Today we’ll have one winner for both books.

Mia and I have several things in common. First of all, we both love Meryl Streep movies. And secondly, we both appreciate Colin Firth’s performances in Love, Actually and Then She Found Me. I’m going to have to check out her recommendation on the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice.

I’m not-so-secretly hoping that she’ll decide to base her next book on Bette Midler. Please help me welcome Mia!

Introducing Mia March

Mia March lives on the coast of Maine, the setting of her novels, with her ten-year-old son and their sweet beagle. Her debut novel, The Meryl Streep Movie Club, was a USA TODAY “hot summer read.”

Mia particularly enjoyed the research required for her upcoming novel, Finding Colin Firth: watching every Colin Firth film she could get her hands on, including her favorite, the BBC miniseries of Pride and Prejudice. Swoon.

Learn about Finding Colin Firth, Simon & Schuster, July 2013

From the author of The Meryl Streep Movie Club, “a heartwarming, spirit-lifting read just in time for beach season” (Kirkus Reviews), comes a new novel about three women, connected in secret and surprising ways, who are in for a life-changing summer when rumor has it that actor Colin Firth is coming to their Maine town to film a movie.

After losing her job and leaving her beloved husband, journalist Gemma Hendricks is sure that scoring an interview with Colin Firth will save her career and marriage. Yet a heart-tugging local story about women, family ties, love, and loss captures her heart–and changes everything.

The story concerns Bea Crane, a floundering twenty-two-year old who learns in a deathbed confession letter that she was adopted at birth. Bea is in Boothbay Harbor to surreptitiously observe her biological mother, Veronica Russo–something of a legend in town–who Bea might not be ready to meet, after all.

Veronica, a thirty-eight-year-old diner waitress famous for her “healing” pies, has come home to Maine to face her past. But when she’s hired as an Extra on the bustling movie set, she wonders if she’s hiding from the truth . . . and perhaps the opportunity of a real life Mr. Darcy.

These three women will discover more than they ever imagined in this coastal Maine town, buzzing with hopes of Colin Firth. Even the conjecture of his arrival inspires daydreams, amplifies complicated lives, and gives incentive to find their own romantic endings.

Learn about The Meryl Streep Movie Club, Simon & Schuster, June 2012

In the bestselling tradition of The Friday Night Knitting Club and The Jane Austen Book Club, three women find unexpected answers, happiness, and one another with Meryl Streep movies as their inspiration.

Two sisters and the cousin they grew up with after a tragedy are summoned home to their family matriarch’s inn on the coast of Maine for a shocking announcement. Suddenly, Isabel, June, and Kat are sharing the attic bedroom–and barely speaking. But when innkeeper Lolly asks them to join her and the guests in the parlor for weekly Movie Night–it’s Meryl Streep month–they find themselves sharing secrets, talking long into the night–and questioning everything they thought they knew about life, love, and one another.

Each woman sees her complicated life reflected through the magic of cinema: Isabel’s husband is having an affair, and an old pact may keep her from what she wants most . . . June has promised her seven-year-old son that she’ll somehow find his father, who he’s never known . . . and Kat is ambivalent about accepting her lifelong best friend’s marriage proposal. Through everything, Lolly has always been there for them, and now Isabel, June, Kat–and Meryl–must be there for her. Finding themselves. Finding each other. Finding a happy ending.

I asked Mia three questions about our giveaway’s theme topic, self-expression:

1. Is self-expression an important part of your life today, why or why not?

Self-expression has always been–and will always be–a huge part of my life. As the mother of a ten-year-old boy, I’m watching my son just beginning to uncover who he is, what he believes in, what he feels, what he loves and doesn’t love, and how he feels about putting that all out there. I’m watching self-expression blossom right before my eyes in the biggest and smallest of ways. I love that he’s in chorus and band and involved with theater, that he gets up there on stage with such joy.

I love that he tries to wear the same black skull-decorated cargo pants to school every single day. I love when he says, “Mom, thanks for the advice, but I’m doing it my way.” Letting my son know that he’s a great kid just as he is, that he should embrace everything that makes him who he is, feels like my very job.

