Sunday, August 22, 2010

Read this: Playing the Hand You're Dealt (psst, I'm giving away a copy!)

Hello new blog readers! My name is Carleen Brice. Like everyone else blogging here, I'm a woman novelist looking to hook up with women readers. My first novel Orange Mint and Honey is a mother-daughter story (and premiered on LMN as "Sins of the Mother," which airs again on September 11). My second novel Children of the Waters is a story about two women, one white and one black, who discover they are sisters. I hope you'll check them both out if you haven't already.
I also can be found blogging at White Readers Meet Black Authors where I try to introduce authors to a wider readership (On Tuesday, I'm running a Q&A with Lori Tharps, author of the new "nanny novel" Substitute Me). In that vein, I thought I'd kick off my first blog post here by telling you all about a book I recently finished that comes out on August 24th. It's called Playing the Hand You're Dealt by Trice Hickman. I have to confess it's not a book I would have picked up on my own (I don't typically lean toward romance), but the publisher sent it to me and I read it. And I really liked it. The characters were fresh, interesting and believable and the story was just an enjoyable, easy read.

It's about two women (see perfect for the Girlfriends Book Club!) who meet in college and have been best friends ever since. The only hitch is that one of the women is in love with the other's father. Here's a snippet:

"Emily's my very best friend in the world. She was right there in the deliver room when CJ was born, holding my hand, reminding me to breathe. But even before he took his first breath, we both knew that motherhood wasn't my thing. I remember thinking that she should've had him, not me. She cradled him with love while I looked on, too scared to hold my own child because I thought I'd do something worng. When CJ was six months old my job transferred me to New York, and that's when we decided that CJ would be better left in her care. So Emily raised my son for the first four years of his life. See, I told you she was a selfless person.

I knew I'd never find anyone who accepted me the way she did. And it was funny because we were as different as caviar and catfish, with one exception--we were born on the exact same day. But here's the rub, she was born in the wee hours of the morning and I was born in the late hours of the night...."

The book opens on the cusp of the women's 30th birthdays and all kind of juicy stuff happens. Kind of romance-y, kind of women's fiction-y, Playing the Hand You're Dealt makes a great end-of-summer escape. As I said, it pubs Tuesday and I hope you'll pick up a copy.

To promote our new blog and to promote books by women, I'm giving away my advance copy of Playing the Hand You're Dealt. Post about Girlfriends Book Club or tweet or Facebook about it and leave me a note here in the comments on this post and I'll enter you to win. I'll randomly pick from the comments on August 31 at 5 pm MST and will announce the winner in the comments thread on this post. Good luck!

28 comments:

  1. That cover is GORGEOUS. And it sounds great too. I love novels about female friendship. If I don't win it, I'll order it.

    Exciting about Sins of the Mother re-airing!

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  2. Carleen, thanks so much for your support! I appreciate you!

    Melissa, so glad you like the cover!

    Be well,
    Trice

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  3. Carleen, you're a winner! Thanks for the great post and introducing us to Trice Hickman's compelling novel. Keep writing, keep reading, keep sharing!!!

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  4. I agree that the cover is wonderful and the premise sounds fun. Best of luck, Trice. I also just checked out the blog, Carleen, and I love it. Really enjoyed reading people's take on The Help, which was a fav read of mine.

    My WIP is about my experience as a Southern debutante type working in an inner city school so I'm frequently thinking about some of the issues you brought up because so many of my characters are black. Anyway, I've bookmarked the site and plan to visit often. Thanks for alerting us to it.

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  5. Hi Carleen,

    Loved the blog!

    Best of luck to Trice and the new book. It sounds wonderful:)

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  6. PLAYING THE HAND YOU'RE DEALT sounds great and what an interesting twist in CHILDREN OF THE WATERS! I will definitely add them to my TBR list. Thanks for sharing!

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  7. I will definately check this out, thanks Carlene. I dont lean towards romance either but if you say its worth the read, Im in!!

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  8. The cover is beautiful and I would buy it just because of that. Lol! The fact that you have given it a thumbs up makes it even more enticing. I will definitely pick it up when it comes out or I am hoping I can download it on my Kindle. Thanks, Carleen.

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  9. Carleen, I love both of your books so if you like this one I will read it as well.

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  10. Great blog! And congrats on a GORGEOUS cover!

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  11. That excerpt drew me in. I love this blog, too.

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  12. Hey Carleen! Great post and thanks for the recommendation--it sounds like a perfect end of summer read.

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  13. Hi Carleen,

    What a terrific introduction. I'm looking forward to getting to know both you and Trice!

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  14. Carleen
    Thank you for the book recommendation. I too, love, love love that cover. It hints at so much within the book.

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  15. What a juicy premise! I also love novels featuring complicated friendships. Will be sure to look for this one at the bookstore.

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  16. Wasn't the Lifetime movie based on your book the most-watched movie in its history? Not surprised they are showing it again.
    This sounds like a great book, too!

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  17. Okay, you've got me intrigued.

    And WAY TO GO on having your book "aired!"

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  18. OH, happy book birthday--tomorrow! Fantastic!

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  19. @Sarah, 2nd highest rated on LMN, yes. It's been re-aired a few times now, but since I was linking to it, I looked to see when it might be showing again.

    Thanks everybody for your comments!

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  20. Carleen, you're the best! Thanks so much for everything! And thanks everyone for your comments and words of support! I'm super excited!!

    Be well

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  21. Hi Carleen, that sounds like a very interesting book--especially brave for a character to be announcing that motherhood isn't her thing! Great going on the show!

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  22. Sounds like an interesting book.

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  23. I love the fact that you have this new blog! I will let my book club members know as well as spread the word to others. This is just great thank you so much I can't wait to dig into your new work!

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  24. Oh noes, tried to order it (b/c I never win anything) and it's temporarily out of stock on Amazon. That only makes me want to read it even more. Hopefully it comes back in soon. Thanks for the rec, Carleen!

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  25. Wow, does this one sound juicy!!! Can't wait to check it out!

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  26. i tweeted at mskrr1983

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  27. And the winner is....Karen Reynolds! Congratulations! Thanks everyone for your comments!

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