I’m so excited that spring is finally here. Yes, March 20th is the first day of spring. Can you believe it? We’ve had a pretty intense winter, here in California, which is unusual for our part of the world. Endless days of rain, floods in many areas and where I live, an exceptional amount of snow to the point where I was snowed in for a few days. To celebrate and welcome the glorious months of spring, Reckless Beginnings ebooks are on sale.
🌾💐🌷🌹🥀🌸🌼 Spring Time Sale! All ebooks are on sale for a limited time for $0.99. 🌾💐🌷🌹🥀🌸🌼
Tammy Mellows wanted to be loved. For her, love was blind and she only saw what she wanted to see until it was too late. Now she must face impossible challenges to win back her life.
🌾💐🌷🌹🥀🌸🌼
Read what people are saying about the book.
I loved this story. It was amazing!! It totally captured me from page 1. After reading the first few chapters I was addicted and couldn’t put the book down. – Stewart Book Reviews
A very good page turner. The main character of the book is very well written and I felt so connected to her life, her choices and her pain and happiness. – Dana D
Reckless Beginnings has excellent character development, and Tina Hogan Grant does a fabulous job of showing the heartbreak of being involved with a drug addict. Compelling, heart-rending read. Couldn’t put it down. – Michele I. Khoury – Author of Busted
Hogan Grant has a great sense of storytelling and she succeeds in keeping readers engaged through each page of her gripping story. – Readers’ Favorites.
For a Limited Time, Reckless Beginnings is on sale!
I’m not sure when this crazy sale will happen again. All eBook formats of Reckless Beginnings are on sale for just $0.99.
Is there someone on your Christmas list who would love a copy of Reckless Beginnings? Grab your copy now before the sale ends. The perfect last minute Christmas gift. CLICK on a link below to purchase.
Reviews
REVIEWS
“Reckless Beginnings by Tina Hogan Grant is engaging and riveting, a well-written story injected with a lot of realism and pathos. Told in a strong and mellifluous tone, this is a story about family and a woman’s search to make sense out of the chaos of her life.” – Readers’ Favorites
“I read the book in a day and a half. A great book I couldn’t put it down. ” – Angie Hardy
“What a story to be told. Moments that are gut-wrenching, some that are comical, some moments where you just want to scream why are you doing that…. but in the end a very good page turner. The main character of the book is very well written and I felt so connected to her life, her choices and her pain and happiness” – Dana D.
Now there’s an easy way to get a book that is not listed in your local library catalog.
What is the ZIP BOOK PROGRAM?
If your local library doesn’t have a book you requested in their catalog you have the option of ordering it through the California Library Zip Book program which is sponsored by the California State Library. The book is shipped directly to your home via Amazon prime. If your local library doesn’t carry my book RECKLESS BEGINNINGS, you can now request it through this program. How awesome is that!
For a limited time – RECKLESS BEGINNINGS ebooks are on sale!
Just in time for the holidays, Reckless Beginnings ebooks are on sale for just $2.99. Now is the perfect time to buy for those on your Christmas List. Who on your list would love a copy of RECKLESS BEGINNINGS for Christmas? Now is the time to buy it!
Choose your preferred retailer from below and order directly from this newsletter. It’s that easy! All formats are just $2.99.
THIS IS FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY SO ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!
Saturday, October 13th, I celebrated the release of RECKLESS BEGINNINGS with a book launch and signing party at our local library. What a fantastic time I had, shared with family and great friends. I live in a small rural town and was touched by the turnout and the support this little community has given me through this entire journey leading up to this event. I was pleasantly surprised when the local newspaper showed up to cover the event. Thank you Mountain Enterprise. It was a joyous occasion where many tears and laughter were shared.
The event lasted about two hours. During which time I gave a little history behind the book and why I wrote it, read an excerpt and talked about my next book titled BETTER ENDINGS and the prequel, titled, THE JOURNALS OF TAMMY. Here is a little snippet of the presentation.
