Almost a year ago I released, Close Quarters, the first book in a new series about four cousins who live in my hometown. A lot has changed in our world since last November, but my love for writing about the Ames cousins and their dreams, relationships and drama has not. In today’s blog post I am thrilled to give you a first look at the next installment of the lives of these ambitious, quirky and fun-loving women.

Learn more about cover art artist, Rachel Wunsch, (and her work!) by clicking here.

In A Pivotal Pause, we find the Ames Cousins right where we left them… heading into a brand-new year with plans for making it the best one yet. Kelly is on a mission to balance her family life and store’s success with her husband’s war injury recovery, while Lindsay is determined to maintain her great relationship with her husband. As for the younger two cousins, they have big plans. Mia has decided to spend part of her inheritance on an Interior Design degree at Milwaukee Technical College despite the fact that attending means entering into a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend Teague, and Harper is beyond ready to finally start her post-college life as a social media manager for a cruise line. Getting paid to travel the world while she writes of her adventures? That’s a ‘hell yes’ in Harper’s book.

All four of the cousins agree that 2020 is off to a great start when a global pandemic knocks the world off its feet and effectively derails all of their plans. Everyone’s smooth sailing suddenly comes to an abrupt halt. Will the Ames girls come together to survive this pivotal pause and get back on track? Or will it all be too much and send them back to bad habits and flawed versions of their ideal realities?

In the second installment of the Close Quarters series, author Amanda Zieba helps us to make sense of the craziness in our world today through the lives of the Ames cousins. Filled with witty text conversations readers have come to love, book titles to usher us through trying times and ultimately, hope, A Pivotal Pause is another excellent family drama.

Listen here as I read the first chapter.

Just like anything else in our new version of reality where COVID exists, things with this book launch are a bit uncertain. As details emerge and materialize (and likely change), I will share them with you. I thank you in advance for your patience and flexibility. Who knows, things might go smoothly, but after a very rocky experience with Champion Chocolatier: For Better or Worse, I want to be honest and transparent that, it likely will not.

All that being said, here is what I know right now.

You can pre-order the Kindle version of this book (to be launched November 3, 2020) by clicking here.
You can pre-order an author autographed paperback directly from me by clicking here. (Details about shipping and pick up are listed via the link, but a realistic delivery date for these are November 25, unless you pick them up from the launch event.)
Paperback orders via Amazon will start on Tuesday, November 3rd. Yes, I realize that is Election Day, BUT, it’s the timing that works out best for me, AND we’ll all likely need a good distraction that week anyway, am I right?!?! Delivery for these will be MUCH faster than ordering from me.
I am planning to have a Drive-By Book Launch Event, (fingers crossed) on Thursday. November 19. Tentatively mark you calendar (with pencil!).

And finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shoutout to the artist of the gorgeous cover art! Learn more about Rachel Wunsch and her watercolor work by clicking here. For now, here are a few sneak peeks of her time in the studio creating the gorgeous images for this cover.

If you prefer to read rather than listen, here’s the first chapter for you!

Chapter 1

Lindsay/January

Lindsay shivered in the front seat of their minivan.

“I miss Iceland already,” she said.

“It was a pretty great trip,” Dan agreed. He checked the rearview mirror and then merged onto the interstate and began heading East. “Maybe we can go back?”

“I am definitely up for that,” Lindsay said, adjusting the heat vents. “But let’s go home and say hi to the kids first.”

“Sounds good. Say hi to the kids and then head back tomorrow.”

Lindsay couldn’t remember the last time she had her husband all to herself for a full day, let alone ten. No kids, no crazy boss, no work for either of them. She took it as a good sign that they’d reached the other side of a couple’s vacation and weren’t running for the exit. In fact, it appeared they were interested in exactly the opposite.

“Deal.” Lindsay looked out the window at the darkening cityscape, watching the lights of the buildings blink to life. She checked her watch. “I hope the roads are this clear all the way home. Harper’s Bon Voyage party starts at six and I don’t want to miss too much.”

“You know you just cursed us?” Dan asked.

Lindsay winced. “Okay, I take it back.”

