Blog Tour, Author Interview and Giveaway: An Unexpected Angel by Janet K. Halling

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If you are looking for a sweet Christmas story to add to your holiday reading list, consider An Unexpected Angel. It is reminiscent of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and this heartfelt story reminds us about the importance of family and helping others. Enter the giveaway at the end of this post for a chance to win a signed copy of An Unexpected Angel.

About the Book:

Sometimes finding peace means finding a difference perspective.

Ella Davies, is focused, independent, and driven. Her hard work is finally paying off and she is on the brink of great success. But what no one knows is that her frantic drive is born not from a desire to succeed, but from a need to forget – forget her past, forget her guilt, and mostly, forget the tragedy that changed her life forever.

Ella’s strategy seems to be working but on Christmas Eve she meets Cohen, a strange man with an even stranger purpose. Cohen catapults Ella back through time and forces her to confront not only her own pain, but the pain of those long since passed. In the process, Ella learns about courage and compassion and that in the darkest hour, no one is ever alone.

You can read an excerpt from An Unexpected Angel by clicking the button:

Somewhere there was a rhythmic humming—a kind of a swooshing sound that increased and decreased in volume at regular intervals. She couldn’t remember where she was. Her whole body ached, and her head felt as if it would explode.

Ella groaned and opened her eyes. She was still in the gym, lying crumpled against the weight machine. The treadmill had stopped, and the rhythmic sound was coming from the man riding the spinning bike, which sat nearby.

Her fingers trembled as she felt the goose egg on the side of her head. Her face was on fire, probably scraped on the belt, and her knees were bloody, also from the belt.

Suddenly she stiffened. There was a man riding the bike! A man riding the bike. While she had been lying there unconscious. Had he just sauntered in and climbed on without seeing her at all or had he viewed her inert form without concern? That was cold, even for New York City. Gingerly, she turned her head to look at him.

It was the clerk from the deli, and he didn’t stop pedaling as he glanced her way. “Oh good, you’re awake.”

She stared up at him in mute astonishment.

He reached for his water bottle and took a long drink. “I’m glad you woke up on your own,” he said pleasantly. “I was about ready to pour this in your face, so you can thank me for sparing you an unexpected shower.”

Ella grasped the weight machine and pulled herself slowly to a sitting position. Her head was throbbing, and her stomach lurched. “I could sue you for failing to come to the aid of an injured person,” she snapped rather feebly.

The man studied her contemplatively. “Hmmm, yes, you would think of that, wouldn’t you? But I’m not too worried, Ella. You’re not going to sue me and we both know it.”

She opened her mouth to snarl a retort but stopped abruptly. “How do you know my name?” she demanded. “And what are you even doing here? You don’t live in this building.” She hesitated, realizing she wasn’t sure. “Do you?”

He jumped off the bike and held out his hand. “You should get up. Want help?”

She shrank away from him. “Don’t touch me! Who are you, and how do you know my name?”

“Well, it’s simple really. My name is Cohen, and I’m your guardian angel.” He broke into a brief but rapid tap dance routine and finished with flair. And with jazz hands.

Ella stared at him in perplexed silence, unsure if he was a hallucination or just crazy. “Uh-huh. Right,” she finally said, groaning as she pulled herself to her feet. A wave of nausea hit her, and she stopped, doubling over and willing herself not to vomit. She for sure had a concussion.

She tried to think. Should she go to the hospital? Or maybe just go home and try to sleep? She didn’t know. She made a move toward the door, but Cohen tap-danced over to block her path.

“Get out of my way,” she snapped at him with more bravado than she felt.

He grinned. “Can’t do that. You and me, we have business tonight.”

For the first time, she felt a small dart of fear. Cohen wasn’t exactly menacing, but he certainly was strange. If he attacked her, would she have the strength to fight him? If only her head would stop hurting!

“What do you want?” she asked.

“I already told you, I’m your guardian angel. Well, not technically an angel, but that word will serve as well as any other. Anyway, I’m here to help.”

“Sure. Like you helped me when I was unconscious a minute ago? If that’s your kind of help, no thanks.”

“No, not that kind of help, silly.”

“Look, whatever you’re on, whatever you’re offering, I’m not interested. Just leave me alone, please? I’m sore and tired, and my head is killing me. I need to go lie down.”

