah strike up a friendship with Lucy even though their beliefs differ from hers? How do you feel about their differences? Do you see why Lucy would want to be friends with Susannah and Max?

 

9. Why do you think Kitty’s mistakes grew to be so big in her mind that she felt her family, Blake, and even God could not forgive her? Like Kitty, have you ever felt unforgivable? How might other characters in the book answer this question?

 

10. Kitty’s life is complicated. Do you think that makes her easy or difficult to relate to? Can you understand Kitty’s fear of the truth? Are there things other characters in the book could have done differently that might have made Kitty feel differently about family, faith, and the world in general? What do you think would have happened if Kitty had told the truth long before she left La Rosaleda?

 

Other novels by Tina Ann Forkner: Rose House (Sequel to Ruby Among Us) and the Southern novel, Waking Up Joy.

Favorite Readers, Author Friends, and Barnes and Noble

It’s hard to believe that my third novel, Waking Up Joy, has been out for two months! It’s been a great ride and I’ve enjoyed reconnecting with the readers of my first two books, Ruby Among Us and Rose House, and connecting with new readers who are just discovering my work. I always say I have the best readers, and I’m so grateful to all of you, old and new! I thought some of you might like to see some pictures from my book signing at Cheyenne Barnes and Noble.

The managers and employees at Cheyenne Barnes and Noble have been great to me over the years. They’ve hosted several book signings for me over the years and it was great to be signing books for them again. Enjoy these pics, and if you haven’t picked up your own copy of Waking Up Joy, you can purchase it here.

One of the first “readers” to show up at my signing was Joanne Kennedy, who is just a doll and has always been so supportive of me and my books. She’s a very accomplished romance novelist in her own right, and it was an honor to have her there. Learn about her books here!

The best part about book signing is definitely the readers.

Like I always say, I have the best readers, and my readers are my friends.

All of these ladies have supported me from book one all the way up to now, even when I went a few years without having a book out.

Speaking of friends, this girl has been to book signings for each and ever book (Okay, so there only 3 right now, but she has been there for every one of them). I’ve known her since I was eighteen and now we are about… twenty-eight, right Dardi? Let’s hear it for best friends!

Mary Gillgannon is another author friend. She is our Celtic princess. She has also been supportive from the beginning of my publishing career. Learn more about her books here!

And last, but definitely not the least, this is my hubby. He’s my inspiration to keep doing this, even though he doesn’t read fiction with heroines and relationships (He prefers books by our friends C.J. Box and Craig Johnson), but he reads mine.

Over all, I’d say it was the best book signing ever. Of course, I think I said that last time. At any rate, I hope you’ll pick up a copy of Waking Up Joy, and if you do, let me know. I would be happy to send you a signed book-plate.

-Tina

‘Waking Up Joy’ Blog Tour – Hosted by BookSparks

I’m very excited that so many great bloggers have hopped onto the Blog Tour for Waking Up Joy.  Thanks to my publisher, Tule Publishing, BooksparksPR, and to all the great bloggers for putting this together. I will add more links as they come up. *I am including some links that are not part of the official tour, but that you might find interesting anyway. – Tina

October  

Fresh Fiction – Guest Post: Reading is Sweet

Suite T Southern Writer’s Magazine – Guest Post: Going Back to Your Roots

5 Minutes for Books – Review

Marienela – Review

A Novel Review – Review

A Soccer Mom’s Book Blog – Review

Harlequin Junkie: Spotlight

Book Gannet Reviews – Review

5 Minutes for Books – On Reading: Dear Reader, You Matter to Authors

Wyoming Tribune Eagle: Story – Waking Up Joy Tells a Tale of a New Lease on Life

Genre Reviews – Review

Heather Day Gilbert’s Blog – An Interview

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Blog:Guest Post – Free Your Writing Soul and Write Better as a Result

Beth’s Book Reviews – Review

Novel Rocket: Guest Post – Moving on From Rejection

Chip MacGregor Blog: Guest Post – Being Open to Change in Your Writing Career

Alice J. Wisler’s Patchwork Quilt Blog: Spotlight – Cooking with Author Tina Ann Forkner – Includes Recipe!

Coffee & Criticism – Review

November  

Mary’s Cup of Tea – Review

Autumn Blue Reviews – Review

WTF Are You Reading – Review

Karen Blue Reviews- Review

Back Porchervations

Cheryl’s Book Nook – Review

Book Enthralled –

Kritter’s Rambling

Crossroads Reviews

Cumberland University

Hanging Off the Wire

Western New Yorker

A Bookish Affair

Karma For Life Chick

Girl Seeks Place – Interview

Running N Reading – Review

Overstuffed Princess

Being Cheap is Easy

The Write Review

Like a Bump on a Log

December 

Chick Lit Central

Writing Wyoming

Party of 5 and Counting

A Guest Post at Women’s Fiction Writers

One thing I love as an author is writing guest posts for other blogs. I’ve been invited to post at a variety of other blogs lately, even though I will get back to blogging here when some of this book launch biz settles down. Until then, I want to share this guest post at Amy Sue Nathan’s Women’s Fiction Writers blog. Head over there to hear about how I transitioned from La Rosaleda (the fictional small California town in my first two novels) to Spavinaw Junction (the fictional small Southern town in my new novel, Waking Up Joy.) Amy Sue Nathan also just happens to be my editor for Waking Up Joy (Tule Publishing), which makes the post, the book, and just everything surrounding “Joy” even more special. Hear more about it over at Amy’s blog. Amy and I gave away copies of our books last week, but you can purchase Waking Up Joy, Rose House, and Amy’s novel The Glass Wives online wherever books are sold.

Another thing I wanted to share with you is about reviews. With the publication of Waking Up Joy, I’m doing my best to be neutral about reviews. I’ve learned from my past novels that book reviews are based on just one person’s opinion and as an author, you have to respect where the reviewer is coming from and remember that reviews are written for readers, not authors. That said, I’d be lying if I claimed that a glowing review of my novels doesn’t make me a little weak in the knees. There isn’t much better than when someone really  “gets” your book. This Review of Waking Up Joy from Autumn Blues Reviews is one of those reviews.

Happy Reading!

xoxo

Tina