In keeping with the cutting edge events of late at the Downtown Library–all Roanokers are invited to check out the upcoming “Party” (Tuesday, April 27, 6:30 – 8) in honor of Roanoke novelist, Gina Holmes, who is celebrating the release of her debut novel, “Crossing Oceans.” She describes it as the story of a young mother who must return to her sleepy North Carolina town to face the ghosts of her past and tell the man she left behind that he’s about to inherit a daughter he didn’t know he had.
New York Times best-seller Tess Gerritsen called it “poignant and unforgettable.” Another NYT best-seller, Charles Martin describes it as “beautiful and heartfelt.”
Holmes has sometimes been referred to as a Christian novelist, but this book is “not what comes to mind as a Christian novel; it is more ‘women’s genre,’” according to Holmes.
Holmes, who is still working as a nurse, has been writing for years; she says “this has been ten years in the making…ten years of rejections” to get to this point. Along the way, she started a writers’ blog, partially to document her journey as an aspiring writer navigating the long and winding road toward hopeful publication.
After meeting some fellow authors at a writers’ conference, they joined forces and together write the blog www.noveljourney.blogspot.com which has evolved into a blog that interviews established and often well-known authors. It has gained a reputation as a “must see” blog for aspiring writers.
Her nursing career has been a necessity, but it has also helped Holmes to be in better touch with the thoughts and feelings she needs to be a poignant writer. She points out that “when I’m working as a nurse, I get to see people at their best and worst, without their masks,” Holmes says. “When somebody is with a family member who is dying, they don’t care what other people are seeing. I get to pick up authentic emotions, which I wouldn’t see in other professions, certainly not if I was secluded at my desk.”
Holmes is under contract to write a second book, leaving little time for celebration because there is more work to be done. However, she will gladly be taking time out for the upcoming party this Tuesday.
Don’t miss the celebration; come find out what all the buzz is about, meet the author, hear how she broke into the publishing industry, and enjoy an evening out. There will be food, door-prizes, music, a theatre production based on a excerpt from the book, and the premier of a fun video parodying the book. There’s something for everybody in this free-of- charge event.
Holmes’ debut book party will be on Tuesday, April 27 at the Roanoke Main Library from 6:30 – 8 p.m.
To learn more about this author and her work, visit: www.ginaholmes.com or www.noveljourney.blogspot.com.
By Cheryl Hodges [email protected]