I received a wonderful question in a comment last week about my novels: This Sea Within and When Things Go Missing.

WritingfromtheheartwithBrian said:

Love the thought you’ve put into the launch and book tour. Looks awesome! This Sea Within — oh what a wonderful birth! Congratulations on novel number two. Love the review too. It made me wonder how you came up with the idea? Any story there too? Come out of When Things Go Missing or unique to itself. Anyway, congratulations! 

I answered:

Thanks, Brian. I love your questions! This Sea Within was an idea I came up with years ago before I wrote the first novel and jotted down some notes about it. After I wrote When Things Go Missing, I wanted to do something different, more fun and adventurous and romantic. I remembered this idea and went with it. While they don’t seen to have much in common on the surface, both novels are about transformational journeys. Both have “mother” issues. Both feature art. So readers who enjoyed one may well enjoy reading the other.

Since then I’ve been thinking more about that question. My first novel When Things Go Missing is literary fiction, a family saga that deals with addiction, homelessness, loss and grief. And the second novel This Sea Within is a political thriller about a young journalist who becomes swept up in a revolution. Why would the reader of one be interested in reading the other? What do they have in common?

Quite a bit, actually.

Each novel follows the transformational journeys of the main characters. Each character’s journey involves a love story. Each have a “missing” or absent mother that they must contend with. And art is an important and transformational aspect of each novel.

Both are fast-paced, emotionally-layered, character-driven novels that deal with knotty issues important to today’s society: addiction and homelessness, redemption and forgiveness, in one; social justice and democracy, war and self-sacrifice in the other.

Both deal with personal growth, featuring people struggling with messy family issues, who take risks to improve their lives and the lives of others, who fall passionately in love and work to maintain those difficult relationships, and who use art to transform their lives.

BOOK TOUR GIVEAWAY

If these kinds of novels appeal to you, you have a chance to win a free copy of one of my novels, your choice. Please bookmark this page and join us on the tour! To win an ebook of either This Sea Within or When Things Go Missing, subscribe to this blog if you haven’t already and leave a comment on the participating sites listed below. I’ll be giving away three books.

The book tour started earlier this week with Teri Brown’s Online Author podcast. If you missed it, you can view it here and leave a comment.

https://www.terimbrown.com/blog/episode-6-9-26

On Wednesday, Beth Kennedy kindly spotlighted The Sea Within with a excerpt from the novel. Stop by and say hi and leave a comment.

This Sea Within.

Here’s the complete line-up for the book tour:

BOOK BLOG TOUR HOSTS

Tuesday, June 9 – Teri M. Brown, Author and Host of Online for Authors podcast: PODCAST

Wednesday, June 10 – Beth Kennedy, Author and Blogger, I Didn’t Have My Glasses On: EXCERPT

Thursday, June 11 – Vicki Atkinson, Author and Blogger, Victoria Ponders : REVIEW

Saturday, June 13 – Marie Bailey, Writer and Blogger at 1 Write Way and Substack Newsletter: EXCERPT

Monday, June 15 – THIS SEA WITHIN RELEASE!  Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Bookshop.

Wednesday, June 17 – Dawn Pisturino, Author, Poet, Blogger, My Writing Journey: REVIEW

Friday, June 19 – Wynne Leon & Vicki Atkinson, Authors and Hosts of The Heart of the Matter podcast: PODCAST

Saturday, June 20 – Peter Springer, Teacher, Author, & Blogger at Pete’s Blog: REVIEW

Many thanks to all these wonderful people for hosting a spot on my tour. A big thanks to Brian for inspiring this post.

And a ton of thanks to all of you who subscribe to and read my posts. I don’t think I would have written these novels if it hadn’t been for all of your support.