Sunday, September 29, 2013

SKATING UNDER THE WIRE launch and Giveaway


by: Joelle Charbonneau

It’s hard to believe that it has been three years since my first novel – SKATING AROUND THE LAW hit shelves bringing Rebecca Robbins, Pop and the entire Indian Falls gang into the wonderful world of mystery readers.  I still remember the anxiety I felt leading up to the release of that my first published book.  Would readers like the book?  Would people wonder what the heck my publisher was thinking publishing a book by me?  I mean, I was a musical theater/voice major in college who never took a single creative writing class.  What did I know about writing books?

3 years have passed.  My career has grown in ways I never expected or dreamed of.  And on Tuesday, SKATING UNDER THE WIRE, the fourth and final (for now) Rebecca Robbins book will hit shelves. 

I’m so thrilled because I love this story.  It’s perhaps my zaniest of all the books (which considering the derby girls in SKATING ON THE EDGE is kind of saying something).  The series brings a few new characters to the series in addition to revisiting so many of my favorites that have been part of previous books.  There is a wedding, Thanksgiving dinner and, of course, a murder.  Writing this book was so much fun.  I am delighted to finally share it with everyone.

I’m also sad.  Because we often see in the publishing world – a book series often has to come to an end.  In this case, my publisher has turned their attention to some other series they hope will find wide audiences.  While they love Rebecca and her friends, the series hasn’t sold tens of thousands of copies and this is a business.  (Of course, if this book were to sell tens of thousands of copies I’m betting they’d tell me they made a mistake….it is business, after all.)  And while I love visiting Indian Falls, I have learned something important in the last 18 months – I occasionally need sleep…which means I can’t keep writing at my current pace.  Which means something has to give. 

So it is with great delight that I look forward to sharing Rebecca’s fourth adventure with readers and sadness that I, for now, must put them away.  But the best thing about writing is that stories are always waiting to be told.  And hopefully some day in the not so far distant future I will have a chance to visit Rebecca, Pop, Lionel, Sean, Elwood and the rest of the Indian Falls gang again.  They have a very special place in my heart and I am so grateful to all of you who have given them a place in yours.

To celebrate the release of SKATING UNDER THE WIRE, I am giving away 2 sets of paperbacks of SKATING AROUND THE LAW and SKATING OVER THE LINE.  Please leave a comment below to enter.  All entries no matter where you live are welcome because I want to celebrate the final (for now) Rebecca Robbins journey with a bang.  (Winners will be chosen next Sunday - Oct. 6th!)

12 comments:

cyn209 said...

congratulations to Joelle!!!
this series has been on my WishList!!

thank you for the giveaway!!

cyn209 at juno dot com

Anonymous said...

I do hope to win, because I've been trying to buy the early books. love your books.

Anonymous said...

It may be the final (for now) for you and Rebecca but it's just the beginning for us - would love to try these! Thank you for the introduction :) Avril

Devon Ellington said...

Congrats on the release. It's a fun series.

It's also understandable that you have to reshuffle what you work on and still stay sane. Growth of the artist and all that, and you've been offered some exciting opportunities.

Happy release, even with the mixed feelings.

Anonymous said...

I've just got The Testing and am looking forward to reading it - haven't seen these but would like to try them too. Congrats! Must be weird for you to say goodbye to the series for now but you never know... Rebecca might be back one day! From Kara

Anonymous said...

I've become quite fond of Rebecca, Pop and the rest, but especially Elwood! Sad to see them go, for now, and hope to see them again....hopefully sooner rather than later!

Sara(h) said...

Sounds like an excellent read. Look forward to reading both!

Sarah

Nancy said...

I'm kind of sad that up until now I hadn't heard of this series, it sounds like fun, yet it's about to end. Hopefully, after a lull it will resume.
Best wishes
Nancy R.

ncroessner @ comcast.net

Unknown said...

Sad to see this series come to an end! I have always loved mysteries and this series puts a great twist of comedy to the series.
Thanks!

Martie Salemi

martie214@comcast.net

Tammy said...

It's hard for us as readers to say goodbye to characters we love and are invested in too.
Twitter: @tammygeo

cmgren said...

I hate saying goodbye to a favorite series. Keep writing and I will keep reading.

Mo_books said...

Congrats Joelle! And thank you for having a giveaway :D