2. What does self-expression mean to you and how do you do it in the world?

As a writer, self-expression is everything. To me, it means putting out there how I view the world, how I view life, love, relationships, myself. What I strive for, what I wish for. What I think. Who I am. It’s in my facial expression, my hair, my clothes, the way I greet a stranger while walking my dog. It’s in my emails. It’s in my vote. The choices I make. And, of course, it’s in my work as a fiction writer.

Sometimes without even realizing it, I put every bit of who I am into my novels, into my characters, into my plots, my subplots, my ideas. It’s woven into every line, every thought, often in ways I can’t identify.

3. How does your self-expression impact the world—your family, your friends, your readers, and everyone else?

My novels have let those who know me know me a little better because I do put so much of myself and how I view the world into my work. But I often receive emails from readers who want to know which of my characters I’m most like, and I have to tell them that I’m not really like any of them, that my characters and my worlds and my sentences, the lingering thoughts, are all tiny pieces of me, pieces of everything I am.

My self-expression is the whole. I love that I can put myself out there via writing fiction.

It’s amazing to me that one of the most solitary of pursuits ends up being such a public thing. Every time I read a book, I always feel like the author has invited me into his or her world, his or her world view. I love that.

And Now, Your Turn…

You remember how this works right?

Please read the complete rules at least once!

I ask you a question.

You answer in the comments for your chance to win a book each day.

Please just respond once, even if you make a typo.

Answer in the comments in 50-200 words (no less and no more to qualify to win one of today’s books).

Who is your favorite actress or actor and why? Which are your favorite performances? And what question or questions would you ask this person, if you could?

Ready, set, comment! I will hold the drawing tomorrow and post the results here in my blog.

Thanks for participating in the Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway!

And thanks for spreading the word. We will be giving away great books by wonderful women authors all month.

View the complete list of authors and books.

View the giveaway Pinterest board.

Today I am hosting Kelly James-Enger, who was a mentor to me  through her books and eventually in real life as a friend and colleague. I ‘m so glad to know Kelly  because is a great role model for any writer, freelance or otherwise. Please help me welcome Kelly!

Introducing Kelly James-Enger

Kelly James-Enger “escaped from the law” in 1997 but she’s no fugitive. Since then, the former attorney has written more 800 articles for more than 60 national magazines and more than a dozen books, including Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets, Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer’s Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition, and Writer For Hire, 101 Secrets To Freelance Success.

Kelly is also a popular public speaker covering topics including stress management, time management, and healthy habits. An ACE-certified personal trainer, she loves helping people make positive changes in their lives. She lives outside Chicago with one husband, one son, one daughter, and one maniac golden retriever. Visit www.dollarsanddeadlines.blogspot.com for more information about Kelly.

Learn about Kelly’s Latest Books

Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets

Love to write? Why not get paid to do so? Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets shows you how to launch a freelance article writing career from scratch. Whether you want to freelance full-time or simply want to make extra money from home, you’ll learn how to:

• Come up with article ideas
• Identify potential markets for your work
• Pitch ideas to print and online markets
• Locate, contact, and interview expert and anecdotal sources
• Write different types of articles, including shorts, quizzes, profiles, and features
• Decipher and negotiate freelance contracts
• Operate as a business, not a hobby (and take legitimate tax deductions)
• Create your own writing templates
• Develop regular clients
• Take your writing career to the next level

Dollars and Deadlines takes you through a dozen of the author’s published articles, describing how they were originated, researched, and written. You’ll find dozens of templates and examples along with real-world advice to take you from an unpublished newbie to a published-and paid-freelance writer.

Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer’s Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition

Forget writing for the thrill of seeing your name in print, or worse yet, for the “exposure.” Freelancers should be paid-and paid well-for their work. If you dream of making a good full-time living or a second income as a freelancer, you need more than writing ability. You need a businesslike mindset, the ability to locate and pitch lucrative markets, efficient work habits, and solid relationships with people in your industry. During the author’s first year of full-time freelancing, she only made $17,000. But by her sixth year, she cracked the six-figure mark.

