Guest Post and Giveaway: Beneath the Stars by Lynn Charles

We’re so pleased to welcome author Lynn Charles to TNA today, on the tour for her new release from Interlude Press, Beneath the Stars. Lynn’s sharing some of her fave blogs with us, and there’s also a great giveaway you can find details about below.

Welcome, Lynn!

My Favorite Blogs

I’ve been reading blogs for well over ten years now, back when most people didn’t even know what a blog was, when Word announced that you’d misspelled it because “blog” wasn’t a word. Without realizing they were called Mommy Blogs, I started with… mommy blogs. Had I known that’s how they were being referred, I’d have probably turned the other way.

I was a Mom, to be sure, but it hit me—and still does—in a condescending way, like chick flick, she shed, and girl-drink. To me, these blogs were places where strong women, wise women, working, thinking, creative women could speak. They helped me set my day straight by virtue of their humor, their outlook and often, their photography.

Most of my favorite blogs are by those same women, or newer voices of similar tone and style:

Chookooloonks: Karen Walrond is a former engineer and attorney who now dedicates her life to the creative side. She focuses on thriving, on finding the light, and on shining light on every good thing. She uplifts me, as a reader, and lifts up those in her world. I’d love to have coffee with her, or to sit and watch her create her daily journal entries, or follow her as she walks through her neighborhood—or Africa where she is an active member of the One Campaign—and takes photographs. She is a true beacon of positivity and peace.

Girls Gone Child: Rebecca Woolf is a mother of four (including a set of twins), wife and writer who lives in LA. She started her blog after her son was born because she didn’t know another other women with children. She took to her strengths in writing and began what is probably the most beautiful love letter to her children, to my children, to everyone’s children, and to motherhood in general. She is politically active and teaching her children that the future is female and they are capable leaders of it.

My favorite food blog is:

Smitten Kitchen: Deb Perelmen started her blog when she lived in a small NYC apartment with 80 sq ft of workspace. Her second kitchen was still insanely tiny but had room for a dishwasher!! and a baby. Now she has space, two children and a food blog that I adore. She hasn’t fallen victim to the current trend of 1000 word blog entries littered with pictures of every.stinking.step until you’re about to give up finding the stupid recipe. What she does blog is interesting, entertaining and always focusing on the recipe at hand. Her food is accessible, delicious and comforting.

As for writing, I fall to my favorite author, the one who made me think—hey, I could do this:

argh ink: Jennifer Crusie hasn’t published a book in six years. But, through her wit, her almost obsessive need to get the craft of writing right, she maintains one of the most helpful writing blogs around, especially if you write in the romance genre. I don’t always agree with her theories and methods, but if nothing else, she makes me critically think of what I’m doing, why I’m doing it and does the protagonist really really need to get the guy at the end? Yes, by the way. The answer is always yes. She taught me about the contract with the readers. Also, if you love my dialogue, it’s largely due to her influence.

About Beneath the Stars

At a turning point for his growing fashion line for transmen and butch women, Sid Marneaux receives a life-altering phone call. His father, who raised his family alone after his wife passed, is in failing health. When he goes home, he fears he could lose the business he has spent most of his adult life building.

What he could not have anticipated was meeting Eddie Garner, the city’s new fire chief. After a heroic rescue, their romance sparks hot, launching into a swift affair. But Eddie is harboring his own burdens: the painful death of his best friend and the responsibility of raising her young son—their son—Adrian.

Through the wisdom of a child and the connection of mothers-now-gone, Sid, Eddie, and Adrian venture and fumble to define family, career, and, most importantly, love.

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About the Author

Lynn Charles’ love of writing dates to her childhood where thoughts, dreams, frustrations, and joys poured onto the pages of journals and diaries.

She lives in Central Ohio with her husband and adult children where a blind dog and his guardian cat rule the roost. When she’s not writing, Lynn can be found planning a trip to New York or strolling its streets daydreaming about retirement. Her previous novels include Chef’s Table (2014) and Black Dust (2016).

Connect with the author at lynncharles.net, on Twitter @lynncharlesnet and on Facebook.