Guest Post by GM Barlean

Today I have a wonderful guest here on my blog. GM (Gina Marie) Barlean is stopping by to tell us a bit about herself and her book. I met Gina through a local writer's group. Not only is she an amazing person to know, she writes, she blogs and she makes the best gluten-free cookies. I've really enjoyed getting to know Gina, and I hope you do too.

Gina: Victorine, thank you so much for having me as your guest. Your support is truly appreciated.

Although I have written for years, my concentrated effort to write fiction began in 2009. I completed my first novel, Dead Blow, in the summer of 2010. I became a member of the Nebraska Writers Guild, participated in National Novel Writer's Month (Nanowrimo), and joined the Prairieland Romance Writers of Nebraska, that fall. When participating in Nanowrimo, I began writing the novel, Casting Stones, which I just published. I reached the goal of writing 50,000 words of this novel during Nanowrimo, and then went on to finish up the book by February of 2011. I spent the remainder of 2011 working on fine-tuning the book and I also took two different online writing courses. The process of finishing my book included many friends reading the book and helping me make it the best product it could be. In the spring of 2011 I attended an event called, Write Across Nebraska. At this event I met C. K. Volnek. C. K. (Charlie) later that year, invited me to join the Seward Writer's Group. C.K., myself and three other writers (Victorine Lieske, Kathy Gillmore, and Sabrina Sumsion) have also created another writing support group called, The Local Muse. This support has turned out to be the most important link in my chain to publishing. By November of 2011, the book was ready for professional editing, and then it was off to be published and printed.

It should be noted, as said above, I could never have written this book without the help of many friends, one of which was you Victorine. Victorine created the book cover for Casting Stones. She has also guided me along the way and answered so many questions regarding how to publish. I believe I am one of many who will tell you, Victorine is one of the most helpful people I've ever met. I also firmly believe that God has led me to all of the people who have helped me along the way, from my first reader, Donna Sturgeon (author of Millie's Rose) to my most recent relationship with my new editor, Carol Weber of carolscorrections.weebly.com/. Of course, my husband, family, and friends played an essential role as well, (specifically the hubs!).

Casting Stones is a dramatic fiction, set in Missouri and Nebraska during the years 1926 through 1945. It is a story about struggle and survival, retribution and redemption. If you wish to meet the characters, please visit my blog Moments of Clarity. Want a little free reading? I've written a short story prelude to the novel. The prelude gives a glimpse into the main characters and sets the stage for the trouble that will come. You can get a free copy of this short story either from my website: GMBarlean.com, or from Smashwords.com. Do you like movies? I have created a book trailer and posted it on Youtube.com. Just scroll down to see it. I think you will really enjoy watching this. A friend of mine, Rae Welch, created the original music for this short film, and it is perfect. The e-book for Casting Stones is available on Amazon, and Barnes and Nobel. Both of these sites offer a sample of the novel.

Thank you so much for allowing me to let your readers know about my book. I hope some of you will consider buying, Casting Stones.

I would like to give a free ebook copy of my debut novel, Casting Stones, to one lucky person who leaves a comment to this article. Check back to see who the winner is! Thank you for reading!