“Oh, right. That.” He made some sort of vague gesture and instantly her nausea subsided and the pain in her head vanished.

Chills raced up and down her spine, and she stared at him, “Wait . . . what’s . . . what’s going on?”

“Okay, no more joking around.” Cohen looked suddenly serious. “Here’s the deal. You need help and there’s a lot you need to learn. Only you’re far too stubborn to admit it. You might not even know how much help you need. But I know; so here I am.”

The pieces were starting to fall into place. “Wait . . . Christmas Eve . . . guardian angel. This is some kind of a joke, right?” she said before adding sarcastically, “What’s the matter, Jacob Marley was busy? Clarence already got his wings? Or wasn’t he on duty tonight?”

He grinned. “Both good men. But you got stuck with me. Although, all things considered, maybe it’s me who got stuck with you. You can be quite unpleasant, do you know that?”

Ella snorted derisively. “So when does the Ghost of Christmas Past show up? Or is he waiting for me upstairs?”

“Dickens took some liberties. It doesn’t exactly work like that. At least, this time it won’t.”

“You have exactly one second to get out of my way or I’m going to start screaming at the top of my lungs!”

Cohen cocked his head to one side and gave her a brief shrug of resignation. “Okay then, you win. Can’t say I didn’t try.” He stepped smoothly to one side and swept his arm in a wide arc toward the door. “Be my guest.”

Throwing him what she hoped was a withering glare, Ella marched past him, flung open the door—and stepped into a nightmare.

Book Trailer:




Interview with Author Janet Halling:

*What inspired you to write An Unexpected Angel?

There were a couple of experiences that helped to inspire me but one was when I was in New York City in December. We’d spent the day shopping and had been all over – Rockefeller Center, Tiffany’s, Saks, FAO Schwartz...everything was decorated to the hilt, of course. It was quite late and we were walking back to our hotel and I looked up into the lit windows of the skyscrapers and could see people who were obviously still at work. Here was all this revelry going on below and they were working. So the story grew from there and opens with Ella working late on Christmas Eve.

*Who is your favorite character in your book?

Matthew

*How did you decide to pick New York City as the main setting in your story, and have you lived or visited there?

New York has always represented the top of the pile in a lot of things. The whole “If I can make it there...” idea. So Ella is there and she’s got a good job and a nice apartment – everything she thinks she wants. She should be happy, but she isn’t. That’s when Cohen shows up and makes her reevaluate her priorities and find her new perspective.

*What would you say was the high and low of becoming published?

The absolute high is when you get that call or that email telling you the publisher wants your manuscript. The low has been waiting so long to see it in print. An Unexpected Angel was accepted for publication over a year ago but not in enough time to get it out for last year’s holiday season. So waiting an entire year has been...not hard, just kind of long!

*What are your hopes/goals as an author, and what other projects do you have in mind?

Obviously one of my goals is to be able to make a living as an author. I’m not there yet! Another goal is to write things that are meaningful. I want my readers to be able to connect with my stories, I want them to matter.

Right now I’m working on a YA trilogy. The working title is Shadows Rising, but that could change. No vampires though – I promise!

*Do you have any unusual habits while you write?

I do my writing on a PC but most of my development on paper. I scribble down everything – story ideas, plot outline, characterizations, timeline, settings, any complications I can think of, etc. I go through lots of paper and it’s always colored paper. Right now it’s blue but I’ll probably switch to pink pretty soon because I’m getting tired of the blue.

*What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I have four children and a day job so I don’t have a lot of free time, but when I do, I like to read (of course), sew, run, and spend time with my friends and family. I love to travel but haven’t done nearly as much as I’d like.

*What is your favorite book, and why?

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. I love the characters and I especially love the way Jane and Rochester interact.

*What would you say is the best book to movie adaptation?

The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In a lot of ways I think the movies are better than the books since they are more character focused.

About the Author:

Janet Halling discovered her love of writing at the age of six when her story of a lonely duck won a first grade writing contest. She has a BA in Marketing Communications and lives with her husband and four children in northern Utah. She is currently working on her next novel.

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Giveaway:

Janet will be sending one hard copy of An Unexpected Angel to a lucky Literary Time Out follower. To enter, use the Rafflecopter form. The giveaway is open through December 16th, and the winner will be announced on December 17th. The contest is open to those with mailing addresses in the continental United States.

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