News and Giveaway: Calling Me Home UK Galley

By Julie

MY GOODNESS! Time is flying! Really flying!

I can't believe today is officially two months until the U.S. release of Calling Me Home on February 12, 2013. My head's spinning, and many things are happening behind the scenes. Here's a few.

Scheduling book tour/signing events. Confirmed so far:

TX: Barnes and Noble, Arlington, Texas, The Parks Mall, Tuesday, February 12, 7 p.m. (launch event!)

TX: BookPeople, Austin, Texas, Saturday, February 16, 7 p.m.

TX: Blue Willow Bookshop, Houston, Texas, Monday, February 18, 7 p.m.

CO: Tattered Cover, Colfax, Denver, Colorado, Monday, February 25, 7 p.m.

WA: Auntie's Bookstore, Spokane, Washington, Wednesday, March 13, 7 p.m.

Positive reviews

Kirkus Reviews said:
"Kibler’s unsentimental eye makes the problems faced unflinchingly by these women ring true. Love and family defy the expected in this engaging tale."

Publishers Weekly said:
"Kibler, in alternating first-person narrations, delivers a rousing debut about forbidden love and unexpected friendships over the span of six decades." The rest of the review is here. 

Several folks on Goodreads have weighed in after reading galleys. A reader named Sue said:
"I can describe this story only as a wonder. For me, maybe the book of the year... Julie Kibler has written a solid story about love and hate, fear and bigotry, friendship and trust, the value of communication and the tragedy of withholding, the mistakes of putting on airs, and the everyday foibles of parents and children, the young and the old. I can’t wait to read another exquisite novel by Julie Kibler."

Bookbrowse has a whole slew of reviews that make me smile. Amber from Ohio said:
"While sellers may try to compare this to "The Help" - and yes, the storytelling rivals it - this is instead a love story. Powerful and gripping, you'll be surprised with the characters as the details of a forbidden romance unfold, changing two people and everyone else in their lives forever. Definitely pick up this book for your reading group, literature class, or a great read."

Last but not least ... Advance Reader's Editions
The U.S. advance copies came out in September. Many folks are already reading them after giveaways through Goodreads, Bookbrowse, Shelf Awareness, not to mention copies sent by my publicist to various media outlets.

UK advance reader's editions, or as they call them there, proofs, arrived on my doorstep in the last month and are absolutely gorgeous. The book releases there June 20, 2013, and I'm thrilled Pan MacMillan has asked me to travel to England to participate in the book launch there. It releases in Australia and New Zealand concurrently with the U.S. release.

I thought it might be fun to do a giveaway for one of the UK advance copies. (Front and back pictured here!)

To be entered in this drawing, please:
1) Leave a comment here asking to be entered.
2) Go to my Facebook author page and "like" my page if you haven't already. (Not mandatory, but helpful!)
3) Leave a comment there on my link to this post indicating your interest in the UK advance copy. (Too confusing ... I am striking this. :))

I'll post the winner at the bottom of this post on Wednesday, December 19, and request your contact information at that time. I can mail the book only to addresses in the United States or United Kingdom.

Please feel free to share about the giveaway on Facebook or Twitter or your own blog. The more the merrier! And again, let's be honest--the more folks who learn about Calling Me Home, the better the book will sell. In fact, if you plan to buy the book anyway, a pre-order helps a debut author more than almost anything else you can do. If you plan to buy it at an event, you can often pre-order the book through the store where the event will be held.

Thanks for traveling this journey to publication with me. It's feeling pretty real these days!

UPDATE: The winner of the UK advance readers' edition of Calling Me Home is Helen Kalmans, which is lovely as she was the very first person to enter. In this case, the early bird really did get the worm! I'll contact Helen via Facebook. Thanks so much to everyone who entered. I hope you'll be on the lookout for the book come February 12.