Presented by:
Series: The Lake Effect Series # 1
Author: Rue
Audience: NA and Adult
Genre: Contemporary, Chick Lit, Lesbian
Formats: E-book and Paperback
Publisher: Sittin’ On A Goldmine Publications LLC
Cover by: Rue and Anne French
Editor: M. Scott Gilbert; Kathy Gorchesky
Pages: 312 pages
ISBN: 0986062766
ASIN: B00KMHFW04
Date Published: April 21, 2014
Gwenn is a good girl, a responsible girl…a miserable girl. Her steady diet of vivid fantasies is the only part of her life she enjoys. She daydreams of new parents, a more exciting job and an actual love life. She struggles to run a business as The Organizer, while she stacks relationship carcasses in the closet of her own completely unorganized life. Her only real friend is her younger sister, Rachel.
Rachel is outgoing, risqué and happily gay. The only people who don’t know this little secret are her judgmental parents, Pastor Ed and Shirley. Rachel struggles mightily to dodge her mother’s constant attempts to set her up with “nice Christian boys”; while holding down a job at the bakery and keeping up with her rock-star girlfriend!
Gwenn uncovers a photo that brings her imaginary world careening into reality. She’s forced to ask herself if wealthy artist, Daniel Gregory is the answer she’s been seeking or a grand delusion.
Break-ups, meltdowns, family secrets, wild nights and finally a journey of self-discovery to exotic New Zealand keep Gwenn and Rachel stumbling toward independence.
So grab your parka and join the Hutchinson girls, as they experience the Lake Effect in Duluth, Minnesota!
Hiding in the bathroom, Gwenn remembered a far more embarrassing Halloween. She was barely ten and had just started fifth grade at a new school, several weeks late in keeping with the Hutchinson family annual relocation tradition.
“Hi, I’m Gwenn.” No one at the lunch table acknowledged her existence. “Um, sorry, I didn’t want to bug you. I was just wondering if any of you wanted to come to my big Halloween party?” Gwenn smoothly lied.
All heads turned.
“Cool!” Came from several directions.
“Yeah, totally,” chimed in a few guys.
“Awesome. What’s your costume, Jen?” Sarah Beth asked.
“Oh, it’s Gwenn, and my costume is Catwoman.” Gwenn embellished.
“Wow. My mom is making me dress like Alice in Wonderland. I can’t wait to come to your party.” Sarah Beth made room for Gwenn at the table, “Here, sit by me.”
Gwenn had rushed home, filled with the excitement of acceptance—finally.
“Hey Trixie, yer home early.” Pastor Ed patted Gwenn patronizingly on the head. “Take a seat in the living room. We are havin’ a family meeting.”
Gwenn felt her stomach churn. Oh crap they were moving again. She just made an actual friend. Why were Ed and Shirley so dead set against her having friends?
“Hi Gwenny!” Rachel beamed.
“Shut up, twerp.” Gwenn stuck her tongue out at Rachel.
Shirley took the reins, ”Girls the Lord has spoken to us and He has shown us that Halloween is Satan’s night. As good Christians we cannot sin against the Lord by paying tribute to the Devil.” She closed her eyes and folded her hands in prayer.
“What’d that mean mommy?” Rachel innocently asked.
“Halloween’s canceled idiot! No costumes. No candy.” Gwenn stormed out of the room.
Big wet tears rolled down Rachel’s chubby cheeks. “No candy!” She wailed.
But the torment was much greater for Gwenn.
Ed and Shirley didn’t have the decency to cancel Halloween at the Hutchinson house. Instead, they carved up some pumpkins and turned on the porch lights to lure the unsuspecting children. Gwenn hid on the stairs and watched through the banister as innocent trick-or-treaters came to the door and Shirley shoved little orange tracts in their treat bags and told them Jesus died for their sins.
Sarah Beth did not make room for Gwenn—ever again.
That’s when the emotional deformities started. The inability to trust completely, the gnawing nameless guilt and finally that unsettling feeling that someone was judging her every action—and Gwenn always came up short.
She kept telling herself it would change, that someday she would find the key that would unlock the door to her invisible prison and she would be free.
Gwenn jumped when the music stopped. She wiped an unexplained tear from her cheek, exhaled the yuck and marched out of the bathroom.
The party was winding down and Rachel had crossed the line between life of the party and annoying drunk; landing clumsily on the pain-in–the-ass side of that line. Gwenn shepherded her sister through the maze of glass and steel skyway corridors connecting the buildings of Duluth’s downtown.
They emerged into the bitter cold wind knifing across the harbor and Gwenn tried to hurry the procession to her car. Rachel was already quite numb from the alcohol, so the cold had little effect.
“Rache, come on. I’m freezing. I’ll take you back to my place.”
“No…home,” slurred Rachel, insistently.
“But…”
“Gotta work…”
“You have to open the bakery tomorrow? Rache, how the hell are you gonna—”
“No worries, mate,” Rachel spouted off in her best Australian accent.
“Oh, crikey!” Gwenn was keenly aware that in the order of Rachel’s sorrow-drowning inebriation, accents preceded vomiting and passing out was just around the corner.
“Fine. I’ll take you home, but you have to hurry.” Gwenn steered zig-zaggy Rachel to the Jeep and fishtailed out of the icy parking lot in a hasty attempt to arrive at Rachel’s loft before phase vomit emerged.
