May 2012

B&N Book Club!

I love book clubs. Full stop.

Truly, one of my favorite experiences of being a published writer is getting to chat with book clubs either online or, when I'm really lucky, in person! In February, I had the wonderful opportunity to be the guest author at Jenny Crusie's Cherry Forums Book Club. (Click on the link to read our lively discussion.) And, this month, I'm thrilled and honored to share that A Summer in Europe is the featured read for May at the B&N General Fiction Book Club. The reading schedule is up here. On May 4th, our lovely moderator, Deb Haupt, will also post an interview with me about the story. We'll begin chatting about the novel on the "Fiction General Discussion" board on May 7th and throughout the rest of the month. I hope you'll join us!

In other exciting news, for the first time in 15 years I got to return to Europe this spring! My husband, son and I took a short but incredibly fun trip to England at the end of March. We raced around London, saw Jane Austen's house in Chawton, as well as went on excursions to Winchester Cathedral, Stonehenge, the cities of Bath, Oxford and Chester and we even explored Conwy Castle in the north of Wales. I wrote about it and shared a few photos in my Austen Authors post, "London Calling." And below is one of my favorite family shots from the trip:

FYI: I have blog highlights and more real trip photos from my A Summer in Europe "Grand European Book/Travel Tour" -- and they're right HERE! If you didn't happen to catch the whirlwind travel adventure when I was on my virtual tour of Europe, you can visit all of those wonderful sites with me now. Hope you'll enjoy my journey as I talk about breathtaking European views, classic landmarks, romantic moments and delicious taste sensations... Bon Voyage!

And, finally, I just wanted to say thanks once more to book-club readers everywhere for making A Summer in Europe a Rhapsody Book Club bestseller in "Fiction & Literature" this year! It's been a such pleasure to see a story I loved become embraced by so many kind and wonderful readers. Thank you all again and again.

Publishers Weekly wrote: "Brant’s newest...distinguishes itself with a charismatic leading man and very funny supporting cast, especially the wonderful elderly characters with their resonant message about living life to the fullest."

And Romantic Times wrote: "Brant’s charming and engaging tale will allow readers to immerse themselves in the magic and beauty of Europe along with the characters. Although the descriptions of the scenery are amazing, the development of the characters and their unique personalities are what really make this novel shine. What an enjoyable escape!"

Please check out the REVIEWS page for more!!

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In the ebook world, I was pleased that my light romantic comedy, On Any Given Sundae, which hit Amazon's Top 100 "Bestsellers in Humor" List, was also chosen as a "Hot Pick" by RT Book Reviews Magazine. About the story they wrote: "You'll want to read it for the humor and great characters and a plot that's sure to leave you smiling." 

I have a Reviews and Excerpt pages for On Any Given Sundae. The novel is available to readers online at Amazon, B&N and various retailers right now for just $2.99. And, I also have Reviews and Excerpt pages for my second ebook release, Double Dipping. It's priced the same and is available on Amazon, B&N and other sites as well. Hope you'll enjoy them both!

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And just a reminder for those aspiring novelists out there -- at the very bottom of my FAQ page is a link to some of my articles on writing, including my post on Blake Snyder's Save the Cat! website about living on the edge between the print and digital worlds and my recent Girlfriends Book Club letter to aspiring writers on five gifts I'd like to give them. I hope a few of you will find these pieces helpful.

With many thanks and best wishes to you all for a lovely spring!
~Marilyn

"Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised, or a little mistaken."
~Jane Austen