Contemporary Romance
Date Published: 5/30/13
Sarah Markham always assumed that the Ivy League was her ticket to a new life. But after graduating from Harvard at the height of the Great Recession, she finds herself with no job offers and not much hope. That all changes when she enters a bookshop owned by Samuel, an eccentric intellectual who offers her not just a job, but also a place to stay. Sarah soon discovers a small catch though: her room is haunted by Lucy Larch, an opinionated and strong-willed ghost from the 1940s. As Sarah tries to help Lucy move on, she meets handsome Irishman Ian Flynn and falls in love, but her insecurities soon threaten every relationship she’s built.
As Sarah grapples with questions of faith, love, and identity, she must learn to embrace not just the spirits of the present, but the haunting pain of the past. Can she accept her past, and more importantly herself, in order to let love in?
Sophie Weeks
As Sarah grapples with questions of faith, love, and identity, she must learn to embrace not just the spirits of the present, but the haunting pain of the past. Can she accept her past, and more importantly herself, in order to let love in?
Sophie Weeks was born in Phoenix, Arizona, Sophie Weeks received a Masters degree in English Literature from Mills College in 2006 and completed her PhD in Victorian Literature at Rice University in 2013. Sophie resides in Payson, Arizona with three furry miscreants, who are wanted in multiple states for criminal adorableness. She is also the author of Outside the Spotlight. Learn more athttp://sophieweeks.net
My Review:
There were a lot of things that I loved about this book. I loved the setting of a bookstore I loved all the book references in the book as well. I would love to join a book group like the one that Sarah set up. It sounded like a lot of fun. I also liked Lucy, she was a fun character to read about. My favorite character though was Samuel. He was a boss that I would love to have. He was stern and bossy, but also caring. I did not like the way that Sarah and Lucy met. After Sarah's religious past I did not think that she would have easily accepted a ghost in her life. Ian was a great boyfriend for Sarah and I really wanted them to get together and talk to more spirits. I hope that there is a sequel, and a whole series of ghosts. I would also like to see more of Samuel. I am giving this book a 4/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own.
Guest Post from Author:
Ten Ways to Maintain
Creative Sanity
Being a
creative person is a blessing, but it can also be a challenge. For every joyful high, there's a despondent
low, a moment where things just won't come right. Here are a few precepts I've pulled together
that will help anyone who does creative work to stay on the right side of that
thin line between genius and madness.
1)
Manage stimulation. If your ideas are getting
stale, try increasing stimulation: go to a museum, meet up with an old friend,
or listen to some new music. Conversely,
the actual work of creativity requires a setting with very little
outside stimulation. When I sit down to
write, I often put on my headphones without music, just to make sure I can
slide into my work without distraction.
2)
Get out of your chair. Go for a swim or take a walk. New contexts can generate exciting
ideas. I keep a set of washable crayons
in my bathroom just so I can make notes or write down snatches of dialogue
while I'm in the bathtub!
3)
Respect your work. If you're a creative person, then creativity
is your work. It doesn't matter whether
it pays or whether anyone likes it.
Don't call your creative work a “hobby.”
Don't put everything else first.
Your work matters.
4)
Produce a lot of crap. So much crap.
Produce enough crappy work to bury an ox. Crappy work, once revisited, revised, and
refined, produces good work. If you've
tried to write/draw/make films/whatever and decided that your efforts were too
terrible to even contemplate, you were actually on the right track. Keep going.
5)
Take a nap.
Even without addressing the creative energy of dreams (which can be
enormous), naps are one of the best ways to wake up your creative brain. They boost right-brain activity, helping you
solve problems while you're snoozing on the sofa.
6)
Lock up your inner critic. Don't kill her—you'll need her later when
you're revising. But don't let her be in
charge, either. She'll suck all the joy
out of your creative process. The inner
critic is a powerful tool that must be used with discretion.
7)
Explore process.
Don't assume that what worked for one artist will work for you. Work in the morning. Work at night. Try using a computer, then try
not using one. Eventually, you'll hit on
your process.
8)
Keep a notebook.
Not a journal. Not anything
coherent. Just a simple notebook where
you can jot down anything that catches your fancy or any ideas that flit across
your brain. This can be a treasure trove of inspiration.
9)
Be audacious.
Nothing is too bizarre or too scandalous if it represents your
vision. Courage is an absolute
requirement of artistry.
10) Aim
for the highest. This goes back to
respecting your work. Never try to
produce something that is “good enough.”
Try to produce something magnificent.
Thanks for sharing your review and this great post!
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