Work Toward Your Dream with Alison Stone (+ giveaway)

Hey, all! A rare Tuesday post, I know.
But I'm so happy to have fellow Samhain author Alison Stone with me today, talking about her debut novel: RANDOM ACTS.
So please give a warm welcome to Alison!

Growing up, Alison Stone never imagined becoming a writer. She enjoyed math and science and ultimately earned a degree in engineering. Go Yellow Jackets! After the birth of her second child, Alison left Corporate America for full-time motherhood. She credits an advertisement for writing children’s books for sparking her interest in writing. She never did complete a children’s book, but she did have success writing articles for local publications. Finally, Alison got up the nerve to try her hand at full-length fiction. After completing a handful of manuscripts, she sold her first book to Samhain Publishing in 2011, followed a few weeks later by a second sale. Now, Alison has the best of both worlds. From her home office in Western New York, she writes fast-paced romantic suspense while her four children are in school. It never fails to amaze her how soon the afternoon bus arrives

Hi Jennifer, thanks for having me.

A couple weeks ago, my debut novel, Random Acts was released into the world and now everyone knows I’m a writer. Well, maybe not everyone, but certainly more people than before. For years I was a closet writer. Very few people knew I toiled away on manuscript after manuscript.  I was the mom who volunteered at my kids’ schools and church.

During this time, I was obsessed with reading author biographies on the Internet. For every writer who held a college degree in creative writing, the little voice in my head grew louder. “See, they know what they’re doing. Why do you think you can be a writer?”  Yet the funny thing is, I had never doubted myself when I had decided to become an engineer. I was accepted to college, passed the required courses and at the end, they handed me my degree. But becoming a published author has no set path, even for those with creative writing degrees. This threw me for a loop. I progressed in fits and starts. I joined RWA in 2002. Signed with my wonderful agent in 2006. We came close to selling a few times, but close only counts in horseshoes. Finally, I quieted the voice, but still kept the dream relatively quiet. One quote that inspired me—and I’m paraphrasing—was, “God wouldn’t give you a desire to do something if you didn’t have the ability to do it.” In other words, if I had this crazy idea to write, maybe I did have some God-given talent. I continued to learn my craft and write.

Then, last summer I finally sold two “sweet” romantic suspense novels.

And now Random Acts is out. The world knows.

I am a writer.

Have you ever worked toward something, a dream perhaps, but never told anyone for fear of failure? How much sooner do you think you’d achieve your goal if you cast your doubts aside and worked confidently toward your dream?

I’d love to hear from you.

Random Acts

by Alison Stone

BLURB:

Second chances can have a terrible sense of timing.

As a child, watching her mother always pick the wrong man left Danielle Carson wary of opening her heart to anyone—except Patrick Kingsley. But circumstances came between them and left Danielle with a broken heart. Now she buries the pain of what might have been by channeling all her energy into her career. When a family crisis brings her back to her hometown, she is forced to face the past—and the disturbing fact that her sister’s car accident was staged to mask a brutal beating.

A police officer and widower, Patrick guards his heart as fiercely as he guards his beloved daughter. Seeing Danielle again unexpectedly reignites their old flame, but no way will he introduce a woman into his daughter’s life. Certainly not one whose values on faith and family are so different from his own.

Despite their best intentions, they are drawn together—until Danielle learns Patrick had a hand in putting her sister in harm’s way. Her fragile trust is crushed, but Patrick is the only man who can help her stop the villain before everything they both love is destroyed. Faith, family…and their second chance at forever. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT:

Opening scene Random Acts by Alison Stone:

The Protector yanked open the back door of the girl’s beat-up car. The door groaned in protest, the loud sound splintering the stagnant night air. He pulled at his collar, cursing the heat. October nights usually meant fleece jackets and first frosts, not suffocating mugginess. He swiped the back of his hand across his forehead but didn’t stop. He had to work fast.

The dome light stood out like a beacon, making his pulse spike. He reached in and punched the plastic cover, casting them once again in darkness. A twig snapped behind him. He jerked to a stop and listened. Hard. The tiny hairs on the back of his neck prickled to life and a bead of sweat rolled down his back. As if in slow motion, he turned on his heel, the loose gravel shifting under his weight. Complete darkness. A chorus of crickets and night critters, but nothing else.

He drew in a deep breath and forced his attention back to the vehicle. The girl lay unconscious. Her head lolled at an awkward angle over the edge of the narrow back seat. A trickle of blood snaked out from one of her nostrils, her delicate lips swollen. His stomach clenched and he cursed under his breath. Tamping down the swirl of emotions, he crouched down into the vehicle and jammed his hands under her armpits. And pulled.

Thanks, Alison!! And CONGRATS!

Awesome post and I LOVE your cover!

For more information on Alison, please visit:

Website: www.AlisonStone.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/Alison_Stone

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/AlisonStoneAuthor

Blog: http://alisonstone.wordpress.com/

GIVEAWAY: Alison will be awarding autographed bookmarks at every stop, as well as a $25 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

Good luck!