I need a Pedicure and You need this Book!

Recently I flashed my toes in public and it wasn't pretty. You see, I decided last minute to attend a two hour Zumba class in the name of charity. When my friend asked me on a Friday whether I wanted to wake up early the next morning, as in Saturday morning, as in be there at 8am, as in get out of bed for a workout class, I told her absolutely no freaking way. Then Saturday morning rolled around and I was wide awake at six in the morning - which never, ever happens. I cursed my friend for her guilt trip, got into my too snug workout gear and went to the class. As it turned out, it wasn't just Zumba. It was also this hellish thing called High Intensity Kill-Me-Now which was followed by a lethargic Yoga Session.

Here's where my toes made an unplanned public appearance - the yoga session. Not only were my feet in full on nobody's going to see them winter-mode, but they beared remnants of the fuzzy socks I slept in the night before. Don't even try to imagine it. It wasn't my finest moment.

So where's all this heading? Well, like I said, I need a pedicure and you, my friend, need this book. What book? Oh, only the much anticipated, eagerly awaited re-release of the professionally edited, now available in more places than I knew existed ...

 Going Barefoot in Greener Grass!!!

Why should you get Barefoot?

Because it feels great to be barefoot! I'll tell you, fuzzy, unpainted toes or not, I was darn glad to air out my tootsies at the end of my charitable workout. Here's a weird segway, but go with me. Sometimes it's just as oddly freeing and satisfying to sit back and escape into an entertaining read! GOING BAREFOOT IN GREENER GRASS is perfect for when you're in the mood for a pair of jealous friends and crazy, funny scenes. Ah! Now that's better!

So, what's it about?

For best friends, Olivia and Bethany, life looks a whole lot better on the other side of the picket fence. Olivia has the home, a husband and three lovely children. Bethany leads an exciting life of adventure as a travel writer. Each woman wants what the other one has and takes for granted. On a girls’ get-away to the Jersey Shore, tensions reach their breaking point (in the most hilarious manner). Kick off your shoes for a fun ride with relatable characters that'll make you say, "I know how that feels", humor filled scenes and unexpected plot twists!

How about a free first chapter?

Go to www.audryfryer.com and sign up for my occassional, happy newsletter. Act fast! The next newsletter is March 21st (also, the first day of Spring) and will include a free download of the first chapter!

Wondering if other people read it and liked it?

They did! Here's what people are saying about Going Barefoot in Greener Grass (and these reviews are when the novel wasn't yet professionally edited):

"I found that it flowed very nicely and kept my interest (so much so that I felt like an addict and could hardly wait to get back to it); even while two kids were running around screaming, my husband watching TV and my dog barking - - I still wanted more! After reading it my immediate thought was that it reminded me of a mix between My Big Fat Greek Wedding & Moonstruck."

"I couldn't put it down once I started reading and then was sad it was over."

"It was well written and so easy to relate to the wonderful characters as they experienced the ups and downs of everyday life. Each time I read of their joys and struggles I thought "I know how that feels". I don't think that there's anyone who hasn't thought that "the grass might be greener"!"

*Click the tab above this post entitled "More about Going Barefoot in Greener Grass" for more reviews!

Let's Get Barefoot!

Thanks to Draft2Digital, Going Barefoot in Greener Grass is available on Kindle, at Barnes&Noble, and through Scribd., Apple iTunes, Inktera and Kobo. 

Ok, Friends, I'm off to schedule that pedicure! Happy reading!

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It's My Birthday and I Want to ...

FREE!!!

Give you a FREE book!!! 

(click anywhere you see "free" for a link to the Kindle Store)

SECRETS, LIES AND APPLE PIES is FREE on KINDLE!

You get a free e-book! 

You get a free e-book!

