Abby Fabiaschi's new lease on life...plus a book giveaway

We're thrilled to celebrate the pub day of Abby Fabiaschi's debut novel, I Liked My Life, by having her at CLC today to finish up our "Something New" theme month. We've had our eye on her novel ever since we first heard about it, and Melissa A. was excited to recently receive a copy. (It's currently in her five book pile, which means it will be devoured in the near future.) Thanks to Goldberg McDuffie, we have TWO copies to give away!

After graduating from The Taft School in 1998 and Babson College in 2002, Abby climbed the corporate ladder in high technology. When her children turned three and four in what felt like one season, she resigned to pursue writing. Last March, Abby signed a two-book, hardcover deal with St. Martin’s Press. 

Abby is a human rights advocate interested in economic solutions to social/cultural problems. She is Director of the Board for Made By Survivors, an international nonprofit organization with a unique prosperity model that uplifts victims from sex trafficking and extreme abuse. You can learn more about her practice of systematic giving here.

She and her family divide their time between West Hartford, Connecticut and Park City, Utah. When not writing or watching the comedy show that is her children, she enjoys reading across genres, skiing, hiking, and yoga. Oh, and travel. Who doesn’t love vacation? (Bio from Abby's website.)

Find Abby online:
Website 
Twitter
Facebook 
Instagram 

Synopsis:
Maddy is a devoted stay-at-home wife and mother, host of excellent parties, giver of thoughtful gifts, and bestower of a searingly perceptive piece of advice or two. She is the cornerstone of her family, a true matriarch...until she commits suicide, leaving her husband Brady and teenage daughter Eve heartbroken and reeling, wondering what happened. How could the exuberant, exacting woman they loved disappear so abruptly, seemingly without reason, from their lives? How they can possibly continue without her? As they sift through details of her last days, trying to understand the woman they thought they knew, Brady and Eve are forced to come to terms with unsettling truths.

Maddy, however, isn’t ready to leave her family forever. Watching from beyond, she tries to find the perfect replacement for herself. Along comes Rory: pretty, caring, and spontaneous, with just the right bit of edge...but who also harbors a tragedy of her own. Will the mystery of Maddy ever come to rest? And can her family make peace with their history and begin to heal? (Courtesy of Amazon.)


Something new I did in 2016:
I’m a born optimist, but 2016 was filled with new experiences I’m not in a hurry to repeat: it was the first time since I was twelve I didn’t earn a single dollar, I moved cross country with two kids in tow a week after surviving emergency surgery (admittedly better than the alternative), and I gained ten pounds that really like where they’ve landed and have decided to stay. Oh, there was also that horror show of an election day. New Year’s Eve my toast was, “Good riddance!"

Something new I want to try in 2017:
Being a real-life, bona fide published author! When someone asks what I do for a living, I can’t wait to answer without having to admit that the only person who reads what I write is my sister.

Someplace new I plan (or want) to visit:
I’ve declared this the year of food! My kids are old enough to eat at restaurants that don’t offer chicken fingers and hot dogs, and I plan to take full advantage. I will seek out new culinary experiences everywhere I go.

A new TV series I started watching:
I recently started Good Girls Revolt on Amazon Prime. It’s about women writers tapping at the glass ceiling in the early seventies. I’m totally hooked! I just learned they didn’t renew the contract. If there’s a TV executive reading this, please buy the option to this amazing show ….

A new book I started reading:
I just finished R.J. Palacio’s WONDER with my 7 and 8 year old. It was an incredible experience that initiated necessary, complicated, beautiful dialogue. The impact it had on my children can not be understated, but it was executed with such humor— they were wholly entertained the entire time.

I made a new friend recently....
We just moved to West Hartford, CT. I realized quickly that it’s harder to make friends later in life when your “peers” are more settled, so I invited everyone I met to join a book club. When I got a weary response, I pitched it as a wine and cheese club where a third of the people happened to have recently finished the same book. One woman asked if cocktails were acceptable midweek, as she doesn't care for wine. She quickly moved up the list to must-be-good-friends status.

Thanks to Abby for visiting with us and to Goldberg McDuffie for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway ends February 5th at midnight EST.