Paint Me Althena Book Release & Raffle

It's official. It's release week for

Paint Me Althena!

What's it all about?

When still life artist Ethan Day discovers a fantasy painting by Althena Bell in a consignment shop, he's sure he's found Ava, his wife who abandoned him and their two little girls three years ago. Finding and rescuing her are one thing, but forgiveness and second chances are impeded by outsiders, and conflict between Ava's search for identity and Ethan's new faith might break the safety net he offers. 

Excerpt

She needed to get away, but there was no place to go. She leaned forward, longing to hug her friend, but conscious of her wet clothes she pulled back. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come here."

She turned for the door. Anguish flooded her even as the rain let up outside. Light brightened the window to a gentle gray.

"Thena!" Ann pleaded, but Ava hurried to the door. She flung it open and rushed outside -- and smack into a man's chest.

"Oh!" She stepped back. "I'm sorry." Gushing her apology, she moved to pass around him, but he didn't budge.

"Ava?"

She hadn't heard her name spoken aloud in three years, and now it sounded like her subconscious come to life. She looked up and swooned. Ethan grasped her shoulders as the bag dropped from them. She blinked. "Please... please... I have to go."

"Can I give you a ride?" 

She nodded, her glance grazing up the street and down again. "Yes. Please."

She reached for her bag but he swooped down and picked it up. The rain had gone from shower to sprinkle, but he allowed her to hurry them down the walk. 

"This way." He pointed at a small sedan. "It's not locked." He tossed her bag into the back seat as she climbed into the passenger side.

"Wait. My bike."

He glanced back at the shop and nodded. "There's room. I'll get it."

She gnawed her lip. Any moment now, Dan would come around the corner. Maybe on his cycle, maybe in his truck. The car jerked as Ethan opened the trunk and lifted the bike inside. He couldn't close it tight, but pushed it down as far as it would go. He opened the door and ducked in beside her, tucking his long legs into the car. She inwardly urged him to hurry. A moment later he turned the key and the motor purred to life. "Which way?" he asked as he pulled from the curb.

She shook her head. There was no answer.

In case you're wondering:

The idea for Paint Me Althena came in an unusual way -- at least for me.

You know how you sometimes have a dream that seems really exciting, but when you wake up it doesn't make any sense? Well, I had a dream about this story. It was one of those like-watching-a-movie kind of dreams, and it was fraught with tension and romance. A scene of a young woman fleeing a Victorian to get away from someone she cared about but feared -- that especially got my heart beating. When I woke up, I thought, "Wow, that was some dream." I expected it to fragment apart at any moment, but as I thought about, I realized it made sense. It wasn't the jumbled mess that most dreams seem to wind up being. It had a beginning, a middle, and an end -- a real plot. So I grabbed a notebook and started writing the synopsis. I'd never dreamed a story from beginning to end like that before. Of course I had to flesh out a lot of the details, but it sure gave me an instant overview.

You might wonder why I would dream up such a story.

I think I've figured that out, and it actually became the main theme of the book. It seemed I'd been made aware of several women, some young, some older, who were thinking of leaving their families. I think my dream materialized out of my mind trying to process why they'd do such a thing. Ava, the protagonist in Paint Me Althena, ran away from her husband and children and lived for three years under the alias Althena Bell. (She has a reason for the unusual name she chose.) In my story, she had to come back and want a fresh start, but that would be quite a hurdle to overcome for both her and her estranged husband, not to mention her children's feelings. 

Plus, Ava/Althena still had to be likeable. I think it works. I think readers will really care about Ava and understand her.

I had to ask myself why Ava would abandon her family. I mean, they were great. Here's what I figured out.

She had self-image issues mostly, which is another theme that found its way into the story. She didn’t feel she deserved the life she had -- or rather -- she was made to feel that way by one of the antagonists in the story.

Ava's husband felt greatly wronged, but that's not the only reason I think readers will care about him.

Readers might rightly wonder why she would ever leave him. He's a great dad in the early stages of a growing career as a fine artist, not to mention he's -- ahem -- quite good looking. At least his young widow friend Jackie recognizes all those traits...

 Yes, the plot thickens.

Thickened twice over, because another man has entered Ava's life too, and he has no idea about her past, that she's married, or that her name isn't really Althena.

Here's why I veered here from my usual forte of historical fiction.

Readers might be familiar with Empire in Pine my 3-book historical/generational series. Paint Me Althena is my second contemporary. I like to focus on writing romantic women's fiction in whatever way the story needs to be told. I like to tell stories that deal with the messes we make in our lives and the sorry outcomes that we sometimes have to deal with. But the main point is that God can clean them up if we'll hand Him the mop. Does that mean everything always works out for everyone in my books? No, because characters, like real people, sometimes have to live with certain consequences. But happy endings? Oh, yes. They have to be there, because I believe the very best stories always inspire hope.

Here's where anyone can find Paint Me Althena as well as my other books:

Desert Breeze Publishing - Naomi's Author Page

Amazon

B&N

Also available at Sony, DeeperShopping, Christianbook, Koorong (Australia),
Wesley Owens,  Kobo, All Romance eBooks, iTunes, Books on Board, Google eBook store.

 

Enter the PAINT ME ALTHENA Giveaway  

using the rafflecopter at the following link.

You can win an e-copy of the book, as well as some really cool local artisan gifts.

 CLICK HERE, SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM

Here's a list of all the other great book suggestions coming your way in this 'Grace Awards' book launch tour: (Or check out the post at the 'Grace Awards' for more details on each book)

Mon. July 29 - Suzanne D. Williams - THE LIFE AND TIMES OF LUCAS McGILLEY
Mon. Aug 5 - Barbara Brink, ENTANGLED

Mon, Aug 12 ~ Naomi Musch,  PAINT ME ALTHENA

Mon, Aug 19 ~ Marcy Dyer,  OUT FOR BLOOD

Mon, Aug 26 ~ Nike Chillemi,  DARKEST HOUR

Mon, Sept 2 ~ DeEtteBeckstead,  VICTORY                          

Mon, Sept 9 ~ JanalynVoigt,  DAWNSINGER                           

Mon, Sept 16 ~ Kenneth Winters, THE LOST CROWN OF COLONNADE

Mon, Sept 23 ~ BJ Robinson, LAST RESORT

Mon, Sept 30 ~ Laura J.Marshall, A HEART'S HOME
Mon. Oct 7 - Tammy Doherty, CELTIC KNOT