Author: Michele Scott
Genre: Women's Fiction
How long it's been on sale: March 2011
Current price: $2.99
Total sold so far: 500
Link to book on Amazon: Happy Hour
Product Description:
Every woman has that group of friends in her life ~ her "go to girls" The friends that she can turn to who "get it." The ones who are there for you no matter what. The ones who laugh with you and cry with you. The ones that will always be there. These are the women of Napa Valley.
Jamie is the editor-in-chief of Wine Lover's Magazine, a single mother and caretaker to her senile mother-in-law ~ a woman who thinks her daily caregiver is Dean Martin. Jamie is still recovering, financially and emotionally from the death of her husband several years earlier. And when she finds what could be the key to happiness, can she open the door and let it in? Or will her feelings of guilt and betrayal hold her back?
Danielle is a vintner and the divorced mom of two. She's basking in what she knows is going to be a successful launch of her new wines. Wines she created on her own after her divorce. But what she doesn't expect is for her daughter to come home with news that will shock her to her core. Will an old flame help her accept the changes that are coming and find the love she's been missing in her life for so long? Or will a tragedy that no one sees coming change their lives forever?
Kat is a sommelier, co-owner of a magnificent restaurant with her chef husband, and mother of a blended family. But is being deeply in love with your husband enough to get them through the teenage years, step-children and exes? And what happens when old faces return and she's faced with the knowledge that not everything is what you thought it was. What happens when she finds she was mad at the wrong person and finds out the "right one" was in the wrong? Can she forgive and move on? Can love overcome everything and truly bring a family together?
Alyssa is an artist and gallery owner with a secret of her own. One she was hoping would stay buried deep in her closet. But the time has come for her to put someone else first, to face the past and to deal with her demons. What she never expected to find was love and her "home."
No matter what is going on in their own lives, no matter the heartache or joy they're experiencing these four women are always there to love, support and encourage each other.
First 300 Words:
Chapter One
Kat
Kat McClintock was late. This was not good. This would not be good. Damn. Damn. Damn. “Okay, boys, listen.”
Neither one of her pre-pubescent sons looked at her. They were far too absorbed in whatever new Game Station, Game Cube, Play Station, Wii, (whatever it was these days) game their father had recently purchased for them. She turned the TV off.
“Hey!” Jeremy yelled. “What are you doing, Mom? Not cool. Turn it back on.” Jeremy had evidently bypassed pre-pubescence altogether and jumped right into raging adolescence and his day-to-day tone with her ranged from apathetic to surly.
“Mommy, we were about to kill the boss,” Brian, her ten-year-old, said. “The like, big boss, you know? The guy to win!”
Thank God. He was definitely still not even close to adolescence. He was still sweet. No one going through puberty would dream of calling their mother Mommy. “I’m sorry, boys. I have to go. Your Aunt Tammy was supposed to be here by now. Typical.” She shook her head. “Anyway, Jeremy, I need you to take out two frozen burritos and put them in the microwave. They’re some bananas and I have some broccoli already cut up in there.”
“I hate broccoli,” Brian said.
“You like it with ranch dressing.”
“No, I don’t.”
“How come we can’t go out to eat? Dad always takes us out to eat,” Jeremy said.
Because Dad is an asshole. No, no, she couldn’t say that. Dad screwed me over in our settlement and while he’s out wining and dining, I’m trying to get a job to support us. No, no, not that either. Let go and let God. Wasn’t that what Mom was always saying to her? Breathe! Now there you go. This is all one growing experience that will get you to another side of things. The silver lining, or pot of gold, or whatever the hell it was at the end of the rainbow. Better be a pot of gold.
Vicki's Comments: The cover for this book is well designed, my only complaint would be it seems like the book is a character driven story, and yet there are no people on the cover. That might be turning a few readers away from trying the story. I will say that I'm being nit picky here, because I do think the cover is nice.
The description is very long. I'm afraid people are clicking to check out the book and then getting too bogged down with the long description. I also noticed a missing period in the first sentence. That's probably not giving readers much confidence in the book.
I usually tell people to get rid of questions in the description. To me this looks amateurish. I would change them to statements or leave them out all together.
Does this book have a protagonist, or do all four women share the spotlight equally? If there is a main character, I would focus my description on them. If they all are equal players, I would keep the separate descriptions, but I would cut them down so there's not so much text to read.
The book starts with a busy mom trying to get her kids off the video game. Unfortunately that wasn't a strong beginning for me. I did see one blatant error which makes me think this book needs an editor. ("They're" instead of "there are.")
I would get some opinions on the opening of the book, maybe get some critiques from other authors to see if you can't make it a stronger start. The beginning is the most important part of the book, and if readers are bored at the start of the book they probably won't stick around for much more.
What do you guys think?
