Book Review - ICED ROMANCE

Another great review of ICED ROMANCE just came in! 5 out of 5 stars rated and when my mom read it to my dad, he said "Wow. This makes me want to read it." For those of you who know my Dad, he's a hunter, he-man, manly-man type. And even he wants to read a chick lit book. Ha!

Here's the review:

Whitney Boyd has done it again! In her second novel, "Iced Romance", due out November 27th, she has written a fun, interesting, clean story about what true love and friendship are all about. Her characters are quirky but quintessential examples of people we all know. The most difficult aspect of reading this book is finding the will-power to put it down until the very last page has been turned.

 

Kennedy Carter has grown up wealthy and pampered, but totally without the love of family and friends that she longs for. When she meets Todd, a soon-to-be NHL superstar, she thinks she has finally come home. They become engaged and the years pass by, but Todd refuses to commit to anything besides his game and his fans. When it finally is revealed that Todd has been involved with multiple women behind Kennedy's back and that he doesn't feel an iota of remorse, Kennedy wakes up and realizes she needs to move on and find a life of her own.

 

She runs to Florida to try and re-boot her life, but finds that moving on is one thing, but forgiving and forgetting is quite another. Never having had to look after herself before, she does an admirable job of finding a place to live and a job. But dealing with cockroaches and a waitress' sore feet are just a few of the problems that arise. Happily she meets a bevy of new friends, and even a love-interest, who help her adjust to life as a plebeian. The trouble is, Todd just won't skate off into the sunset, and Kennedy's new life is soon threatened.

 

If you are looking for a perfect stocking-stuffer or a gift for the consummate reader in your life, male or female, "Iced Romance" is your answer.

 

 

 

You can pre-order the book on Amazon (where it is also available as a kindle) or you can find it at Barnes and Noble. For a very limited time the paperback novel is available for only $9.38!! So get it while you can!

 

xox

Book Review - ICED ROMANCE

So the first review of ICED ROMANCE pre-release is back! Drum roll, please!

"As a past reader and even writer of the chick-lit genre, lately I've sort of been slowly moving on to other genres. I haven't been interested in reading chick-lit--don't want to write it. When Whitney asked me to read and review her novel I agreed without knowing what kind of books she writes. She emailed me the PDF and it came one evening while I was finishing up preparing supper. My daughter was still out for her run so I decided to download the galley on my iPad and maybe read the first page or two to see if I thought I was going to like the book. Did I like it? Okay, so I ended up reading the entire first chapter while standing in the kitchen. Then I couldn't wait to get back to the story again later in the evening.

Now, I'm a fairly busy person; a single mom during the week days, a novelist myself and all that goes along with that, early-morning seminary teacher, chauffer, keeper of the lawn and garden, etc, blah, blah, blah . . . So it usually takes me a week, give or take, to complete a novel. I read this one in less than three days.

The writing is fun, witty and seamless. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. I especially enjoyed the list of possible names Kennedy made to call her ex-fiancé, Todd, when/if she saw him again. Kennedy is a girl born to parents of means and then engaged to a wealthy hockey player, so it is fun to see how naive she is to the way the rest of us live. Wearing heels to work on her first day as a waitress--rookie mistake. And David, her love interest, he is sexy, strong and compassionate--I want one ☺

But this novel isn't all silliness and fun. The author shows Kennedy going through a great deal of growth as she struggles to separate herself from the shallow life she's always known. As the story unfolds, Kennedy slowly begins to find her true self as she trades in her designer clothes, caviar and champagne for real friends who offer her loyalty and love.

This is a great book for teens and grown-ups alike. Anyone who wants a fun, quick read that also has a deeper meaning. That finding true happiness in life is not about the things or status of people we surround ourselves with, but the people in our lives who truly care about us. "

- Julie N. Ford, Author 

 Excited yet!?! It's being released on Novelber 27th, but you can pre-order your copy now on Amazon, or buy a pre-release kindle version! Spread the word!

Does Honesty Have a Price?

We watched last night's Amazing Race episode where the teams head off to Turkey. They started off at a travel agency, where the teams found they'd be all together on the flight. Then one of the teams (James and Abba) dropped their wad of cash as they exited the room. Two other teams noticed the cash right away and before you could say "Good Samaritan", the "Twinnies" had pocketed the money and were giggling about how screwed James and Abba would be when they noticed it.

 

Even worse, they laughingly showed the money to another team, the cute little cheerleader and her boy toy from Texas, Trey and Lexi. Trey seemed to disapprove, but Lexi agreed that it was great after the "Twinnies" said that they would split the money with them. James and Abba noticed about two seconds later that their money was missing. But, they couldn't go back and find it because it was gone. They ended up talking to locals in Bangladesh, asking politely if anyone could spare some money to help. The local people gave them enough and they were back in the race.

 

There are so many things wrong with this story...

 

Yes, this is a race around the world for a million dollar prize. Yes, competition is key. Still, doesn't honesty matter despite the potential payday?

