Lu Review and Giveaway!

Posted by abakersp in Contemporary / 16 Comments

I am so excited! Today Beth Troy was kind enough to take a moment from her busy schedule to visit and give us the inside scoop to her early writing years. More on that later. I finished Lu awhile ago and have been eagerly awaiting to share it with you. But life kind of gets in the way, and well, you know how it goes. It was such a great book. I remember it as if I just read the last words. I cannot wait to see what is next for Lu in the sequel! If you haven’t read this book yet, I recommend you get yourself a copy. By the way, you have a chance to win a copy here today. Woohoo!

About the Book

“There’s great hope where the road meets the sky – maybe even an answer. But this road leads home. Just home. I thought I’d finished writing that story years ago, but then yesterday’s story happened – the one about the boy who cheats and the girl who leaves.” Lu Sokolowski never planned to return to her small hometown of Dunlap’s Creek, but it’s the only place she can think of to go after her boyfriend cheats on her. Moving back in with her family lets her run away from her problems, but it also means suffering their attempts to reassemble her failed life, including arranging a job as the wedding beat writer at the local paper and setting her up with Jackson, the divorced pastor of her family’s church. Unexpected success and friendships restore Lu to the family and faith she’d left behind. But when the small-town life Lu never intended shakes up, will she run again? Lu’s story is a journey of a woman back to her family, her faith, and herself. It’s about second chances and the unchosen circumstances that press the point of who we are and what we believe. Are we the sum of our successes and failures, or does our identity rest in a greater hope?

My Perspective

I could not put this book down. It had so much going for it. Great characters, lots of emotion, a charming love interest, and a cute setting. On top of that, Lu was such a relatable character that I could at times picture myself in her shoes. She reacted like I might react, and I found myself just really liking her. The only thing that put me off was her faith in throughout the story. That was not like me at all, however I think it was necessary for her story. Hey, we’ve all been there at one time or another in our lives, and it was so great to see the Lord working on her as the story went on.

There were a lot of fun parts to this book too. My favorite? Lu and Jackson playing cornhole. It was just a cute scene that made my giggle a little bit. Then later on when Lu was doing research and attending the weddings for her newspaper bit, I just thought that was a great way to break up the emotional parts. But know this, the emotional parts are powerful. They will speak to your soul and you will be moved. Her journey is wonderful. My only complaint…the story ended! At the time I didn’t realize there was a sequel. Thank goodness there is!! I cannot wait to see what is next.

About the Author

 

I’m Beth Troy, and this is my first book. I live in the Midwest with my husband and three boys, and you can read more about my writing and life on my blog at www.bethtroy.com.

 

 

Guest Post by Beth Troy

My Writing Resume: The Early Years

  1. The first book that inspired me to write was Little Women. In fact, I recently received a 3-star review (what?!?!) on Goodreads, and so of course, I checked out that person’s other reviews. Little Women – that fantastic story of Jo March and her sisters – also received three stars from her. I’ll take it!
  2. The first book I wrote was Red & Blue about my great-grandparents’ pugs (of the same name). I don’t remember the story, but I do remember I illustrated each page. My artistic skills have not improved since that time, and at that time, they hadn’t improved since Kindergarten. I let the illustrating dreams die with that publication.
  3. The writing dreams continued, however! I titled my second book Southern Accents, a work of historical fiction that opened with a riveting paragraph about a curtain catching the breeze and a girl awaking from a deep slumber. You would have gained 1,000 calories just in reading through all of the adjectives.
  4. I flunked my first paper for ninth grade honors English. We were to write on the topic of My Most Prized Possession. I titled the essay accordingly, began it with the sentence, “My most prized possession is …” and ended with, “This concludes my paper on my most prized possession.” You can’t say the “F” was for lack of clarity!
  5. I split my high school writing efforts between writing notes to friends in class and writing a column for the high school newspaper. The notes definitely contained the better material, though they probably centered too much on boys named Aaron, Jason, and Don.
  6. All I ever wanted to study in college was journalism, but when decision time rolled around, I decided no. Three months into my college freshman year, I decided yes, but was at a school without a full journalism program. Huh.
  7. Journalism 101: At best, people will skim your stuff. Write well anyway.
  8. I tried – for example, the time I wrote about bike polo, though I’m sports’ illiterate. I left with a great story and a bloody finger.
  9. My day job at the time was a technical editor for accounts receivables software. Anyone still awake after that sentence?
  10. Technical Editing 101: At best, no one will read your stuff. Write well anyway.

 

Could I one day write well and catch and keep people’s attention? Check out Lu and decide!

 

Giveaway

Enter to win a copy of Lu by Beth Troy! You won’t be sorry!!!!

Click below to enter…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

16 responses to “Lu Review and Giveaway!

  1. Kay Garrett

    Enjoyed reading about Lu, the guest post by Beth Troy and your perspective. Lu definitely sounds like a book that I’d enjoy and I would love to read it.

  2. Kay Garrett

    I’ve never seriously started writing a story. I have kept a journal and that is kind of like a story because some times fact is stranger than fiction. 🙂

  3. Deb

    Yes – even finished one for my granddaughter. Lu is a fabulous book – hope those of you who have not read it will order it!

  4. No, I haven’t ever started writing a story or book. I have a hard time putting ideas and thoughts in writing. Looking forward to reading “Lu”.

  5. karaleigh2

    I’ve tried to write–I can do the mechanics fine, but I have very little creativity!

  6. Perrianne Askew

    I would like to write, but I don’t think I have the talent. Lu sounds like a multifacited book. Thank you for the interview.