Marie Bostwick

Starting a new book is always exciting for me but in September of 2012, when I was scheduled to begin working on my thirteenth novel, I was plumb out of ideas, I kept wracking my brain and coming up empty. My agent told me to take three days off, go for some long walks and let my imagination wander. By the third day, I was still plotless and starting to panic. But while going for yet another walk, a sentence popped into my head; "There's a garden in it."

That was all. No character, no real plot. Just a garden.

I grabbed a marker, wrote that sentence in huge red letters across a yellow legal pad, and went to bed. During the night, like Jack's magic beanstalk, that sentence seed grew into a story. When I woke up, I could see it all - the character, the conflict, and how that garden was going to help my character, Gayla Oliver, find herself and her way after the heartbreak of marital infidelity. And, as luck would have it, Gayla happened to live just a few miles away from the world famous White Flower Farms in Connecticut. (Me too! What a coincidence!)

White Flower Farms has some of the most glorious demonstration gardens imaginable and one of the largest and best selection of online plants, bulbs, and garden supplies in the country (seriously, go to their website. It's basically gardening porn). So, to celebrate the April 29th release of APART AT THE SEAMS, I am offering one lucky winner a $50 gift certificate to White Flower Farms and a copy of APART AT THE SEAMS. Happy Spring to all!

APART AT THE SEAMS

Twice in her life, college counselor Gayla Oliver fell in love at first sight. The first time was with Brian--a lean, longhaired, British bass player. Marriage followed quickly, then twins, and gradually their bohemian lifestyle gave way to busy careers in New York. Gayla's second love affair is with New Bern, Connecticut. Like Brian, the laid back town is charming without trying too hard. It's the ideal place to buy a second home and reignite the spark in their twenty-six year marriage. Not that Gayla is worried. At least, not until she finds a discarded memo in which Brian admits to a past affair and suggests an amicable divorce.

Devastated, Gayla flees to New Bern. Though Brian insists he's since recommitted to his family, Gayla's feelings of betrayal may go too deep for forgiveness. Besides, her solo sabbatical is a chance to explore the creative impulses she sidelined long ago--quilting, gardening, and striking up new friendships with the women of the Cobbled Court circle--particularly Ivy, a single mother confronting fresh starts and past hurts of her own. With all of their support, Gayla just might find the courage to look ahead, decide which fragments of her old life she wants to keep, which are beyond repair--and how to knot the fraying ends until a bold new design reveals itself. . .

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Contest ends: April 20, 2014