KAREN LENFESTEY, "Happy Endings with a Twist"
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Enjoy a free lunch-hour romance!

12/16/2014

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Welcome to the Book Lover's Blog Hop! I'm giving away free copies of my romance novella MADE FOR TWO. Plus you can enter to win $100 Amazon gift card! Just leave a comment about who is your favorite women's fiction or chick lit author and I'll send you the free e-book! 

Here's what MADE FOR TWO  is about: Diane acted on instinct when she broke up a fight at the inner-city school where she teaches history. When the superintendent suspends her, Diane returns to her hometown of Foxworth. Almost immediately she finds herself tracking down her old boyfriend, Tim. Just seeing him rekindles her love and she realizes that her life, just like her tandem bike, was made for two. Unfortunately, Tim keeps pushing her away, claiming it will never work out. After all, she still wants to live in the city and he can’t imagine leaving his family’s bakery. But Diane discovers there’s more to it than that. Tim has been hiding in this small town because he has a secret.


By Karen Lenfestey
A Midwest Writer’s Fellowship Winner


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a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for stopping by. Please share this page with your friends using the social media buttons below. Leave a comment about your favorite women's fiction or chick lit author so I can send you MADE FOR TWO for free. Then visit the other blog hops by clicking here: Book Lover's Blog Hop

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.
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Where does charity begin?

11/29/2013

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“Why didn’t you give them money?” my seven-year-old asked. When the cashier at a fast food restaurant had requested a donation to their charity of choice, I’d said no. That’s what I usually said when strangers caught me off-guard asking for money. Suddenly, my child’s kind, blue eyes made me feel guilty.

I tried to explain: “There are lots of good causes and we can’t afford to give to all of them. I believe you should think about which ones you want to support, then donate to them.”  

For a long time, I simply didn’t have the discretionary income to share with others. Now that I’m more comfortable, I still have a list of things for which I need to save money: my child’s college tuition, a house with a backyard and retirement. On the other hand, I want to teach my daughter to appreciate what we have and to care about those less fortunate. That’s why we donate outgrown clothes and toys to Goodwill. That’s why I slip some money into the Salvation Army’s bucket at Christmas time. That’s why we end each night by listing all of the things we’re thankful for which includes food, shelter and good health.

But is that enough? Case in point: my daughter's school recently collected new and used supplies for the animal shelter. I suggested she gather up cat toys she could find around our house since our ten-year-old tiger cat would rather sleep than play. My daughter wasn’t satisfied with that. I told her if she wanted to buy items, then she could spend her own money on them. Without hesitating, she ran upstairs and opened her piggy bank. She had $9.78 left from her birthday money.  I didn’t want her to regret this tomorrow, so I reminded her of the things she could buy with her savings: doll clothes and books about fairies.  She suddenly thought those things were trivial.

At this point, I gladly took her to the store so she could select pet toys, collars and tiny cans of tuna-flavored food. She remembered how happy our striped kitty was when I let her lick the can after I made tuna salad. My daughter decided she wanted to buy some Fancy Feast for our Cat Chow cat, too.

I was so proud of her. She cared about the animals at the shelter just as much as she did about her own grumpy cat. 

I guess charity really does start at home.

In this season of giving, for which charities do you have a soft spot in your heart?  
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Movies You Might've Missed: Christmas edition

12/10/2012

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Have you already watched Miracle on 34th Street and It’s a Wonderful Life and every other Christmas movie you can think of? I love the classics, but I also enjoy discovering a family film I’ve never seen before. If you’re like me, longing for a heart-warming story in which you don’t have all of the lines memorized, check out Prancer.

Sam Elliott plays a financially-strapped widower who spends more time scolding his precocious daughter, Jessica, than talking to her. He’s at such a loss, he’s planning on sending her to live with her aunt. Before he can go through with his plans, his eight-year-old daughter finds an injured reindeer that she’s convinced is Prancer. Hiding and stealing food for this reindeer puts Jessica even more at odds with her gruff father.

This precious movie reminded me of the innocence and unconditional love of children. It almost made me cry while leaving a big, Santa-inspired smile on my daughter’s face. For a Christmas movie that speaks to the reality of hard times and the magic of the season, treat your family to Prancer.

Be sure to treat yourself to A Sister’s Promise which provides a Happy Ending with a Twist. For a chance to win a free autographed copy of “What Happiness Looks Like”, click here. Please "like" and "tweet."



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Are Two Cats Better Than One?

11/23/2012

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“I wish Romeo could have kittens,” my seven-year-old daughter laments.  I know, you’re thinking Romeo can’t have kittens because Romeo is a male cat. That’s what we thought, too, when we adopted the gray striped kitten from the animal shelter. Since he was so affectionate, we named him Romeo. Then at our first trip to the vet to discuss getting the cat fixed, we learned that he was really a she. By then, I thought it might confuse the kitten to change its name. Either way, Romeo will never have kittens.

Now ten years old, the cat spends most of her day napping under the bed or shedding in my favorite chair. So it makes sense that my daughter wants a cute, playful kitten.

“I like kittens, too,” I say. “But they grow up so fast.” Kind of like kids—only faster. Plus I explain it would be twice the litter to scoop and twice the hairballs to clean. Like all starry-eyed children, my daughter offers to do all of the work. I do not fall for these empty promises. So she gets out a piece of paper and writes “Dear Santa.” She looks up at me, “Mom, how do you spell ‘real kitten’?”

