Peeking Between the Pages

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GIVEAWAY: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

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I’m excited to be able to offer up 2 copies of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman. I have seen so many great reviews of this book. I can’t wait to read it – I’m participating in a blog tour for Beth in May so I have a ways to go before I read it unfortunately but it sure gives me something to look forward to. Here’s a bit about the book from Beth Hoffman’s website…

Twelve-year-old CeeCee is in trouble. For years she’s been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille— the crown-wearing, lipstick-smeared laughingstock of an entire town. Though it’s 1967 and they live in Ohio, Camille believes it’s 1951 and she’s just been crowned the Vidalia Onion Queen of Georgia.

The day CeeCee discovers Camille in the front yard wearing a tattered prom dress and tiara as she blows kisses to passing motorists, she knows her mother has completely flipped. When tragedy strikes, Tootie Caldwell, a previously unknown great-aunt comes to CeeCee’s rescue and whisks her away to Savannah. Within hours of her arrival, CeeCee is catapulted into a perfumed world of prosperity and Southern eccentricities—a world that appears to be run entirely by women.

While Tootie is busy saving Savannah’s endangered historic homes from the wrecking ball, CeeCee encounters a cast of unforgettable, eccentric characters. From the mysterious Thelma Rae Goodpepper, who bathes in an outdoor tub under the watchful eyes of a voyeuristic peacock, to Oletta Jones, the all-knowing household cook, to Violene Hobbs, the loud-mouthed widow who entertains a local police officer in her yellow see-through peignoir, the women of Gaston Street keep CeeCee entertained and enthralled for an entire summer.

But CeeCee’s view of the world is challenged in ways she could have never imagined: there are secrets to keep, injustices to face, and loyalties to uphold. Just as she begins to find her ballast and experiences a sense of belonging, her newfound joy collides with the long-held fear that her mother’s legacy has left her destined for destruction.

Laugh-out-loud funny, at times heartbreaking, and written in a pitch-perfect voice, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is a spirited Southern tale that explores the intricate frailties and strengths of female relationships while illuminating the journey of a young girl who loses her mother but finds many others.

About the Author (from Beth Hoffman’s website)…

I was born on an elevator during a snowstorm, a story my father often enjoyed telling whenever the opportunity arose. For the first five years of my life, I lived (along with my mom, dad, and older brother) on my grandparents’ farm in northern Ohio. It was a rural area, and other than a few tolerant garden toads, a highly social chicken, and Midnight, our family dog, there wasn’t anyone to play with. So I created imaginary friends. I’d draw pictures of them and build them homes out of shoeboxes—replete with interiors furnished by pictures I’d cut from a Sears & Roebuck catalog. Eventually I wrote stories about my friends, giving them interesting names and complex lives.

From earliest memory, there were two things I loved above all else: writing and painting. I wrote my first short story when I was eleven and sold my first painting at the age of fourteen. I believed the sale of the painting was a sign of what direction I should take in life. So I chose a career in art that eventually segued into interior design, but I still kept writing and dreaming of becoming a novelist. Life sent me on many creative journeys and I ultimately landed in Cincinnati, Ohio, becoming the president and co-owner of an interior design studio.

Years went by, long hours and hard work brought success, and with it came the inevitable stresses of business ownership. During the busiest year of my professional life, I nearly died from the same infection that took puppeteer Jim Henson’s life—group A streptococcal infection that resulted in septic shock. After finally being discharged from the hospital, I returned home to convalesce. I spent weeks reevaluating my life—the good, the bad, and the downright painful. As I struggled to regain my health and find spiritual ballast, my dream of writing a novel resurfaced. But no matter how I looked at it, there simply weren’t enough hours in the day to fulfill the demands of my career and write a novel. So I let the dream go.

Then, on a snowy morning in January of 2004, a complete stranger said something to me. And like an unexpected gust of fresh air, his words blew the door wide open. In an eye-blink I knew if I were to write a novel, it had to be now or never. I chose now. I sold my portion of the design business, and after a month of sleeping and meditating and realigning my energies, I plunked down at my computer. Day after day my fingers blazed over the keyboard, and I didn’t come up for air until I typed “The End” nearly four years later.

If there’s a moral to my story, it’s this: take a chance, embrace your dreams, forgive, let go, move on. And if life gives you a big smackdown, there’s a reason—and it just might lead toward your own little piece of the rainbow.

Oh, and there’s one more thing: be mindful of the words of strangers.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

I have 2 copies of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman to give away courtesy of Beth and her publisher at Penguin Books. To enter…

  • For 1 entry leave me a comment with a way to contact you.
  • For 2 entries follow my blog. Let me know if you already do so I can pass on the extra entry to you.
  • For 3 entries, blog or tweet this giveaway.

