Spotlight & Giveaway: The Bookshop by the Bay by Pamela M. Kelley

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Pamela M. Kelley to HJ!

Hi Pamela and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Bookshop by the Bay!

 
Thanks so much for having me. I am happy to be here!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

I am so excited for readers to discover this new book about two best friends and their thirty-year-old daughters.

Jess and Alison grew on Cape Cod, in Chatham, MA and have stayed best friends even after Jess went to law school, got married and settled in Charleston, SC. When her marriage implodes, she and her daughter Caitlin head home to Chatham for the summer. Alison meanwhile is divorced and still best friends with her ex. She’s worked as a editor for a local magazine for years but layoffs are coming. Jess and Alison have the opportunity to buy a beloved local bookshop when the owner decides to retire. It’s basically a summer of second chances and new beginnings for all of them.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“There’s nothing like browsing a bookstore. Smelling all those books, flipping through the pages and choosing the perfect one for your mood at that moment.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I grew up on Cape Cod and spent one summer working in a shop on Main Street in Chatham. It really does look like it could be on a Hallmark movie set.
• There are many real places mentioned in this book–especially restaurants. I am a foodie and The Impudent Oyster is one of my favorite places to have a delicious meal. And The Chatham Squire is a fun place to see a live band.
• Chatham is such a pretty town. It’s right on the ocean and it’s known for seals and in recent years, great white sharks! You can go on sightseeing boats to see both.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

There are multiple romances in this book and I think what most of them have in common is that they are friends first, and one of them literally meets her hero by running her car into his van. Talk about meeting someone when you least expect it!

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

“Here you go. Happy reading.”
Alison took the bag and was about to turn to leave when Ellen spoke again, “I don’t suppose you know anyone that might want to buy a bookstore?”
Alison’s heart jumped. Owning a bookstore had long been a dream, but she’d never had the savings to invest in something like that.
“You’re looking to sell?” As long as she could remember, Ellen had been a fixture at Chatham books.
Ellen nodded. “I think it’s time. I don’t have the energy that I used to. And I’d like to do some traveling, go visit the grandkids down south, go on a cruise. Just sit at the beach and read a book.”
Alison guessed that Ellen was well into her mid-seventies. It was understandable.
She shook her head. “I don’t know of anyone. It sounds like an incredible opportunity though. If I think of anyone, I’ll have them get in touch.”
“Thanks, honey. I’m just starting to think about it and get the word out.”
Once Alison stepped outside, she took a long look back at the shop, at the pretty green awning, the three flower boxes that spilled over with pink, white and yellow flowers and the rounded bay windows with the white panes and the thoughtfully chosen display of new and old books. It would be absolute heaven to own that shop.
But it was also an impossible dream, so Alison took a final look before pushing the thought out of her head. There was no point obsessing over something that could never be. Instead, she would think about what to make for dinner and how it might be a good idea to update her resume in case those layoffs happened sooner rather than later.

This is such an important scene as it goes to to the heart of the book–and a theme that often shows up in my books, about following your passion to do work that makes you happy. Before I became an author, I spent many years in recruiting, helping people find their perfect job.

Readers should read this book….

Escape to the Cape–see what it’s really like to live there. You’ll meet characters that quickly feel like old friends, spend time in their bookshop and experience the magic of second chances.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m working on The Fifth Avenue Apartment, a glamorous look at three roommates that share an incredible Manhattan residence and work in the cut-throat real estate industry. That will be out in the Fall. I’m also working on Plymouth Cold Case, my second mystery set in my hometown of Plymouth.

My next release is The Bookshop by the Bay on June 6!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I have three signed copies of The Bookshop by the Bay I can give away.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: How do you know when you’re in the right relationship? Or if you can turn what you are truly passionate about into a career?

 
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Excerpt from The Bookshop by the Bay:

How do you know when a marriage is truly over?

Jessica Coleman stared out her kitchen window as she sipped her morning coffee and half listened to her best friend Alison Page tell her about the amazing dinner she’d had the night
before at The Impudent Oyster. She and Alison had been best friends since they were children
living in Chatham, MA and even though they’d lived a thousand miles apart for many years, they
still spoke by phone at least once a week, usually early in the morning.

“We had the Oysters Rockefeller, which had lobster, too and a creamy spinach sauce. You
would have loved it.”

