Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Guest Author: Karen Wiesner


HOME
By Karen Wiesner


Inspirational Romantic Fiction
978-1-105-20118-9 (trade paperback) from 
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/karenwiesner
978-1-921636-76-9 (electronic) from 
Writers Exchange E-Publishing 
http://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner.html  
Available now


Small-town girl Ayodele “Della” Flynn lives in a city she abhors, where danger seems to be lurking around every corner. When her husband dies very unexpectedly, she’s confronted with figuring out where her home is with her young son River and trying to come to terms with the loose ends her husband left their lives in.


HOME is a story that’s been with me for many, many years. In my mind, I’d built it up as my magnum opus and so I intimidated myself into terror at the thought of writing it. But I decided this year to write it. When I sent a proposal (containing nothing more than a 2-sentence back cover blurb and details on when I’d finished the book and when it should be released) to one of my publishers, I received an almost overnight acceptance on it, along with the release date I’d requested of February 2012. I outlined, wrote, revised and polished the book in record time (even for me!), and I still can’t believe how well it turned out.



What makes it so unusual is that I decided to write it in 1st person, present tense, with only one main character (Della) in point-of-view. I haven’t done anything like this in my writing since I was a fledging, teenage author. When I finished writing the book, I wasn’t entirely sure it was any good, but the revision convinced me otherwise and my critique partners’ raving comments solidified my hope that I had written my magnum opus after all.


HOME was a story I conceived of based on a dream I had of a woman forced to live in a dangerous city because of her husband’s job. She and her husband raise their only child in this place, and she constantly longs for the safety and simplicity of the small town she grew up in. The sudden and unexpected death of her husband brings to light secrets and betrayals, making her homecoming bittersweet and tainted.


HOME is certainly one of the most personal books I’ve ever written, but not necessarily because Della and I are all that similar. In ways we are, and I can relate to her in so many situations because she’s introspective and can’t function normally outside of her home for any length of time. I’m a homebody in every sense of the word (not agoraphobic—not yet anyway—but close), and being away from home for longer than a day drains me to the point where I become physically ill. I can’t explain this, but HOME is a story that I think so many readers will be able to identify with. Della is so real, almost painfully so, and also human in the sense of the word that she makes mistakes but she’s also heroic, too. 


Find out more and purchasing info: http://www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/fiction4.html 


Read an excerpt:
http://www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/Homeexcerpt.pdf


Reviews:


“Karen Wiesner’s novel HOME offers a poignant look into the heartbreak and turmoil that inevitably follows when a spouse cheats. Having lived this situation, I can attest that she captures with perfect clarity the anger, the pain, the questions, the guilt, and the struggle to heal and move beyond the betrayal. I loved Della, the main character, for her strength, her devotion to her son, and the truly honest way she had of evaluating herself and others in the story. She was a highly realistic character, one every woman could relate to. Told with a captivating voice and Wiesner's enthralling storytelling abilities, I didn't want to put this book down. Reserve the whole day for this novel so you can read it straight through!” ~Author Lisa Mills www.authorlisamills.com


“HOME is a wonderful inspirational romance in which Karen Wiesner displays her immense talent—and overcame a major pet peeve of mine: that Dec’s death might make everything seem easier for the heroine, but instead Della is haunted by guilt and other debilitating emotions though she logically believes she was doing the right thing. With a late suspense adding tension, fans will enjoy returning to Peaceful (see Family Heirlooms and Friendship Heirlooms Series) as Della affirms you can go home if love embraces you.” ~Harriet Klausner for Genre Go Round Reviews http://genregoroundreviews.blogspot.com/2012/03/home-karen-wiesner.html


Biography:


Creating realistic, unforgettable characters one story at a time…


Karen Wiesner is an accomplished author with 89 books published in the past 14 years, which have been nominated for and/or won 123 awards, and 13 more titles under contract. Karen’s books cover such genres as women’s fiction, romance, mystery/police procedural/cozy, suspense, paranormal, futuristic, gothic, inspirational, thriller, horror, chick-lit, and action/adventure. She also writes children’s books, poetry, and writing reference titles such as her bestsellers, First Draft in 30 Days and From First Draft to Finished Novel {A Writer’s Guide to Cohesive Story Building}, available from Writer’s Digest Books. Her previous writing reference titles focused on non-subsidy, royalty-paying electronic publishing, author promotion, and setting up a promotional group like her own, the award-winning Jewels of the Quill, which she founded in 2003. Jewels of the Quill produced two award-winning group anthologies per year published by Whiskey Creek Press from 2005-2011. All were edited by Karen and others. Along with her writing, Karen enjoys designing Web sites, graphics, and cover art. For more information about Karen and her work, visit her Web sites at http://www.karenwiesner.com, http://www.firstdraftin30days.com, http://www.falconsbend.com and http://www.JewelsoftheQuill.com. If you would like to receive Karen’s free e-mail newsletter, Karen’s Quill, and become eligible to win her monthly book giveaways, send a blank e-mail to 
KarensQuill-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.  

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