Laura Kurk, author of Glass Girl and Perfect Glass
Rajdeep Paulus, author of Swimming Through Clouds!
I am still in the middle of Perfect Glass, sneaking moments to read it in my busy momtographer life and loving it along the way. I want to talk more about that, but I really want to start with a little history. So bear with me for a tiny bit.
May 2011....picture me with my shiny new bottom of the line Canon Rebel, and nifty fifty (50mm 1.8 prime lens) struggling with all my might to create something beautiful. Now picture a friend who was willing to believe in me enough to struggle though it with me!! Oh wait, you don't have to, I have one of the shots from that day to share with you.
I won't make it too big, as the flaws in it pretty much bug me beyond belief.
This is my friend Laura Anderson Kurk. She had this endearing patience and belief in my possibility long before I had evidence of success. She still quietly cheers me on in her own still and tender way.
It blesses me.
Yup, Laura has been blessing me for many years. I won't bore you with stories of our young mom adventures, including how we drove for miles one day with crying babies just to eat pie, or how I have seen her dressed up from head to toe in a super heroine costume, or how our shared love of a certain mentor probably had us chasing goats (in hopes of making them faint for the joy of seeing our children laugh) more times than we would care to admit.
So, so many good memories, sigh!!!
Here is something else I remember with such clarity. Laura was with me the very first time I walked into the North Pasture at Tranquility Ranch discovering horse babies for the first time, back in 2011.
You just can't fully picture it, and appreciate it unless you have stood there.
It is a pasture long and narrow, completely surrounded by trees, closed off from everything but the air that hangs there and the stunning beauty of a herd of painted horses. You can stand there, with the sun glancing off of their backs and shining through their tails breathing in the scent of them and think you have the ability to understand the full awesomeness of it, until you see nestled down low in the grass a newborn foal. Then, your center shifts and you draw in your breath and the world as you know it changes.
Goodness, I have gotten off track!!! Horses. . . does it to me every time.
I am going to get back on track, and back to the reason you are here reading today.
We were supposed to be talking about Laura and her new book!!! It just so happens... the fella in her story well, he is the hard working son of a cattle rancher. Ummmm, and of course he has a horse!!!
I knew when I read the following passage in Glass Girl, I would have to share the book with you, my horsey loving friends.
"We raced through the moonlight, my hair tangling behind me. I closed my eyes and focused on the sound of hooves hitting the ground. The force of the wind in my face made it impossible to breathe until I dropped my head and buried my face in Henry's jacket.
There was a boy. There was a horse. And there was speed. It was older than time, really. I hated for it to end."
Okay....yes, it is a love story (with a tall handsome rancher's son, horses and cattle to boot). But, it is sooooo much more than that.
You can find it here. . . it is a mere $2.99 for a digital download. I got mine loaded right onto my android tablet via a Kindle app, and was reading away in seconds!!
And, lucky you...since this may be the first time you are hearing of this, you won't have to wait for the sequel like I did. It was killing me!!!
It is also a digital download, which makes for instant gratification!! My schedule right now is such that I keep my tablet close to my bed and sneak in a few pages each night before falling asleep to the feel of my tablet sliding out of my sleepy fingers. (ummmm from sheer exhaustion, and not from boredom)
I am enjoying reading from the perspective of both Henry and Meg, alternating randomly through the book. I spent the better part of the year I was engaged to my hubby with him in the mountains of Montana and me attending college in Arkansas, so I am definitely identifying with the yearning that comes from being apart. There is also nothing like trying to be the best you that you can be, while not having the direct contact and support of the person who loves you most.
I sure have a soft spot for the aging artist in the story, Jo Russell. Being an artist myself, having spent time in rooms filled with paint, brushes, canvas and the ache of possibility from wishing to create in a way that people will understand; I felt like Laura really got that right!! Her descriptions of those places and feelings almost seemed pulled right from my own memory banks, like she had been there with me. I hope you will give Jo as much a chance to touch your heart as you do with Henry and Meg.
Now I just know you are gonna love these books, I know you will. However, just for stopping by and listening to my heart for a bit I am giving away a copy of this image to those who would care to enter a drawing to win it.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Laura and Rajdeep are giving away a few things too!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
PERFECT CLOUDS Tour Stops:
Sunday, June 2 – Rajdeep Paulus
Monday, June 3 – Melanie Brasher
Tuesday, June 4 – Tessa Emily Hall
Wednesday, June 5 – Melissa Tagg
Thursday, June 6 – ReganStar McBeigh
Friday, June 7 – April Hamrick
Monday, June 10 – Diana Garner
Tuesday, June11 – Stephanie Karfelt
Wednesday, June 12 – Bethany Baldwin
Thursday, June 13 – Kim Vandel
Friday, June 14 – Sarah Tipton
Tuesday, June 18 – Marni Jarman
Wednesday, June 19 – Peggy Warren
Thursday, June 20 – Bethany Jett
Friday, June 21 – Amy Leigh Simpson
Monday, June 24 – Summer Andrews
Tuesday, June 25 – Arlette Geuverink
Wednesday, June 26 – Jennifer Murgia
Thursday, June 27 - JoJo Sutis
Ohhh and one more thing before you go. . . .
