Monday, April 16, 2018

Goodbye to the Blues - #TeaserTuesday / First Chapter / First Paragraph / Tuesday Intros

    I love a good series, and one of my favorites is the Karen Grace trilogy written by Lynne Morgan Spreen. The characters are mature - "older" but not "old" - and I can definitely relate to them. There's friendship, romance, drama, humor, and even a little danger in their stories. The relationships between the women ring true. Today I'm featuring excerpts from Book 3 - Goodbye to the Blues. FYI: I posted excerpts from Key Largo Blues, the second book in the series, HERE.
    ⭐By the way, when I contacted Lynne and told her I planned to feature Goodbye to the Blues on my blog, she offered a giveaway - an audio version of Key Largo Blues. If you'd like to enter, just include your email address in your comments on today's post. I've also invited Lynne to respond to comments and questions.

First Paragraph:
Chapter 1 - Fern and Belle
     My New Year's resolution - yes, only one - was to go through my mother's recipe cards and make every single dish. I'd tried a few - fleischkuecle and Round Steak Supreme and Walnut Walkaways, although the information wasn't always that clear. For example, one recipe for chicken stew started this way:
     "Take an old rooster. Wring neck early in morning so meat can cool..."
     I didn't plan to try that one.

Teaser (from 47% on my Kindle):
     When we were introduced, he stuck out a sweaty paw and grasped my hand all the way up to my wrist. I would have had to been wearing a whalebone corset for my breasts not to jiggle.
     I loathed him instantly.

Genre: Contemporary Women's Fiction
Book Length: 314 Pages (Trade Paperback)
Amazon link:  Goodbye to the Blues
Disclosure: I received an advance copy of Goodbye to the Blues as a beta reader. Then I bought a copy of the final version for my Kindle.

Synopsis (from Amazon):
     Every woman needs a friend like Karen Grace. In this third book in the series, Karen travels from Palm Springs to Newport Beach to Denver reuniting with friends, all of whom struggle with matters of the heart. In Palm Springs, longtime couple Fern and Belle are on the verge of breaking up, but everyone knows they were meant for each other. Now in their late seventies, will Fern accept the truth about their relationship before it’s too late? In Newport Beach, Rita, a fiercely independent trucker, must choose between the call of the open road and her devotion to Grady, who needs her now more than ever. In Denver, Jessie has managed to keep her troubled mother at arm’s length, but Sandy is desperate for reconciliation. While Jessie fights to protect her family, her marriage hangs in the balance.
     Caught up in the drama, Karen fears repeating her own mistakes. When she returns home to North Dakota, husband Curt drops a bombshell that threatens to tear them apart. Goodbye to the Blues is an upbeat testament to the power of love in all its forms.



Teaser Tuesday is hosted by The PurpleBooker. Post two sentences from somewhere in a book you're reading. No spoilers, please! List the author and book title too.
Link up HERE



First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is hosted by I'd Rather Be At The Beach. To participate, share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you're reading or thinking about reading soon.

Twitter: @SandyNachlinger

Facebook: sandy.nachlinger

12 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this new-to-me author and trilogy.

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  2. Good morning, Sandy. It's 4:58 in California and I'm awake early. Think it was excitement about seeing your post? I'll stop in every few hours. (It's my grandson's birthday so I'm delivering 24 ice cream sandwiches to his kindergarten class today-- fun!)

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  3. I love both excerpts. This author and series are new to me. This week I have Shattered Mirror by Iris Johansen. Happy reading!

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  4. Delightful excerpts! I had to laugh about the recipe with instructions to wring that chicken's neck and when.

    Thanks for sharing...and here's mine: “THE FEMALE PERSUASION”

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  5. I really like a book with "real" characters - like the fact that they are older. I find that those stories tend to be richer and more realistic. The writer usually includes experiences that can only come from someone who has lived a while. In this book it looks like the author also has a decent sense of humor. I'd like to give this series a try. My email is margot.peck@gmail.com

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  6. This looks very interesting. I might need to add it to my TBR.

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  7. I'm enjoying the comments, everyone, and I will send a free download code to those who've requested it, 1st thing tomorrow morning.

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  8. The first paragraph made me laugh. I think I'd enjoy this book.

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  9. That chicken recipe actually came from a cookbook written in 1974 I believe called "What's cooking in Lefor?" And it was put together by a group of North Dakota housewives.

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  10. I bet if I went through my mom's recipes I might find something similar as I remember dressing out chickens as a kid. Thanks for stopping by Girl Who Reads

    And I would love to win the audiobook - donna (at) girl-who-reads.com

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  11. I like the sound of this one. I want to read more of it.

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