Uh-oh. Will this be the year Santa disappoints her? Maybe another kitten wouldn’t be much more trouble. But then I remember. We’ve been a two-cat household before. We had a crazy calico that used to bite for no reason. I cried when I realized she couldn’t stay once we had a baby. Then my husband fed a starving stray on our back porch. We refused to name the black feline, calling her simply Kitty-kitty. Eventually I caved and took her to the vet for her vaccinations. I resented the hassle of feeding two cats—one inside and one outside. Then one day Kitty-kitty howled and started acting strange. I had no idea she’d soon die in our backyard. I cried and cried. Why hadn’t I realized something was terribly wrong?

That’s the thing about pets. You love them, but eventually they make you cry. Maybe it’s not just the hassle I want to avoid, but also the heartache. All of these memories make me realize I should appreciate what I have. Suddenly I wonder where Romeo is hiding so I can scratch behind her ears. I just love it when she purrs. . . .

(Please do not take this as an invitation to drop off any kittens on my doorstep!)

If you enjoy a story that warms you like the love of a good pet, you’ll appreciate On the Verge, where a husband’s head injury leads him to bring home a puppy and buy a house without talking to his new wife. Available on Amazon for $2.99.


For a chance to win an autographed copy of What Happiness Looks Like, click here.


CAST YOUR VOTE: Are two cats better than one?


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I was a Parenting Expert--Until I had a Kid

9/7/2012

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One night when I was still naïve enough to think raising kids was a pretty straight-forward endeavor, I saw a young family at Wal-Mart. Two toddlers climbed all over the cart, whining and crying. I looked at my watch. 10 p.m. “Why aren’t those kids in bed?” I whispered to my husband.

That’s how I was for many years—a childless parenting expert. Everyone who knew about my Franklin calendar priority lists and my desperate need to keep my desk clean, must’ve secretly laughed when I announced I was having a baby. They probably thought,“She’ll never finish another to-do list again.” They were right.

Motherhood threw me off-balance. I tried to figure out my infant daughter’s schedule by writing every feeding and nap down. I needed some kind of predictability, but there wasn’t any clear pattern. As soon as I thought I’d figured her out, she’d change. My biggest fear was that we’d be out in public, she’d start bawling and everyone’s eyes would be on me. No one wants to hear a baby cry, I reasoned, and it was my job as her mother to make sure she didn’t disturb others.

Well, baby’s first Christmas arrived. Cry, cry, cry. Everybody tried rocking her—me, her dad, grandma, great-grandma , etc. I was mortified. She was ruining everyone’s holiday dinner. She wasn’t hungry, tired or lonely—just miserable. Nothing we did helped. Finally, we put her down in a quiet bedroom and gave up.

A little while later, we found out why she had been inconsolable. She’d eaten prunes for the first time and it upset her insides. One very messy diaper change later and my baby’s smile returned. (There should be a warning label on prune baby food containers!)

Seven years later, I still think about that family at Wal-Mart. Perhaps they’d run out of children’s Tylenol and one of the kids was sick. Or maybe they just hadn’t figured the whole parenting thing out quite yet. Either way, I try not to judge any more. I want to tell all of the new moms out there to stop worrying about what everybody else thinks. The ones who give you disapproving looks probably don’t know any better. The rest of us see your two year old having a meltdown and remember when we were in your shoes. How there’s no reasoning, no placating kids sometimes. Sometimes you just have to wait them out. And sometimes they just need to go poo. 

If you liked this post, please comment and click the like or tweet buttons below. To show my appreciation, I will enter everyone who leaves a comment into a drawing to win my novel What Happiness Looks Like!


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A Santa on Every Corner

12/12/2011

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Have you noticed that Santa is everywhere these days? Not only is he at the mall, but he’s at the bookstore, the donut shop and the appliance store. Seriously? Santa’s hocking refrigerators? It’s too much.

I was mortified to realize that one year my daughter sat on Santa’s lap four times: 1) story hour at the hospital 2) a Christmas party at a friend’s house 3) an office party with her grandma 4) a visit to her preschool. By the time Santa stopped by her classroom and asked her what she wanted, she looked confused and replied, “You already gave it to me.” That’s when I decided we needed to avoid Santa the same way we avoided Aunt Rose’s fruitcake.

How are children supposed to believe in the magic of Christmas when every man with a white beard claims to live at the North Pole? Personally, I wish Mr. Claus would return home to help the elves--leaving more to children’s imaginations.

I much prefer hearing stories of real-life “Santas” like the anonymous woman in an Indianapolis KMart who recently paid off over 50 people's layaways. Or Sal Dimiceli from Wisconsin whose childhood was filled with hunger, evictions and shame. As an adult, he became a millionaire. But he never forgot what it was like to be poor. For the last twenty years, he has given most of his money away. He helps pay electric bills, fix heaters and provide housing to struggling families. “We have to love one another and take care of each other,” he says. That is what Christmas is all about.

It’s such a short window when kids believe in the magic of Santa. Let my family have these moments, please. Focus on the generosity of real people and leave Mr. Claus out of sight. Besides, anyone who has watched “Miracle on 34th Street” knows the real Kris Kringle works at Macy’s in New York. That’s a long way from Indiana. And that’s just fine with me.

LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR A GIRLFRIEND, SISTER OR MOM? GIVE A Sister's Promise. "If you enjoy Jennifer Weiner, Emily Giffin, or Sinead Moriarty, you will love this book!" Click here to learn more.

PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY ABOUT A REAL-LIFE “SANTA”:


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