Hi, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Karen
Leigh Gruber and her new book, “When Lions Roar”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!! Also, come back daily to interact with Karen
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
When Lions Roar
by Karen Leigh Gruber
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Women’s Fiction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Two women from different
lands, each struggling to survive; a child’s mysterious disappearance will
alter both their lives forever…
Maggie
has become unrecognizable to herself, succumbing to the predictability of being
a mother and wife. Every day she reminds her daughter to brush her teeth, has
the same conversation with her husband about what’s for dinner. Maggie
struggles to cope with the disenchantment of the monotonous tedium that has
become her life. Despite her boredom, when her husband David is called on
assignment to South Africa, Maggie resents having to rearrange her life just
because David has decided they all need to traipse halfway across the globe.
While
on safari, Maggie awakens one morning to a mother’s worst nightmare; their
daughter Hannah has gone missing. Just when things can’t get any worse, Maggie
is confronted with the harsh truth of her emotionally abusive marriage and what
she has allowed her life to become.
When
Lions Roar is set against the backdrop of the exotic and intriguing landscape
of South Africa, when the country is reeling from the aftershocks of apartheid.
Will Maggie find the strength and courage to abandon the fragile ties of her
marriage and confront her self-destruction in time to save the life of her
daughter?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT ONE:
I
moved from the hall into the kitchen. Without a moment’s hesitation, I reached
for the cabinet door, the one that is closest to the refrigerator, the one that
contained my relief. I reached for the bottle. It slid off the shelf with a
satisfying sound, but I quickly realized it only had a sip or two left. Damn
it, not nearly enough. I padded out to the garage where we keep all our spares.
Just the way David likes it: spare toilet paper, spare baggies, backups of all
our canned goods, and for me, of course, a generous backup supply of alcohol. I
grabbed my favorite vodka and headed back inside. On the way in, I noticed a
candy wrapper on the floor of the garage—a Dum Dum wrapper, to be exact—Mystery
Flavor, if I was not mistaken.
I’ll
pick that up later, I thought to myself. My hands were a bit full. And right
then, I had more important things to tend to.
Back
in the kitchen, I pulled myself a nice long pour, then to the fridge for some
juice. Damn it, again. I was out of cranberry juice. It would have to be Diet
7-Up today. I topped off my glass with a splash of the soda, and I headed back
to the front of the house. I passed the mirror yet again. For the third time
that day, I looked into the mirror, but this time I raised my glass, and
looking into my own deep blue eyes, I mocked, “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
I
regarded myself as I took a deep, long drink.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUEST POST:
My Ideal Writing Space:
My
ideal writing space has been refined over the past year. Owning a business,
being married, being a mom and living a full life requires that I be adaptable.
I feel extremely fortunate that writing is an offering which allows me to work
from home. There are so many beautiful,
inspiring areas in our home, I find myself in many different locations on any
given day.
When
Lions Roar
was birthed in Hawaii, an amazingly inspirational location. When I returned to Denver, draft manuscript
in hand, I had a lot to discover about me, my writing process, and how to
design an ideal space to create. Through
a great deal of trial and error, I finally discovered a process that
consistently worked for me when writing.
The
key to any ideal writing space is ritualizing my writing process. To quiet my
mind and body and get down to the task of writing, I have ritualized my process
so that the creativity and words are in the flow no matter where I find
myself. Having a ritual, a sequence of
repeatable acts, makes this activity and the time devoted to it a sacred
offering and creates an energetic shift.
The
key element to any ideal writing space for me is beauty. No matter where I am, I identify at least one
object or element to look at that I find aesthetically pleasing. I will spend a few moments taking deep belly
breaths and exhaling out anything peripheral that still lingers in my
consciousness. I pop in my earbuds and
listen to writing music or something uplifting.
My initial manuscript is written in long hand, as are any lengthy
revisions or scene rewrites. I write in
an artist’s sketch book with heavy paper that feels nice to the touch, my
utensil of choice is a Bic mechanical pencil.
Something delicious to sip on and a nutritious snack nearby are luxuries
that I adore.
Each
one of these individual touches signals my mind, body, and spirit that it’s
time to write, it’s time to create, it’s time to let go and receive. Ritualizing this process gets me in the flow
of writing much quicker than attempting to create something new each time. It
creates a protective barrier that indicates this block of time is dedicated to
my expression, however that may appear on the paper.
My
most favorite areas where I love to write are on our front porch that overlooks
our pond and garden, my loft office which has a view of the mountains, and at
the dining table that overlooks the neighborhood park. These are all areas I
gravitate to when I am at home. I love it when our dog takes a cruise through
the area where I'm seated and puts her head in my lap for a few moments while I
scratch behind her ears. This exchange of unconditional love both ways, fuels
my spirit.
I
have found over time the more I engage with and create ritual, the faster I am
able to leave any stress, worry, or concerns behind. This is true in all areas of my life, not
just writing. By providing a clear, meaningful transition, bringing you into
the present moment and engaging many of your senses, rituals can create magic
no matter what task is at hand.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Karen Gruber is an
international #1 best-selling contributing author, inspirational speaker, and a
Leadership Development Coach for women and moms. She specializes in inspiring
moms to realize their potential as mothers, women, and leaders. Karen has had
extensive specialized training in parenting, feminine spirituality, and
leadership. Over the past 15 years she
has provided innovative leadership coaching for moms and has dramatically
transformed her own life.
Sharing
her life with her husband Jim and daughter Jaymie, presenting her message to
other women, and traveling the world bring her the greatest joy.
She
is the founder of The Inspired Mama, a company located in gorgeous
Denver, Colorado that focuses on the inspiration, leadership, and wellbeing of
women and moms.
When
Lions Roar
is Karen’s debut fictional work. She is freakish about Christmas lights and
loves to play Baccarat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH KAREN:
Website:
Blog:
Phone:
303-882-9843
Email:
karen@theinspiredmama.com
Facebook:
Twitter:
Instagram:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Paperback:
The Inspired Mama Website Pre-Sale Paperback:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Karen will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to
a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
Karen ~ Good morning! Welcome to FAB! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Ally, thank you so very much for hosting When Lions Roar today. I LOVE your site--it makes me happy :) xo-Karen
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteGreat writing space!
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday! What are your reading or writing plans for the weekend?
ReplyDelete