entertainment – Page 5 – Britt Skrabanek

Books Were There to Protect Me

No matter how many times I got lost in life, books were there to protect me.

Through my childhood years when my parents abruptly parted ways. Through my overly dramatic teen years when the world seemed against me. Through my self-destructive young adult years when I was trying to find my way.

More than anything I associate books with my beautiful mom, who I will always imagine with her nose happily stuck in one—exuding warmth, comfort, and love.

When my lovely friend Letizia at Reading Interrupted asked me to share a special reading memory with her, I felt privileged to write at her beautiful blog. I follow it religiously and it never fails to inspire me.

Any bookish memory I reached for, there was my mom.

As most of you know, my mom has been on my mind a lot this year after battling her second stint with breast cancer. And when I was by her side to find out the test results, a magical memory helped me get through it all.

Read “A Castle Filled with Stories” over at Reading Interrupted…

Book review – Nola Fran Evie, Britt Skrabanek

Five star reviews for my darling third novel, NOLA FRAN EVIE, started popping up on Amazon and Amazon UK over the weekend…woot!

“Rich characters, snappy dialogue, and fluid writing make this book a wonderful way to spend a few hours.”

“The characters come to life on the page and at turns, you root for each of them. Funny, moving, nostalgic and fast-paced, this is the best book Britt has written yet. Thoroughly recommended.”

A big thank you to those readers for taking the time to be awesome and review!

Today I’m stoked to share this fabulous review from blogger pal Roy McCarthy at Back on the Rock. He has been kind enough to leave sterling reviews for all three of my books so far, and I am very grateful for his support.

Be sure to swing by and read the full piece.

And, obviously, see what all the fuss is about and snatch up a copy of NOLA FRAN EVIE on Amazon for yourself. You’ll be doing a good deed for a lovable indie author, yours truly, and in return you get to be entertained for a bit. : )

Happy Sunday, loves!

Back On The Rock

I guessed Britt Skrabenek’s third book was going to be good. What I wasn’t expecting was to be taken on quite such a roller coaster. It starts a little jerkily with four main characters and three time frames but it soon gathers pace and takes the reader on a great ride.

We follow three young women playing professional baseball together in the 1940s, full of hope and joie de vivre. Nothing can stop them and they form a bond which, though soon broken, is to be re-formed later. The try-out day is portrayed with dash and humour as the ‘girlies’ are discarded and only those with toughness and talent, including the three protagonists Lippy, Toots and Farm Girl, make the grade.

But inevitably the good times end and the women go their separate ways into the real world. Life changes them. Love is won and lost. It is 1950s America…

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Thank You

Releasing a book is unsettling, and I don’t believe that ever changes. Essentially it’s delivering your heart and soul to everyone in the world—not knowing what will happen, not knowing a damn thing, actually.

Thankfully from sunup to sundown on Tuesday I was comforted by you lovelies. Some of you already bought NOLA FRAN EVIE. Some of you did that AND shared the heck out of my book in social media land.

I was truly overwhelmed by the congrats, woohoo’s, yippee’s, hooray’s, yay’s, and woo’s gracing the comment section of the release post that day. The buzz on Twitter and Facebook made me smile my tushie off.

Wow, you guys…THANK YOU.

It was brought to my attention that I was ranking awesomely on Amazon.

I didn’t believe it, because it’s just little ol’ me after all. But there NOLA FRAN EVIE was all day, kickin’ it with the top 100 of Amazon’s Bestsellers in the Sports category.

It was very neat.

Yesterday I managed to get through a long day at work with my book release hangover. My cat editing team was pretty tuckered out…

Today life is back to normal.

Now comes the time for—fingers crossed—some reviews. A new reader commented on my release post…

“For those who have read this book and enjoyed it – do the author a huge favor and please take a moment to post a review on Amazon! (no we’re not related!) Reviews mean a lot!”

Um, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Let’s face it, we all read reviews before we purchase anything these days, right? As you all know, I am a little indie author who depends on you guys—my shining community—to spread the good word. A few minutes of your time to leave one would be magnanimously appreciated.

That brings me to NOLA FRAN EVIE on Goodreads! Click right here, loves.