After interviewing dozens of other six-figure freelancers, the author first published Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer’s Guide to Making More Money in 2005. Now the book’s been revised and updated for its second edition. Six-Figure Freelancing will show you how to:

• Take a business-like approach to your freelance career
• Negotiate more writer-friendly contracts with editors and clients
• Identify lucrative freelance markets
• Pursue book projects
• Create your own writing templates
• Work more efficiently
• Create and maintain relationships with clients and colleagues
• Set short- and long-term goals
• Use social media to enhance your business and attract clients
• Branch into lucrative new freelance areas
• Sustain a successful long-term career

Even while the publishing world has undergone dramatic change, there are plenty of promising opportunities for freelancers. This updated, expanded version of Six-Figure Freelancing includes an entirely new section on markets; advice about using social media and blogging to build your career: more sample queries and templates: and the latest advice from successful six-figure freelancers you can use to sustain a long-term freelance career. Both new and experienced writers will benefit from the practical strategies it includes.

Writer For Hire: 101 Secrets To Freelance Success

There’s no shortage of books on crafting book proposals, writing novels, overcoming writer’s block, and getting in touch with one’s muse. But what about a book for writers who simply want to earn a regular paycheck? Writer for Hire is just the wisdom full- and part-time freelancers need. Author Kelly James-Enger details:

• 101 secrets to success, organized into five overarching strategies. You’ll be able to implement what you learn immediately.
• Invaluable advice on managing deadlines, querying effectively, working with clients, handling taxes, invoices, and more.
• Strategies for getting more writing gigs, including networking (in-person and online), establishing yourself as an expert, working more efficiently under tight deadlines, and handling rejection with confidence

I asked Kelly three questions about our giveaway’s theme topic, self-expression:

1. Is self-expression an important part of your life today, why or why not?

I think self-expression is an important part of any writer’s life, but as a freelancer who writes for a living, self-expression often takes second place to my client’s or editor’s needs. For example, I may be writing to match a market’s unique tone or ghostwriting for a client and writing in a voice that is his, not my own. That’s why I make time to write my “own” pieces, whether it’s an essay (I just had a piece published in the new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul Inspiration for Writers) or a novel. That’s when I can express  what I want to say—not what I’m being paid to say—as  a writer.

2. What does self-expression mean to you and how do you do it in the world?

As a writer, self-expression means letting your own voice shine through. As a person, I think it means being honest about how you are and being “authentic” (though I hate that word) in your day-to-day life. I am not advocating brutal honesty—most of the time, anyway—but being yourself instead of who think someone else (your partner, your parents, your kids, your peers, your friends, whoever) want you to be. For me, that means being goofy and loud and exuberant and positive, most of the time.

3. How does your self-expression impact the world—your family, your friends, your readers, and everyone else?

With my own books (as opposed to those I ghostwrite or coauthor), I am able to share information that will benefit readers. I tell the truth, especially when I’m writing about freelancing, which has become a platform for me. I tell readers how much money I make, how much markets pay, whether I’ve been able to negotiate contracts. I also admit my mistakes and failures, which makes me relatable (I hope!) and helps readers avoid doing the same things. I think I’ve helped hundreds (hopefully thousands) of writers launch freelance careers and make more money from their words and that’s inspiring and motivating to me—I really enjoy helping people whether as a writer, a trainer, a friend, or just a fellow human living here on earth.

And Now, Your Turn…

You remember how this works right?

Please read the complete rules at least once!

I ask you a question.

You answer in the comments for your chance to win a book each day.

Please just respond once, even if you make a typo.

Answer in the comments in 50-200 words (no less and no more to qualify to win one of today’s books).

Do you have a lucky or a favorite number? What is it and why is do you consider it lucky or your favorite?

Ready, set, comment! I will hold the drawing tomorrow and post the results here in my blog.

Thanks for participating in the Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway!

And thanks for spreading the word. We will be giving away great books by wonderful women authors all month.

View the complete list of authors and books.