Not what you were expecting me to say? 
Well, that's not the only thing I want to do today (picture me eating lots of cake, drinking lots of wine, spinning with my arms open in the fall foliage, ripping wrapping paper and tossing it over my shoulder ... you know typical birthday behavior). Ahem. Anyway, you have to admit a free book is a marvelous place to start the celebration of the 42nd anniversary of my birth!

The best part?
The free-athon goes all weekend!

Free from today, October 15th through Sunday, October 18th!!!

If you read it and loved it, please share it! 

A review would be like a gift!!!

Thank you to all my readers :)

Sunset Orange Crush

Sunset Orange Crush, a short story, goes on sale today, August 1st, for $0.99 Kindle and Nook (available for Kindle app and Nook app on your tablet)!!!

I'm so excited to share with you my new short story! I hope you enjoy it. I hope you share it with your friends. And, I thank all of you for your helpful comments so far and all your support.

Just for you, my loyal blog readers, here's a free glimpse of the first few pages. 

Happy reading!

SUNSET ORANGE CRUSH

a short story

by Audry Fryer

            Dry sand sifts through my fingers, slipping away like the years since I last walked this beach. 

It is early August. While this time of year has held no special meaning for the majority of my life, recently it took on  greater significance.  One year ago, I marched into the kitchen of a trendy Beverly Hills restaurant, grabbed a prep knife and pinned a note displaying these three words, “I quit, Ali.”  I went back to my apartment that echoed with emptiness ever since my ex-boyfriend left with all his belongings and half of mine.  Determined to leave California far behind, I packed up every last bit of what I had left.  My imagination took me to far flung destinations, France, Mexico, Tahiti, South Africa.  I had saved enough money to take me anywhere I wanted to go. The possibilities invigorated my sense of freedom. All I needed was a compass to point me in the correct direction.

In my enthusiasm for adventure, I grabbed for a box wedged in the back of my closet and perched high on a shelf.  It proved heavier than I expected.  I tried to keep my balance and almost succeeded, almost. Its contents spilled in an avalanche across my hard wood floors.  I heard a high pitched clink; the unmistakable, dreadful sound of shattering glass.   I sifted through the mess catching the tip of my finger on a shard. I recoiled both from the pain and from the recognition of what I had broken. I knew as I cleaned up the bits of glass mixed with a pile of sand that I wouldn’t be heading to an exotic location, but to here, Lewes, Delaware. 

The last of the sand escapes through my parted fingers with a small amount pooled in my palm.  I rub my hands together leaving a few coarse grains clinging to my skin. I try to brush them away on the cotton fabric of my cover-up with little success. I should know better. There’s always a little bit of sand that follows you home, in the bottom of your beach bag, in the cuff of your shorts or plastered to your flip-flops. Memories cling to the corners of your mind like that, too.

“Do I know you?” an older woman, robust in size, asks as she approaches me.

I turn and look at the woman to see if she is someone recognizable.  She gives me a warm smile sheltered by her wide brimmed hat.  Her white cover-up billows, a cloud in the breeze.  I shake my head and say, “I think you may have me confused with someone else.”

“Oh, I’m sorry dear,” the woman says.  “I was hoping you were the young lady I so enjoyed speaking with the last few summers.  I’ve been worried about her.  Last time I saw her, she was very sick.”  The woman motions with her hand around her head and whispers, “she was wearing a scarf.  Most unfortunate.”

“Oh, how sad,” I say. The vision of this young woman stricken with illness, most likely cancer, appears so clearly in my mind. It is as if I can see her standing on the shore, gazing at the surf with the sea breeze whipping the scarf on her head like one of those hurricane warning flags.

“Well, you have a good day,” the woman says.

“Oh, uh, you too,” I reply. 

The woman nods and continues down the slope of the dune. She shifts her weight carefully. Her progress is slow and cautious. I watch her with an acute interest. Maybe I’m worried she will fall. Maybe it’s something else.  For whatever reason, my attention remains on this woman when she glances back at me. Embarrassed, I wave at her. She doesn’t seem to notice my awkward attempt at levity. Instead, she says, “I hope you find what you lost.” 