This giveaway is open to US & Canadian residents only as the books will ship to the winners directly from the publisher. I will draw for the winners on Sunday, March 28, 2010. Good luck everyone!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Please count me in. I would love to win this.

    +2 I am a follower.

    lizzi0915 at aol dot com

  2. +1 I would love to win this!

    +2 I am an old follower!

    nbmars AT yahoo DOT com

  5. I'd love to win this. Please count me in. I'm a follower.

    forwhlz at gmail dot com

  8. I would love to win this! Please count me in!

    +2 I am a follower.

    Thanks.
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

  12. Oh this sounds like a great read,,please enter me into the drawing,,,
    and I am a follower already..

    Devon
    hanna_563@ msn dot com

  16. My sister-in-law just told me I have to read this. Looks great!

    +2 I'm a follower!

    bookblogsonning at gmail dot com

  17. Great review and I loved the interview. CeeCee, I was fascinated by your life story.

    +2 I'm a follower

    misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com

  19. I want to read this one. Please include me.

    I follow

    dlodden at frontiernet dot net

  26. Recently a friend told me that Saving CeeCee Honeycutt was the best book she'd read in years. So, I would really love to win a copy.

    And, I am a follower.

    lcbrower40(at)gmail(dot)com

  27. I've been wanting to read this! Thanks for the giveaway.

    s.mickelson at gmail dot com

  33. Oh my gosh,Oh my gosh,Oh my gosh!
    I so want this book!

    I am a follower.

    I will post about it on Mon.

    forevereading at gmail dot com

  34. I would love to read this book. Thanks.

    +2 follower

    seknobloch(at)gmail(dot)com

  42. I would love to win this book, I have been pining after it! Enter me please.

    I am a follower.

    emily DOT wittenberg @gmail.com

    THANKS!

  44. I'd like to read this book. Thanks for the giveaway.
    I'm a follower.
    mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

  45. This one is on my Wish List. Please count me in. Thank you!

    nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com

  48. I've heard a lot about this book. I'd love to win it!

    I also follow you through google reader.

    vtgoat[at]gmail[dot]com

  49. Looks like a really interesting story -please sign me up.

    I'm a follower.

    baileythebookworm at gmail dot com

  52. I'd love to win this one. I talk to Beth on Twitter and she's a real sweetie.

    I'm a follower.

    litandlifeATgmailDOTcom

  64. I'd like an entry. A comment on my blog will trigger an email to me.

  65. I would love to read this one – thanks for hosting the giveaway!

    I am a follower.

    leenbeen2001 (at) yahoo (dot) com

  69. Loved this book. I would love it for my library.
    I added you on my reader list to follow your website.

  70. My goodness that is an inspiring post. It's a shame that it takes a severe illness or brush with the unthinkable to make us re-evaluate ourselves and the lives we lead.
    We should be able to do this every so often because life is worth it.
    Excellent post and thank you for sharing.

    Please count me in.
    +2 I follow
    jennygirl73(AT)gmail(DOT)com

  73. Please count me in, I just love the cover of this book.
    +2, I am also a follower.
    jhoorm01(at)yahoodotcom

  83. Ooh Dar! Great giveaway! I would love a chance to win this one. I have heard it's a great read.

    zibilee(at)figearo(dot)net

  85. I have heard awesome things about this one!! Thanks for the giveaway!!

    areallibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com

  87. +1 I'd love to be entered in your giveaway for this book. Thank you!

    Sandee61

    Muzzley56[at]aol[dot]com

  93. I love to read and this book sounds interesting! Many thanks, Cindi
    jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

  94. I am a follower of your blog…..
    Again, many thanks!
    Cindi
    jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

  96. Please enter me in the drawing for this book – I'm a southerner with lots of cousins that are from further south than I am – would love to win "Saving CeeCee Honeycutt" – thanks for the opportunity!
    DB

  97. I have heard that this is a great book. I would love a copy. Please enter me. Thanks.

    lovemykidsandbooks AT gmail DOT com

  107. Count me in for a chance to win this one please!

    I follow and will post here.

    wanda_waiting[@]hotmail[.]com

  110. I have been looking for this as a giveway. Can't wait to read it

    Lacey914 at sbcglobal dot net

  113. I'm chasing that rainbow! I'd love to win this book – it's one of three that are high up on my "lusting after" list! Thanks for the chance.

    geebee.reads AT gmail DOT com

  124. I've been wanting to read this book. Thanks for the chance.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

  125. I'd love to read this book – please count me in!
    Thanks ~ megalon22 at yahoo dot com

  127. I have been wanting to read this book for a LONG time! Please count me in.

    nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

  137. This looks like an excellent book. I'd love a chance to win a copy. Thanks for the great review!

    rubymoonstone at gmail dot com