View the giveaway Pinterest board.

We are giving away one book today. One copy of The Last Will Of Moira Leahy by Therese Walsh. You may have heard that Therese has a second novel coming out March 2014 called The Moon Sisters. Plenty of time to read Therese’s first novel before the second comes out, if you have not already. Please help me welcome Therese!

Introducing Therese Walsh

Therese Walsh’s debut novel, The Last Will of Moira Leahy (Crown, Random House), was named one of January Magazine’s Best Books of 2009, was nominated for a RITA Award for Best First Book, and was a TARGET Breakout Book in 2010. She co-founded Writer Unboxed with Kathleen Bolton in 2006, a blog about the craft and business of genre fiction that was named as one of the top 100 sites for writers by Writer’s Digest in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and again in 2012. Before turning to fiction, she was a researcher and writer for Prevention magazine, and then a freelance writer. She has a master’s degree in psychology.

Her second novel, The Moon Sisters (Crown, Random House), will be released in March of 2014.

Learn about The Last Will of Moira Leahy

This haunting debut novel explores the intense bond of sisterhood as a grieving twin searches for her own identity in the ruins of her sister’s past.

A LOST SHADOW
Moira Leahy struggled growing up in her prodigious twin’s shadow; Maeve was always more talented, more daring, more fun. In the autumn of the girls’ sixteenth year, a secret love tempted Moira, allowing her to have her own taste of adventure, but it also damaged the intimate, intuitive relationship she’d always shared with her sister. Though Moira’s adolescent struggles came to a tragic end nearly a decade ago, her brief flirtation with independence will haunt her sister for years to come.

A LONE WOMAN
When Maeve Leahy lost her twin, she left home and buried her fun-loving spirit to become a workaholic professor of languages at a small college in upstate New York. She lives a solitary life now, controlling what she can and ignoring the rest–the recurring nightmares, hallucinations about a child with red hair, the unquiet sounds in her mind, her reflection in the mirror. It doesn’t help that her mother avoids her, her best friend questions her sanity, and her not-quite boyfriend has left the country. But at least her life is ordered. Exactly how she wants it.

A SHARED PAST
Until one night at an auction when Maeve wins a keris,a Javanese dagger that reminds her of her lost youth and happier days playing pirates with Moira in their father’s boat. Days later, a book on weaponry is nailed to her office door, followed by the arrival of anonymous notes, including one that invites her to Rome to learn more about the blade and its legendary properties. Opening her heart and mind to possibility, Maeve accepts the invitation and, with it, also opens a window into her past.

Ultimately, she will revisit the tragic November night that shaped her and Moira’s destinies–and learn that nothing can be taken at face value–as one sister emerges whole and the other’s score is finally settled.

The Last Will of Moira Leahyis a mesmerizing and romantic consideration of the bonds of family, the impossibility of forgetting, and the value of forgiveness.

Here’s my video review of The Last Will of Moira Leahy from a while back:

I asked Therese three questions about our giveaway’s theme topic, self-expression:

1. Is self-expression an important part of your life today, why or why not?

It’s extremely important to me. Life is like a bottle of soda, shaken, dropped, rolled around at irregular intervals and almost always without your consent. The result? Chaos. Self-expression is a means of slowly, slowly unscrewing the top and releasing the pressure inside of that bottle—preventing an explosive mess and allowing you to continue onward, drinking life or gulping it down as you wish.

2. What does self-expression mean to you and how do you do it in the world?

Though I have a very public presence, especially as the “blog mama” for the writers’ site, Writer Unboxed, I’m a pretty introverted person. Being able to sit quietly with my thoughts, transmit them to the page, and share them is empowering for me.

Maybe more importantly, writing is therapeutic. Sometimes—often!—I don’t understand what it is that I need to write about until it’s on the page. (I might think I know what I want and need to write about, but really I don’t.) Sitting down to a blank screen is like lying on a therapist’s couch, trusting and hoping that there will be a revelation that will ultimately help me to better understand myself and my world. The process hasn’t failed me yet.

