Blue Moon Bay
Moses Lake, Book
2
Contemporary
Fiction
Back of the
book:
For
Seattle architect Heather Hampton, a trip back to tiny Moses Lake, Texas, is
hardly in the plan. Yet because a promotion hinges on the sale of the family
farmland, Heather heads to the last place she ever wanted to go. She’s
determined to return home, signed contract in hand, the next day.
But
the currents of Moses Lake take visitors on unexpected journeys. As Heather’s
stay lengthens, she discovers a family steeped in secrets and an unexpected
connection to local banker Blaine Underhill, despite his opposition to
Heather’s project. With each new revelation and questions, Heather can’t help
but wonder if the handsome banker—and the family she has come to know again—are
crooks or crusaders. Somehow she must find out the truth before she loses
everything she has worked for and everything she’s found on the shores of Moses
Lake.
About the
author:
Blog (Lisa posts on
Mondays.)
When
not disguised as an author, I am the mother of two sons. I wanted girls. I got
boys. I never dreamed that boys could be so wonderful. But that is another
story.
I can't remember a time when I didn't write. I started writing books before I started school, and I never quit writing. I had a very special first-grade teacher in Peasley School in Northboro , Massachusetts , who recognized a little ability and a lot of desire in a shy transfer student. Mrs. Krackhardt wrote on my report card that she expected to see my name in the pages of a magazine one day, and I suddenly felt incredibly special. She started reading my stories to the class, and I was hooked. I quickly discovered the joy of having an audience, and set out on many, many writing projects.Even though I always dreamed of becoming a writer, I didn't begin pursuing the goal in earnest until after college, marriage, a career as a journalist and technical writer, and then the birth of my oldest son (ordered girl, got boy, fell in love with boy).
I can't remember a time when I didn't write. I started writing books before I started school, and I never quit writing. I had a very special first-grade teacher in Peasley School in Northboro , Massachusetts , who recognized a little ability and a lot of desire in a shy transfer student. Mrs. Krackhardt wrote on my report card that she expected to see my name in the pages of a magazine one day, and I suddenly felt incredibly special. She started reading my stories to the class, and I was hooked. I quickly discovered the joy of having an audience, and set out on many, many writing projects.Even though I always dreamed of becoming a writer, I didn't begin pursuing the goal in earnest until after college, marriage, a career as a journalist and technical writer, and then the birth of my oldest son (ordered girl, got boy, fell in love with boy).
My
grandmother came to stay with me when the baby was small, and together we
decided to plant flowerbeds in front of my house. One day, when the baby was
fussy, we had to go inside rather than finishing the flowerbed. Grandma bundled
the baby and sat down in the chair with him, and soon he was quietly drifting
off to sleep. As the afternoon sun streamed in the window, Grandma leaned back,
closed her eyes, and began telling me the story of her life, and her
flowerbeds, and the lessons she learned there. That story, "Time for
Tending Roses," eventually became the inspiration for my first mainstream
novel, Tending Roses, which was published by New American Library (Penguin
Putnam) in June, 2001.
These
days--several years, several books, two family relocations, one boy (ordered
girl, got boy, boy is wonderful again), and thousands of words after my
grandmother told me the story of her rose garden, Tending Roses is one of
several books inspired by life and written during stolen mommy moments between
s, homework, dirty laundry, farm animals, football games, family meals, and
book-related talks and events of all kinds with readers, moms, grandmothers, sisters,
and friends all around the globe. Who knew all of that would come from one
quiet afternoon with Grandma and an unfinished flowerbed?
Of
all of the books, Tending Roses remains my sentimental favorite, because of the
real-life connection with my grandmother, but I have loved and treasured the
moments spent in the “world” of each book. Each story begins with an
inspiration from life, and after that, the writing is a journey of discovery. I
never know where the story will go, or how it will end, or who the characters
will become, until the last words are written, though as a writer and as a
person, my heart always goes to happy endings. So many of today's sound bites
are sensational, and awful, and when you take in all of those things, it is
easy to lose faith in the world and in the goodness of people. I want to create
books that are entertaining, but also good for the soul-- that don't leave
readers feeling sad or disappointed, or wishing they hadn't read the book at
all. I think we are all called to add something good to the world, to inspire
and uplift, to add our colors to the canvas. I have met so many people who have
wonderful ways of doing that. I admire them. I want to be like them. I love to
write about them.
My thoughts:
Welcome
back to Moses Lake! What? You’ve never been there. Well pull up a chair and get
acquainted with this wonderful place. Some of you were first introduced to
Moses Lake in Larkspur Cove. For
those that didn’t have that pleasure don’t fret. Blue Moon Bay can easily be read as a stand-alone book.
As
with other books from Lisa Wingate, this one is filled with nuggets of truth
wrapped in an intriguing story. There’s a bit of something for everyone. You
have romance, mystery, and a cast of unforgettable characters.
Poor
Heather! She’s gone through a major family tragedy and just wants to live a
normal life, preferably away from her abnormal family. She goes home to take
care of what should be some quick family business only to be drawn back in.
I
love to mark my favorite quotes in books. This one has so many sticky tabs in
it that it is beginning to look like a porcupine! I am so NOT a back of the
book reader, but I must leave you with a quote from the end of the book that has
me weeping with joy even after I’ve read it several times to myself and to
others.
“The future is a
blank page, but not a mystery.
The
truth of that small phrase, of that plain-spoken proverb from the wall of
wisdom was so clear to me now. Though we only read the story in due time, the
books of our lives have been already written. God has drawn us in shades of
charcoal and pastel, known our hours, seen our days, laid down our paths,
created each of us as unique and uniquely loved. Our lives come as a blank
canvas only because we cannot see as He sees. Before we can conceive our
stories, He has watched them in His mind’s eye, and not the stroke of a pen
happens at random.
Above
the book, the Architect watches with a broader eye, a greater plan. He knows
what is to be written on every page.”
I
beg you to go get the book. You won’t be sorry, because there is a part of
Heather that’s in all of us!
“Disclosure of Material
Connection: I received one or more of the products or
Services mentioned above
for free in the hope that I would mention it
on my blog. Regardless, I
only recommend products or services I use personally
and believe will be good
for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance
With the Federal Trade
Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255:
“Guides concerning the Use of Endorsements and
Testimonials in Advertising.”
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