Gwenn beat the odds and managed to get Rachel into her own bed without further incident. She removed the alcohol-stained costume and placed it on Rachel’s dry cleaning pile. Gwenn kissed her sister on the forehead, tucked the comforter under Rachel’s chin and quietly flicked off the light as she left the loft.
Top Ten Favorite Authors
Before I ever wrote word one of “It’s Not My Favorite” I did my time as an avid reader. I still read every day! I love all genres – romance, thrillers, mystery, paranormal, fantasy, YA, NA, children’s picture books, and more! I am even nerdy enough to own (and read) software manuals and DIY books. I might have a problem. J
So, trust me when I tell you that choosing just ten of my precious children for this list is heart wrenching. I will type through the tears…
Here are my all-time favorites:
10. Michael Chabon
9. Sark
8. Gabriel Garcia Marquez
7. Aleister Crowley
6. Gregory Maguire
5. Yann Martel
4. J. R. R. Tolkien
3. John Green
2. Marian Keyes
1. Juliet Marillier (Bonus points for being a native New Zealander!)
This list would be different if you asked me tomorrow. There are always new voices joining the fray, and working on the second book in The Lake Effect Series will keep me from reading as many as I would like. I will read and write as long as I am able. Readers live in a limitless world!
Thank you!
Rue, Author
The Lake Effect Series
5 X Autographed Books W/Bookmarks (USA Only)
Minor Character Named After Winner In Book 2.
Rue graduated from Pepperdine University in Southern California with a degree in Journalism. Her intimate knowledge of the Midwestern United States, the inordinate amount of time she spent in its churches’ pews and her unique parentage make her an expert on life after religion. Having moved 17 times by the time she graduated from high school Rue has seen more than her share of the Great Plains. She never stayed in one place long enough to make human friends. Her best friends were all characters from her beloved books; and the love of reading led to a lifelong passion for writing.
Tour Schedule - Two Week Blog Tour for It’s Not My Favorite by Author Rue from Aug 3 to 16, 2014
Aug 3
Coffee Books & Art - Promo, Author Interview, Guest Post, Top Ten & Book Soundtrack
http://sarityahalomi.blogspot.com/
TTC Books And More - Promo & Book Soundtrack
http://www.ttcbooksandmore.com
Aug 4
A One-click Addict's Book Blog - Review
http://aone-clickaddictsbookblog.blogspot.com/
Bajgajka Loves Books And Giveaways - Promo, Dream Cast, Character Bio's, Book Soundtrack & Playlist
http://bajgajka.blogspot.com
Aug 5
Deal Sharing Aunt - Promo
http://www.dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com
Booky Ramblings of a Neurotic Mom - Promo & Top Ten
http://bookyramblingsofaneuroticmom.blogspot.co.uk/
Aug 6
Breny's Book Obsession - Promo & Dream Cast
http://brenysbookobsession.blogspot.com/
Pretty Little Pages - Review
http://prettylittlepages.blogspot.com
G The Book Diva Blog - Promo
http:/www.gthebookdiva.com/
Aug 7
Sinful Reviews - Promo
http://www.sinfulreview.wordpress.com
Indy Book Fairy - Promo, Character Bio's & Book Soundtrack
http://paranormalbookfairy.blogspot.com/
Aug 8
Our New Generation for Reading - Promo
http://jessica13bridgers.blogspot.com/
Clarissa Wild's Blog - Promo, Character Bio's, Book Soundtrack & Playlist
http://clarissawild.blogspot.com
Aug 9
A Cauldron of Books - Promo, Dream Cast, Character Bio's, Book Soundtrack & Playlist
http://acauldronofbooks.info
Fiction Dreams - Promo & Author Interview
http://www.fictiondreams.com
Aug 10
Angels with Attitude Book Reviews - Promo, Author Interview, Book Soundtrack & Playlist
http://angelswithattitudebookreviews-joelle.blogspot.com
Eclipse Reviews - Promo, Character Interview, Dream Cast, Character Bio's, Book Soundtrack & Playlist
http://www.eclipsereviews.weebly.com
Aug 11
The Avid Reader - Promo, Author Interview, Dream Cast, Character Bio's, & Book Soundtrack, Playlist
http://the-avidreader.blogspot.com
Portals to New Worlds - Promo, Author Interview, Dream Cast, Character Bio's, Book Soundtrack & Playlist
http://authorkarenswart.blogspot.com
Aug 12
Sassy Southern Book Blog - Promo & Review
http://sassysouthernbookblog.blogspot.com/
Darkest Cravings - Promo, Top Ten, Dream Cast, Character Bio's, Book Soundtrack & Playlist
http://www.darkestcravings.weebly.com
Aug 13
The Idle Musings of a Writer's Mind - Promo
http://theidlemusingsofawritersmind.blogspot.com
Aug 14
Night Owl Reviews - Promo
http://www.nightowlreviews.com/V5/Blog
Aug 15
The Phantom Paragrapher - Promo
http://www.thephantomparagrapher.blogspot.com
Aug 16
For The Love Of Books - Promo & Review
http://ftlobblog.blogspot.com/
Dalene's Book Reviews - Promo, Review, Playlist, Book Soundtrack & Character Bio's
http://dalenesbookreviews.blogspot.com
Books, Brownies and Barkers - Review
Good Morning Darkest Cravings Followers!
ReplyDeleteI hope you will sign up for the Giveaway and connect with me on social media. I love to hear from readers! -Rue
Hi Again!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to thank you for participating in the Blog Tour for It's Not My Favorite. Thank you for supporting Indie Authors! -Rue