14 days until summer!

Michele Paige Holmes felt that getting six hours of sleep per night was a little too much, so several years ago—in her spare, middle-of-the-night time when she wasn’t busy with her husband and five children—she began writing novels. Three of those, Counting Stars, 2007, All the Stars in Heaven, 2009, and Captive Heart, April 2011, have been published by Covenant Communications. A fourth novel, My Lucky Stars (working title) has been accepted for publication in spring 2012. Michele feels so blessed to belong to the most amazing critique group on the planet. She is also married to the tall, dark, and handsome love of her life, and his support makes it possible for her to pursue her dreams.

Visit Michele’s website: www.michelepaigeholmes.net and her blog: My Paige

LDSWBR: If you had an entire day to read (on the beach, at the lake, by the pool, etc.), what book(s) or genre would you reach for first?

MICHELE: If I had an entire day at the beach to myself to read (just contemplating that is delicious!), I would spend it reading young adult fairytale retellings. I’ve always loved that genre, and a few years ago I began writing my own retellings. I am still working my way through every fairytale (original as well as retellings) I can get my hands on, in order to know this market better and improve my writing in it.

LDSWBR: What book(s) do you look forward to reading the most this summer?

MICHELE: What books do I look forward to reading most this summer? Currently I have HB Moore’s latest, Ammon, on my nightstand, as well as Carla Kelly’s first LDS offerening, Borrowed Light. I’ll be reading both of those in the next week or two. I’m eager to read Ally Condie’s Crossed (I loved Matched) and to have an actual copy in hand and reread Rob Well’s YA dystopian, Variant—though I guess that one has to wait until fall. I’d also like to continue reading Carla Kelly’s other titles, Georgette Heyer’s regencies, and Susan Evans McCloud’s books. On the schedule to read with my younger children this summer are the Great Brain Series and the Anne of Green Gables series.

LDSWBR: How would you describe the perfect summer day?

MICHELE: My perfect summer day would be (indulge in fantasy here for a moment, okay?) spent at Disneyland with my husband and children. The weather is great—not too hot and not too cold— and no one is fighting, no one is tired, grumpy, or hungry. No one’s feet hurt; no one spilled their drink all over their t-shirt or left their wallet on the last ride. The camera batteries aren’t dead. Everyone is smiling and laughing for pictures. I am getting some seriously good shots (for all that scrapbooking I never do anymore). Just as we are exiting the Indiana Jones ride, my cell phone rings. I take the phone from my pocket (it is a new phone, by the way, not the ancient, duct-taped thing I currently have and am embarassed to use in public) and see that it is my agent texting to tell me that my YA fairytale has been sold to BIG PUBLISHER NAME HERE. My family is as estatic as I am (now they won’t have to eat the squished PB&J sandwiches I packed for dinner). We celebrate by dining with Mickey at the Blue Bayou, then sit in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle to watch the fireworks, where I reminisce that dreams really can come true.

LDSWBR: Now THAT sounds like a perfect summer day. Thanks, Michele!

Captive Heart by Michele Paige Holmes (Covenant; April 2011) is available for purchase from Deseret Book and for Kindle at Amazon.

How many of you would include the magic of Disneyland/Disneyworld in your perfect summer day?

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***Countdown to Summer 2011 Contest***

LDSWBR will hold a drawing on June 25, 2011 for a $50 Amazon gift card, as well as a variety of books being offered by some of the LDS authors featured in the Countdown. This will be a raffle-type drawing, so more entries means more chances to win. There are several ways to enter the Countdown to Summer 2011 contest. See details below.

Book prizes generously donated by the authors:

• The Upside of Down by Rebecca Talley

• Gifted by Karey White

• Bumpy Landings by Donald J. Carey

• Captive Heart by Michele Paige Holmes

• The Perfect Fit by  Michele Ashman Bell

• River Whispers by Kathi Oram Perterson

• Hazzardous Universe by Julie Wright & Kevin Wasden

• Hearts Through Time by Marie Higgins

• Double Deceit by Stephanie Humphreys

• The List by Melanie Jacobson

• The Forgotten Locket by Lisa Mangum

• The Kiss of a Stranger by Sarah M. Eden

• Blackberry Crumble by Josi S. Kilpack

• **Bonus Prize** An autographed copy of BLOODBORNE by Gregg Luke (released August 2011)

Do ANY of the following to enter:

• Post a thoughtful comment on the Countdown to Summer 2011 author posts. Comments can be added on any of the author posts anytime during the contest period (June 1, 2011 through June 24, 2011). Only one comment per person per Countdown to Summer author post will be entered into the drawing. Feel free to comment more than once per post if you’d like, but only one comment will be accepted as an entry.

• Send LDSWBR an email to ldswbr AT gmail DOT com telling us which of the following you have completed. If you already do these things, email us and let us know. Each item gets you 1 entry.

1. Follow LDS Women’s Book Review on Facebook
2. Follow @LDSWBR on Twitter
3. Subscribe to LDSWBR by email (see top right sidebar on website)
4. Follow LDSWBR with Google Friend Connect (right sidebar beneath “Follow LDSWBR”)

• On each Countdown to Summer author post, leave a comment telling us which of the following you completed or already do. Each item gets you 1 entry.

1. Follow the author’s blog (if they have one)
2. Follow the author on Twitter (if they tweet)
3. Follow the author on Facebook (if they have a Facebook page)

• Tweet this message each day. One entry per day. Just copy and paste into your twitter message window to send it (LDSWBR must be able to see the tweet): LDSWBR Countdown to Summer 2011 – Enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card & great summer reads! http://bit.ly/kZ5jXw @ldswbr

• Blog about this contest on your blog then send us the link to your specific blog post. You can find the Countdown graphic badge/button to include in your blog post here. (5 entries)

• Post the following on your Facebook page (3 entries) then send us an email (ldswbr AT gmail DOT com) telling us that you did: LDSWBR Countdown to Summer 2011 – Enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card & great summer reads! http://bit.ly/kZ5jXw

Here are the rules:

• Contest ends at 12:00 Midnight MDT on June 24, 2011.
• Drawing winners will have until 12:00 Midnight MDT on July 2, 2011 to claim their prize. After that time, another name will be drawn to receive the prize.
• Book prizes can only be shipped within the contiguous United States.
• LDSWBR reserves the right to decide what determines a “thoughtful” comment.

Let’s keep counting down to summer with some great reads!