The woman turns, almost as if she hadn’t said anything at all. I wonder if I imagined it. I think about running after her and telling her I hadn’t been searching for anything in the sand that I might have lost. Had I? 

I carry this question in my thoughts as my focus drifts away from the woman and meanders across the hills and valleys of the massive sand dune that compromises the lower tip of Delaware, a place referred to as The Point in Cape Henlopen State Park.  My gaze pauses at the short lighthouse that punctuates the dune’s end. Maybe I am searching for one thing.  But, I’m not sure I could ever recapture the magic of that summer.

It was in my last days of innocence that my parents rented the seaside cottage for the summer.  That fall I would be heading off to culinary school and part of me knew that my whole life was on the cusp of changing irreversibly.  I had these next ten weeks to savor.  And did I ever, like a syrupy sweet salt water taffy, the kind that you could pull into long delightfully sticky strands and spend the better part of an hour devouring.

My first impression of Leah had been how her golden sunshine hair curled around her face as she pedaled past me on her bike. “Follow me,” she simply said. I remember obeying her orders though we never formerly met, hopping onto my own bike and following in her wake.  We rode across the sleepy coastal town known less for its history of being “The first town in the first state” than for its ferry destination linking it to the New Jersey Cape.  We entered the state park and ditched our bikes here at The Point.  We talked, we laughed and a friendship like no other I’ve ever had before or after was created.  We became inseparable and to our delight, people often wondered if we were twins.  While my hair had deeper amber tones than Leah’s and my skin tanned easily while Leah’s preferred to burn, our statures and our mannerisms matched with an uncanny similarity.  I tugged my ear whenever I was nervous, so did Leah.  I made up my own lyrics when I couldn’t remember the words to a song, so did Leah. I loved black licorice flavored salt water taffy, so did Leah. I had a crush on the boy who worked at his uncle’s bait and tackle shop for the summer, so did Leah. 

Want to read more?

I hope so!

$0.99 for Kindle & Nook 

Thanks so much!!!

For more about this short story, my other two novels and some fun facts about me

check out: www.audryfryer.com

Shorts Season

Exciting news! I will be releasing a short story at the end of of July! So, Friends, I need your opinions and help to spread a little hype.


The working title is Sunset Orange Crush. Like the name? Yes or no, let me know!

Here's the description:

Ali's life has been in pieces much like one of her most treasured mementos that fell and shattered a year ago. Wanting to fix what is broken, Ali returns to the small seaside town where her parents once rented a beachside cottage and she once spent an unforgettable summer. Though time has slipped away like dry sand through parted fingers, Ali's memories of sunsets on the beach, a lost friendship and a first love remain strong. However, in the span bridging her youth to adulthood, much has changed. As Ali searches for so much more than fond recollections of a more innocent time, she discovers love and loss, the healing power of forgiveness and grains of the same magic lingering from that one summer.

At about 23 pages, it's a perfect read for an afternoon on the beach or with your morning coffee on your back porch or while lounging at your local pool club or on a hot, steamy night or ... you get the idea!

I would like to submit it to Kindle Single but it takes 6 weeks for a response and then, anyone with a Nook is left out. And, I don't want to leave out the Nooks! Sorry Kindle Single. Maybe next story.

Actual picture of the setting, Cape Henlopen State Park

More fun! The small seaside town in the description refers to Lewes, DE and Rehoboth Beach, DE with an important bit of the story taking place in Ocean City, MD. Yes, I dreamed up this story about two years ago on trip down there. And, yes I was drinking the well-known in OC MD  alcohol-based drink, the orange crush. Yet, I didn't do much with the story until this past spring when I realized what was missing. There's a nice plot twist towards the end that hit me like one of Oprah's famous "Aha moments."

Even more fun!! I need a photo for the cover and it could be yours (with your permission) because ... 

