Debra Coleman Jeter will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes&Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during this tour. Please use the following link to place your comment:
Blurb
Joy marries a widowed bank executive caught in an ethical dilemma and misreads his obvious frustration while struggling to integrate into her new family. Inspired in part by Love, Come Softly, this novel explores the challenges of second marriages and dealing with step-children during the crucial years of puberty and teenage angst. A college professor coming up shortly for the huge tenure decision, Joy finds herself falling apart as her career and her home issues deteriorate and collide.
Excerpt
Joy opened a cabinet door to gaze at the rows of hand-painted spices, little bottles labeled in delicate, loopy cursive and decorated with yellow daffodils, each flower unique. What kind of woman would take the time to transfer store-bought spices into hand-crafted containers? The same woman who painted the daffodils? As a teacher of finance, Joy would question whether she could sell the hand-painted jars for enough cash to compensate for the materials and labor.
In this new universe, the question was altogether different. What was the question? Joy felt lost.
The jars appeared to be aligned in alphabetical order, and she checked to be sure. Coriander seed, cumin ... tarragon, turmeric. They probably hadn’t been used since Carolyn died. Either that, or Carolyn had trained Ray and the girls to keep them in their proper sequence.
The phone rang, startling Joy in the unaccustomed setting. She recognized the voice at once. Her colleague and coauthor Natalie. Yes, the honeymoon was wonderful, Joy told her. She elaborated on the brilliant turquoise of the water, the amazing world she and Ray explored together beneath the sea. She couldn’t tell Natalie the real wonder. To be held, to be nurtured, to feel cherished for the first time in so many years. For the first time ever by a man. She flushed at the thought of confessing as much, at her age.
“I haven’t forgotten our paper,” she said instead. “I know I’ve been negligent lately. But I’ll get on it. Right away.”
In this new universe, the question was altogether different. What was the question? Joy felt lost.
The jars appeared to be aligned in alphabetical order, and she checked to be sure. Coriander seed, cumin ... tarragon, turmeric. They probably hadn’t been used since Carolyn died. Either that, or Carolyn had trained Ray and the girls to keep them in their proper sequence.
The phone rang, startling Joy in the unaccustomed setting. She recognized the voice at once. Her colleague and coauthor Natalie. Yes, the honeymoon was wonderful, Joy told her. She elaborated on the brilliant turquoise of the water, the amazing world she and Ray explored together beneath the sea. She couldn’t tell Natalie the real wonder. To be held, to be nurtured, to feel cherished for the first time in so many years. For the first time ever by a man. She flushed at the thought of confessing as much, at her age.
“I haven’t forgotten our paper,” she said instead. “I know I’ve been negligent lately. But I’ll get on it. Right away.”
Author bio and links
Debra Coleman Jeter has
published both fiction and nonfiction in popular magazines, including Working
Woman, New Woman, Self, Home Life, Savvy, Christian Woman, and American Baby.
Her first novel, The Ticket, was a finalist for a Selah Award, as well as for
Jerry Jenkins’ Operation First Novel. Her story, “Recovery,” was awarded first
prize in a short story competition sponsored by Christian Woman; and her
nonfiction book “Pshaw, It’s Me Grandson”: Tales of a Young Actor was a
finalist in the USA Book News Awards. She is a co-writer of the screenplay for
Jess + Moss, a feature film which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival,
screened at nearly forty film festivals around the world, and captured several
domestic and international awards.
Links:
Website and Blog: www.debracolemanjeter.com
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/njjeter/the-ticket-a-novel/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debra.c.jeter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DebColemanJeter
The Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1941103863
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
The Ticket trailer: https://vimeo.com/50187275
Website and Blog: www.debracolemanjeter.com
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/njjeter/the-ticket-a-novel/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debra.c.jeter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DebColemanJeter
The Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1941103863
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
The Ticket trailer: https://vimeo.com/50187275
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteDid you design the cover?
ReplyDeleteIt was a team effort. My publisher, my designer, and I looked at a lot of different beach scenes, trying to pick one that suggested an element of mystery or tension but also promise. We tried different colors for the woman's belt and hair. We also considered using a cover that showed the entire face, just the back of her head, or the profile, before settling on this one.
DeleteHow much is your fiction influenced by people in your life?
ReplyDeleteA lot. Sometimes I take notes on people I see in an airport or restaurant whom I don't know at all. Then I imagine what their lives are like. But I also draw bits of inspiration from people I do know. No character is fully one person, but may be a combination of traits from several. In my first novel--it's unpublished but I'm thinking of returning to it soon and revising it--I remember drawing on my aunt as the inspiration for one of the characters, my dad for another, and the wife of my husband's partner for a third.
DeleteI want to welcome everyone who reads about my book with a big thank-you for being here. Also my thanks to my hostess and to Goddess Fish for arranging this! I'm attending a luncheon seminar today but will be checking all comments before and after. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteThis book looks and sounds amazing.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone who came and visited today, as well as those who read about Joy After Noon the next few days. I hope you're sufficiently intrigued to read more or to check out my website and learn about my other books! My first novel is now available on audio as well as Kindle and paperback. Good luck with the drawing!
ReplyDeleteI love the synopsis! How did you find inspiration to write it?
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite authors is Daphne du maurier. I read a novel by her a long time ago called Rebecca, and somehow it's stayed with me all these years. Remembering certain aspects of that novel, combined with a book called love come Softly, inspired me to write this novel.
ReplyDeleteAre you referring to the book series by Janette Oke as your inspiration? If so, I couldn't devour those fast enough as a teen. I checked them out of our tiny rural library one after another and longed for more. I would love to learn more about how she inspired you in your writing :).
ReplyDelete