Peeking Between the Pages

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Guest Post with Ann Wertz Garvin, author of On Maggie’s Watch & GIVEAWAY

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I’m really pleased to welcome debut novelist Ann Wertz Garvin to Peeking Between the Pages today. Her novel, On Maggie’s Watch, was released on November 2, 2010. I just received the book myself so stay tuned for my review in January. Ann was nice enough to pen a guest post for us here today entitled There by the Grace of God Go I (and You)…Enjoy…

I am so often asked what inspired me to write On Maggie’s Watch; a story of a woman so overcome by fear and possibility that she ventures out and takes matters into her own, often silly, hands.

Friends, who know me, know I have that kind of nut hidden inside me and the honest ones know they do too. And let me say this, give me a nut any day—they’re messy but oh-so-interesting. Remember the time you came unglued behind the wheel or when your child came home with bite marks from day care? How about the time your husband woke you up for sex at 2 AM? My reactions are sometimes more akin to a terrorist attack where my Ninja skills are needed when a mere no thank you would suffice. (Except where my husband was concerned he deserved that poke in the eye.)

But here’s the thing, immoderate actions come with something else that I’m fascinated by which is judgment. And if we pull the string on the sweater of judgment fear is tugged into view.

We encounter something, don’t have enough information, judge it as a threat, fear it and react. Put your kids into the equation and we become badgers, mother bears, my protagonist Maggie.

Here’s something really fascinating. According to the Center for Disease Control the 5 things most likely to cause injury to children are: car accidents, homicide, (at the hands of someone they know), child abuse, suicide and drowning. But what are the five things parents are most worried about? Kidnapping, school snipers, terrorists, dangerous strangers and drugs. Bottom line: we are in this big world together scrambling around in the dark trying to keep our beloveds safe.

My own personal mission is to get the facts, umpire less, be gentle. Concentrate on making my world a better place from within myself. Holding people gently, loving their humanity, even when I want to beep my horn and cut the heads off their geraniums.
__________

Thank you for this wonderful post Ann. I wholeheartedly agree with holding people gently, loving their humanity — makes the world a much better place!
__________

About the Book (from Ann Wertz Garvin’s website):

Maggie Finley has just returned to her beloved Wisconsin hometown, quirky best friend, and eccentric mother. Life should be good, but her marriage to Martin is suffering under the strain of a recent family tragedy and Maggie’s feeling pressed for time. Before the birth of her baby she has to figure out how to fit her high-anxiety-self into a low-anxiety-life.

True to her can do attitude, Maggie hires a compelling handy-man, resurrects a defunct Neighborhood Watch and inadvertently discovers a potential threat to her house and home living just around the corner. Choosing to investigate, despite her best friend’s advice to keep her nose out of it…and despite the risk, Maggie sets her sites on discovering the stranger’s secret. As the mystery of the neighbor’s identity draws Maggie irresistibly in, her ordered life starts to unravel in surprising and hilarious ways.

Unexpectedly compelling and sparkling with wit and intelligence, this debut novel chronicles one woman’s quest for control over her surroundings, and the secrets and surprises that lie hidden in an ordinary suburban landscape.

About the Author:


Ann Wertz Garvin has a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a doctorate from University of Wisconsin-Madison in Exercise Psychology. She is a professor at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater , where she teaches courses on nutrition, stress management, and other health topics. On Maggie’s Watch is her first novel. Ann has lived all over the country, but currently resides in a small town in Wisconsin that provided the inspiration for this novel. To learn more, please visit: www.annwertzgarvin.com.

Be sure to visit Ann Wertz Garvin’s website and blog! You can purchase On Maggie’s Watch here in the US and here in Canada.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

I have 1 copy of On Maggie’s Watch by Ann Wertz Garvin to share with you. 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 do as the entry is yours as well.
  • For 3 entries, blog or tweet this giveaway to spread the word.

This giveaway is open to US & Canadian residents only (no PO boxes) and I will draw for the winner on Saturday, January 8, 2011. Good luck to all!

© 2010, Darlene of Peeking Between the Pages. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Peeking Between the Pages or Darlene’s Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

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Comments

  1. Interesting post, sounds like a good book, I'll be eager to read your review next month. Thanks for the giveaway.

    extra entry – Google follower

    lcbrower40(at)gmail(dot)com

  2. Really nice guest post. I really am trying to do the same thing as the author mentions in the last para, and it is very difficult 🙂

  4. This sounds like a really great, interesting book!

    sogni-e-sorrisi[at]hotmail[dot]com

  6. I loved this guest post and see a lot of myself in Ann and the way she deals with things! I think this would make for a great read, so I would love to be entered in your giveaway, and thanks for hosting it!!

    zibilee(at)figearo(dot)net

  8. Thanks for the giveaway. This looks like an enjoyable book. Please count me in.
    +2 I am a follower.

    lizzi0915 at aol dot com

  14. I like Maggie's can do attitude. It should be very interesting to read about her investigating the mystery and not having control over everything.

    CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

  15. I follow you with Networked Blogs on Facebook and also have an e-maila subscription.

    CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

  17. I'd love a chance to read this, and I love the fact that the author is from WI! You dont hear about to many good books written by Wisconsin authors so I gotta support them 🙂

    I'm a follower too!

    unforgetable_dreamer_always (at) hotmail.com

  18. This sounds like a great book, and I love Whitewater, Wisconsin so if it is set near there it would be a nice bonus!

    nbmars AT yahoo DOT com

  20. What a great post! I do find it interesting that the list of what parents worry about and the real dangers are so far off from each other. No need to enter me.

  27. No need to enter me. Just wanted to say this was a lovely guest post. Congrats on getting published 🙂

  37. Thanks for all the comments. I hope you like the book. A lot of me is in there mixed up in all the characters but a lot of my friends and family too. The world is such a mish mash of fear and love and hope and works in progress.
    Thanks for reading.
    Ann

  46. +1 I already like Maggie and want to get to know her. I have a bias in favor of Wisconsin, too, since my dad grew up there! So I would love to be entered into your giveaway and win this book. It's on my list no matter what!

    +2 I'm an old & faithful follower!
    Thank you Dar!

    ~ Amy
    Aimala127 (at) gmail (dot) com

  50. sounds like a great novel..thanks for the chance to read it 🙂

    karenk
    kmkuka at yahoo dot com

  51. I would love to win this giveaway. Thank you so much for hosting this giveaway.

    steven(dot)capell(at)gmail(dot)com

  56. The book sounds intriguing; it would be interesting to read it.
    elena.cacahuete(at)gmail(dot)com