Lunch with Sarah McCoy & Giveaway

Me, Sarah, and my sister Karlie

Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah McCoy author of the fantastic new novel THE BAKER'S DAUGHTER. My all-time favorite bookstore Aaron's Books in Lititz, PA, hosted a luncheon for Sarah and they had a terrific turnout. Between getting to see the new (and improved!) Aaron's Books for the first time, I also had a lot of fun visiting with Sarah. Since we've been Twitter friends for awhile, I was extremely curious to meet her in person. I have to say that she was exactly what I was expecting -- a gorgeous and very smart woman!

For those of you who don't already know, THE BAKER'S DAUGHTER tells the story of two very strong women -- Elsie, a woman who was a baker's daughter in Nazi Germany, and Reba, a journalist who is writing her story. The story takes place in the present with Reba interviewing Elsie who now owns her own bakery in El Paso, Texas; however, there are also flashbacks to Elsie's life in World War II Germany. It is part historical fiction/part contemporary fiction and will appeal to fans of both genres. I absolutely loved the book and you can read more about my thoughts here.

I always love learning the inspiration behind a book and Sarah didn't disappoint. She shared with us how she came up with the idea for the novel after meeting a German woman selling bread in El Paso, TX, and she even showed us her journal from the day she got her first inkling for the book. I thought her creative process was extremely interesting! In addition, she read some pages from the novel so everyone could get an idea of both the past and present day stories.

Sarah opened up the floor for questions and was extremely gracious in answering all of them. She also signed lots of books and posed for photos. Overall, it was such a treat to meet Sarah (and her mom!) and I think I appreciated her novel even more after hearing how passionate she is about the characters and their stories.

Of course, I couldn't go to Aaron's without doing a little shopping! I came home with a copy of THE BAKER'S DAUGHTER to share with one of you and a copy of Sarah's first novel THE TIME IT SNOWED IN PUERTO RICO for me. A few other books also found there way into my bag (how did that happen?) as well as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn tee-shirt and a banned books bracelet.

Giveaway alert: Sarah was sweet enough to sign a copy of THE BAKER'S DAUGHTER for one lucky Booking Mama reader. To enter, just fill out the form below before Wednesday, March 14th at 11:59 p.m. ET. I will randomly select and notify the winner the following day. This contest is open to those of you with U.S. and Canada mailing addresses only. Good luck!