Discovered a new favorite author while I was sick in bed with strep throat: Kimberly Stuart. She’s the author of Act Two: A Novel in Perfect Pitch. I find it a bit ironic that the main character in this book is a famous singer and I was in bed struggling to swallow while I read about her beautiful voice.¬†
This book grabbed my attention from the beginning. It didn’t take three chapters to pull me in…I was involved and cared about the characters from the first page. An incredible feat with my highly distractible nature.
And the cover is pretty cool. My little one loved it too. He saw the microphone on the front and started singing into it. He wanted to take the book as his own. Good thing I was already done reading it or we would have had a fight on our hands!
Here’s a bit about the book…
Here’s a bit about the book…
Sadie Maddox loves New York. She’s the toast of the classical music world and the queen of all she surveys. Sadie is, in a word, a bit of a diva. But lately her CD sales are waning, not to mention parts of her anatomy. 
When her agent suggests she take on a professorship at a small liberal arts college, Sadie decides to give it a go. Except the college is in rural Iowa, and the closest thing to designer clothes is the western wear shop down on Main Street. Sadie’s colleagues are intimidated, her students aren’t impressed, and she has to live far too close to farm animals. 
Then Sadie meets Mac, a large animal veterinarian. She assumes they have nothing in common—he is, after all, a country music fan. Besides, she’s counting the days until she can end her exile from civilization. Er, New York. Yet when Sadie’s forced to spend some time with Mac, she finds she likes him. Her students, it seems, really need her, and this quiet Midwest community begins to grow on her. 
But when the semester ends, Sadie packs up and heads for the city that never sleeps…and finds she can’t either. Will she find the courage and grace she needs to embrace her Act Two?
Where are you headed next? 
And some tidbits about the author…
You gotta read the first answer to the question about spare time. Made me laugh in agreement. 
What do you like to do in your spare time? Hobbies? 
I’m going to forego commentary on the slightly injurious nature of the phrase “spare time.” I am the mother of two (three in August) young children and they, at least, do not see the value of those words. But hypothetically speaking, were I to come upon a windfall of time, spare or otherwise, I would run, not walk to our local bookstore and immerse myself in a good book. After several hours of literary indulgence, I’d skip down the street to the bakery and talk shop with the owner, pretending I know more than I do and serving happily as a taste testing lab rat should he or she need one. After a pecan roll or maybe a Dutch letter, I’d meet my husband at the market for some shopping, head home with him to our kiddos, and cook up something lovely to share with them. 
Husband, kids, books, food—a perfect stretch of moments strung together in one afternoon. MAN, I need to book a babysitter more often! 
Where are you headed next? 
God willing, I’ll be giving birth to our third child in August, so I’m afraid I won’t be heading anywhere too quickly. Lactation seems to preclude so many of life’s adventures…In addition to caring for our growing brood and being really snippy with my husband for a few months due to sleep deprivation, I have two more books to write with David C. Cook. 
Act Two is the first of three, and I must ask you humbly to buy it within the next four minutes as it is time-sensitive material. And it’s a pretty good summer read, if I must be so bold. After Act Two will come two more. This will make a grand total of five books so far from the pen of Kimberly Stuart. Don’t place any bets that I’ll try to have as many children as I do books. When it comes to babies, those in print are much kinder on a uterus. 
Want more?
To read what others are saying, check out her blog tour happening now. To read a sample of the book, check this out. Visit her site and you can register to win an iPod Nano.
July 9, 2008
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