Nancy Christie's Blog - Posts Tagged "novel"

On my link: Focus on Fiction blog, I posted my thoughts on Christmas In Whimsy by Clarissa J. Markiewicz.
(Hint: I loved it!)
Her novel is just what’s needed to inject a little holiday spirit into a highly stressful time!




Christmas In Whimsy

I Thought You Said This Would Work by Ann Wertz Garvin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

[This is an edited excerpt from my review on Focus on Fiction]

Perhaps because of the isolation posed by the pandemic, I have been reading a lot of books centered around friendships.

New friendships and old ones. Friendships with people just like us and those that bring new types of individuals into our lives.

Friendships that have withstood the test of time and those that have disintegrated, in some cases, beyond repair. Friendships with people and friendships with pets. (And yes, you can have a friendship of sorts with an animal!) Friendships that are born out of tragedy and those that, in some way, survive even the final loss.

Ann Garvin’s latest novel, I Thought You Said This Would Work, covers all those types of friendships. In turn serious and humorous, the story follows two women, Samantha and Holly, who have been estranged since college, reuniting to perform one final task for their mutual third friend, Katie whose cancer has returned.

And no small task it is. It involves a Great Pyrenees dog once owned by Katie that they need to transport from California back to Wisconsin to give their friend a morale boost and what they hope will be a dose of much-needed animal affection.

Along the way, they acquire a fourth member, the eccentric D-List celebrity Maggie, who becomes the catalyst for changes in how each woman views herself and her relationships. So yes, this is indisputably a women’s friendship novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book in the way you enjoy sitting with people you have known for a long time but haven’t seen because of COVID-19 and are now catching up with. And people that, under other circumstances, you might not have chosen as friends but now, because of circumstances resulting from the virus, you can’t imagine not having in your life.

If you have friends, read I Thought You Said This Would Work to remind yourself how lucky you are.

If you have lost friends due to a falling-out, read the book to make you think if the rupture can be repaired.

And if you’re wondering how good of a friend you have been, or should be, read the book and then reach out to those you care about and ask those questions.

True friendships are lifelines that we hold onto when the waves threaten to submerge us. I Thought You Said This Would Work reminds us of that, and also how invaluable and precious friends are.

View all my reviews

The School of Essential Ingredients


Erica Bauermeister’s novel, The School of Essential Ingredients, is a wonderful, captivating and delicious exploration of what takes place during the Monday night cooking classes at Lillian’s restaurant.

Bauermeister skillfully develops the story, moving from the present to the past and then back again, giving the reader a soupçon of this character’s backstory, a morsel from that character’s past before moving back to the main course.

As the participants spend their time slicing and chopping, mixing and pureeing, they learn about each other, but more importantly about themselves: who they were, who they are, who they can be.

And with her distinctive creative skill, Bauermeister brings all those individual components together for a wholly satisfying conclusion.

You can read my full review at Focus on Fiction (https://www.nancychristie.com/focuson...)

Or better yet, buy the book and write your own review!

I'm planning ahead for the release of REINVENTING RITA, my Midlife Moxie novel coming June 2023, and I wanted some fun giveaways for my signings.

So I stopped down at my local library (The Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County) where they have a Makerspace which includes a button maker, and here's what I came up with:



What do you think?

You can learn more about the novel series here and more about REINVENTING RITA here.

And stay tuned because my cover reveal is coming up at the beginning of February!

#midlifemoxie #ReinventingRita #womensfiction

I can't wait to share the cover for Reinventing Rita on February 6. It is exactly what I wanted and the BookBaby team did a perfect job!

Want to know more about REINVENTING RITA and my Midlife Moxie novel series? I've posted some tidbits on my book page.

And there are two excerpts from the book you can also download.


Please add REINVENTING RITA to your bookshelf. Pre-orders will start in a few weeks!

And if you sign up for Nancy's Book News in February, you'll be entered in a giveaway!

SAVE THE DATE! The cover reveal for my debut novel Reinventing Rita is coming up on Feb. 6, but until then, I’m sharing the skinny on the story! Check out Rita’s page, get a sneak peek at an excerpt, and subscribe to my mailing list to be entered in my eBook giveaway! Click here for information!

And if you're a baker like Rita, you'll love this month's recipe for Spicy Ginger Chocolate Cookies! (Just the thing to heat up your love life!)


#books #challengesatmidlife #coverreveal#friendshipfiction #lifereinvention #midlifechallenges #midlifemakeover #midlifemoxie #midlifereinvention #mustread #reinventinglifenovel #startingovernovel #womenatmidlife #womensfiction

I'm celebrating the cover reveal for Reinventing Rita today! What do you think of the cover? Does it intrigue you?

There's lots of information about the book and two excerpts here!

And be sure to add the book to your bookshelf!

In a few weeks, I'll have pre-order links, too! I Can't wait to share Rita with all of you!

On my Living the Writing Life podcast, author and screenwriter Peter Berk talked about the experience of collaborating with his father on creative projects, and the challenges and advantages of turning a screenplay into a book. 

Listen to the episode at https://livingthewritinglife.podbean....

A bit about Peter: He's the son of noted writer Howard Berk, whose credits included Columbo, Mission: Impossible and several novels and features. Peter has co-written several screenplays with his father, and on his own has written a recently-optioned sci-fi/time travel TV pilot, seven scripts and five novels in the TimeLock series, the first of which was published in late 2022  and is available here.

He also co-authored a non-fiction book with actor Dick Van Patten that was published some 15 years ago. Peter lives in Southern California and is the proud father of two sons and one grandson, with another grandson and a granddaughter on the way the first half of 2023.

You can learn more about Peter and his novel at http://www.ingramelliott.com/timelock... or follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/timelocknovel/.

So in less than two weeks, the paperback edition of Reinventing Rita will be sent out to all those lovely people who pre-ordered her—and my deepest thanks to all of you!

But just in case you haven't made the move yet, you can still take advantage of the pre-paperback-launch deal!

Preorder the paperback version from the BookBaby Bookshop page with the code MaySpecial and you’ll get it for just $11.99! That’s $5 off the list price! But the deal is only good until May 31 so hurry now and reserve your copy.

REINVENTING RITA will ship out June 1—just in time to enjoy a relaxing summer read!

In the meantime, I've been finishing all my pre-launch activities, which included a fun interview with NN Light's Book Heaven and another one with Michele Orwin at Bacon and Books blog.

I also added a new book trailer—So many changes—and a video about why I decided to write novels featuring midlife women to my Midlife Moxie Novel Series channel on YouTube.

Check them out and share your thoughts!

I've also scheduled a ton of in-person events for the next six months. Here's the link
and if you're in the area, stop by and say hi!

And if you do read REINVENTING RITA, I would be so grateful if you'd post a review here on Goodreads or on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or BookBub!











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Today starts New Friends, Old Friends week, and this trailer for REINVENTING RITA shows the role those who care about Rita play in her midlife reinvention. Where would she be without them?

Watch it here and share your thoughts about your support circle!

Video: Where would Rita be without her mother and her friends?