Involving the kids
Being a family affair, my grandsons were present along with a few of their buddies. (All of which were remarkably well behaved by the way). I wanted to involve them in this special day and gave them the important job of pulling out the raffle tickets for the five prizes. They did a great job! Thank you, guys 🙂
The amazing cake
One of the highlights of the event was the amazing cake made by my daughter-in-law’s mother, Gloria. In fact, she made two of these. She did an outstanding job with decorating it and using the cover of the book. Thank you, Gloria! And it was delicious too.
I love this community.
I have lived in Frazier Park for over fifteen years and could not imagine living anywhere else. I absolutely love this town. It’s a small mountain community, about seventy-five miles north of Los Angeles at five thousand feet elevation, settled at the base of Frazier Mountain.
Here there is no fast lane. We lead a slower pace of life, breathe in only clean air and see the stars at night. It’s a place where everyone knows everybody and the people of this town will support you one hundred percent on your adventures in life. The town has proved that by following me on this amazing journey since announcing, I was writing a book. They’ve followed me on social media, offering me words of encouragement and praise and by attending the book signing. Thank you, Frazier Park!
So where can you buy Reckless Beginnings?
RECKLESS BEGINNINGS is currently available in paperback only. The Kindle/ebook edition will be available in about six weeks.
Ordering the book is easy from any of these fine online retailers.
If you prefer to shop at a brick and mortar store, you can order the book at your favorite bookstore and it will be available for pick up in a few days.
Live radio interview by KHTS Radio
Along with the Book signing event, I was also interviewed by KHTS Hometown radio last week. The interview was also videotaped so you can watch it by clicking on the link below.
Once again, thank you, everyone, for your support!
Fantastic Tuesday Giveaway
Starting Tuesday, October 16th, I will be running a ten-week giveaway from my Facebook author’s page. Each week I will be giving away a signed copy of RECKLESS BEGINNINGS. (Sorry U.S residents only). Simply, like the post, share the post and comment in order to be entered. The winner will be announced every Monday at 5:00 pm PST and a new contest will begin on Tuesday morning. You have a chance to win one of ten copies that will be given away.
Other articles you may enjoy.
Spooky tales for Halloween plus a bonus interviewFeelings of regret triggered by a photo
How did a Single Photo Trigger Feelings of Regret?
You might be asking this question after reading my title. Let me explain. When my book was launched and I was overwhelmed with a sense of pride, I immediately mailed a copy to my sister in England. Included in the letter was a small request; that she’d take a picture of the book with our mother. Continue reading “Feelings of Regret – Triggered by a Photo”→
I’m pleased to have Goddess Fish Promotions handle the virtual tour for my book Reckless Beginnings. Because of the tour, the book is available NOW! through Barnes & Noble and Amazon. Follow the links at the bottom of the page to order. (Note UK: you can place an order now but the item will not be shipped immediately.
Yes! Reckless Beginnings is available now! Tell all your friends!
The Tour
The tour will run from October 1st – October 26th, 2018. Making stops at twenty-six websites. Prewritten guest blogs and interviews, along with promo posts, and reviews will be featured on each blog post.
Follow the Tour and Enter the Giveaways
Prizes for the tour are as follows:
• One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
• One randomly chosen host will receive a $25 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
You have a chance of winning the $ 50.00. prize by simply following the tour each day and entering the giveaway on each stop. That’s twenty-six chances of winning! Be sure to share with your friends
An unexpected announcement – four days early but Reckless Beginnings is available for purchase.
Available in Paperback edition.
My book went live last night on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. No need to wait until October 4th you can BUY IT RIGHT NOW! Amazon UK is showing temporarily out of stock, but you can place your order now and it will be shipped when available, which I’m assuming will be soon.
FOLLOW THE LINKS BELOW TO PURCHASE
Amazon U.S.A
Amazon.co.uk
Contest – Win A FREE signed Poster of the cover
To celebrate the release of the book I want to give away a FREE signed poster.