 

Sure, it was only about $100... BUT this was the $100 James and Abba needed to leave Bangladesh and to continue on the race. 

 

It is, simply put, a very cheap way to try to get ahead in the race. It wasn't their money. They knew whose money it was. And yet they took it. They could have left it there. They could have returned it to James and Abba. They could have even taken it and given it to a random homeless guy or something. But instead they just kept it.

 

Let's pretend for a second that this isn't a race for one million dollars. Let's say you are walking to work and you see a person ahead of you drop a wad of cash. ABSOLUTELY the honest thing is to return it to them. Or, at the very least, bring it to the police station. There is no scenario where it would be okay to keep it.

 

So why in the world is it "okay" for these racers to keep the money. I would not sell my integrity for one million dollars. I just wouldn't. I don't cheat. I don't lie. I never will.

 

"Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving." (James Faust)

 

I read a story once that I thought was interesting. In 1942 James Faust, a member of the United States Army Air Corps, had applied for Officer's Candidate School. At his interview, he was asked a number of questions regarding more than just his qualifications. His beliefs were called into question too. He was asked if he prayed, if he smoked or drank. Finally he was asked the following, and I quote, "In times of war, should not the moral code be relaxed? Does not the stress of battle justify men in doing things that they would not do when at home under normal situations?” [He] recognized that here was a chance perhaps to make some points and look broad-minded. [He] suspected that the men who were asking this question did not live by the standards that [he] had been taught. The thought flashed through [his]mind that perhaps [he] could say that [he] had [his] own beliefs, but [he] did not wish to impose them on others. But there seemed to flash before [his]mind the faces of the many people [he respected]. In the end [he] simply said, “I do not believe there is a double standard of morality.” End quote. 

 

There shouldn't be a double standard of honesty. Right is always right and wrong is always wrong, regardless of the price.

 

Did you watch this episode? What did you think?

 



Dealing With Negative Reviews

As an author and a Christian, my purpose in writing was to create a clean, fun, flirty chick lit book that would appeal to both religious and non-religious audiences. I wanted my books to be realistic to life, but not to have excessive bad language, explicit sex scenes or too anything crude or vulgar. At the same time, I knew it couldn't be a book that was all butterflies and roses. Life does not have people walking around saying "darn" and smiling in every situation. So, I wrote my books. I made them as clean as I could, but still realistic. Words like "crap" and "freaking" are words that I occasionally use and do not find offensive. Basically I kept everything PG according to my moral code.

 

 

Then the reviews started coming. There are three types of reviews, for those who aren't familiar with it. The majority were super positive (which I love!). There were a few super negative (which make me cry. Seriously), and then here and there a couple of the blah in between reviews where they say "It was a good book, but meh." Now, here's where this gets interesting. The negative reviews I received were written by both religious and non-religous people. The religious people expected the book to be more Christian-ish. They didn't like the border-line crude language in parts, nor the implication that one of the secondary characters in my Hollywood novel was gay. They felt that I should have made the main character a religious zealot in every word and thought. On the other hand, the non-religious commentors wanted the book to be more "Fifty Shades of Grey". They wanted the characters to do more than make out. They wanted a book like hundreds of other romance novels out there.

 

 

I read these reviews and felt conflicted. Was I right in my purpose? I wrote a clean, fun, flirty book that alot of people, regardless of their religious views, love. But why then were there a few people that strongly disliked it?

 

It took a little while, but finally I had an epiphany... I cannot please everyone. Simple. As much as I want to be the most beloved author in the world, that is impossible. Even authors who have sold millions of copies of their novels, like Stephenie Meyers, Sophie Kinsella or J.K Rowling, have received negative reviews... I know... I looked them up on Amazon! There are some downright hateful things people have written to these authors that I really respect.

So what's the moral of this story? Write your book. Figure out who you want your audience to be. And then be proud. You created something that nobody else could have created!

 

As President Roosevelt said, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Have a postive day, all!

 

xox

Grateful for WiDo Publishing...

Here is a little thank you blog post to WiDo Publishing. My editor sent me an email earlier, letting me know that my second romantic comedy / chick lit novel, Iced Romance, will be released EARLY! November 27, 2012 (Happy Birthday, Dad!) to be exact. I am so excited!

WiDo is an amazing publishing house. When there are so many thousands of self-published novels out there, it feels so darn good to be published by an actual publishing house. They saw the potential in my manuscripts, they believed enough in my books to accept them despite me being a no-name, unpublished, wanna-be author, and then they edited the heck out of them and made my books awesome!

 

Thank you, WiDo, for having the best editors (I'm looking at you, Karen!), the best cover artists (seriously, have you seen Iced's cover art!?!) and actually caring about my input. You are the best and I am very grateful for you today!

And to everyone reading this post, do WiDo a favour, and go out and buy my current novel, Tanned, Toned and Totally Faking It, (or any of the other awesome titles published by WiDo - you can find them through WiDo's website). Seriously. In a society dominated by massive corporations, it's always nice to support the little guy, especially when the little guy gives a seriously stellar quality of product!