3. How does your self-expression impact the world—your family, your friends, your readers, and everyone else?

I would like to think that my self-expression helps to inspire others, whether it’s via my storytelling or an article, but that’s so hard to say! Here’s what I know for sure: For better and for worse, I tend to be very real with people. I’ve heard from others that I come across as authentic in my correspondence and through my blog, and nothing could make me happier. Because this is it, isn’t it? This is life, and we will not see these minutes again. Don’t we want to be real, be heard, be truly known?

And Now, Your Turn…

You remember how this works right?

Please read the complete rules at least once!

I ask you a question.

You answer in the comments for your chance to win a book each day.

Please just respond once, even if you make a typo.

Answer in the comments in 50-200 words (no less and no more to qualify to win one of today’s books).

Are you allowed to make mistakes? What about some of the biggest mistakes you have ever made? Have you forgiven yourself? Can you? Will you?

Ready, set, comment! I will hold the drawing tomorrow and post the results here in my blog.

Thanks for participating in the Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway!

And thanks for spreading the word. We will be giving away great books by wonderful women authors all month.

View the complete list of authors and books.

View the giveaway Pinterest board.

We have two e-book winners today!

And the winner of The Lake House by Marci Nault is…

Debra Marrs!

And the winner of The Unfinished Garden by Barbara Claypole White is…

MLTCG!

If you missed the drawing, you can read all about this book and author here.

I need each winner to send me an e-mail with your mailing address so that I can send your info on to your author and she can send you your signed book!

Please send your address in an e-mail to “christina at christina katz dot com” at your earliest convenience.

Thank you to everyone who participated. You are doing a great job answering the daily questions!

Let’s keep it up all month long!

There is still time to comment for a chance to win today’s drawing.

You can view a list of all of our awesome giveaway authors here.

And you can read “Da Rules” here.

You can see the book covers all in one place on our Pinterest page here.

Onward!

You may have heard about Heidi Smith Luedtke’s internationally acclaimed  e-book, Detachment Parenting, in a recent write-up in The London Times. Stay tuned for more media interest in this topic as folks continue to learn more about Detachment Parenting and embrace Heidi’s advice for calm, positive parenting. Please help me welcome Heidi!

Introducing Heidi Smith Luedtke

Heidi Smith Luedtke is a personality psychologist and mom whose scholarly work focuses on stress and coping, well-being and personality. In 2005, she left a busy career in academia to marry her best friend and chart her own creative career course. Heidi approaches writing in the same way she approached teaching: She loves to show readers how they can use smart information to live happier, healthier lives. Since 2009, Heidi’s articles have appeared in more than 90 magazines, including Parents, Pregnancy & Newborn, Massage and Bodywork and Costco Connection. Heidi shares her military-wife experience and psychology-related expertise regularly in Military Spouse magazine.

Heidi’s e-book, Detachment Parenting: 33 Ways to Keep Your Cool When Kids Melt Down, teaches frazzled parents how to dial down their own emotional responses so they can stay focused on guiding kids’ coping efforts in productive ways. Heidi currently lives near Washington, D.C., where she is learning Swedish in preparation for her family’s upcoming overseas move. When she isn’t studying or writing, Heidi plays soccer in the backyard with her two young kids and two scrappy dogs.  You can learn more or read Heidi’s work at HeidiLuedkte.com.

Learn about Detachment Parenting, 33 Ways To Keep Your Cool When Kids Melt Down

We’ve all been there. Emotions are running high, the kids are out of control, and the adrenalin rush of a full-scale mommy meltdown threatens to take the situation from bad to worse. In Detachment Parenting, you’ll access the same techniques teachers, coaches and counselors use to dial down their own emotional responses and stay focused on guiding kids’ growth. This book is packed with 33 practical strategies you can use right away. You’ll learn to keep calm and get perspective so you can coach kids through tough times. Detachment Parenting allows you to take a responsive stance in heated situations and create a positive emotional climate each day. Armed with these stay-cool strategies, you will be ready for whatever kid chaos comes next.

