Yes, I know Book Blogger Appreciation Week isn’t until next week, but something came up that had me thinking about one of the largest aspects of why I love book blogging…Authors.
Readers everywhere flock to the authors they love like a music fan runs to their favorite band or musician. They are those people who for some reason, either kismet or the alignment of the stars or simply because they’ve been there, understand us completely through the words they write in the pages of their books. Amy from the blog My Friend Amy wrote about this much more eloquently than I did the other day in fact. Today, I wanted to share a little bit about a favorite author I’ve grown to love since becoming a book blogger…

Beth Kephart

Many of my readers know I’m a huge fan of Beth’s. Fortunately for me Amy sent me a book of hers, The Heart is Not a Size, a little over a year ago and from that point on I was done for. From that time on I’ve reviewed both Dangerous Neighbors and now You Are My Only, which is her upcoming novel due out in October this year. Her writing fills a void in my life, it’s as if the words fall off the pages into the broken parts of my heart healing it a little bit at a time. Beautiful would be an understatement.

It’s not only her novels that have changed my life though. After that first review I wrote I received a thank you email from her, which of course happens to be one of the best things to receive as a book blogger, and from then we’ve kept in touch. Beth has been an incredible friend and source of strength during a difficult time in my life (as well as few other very close friends). I’ve not talked about it much here, and I don’t intend to, but suffice it to say I’m fearful about the future of my health. Beth has not only helped me through her writing, but through her occasional email asking how I’m doing or thanking me for a review. It’s never been too much, but always just what I needed and I’m grateful for that. Through book blogging I’ve not only found a brilliant author, but inadvertently found a friend for life.

As a thank you to Beth for her wonderful books, her unwavering friendship and her recognition of book bloggers I decided I wanted to return the favor. Her upcoming novel, You Are My Only, needs more attention than it’s getting and deserves. So, with the help of some other fabulous bloggers (Pam from Bookalicious, Shanyn from Chick Loves Lit and Amy from My Friend Amy) we’ve come up with a plan to not only help this marvelous book get the recognition it deserves but also bring the book blogging community together for a wonderful purpose!

For the next two weeks almost anything you post about Beth Kephart, especially about You Are My Only including pre-ordering it, will give you the opportunity to win one of a huge number of prizes. The details are available by clicking on this link. In addition to that, if you have an eReader reviewing You Are My Only just got that much easier as it’s available for immediate approval on NetGalley.

Giveaway!

As a kick off and incentive to get you even more excited I’m giving away a Pre-Order of You Are My Only open anywhere in the world that Book Depository ships. My only requirement, click over to the link at Chick Loves Lit here and see what you can do to bring more recognition to this deserving novel and author.