The Promise Tree by Linda Rettstatt

Encore L'Amour, 306 pages, ebook & print
Cover art by Pat Evans
Purchase link for The Promise Tree

Trudi McNeil Sheppard and Wynn Colton have a history that reaches back into their childhood. They were playmates, then dating teens who became lovers until they went their separate ways for college. Thirty years later Trudi and Wynn meet again and the attraction between them quickly rekindles. They both learn that wishes and promises sometimes come true and that love endures and matures.

Excerpt:
Wynn steadied himself and wrapped his arms around Trudi. She was so small and fragile. "Hey, it's okay. Tell me what happened."

She clung to him. "I can't take this. I don't know what to do."

"Come here." He guided her to the porch swing and sat beside her, careful to keep an arm around her. "Talk to me."

She leaned her head on his chest and sniffled. "She was clear for a while. We had a nice hour or two. But it's come down to that-a good hour. And the rest…"

He didn't say anything, just continued to rub his hand in soothing circles on her back. He honestly didn't know what to say, and he wasn't certain she needed him to speak.

Trudi continued. "She knows what's happening to her. And she told me to put her into a home."
"She said that?"

Trudi nodded. "I can't do it."

"What will you do?"

Need a fun beach read?

Need a fun beach read for the summer? Why not grab a copy of Finding Hope?

Janet DeMarco is fed up. She's making some changes, and no one in her family is exempt. When her husband laughs at the idea that she would resign from her job as office manager for his cousin's construction business, Janet follows through with the threat. She then goes one step further and writes the letter every woman has considered at least once, resigning from her other jobs: housewife, cook, laundress, chauffeur, and ATM.

Janet takes on the new personna of Hope and soon discovers that is the one thing she and a few others in her family have been lacking.

To read more about Finding Hope or my other women's fiction with a touch of romance, visit my website. http://www.lindarettstatt.com/

Linda Rettstatt
Writing for women--stories of strength, love, humor, and hope.

Finding Hope Finals for EPIC Award

My women's fiction novel published by Wings in December, 2008 has finaled for a 2010 EPIC e-Book Award.

I wrote this book for NaNoWriMo, which challenges writers to complete at least 50,000words in thirty days. Well, I was so drawn into the characters that I finished the first full draft in just seventeen days!

I think when you meet Janet/Hope DeMarco, her family and, in particular, Grandma Carmela who decides to be called Sofialoren, you will be drawn into their lives as well. While I anxiously await EPICon in March in New Orleans to see if Finding Hope wins an award, I'd like to share a blurb and excerpt with you.

Blurb:

Janet DeMarco has had enough! It's time to make some changes, and no one in her family is exempt. She resigns as cook, laundress, housekeeper, chauffeur, shopper, and ATM. In her new persona of Hope, Janet learns that the questions we sometimes ask of ourselves may force a change. And, sometimes, they lead us right back home again.

Excerpt:

Dear family,

I quit. Effective immediately, I am no longer the cook, laundress, shopper, housekeeper, chauffeur, landscaper, or resident problem-solver. Oh, I’m also not the banker or the ATM. I am, however, the instructor. Classes will begin tomorrow and seating is limited, so you should sign-up early.

A cooking class will be conducted at five-thirty sharp. Bring your inquiring mind and appetite. A cook book will be available. On Saturday, I will offer two sessions--general housekeeping and laundry. Supplies will be provided. However, if you are attending the laundry session, please separate clothing into lights and darks and bring those with you. This class begins at nine a.m. in the basement.

Housekeeping will commence at ten, once you have mastered washing machine settings and drying times. Rubber gloves are recommended for those who have delicate skin or have had expensive manicures recently.

Other workshops, such as money-management, will be scheduled as needed and announcements will be posted. Don’t be late and get left out in the cold.

Janet R. DeMarco, Wife, Mother, Person
(not necessarily in that order)

# # #

Linda Rettstatt
www.lindarettstatt.com

The Restoration of Abby Walker

My new women's fiction novel, THE RESTORATION OF ABBY WALKER, is coming to Wings in September. Here is a blurb:

Abby Walker Mulgrew is counting on two things to breathe life back into her marriage: the Alaskan cruise she and her husband, Wil, have planned, and the see-through negligee she has purchased for the trip. Within the first twenty-fours hours of the cruise to celebrate her twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, however, Abby receives the one gift she least expects.

Linda Rettstatt
www.geocities.com/lindarettstatt
http://www.lindarettstatt-author.blogspot.com/

The Year I Lost My Mind

My newest release, The Year I Lost My Mind, will be the discussion book in June on the Wings Readers loop.

On her fiftieth birthday, realizing she is not content with her life, Beth Rutledge makes a decision that tests the strength of her marriage, confronts the strained relationship with her mother, and forces her to spend time with the one person she knows the least—herself.

The Year I Lost My Mind is available from Wings ePress in both electronic download and trade paperback. Read it now, and join us in our discussion in June. I'll post a reminder before the discussion begins.

Linda Rettstatt
www.geocities.com/lindarettstatt
www.lindarettstatt-author.blogspot.com/

What I'm Working On Right Now

I've just finished a rewrite of a manuscript and have to decide which of two new story lines I run with next. I'm leaning toward the one that will be more fun. The working title is Wake-up Call. It's about a woman who, after being unceremoniously dumped by her fiance, slides headlong into a relationship with a Texas rancher she meets at a conference. She's an executive director of a childrens' services agency; he's got money and a dream to open a summer camp on his ranch for children from divorced families, but doesn't have a clue how to run such a program. He's at the conference looking for the right person to do so; she's there to schmooze benefactors and garner funds for her agency. Her fiance, who works in the legal department of a large grant-funding organization, is also there. The sight of him opens still-tender wounds. In an effort to show him she's moving on, she attaches herself to the rancher at the annual awards banquet. She also has more than one-too-many glasses of wine. When she picks up her phone the next morning, expecting it to be the wake-up call she had requested, she hears a deep Texas drawl wish her a good morning. Fuzzy memories of the night before seep into her consciousness, and she is mortified.



Linda Rettstatt

www.geocities.com/lindarettstatt

www.lindarettstatt-author.blogspot.com/

Incredible News -- The EPPIE Finalists

Four Wings authors are EPPIE finalists for 2007:

Mystery Category -- Moon Over Chicago
by J. D. Webb

Historical Romance Category -- By the Sword
by Alison Stuart

Single Title/Mainstream -- And the Truth Will Set You Free
by Linda Rettstatt

Science Fiction/Futuristic Romance -- Devil's Due
by Rhobin Courtright