Lessons from a Horse: Remembering Love

Lessons from a Horse: Remembering Love is now available on Kindle!   This is the first in a collection of essays that are near and dear to my heart; I hope you'll enjoy them. 

READ MORE ...

A Reviewer's Choice Award for Finding Felicity

I am so honored that Finding Felicity earned a Reviewer's Choice Award from Two Lips Reviews. Here's an excerpt of the review:

"Love, life, forgiveness, and death are the central themes of Monica Marlowe’s character driven story, Finding Felicity. While this is a romance novel, it’s also so much more; it’s a story about forgiveness, life, family, faith, and the choices we make. Ms. Marlowe’s characters captured my attention from the first page and never let go."

The full review can be found here: http://www.twolipsreviews.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7307&Itemid=36

Thank you Rose and Two Lips Reviews!

The Midwest Book Review: "Finding Felicity"

I am so excited to read this review ... and grateful, too!

Midwest Book Review, January 2012

An act of kindness can lead to much more. "Finding Felicity" is a dramatic novel following Madeline O'Connor who rushes to Italy to be at her dying sister's side. Staying at a monastery, her time there changes her life, finding love in a place that isn't usually regarded as romantic. She soon learns her visit to Italy will change the course of her life forever. "Finding Felicity" is a fine and entertaining pick, not to be overlooked.

See the original post here:
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/sbw/jan_12.htm#Fiction

Ursula's Christmas Cabbage

So hard to believe that it's Christmas Eve. Growing up, that meant it was time for my mother's red cabbage. She would start cooking it first thing in the morning, and the aroma would fill the house for the whole day. We children were the official testers throughout the day. We'd attempt to sneak into the kitchen, undetected, and scoop up a spoonful from the pot into our mouths.

"Get out of the cabbage!" my mother would shout from the living room.  How ever did she know what we were up to? I guess that's why she always said that she needed to have eyes ... in the back of her head.

My mom passed away in 1989. Ever since, I've made Ursula's Christmas Cabbage on Christmas Eve. Of course, I've modified the recipe somewhat, using red wine where my mom used water. As I write, I hear it simmering on the stove and my writer's cottage is beginning to smell oh so good! Soon, I'll have to test it.

From my house to yours, I wish you Happy Holidays, a Merry Christmas, and a New Year filled with felicity!

Bookmas!

Today, I'm just giving you the answer as a gift:  Footwear News and/or InStep Magazine

Today's Clue

She was the inspiration for The Hours.

A New Clue!

The two books have the following ASIN numbers on Amazon: B004HFRJQC and B001NLL784.

Today's Bookmas Clues

1.  This novel is about Madeleine Hanna, a dutiful English major, who is writing her senior thesis on Jane Austen and George Eliot, purveyors of the marriage plot that lies at the heart of the greatest English novels.

2. This book is about Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
3.  This novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination—a thousand page tour de force.

Don't they all sound great?  Have fun!

A New Hashtag: #firstbookfriday

I woke up last night with an idea for a new Twitter hashtag: #firstbookfriday

Authors who have published their first book could use it to announce the happy news, and readers who want to discover new favorite authors could use it to search for debuts!  What do you think?

I'll start!

It's Day 6 of Bookmas!

Have you started playing yet?  Here's an explanation of the game:  http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2011/11/twelve-days-of-bookmas-giveaway.html

Today's clues to the answers:

1) You would not be able to see this man.
2) The Bard of Avon thinks you'll like it :)

Good luck!

It's Day Four of Bookmas!

The clue to today's first question is ...

The publisher of Walter Isaacson's book about Apple's late founder.

The clue to today's second question is ...

The agency sponsoring Bookmas!

Today's Clue for the Twelve Days of Bookmas!

Wow!  The stakes are getting higher - two questions to answer today!  I'm making it easy for you; here are links to the answers on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Jabberwocky-Other-Poems-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486415821/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1323109842&sr=8-4

http://www.amazon.com/Rebecca-Daphne-du-Maurier/dp/B000GH2YPG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323109974&sr=1-1

Oh ... and while you're here ... give me a follow on Twitter:  www.twitter.com/authormonica

Keep playing!!!

Today's Bookmas Clue ...