If you purchase my book, send me a picture of yourself with my book to be entered in the drawing for a FREE signed 24 x 31 poster of the cover. (Note it will not be a hardback poster like the one in the picture, but it will be the same size. ) The little boy, by the way, is Jonathan. My best friend’s pride & joy 🙂
The contest is worldwide – Anyone can enter
You give me the right to post your picture on my site and my social media accounts when you enter this contest.
The clock continues to tick. Counting down the seconds, minutes, hours and days until release day is finally here. Yes, October 4th is the magic day. By the time this goes live, we will be at fifteen days until that anticipated day is finally upon us. It will be the day my book, Reckless Beginnings will finally be available to purchase. Wow! I can’t believe it. Can you?
Preparing for the launch and bringing awareness of the event has not been easy. It has involved numerous emails to bloggers, newspapers, podcast and TV shows. Sending out a press release to various target audiences. Booking a virtual book tour. (Due to begin October 1st and run for one month.) Organize book review tours. (due to begin, October 27th.) Plan a book signing event. (This will be at the Frazier Park library, Saturday, October 13th; 3:00 – 5:00 pm.) It has been an exhausting ordeal, but each day results from my efforts are beginning to trickle in.
My First Podcast Interview
I had my first podcast interview with The Thrillers & Mystery Podcast. I was somewhat nervous in the beginning. But the host was wonderful and eased me into the interview and made feel extremely comfortable. It went longer than I had anticipated, about twenty-five minutes, but I’m quite pleased with it. I didn’t feel rushed and got to say everything that I had wanted to say. You can listen to the entire interview below.
Interview with Voyage LA Magazine
I was contacted by Voyage LA Magazine last month and asked if I would like to do an interview. It was a written interview which was nice because I knew all the questions up front and there were no hidden surprises. I spent a few days, taking my time and thinking about my answers. The interview went live earlier this week. You can read the full interview by clicking on the image.
Upcoming Interviews
I have also been contacted by FOX 58 BAKERSFIELD NEWS to appear on the show. A date has yet to be set. But as soon as I have it, I will post it to the locals, so they can hopefully tune in.
HOMETOWN STATION AM radio 1220 of Santa Clarita has invited me to be a guest on the show. I will be appearing live on October 9th at 8:40 am.
A Newbie to Interviews
Before writing my book Reckless Beginnings, being interviewed about anything had never crossed my mind. My lifestyle didn’t require it. Now all of a sudden it has become a necessity. It’s an important method to reach hundreds, sometimes thousands of people and spread the word about my work. How quickly one’s life can change.
Like anything in life, the more you do something, the easier it becomes. I’m finding this with interviews. The first one I did, I was a nervous wreck, I felt I stumbled my words and even though I said a lot, I wasn’t saying what I had rehearsed before the interview. It’s quite a learning experience and one has to stay in tune with their mind and nerves and don’t let your nervousness run the show. With practice, you’ll begin to notice habits of nervous energy that need to be controlled. For me, it’s shifting in my seat, unable to sit still or tapping my fingers on the table subconsciously. Because of these habits that I’m unaware of at the time, I now sit on my hands while being interviewed. It works!
I will continue to pitch to the media even when the book is out. Promoting the book will never end. I have only just begun 🙂
If you know of any media outlets, (Podcasts, radio, tv, magazines, or newspapers) that may be interested in hearing about my book please send or post me a link and I will defiantly contact them.
Book Launch/Signing October 13th
Book Trailer
What is a book Aesthetic?The story behind the book
Launch day, (October 4th) is fast approaching. I can’t believe it’s only three weeks away. It’s hard to fathom sometimes, that a story I’ve created, babied and protected, will soon be available for the world to see. As nervous as I am, I have to say, I’m also extremely proud of myself and I wish my parents were here to witness this huge milestone in my life.
