Thursday, July 11, 2013

Home and Away with Kelly Harms....plus a book giveaway

Introduction by Melissa Amster

The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane....try saying that 10 times fast! This tongue-twister is the title of Kelly Harms' debut novel, which was published this week! It's about two women who share a name and live in the same town finding out that they won a dream home in Maine. But which one truly is the lucky winner? I'm reading this book now and enjoying the descriptions and dialogue. It's a fun summer read to add to your beach bag!

After meeting Kelly through The Debutante Ball (who's there along with Dana Bate and Amy Sue Nathan), I knew she'd be a great fit at CLC and am excited for you all to meet her. Since her book involves both a house and traveling, answering our "Home and Away" Q&A should be a cinch for her! Needless to say, her answers are fun and revealing! Speaking of places to live, she and I are both from the midwest, although she still lives out there, residing in Madison, Wisconsin with her toddler son.

For some lucky girls (or guys) in the US, she has THREE signed copies of her novel to give away.

You can find Kelly at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

Home:

Favorite place you liked to hang out at when you were a kid?
My childhood home is surrounded by beautiful oak trees, and some maples, and a few had conveniently toppled in a small cluster to make a perfect place for a little girl to read. It was my hundred acre wood and my adventures were just as fanciful as Pooh's.

What is your neighborhood like?
Now I live in a cute little street on the lake, lined with white 1940s cape cods with pretty windowboxes, one after another. On front porches and stoops you'll find young families, grad students, and, in one case, a feisty 80-something who won't let me do a damn thing for her no matter how I try.

What would you do on a "staycation?"
Sleep! I'm the mother of a toddler, knee deep in her debut launch. I am a full-fledged member of the walking drowsy.

Away:

What is the craziest thing that ever happened to you while traveling?
I fell in love. It happened a lot, actually. After a few times in a row it didn't seem so crazy anymore.

Have you ever been on a cruise or to an all inclusive resort? If so, what was your experience like? If not, which would you rather do?
No, I haven't! I've always dreamed of an Alaska cruise. When my toddler is old enough to enjoy it, I think that would be an excellent way to see bears and whales and blow his little mind.

Though I would like to be the sort of person who enjoys all-inclusive lazy beach vacations, I am not actually one of those people. The longest I have consecutively relaxed on a vacation (or otherwise) for is two days, and I was eight months pregnant at the time. I doubt I could replicate that experience without having another six pound parasite growing inside me.

What is a must-have when you stay at a hotel?
Room service! I was raised to believe room service was one of the most over-indulgent, wasteful things a person could choose to spend money on. It probably is. And nothing makes me feel more luxurious than sitting on a big king bed bent over a $20 burger and fries while I watch one of the gazillions of cable channels I don't let myself have at home. Three hours of Teen Mom 2 plus those tiny bottles of ketchup and mustard? Yes please!

Thanks to Kelly for visiting with us and sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use the Rafflecopter to enter. If you have questions on how to use it, e-mail us.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

US only. Giveaway ends July 16th at midnight EST.

35 comments:

okie said...

My must have would be a comfy chair and good light to spend my time escaping in books

faithspage said...

Must have item-an inground pool

Charlotte said...

Large ice machine.
CABWNANA1@bellsouth.net

Unknown said...

I would love a hammock!

TinaB said...

Must have a comfy chair for reading!
Brannanflooring@aol.com

Elaine said...

My dream home will have a beautiful in ground pool so I can stand summertime. And it is so great reading poolside.

Rita Wray said...

My dream home would have a gazebo where I could sit and read.

Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

Unknown said...

My dream home would have a skylight in the bedroom for starry or stormy nights.

Connie said...

I would love to have a cozy reading room, with comfy chairs, convenient tables and lots of good lighting. AND - it would need to have numerous bookcases! OK, let’s just make it a fabulous library!

Shawn Malin said...

My must have is a space to get comfortable and read.

Stephanie said...

A dream item for my home would be a laundry chute directly to the laundry room! (if money was no object though, rooms for personal chef, housekeeper, & massage therapist on staff would be nice too! )
This is a dream right?

Anonymous said...

My must have would be a huge Garden... with a giant Oak, Apple, or Maple Tree somewhere within it.

Nova said...

Dream home would have to have 3 bedrooms and 2 baths!
sparkle40175@hotmail.com

Jessica said...

I would definitely say a hot tub!

Thanks!
-Jessica M
walkingcorpse11@hotmail.com

Lisamarie said...

My must have is a wine cellar!

tropicalsunlover05(at)yahoo(dot)com

Kritters Ramblings said...

My must have item is my gramdaddy's chair and right now it is in my library with my built in bookshelves!

Kelly Harms Wimmer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kelly Harms said...

Ok take two since I clearly haven't used blogger since... 15 years? And can't remember how to work it! Next up: I forget how to use my remote control. Ah motherhood.

Here's what I wanted to say: Thank you so much for having me, CLC! What a fun group of readers you have... and what big and wonderful dreams we are capable of. I would definitely put several of these things on my must-have for a dream home. The housekeeper and masseuse especially!

Tiffany Drew said...

My must have is a library of course :)

Susan @ The Book Bag said...

Central air! I hate to be hot!

bn100 said...

a library

bn100candg at hotmail dot com

Linda Kish said...

An excellent air conditioner and solar.

Hailey Fish said...

A must have for my dream home would be three windows with an attached window seat. My own personal library with comfy couches. Also on the front porch, I'd have a window swing so I could sit on it when it's raining or when it's cool out.

fishiegirl22@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I'd love to have a chaise lounge.

Unknown said...

I need a huge kitchen to hold all of my stuff :) Luckily, my house already has one!

Bjoneill@hotmail.com

traveler said...

A luxurious ensuite and large master.

Anonymous said...

A wrap around porch with Adirondack chairs and a night garden

Patricia said...

A room to make art in!

rubynreba said...

Hot tub and sauna.

Anita Yancey said...

I would want a large screen TV. Thanks for having the giveaway.

ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

susieqlaw said...

swimming pool

sendsusanmail at gmail dot com

susieqlaw

Maureen said...

My dream item would be a jacuzzi.

rhonda said...

Loads &loads of built in book shelves.lomazowr@gmail.com

Unknown said...

I must have a nice fenced in yard for all my little dogs. :-)

Donna E said...

actually I think there are 2 must haves if I built a new home -- a library filled with all sorts of books (and comfy chairs & sofas for reading), and a 'safe room' (after all, I do live in Oklahoma).