Chick Lit Author Blog Hop

I am so excited to be participating in the Chick Lit Author Blog Hop. Kudos to Julie Valerie for pulling this whole lovely thing off! And now that you’re on my site–stop #17 on the Hop–you’re probably already aware of the amazing prizes to be had, including a free Kindle!

My debut novel, ON GRACE, is *this* close to being available for sale on Amazon. When this blog post went to (ha) press, it still wasn’t up, but give it a week ladies, and it will be there. Before I tell you what lascivious events befall my trying-to-get-her-life-together heroine Grace on page 25, I want you to open your calendar app and make a note to yourself that you will visit Amazon on June 15 (that’s on the safe side; might be up sooner) and find out what happens on page 26 and 27 and so on to Grace. I think you will find ON GRACE highly entertaining and relatable!

ON GRACE is a tale of turning 40 that will resonate with women who own at least one pair of Spanx: fidelity, friendship, and finding oneself at 40. ON GRACE is soulful and sweet, sexy and sad, straight up and smart, and, ultimately, quite satisfying.

When we meet up with Grace on page 25, her so-so day is about to be ruined. Possibly her entire life. The day started off with the exciting anticipation Grace feels because tomorrow is the first day of school and her youngest son is starting kindergarten, which means Grace will finally be a stay-at-home mom with no kids staying at home. Then she finds out her best friend Cameron is pregnant, and they plan a celebration dinner for that night. Unfortunately, Grace then receives bad news about her new job that is supposed to start the following week. But she has no idea page 25 is coming when she returns that night from her dinner with Cameron…

“Gracie,” Darren whispers, snapping me out of my thoughts by calling me a name he saves only for really, really good things or really, really bad things. Using the tears as a clue, I deduce it’s the latter. “I don’t know how to tell you this.”

“What?” I mouth, the word getting caught in my throat.

He takes a deep breath and looks down at my hands, which are still holding his. “In July, when I was in Chicago for that telecom conference…”

And then I know. He cheated on me. (Win the grand prize! The 17th secret word in the 25-word sentence is: what’s)

“I . . .”

“No,” I say. “You did not.” I drop his hands and forget to breathe.

“Gracie, I’m so sorry.” He grabs my hands and looks at me pleadingly, his blue eyes glowing as the light from the television screen reflects off his tears. “I don’t even know what to say. It’s such a cliché. It didn’t mean anything. I had too much to drink. I’m so sorry.”

I loosen my hands from his grip and sit back on my pillows. I suddenly remember that I’m wearing lingerie, and I get under the covers self-consciously. I feel every emotion at once: anger, sadness, fear, humiliation, and shock. But instead of feeling them all distinctly, I just feel calm, like the colors of the rainbow mixing together to make white.

There’s so much in store for Grace as things with Darren get worse and she receives other unexpected news. Grace stands to lose everything, including her sense of self. But by her 40th birthday party, Grace will realize who and what matter most. With laughter. With tears. With grace.

Make sure to look for me on Twitter @susieschnall and comment below to let me know how you think Grace should react to Darren’s big news.