It was their favorite restaurant in Chatham, the small Cape Cod village where they’d both
grown up. Alison never left, while Jessica moved across the country, to Charleston, SC, many
years ago, after graduating from law school, and marrying Parker.

“Jess, you still there?” Alison had stopped talking and Jessica hadn’t even noticed. She felt
the beginnings of a stress headache, brought on thinking about the best time to have an
uncomfortable conversation with her husband. Something they’d both been avoiding.

“Sorry, I’ve been miles away. A lot on my mind. Nothing new, just wondering what to do
about Parker.”

“No gold stars lately, I take it?”

Jess laughed. “That’s an understatement.” She’d once joked to Alison that she should put a
gold star on the calendar for the rare occasions that she and Parker had sex. By her calculations it
was almost a year now. It just wasn’t a priority anymore, for either of them. They’d met during
her junior year at Charleston College and she’d never really been serious with anyone else. He
hadn’t either. After getting married and graduating from law school, both took jobs at Parker’s
father’s firm in Charleston. They’d settled in Mt. Pleasant, one of the area’s nicest
neighborhoods, and three years later, had one daughter, Caitlin, who recently turned thirty.

“I’m sorry. Have you talked to him about it? Do you want to try to save the marriage?”

Jess wasn’t sure there was anything left to save. She and Parker had been madly in love,
many years ago. They both worked long hours and it seemed like the only thing they had in
common anymore was work.

“It’s like we’re roommates. It’s been like that for a few years, we’ve really sort of drifted
apart. And I feel like something has shifted in the past few months. Just a funny feeling that I
have.”

“You think he might be having an affair?” Alison sounded surprised and Jess didn’t blame
her. Parker was the least likely person to have an affair. He worked long hours and they worked
together. She knew his schedule and didn’t see how it was possible. But still, the feeling
wouldn’t go away.

“I don’t know. Maybe not. Maybe we’ve just both come to realize this isn’t working
anymore. Something just feels different.”

“You need to talk to him.”

“I know. I catch him looking at me sometimes, like he wants to have the conversation too,
but neither one of us wants to bring it up first. It’s just easier to ignore it and keep going on the
way we have, I guess.”

“That doesn’t sound healthy, Jess. Time goes by too fast. If this isn’t working anymore,
either try to fix it, together, or move on. It’s not so bad being single. It might be good for you.”
Alison had been married for ten years and single for over twenty. And she was best friends with
her ex. It was like they got along better since they divorced. Jess had asked her a million times if
they might get back together, but Alison always insisted that it wasn’t like that with them.

“You’re right. I know you’re right. I think I might finally be ready. I’ve never really been
single as an adult. It’s going to be a change.”

Suddenly single as a woman in her mid-fifties in Charleston, was an intimidating thought.
It was a city full of beautiful, young southern women that never left their house without full hair
and makeup and always dressed impeccably. How could she compete with that?

“Why don’t you take some time off? Come to Chatham for a month at least. You haven’t
taken more than a week or two off in years,” Alison suggested.

The idea was very tempting. And Alison was right. Jess’s mother would be thrilled. At
seventy-five, she was an active widow, and the family house in Chatham had plenty of room.
“I’ll think about it.” She glanced at the time and took her last sip of coffee. “Allie, I have to
run. I’ll keep you posted.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

“Anyone who’s ever wanted to turn the page on their old life or felt the whispered promise of a new dream, and a fresh start will fall in love with Pamela Kelley’s charming new novel.” —New York Times bestselling author Mary Kay Andrews

TWO LIFELONG FRIENDS.

Jess loves her work as a high-profile lawyer in Charleston. But when her husband cheats, she retreats to her childhood home on Cape Cod with her thirty-year-old daughter, Caitlin, hoping to regroup with her longtime best friend, Alison.

ONE BOOKSHOP BY THE BAY.

Alison’s career has taken a hit after twenty years as an editor for the magazine Cape Cod Living. But when she learns her beloved bookstore on the Cape is looking for new ownership, a new dream starts to form.

AND THE SUMMER THAT COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING.

As the two friends reopen the bookstore, they also open themselves up to the magic of second chances.
Book Links:  Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Pamela Kelley is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of women’s fiction, family sagas, and suspense, such as The Nantucket Inn, The Restaurant and Plymouth Undercover. Readers often describe her books as feel-good reads with people you’d want as friends. She lives in a historic seaside town near Cape Cod. There’s also a good chance you might get hungry when you read her books as she is a foodie, and occasionally shares a recipe or two.
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