Book Trailer for Save The Best For Last


In case you haven't read the book yet, this should pique your interest. And if you have read it, remember that autographed books make great Christmas gifts. Visit the Books page of my website for details.




My writing will suffer today, but I've wanted to get this done for months now. I hope y'all enjoy it...because I was so busy doing this I forgot to put out the garbage!

Update on NaNoWriMo

I'm up by 14,223 words since starting NaNoWriMo half a month ago. If I can finish with 30,000 words I'll be delighted!

Are you a writer who is NaNoWriMo'ing? How's your progress? Are you happy with it?

RAWSISTAZ reviews Save The Best For Last (4 stars)

Here's what they say:

"Griffin has written an exciting romantic tale with a splash of suspense. As I read Save The Best For Last , I became engrossed in Genevieve's emotions, her thoughts about how this business plan would affect everyone involved if it goes sour or how will she be able to keep her relationship with Dexter strictly business. Sure to please romance readers, Save The Best For Last is a heartwarming story of love and trust."

Have you gotten your copy yet? If you haven't, you'll have to wait a day or two. I've suspended orders temporarily while I wait for my new proof to come in. I made a few corrections last week and want to see how they look before opening it up for orders again. (The ability to change the text is is a bonus that comes with print-on-demand publishing.) If the mailmain brings my proof today, it'll be ready for order later or tomorrow!

Halloween and NaNoWriMo...all in one weekend

It's a rarity, like when the Kentucky Derby (first Saturday in May) and Mother's Day (second Sunday in May) both hit the same weekend.

I'm skipping Halloween this year. Bought two sacks of candy last year and when no trick-or-treaters showed up, ended up eating it all myself. I'm not doing that again. There are kids all over this subdivision, and a lot of folks have decorated their lawns with pumpkins, tombstones, skeletons, netting, and the like. I just don't know where the kids go for the holiday. My job is having what sounds like a very nice party at some club overlooking Lake Michigan, and we can even bring a guest, but I'm working tonight. Just as well. Hubby isn't feeling so hot today. It's practically impossible to drag him out on a Friday night even on a good day...

I'm all ready for NaNoWriMo. I've been working on a second independent project for less than a week and can't believe how fast it's going, 6,000 words already. I know I can't keep up this pace, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts. Of course, with NaNoWriMo you're not supposed to begin the project until midnight November 1st, but I don't mind bending the rule a little. If I can get 50,000 words in, I'll be thrilled!

What about you? Any plans for Halloween? And do you NaNoWriMo?

Where Have All the Bookstores Gone?

For years in my hometown of Yonkers, New York, there has been a Waldenbooks in the Cross County Shopping Center (so old that it pre-dates malls). I've done a few very successful book sigings there during visits to town. I was so disappointed to learn that store was closed in the last year. Whoever heard of a major shopping center without a bookstore?

Another place where I've signed with success was the Waldenbooks in Lafayette Square Mall in Indianapolis (known in the local vernacular as "The Black Mall." When I was down there a few weeks back I noticed that J.C. Penney and Sears were both gone (these are, of course, staples in most malls). That prepared me, so when I went inside to get my eyebrows threaded I wasn't all that surprised to see Waldenbooks gone and a Hip Hop Fashion in its place. Again, given the general deterioration of the mall (which has lost all of its anchors the last few years, although it is still reasonably clean and well-kept), I wasn't all that surprised.

The B. Dalton in downtown Jacksonville, Florida, where I also did very well with the lunchtime crowd, closed quite a while ago, when I was still living there. It was replaced by a discounter of older titles that had overstock, but at least there are books being sold there.

Finally, the Waldenbooks inside Regency Mall in Racine, Wisconsin, closed its doors in January of this year, leaving yet another mall with no bookstore.

I read that Borders (who owns Waldenbooks) and Barnes & Noble (parent of B. Dalton) both wanted to concentrate on their larger stores, but regardless, I miss the smaller but well-stocked stores in the local mall. The book superstores are usually in strip malls that I wouldn't normally visit otherwise. My town has no bookstore; my one complaint about what is otherwise a perfect environment for me at this stage of my life. I have to either drive across the border to Gurnee, Illinois to go to Borders (about 17 miles each way) or drive north to Racine to go to the Barnes & Noble up there (about 12 miles). But if this is the trend, it doesn't look like my town will be getting a smaller bookstore anytime soon.

How close - or far - is your neighborhood bookstore? Does your local mall still have a bookstore, or has it closed?

Gone Blogging

I'm over at Blogging in Black today, talking about author mailing lists. Stop by if you get a chance!

All Active on the Publishing Front

Urban-Reviews.com gives Save The Best For Last 4-1/2 stars!

Genevieve Shane has all the material things money can buy. On top of that, she is intelligent as well as beautiful. She has everything...except her U.S. citizenship. Time is running out, and she has to do something, fast. If the INS catches up with her and deports her back to her country, she will be killed. Her current beau, Barry, whom she has no romantic feelings for at all, offers marriage. Gen is desperate, so she accepts, even though she only believes in marriage for love. When their plans are delayed, Barry suggests she move into his friends' rental room, where she would share the upstairs floor with an unkempt, devilishly handsome doctor who is in law school. Dexter Gray has one more semester before he will be finished with law school, but he has encountered a problem. Can Gen and Dexter come to a mutual agreement that will benefit them both without their hearts getting involved?

Save The Best For Last is an excellent read by Bettye Griffin. The characters are very realistic and relatable. You find yourself drawn to the characters and rooting for their relationship to succeed. The plot was very well developed. The storyline also flowed well, which made for an easy read. I thoroughly enjoyed Save The Best For Last.

Reviewed by Tenecia for Urban-Reviews.com

Also, the mass market edition of Once Upon A Project is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. This edition will include a sneak peek at my next mainstream, Trouble Down The Road (which will be out two months later).

Finally, Trouble Down The Road is also available for pre-order on Amazon. April 27th is the official release date.

I wish you good reading!