Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for Libby's Cuppa Joe by Rebecca Waters with JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: Libby's Cuppa Joe
Author: Rebecca Waters
Publisher: Ambassador International
Release Date: March 8, 2018
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Can grace and love be found amongst coffee grounds?
Sonja Parker is about to find out.
Excited to leave her stale life in the big city behind, Sonja takes the money her grandmother left her and purchases Libby's Cuppa Joe, a thriving coffee shop in a small community in Wisconsin's Door County. Sonja may have business sense, but is she ready to face the world on her own?
Sonja soon discovers owning a business requires more than offering a good cup of coffee. She must make major repairs to the building as well as major repairs to her heart. Do the former owners, Libby and Joe hold the answer? As Sonja seeks to make Libby's Cuppa Joe a viable business, can she also find herself and the God she has abandoned?
Libby's Cuppa Joe is a riveting tale of second chances, forgiveness, and not living on borrowed faith.
PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | ChristianBook
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Q: What was your inspiration for Libby's
Cuppa Joe?
A. My daughter and I met the proprietor of a small bookstore in Wisconsin near
where my daughter lives. The woman was frazzled. She wasn’t married, had a
baby, and was trying to make a go of her business. A used bookstore is a tough
way to make a living. My daughter and I
were touched by her openness and yet our hearts broke for this woman. Danielle
prayed with the woman before we left, a couple of small books in hand. I could
never get that young woman out of my mind. I wanted her to have community and
support and learn to trust God with … everything. So, in essence, I rewrote her
life. I still pray for her.
Q: Are you a big coffee drinker, or do
you prefer something else?
A. I do enjoy coffee. I lived in Kosovo for a year and fell in love with the
coffee culture there. And while I love specialty coffees from time to time, I
truly appreciate the comfort of a good cup of coffee every day.
Q: Which character to you most identify
with and why?
A. Curiously enough, I probably identify with Joan Linder. Joan is Sonja’s
neighbor. She is a wife and mom. She is protective of her family but supportive
of Sonja. She likes to cook and feed people, and she is a believer. I think we
have a lot in common.
Q: What made you choose Door County as
your setting? (By the way, I've been there, and I LOVED it! So, I do think it's
a perfect setting!)
A. My husband and I have visited Door County with out daughter and her family. We
loved the feel of the interior rural areas and the beautiful views from the
coastal towns. We didn’t stay in Fish Creek but visited it and shopped there.
I loved the people and the area. I think there is a closeness to the community
and that is just what my character needed … community.
Q: We stayed in Fish Creek, so I totally understand what you're saying about the area. What do you hope readers takeaway
from the story?
A. Oh, I certainly hope they learn or remember that nothing we do is beyond God’s
power and desire to forgive us.
Q: What a great message! What can you tell me about your
current work in progress?
A. I have several works in the mill, so to speak. I am currently working on three
books in the Christian romance genre. All three take place in a small town just
north of Tampa, Florida where I grew up. They are all connected in one way or
another to a veterinarian and puppies! The first is finished, the second
outlined, and I have scene cards developed for the third. I find it best to
work on all three this way since the characters are related and live in the
same community.
Q: Good plan! What advice do you have for beginning
writers?
A. I wrote a handbook for beginning writers called Writing with E’s and in it I identified five elements new writers
need to hone their craft. Two of those, Educate and Exercise, are fundamental to
success. The first, Educate, simply means to learn everything you can about
writing. Study the craft, read with a writer’s eye, take classes, do whatever
you need to better your writing. The second is Exercise. By that I mean simply
to engage the writing muscle by writing on a regular basis. I meet many people
with great ideas for a book or people who want to be writers, but they never
write. Just as your body gets leaner and stronger with exercise, so does your
writing.
Q: What's something about you that
would surprise your readers?
A. I am pretty much an open book, so this is a tough question. Perhaps new readers
would be surprised to learn I am an educator. My most recent stint in the
classroom after retiring as a professor of teacher education was as a fourth
grade teacher in Kosovo.
Q: What are some of the books in your
TBR pile?
A. I’m currently reading Jane Austen’s Pride
and Prejudice. It was a
“have-to-read” in high school and I honestly didn’t enjoy it. I decided I need
to actually read some of the classics instead of the Cliff Notes! For my
writing, I’m reading James Scott Bell’s Super
Structure.
Q: Do you prefer writing or teaching and why?
A. Another tough one. I find myself “in my element” with both experiences. Maybe
it is because being a good teacher requires uncovering every student’s story.
Teaching is rewarding, but so is writing. I think God gave me both venues as
ways to change lives.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Rebecca! I'm sure my readers will enjoy getting to know a bit more about you and your book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rebecca Waters has been a writer most of her life. Her first published work was a story in the school newspaper she wrote in second grade. For many years Rebecca used her stories as illustrations in church settings and to entertain her own three daughters. Her professional writing included educational articles and research. Following her retirement as a professor of education from Cincinnati Christian University, Rebecca turned her pen to the world of fiction. She has also published several articles in Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Lookout Magazine, and Home Health Aide Digest. Her first novel, Breathing on Her Own, was released in 2014.
CONNECT WITH REBECCA: Website | Facebook | Twitter
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