Blog Tour - Get Cozy, Josey & Giveaway

On it's surface, Get Cozy, Josey appears to be a light and entertaining read. Or at least that's what I thought when I began to read the book. I quickly realized the underlying thematic elements of the book could speak wonders to my soul.

It is easy to relate with the protagonist Josey. She is a Christian wife and mother who, although living in Russia and Siberia, struggles with many of the same things we all do in our daily lives. She worries about her husband and children, grapples with the notion of Biblical submission to her husband, and yearns to hear God's voice and understand His plans for her.

Susan May Warren does a wonderful job of supporting Josey's issues with accurate Biblical references, as well as humor and compassion. I finished this book feeling very satisfied and knowing that I truly learned a lot about myself. I love when a work of fiction can provide that feeling, and this book definitely fit that bill.If you would be interested in receiving a free copy of this book, just leave me a comment. I will select one winner this Sunday, September 14.

About the book: How do you get cozy when your new "home" is a frozen tundra? Josey's dreams of small-town Minnesota bliss melt away when her hubby's relocated to a Siberian village. No indoor plumbing...or junk food! But this feisty former missionary knows how to multitask: juggling toddler twins, empowering local housewives, spreading God's word - no worries, Josey. It's finding time alone with the man of her dreams that will take some real work!

Story behind the series from Susan May Warren:

Behind the Pages

“Why don’t you write your life story?” During my eight years as a missionary in Russia , friends from all over the world, in response to my letters, would pose that question. I’d shrug, saying….I’m not sure how to do it.

Fast forward three years. Chick lit is beginning to hit the shelves. An insightful editor at Steeple Hill challenged me to try my hand at this new genre. I thought -- what would I have to write about – missionary stories?

Thankfully, she had vision, and when I proposed an idea about a single missionary headed to Moscow for a year, she embraced it. Finally I’d found a venue for my story…although fictionalized…mostly.

I laugh that finally, I got to write about all the fallacies, all the frustrations, and all the foolishness of being a freshman missionary. Mostly, I got to write about the one thing that God taught me – that He’d been at work in my life to bring me to this place, and the places beyond, all my life. And that I didn’t have to be perfect. I just had to surrender and trust.

Just like Josey.

And in Chill Out, Josey, I let the adventure continue with more of my hilarious (at least I think so!) adventures as a pregnant woman navigating the bus, the subway and most of all LIFE in Russia . I hope you'll laugh (and cry!) with me/Josey as she tries to figure out just how to stop worrying about life...and just learning how to CHILL OUT, JOSEY!

About Susan: Susan May Warren is the award-winning author of seventeen novels and novellas with Tyndale, Steeple Hill and Barbour Publishing. Her first book, Happily Ever After won the American Fiction Christian Writers Book of the Year in 2003, and was a 2003 Christy Award finalist. In Sheep’s Clothing, a thriller set in Russia , was a 2006 Christy Award finalist and won the 2006 Inspirational Reader’s Choice award. A former missionary to Russia , Susan May Warren now writes Suspense/Romance and Chick Lit full time from her home in northern Minnesota .

• You can buy Get Cozy, Josey here.
• You can read the first chapter of the book here.
• You can visit Susan's website here and her blog here.
• You can find the next stop on the blog tour here.
  

Susan May Warren is also hosting a contest during this blog tour. Head over to this post at her blog for a chance to win a "Get Cozy Gift Basket." The basket will be loaded with Godiva chocolate, Starbucks coffee, Harry & David Moose Crunch, Gourmet hot cocoa, and a fab pair of snuvvy PJs!
To enter, leave a comment telling Susan your favorite winter time activity or winter memory.