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Author: CAstfalk

Carolyn Astfalk is a wife, mother, and author of contemporary Catholic romances, including her latest, All in Good Time. She formerly worked as a communications director and now works just to keep her head above water. Find her books on Amazon and her other words scattered around the blogosphere and social media.

Seven Quick Takes Friday

Published by CAstfalk on 10/16/2015

Seven Quick Takes Friday

Stay With Me Launch Edition

Until two weeks ago, I’d never launched a model rocket, much less a book. But since then, my debut novel Stay With Me has been released. Here are my seven take-aways from the experience.
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Stalking the Amish Baby

My release day leisure-time fun consisted solely of clicking the refresh icon in my browser and watching as my ebook ratings bobbed up and down. To make it interesting, I set my sights on overcoming a variety of Amish romances blocking my path to the top. My Facebook status that day said it best:

“My goal for the day: To catch and surpass Amish Baby Surprise in the Inspirational Religious Fiction category. Maybe even catch The Amish Nanny. My Harley-riding hero and his girlfriend are being smothered by 50 Shades of Hay.”
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Stay With Me Virtual Book Tour Wrap-Up

Published by CAstfalk on 10/12/2015

It’s been a whirlwind eleven days since Stay With Me’s release!

For me, one of the most satisfying things is that characters that have lived for years in my imagination now live on in the imaginations of other people as well.

Stay With Me - Fissure

The 10-DayVirtual Book Tour wrapped up a couple of days ago. I’m gratified and humbled at all the lovely things people had to say about the book.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to peruse the stops. It’s a lineup filled with talented and hard-working writers: bloggers, nonfiction authors, fiction authors, and even a radio show host! Please take a moment to explore their sites and writing as well.

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Stay With Me Available Today!

Published by CAstfalk on 10/01/2015

Today is the long-awaited day! Stay With Me is now available!

Buy it on Kindle at Amazon!

Buy it in paperback from createspace (and “like” the page) using the $2 off coupon code at checkout: B3E4E622

Buy it in paperback from Amazon!

A Book Is A Dream
A statement that is as true for the writer as it is for the reader.

If my memory serves me well, which it often does not, Stay With Me was written largely in 2012, when my youngest daughter was still a tiny baby who enjoyed long naps in her swing. Stay With Me : brought to you by the Graco infant swing.

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T Minus 63 Hours to Launch: Speak Now

Published by CAstfalk on 09/28/2015

As the final hours click by, marking the hours until book launch, I’m reminded of that classic cinematic tension-builder, the one that catapults the story into action – the wedding scene.

“Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

In other words, this is it. My name will hereafter be linked to Stay With Me, for better or for worse, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.

That prospect fills me with a range of emotions: excitement, pride, nervousness, embarrassment.

Rocket launch
Blast off!
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#5Faves: The County Fair

Published by CAstfalk on 09/23/2015

Five Favorites

We recently took our kids to the York Fair. Having grown up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, I did not frequent such fairs as a child. While I recall my family talking about a park fair that sounded akin to a traditional county fair, I’d never experienced one until I moved farther east, where sprawling farmland abounds. Here are my 5 Favorites from our experience:

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The Animals

We strode up and down aisles of cows and goats. We marveled at the hours-old piglets. And my three youngest lapped up the soft, furry cuddles at the kids’ petting zoo, where they held kittens, rabbits, and guinea pigs for the first time in their lives.

(As a side note, am I the only (formerly) nursing mama whose heart pangs with empathy when I see a sow conked out while a dozen babies clamor for her teats? Or whose chest aches when I notice a cow’s udder dripping milk? I wanted to scream for someone to relieve the poor bovine posthaste.)

newborn piglets
Newborn piglets
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