Fire and Ice welcomes Emma: A Latter- Day Tale today for the official blog tour, an author guest post, excerpt and giveaway.
Why I Wrote about a Life Coach
A Guest Post by Rebecca H. Jamison
When I decided to write a book based on Jane Austen’s Emma, I knew right away that the Jane Fairfax character was going to be a country singer and that Emma hated country music. I did a lot of brainstorming while I was on vacation in Virginia, walking in the same neighborhood where Emma lives in my book. On one of these walks, my husband suggested that Emma should be a life coach. That made sense to me. At heart, Emma’s someone who wants to help others.
Coaches aren’t just for athletes any more. Average Americans are using coaches to help them with relationships, weight loss, career development, and many other areas. I have a health coach through my insurance company who helped me lose 30 pounds. I also subscribe to motivational e-mails from other coaches, who help me with other goals.
In the beginning of the book, Emma isn’t anything like my coaches. She’s an embarrassment to the profession of coaching. She has such great intentions, but every time she tries to help someone, she makes the situation worse. I think we’ve all felt like that at times. Emma has to learn that it’s okay to be imperfect. Just because you make a mistake doesn’t mean you can’t improve and do a better job next time. While I wrote the book, I researched how to become a successful life coach, so that by the end of the book, Emma starts to get it right.
My coaches have helped me meet my personal goals to lose weight and become a writer. They gave me a more positive outlook on life, and that’s what I hope my book does for readers. Emma’s life isn’t perfect, but she learns to be positive anyway.
Rebecca H. Jamison Biography
Looking for love? Rebecca H. Jamison would love to set you up with that special someone, but you’re better off reading her books. She has a terrible track record as a matchmaker.
Rebecca grew up in Virginia. She attended Brigham Young University, where she earned a BA and MA in English with an emphasis in creative writing. In between college and graduate school, she served a mission to Portugal and Cape Verde.
Rebecca enjoys running, dancing, reading, and watching detective shows. She and her husband have six children. You can learn more about her on her website.
Emma: A Latter-day Tale
by Rebecca H. Jamison
Published by Cedar Fort Books
ISBN: 9781462112609
256 pages
Emma’s her name and matchmaking is her game! Quirky life coach Emma wants to help her first-ever client, a lonely nanny named Harriet. But all of her attempts at matchmaking result only in embarrassing miscues and blunders, leaving the pair disheartened and confused. This modern take on the Jane Austen classic shows that sometimes the greatest match is the one we make for ourselves.
Fans of Jane Austen’s Emma will love this modern retelling of the classic romance novel. Fall in love with Emma’s latter-day tale of redemption, forgiveness, and the quest for true love.
Excerpt:
It was amazing how much more snow Phil could pick up with his shovel than I could with mine. He cleared three feet of the driveway before I was done with one.
“When we’re done, if you have time, you should come in and meet Harri. I think you two will get along.”
Phil stopped and looked at his watch. “I’m planning to do a couple more driveways before it gets dark.”
“I’ll go get Harri now if you’re in a hurry. She wants to meet you.”
Phil leaned on his shovel. “Harry is a she?”
“Her real name is Harriet. She moved here a couple months ago and she’s hardly met anybody. I think you’ll like her.”
Phil threw his head back, laughed, and started shoveling again. “I thought you were trying to introduce me to your new boyfriend.”
“You think I would be out here shoveling snow while my new boyfriend stays inside?” I grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at him. I didn’t mean to hit him in the face, but that’s where it landed.
Phil wiped the snow off his face and grinned. “I wondered why you were dating such a loser.” I expected him to throw a snowball at me, but he just stood there. “So you don’t have a boyfriend?”
I giggled a little at his awkwardness. “Nope. Harri doesn’t either.”
Phil threw another shovelful of snow away from the driveway. “So you . . . I mean, you and your friend are . . . available?” Phil didn’t open his mouth enough when he talked. That was the one thing about him that always distracted me. I couldn’t help staring at his mouth.
I had to force myself to look into his eyes. “Why is that a shock, Phil? Every woman in that house right now is available. You can take your pick—Harri, me, or Barbara. You’re surrounded by single women.” It was safe to assume Phil wouldn’t pick me. I was at least three inches taller than he was, and it was a rare man who dated a taller woman.
The Giveaway: Cedar Fort is giving away an ebook of Emma: A Latter-Day Tale to one lucky Fire and Ice reader. Winners can choose among PDF, Kindle, and Nook formats.
The winner will have 2 weeks to download the e-book from the Cedar Fort website.
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