Hi all! My Name is Libby Hubscher and I’m excited to share a bit about my debut novel, MEET ME IN PARADISE, with you. The Cole sisters couldn’t be closer, or more different. After their mother died tragically when they were teenagers, they’ve only had each other. Sadie travels the world, while Marin waits at home, worrying and letting the world pass her by. Intent on showing Marin what she’s missing, Sadie tricks her into a solo vacation in paradise. What was supposed to be a sisters’ spa weekend turns into the trip of a lifetime when Marin is forced outside of her comfort zone, exploring the island of Saba with Lucas Tsai, a stranger who ended up in Sadie’s seat on the plane. Suddenly, Marin finds herself feeling more alive than ever, falling in love…and realizing that Sadie has been keeping a devastating secret from her—one that will change everything. M is for Meddling. It takes her zany, wonderful younger sister to hatch a scheme to get anxious homebody Marin Cole out of her comfort zone and onto an island in the middle of the Caribbean. E is for Enigmatic. Lucas Tsai isn’t who Marin expected to be sitting next to…

Launching a book is a peculiar business. First, the concept of “launch” is a bit different from the writer’s end. She’s already sent the manuscript away over and over again – to the editor, to the copy editor, for page proofs, and on and on. And yet the darned thing keeps coming back like a pesky cat and, sadly, editors are about as easy to ignore as a yowling Siamese hanging from the screen door. What began as infatuation with one’s literary child quickly morphs to irritation. That’s a sure sign Baby Book has hit the difficult toddler stage. But books grow up too fast. When it finally launches, the author doesn’t actually have much of a role to play anymore. Sure, a party is nice, but all the stuff that matters is all beyond her control, subject to grand and incomprehensible market forces. Baby Book is all grown up, out in the cold, cruel world and about to encounter fast cars and loose readers. Will the universe be kind? Click here to read the rest and enter Sharon’s one day blog contest. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

My debut novel, OFF THE MENU, hits bookshelves on August 5th, and recently, a lot of people have been asking me how I went about getting published. The short answer? By keeping my chin — and optimism — up even though I was receiving stacks of rejections every day. The long answer takes me back to a Facebook question I answered for my profile, which called for my most embarrassing moment. Unfortunately, my life is riddled with heinously embarrassing moments, and one of them occurred at a writers conference I attended in the mountains of California, where I met my agent. I’d been invited to an industry cocktail party out of the graciousness of one of the conference’s board members, and being an unpublished writer who was desperate to make a good impression, I researched the guest list, which included dozens of publishers and agents. This was my chance to wow them, I thought. And maybe snag an agent. So, I perfected my pitch. Practiced my smile. Wore a cute outfit. As ready as I’d ever be, I showed up at the party, determined and excited. And it would have been a great party had I managed to stay upright…