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Midwest Writer’s Fellowship winner, Karen Lenfestey, writes “Happy Endings with a Twist.” Her first novel, A Sister's Promise, sold over 35,000 copies and was the #1 drama on Amazon for weeks.

Of all the cities in the U.S., Las Vegas was the last one I ever wanted to visit. Maybe it’s because growing up, I lost every bet to an older, wiser brother. Maybe it’s because I’m past the age when I want to do something wild on the weekends. Maybe it’s because I didn’t believe people when they told me there’s plenty to do in Vegas besides gamble. Whatever the reason, a business trip forced me to visit Sin City during the harshest winter of my life and I’m glad it did.

Even before the slot machines greeted me at the Vegas airport, I’d decided to never leave my hotel. That’s one of the great things about Vegas hotels—they have everything you need at your disposal: restaurants, salons, nightly shows and even a magic shop where I picked up a great box of tricks for my 8-year-old daughter.

             After watching CSI re-runs with the new perspective of “Hey, I’ve been there,” my gaze landed on the Las Vegas magazine on my bureau. On the cover stood a woman in an elegant black gown with matching silk gloves and a caption that made my heart skip a beat: Titanic. The traveling exhibit had caught my attention months earlier, but I hadn’t been able to see it. Within minutes, I stepped out into the sunshine, hailed a taxi and headed for the Luxor. The exhibit eerily re-created the luxury ship so well, I vacillated between longing for such opulence and shuddering at the tragic end to so many lives. My boarding pass held the name of a real passenger, Thomas Drake Martinez Cardeza, a man returning from an African safari whose suite featured two bedrooms, a sitting room and a private fifty-foot promenade. At first, I thought, “Well, I’ll survive since I’m first class.”

I walked along a frigid wooden deck in a dark room to find individual stories interspersed between porcelain dishes, alligator pocketbooks, and spectacles recovered from the ocean floor. I read about a man’s possessions that went down with the ship, whose life was only spared because he’d been shanghaied before the Titanic disembarked. How lucky, I thought ironically. I read about a family that could’ve afforded first class cabins, but to save money, chose to stay in second class. I hope that decision didn’t cost them their lives, I thought. I read about a woman who felt her life was ruined because she lost her husband when the ship sank. I’d forgotten about the captain’s cry for “women and children first.” Maybe Thomas Drake Martinez Cardeza didn’t survive, after all. I shivered.

            I definitely studied the list of those who died closely before I exited the exhibit.

            After surviving one of the greatest shipwrecks of all time, I became bold enough to explore more of the city. I took in the impressive trapeze act at Circus, Circus and the Bellagio fountains, which danced to classical music. I walked along the strip, enjoying the spectacle of colored lights, pillars and roller coasters, which I’d only ever seen in pictures. An hour whizzed by and I was happy I’d dared to leave my hotel.          

            What surprised me the most about Vegas was how friendly the people were. Maria, the housekeeper at the Riviera, gave me a full-sized container of conditioner from her own locker because I’d forgotten mine at home (and wouldn’t let me pay her for it). An Ethiopian taxi driver insisted I take his bottled water when my sinus infection caused me to break into a coughing fit. The cashier at the 7-11, who sold me a postage stamp, made me laugh when he told me his tech-savvy little brother asked him how to address an envelope. Then the boy said, “Never mind. I’ll just Google it.”

            So, thank you, Nevada’s City of Lights, for showing me there’s more to you than meets the eye. A few days later, when I returned to the piles of snow and freezing temperatures of Indiana, I missed the warmth of Vegas—in more ways than one.

Visit www.lasvegas.com to learn more about things to do on your Vegas vacation and visit www.RMSTitanic.net to see where you can experience history for yourself.

If you need a good book to read on the flight, check out www.karensnovels.com for “Happy Endings with a Twist.” Karen Lenfestey’s novel, A Sister’s Promise, has been called “intriguing, sometimes humorous, and heart-warming” and has sold over 40,000 copies at Amazon.

I need your help coming up with a title for my new novella! I usually have very strong feelings about what my books should be called (for example: What Happiness Looks Like and On the Verge), but this one has me stumped. It's set during a spring rain so I thought maybe "A Rainy Day Romance" would be good. Let me know what you think. Here's what it's about: 

Bethany Morris is tired of hearing she “has a pretty face if only. . . .” Well, she has tried to lose weight. She has the DVDs to prove it: “No Pain, no Gain Pilates,” “Buns of Steel” and “Yoga for Dummies.” Exercise isn’t her thing. Once she hit thirty, proudly self-sufficient yet still single, she made herself let go of all of those hopes of settling down. After all, guys were visual creatures. If you didn’t look like a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, they didn’t want to date you, let alone talk about forever. And she'd never in her life looked good in a bikini.

