THE GLASS WIVES by Amy Sue Nathan

Congrats to Jess Blair! You've won The Glass Wives -- please email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com with your address so I can send you your book!

The Glass Wives 
By Amy Sue Nathan

Before I share The Glass Wives with you, Christi aka monsterhead has won All The Summer Girls -- please email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com and include your full name and address so I can get you your book! And now, here is today's featured book, The Glass Wives!

This is the book I took with me on my 20th wedding anniversary vacation and if that tells you anything, well, I finished it during that vacation and still managed to have a wonderful time doing 'other' things on vacation! Heh, heh! 

The Glass Wives was one of those books I sought out to want to read, not one that just lands on my doorstep, so that tells you even more about what I felt about this book before I even read it!

Another surprise to me, that I didn't even really figure out until I was into the book was that the "Glass" wives is the actual LAST name of the women in the book, and DUH, it says so right on the back of the book. I LOVE the play on the word, and the story of how Amy Sue Nathan came to find her title. Glass being fragile and see-through and, it was just such a cool juxtaposition on the word and fit her characters Evie and Nicole perfectly! 

Amy Sue Nathan is the owner of a great website for readers and writers called Women's Fiction Writers. I say it's for readers too because it's a great place for us readers to go to find out about great books and to connect with amazing writers. So go there if you want to find more great books!

As I have started doing, here are These Three Things from Amy that she is sharing with us today:

1. The first versions of The Glass Wives had the main character, Evie, not just as someone who likes to bake, but buying a bakery. Why did that change? I emailed countless bakeries asking if I could interview bakers and owners and no one responded. Then, when I researched small businesses and realized that Evie wouldn't have had the money to open a bakery. And we all know fiction must be believable, so that career path was nixed!

2. When I signed with my agent, he suggested (strongly) that the ending of the book was at the two-thirds mark. Two-thirds!  I cut one-third of the book and realized he was right. The worst thing is reading a book and thinking it goes on too long! What did I cut? Scenes at a pool (the story went into September, now it ends in the Spring) and a big surprise party. I'm tucking them away for another book.  Maybe.

3. In The Glass Wives, Evie has a part-time job at Third Coast Gifts and Millie is her boss.  Although Millie is only mentioned a few times in the book, her name is important. It's a combination of Mollie and Mildred, my grandmothers' names. Also in the book are other real names of friends sprinkled throughout, something only they'll know, as well as a few well-placed secrets I don't know if anyone will figure out or find. I guess they're more like private jokes with myself. Yes, writing is a very solitary profession!  

And here is The Glass Wives back of the book blurb:

 

Evie and Nicole Glass share a last name. They also shared a husband.  

When a tragic car accident ends the life of Richard Glass, it also upends the lives of Evie and Nicole, and their children. There’s no love lost between the widow and the ex. In fact, Evie sees a silver lining in all this heartache—the chance to rid herself of Nicole once and for all. But Evie wasn’t counting on her children’s bond with their baby half-brother, and she wasn’t counting on Nicole’s desperate need to hang on to the threads of family, no matter how frayed. Strapped for cash, Evie cautiously agrees to share living expenses—and her home—with Nicole and the baby. But when Evie suspects that Nicole is determined to rearrange more than her kitchen, Evie must decide who she can trust. More than that, she must ask: what makes a family?

If you would like to win a copy of The Glass Wives, since I loved the title of this book so much, I would like you to share with me one or two books that the title has specifically stood out to you -- interesting titles of books that have stuck with you throughout the years and why you remember the title so much? Share in the comments and you could win The Glass Wives! 

Next Up on Booking with Manic: 
Sarah Jio's The Last Camellia

If you're new here, you should probably read this:
If you're new to Booking with Manic, thank you for stopping by! We love new readers! Some notes - If you're entering to win a book, please leave a comment on this post and use an identifying name when commenting. It's usually a great idea to include an email, which I will never give out to anyone else. You can only enter once please. You'll need to check back here in a few days to see if you've won the book -- I will either list the winner in a new post OR highlight the winner's name at the top of this post, or tell you where you can find the winner's name at the top of this post. I do NOT personally contact the winners. It is YOUR responsibility to come back to see if you've won. Most books are supplied directly through publishers, publicists and the authors. Winners will receive books directly from the publisher or author within 3 weeks from the time you provide me with your address, unless I send you the book (sometimes I will). Sorry, but we can only ship to U.S. and Canada so if you're from another country, thank you for coming by to read and discover new authors, but we can't send you a book. Any questions on how I run the blog or suggestions on who you would like to see featured, please email me at stephanieelliot[at]gmail.com. Thank you for your support!