Spotlight & Giveaway: Midnight at the Wandering Vineyard by Jamie Raintree

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Jamie Raintree to HJ!

Hi Jamie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Midnight at the Wandering Vineyard!

 
Hi! Thank you so much for having me!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Midnight at the Wandering Vineyard is essentially about a young woman who has been on the “right” path, the expected path. She went to an esteemed university, got a great job, is living in one of the best cities in the world, and yet…adulthood has never fit quite right. By returning to her vineyard home, she gets the chance to revisit what she loved about her childhood—her family, her best friend, her first love, and the dreams she once had. By being back in a similar place, geographically and emotionally, she gets the opportunity to rediscover the passions she lost touch with and reassess what she might have been looking back on with rose-colored glasses.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

The summer before I left for college, I lost everything. I lost my best friend, I lost my heart, and I lost my grasp on all the plans I had for my future.
I lost who I was.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• In researching the book, I got the opportunity to visit a local vineyard, which was a completely new experience for me and an absolute blast! Initially, my writer’s group and I attended a wine tasting, and then the owners invited me back to help with the next harvest. The hush of the land, working with my hands, and the beauty of the surrounding nature is an experience I won’t soon forget.
• The working title of the book was Counting Wishes and Horses, which I still sometimes accidentally say when talking about it. Oops!
• Midnight at the Wandering Vineyard is the first book I ever attempted to write but it would never quite come together so I put it aside to work on other projects, including my debut novel, Perfectly Undone. When I eventually came back to it many years later, a friend suggested setting the story in a vineyard and suddenly everything clicked into the place. I’ve been so thrilled to finally bring Mallory’s story to life.

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book. As you wrote your protagonist was there anything about them that surprised you?

There are four main characters in the book. Mallory is a free-spirited, nature-loving girl with a huge heart for the people in her life. Unfortunately, it’s this tendency to be what she thinks other people need her to be that sets her life off on a course she didn’t expect. One thing that surprised me about her was her sense of humor. I tend to write stories and characters about life’s more difficult moments so it was refreshing that Mallory was able to laugh at herself and lighten the mood.

Kelly is Mallory’s life-long best friend. She’s had a hard life taking care of her ill mother alone and she struggles to trust people, but through all that, she’s still one of the smartest and most caring people.

Sam is the man who broke Mallory’s heart when she was a teenager, but even though he’s made some not-so-lovable choices in his life, I have a soft spot for him. One of my favorite things as a writer (and reader) is breaking through the exterior of tough characters to find out who they really are, what they really want, and why they struggle to let people in. I enjoyed uncovering the many layers of Sam and I hope readers will too.

Tyler is the vineyard’s ranch hand and a close friend of Mallory’s. He’s the kind of guy you can always depend on and he loves horses, but don’t call him a cowboy. He hates that.

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

The scene in which Mallory and Kelly talk to each other for the first time after their friendship fell apart is pretty heated so I think that would be a great scene to audition the main characters. Working through the emotional scars of one’s childhood is never easy and I’d love to see two strong, yet vulnerable actresses to play them, who could handle the fire of these two women, but bring out their softness too.

“I’m sorry,” I blurt out.
I rehearsed this conversation in my head a dozen times on the plane, and none of my speeches had started like that. But I wasn’t prepared for how unsettling it would be to slip back into life here after being gone for so long. I wasn’t prepared for how fresh Kelly’s wounds would still be. There’s no easing into this conversation.
“I should have told you that a lot sooner,” I add.
My reasoning for not calling, not visiting, was easier to justify when I couldn’t see the pain on her face. I should have tried harder. I should have done anything to show her how much our friendship means to me.
I let go of the box in my hands and move closer to her. She seems so small, crouched on the floor next to me, when in my eyes, she’s always been larger than this life—larger than her mom makes her think she is, larger than this town…larger than me.
“Kelly, I’m so sorry. I made a lot of stupid decisions that summer. I’ve made a lot of stupid decisions in my life, mostly because I knew you were always there to help me fix them. Maybe I took advantage of that. I took for granted that you’d always forgive me for my…lapses in consideration.”
A laugh bubbles up from her chest and I grab onto it like a life raft.
“Kelly,” I say, my voice softening, “The biggest mistake I’ve ever made is allowing anything to get in the way of our friendship. And I didn’t come back here just for my parents’ planting party. I came back here for us. I want to be in your life again. I…I need you in my life again.”
There’s a long silence in which I hold my breath, waiting. Finally, Kelly sets aside the picture frame in her hand—a faded picture of the vineyard while it was being built—and stands.
“God,” she spits, her voice echoing in this small space. “You are unbelievable. It’s not that easy, Mallory.”
“I know—”
“No, you don’t know. You have no idea what it’s been like for me these last ten years. You have no idea what’s going on in my life.”
I look away. She’s right. I don’t know anything about Kelly anymore, and to be honest, she knows little about who I’ve become. A decade can change a lot about a person. And that distance is my fault. I created this rift and allowed it to stay open.

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

What I’d really love readers to take away from Midnight at the Wandering Vineyard is that as we get older and wiser, it’s natural for some dreams or relationships to evolve or even fall away, and it’s good to try to accept that with grace. But on the other hand, some of the callings of our hearts are unshakeable and we should listen to those, regardless of what society or the people we love might think. Ultimately, we are the ones who have to live with our choices, and I hope maybe Mallory will inspire readers to make the choices that light them up.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’m currently writing the first draft of my next book, which is still too early share much about. I’m so excited to address a new topic I think a lot of women are struggling with these days, and to discover for myself how my main character is going to grow through it.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: 1 print copy of MIDNIGHT AT THE WANDERING VINEYARD by Jamie Raintree (entrants limited to North American mailing addresses).

