Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Release Day! FAMILY SECRETS is published

Today I am happy to announce that my novel, Family Secrets, is published. It is now available from the following vendors:

1. Amazon for Kindle.

2. Amazon as a print book.

3. Barnes & Noble for Nook.

4. Smashwords, in which the book can be downloaded to your computer or tablet in several formats.

The following is the novel description:

Jennie Graves Howell has a secret, including being thought of as a loyal wife to her husband serving in Afghanistan, a husband who has demanded a divorce.

Jennie’s family do not want her to delve into the past. Grandpa Mike refuses to talk about his experiences in the Vietnam War and the aftermath. He wants the biggest mistake he ever made to remain hidden in the past, including family members Jennie never heard about until hints of their existence begin to seep through the cracks of secrecy.

Her new friends at the Golden Oaks Family Ties club are willing to teach Jennie the skills she needs to unlock her family’s secrets, but is she willing and emotionally strong enough to learn what her family has kept hidden?

The following excerpt tells how Jennie starts her journey of discovery into revealing her family's secrets:


            Jennie chatted with Garrett and her parents through the meal. She waited towards the end to execute her plan, but she knew she better catch her parents before they left the table if she wanted some answers about the family. When she judged it to be just the right moment, she fished the paper with her questions from her jeans pocket. Keeping her tone light and casual, she asked her first question regarding the full, legal names of her grandparents?
            Christy glared at Jennie, a frown creasing her face. “What brought this on?”
          “Oh, I was sharing a table in the library with our neighbor, Mrs. Moore, and we started talking about what she does for a living. I told her I knew your full names, but I also realized that I’m not sure of the first and middle names of my grandparents. So, she helped me put together a list so I could learn more about my family.”
            “What kind of information about the family?” Christy demanded sharply.
            Jennie hesitated as she picked up on the concern in her mother’s voice. She looked up to see her mother’s expression hard and forbidding as a high stone wall. Jennie realized she needed to reassure her of her intentions.
         "You know, like the full, legal names of my grandparents, for starters,” I said. “Grandpa, Grandma, Granddad and Nana are okay when I’m around them, but I know that’s not what is on their birth certificates.”
            Jennie waited, but neither of her parents spoke. In the silence, broken only by Garrett making airplane noises as he swooped his fork over his plate, Jennie noticed that her father was not looking at her. He was intently watching her mother. Something was going on, but Jennie could not guess what it might be.
            “I guess that would be okay,” Jennie’s mom finally said.
            Jennie’s dad was the next to speak. “My father’s full name is John Kevin and the last name is Graves, of course. My mother’s name is Amy Renate Walding.”
            Then Christy told Jennie her parents’ full names, pausing as Jennie carefully recorded them.
         "Okay, I know all their birthdays, but I’m not sure of the years,” Jennie continued. She recorded the birth years of her four grandparents.
            “Okay, where were they all born?” she asked next.
            “Why do you need all this information? What else is on that list of yours, anyway?” Christy demanded.
            Jennie’s senses went on full alert. Her mother was definitely frowning, her voice hostile, her jaw clenched and her body rigid. Jennie looked at her father. His eyes were darting back and forth between her and her mother. At that point, she realized she was somehow touching on a sensitive subject for her mother. What could it possibly be?
            “Just the usual genealogy questions, I guess,” Jennie said. “Names of everyone in the family. Date and place of birth for everyone. Date and place of marriage….”
            “I don’t see any reason for you to be digging into all this,” Her mom cut her off. “This is all in the past. Our family is who we are now, and that is what counts.”
            Jennie felt completely confused as she stared at her mother. Had someone in the family done something wrong that everyone was trying to keep quiet? Jennie did not know what was behind her mother’s reluctance, but she knew she better proceed carefully if she was going to get any more information.
            “Mom, my grandparents are important to me. I just want to find out a little more about them. But, maybe I should just wait and ask them.”
            “No, Jennie, forget it,” Christy ordered her. “I do not want you to ask your grandparents a lot of personal questions like that. I don’t want you saying anything that may hurt someone’s feelings.”
            Jennie blinked, feeling befuddled.
         "I have no intentions of saying anything that would hurt anyone’s feelings,” Jennie said carefully. “I love my grandparents. I would never want to make them unhappy.”
            “I think that is enough for tonight,” Rob cut in kindly. “I know you would never knowingly say or do anything to hurt your family, but some things may be best left alone.”
            “Okay. Sure,” Jennie stammered. Even her father was in on whatever they were trying to keep from her. “But this is the first time I ever suspected we may have some deep, dark secrets in our family.”
            Jennie was sorry as soon as she said it.
            “That’s enough!” her father spoke sharply.
          “There aren’t any deep, dark secrets in our family,” Christy spoke quietly, as she rubbed the sides of her face with both hands. “It’s just….”
          The three all looked at each other in the silence that followed. Even Garrett stopped his playing and looked around the table in confusion.
            Jennie silently folded her paper and put it back into her pocket.
            “I’m sorry, Mom.”

The online release party which will be held on Facebook and this blog is scheduled for Saturday, November 1st. The details are on the blog post before this one, which you can access by clicking HERE. Please join me for more information and a chance to win some prizes.

Also, check out my FAMILY SECRETS Pinterest board. You can access it in the upper right-hand corner of this blog. The pictures will give you more details about the book.

Happy reading and enjoy!

Amazon Kindle & Print          Barnes & Noble Nook          Smashwords

                                               Zina Abbott Books Website



No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.