Peeking Between the Pages

...escape into the pages of a good book

Guest Post with Heather Gudenkauf, author of One Breath Away & Giveaway (US/Can)

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I’m pleased to welcome Heather Gudenkauf, author of One Breath Away, to Peeking Between the Pages today as part of her blog tour with BookTrib.  I reviewed Heather’s newest release yesterday (my review) and I really enjoyed it.  She’s fast become a favorite author of mine and definitely one to watch.  One Breath Away is an emotional and suspenseful story of a gunman entering a school and it really makes you question just what you would do in that situation.  Today Heather joins us to discuss what draws her to write suspenseful women’s fiction…

 

I’ve enjoyed writing since I was a child – yes, I was one of those kids who did a fist pump whenever the teacher assigned a writing project -but as is typical with most writers, I was and am, first and foremost an avid reader. As a child my favorite place in the world was our public library and I spent as much time as possible with my nose in a book. I loved mysteries and plowed my way through all the Encyclopedia Brown and Nancy Drew Mystery books. One of my favorite mystery series growing up was The Boxcar Children which I recently learned was originally published in 1924. I read all the books that were available when I was a child, and again as an adult I read them to my own children with enthusiasm. Who can resist a story about a tight knit set of orphaned siblings, an abandoned boxcar, a dog, and the mystery surrounding a long lost grandfather?

As I got older, I continued to enjoy mystery and suspense novels but my interests expanded to a variety of genres, including books that explored the intricacies of the human heart: Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio, Elizabeth Berg’s Pull of the Moon, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and so many more. I’ve always admired the way writers could take me away to different places and times through the written word. I knew I wanted to try my hand at writing but didn’t sit down and seriously begin until after I was married and had my children. But when I did, I remembered all the stories and books I’ve read through the years, remembered how deftly authors could arrange the words on a page to be suspenseful, heart wrenching, or heart-warming – to evoke all varieties of emotion. My hope is to do the same for my readers.

 

About One Breath Away (from Heather’s website)

In the midst of a sudden spring snowstorm, an unknown man armed with a gun walks into an elementary school classroom. Outside the school, the town of Broken Branch watches and waits.

Officer Meg Barrett holds the responsibility for the town’s children in her hands. Will Thwaite, reluctantly entrusted with the care of his two grandchildren by the daughter who left home years earlier, stands by helplessly and wonders if he has failed his child again. Trapped in her classroom, Evelyn Oliver watches for an opportunity to rescue the children in her care. And thirteen-year-old Augie, already struggling with the aftermath of a terrible accident that has brought her to Broken Branch, will risk her own safety to protect her little brother.

As tension mounts with passing each minute, the hidden fears and grudges of the small town are revealed as the people of Broken Branch race to uncover the identity of the stranger who holds their children hostage.

Check out other tour stops over at Book Trib for more reviews, guest posts and interviews & giveaways!
Reading Group Discussion Questions
Buy at: Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, B&N, and IndieBound

 

Enjoy the Book Trailer…

 

About Heather Gudenkauf (from Heather’s website)

Heather Gudenkauf is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and These Things Hidden.

Heather was born in Wagner, South Dakota, the youngest of six children. At one month of age, her family returned to the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota where her father was employed as a guidance counselor and her mother as a school nurse. At the age of three, her family moved to Iowa, where she grew up. Having been born with a profound unilateral hearing impairment (there were many evenings when Heather and her father made a trip to the bus barn to look around the school bus for her hearing aids that she often conveniently would forget on the seat beside her), Heather tended to use books as a retreat, would climb into the toy box that her father’s students from Rosebud made for the family with a pillow, blanket, and flashlight, close the lid, and escape the world around her. Heather became a voracious reader and the seed of becoming a writer was planted.

Heather Gudenkauf graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in elementary education, has spent her career working with students of all ages and continues to work in education as a Title I Reading Coordinator.

Heather lives in Iowa with her husband, three children, and a very spoiled German Shorthaired Pointer named Maxine. In her free time Heather enjoys spending time with her family, reading, hiking, and running. She is currently working on her next novel.

Heather’s website
Heather’s blog
Find Heather on Facebook
Follow Heather on Twitter

 

Be sure to sign up over at BookTrib so you can join in the live chat as Heather discusses One Breath Away!  Click on the picture below.

 

 

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

I have one copy of One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf to share with my readers.  To enter…

  • For 1 entry simply leave me a comment entering the giveaway.
  • For 2 entries, follow my blog.  If you already do, thank you, and please let me know so I can pass the extra entry on to you as well.
  • For 3 entries, blog or tweet this giveaway and spread the word.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only (no PO boxes) and I will draw for the winner on Saturday, August 4/12.  Good luck!

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Comments

  1. Heathers book sounds terrific, and since I’ve not yet read any of her work, I would love a copy! Thanks for the opportunity. Btw I love following your blog.
    Trisha

  3. My favorite genre is historical fiction, but this novel sounds so good I’m adding it to my wish list. I would love to win a copy. Thanks for the giveaway.

    GFC follower.

  9. I have read another novel by this author and it was captivating. Thanks for this feature. I am an e-mail subscriber.

  10. I have read all of Heather’s books and am looking forward to this one too. I also follow your blog!

  11. I think that all the best authors are really readers at heart, and I loved this post! I would love to be considered for your giveaway of this one as well, Dar. It sounds like a book that I would love!

    zibilee(at)figearo(dot)net

  14. This sounds like an awesome read. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
    mamabunny13 at gmail dot com

  21. I’ve been following the BookTrib tour and can hardly wait to read this. A parent’s worst nightmare, and reminders of the school in PA.
    kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com

  23. This sounds like a great read! Thanks for another wonderful giveaway –
    PMNSL95 at triad dot rr dot com

  31. Thanks so much for the giveaway of this book. Maybe I should enter for this one and get more motivation to read all of her books.

    I follow and will post the giveaway in my sidebar for you as usual.

  32. Sounds like a great book. Would love to win and read this.
    kmgervais(at)nycap(dot)rr(dot)com

  34. This book sounds really interesting! I haven’t yet read anything by this author but I think I’m going to start. Thanks for the giveaway.

    I’m a follower.

    lafra86 at gmail dot com

  37. This story sounds thrilling. I’d love to read it. I hope I am around for the Book Trib live chat.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

  41. Sounds great! I follow via gfc and email also tweeted. Thank you for the chance to win!

  48. This book sounds really good. I would love a chance to read it. Thanks for having this giveaway.
    ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

  52. Wow, what a horrible situation.
    This sounds like a very thrilling read.
    pjames330 at aol dot com

  55. This sounds like a great book, and I’m looking forward to reading it. Thanks for the opportunity to win a copy!

    Randi
    wpd_2(at)hotmail(dot)com

  56. This one was already on my wish list as my goddaughter just recommended it. Would love to win a copy. Thanks for the give-aways!

  65. Sounds like an interesting read! And also very relevant to today’s issues.

    I follow your blog regularly-