I asked Heidi three questions about our giveaway’s theme topic, self-expression:

1. Is self-expression an important part of your life today, why or why not?

Self-expression is a vital part of my life today and everyday. Without self-expression I wouldn’t be able to question, to learn and to grow. I learn by thinking out loud. I grow by doing, even when I am not sure I know what I’m doing. Or maybe especially when I don’t know what I am doing. To me, self-expression encompasses all the things I am striving to do, to learn and to become in life.

2. What does self-expression mean to you and how do you do it in the world?

Self-expression means letting the world see me learn and grow, even when it’s not comfortable. It means allowing myself to say (or do) what I feel, even when it won’t be proper or popular. Self-expression means trusting my own voice and listening to what is says. It is simultaneously unsettling and affirming, and I do it out loud and on paper everyday.

I am currently in full-time Swedish language training and I find myself constantly playing with words in Swedish — even at 3 a.m. During my 3-year-old’s bedtime routine, I tell improvised bedtimes stories using my new (and not-so-extensive) Swedish vocabulary. Although she doesn’t know the language, she is obviously smitten with these tales and with my not-so-fluent self-expression. I’m sure it helps that I use her as the protagonist every night! I hope my halting stories teach her that creative self-expression is charming and fun, even when you don’t have all the right words or years of experience. The process of self-expression is at least as important as the product.

I also love to mix it up in the kitchen. Cooking is my no-stress creative outlet. I am less perfectionistic about my cooking than I am about my writing. And I’m fortunate that my kids will eat soupy strawberry pie out of a bowl when it doesn’t set up like it should, without a word of complaint.

3. How does your self-expression impact the world—your family, your friends, your readers, and everyone else?

In my writing, I aim to educate, inspire and entertain. I hope my readers see their own lives with greater clarity and treat themselves with greater compassion because they’ve learned from my work. By expressing my imperfect, inquisitive self, I give my family, friends, and readers permission to express themselves, too. I give them permission to learn and to grow. To hear their own voices and to trust them a little more every day. To me, that’s the ultimate gift in life.

And Now, Your Turn…

You remember how this works right?

Please read the complete rules at least once!

I ask you a question.

You answer in the comments for your chance to win a book each day.

Please just respond once, even if you make a typo.

Answer in the comments in 50-200 words (no less and no more to qualify to win one of today’s books).

Count your blessings. What are you most grateful for?

Ready, set, comment! I will hold the drawing tomorrow and post the results here in my blog.

Thanks for participating in the Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway!

And thanks for spreading the word. We will be giving away great books by wonderful women authors all month.

View the complete list of authors and books.

View the giveaway Pinterest board.

Welcome to day 18 of the Writer Mama Every Day In May Book Giveaway! Today we will be giving away two books to two winners. Please help me welcome too incredibly interesting women, Marci Nault and Barbara Claypole White!

Introducing Marci Nault

Marci Nault hails from a small town in Massachusetts. Today she can be found figure skating, salsa dancing, hiking and wine tasting around her home in California. Marci is the founder of a motivational website that encourages visitors to follow their improbable dreams. Her story about attempting to complete 101 of her biggest dreams has been featured in newspapers and magazines nationwide, and she regularly speaks on the subject on radio stations in both the United States and Canada. The Lake House, is her debut novel. Learn more at www.marcinault.com.

Learn about The Lake House from Simon & Schuster May 2013

Achingly tender, yet filled with laughter, The Lake House brings to life the wide range of human emotions and the difficult journey from heartbreak to healing.

VICTORIA ROSE. Fifty years before, a group of teenage friends promised each other never to leave their idyllic lakeside town. But the call of Hollywood and a bigger life was too strong for Victoria . . . and she alone broke that pledge. Now she has come home, intent on making peace with her demons, even if her former friends shut her out. Haunted by tragedy, she longs to find solace with her childhood sweetheart, but even this tender man may be unable to forgive and forget.

HEATHER BREGMAN. At twenty-eight, after years as a globe-trotting columnist, she’s abandoned her controlling fiancé and their glamorous city life to build one on her own terms. Lulled by a Victorian house and a gorgeous locale, she’s determined to make the little community her home. But the residents, fearful of change and outsiders, will stop at nothing to sabotage her dreams of lakeside tranquility.