Photo Cover Contest!!! Share your pictures on my FB page of orange sunsets, orange cocktails or even of the Ferris wheel in Ocean City, Md at dusk (you'll see why when you read the story!) and I may choose your picture as the cover. How cool would that be! 

I know you can do better than this!

Okay! That's it for now ... More teasers to come in future blog posts like a sneak peek at the opening pages, drink recipes to make your own Orange Crush and lots of surprises (even to me as I figure out how to generate some hype - suggestions welcome!).

***One month left to enter to win a

 $10 Starbucks Gift Card!*** 

Check out www.audryfryer.com for details!

Blog Hop (No, it's not a new dance move!)

All Things Audry has been invited to participate in a Blog Hop Tour.  Basically, it's like playing a game of tag between blogs (and not anything associated with hip-hop or actually hopping up and down to stay warm).

Thank you Cindy Buccieri, professional blogger, author and consultant, for contacting me with this fabulous idea! If you are a blogger, then you must check out her blog at www.cindybuccieri.com for wonderful tips about blogging success.

I've decided to participate in the Blog Hop Tour, so now I must attempt to answer four mind-probing questions about my fascinating life as an author.

Question #1: "What are you working on?"
I would like to say how I am working on Novels #3 -5 that will be set in the same location as Secrets, Lies and Apple Pies, Scarlet's Mill, depicting the lives and stories of the people who live there.  I'd like to say that I'm making great progress on a story about an unlucky woman who works in the local diner that suddenly wins big.  However, as I write this post on Friday, February 14th from my home in Southeastern PA, I am working on digging out my driveway from snowstorm after snowstorm and entertaining my children who have been off from school more than they have been there this winter! Kidding aside, I am enjoying my time with my family and feeling inspired by the snow.  Hmm, a novel about a meteorologist just may be taking shape in my head ...   

Question #2: "How does your work differ from others of its genre?"
Humor mixed with drama. I like to write funny banter between characters and balance it with a healthy amount of tension. My novels are definitely character driven. Also, I believe a story fueled with emotion keeps a reader engaged and invested in the story. Plus, I like to add what I call "real magic".  For example, in Secrets, Lies and Apple Pies, Braeburn's deceased father seemed to give her some heavenly reassurance when she needed it most.  

Question #3: "Why do you write what you do?"
I write the type of novels that I like to read.  After my twins were born and I had left my teaching position, I began reading paperback after paperback passed on to me from my mom.  As I read such skilled authors as Jodi Picoult, Emily Giffin, Claire Cook, Krisitin Hannah and Anna Quindlen (to name a few), I became inspired to write. When I began writing, I wanted my stories to reflect what I had enjoyed so much from all those books.    

Question #4: "How does your writing process work?"
First, I organize a general outline of how the novel will progress which includes a detailed description of each main character.  After wasting a lot of time on trying to figure out names for my characters (I get so caught up in those baby naming websites), I take those notes and plan out scenes.  Next, I pray for it to stop snowing so much. Once the kids are off to school and I am not distracted by all things domestic, I sit in my quiet house (unless the phone rings) and write out scene after scene.  Finally, I read and reread, revise and delete, add more here and switch that up back there ... it really is a wonder that I have written two novels.  
And yet, I 100% believe that #3 will be completed within the next six months!     

_____________________________________________________________

Audry Fryer is the author of ...

         

 

SECRETS, LIES AND APPLE PIES 

available for KINDLE and NOOK

& GOING BAREFOOT IN GREENER GRASS 

available for KINDLE and NOOK

Hello October and Hello Friends!

I realized I haven't added my own post here on All Things Audry in like ... forever (or in a month which to me feels like forever)!  So, time to get something fun, humorous and potentially thought provoking up here.

I mean it's October already  - which is typically my favorite month.  I say typically because on the 15th, I turn 40 ... and all I can say about that is "Aack!"  I'm a writer and I should have something more profound to say than an utterance that is more of a sound than a word.  "Aaack!"