When I started this blog, (fourteen months ago. (Has it really been that long?) I wrote an article titled; It takes courage to publish your book. It was written, soon after I had signed the contract with my publisher and suddenly everything seemed so surreal. I am feeling the words I wrote even more so today. There are so many emotions that go into writing a book and this truly puts it all into perspective.
What inspired me to write Reckless Beginnings
Over the past couple of months, I’ve done a number of interviews on podcasts, websites and book blogs. The most common question was; What inspired me to write the book? A question I’m sure I’ll be asked, at future events. Then it occurred to me that I’ve not discussed this topic on my own site. So I think it’s about time.
Reckless Beginnings is women’s fiction based on True events that have happened in my life. Tammy Mellows, (the main character) is me. I wanted it to read like a story and not a memoir, (personal choice,) therefore, names, places and some facts about certain events have been altered.
I developed a passion for writing at the early age of fourteen. I think having an author for a father had something to do with it. It was around this time, one of my older sisters ran away and couldn’t be found. Unable to search for her, I became frustrated and began writing in a journal to gather my thoughts. My book begins with the disappearance of my sibling.
A few years later and with my sister still missing, chaos began to erupt in my own life. I was on a path of making hideous choices and in denial because I wanted the white picket fence and the perfect American family life and ignored any signs that may disrupt that dream.
I allowed my life to be dictated by a heroin addict, the father of my child. Believing that his needs were more important than mine, I got swallowed up in his lifestyle, losing my sense of direction, courage, and identity. Throughout the chaos, I continued to write in my journals.
During that time, I searched for books written by other women that found themselves in the same predicament as myself but came up short. I only discovered “How to” books, but they were not the voices I wanted to hear. I needed to know how they coped. What did they do? I wondered what their everyday lives were like; I yearned for some sort of connection with someone. I had so many unanswered questions.
I had an idea
That was when the seed was planted for my debut novel, Reckless Beginnings. But it didn’t happen right away. I tucked it away and continued to struggle with the battles in my life.
Twenty years later I still had not written the book, but the thought never left me. When my father suddenly passed away in 2010 and a year later I was diagnosed with breast cancer I began to think seriously about the book and began writing the outline. Eight years later it’s finally going to be published. (Phew.)
Writing it twenty plus years later was extremely difficult. It didn’t occur to me that I would have to revisit such a dark time in my life and allow all the emotions I felt back then to resurface, in order for it to show in my writing. At times it became unbearable and I had to walk away, regroup and attempt certain scenes a few days later or sometimes weeks later.
So why did I put myself through such pain?
While writing the story I gave myself the title; The Silent and Forgotten One and soon realized, anyone who is involved with an addict becomes such a person. You may ask, Why? It’s because over time we allow our lives to be consumed by the addiction. We become a shadow, believing their needs are more important than ours. we become afraid to speak, stand up for ourselves or make any kind of decisions to better our lives. It’s a lonely place and we only feel safe with ourselves and our own thoughts. We lead a double life, letting those on the outside believe everything in our lives is a bed of roses and yet in reality, behind closed doors we are living a nightmare.
When I couldn’t find any books written by others living such a life, I felt they should be heard and one should be written. I wanted to show the flipside of addiction. How it effects the significant other of the addict. Back then I was a victim, I now call myself a survivor.
I needed to dig deeper
I also needed to understand myself during that time. Why did I put up with the abuse, keep silent for so long and not leave right away? Most of it was because of fear but much of it had to do with denial and wanting what most normal families had. Writing the book helped me unravel all of that and I’m hoping it will help others come to terms with their situation and listen to a voice who has been there and find the courage to turn their lives around.
So there you have it. I hope this brings you some insight into the background of my book. Even though it was hard to write at times, overall I’ve enjoyed the journey and I hope you will enjoy the book.
Other articles about the book
What is a Book Aesthetic? And why I made one for my novelThe Synopsis of Reckless BeginningsPress Kit