Spotlight & Giveaway: Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber

Posted July 23rd, 2018 by in Blog, Spotlight / 49 comments

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you Debbie Macomber’s new release: Cottage by the Sea

 

Spotlight&Giveaway

 

A seaside town helps one young woman reclaim the light after darkness in a brand-new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber.

 

Annie Marlow has been through the worst. Rocked by tragedy, she heads to the one place that makes her happy: Oceanside in the Pacific Northwest, the destination of many family vacations when Annie was a teenager.
 
Once there, Annie begins to restore her broken spirit, thanks in part to the folks she meets: a local painter, Keaton, whose large frame is equal to his big heart—and who helps Annie fix up her rental cottage by the sea; Mellie, the reclusive, prickly landlord Annie is determined to befriend; and Britt, a teenager with a terrible secret. But it is Keaton to whom Annie feels most drawn. His quiet, peaceful nature offers her both comfort and reprieve from her grief, and the two begin to grow closer.
 
Then events threaten to undo the idyll Annie has come to enjoy. And when the opportunity of a lifetime lands in her lap, she is torn between the excitement of a new journey toward success and the safe and secure arms of the haven—and the man—she’s come to call home.
 
In this heartwarming tale, Annie finds that the surest way to fix what is damaged within is to help others rise above their pain and find a way to heal.

 

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from Cottage by the Sea 

PR OL OGUE

Thirteen years earlier

Keaton had noticed the beautiful teenage girl on the beach earlier in the week. Once he saw her playing volleyball with a group of other teens, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her. Her family had rented the Munson cottage and arrived Saturday morning. As soon as the car was unpacked, the girl and her older brother had made their way to the beach. They’d been there every day, laughing, swimming, and making friends. The girl was vivacious and full of life, and her laugh carried with the wind and made him smile every time he heard it. She couldn’t be more than fourteen or fifteen years old, and her brother was a year or two older. Keaton noticed how people were naturally drawn to her and wanted to be around her. He felt it himself, even though he watched from afar.
Oceanside was a small, out-of-the-way town, but when summer arrived all the hotel rooms and rentals were filled. The shops were busy with tourists, eager to spend their vacation dollars. The scent of the ocean mingled with that of fried clams and fish and chips. Children jockeyed at the window of the candy shop for a view to watch Mr. Buster pull saltwater taffy or pour fudge onto large cookie sheets. The kite shop was a favorite to both the locals and tourists. The sky was filled with every imaginable shape, with chil- dren and adults alike running up and down the beach. It was like this every summer.
The beach was crowded, bustling with activity, and yet this one girl had caught Keaton’s attention to the point he found himself looking for even a glimpse of her.
From the moment she arrived in Oceanside, Keaton found it hard not to think about her. He liked her hair, which was auburn, tinted by the sun, and long. She wore it in a single braid that bounced against her back as she raced down the beach, her bare feet kicking up the sand. She didn’t lack for attention, he noticed; he could tell plenty of boys were interested in her. Keaton couldn’t blame them.
More than anything, he wanted to talk to her. The problem was that he didn’t know how to approach her, or what to say when he did. He didn’t know how to tell her that he thought she was pretty. On the best of days, he rarely spoke. Girls left him tongue-tied and red in the face. His heart pounded so hard he felt his pulse in his head every time he thought about approaching the girl on the beach. For the first time in his life, Keaton thought about ways to overcome his aversion to speaking just so he could talk to her. He never had been good with words, and being naturally shy worked against him. Preston, his best friend, encouraged him to try to meet this girl who had taken up so much of his thoughts.
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” Preston had advised. Keaton wanted to throw those words right back at him; after all,
Preston had had a thing for Mellie Johnson all through high school, and despite being nearly lovesick over the girl, Preston hadn’t done more than greet her in the halls for four years. Not that it would have done him any good—Mellie had run off with some guy she’d met in Aberdeen the day after graduation. No one had seen or heard from her since.
That didn’t stop Preston from hounding Keaton about the beach girl, though. It took Keaton nearly the entire week to find the nerve to approach her. It was now or never, but still, he fretted and stewed. His inability to carry a conversation was one problem, but then there was another bigger problem.
His size.
Keaton’s biggest fear was that she’d be intimidated or fright- ened by him the way most people were. The girls in school had avoided him because he came across as aggressive and mean. He didn’t intend to appear that way; it was simply the way he’d always looked, because he rarely smiled. The truth was there was little in Keaton’s life to smile about. If he had his way, he’d have been invis- ible, but his height and size made that impossible. He’d grown to six-six while a junior, and another two inches his senior year. His shoulders were broad to the point that he barely made it through a doorway. His hands and feet were huge. He’d become used to the names people called him, making fun of his size.
Ox.
Moose.
These were only two of several commonly used to taunt him. He was an easy target because he chose to ignore the mocking and didn’t respond. The names had never really bothered him.
With his heart pounding like a thunderbolt inside his massive chest, Keaton slowly approached the girl.
“Hey, look, it’s the Jolly Green Giant,” one of the teenagers ob- served.
Keaton ignored him, and smiled. “Hi,” he muttered, staring in- tently at her. Up close, she was even prettier than she was at a dis- tance. Her eyes were a hazel/green and her thick braid lay across her bare shoulder. She wore a sundress with a pattern of red pop- pies and her swimsuit underneath it. He wanted in the worst way to reach out and touch her cheek, to make certain she wasn’t a fig- ment of his imagination.
“It’s the Abominable Snowman,” cried another teenage boy in mock horror.
Keaton didn’t recognize him, and assumed he was a tourist. “No, it’s Sasquatch.”
“It does have big feet.” “Yeah. He’s Big Foot.”
“Stop it,” the girl said, whirling around and confronting the group of teens with her. She turned to Keaton, smiling back. “Hi,” she returned.
“Come on, Annie,” her brother urged, grabbing her hand. “We need to get back.”
Annie. Her name was Annie. Keaton ran it through his mind, liking the way it echoed there.
She continued to focus on him, her eyes inquisitive, wide, and warm.
“King Kong, you got something to say?” Devon Anderson taunted.
Keaton knew Devon from high school. He was a jerk. It didn’t surprise him that Devon had noticed Annie and tried to get her at- tention.
“Don’t call him that,” Annie charged angrily, confronting Devon.
“He doesn’t talk.”
“Well, he just did,” she countered, annoyed with Devon and not bothering to hide it. “He said ‘hi,’ in case you didn’t hear.”
“Bet he won’t say anything else,” Devon challenged, glaring at Keaton with a know-it-all look.
Annie waited expectantly, but for the life of him, Keaton couldn’t manage to get out a single word. He wanted to tell her she was pretty and that he’d noticed her running along the beach. It was on the tip of his tongue to mention how much he liked her braid and the color of her hair, but he couldn’t get that out, either.
“See what I mean?” Devon taunted.
“Don’t do that,” she snapped. “That’s mean.”
Her brother jerked at her hand. “Come on, Annie, Mom and Dad are waiting.”
“Sorry,” she told Keaton, her eyes becoming gentle as she spoke. “We have to go. It was nice meeting you.”
Keaton nodded and attempted a smile, wanting to let her know he felt the same.
“We’ll be back next summer,” she said, walking backward, with her brother pulling her along.
A year. He could wait that long. By then, Keaton hoped, he’d find the words to tell her all the things he’d stored up in his head.
Annie, though, never returned.
Keaton waited, year after year, and never forgot the beautiful auburn-haired girl he’d seen on the beach that summer. The picture of Annie running along the sand stayed with him. Countless times he sketched scenes of the beach with her in them, using pencil and charcoal. Pictures no one saw. He carried on lengthy conversations with her in his head—just the thought of her brought him a rare taste of happiness.
Maybe one day, he thought, looking over the ocean as the waves crashed against the shore.
Maybe one day . . .

