Guest Post and Giveaway: The Making of Nebraska Brown by Louise Caiola

Published: February 6th, 2014

Description:

The last thing eighteen-year-old Ann Leigh remembers is running from her boyfriend in a thick Nebraska cornfield. This morning she’s staring down a cool Italian sunrise, an entire continent from the life she once knew. The events of the eighteen months in between have inexplicably gone missing from her memory. 

All at once she’s living with Tommy, an attractive, young foreigner asking for her continued love. Though he’s vaguely familiar, she recalls a boy named Shane in America who she reluctantly agreed to marry. Juggling a new world while her old one is still M.I.A is difficult enough without the terrifying movie scenes spinning a dizzy loop in her mind: glimpses of a devastating house fire, a romance gone wrong, an unplanned pregnancy, and a fractured family – each claiming to be part of who she once was – a girl and a past somehow discarded. 

Ann Leigh must collect the pieces of herself to become whole again, but she doesn’t know who to trust especially when Tommy’s lies become too obvious to ignore. And above all, her heart aches to discover what became of the child she may or may not have given birth to. 

The Making of Nebraska Brown tells the story of one girl’s coming apart from the inside and the great lengths she’ll go to reclaim herself and find her way home.

Ana Lisa Carcossi’s DNA. Because that’s who I was. At least that’s what Tommy said. My breathing steadied. I kept my eyes shut. A strumming started, like the plucking of a fiddle chord. The same chord, over and over. And then I was gone.

GUEST POST

Five Things All Writers Should Know

About six years ago, this girl I know, I’ll call her Naïve Girl – NG for short – decided to write a book. A dear friend of hers wished her well and handed her a dog-eared copy of The Writer’s Book of Hope by Ralph Keyes. NG smiled, sure that SHE wouldn’t need to refer to that at all. Surely SHE would have a blessed and easy journey. NOT. And, yes. I’ll admit it. I am NG. Correction: I was once. Now I am Writer Girl. WG’s goal is to shake the sense and reality into NG. As such, I’m here to divulge the straight dope. No hold-barred. It’s like that Band-Aid. Yank it off quickly. Here goes:

You will be rejected. Many times. It will hurt. You will quit writing. You will take up golf/knitting/floral arrangements/yoga. You will fight the urge to get back at it. Don’t bother. Which brings me to my second truth –

Writing OWNS you. Any attempts to control or contain it will be met with failure.

Reading is mandatory. Do not think for half a second of writing more than a birthday card without reading at least ten novels first. By doing so you will recognize the rhythm every story must have to be properly constructed. Pay attention to this ebb and flow and learn from it.

Don’t quit your day job. Unless you happen to happen upon that ginormous advance, which is first cousin of that infamous needle in the haystack.

Practice patience. Time moves at the speed of sloth in the publishing world. Good things can and do occur, but if you don’t like waiting, you may not be fit for this game.

NG is far behind me now, and thankfully I’m none the worse for wear. I hope these tips don’t discourage the WGs out there. A healthy dose of fact among the fiction is all I’m after. Now carry on and keep the faith – and a couple bottles of aspirin might help, too. 

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About the author:

As a young girl who spent her allowance on Nancy Drew mysteries, Louise realized that one day, she might have a story of her own to tell. Maybe even more than one story. After years focused on raising her children she eventually reconnected with her passion for creative writing. She soon began to craft a large collection of short stories which were published in the inspirational online magazine, Faithhopeandfiction.com. Shortly thereafter, she authored her first novel, Wishless, a contemporary YA, released in 2011. 

Louise devotes a portion of each day to honing her skills. She has several other novels currently in various stages of development. A confirmed bibliophile, Louise enjoys reading outdoors on a warm spring day and watching her pup chase leaves on a breeze. She looks forward to meeting others who share her love of the written word and invites you to visit her blog, her website and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

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