Author Beth Hoffman stops by to chat about Looking for Me (+ Giveaway)

It’s a pleasure to welcome bestselling author Beth Hoffman here today as her amazing book, LOOKING FOR ME, is now available in paperback.

To celebrate the release, Beth is giving away one print copy of LOOKING FOR ME to a lucky visitor to Thoughts in Progress. Please see the end of the post for details.

Here’s a synopsis of the book and you can also read my thoughts HERE from my review last year:

     Teddi Overman loves her family and the simple life they share on their Kentucky farm, but when high school graduation nears and her mother pushes her towards secretarial school, Teddi knows it's time to strike out on her own and pursue her dream of working with antiques. Gifted at refurbishing furniture and possessing an uncanny knack for uncovering the beauty and history in what other people discard, Teddi leaves Kentucky in the middle of the night and makes her way to Charleston, South Carolina.
      There, Teddi builds a new life for herself, and makes her dream come true in a small antiques shop frequented by a cast of quirky customers and friends. But each time Teddi, now thirty-six years old, leaves Charleston and visits the farm of her youth, she's drawn to the mysterious beauty of Red River Gorge, where her brother went missing at the age of seventeen. Though everyone believes that her beloved brother is dead, Teddi never gives up hope of finding him.
     When circumstances lead her to clean out the old barn, Teddi makes a discovery that challenges her in ways she never could have imagined. And while trying to fit together the pieces of her family's shattered past, Teddi unwittingly finds herself among the ruins.

Please join me in welcoming Beth as she graciously answers some questions about her writing.

With the international success of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, was it hard to dive into your next novel?
 

Beth:
Yes! Expectations are high, and writers can become nearly paralyzed when facing the challenge of crafting their second book. I had to constantly tell myself: Just write what you want to write. I was adamant in my desire to create something fresh and entirely different. What matters most as I maneuver through my writing life is that I keep growing and exploring new subjects, settings, and characters.
 
Did your interior design background influence your characters in Looking for Me?

Beth:

Over the course of my design career I had the opportunity to observe true craftsmen work magic on antique furniture restorations. That’s why I wanted Teddi to be an expert in furniture restoration and faux finishing. But Teddi quickly took off with her own persona and quirks. One of the things I’ve learned while crafting a novel is to get out of the way and give my characters freedom to live and speak and think without much interference from me. Many times they’ve brought me major storyline revelations that I hadn’t even considered. It’s a fascinating process.

The wildlife portions of the novel are powerful. Did you do a lot of research?
 
Beth:
Since early childhood I’ve loved (and studied) wildlife and nature, so those scenes were easy to create. On my grandparents’ farm the crop fields backed up to hundreds of acres of dense woodlands that I often explored with endless curiosity. Fox, white-tailed deer, raccoons, rabbits, woodchucks and countless birds (from raptors to tiny chickadees) were frequent visitors to our farm. Wildlife was a big part of our everyday lives.

Are you working on a new novel?
 
Beth:
As a matter of fact, I have two novels in the works and I’m having a hard time deciding which one I should concentrate on first. It’s a dilemma that I never thought I’d face, and it’s driving me crazy! I know myself well, and I can’t write them simultaneously, so I’m hopeful that after I finish the paperback tour of Looking for Me that I’ll know which novel should have my undivided attention.

Beth, thanks for joining us today and sharing this look at LOOKING FOR ME. I’ll admit am one of those fans that hopes you finish both books soon. Can’t wait to see what they are about.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Beth Hoffman is the internationally bestselling author of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt and Looking for Me. Before beginning her writing career, she was president and co-owner of an interior design studio. 

Beth lives, along with her husband and their four-legged fur-kids, in a historic Queen Anne home in Kentucky. Her interests include the rescue of abandoned and abused animals, nature conservancy, birding, historic preservation, and antiquing.

For more on Beth and her writing, visit her website and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

PRAISE FOR LOOKING FOR ME:

        "Hoffman's novel of a woman putting the pieces of her family's secrets together combines a deep dramatic impact with Southern charm." -- Publishers Weekly
        "Hoffman has a good ear for dialogue, and Teddie and her friends are realistic, appealing characters. Perfect for fans of family-centered women's fiction, this book will have special appeal to readers interested in antiques and 'shabby chic' style." – Booklist

Beth 's Spring/Summer 2014 Tour:

NAPERVILLE, IL, Anderson's Bookshop, May 1
WICHITA, KS, Watermark Books, May 6
KANSAS CITY, MO, Unity Temple (with Rainy Day Books), May 8
WOODSTOCK, GA, Foxtale Book Shoppe, May 13
FAIRHOPE, AL, Page & Palette, May 15
EVANSVILLE, IN, Vanderburgh Public Library, June 15

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

This giveaway is for one print copy of LOOKING FOR ME. The giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. only and ends at 12 a.m. Monday, May 12. To enter, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and following the instructions. The widget make take a few seconds to load, please be patient.

Everyone, thanks so much for stopping by today. Have you ever refurbished any furniture, if so what was it? If not, have you ever considered giving it a try, but just haven’t gotten to it yet? 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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