Sometimes in life, you’re blessed to meet people who instantly make you feel welcome. Wendy Paine Miller is one of those people in my life. When I was new to blogging and writing, and commented on her blog, not only did she welcome me, but made me feel like I belong. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Wendy in person, but I can’t wait for the day I do!

Wendy just released her first novella, The Disappearing Key. I can’t wait to finish reading it myself! Today, we’re offering up a copy to one lucky winner. See details below.

Here’s a bit about Wendy:
Wendy lives with her husband, their three girls, and a skunk-dodging Samoyed. She feels most alive when she’s laughing, speeding on a boat, reading, writing, refurbishing furniture or taking risks. She’s authored ten novels and is currently writing what she hopes will be your future book club pick. Her work has been published in numerous anthologies and online sites. Wendy graduated with a BA in English from Wittenberg University, where she earned an Honor of Distinction for her accrued knowledge of literature. She is represented by Rachelle Gardner of Books & Such Literary Agency. 

Visit http://thoughtsthatmove.blogspot.com or connect with Wendy on Facebook or Twitter (@wendypmiller).

Take it away, Wendy! And thanks for being here today.

Sometimes I swear I’m masochistic — committing to a career fraught with rejection, with anonymous spews disguised as reviews, and a wait that rivals the time it took to build the Great Wall.

Still.

I’m here.

I’m in this.

And I’ll be the first to admit it can get insanely lonely. Yes, social media has provided wonderful opporrtunities to connect with fellow writers. And yes, more than ever before, writers seem to be supporting one another rather than exhibiting cutthroat competition.

However, in all this literary love there’s still the grind.

There’s the blank page and the exacerbated bouts of jealousy because of overabundant access to fellow authors’ platforms, etc., and the scrunched up faces of everyone who’s ever told you you’re not good enough bleating your life of failures whenever you sit to write.

It’s combat, this BIC (butt in chair) stuff. Bushwhacking through the lies for the sake of getting at the story.

Because for writers who are truly called, this is what it will always come back to — the story.

The story pulses the lonely writer heart. Immersed in the story, characters provide company. Word flow unblocks the dams of defeat, despair, and dried up prose. The story quickens the lonely heart, pitter-pattering, reminding the writer the benefits of remaining committed.

Writers are cursed, you know. We’re given the uncomfortable task of entertaining you as we tell the truth. Sometimes the truth looks like the planter’s wart on the bottom of your foot. This is a lonely vocation. No one likes pointing out planter’s warts (except maybe podiatrists…they may get into doing that).  

It’s only when the reader embraces that we’re all ridden with warts, able to see truth for what it is, that the bloody beat of a story is made beautiful.

Lonely as it is, it becomes less so the moment a reader connects with the mess of our hearts poured out on the page.

The heart of a lonely writer gets a little less lonely the instant a reader is infected by the story. This is where the curse gives way to blessing.

This is what it’s all about.

Gabrielle Bivane never expected parenting a teenager would be this hard, but she never expected stillborn Oriana to live to see fourteen, either. The night of Oriana’s birth, Gabrielle and her husband Roy fused their genetic and engineering geniuses to bring back all that was lost to them — at a cost.


The secret must be kept.


Oriana Bivane senses she’s not like the other girls her age, but the time has come for her to change all that. She’s tired of secrets, but does she confide in the wrong person?


The life-giving key, suddenly missing, must be found.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
I’m offering up a free copy of The Disappearing Key (winner’s choice of Kindle or print version), and there are lots of ways to be entered to win! Use the Rafflecopter box below to enter by

• Liking Wendy’s Facebook page
• Liking my Facebook page
• Sharing via Twitter
• Sharing via Facebook
• Leaving a blog comment

The contest is open to U.S. residents only, and ends November 10 at midnight. There must be at least 10 entries for the contest to be valid.

Your Turn: Have you ever considered how your role as a reader influences the heart of a lonely writer?
a Rafflecopter giveaway