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Winner of Free to a Good Home

Out of 13 entrants, Random.org selected #11

Sandra of Fresh Ink Books said, “I’m disabled but I  live directly across from a park where everyone walks their pets. So every day,  Frodo  (my white English Bull Terrier with black eye patch)  sits with me and watches the world and their furry friends go by, or even stop  by to say hello.  It’s perfect for both of us.
I’m not usually one for animal stories but I love this cover and story subject so much I really want to read it.”

Congrats!

Free to a Good Home by Eve Marie Mont

Eve Marie Mont‘s Free to a Good Home is a delightful read about Noelle Ryan whose husband, Jay, has finally told her his deepest secret — he’s gay — effectively obliterating her dream and forcing her to reassess her life.  Noelle has a successful, if stressful, career as a veterinary technician, but she occupies most of her time with her family and the dogs at the shelter, rather than coping with her own problems.  She’d rather solve everyone else’s problems and be the good person that everyone leans on when they need consoling or help.

“‘Sure,’ I say, handing him my cup.  He’s cute.  Messy brown hair, crinkly eyes, and that sexy clenched jaw thing.  Too cute.  A turn-your-brain-to-clotted-cream cute.”  (page 32)

Noelle is passionate about saving animals and finding them homes, but she’s also passionate about helping people, including her WASP ex-mother-in-law, Margaret, who made her marriage miserable. However, what will get to readers is how much of a doormat Noelle is when it comes to Jay; he asks her to do many unthinkable favors including taking care of his mother.  Many readers will want to scream at this character and beat her back to her senses.  While Jay is not a bad guy per se, he crosses the line in his relationship with Noelle, which effectively prevents her from moving on with her life even after she meets a gorgeous musician named Jasper.

“‘Luxwood Victorian Gardens.’

‘They make it sound so pleasant.  Like you’re staying in some luxurious estate, Blithewold Mansion for the physically impaired.’

‘Well, they have to do that to get people in the door.  They can’t very well call the place Let-Us-Steal-Your Independence Gardens.’

‘Feed-Us-Flavorless-Food-Courtyard.’

‘Watch-Jeopardy-Until-You-Die-Village.'”  (page 193)

However, Mont’s writing is engaging and dramatic and even humorous.  If you love animals and a bit of romance in your summer reading with a good dose of drama, Free to a Good Home will fit your needs.

About the Author:

Eve Mont lives with her husband, Ken, and her shelter dog, Maggie, in suburban Philadelphia, where she teaches high school English and creative writing. Free to a Good Home is her first novel, which was released on  July 6, 2010. She is currently working on her second novel.

http://www.literaryescapism.com/new-author-challenge10

This is my 37th book for the 2010 New Authors Reading Challenge.

Guest Post: Peer Into Eve Marie Mont’s Alternate Writing Space

I’ve got a real treat for you today. Eve Marie Mont, author of Free to a Good Home — a new novel in stores today (July 6) and is available in paperback and Kindle versions — will share with us a peek into her alternate writing space.

Here’s a synopsis of her book, which the author sent along:

Noelle Ryan works as a veterinary technician at a New England animal shelter, helping pets find the perfect homes. If only it were as easy to find the same thing for herself. After discovering that she can’t have children—and watching her marriage fall apart after a shocking revelation by her husband—Noelle feels as forlorn and abandoned as the strays she rescues.

She can’t seem to get over her ex, Jay. Unfortunately, all Jay wants from her is a whopper of a favor: serving as a caretaker for his elderly mother, who still blames Noelle for the breakup. While Jay heads off to Atlanta to live the life of a bachelor, Noelle is left with only her Great Dane, Zeke, to comfort her. But when a carefree musician named Jasper gives her a second chance at life—and at love—Noelle comes to realize that home is truly where the heart is.

Please check out the contest on Eve’s website for a chance to win a book club package of eight signed copies and a Skype call-in. Also, if you’d like to read a sneak preview, click here.

OK, without further ado, let’s check out her alternate writing space; shall we?

Thank you so much to Serena for inviting me to guest post on Savvy Verse and Wit. I was reading all the wonderful posts Serena has compiled featuring authors and their writing spaces, complete with photos of finely appointed offices with antique desks and fireplaces or cozy screened-in porches with Adirondack chairs. Then I looked at the space where I do most of my writing and thought, “I can’t possibly send Serena a photo of a plaid loveseat in front of an air conditioner!” But literally, that is what my writing space looks like. Don’t get me wrong, there are some lovely features to my living room as well — the soothing lemony yellow color my husband painted it, the sun that bathes the room in late afternoon, my favorite Picasso print that hangs across from me. But it’s not a space worthy of showcasing on a blog!

So I’ll tell you a little about my alternate writing space, or more accurately, my alternate thinking space: my backyard. I don’t get much actual writing done out here because the setting is far too distracting, but I take my trusty canine companion, Maggie, and we sit by the creek in the dappled sunshine and watch the goldfinches play and the ducklings swim. The breeze rustles through the trees above, and my favorite blue heron sometimes stops by to feed on the minnows. I finally get some time away from my laptop and get back to the basics: me, a pad of paper and a pencil, and some focused daydreaming time. Maggie sits by my feet chewing on sticks, while I fill my notebook with ideas and characters and settings.

This is not to say that my writing life is all lazy afternoons by a picturesque creek with waves of inspiration washing over me. I teach high school English full-time, so much of my year is devoted to planning lessons and grading papers, and I often get very little writing — or thinking, for that matter — done at all. Another reality is that this very same creek floods nearly every time it rains, often knocking down our fence and creating a lot of headache for me and my husband. But when summer arrives and the weather is fine, this is my “go-to” writing and thinking space. When I think of all the enjoyment and inspiration to be found in my own backyard, I know I’m lucky to live where I do—plaid loveseat and ugly air conditioner included.

What is the place that inspires you most? Leave a comment below for a chance to win a free copy of Free to a Good Home.

Deadline for the U.S./Canada giveaway is July 15, 2010, at 11:59 PM

EST.  Good Luck!

About the author:

Eve Marie Mont lives with her husband, Ken, and her shelter dog, Maggie, in suburban Philadelphia, where she teaches high school English and creative writing. Free to a Good Home is her first novel. She is currently revising her second novel, a YA book inspired by Jane Eyre.