I am pleased to be hosting Whitney Dineen on my blog today as part of her blog tour for her novel She Sins at Midnight. It is always great to have new authors stopping by and sharing some of their thoughts. I am sure that the theme behind this story is definitely one that many of us can relate to and I am looking forward to reading her novel! I must admit I love the cover too - it is simple yet affective.

To enjoy this intriguing read get to Amazon now... She Sins at Midnight for Kindle

Without further adieu, I welcome Whitney Dineen... hope you all enjoy! :)

What Motivates You?

Have you ever wondered why, after months of wanting to lose 10 pounds, you are suddenly able to drop all of those pesky buggers and then some, in mere days? Hair that has needed trimming gets a $300 cut and color, scraggily fingernails are finally shaped and painted, pasty skin transforms into golden bronze (via one of those phone booths turned spray tan contraptions) and that ratty handbag gets replaced with Kate Spade’s cutest. The only time I can manage all of this is when faced with a high school class reunion. Every time one of those terrifying invitations arrives in the mail, I develop and acute case of oh-dear-god-what-have-I-done-with-my-life-a-titis. I immediately go on a diet, take care of all pertinent grooming issues, replace my handbag and then chicken out.

The thing is, I’m not sure how much of this is normal and how much is a result of my particular history. After first grade, my parents moved our family from Chicago to a tiny farm town in the center of the state. I don’t think my graduating class ever consisted of more than 85 kids. My first job was detasseling corn in the fields. By the time I was in high school, I was in chorus, band, track, volleyball and assorted clubs. Everyone knew everyone and had since childhood. I was involved and well-adjusted. Then we moved.

My new town was a very affluent suburb of Chicago. The parking lot was full of sports cars, not pick-up trucks. The population of my new high school was nearly equal to the entire town that I had grown up in. Culture shock is a very subdued term for the full-tilt boogey panic that my life had become.
Navigating the terrain of my new situation was not unlike landing on the moon. Gravity, what gravity? I just kinda floated through my sophomore year trying to find my feet. By junior year, I threw myself into the A.P. program, found a great group of girlfriends and settled in. Yet every time I receive an invitation to go back to this town for a reunion, I seize up and panic. No matter what I have accomplished in my life, it’s never enough to overcome the insecurities of my fifteen-year-old self.

My book, She Sins at Midnight, is about a Hollywood assistant, Lila Montgomery, who faces her own fear of going back to a high school reunion. Lila hasn’t accomplished what she feels she should have in life and fears what others will think of her. What she finds though, is that no one is where they thought they would be. Through a series of funny and agonizing situations, Lila finds that going home is the best thing that ever happened to her. Writing her story has definitely inspired me to go back to my next reunion…maybe.

Whitney Dineen