And I should be celebrating this milestone like that girl who did good deeds for her birthday and then posted her list all over the internet.  I started to be inspired by her list until I read that she was going to put away all the carts at Wal-Mart.

That's nice for her, but there's not enough hand sanitizer in the world for this "germ-a-phobe".  Then I think, a younger me wouldn't have cared about germs.  Then again, a younger me didn't have the glamorous life I have now.  I can't get sick when I need to cart the kids to soccer/dance and get done all those other domestic diva tasks!

Also, I wonder what a younger version of myself would think of the fact that getting a new washer/dryer was the high point of last month.  It was, though! The old dryer may or may not have briefly caught on fire.  So as I drink my coffee and write this post, I am spending this beautiful October morning gazing out at the early Autumn foliage as I eagerly await the sing song chime indicating the cycle is done which has replaced the old dryer's nerve grinding/coffee spill inducing buzzer.

So, anyway, time to write a new post here.  Wait.  All that up there looks like it could work.  Maybe I'll go with it. Or maybe, I come back here and edit the whole thing. (I did come back - look below.)  I mean, Wal Mart? Washer/Dryers? What has happened to me?  And why is there an apple on my head? Oh yeah, that was my son's idea ... and honestly, there was no drinking involved!

Hello, again.  So, yes, here I am the next day to do a little editing and to add one more important thing.  And that is, despite the "aack", I do - really do - like being my age and the age I'm about to become (cough- 40).  I like it because I'm able to do all the things I love - be a mom, be a writer, volunteer in my children's classrooms, bake, garden, watch Bravo TV while the kids are at school, pretend I'm a trophy wife ... okay I've taken it a smidge too far, but you get the point.  And yes, it's not a perfect life.  Of course there's always something I wish I could have that we can't afford or somewhere I'd to like travel if we had more freedom.  But, I wouldn't trade my smile lines or the few extra pounds around my waist to go back to my younger self.  Instead, I welcome the next decade.  I'm excited to watch my children grow, build my writing career and, most of all, enjoy the life I have now. 

I'd love to hear from you! Stop by my facebook page:

www.facebook.comAudryFryerAuthor

Fall is the perfect time to read

Secrets, Lies and Apple Pies

Check out the fun Oktoberfest scene!

Available for a sweet (and possibly intoxicating) price: $2.99

on Kindle and Nook 

(Don't have a Kindle - get the Kindle app and read anywhere on your tablet or device.  Is that cool or what?!?)

Like a Kindle in the wind

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT:
I have hit the "save and publish" button on the Amazon digital self-publishing page thus making Going Barefoot in Greener Grass available for anyone in possession of a Kindle for the ultra-low, bargain shopper price of $0.99!  Tell your friends.  Tell your neighbors.  Tell your cousin's roommate's sister who owns a Kindle!  News like this needs to be spread like dandelion seeds in the wind!

Well, here I am.  After much research, I have entered the virtual self-publishing world.  At first, I have to admit that I was hesitant, still gripping tightly to the dream of actually holding a paper-filled book in my hand.  And, it will be wonderful if that particular dream comes true someday.  But in the meantime, I was still speculative about the concept of self-publishing.  I imagined my novel sitting a sports bar with short skirt, low cut top and bright red lipstick looking desperate for attention.  But as I have been learning through various articles from blog posts to well-known publications, this image is simply not the case.  And, I learned a fascinating new term: Digital Natives.  I have three of them living with me right now.  They are anyone born after the advent of the Internet.  This bit of knowledge makes me feel really old, especially since I wrote a paper in college entitled, "The Internet: How Computers Talk to Each Other".  I, at the ripe age of 37, am not a digital native, but my children are.  And these digital natives are more interested in the quality of the read and the enthusiasm to generate it, than the material it's printed (or in this case, not printed) upon.
So, wish me luck ... and don't forget to spread the word :)