From the book COTTAGE BY THE SEA by Debbie Macomber. Copyright (c) 2018 by Debbie Macomber. Reprinted by arrangement with Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
 

Giveaway: Print copy of COTTAGE BY THE SEA by Debbie Macomber

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and post a comment to this Q: What did you think of the excerpt spotlighted here? Leave a comment with your thoughts on the book…

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Meet the Author:

Debbie Macomber, the author of Any Dream Will Do, If Not for You, Sweet Tomorrows, A Girl’s Guide to Moving On, Last One Home, Silver Linings, Love Letters, Blossom Street Brides, and Rose Harbor in Bloom, is a leading voice in women’s fiction. Thirteen of her novels have reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller lists, and five of her beloved Christmas novels have been hit movies on the Hallmark Channel, including Mrs. Miracle and Mr. Miracle. Hallmark Channel also produced the original series Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove, based on Macomber’s Cedar Cove books. She is also the author of the cookbook Debbie Macomber’s Table.
 
 
 

«
»

49 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber”

  2. Karina Sabine Thibodeau

    This sounds like another winner for Debbie Macomber. Thank you for the chance.

  6. sejoc1968

    This sounds like a great romance book. I’ve never read one of your books but I’m a virtual newbie to the reading world. I just started reading again in November 2016 and I’m fixing to start my 150th book. A giveaway is an awesome way to find a new author to add to my go to authors list.

  15. noraadrienne

    It starts with the story of misfits all over this country. Whatever their physical or emotional difficulty is that makes their classmates tease and torture them. Annie seems to have a very kind heart but as her family is leaving she doesn’t get the chance to possibly ease his ache.

    I like the intro and will thoroughly enjoy the whole book. The place I’d run to though is on the other side of the country. My safe place is on Cape Cod. The people and atmosphere there just seem to make the world a bit brighter.

    Debbie is the mistress of great reads.

  16. Kathleen O

    You know you are going to get a good story when reading a Debbie Macomber book and this one will be no exception. I can’t wait to read it.

  17. Agatha Townsend

    I think it is another great read by Debbie MaComber. looking forward to this book.

  19. Glenda Kinard

    Omg I have got to read this new book by Debbie Macombet. It sounds amazing.

  23. Teresa Williams

    Omg! This sounds amazing .She is a fantastic author and I always read Debbies books

  25. Danielle Hammelef

    This prologue is so good! I love having a peek into the younger characters’ lives.

  28. bunnyclem

    This sounds like a great read! I love Debbie Macomber books! Thanks for sharing and for the giveaway!

  40. Patricia B.

    What a touching excerpt. It shows what a little kindness can mean to someone. In this case, more that that young lady could imagine. Size does not reflect the soul and can hide the true character of the individual. This will certainly be a moving, intense read.

  41. Shannon Capelle

    Its a beautiful excerpt and sounds like a really great story! Love her books they are always so well written and beautiful!

  44. Merry

    I loved the excerpt, setting and interesting characters! Sounds like a wonderful story!

  48. Tracy Shafer

    I love all Debbie’s books! I would love to add to my collection.