Thursday, September 24, 2009

Book Review - 1st Time Author and Personal Friend


If you are a reader of my blog you know that I read about 12 books a month for the past year. This review is quite different. This time I personally know the author.  Let me introduce you to her, her name is Anne Marie Busch.  Anne Marie is a happily married mother of three wonderful children and this is her very first book.

Her book New Beginnings is a story of respect, family, second chances, undying love, first love, true love and transformation.

Product Description
John Stanton lost the love of his life to cancer. Even though he has tried to move on with his life and has remarried, he still misses his first wife, Jenny, and longs for her companionship. His marriage to Darlene is lacking true love, and will not survive because of the distance between them, both in body and soul. He longs for contentment in his life. John is convinced that he will never again find true love, but a chance meeting with a lovely and enchanting waitress named Wendy Burke changes his outlook. He is instantly drawn to her, and this attraction leads to a chain of events that transforms his life. As his life changes, the result impacts the lives of his beautiful and naive daughter, Maggie, and Wendy's handsome and devil-may-care cousin, Michael.

Author Interview
I had a chance to ask Anne Marie some questions and here is what she had to say:

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?  "I've wanted to be a writer for as long as I started to get little stories in my head.  So, it has probably been since grade school".

How long does it take you to write New Beginnings book? "I got an idea in October 2008, and I wrote on and off until March 2009, when I sent in the book."

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books? "Most of the time I get my ideas from dreams or daydreams.  If I need to do some research, I go on the internet."

Do you have a favorite character in New Beginnings? If so, who? "I like both the couples in the book.  Maybe my favorite would be Michael because he's the most complex, and changes the most."

What do you like to do when you're not writing? "I like to hang out with my family.  I like to play some kind of sport, or read.  I like movie and television comedies and dramas."

What does your family think of your writing? "My family was very excited for me, and a bit surprised that I went ahead and had a book published."

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating New Beginnings? "I am surprised that I finished it and had it published.  There are so many stories that I have begun and never finished."

Where any of your characters loosely based on people in your life?  "There are no characters that I can say are loosely based on people in my life, but there are little things here and there that the characters do or say that might be similar to things that I have experienced.  These characters are a mixture of many things."

Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they? "Write in your comfort zone.  Don't try to compare yourself to or emulate other writers."

What do you think makes a good story? "I believe that your main characters have to be likable."

Do you have any reading group question suggestions for New Beginnings?  "Who is your favorite character and why?"

In A Nutshell: New Beginnings has a great storyline. The characters are all very likable and the dialogue very real. You find yourself pulling for the characters and want them to come out happy in the end. My favorite character was John. A widower who deserved to be happy after losing his wife to cancer. I watched my father lose my mother to cancer and I feel that Anne Marie wrote him very true to life. Very true to a man who lost the love of his life and is left with two children to raise. New Beginnings is by someone who has a desire to write. I am so proud of her! Seeing her name on the cover as she handed it to me was amazing. I can only imagine how she feels. We discussed that she could now check "write a book" off her bucket list.



As a new author Anne Marie could use your support. Become a fan of Anne Marie's New Beginnings on Facebook

Follow Anne Marie on Twitter

Anne Marie also has a blog. Check out her blog for more information on her book and much more. Please support my friend by following her blog here.

Message to my personal blog friends, if you don't mind, if you have the time, please buzz Anne Marie's New Beginning on your blogs, Twitter, Facebook or wherever.

Also, I will embarrass Anne Marie and ask for her autograph and send out my reviewed copy in an upcoming giveaway. Please look for it.

1 comment:

  1. Great review and interview... I went on over to her blog and am now following her.

    And, of course I gave a shout out on my blog... I planned on it even before I finished reading your post. :-)

    You are a wonderful friend to do this for her, and I would do anything for you!!

    ReplyDelete

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