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Which place from your childhood would you love to revisit?

 
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Excerpt from Midnight at the Wandering Vineyard:

“Hey, Mom,” I say. She squeals when she sees me and her bare feet dance across the Mexican tile as she rushes over to wrap me in a hug. She kisses me all over my face like I’m still four years old and I laugh, allowing her this indulgence. In the time I’ve been gone, we’ve only seen each other on a handful of occasions and it’s been as painful for me as it has, no doubt, been for her.
“I made everything,” she says and motions toward the breakfast bar on the kitchen island. I tie my hair back into a ponytail and pull up a stool.
“Dad out loving on the vines?” I ask with finger quotes. I didn’t see him out there but Mom’s smirk says it all. She sets a plate in front of me, stacked high with pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, half a grapefruit, and some strawberries.
“What time did you get in last night?” she asks.
“Midnight,” I say between bites of egg, realizing I haven’t eaten anything since the pretzels I had on the plane.
She grins, shaking her head. “Your dad was out there waiting for you at six. I couldn’t even get him to eat dinner.”
Her words are laced with affection, but it doesn’t ease the guilt I feel about being away from home for so long, for making excuses to stay away even though I’ve wanted to be here as much as they’ve wanted me to be.
But the more time that passed without seeing, speaking to, or more important, apologizing to Kelly, the more insurmountable the task felt. It was one thing to allow a few days for us to cool off, but as the weeks passed, I realized I was angry at her, too. What I did that summer was selfish and inexcusable, but she wasn’t faultless either.
Eventually, I convinced myself that Kelly had forgotten about me, moved on. I never stopped thinking about her, though. Not for one day.
“How’s work been?” Mom asks. She still eats standing up at the island, I see. She sits for so many long hours at the office that if she isn’t in front of the computer, she’s moving. Mom has worked at the same small legal firm since we moved here, the only paralegal to two family lawyers. She’s almost always in front of the computer. I have more sympathy for her plight than I did as a teenager.
“Good.” I sip my coffee. “Fine.”
“Looks like more than fine,” she says. “over the portfolio on the company website has been growing quickly these last couple of years.”
“You’re stalking the company’s website?” I ask with an exasperated laugh.
“Just occasionally. On my lunch breaks.”
I roll my eyes, but her support of me warms my cheeks with pride.
“It seems like they really value you there.”
She could only be basing this assumption on the fact that I never leave. I haven’t told my parents about my promotion yet. Mostly because it won’t be official until I get back. A lifetime of changing my focus with every shift in the breeze has taught me to keep my mouth shut until I’m sure.
Besides, this trip isn’t about me.
“They seem to,” I say vaguely.
My tone and the way I pick at my eggs with my fork must be less than convincing.
Mom comes around the kitchen island and wraps her arm around my shoulders. I lean my head against her collarbone.
“I hope…” she says, the sound of it vibrating through her rib cage. “Well, I hope you feel good about the direction your life has taken. I hope you don’t regret going to New York.”
New York had been the plan for years but I think Mom always knew it was because I’d taken Kelly’s lead. She commented once, a long time ago, how much it surprised her since I’d never had the tendency to follow anyone. But that was how my friendship with Kelly was right off the bat and I think my parents were just grateful I’d chosen a worthy role model.
A lot changed in those final weeks and though I never spoke with Mom about my fallout with Kelly—I was too ashamed and afraid of disappointing her—her probing questions and sideways glances proved she wasn’t entirely ignorant.
In light of everything that happened, I could have chosen to stay.
I could have gone anywhere.
I look up at my mom. “Things are good,” I say. “I’m good.”
Her expression softens and she plants a kiss on the top of my head.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Mallory Graham is returning home to the heat and vines of Southern California in search of a peace she can’t find in the city. Her parents’ vineyard is an escape for tourists, but full of mixed memories for Mallory. It may also be the one place she can find the forgiveness she seeks. But can things ever go back to the way they once were—in the days before that long, hot, heartbreaking summer?

Growing up, it was Mallory and Kelly. Kelly and Mallory. Nothing could come between them. That summer before college, bucket list in hand, they greeted every sunrise and chased every sunset. Tattoos—check. Sleeping under the stars—check.

But when Mallory met Sam, everything changed. Older, experienced and everything Mallory never knew she wanted, Sam was her first taste of love—and the one adventure Mallory didn’t want to share with Kelly. But Kelly had her own secrets, too, until the night tragedy struck and their perfect summer—
and their friendship—unraveled.

Now, after ten years away, Mallory is home and determined to make amends. No more secrets, no more half-truths. As Kelly slowly lets her guard down, Mallory convinces her to complete their unfinished list of hopes and dreams. But Mallory’s not the only one back in town, and when Sam reappears, Mallory
risks making all the same mistakes—and maybe a few new ones—to try to heal that which was broken.

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Meet the Author:

Jamie Raintree is voracious student of life, which is why she became a writer, where she could put all that acquired information to good use. She is a mother of two, a wife, a businesswoman, a nature-lover, and a wannabe yogi. She also teaches writers about business and productivity. Since the setting is always an important part of her books, she is happy to call the Rocky Mountains of Northern Colorado her home and inspiration. www.JamieRaintree.com
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