Penny Jordan wrote this book ... she's keeping score!

The Twelve Days of Bookmas: Today's Clue

In this book, one of the characters blows up into a blueberry from sneaking forbidden chewing gum!

Dreams Come True?

It feels like forever since I left college!  And yet, I feel like a freshman at heart ... do we ever really feel grown-up?  I graduated from the University of Guelph and this year, was fortunate that Finding Felicity was included in the Campus Author Recognition Program.  The University's library even hosted a reception, but with my crazy schedule, I was not able to attend.  Still, I just received the plaque in honor of Finding Felicity's publication.  Here's a photo:

When I look back on my college days, I remember how full of dreams and hopes I was as new graduate.  To think, I thought I'd become a lawyer!  I changed my mind about that ... and then wasn't quite sure what I wanted to be when I grew up.  But always, in the furthest corner of my heart, I wanted to be an author.  Now, that dream has come true.  What about you?  Have your dreams come true since you left school?

The Gift Horse

I've been so focused on the launch of Finding Felicity that I've been neglecting (terribly!) my WIP, The Gift Horse.  This week, I actually got some writing done and am excited about the progress I've made.  I also had a wonderful conversation with a writing coach who I've commissioned to help keep me on track and accountable, so you'll be seeing less of me here!  My goal is to have a polished MSS ready to send to my agent at the end of the year!  So no diversions ... except for the day job and going to the barn, my first and number one priority, after eating, is The Gift Horse!

I'll post an excerpt soon, but in the meantime, here's a photo that I plan to include, taken by a wonderful photographer and friend, Sheree Betts.  More of her work can be found at http://www.4dimensionalphotography.com/.

An Interview on NBC's My Carolina Today show!

I'll let this interview speak for itself.  It was my first television appearance, so I was nervous!

The Right Direction

The Triangle region of NC is about a two-hour drive from the coast, so those of us living here experienced only the outer fringe of the fringe of Hurricane Irene - blustery winds and periods of rain.  Grey skies prevailed instead of the normal expanse of clear Carolina blue.  Yesterday, a friend urged me to notice the clouds because they were going in the wrong direction, something that happens rarely in one's lifetime, if at all.  Even from hundreds of miles away, Irene's winds influenced the path of the clouds.

Now that Finding Felicity is published, I find myself thinking about my next book and what direction to take.  So many new ideas have sprung forward, and I feel caught between writing the book I think I should write, and writing the book that I want to write.  Of course, I want to write them all!  So much writing to do ... and so little time!  What direction should I take?  Watching the clouds, I realized that whatever direction I take is the perfect direction.  Publishing, tastes, and trends change like the winds.  Storm today.  Gone tomorrow.   Have faith, I tell myself.  Writing that comes from the heart will always be received and read in its perfect time.

In the meantime, let us turn our thoughts and prayers to all those on the East Coast as Irene treks on.

Finally ... Finding Felicity!

What a thrill it is to finally see Finding Felicity available!  As of today, it is available in ebook format.  Very soon, paperbacks will be available both online and to order in bookstores.  I've been busy requesting reviews and can't wait to start receiving them!  Provided, of course, that they're positive.  Of course, I recognize that writing is subjective; some will love the book, others ... not so much.  That goes with the territory of being an author. 

Right now, I'm just relishing that Finding Felicity is out there!  As to reviews, I'll quote one of my favorite heroines, Scarlett O'Hara: "I'll worry about that tomorrow!"

Letting Go ...

This week I finished the final proof of Finding Felicity, so the next time I see it, it will be in published form.  I have never worked so hard and I've never felt so satisifed.  I can hardly wait to come home to a box of paperbacks waiting to be opened - I'm tearing up a bit just thinking about holding a copy in my hand.  Sometimes, I find myself smiling and I'm sure people at the office are wondering what's happening.  Other times, I am seized by a fit of anxiety about reviews and how it will be received.  Will readers enjoy it?  How will people react to it?

Those are things that I can't control.  I wrote Finding Felicity a long time ago, and it is deeply rewarding to know that in a matter of days, it will released out into the world.  Now, the characters and the story will have their own life in the hands of readers. 

My task now is simply to breathe, surround it with love, and let it go.