Jump Into
Author Carolyn Brown’s Empty Nest
Good morning, and thank you for inviting me to stop by to
talk about my new book, The Empty Nesters. I’ll be giving
all y’all a few of my favorite scenes and a little commentary during the time
we get to spend together.
As Ma used to say on Golden Girls, imagine
this—Carmen, Joanie and Diana have just dropped their daughters off at the recruiter’s
office. They’ve managed to keep the tears at bay and put up a brave
front, but now it’s time to let the tears loose.
“For the first time ever, Natalie and I won’t
decorate the house for Halloween together. Nine months of carrying
them, then we basically raised them on our own while our husbands were deployed
or got sent someplace to train other officers. And now they’re gone, and we
won’t see them for Halloween or Thanksgiving. And who even knows about
Christmas? It’s not fair.”
It’s always amazing what comes to mind during a sad time,
isn’t it? Things pop into our heads that seem trivial in the face
of the event, and yet, at the time, the good
memories are what keep us sane.
Tootsie, their elderly neighbor, has just lost her husband,
after they’d bought the huge RV and planned a trip to northeast
Texas. She’s trying to convince the women that they need to get away
from their empty nest for a while.
“You need to get away for a little while and get some
perspective,” Tootsie said.
“Let’s pool our money and blow it all on a trip to Paris.
We can shop and have lattes in little bistros,” Diana suggested.
Joanie sighed. “That’s a pipe dream. We probably don’t
have enough money to even get to Paris, Texas, between the three of
us.”
The three of them have known the support of
each other through the past thirteen years, and just because they’re
now alone in their homes, they have no doubt that the love is still
there between them—and that it’s even stronger than blood sisters.
“We’re only half a block and a phone call away. If any of
us feel the world dropping out from under our feet, we can get back
together in less than five minutes.”
I was amazed at how supportive all of them, including
Tootsie, were of each other. They might disagree, but Lord help the person
that tried to come between them, or who had the nerve to say an ugly
word about one of them.
Everything happens for a reason and in the time
that it should happen. I believe that with my whole heart. Diana had gotten her
divorce years before the book opens, but she remembers the pain
and anger of it all. Then she focused all her energy and time on raising her
daughter. But now it’s her time to find a new love, and a new life—maybe with a
younger man.
“That many trips into town on those roads would
shake the hell out of their Caddy. And believe me, Aunt Tootsie
treats that car like family.” Luke chuckled. “Age, on a truck or on a person,
makes no difference. It’s how well they’re maintained that matters.”
Why, oh, why, couldn’t he have smooth pickup lines like
other men? Luke asked himself. What he’d just said could be taken as an insult.
She might think that he thought she looked like an old pickup truck
at her age, when in reality she was downright gorgeous. He wouldn’t be a bit
surprised if she still got carded at bars when she ordered a drink.
Thank you again, for inviting me into your world, and
letting me talk about the amazing ladies (and Luke of course),
from The Empty Nesters. Happy reading to each and every
one of you!
***
About the Book
Title: The Empty Nesters
Author: Carolyn Brown
Release Date: August 20, 2019
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Summary
Dear friends and army wives Diana, Carmen, and Joanie have
been through war, rumors of war, marital problems, motherhood, fears, joy, and
heartache. But none of the thewomen are prepared when their daughters decide
to enlist in the army together. Facing an empty nest won’t
be easy. Especially for Carmen. With emotions already high, she suffers an even
greater blow: divorce papers. Diana understands the fury and tears.
She’s been there.
With nothing to lose and no one at home, the girlfriends
impulsively accept an unexpected offer from their elderly
neighbor. The recently widowed Tootsie has an RV, a
handsome nephew at the wheel, and an aim for tiny Scrap,
Texas, to embrace memories of her late husband. Still grieving, she can
use the company as a balm for her broken heart. So can the empty nesters.
Embarking on a journey of hope, romance, and healing, Diana,
Carmen, and Joanie are at a turning point in their lives. And with the open
road ahead of them, it’s just the beginning.
My Thoughts..
Carolyn Brown is an author that I love to read. She writes sweet books with characters that
have big hearts, real-world issues, and family/friends that are incredibly
loving. The Empty Nesters is exactly
what I expected when I picked it up.
The military wives/ex-wives all have lived a tough life with their
spouses leaving at the drop of a hat for various missions. Add to that the recently widowed Tootsie
and it is the perfect neighborhood.
All three army wives are in this book, they each have their
own story to tell. It is the story of a
divorce that wasn’t expected, daughter going into the military to follow their
father’s footsteps, an unexpected relationship, and an adventure that is bound to open new
doors. I loved getting a glimpse at how
being part of a military family controls so much of your everyday life. You wait for orders, you wait for a phone
call, you wait for a letter, and when they say go you go. It is not an easy life and the fact that Joanie,
Diana, and Carmen are able to go through it together helps to ease their
burdens. The three of them have gone
through so much in life that it just makes sense that when things get hard they
stick together even tighter.
The Empty Nesters is a story of best friends who find their way through life leaning on each other, supporting each other, and just being
there for each other.
Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads
Purchase your own copy on Amazon
or Barnes
and Noble
Author Biography
Carolyn Brown is a New York Times, USA
Today, Publisher’s Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling
author and a RITA finalist with more than ninety published books. Her genres
include romance, history, cowboys and country music, and contemporary
mass-market paperbacks. She and her husband live in the small town of
Davis, Oklahoma, where everyone knows everyone else, knows what they are doing
and when . . . and reads the local newspaper every Wednesday to see
who got caught. They have three grown children and enough grandchildren to keep
them young. Visit Carolyn at www.carolynbrownbooks.com.
Social Media Links
Website: https://www.carolynbrownbooks.com
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