As Victoria and Heather become unlikely friends, their mutual struggle to find acceptance—with their neighbors and in their own hearts—explores the chance events that shape a community and offer the opportunity to start again.

I asked Marci three questions about our giveaway’s theme topic, self-expression:

1. Is self-expression an important part of your life today, why or why not?

As a young woman I felt like there were four of me: the person I was to please my family; the persona I took on to fit in with my friends; the perfect student; and the person I became when I was alone lost in my imagination. For most of my life I wanted to be the fourth person, but I didn’t know how. I was taught to make everyone else happy first and that my worth was how I took care of others. I was incredibly shy and viewed criticism as failure; I had to be perfect for everyone.

When my life blew up in 2008, I decided to make a list of dreams; things I wanted to do; places I wanted to see; changes I wanted in me. I think through the list I was looking for a way to become that fourth person in the world. Three of my items out of 101 dreams were: to be imperfect; to communicate without need or expectation; to fall in love with life, the world, and myself. Out of the 90 dreams that have come true these three were some of the hardest. But something magical happened when I began to pursue my dreams. I found confidence and I was able to be comfortable in my own skin. I stood up for myself and I no longer let people walk all over me. More than that I was able to express myself more easily.

As my debut novel, The Lake House, goes out into the world I’ve had the chance, through questions like these, to realize why I wrote the story I did. The Lake House is about two women from different generations who pursue their dreams but in the process become outcasts with those they love. I think I was expressing my fear that if I went after the life I really desired and became that fourth person that I would no longer be accepted by those I loved. Thankfully, it turns out I was wrong.

2. What does self-expression mean to you and how do you do it in the world?

Self-expression means showing the world who I really am without barriers. Sometimes it feels a little like standing naked in front of the world. I created my blog, 101 Dreams Come True, to express all the emotions that took place while I was pursuing my dreams with everything I had. So many people believed that I was a trust fund baby or had a rich boyfriend as they watched me travel the world and try all sorts of different activities. But the truth was that I was alone, determined, scared, and without a safety net. I thought if I could express those feelings, explore them through my writing, I would understand my own journey better and help others to pursue their dreams.

I also love to salsa dance and figure skate. Through these two sports I feel free. There’s something about movement that releases all thoughts and allows the spirit to come through.

When I get to talk to women about my journey and my novel, I get to express the joy and the confidence and all that’s changed by realizing I was worth having my dreams.

Lastly, when I write I’m taken away. I love to describe settings because I get to express the way I see the world. It makes me look a little bit deeper at my surroundings – to taste, touch, feel, smell, and engross myself in this amazing world.

3. How does your self-expression impact the world—your family, your friends, your readers, and everyone else?

I’ve had letters come in from all over the world from people who’ve decided to change their lives and pursue their dreams because of the blog. When I speak to women about self-worth and giving to themselves, there’s a wonderful communication that opens and book readings turn into slumber-type parties. I believe by showing the world that dreams are possible even if you’re not rich or if you’re single that it opens the possibility for others to do it as well.

As for the novel, one of the first people who read it realized he was still in love with a woman he’d left and they got back together. So many women have told me that they curled up with my book and it took them to a way of life that they didn’t realize they desperately needed and it caused them to reconnect with family members or their community.

My family is very private and I think at first it was hard for them to have me blatantly putting myself out there, but they’ve been nothing but supportive. Even if some extended family members roll their eyes and shake their heads at the way I live my life.

Introducing Barbara Claypole White

Barbara Claypole White writes love stories about damaged people.

She grew up in rural England with dreams of becoming a novelist, but after a detour through women’s and medieval history at York University, landed a job in London fashion. One day her boss sent her to New York, and she fell in love with an American professor who followed her around JFK Airport. Eighteen months later she was a faculty spouse, freelance writer, and marketing director in a small Midwest college town. She also started writing her first novel.