That's why Bethany is surprised when her Friday night tradition of watching DVDs and eating a pint of Chubby Hubby ice cream is interrupted. Her svelte friend claims that her date only wanted to talk about Bethany! Was it possible that the handsome, yet geeky, computer engineer at work would rather be with Bethany--a woman with curves in all the right (and wrong) places? Tired of sitting home alone every weekend, Bethany decides to take a chance and ask Drew out. When a mysterious woman's phone call interrupts their date, Bethany wonders if Drew is already spoken for. Is she making a fool of herself or does she have a future with Drew?    

Now for the fun part! Vote for your favorite title or suggest one of your own!

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop is a way of connecting readers to writers around the world. I would like to thank Kelly O'Dell Stanley, who just signed a book deal, for inviting me along. You can read about her original idea here: Praying Upside Down.
I will answer some questions about my writing then link you to amazing authors I think you'll like. 

1. What is the title of your book? On the Verge

2. Where did the idea come from? I once worked for a man whose wife was in a car accident that completely changed her personality. He said she "wasn't the woman he married." This ethical dilemma intrigued me so I wrote a book where a head injury interrupts newlywed bliss. (My boss, by the way, divorced his wife. In my book club discussion questions, I ask if a man or a woman is more likely to stay married if his/her partner becomes gravely ill.)

3. What's the genre? contemporary fiction or women's fiction

4. Which actors would you choose to portray the characters in a movie? Ginnifer Goodwin from "Once Upon a Time" for Val, the main character, and Cindy Crawford for Joely, a secondary character.

5. What's the one sentence synopsis of your book? Newlyweds struggle to repair a 1920's house while trying to rebuild their relationship after a personality-changing head injury.

6. Was this independently published or represented by an agency? It was independently published after consulting with my agent. My next novel will be represented by the MacGregor Literary Agency.

7. How long did it take to write? It took about 6-8 months to write.

8. What other books would you compare this to? "The Vow"

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book? A friend of mine lives in a 1920's Spanish-style house which I've always admired. Her stories of restoration joys and nightmares inspired the On the Verge house and is featured on the book cover.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest? The Midwest Book Review wrote this: "A thoughtful tale about difficult human problems with no easy solutions, On the Verge is highly recommended." 

If you like contemporary women's fiction, check out Kaira Rouda, who Claire Cook, author of Must Love Dogs, said "is like getting together with one of your best friends--fun, fast and full of great advice." For historical fiction, I highly recommend New York Times bestselling author, Tasha Alexander, and for inspirational fiction and non-fiction, read Peggy Sue Wells. 

How often do both you and your guy LOVE a movie? I mean, he likes Die Hard and you like The Notebook. Someone is always compromising. Until now. Because The Music Never Stopped manages the challenging feat of reaching both sexes. 

The main character, 35-year-old Gabriel, was inspired by a real amnesiac stuck in the 1960's due to a brain tumor. From there, the writer, Dr. Oliver Sacks ("Awakenings"), created an inspiring story about a conservative father who kicks his hippie son out of the house. For twenty years, they don't speak. . . until Gabriel is admitted to the hospital dazed and confused. Surgery saves his health, but the doctors are unable to undo the damage. Gabriel barely speaks and cannot remember what happened five minutes ago. Despite the heartbreak, his parents visit him daily.

Eventually they discover that music unlocks parts of Gabriel's memory. Like a light switch, a favorite Grateful Dead or Bob Dylan song allows Gabriel to engage in animated conversations. Unfortunately, the music threatens to reignite the old war between father and son. Is the music really helping this family heal or is it sometimes better to forget?

This movie made my husband and I laugh out loud and ache deep inside. When it was over, I regretted the fact that I could've missed seeing it. As far as I'm concerned, this movie was a million times better than "Awakenings" for which the writer is better known. If you missed this 2011 Sundance Film Festival pick, I highly recommend you check out The Music Never Stopped now. 

How long would you wait for someone you love to return to their former self? If you'd like another story about how a head injury challenges and inspires a family, read "On the Verge" for $2.99 on Amazon.