For my Goodreaders out there, be a doll and make sure to add the book to your “currently-reading” or “to-read” lists when you have a sec. I wanted to share NOLA FRAN EVIE’s first bit of praise from a current reader on Goodreads…

“I’m meeting 3 distinct women that share a common past life. I’m looking forward to see which ‘girl’ I’m going to bond with. Too soon to tell. It is definitely not too soon to know how well Britt writes. I like her words a lot. Fine job Britt!!”

And if you haven’t scooped up your copy on Amazon yet, I’ll leave you with a shout-out from a dear friend of mine to see if that persuades you a bit.

“Hey! Do you like to read? Do ya like to read cool books written by rad humans?! PERFECT! My friend Britt Skrabanek wrote a book….so go buy it! Bonus, it’s only $3.99 on Amazon! That’s cheaper than Starbucks, and oh so much better. #SupportIndieAuthors”

AMAZON

AMAZON UK

Thanks a bunch, sweet friends! Hope your weeks are filled with beauty, sunshine, and awesomeness! Much love…Britt.

Nola Fran Evie is Now Available

I’m gonna be candid right now. Writing my first two books was a damn struggle.

The first, Beneath the Satin Gloves, took me three years to finish. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing and I certainly didn’t believe in myself. With the support of my husband and my own stubborn determination, I powered through until the day my shaky finger clicked the publish button.

The second, Everything’s Not Bigger, only took me six months. This book was purely written as therapy. Deep soul-searching was done during this time and though it has been less popular, writing the story was the release I needed to enter a new chapter in my life.

So, I wrote a third…NOLA FRAN EVIE.

I didn’t struggle with this one. Discovering clues from 1954 in a vintage handbag provided succinct inspiration for a story that I knew I was fated to write.

I had a flow, an unstoppable rhythm that moved me.

And most of all during this third round of self-publishing, I had all of you out there. My second year of blogging has brought so many phenomenal humans into my life. The positive spirit of the writing community continues to astound me each day.

Without my husband, my family, my friends, my bloggers, and my readers…finishing another book would never have been possible. So, thank you.

Now I must call upon my beautiful community to help me with the final stages of this project. For today I am releasing NOLA FRAN EVIE into the world.

I have poured all of my energy into this story for the last year and a half of my life. As an indie author I have no team to do my historical research or market my book to the masses.

Yet I also know that I am not alone.

You are all a part of my team. I would be forever grateful for any support you can offer with this book release in the form of reading it, sharing it, and reviewing it.

Because this is a dream I will continue to cultivate. And hey, life is something to celebrate and we can always use one more story.

Without further ado, I am beyond proud to bring you…NOLA FRAN EVIE.

They were unladylike rebels, three young women abandoning rolling pins for baseball bats to join the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. They changed history and that changed them. After the league folds in 1954 Nola, Fran, and Evie meet by chance on a popcorn-scented summer day where it all began…Wrigley Field, Chicago. They team up once again to fight for a pivotal cause these dames can only win by uniting as one.

Inside these ball players lies a fierce beauty, an unconventional destiny beyond the kitchen. Foregoing the American dream of sparkling cars and pastel suburbia, together they face up to the reality of nuclear drills and civil rights. Their story is uncovered nearly forty years later when Jacks Demonte discovers a trail of clues tucked away in a vintage handbag. The extraordinary lives of these women intersect with Demonte’s as she falls deeper into a heroic past.

BUY IT NOW AT AMAZON

My Book Gets an Outfit

It’s strange how my book didn’t seem real until I woke up this morning.

Why?

Because thanks to my gorgeous and talented husband, Mr. H, Nola Fran Evie has an outfit…a cover.

I compare the cover not to clothes—something we throw onto our bodies when we are in a hurry or something we are sick of because we wear it incessantly.

No, no. I’m talking about the artistic precision it takes to create an entire outfit to capture an essence.

My story is a living, breathing person to me. In this case with three main characters, there was a unique trio of women to dress, which is no easy task.

An outfit is a look that pulls everything together. It cloaks the physical body of the pages. It hints at every curve of emotion hiding within the words. It expresses the mood and even the very definition of the characters.

A book without a cover is a naked soul. Not an exhibitionist but a demure being who is fragile, in need of that protective shell which accentuates what lies beneath without giving everything away.

So, I can rest easy.

My story is a little less vulnerable today. My story is dressed. My story is now a book.

NOLA FRAN EVIE releases one week from tomorrow…July 22.