Today I am excited to be a stop on Annette Haws's blog tour for her
new book titled: The Accidental Marriage!
The Accidental Marriage
by Annette Haws
Adult LDS/Adult Contemporary
December 10th 2013 by Cedar Fort Publishing
Summary
Nina Rushforth was born with a silver spoon caught in her throat. She and her father have mapped out a future that includes a brilliant legal career, a marriage to an equally stellar attorney or Wall Street whiz kid, and eventually the production of three perfect children. A semester at St. Andrew's University in Scotland, was part of the plan, but falling in love with a handsome missionary was not.
Six months later, after Elliot returns from his mission and after a tumultuous courtship, Nina finds herself teaching at a junior high school, learning to keep house in a minuscule apartment, and living with a man who doesn't know any more about being married than she does. Intimacy, cooking, laundry, lesson plans, and a tug-of-war with a possessive mother-in-law prove to be more overwhelming than Nina can successfully manage. The newlyweds awaken to realize the head on the adjacent pillow belongs to a stranger.
This novel captures the heartbreak of young love caught in the turbulent social crosscurrents of the 70's, at a time when brave women struggled to find dignity and equality in the workplace, as well as peace at home.
“A thoughtful, heartbreaking, and often laugh-out-loud romp… Annette Haws explores the interesting question: What keeps a marriage together?”
“Haws delivers a story that makes you want to rush to the end to find out what happens and prose that makes you want to slow down and savor it.”
“If you want a story with plot, character and real, deep meaning that will leave you thinking long after you’re done, this is the book for you.”
Adult LDS/Adult Contemporary
December 10th 2013 by Cedar Fort Publishing
Summary
Nina Rushforth was born with a silver spoon caught in her throat. She and her father have mapped out a future that includes a brilliant legal career, a marriage to an equally stellar attorney or Wall Street whiz kid, and eventually the production of three perfect children. A semester at St. Andrew's University in Scotland, was part of the plan, but falling in love with a handsome missionary was not.
Six months later, after Elliot returns from his mission and after a tumultuous courtship, Nina finds herself teaching at a junior high school, learning to keep house in a minuscule apartment, and living with a man who doesn't know any more about being married than she does. Intimacy, cooking, laundry, lesson plans, and a tug-of-war with a possessive mother-in-law prove to be more overwhelming than Nina can successfully manage. The newlyweds awaken to realize the head on the adjacent pillow belongs to a stranger.
This novel captures the heartbreak of young love caught in the turbulent social crosscurrents of the 70's, at a time when brave women struggled to find dignity and equality in the workplace, as well as peace at home.
Praise for The Accidental Marriage
“A thoughtful, heartbreaking, and often laugh-out-loud romp… Annette Haws explores the interesting question: What keeps a marriage together?”
--Terrell Dougan, a columnist for the Huffington Post and the author of That Went Well: Adventures in Caring for my Sister
“Haws delivers a story that makes you want to rush to the end to find out what happens and prose that makes you want to slow down and savor it.”
--Karey White, author of For What It’s Worth, Gifted, and My Own Mr. Darcy
“If you want a story with plot, character and real, deep meaning that will leave you thinking long after you’re done, this is the book for you.”
--Shannon Guymon, author of Do Over
Tens List
by Annette Haws
by Annette Haws
It feels a little serendipitous to be having a fictional bride, Nina, getting married on Dec. 10th and a very real Charlotte, my daughter, getting married on Dec. 30th. Other than some tweaking, the manuscript was finished before Charlotte met Joe, but no one believes me. I don’t think of myself as clairvoyant, but there are some parallels that are positively uncanny. I hope I’m not in serious trouble.
That being said, Nina is in an excellent position to give Charlotte some advice about the pitfalls of being a newlywed.
- Food. Everyone eats, every day. No getting around that, so everything that pertains to food should be pleasant; planning, shopping, chopping, sautéing, eating, and washing the pots and pans. Being a grump about food production is a waste of energy.
- Vegetables. According to the groom: “There is a lot of ground between raw and sludge.”
- Clutter. Everyone has a different tolerance for clutter. Plowing through dirty clothes, shoes, books, boxes, and bags to get to the bedroom is fun for a month or two—after that not so fun.
- Laundry. More asides from the groom: “I dumped the clean laundry out of the basket, and it had been sitting there so long it kept its shape on the bed—a laundry loaf.”
- Showers. A bride might think a shower at the end of the day is just a shower. Tired or not, to a healthy young twenty-three year old male, a shower is an invitation.
- Money. Someone—not everyone—needs to be in charge of the family finances. I have a very intelligent friend whose marriage floundered because her father handled the money and his mother handled the money. Neither of them could understand why the bills were such a chaotic mess. Several slammed doors later, they figured it out. Whew.
- In-laws. Do not go home to mother—anyone’s mother—on the phone, in the car, on a bike, or in an airplane. Instead, the bride should hold the groom’s hands, look him in the eye, and talk it out—whatever it happens to be.
- Lies. Don’t do it, because occasionally, the truth will set you free as in divorced.
- Differences. (The author is editorializing here) I never thought I would admit this, but men and women are different—and it’s not just our plumbing. We come at life from different hormonal places and our brains are organized differently. So, Charlotte and Nina, get over it.
- Vive la difference!
About the Author
Annette Haws’s literary strengths are based upon her experiences in the classroom. She began her teaching career as a junior high teacher in Richmond, Utah and ended it teaching Sophomore English at Murray High School in Salt Lake City. However, her favorite assignment was a five year period at Logan High School teaching English, coaching debate and mock trial, and watching the antics of her own three children who were also students in the same school. Her first novel, Waiting for the Light to Change, won Best of State in 2009, A Whitney Award for Best Fiction, and the Diamond Quill Award for Best Published Fiction in 2009 from the League of Utah Writers. In July of 2008, the Midwest Book Review selected it as a Top Pick for Community Library Fiction Collections.
Giveaway
One ebook copy of The Accidental Marriage (US and INT as long as you can access a Mobi, ePub, or PDF copy).
All my usual requirements apply. Please use the rafflecopter below. Ends 12/29/13.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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