After her husband was offered a distinguished professorship at UNC Chapel Hill, Barbara moved to the North Carolina forest and became a stay-at-home mom and a woodland gardener—factors that would shape her writing voice. She returned to her manuscript and slammed into another detour: her young son developed obsessive-compulsive disorder.

From that moment, fascination with mental illness framed her life. She ditched her first novel and began writing the manuscript that would become The Unfinished Garden (Harlequin MIRA, 2012). She also joined a nonfiction project for parents of children with invisible disabilities and blogs through the highs and lows of OCD at www.easytolovebut.com.  (Her son is now an award-winning teen poet, lyricist, and indie rock musician.)

Her second novel, The In-between Hour, will be published in January 2014.

You can find her on Facebook or at barbaraclaypolewhite.com.

Learn about The Unfinished Garden

James Nealy is haunted by irrational fears and inescapable compulsions. A successful software developer, he’s thrown himself into a new goal—to finally conquer the noise in his mind. And he has a plan. He’ll confront his darkest fears and build something beautiful: a garden. When he meets Tilly Silverberg, he knows she holds the key…even if she doesn’t think so.

After her husband’s death, gardening became Tilly’s livelihood and her salvation. Her thriving North Carolina business and her young son, Isaac, are the excuses she needs to hide from the world. So when oddly attractive, incredibly tenacious James demands that she take him on as a client, her answer is a flat no.

When a family emergency lures Tilly back to England, she’s secretly glad. With Isaac in tow, she retreats to her childhood village, which has always stayed obligingly the same. Until now. Her best friend is keeping secrets. Her mother is plotting. Her first love is unexpectedly, temptingly available. And then James appears on her doorstep.

Away from home, James and Tilly forge an unlikely bond, tenuous at first but taking root every day. And as they work to build a garden together, something begins to blossom between them—despite all the reasons against it.

I asked Barbara three questions about our giveaway’s theme topic, self-expression:

1. Is self-expression an important part of your life today, why or why not?

I’ve always been emotionally wide-open, and I’ve always celebrated the individual. However, when my young son was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), I had to rethink the boundaries between public and private. I had a strong desire to protect the family, but I also needed to speak up and become an advocate. I have always believed that hiding mental illness brings only shame.

My son is about to graduate from high school as an award-winning teen poet and indie rock musician. We both use writing as therapy; we both believe art can make a difference; and we have both found our voices. I can’t imagine how we would move through the darkness of mental illness if we kept things hidden. My son talks about pulling back the rug to reveal the dirt beneath. I feel that way when I talk, blog, or write about OCD.

2. What does self-expression mean to you and how do you do it in the world?

I hope to create believable characters whose struggles can start a dialogue off the page. The hero of my debut novel, The Unfinished Garden, has battled OCD for most of his life. I wasn’t trying to make a statement about OCD with my beloved James. I wanted only to show readers the courage it takes to live with a diagnosis of mental illness, the courage it takes to be open about struggles with that diagnosis, and the courage it takes to fight back.

At book clubs, I often answer questions about the stereotypes James contradicts. Even if readers come to those meetings believing all people with OCD are hand washers, they leave knowing the truth: that OCD is a highly individualized anxiety disorder. It manifests differently in everyone.

3. How does your self-expression impact the world—your family, your friends, your readers, and everyone else?

We have the best group therapy conversations at the book clubs I visit! I’m also thrilled when readers contact me to share their own stories of battling mental illness. We all need support systems. Sharing is good, people! It keeps us emotionally healthy.

And Now, Your Turn…

You remember how this works right?

Please read the complete rules at least once!

I ask you a question.

You answer in the comments for your chance to win a book each day.

Please just respond once, even if you make a typo.

Answer in the comments in 50-200 words (no less and no more to qualify to win one of today’s books).

Do you have any quirks? List them in an accepting way.

Ready, set, comment! I will hold the drawing tomorrow and post the results here in my blog.

Thanks for participating in the Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway!

And thanks for spreading the word. We will be giving away great books by wonderful women authors all month.

View the complete list of authors and books.

View the giveaway Pinterest board.