Despite Lindsay’s jinx-inducing statement, they arrived at the party in good time. Cars spilled out of the driveway and down each side of the street, forcing them to park almost a block away. Lindsay knew only half of the attendees were really requested by Harper and that the rest were friends and business acquaintances of Harper’s parents. She shook her head and smiled sadly. No wonder Harper was running halfway across the country and probably soon across the world.

It took Lindsay all of five second to find her kids, or more accurately, for them to find her. They nearly knocked her out by the knees as they threw themselves at her and Dan. She scooped them up and squeezed them so tight they soon begged to be put down. Had she really just wanted to leave again? How could the smell of a toddler’s hair and the grip of a seven-year old’s hand be powerful enough to change that?

It took her longer to find her cousins and even longer to pull them away from the rest of the crowd. But finally, she had corralled the three of them into a space quiet enough to have a full conversation.

“Alright, so fill me in. Not only have I been out of the country, I’ve been out of the loop.” Lindsay settled into the couch with a wine glass in hand. Her son, Jonah, crawled in after her and rested his head in her lap. It was past his bedtime and she really should take him and Abby home, but she couldn’t resist catching up with her cousins. Lindsay brushed the hair off Jonah’s forehead and leaned over to kiss his nose. He wrinkled it, but then shut his eyes and let her continue to brush the fine tendrils of his hair as he fell asleep.

Kelly settled in beside her, a triplet in her arms. Lindsay guessed it was Grant but wasn’t 100 percent sure. Their little faces had changed so much in just a week and a half. Every day they were looking less like preemies and more like healthy babies. She figured it likely that members of the auntourage held the other two. Mia chose a spot on the floor and leaned back against the couch, and Harper plopped down sideways on the nearest armchair, leaning against on one arm rest and dangling her legs over the other.

“You’re not the only one who needs filling in,” Kelly said. “Between the general chaos at the King Street house and these two whirling dervishes with suddenly busy schedules,” she gestured to Harper and Mia, “I’m not sure even those of us who live together know all the details. Harper you go first with your fancy new job.”

“Do you want the version I told my parents or the one I tell my friends?” Harper asked. She took a sip from her refreshed cocktail and waggled her eyebrows mischievously.

“Parents,” Lindsay said at the same time Kelly and Mia said, “Friends.”

Harper rolled her eyes.

“As a member of the Holiday Haven Cruise Line Social Engagement team, it is my job to document the cruise ship experiences of travelers and share it via several mediums and platforms with the goal of escalating the desires of, capturing the contact information for and increasing the bookings of future travelers.”

“Very impressive,” said Lindsay.

“And the friend version?” Kelly asked.

“Basically, I’ll get paid to travel around the world taking pictures and writing about it, while gaining invaluable professional and life experience.”

“You are such a brat,” Mia said giving Harper’s foot a playful kick. The liquid in Harper’s glass that likely included rum sloshed dangerously.

“Hey!” she protested.

“Okay, a lucky brat,” Mia amended and blew her a kiss.

“Where do you travel first?” Lindsay asked.

“First I report to the Holiday Haven headquarters in Miami and go through a week and a half of orientation. My first cruise is a little one, just three days to the Bahamas and back, to get my sea legs. But then I go on a thirteen-day Mediterranean trip that will include stops in Spain, France and Italy.”

“Awww, man,” Kelly sighed. “Mia’s right, you are a lucky brat.”

“I’ll send you postcards?” Harper said by way of concession.

“I think I’d prefer limoncello and leather handbags,” Mia said.

Harper nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

“Okay, who’s next?” Lindsay asked. “Mia, tell us about school.”

“Well it isn’t exactly Italy, but I’m excited about it. I decided on a two-year Interior Design degree at Milwaukee Tech.”

“When do classes start?” Kelly asked.

“Last week of January, but I move into my apartment next week.”

“Need any help moving in?” Lindsay asked, but then immediately withdrew her offer. “Shoot, I take that back. I mean, I just got home from this trip. I need to check my schedule. I can’t even remember what’s on my work calendar, and the kids-”

Mia held up her hand. “It’s okay. I’ve, ah, actually got it covered.”

“Your mom driving down with you?” Kelly asked.

“No. Teague is.” Mia blushed as a chorus of oooohhhh’s came from her cousins.

“So that’s still going good then?” Lindsay asked.

“If you’re asking if I’ve managed to keep my very grown up relationship afloat for the ten days you were gone, then the answer is yes. Definitely, yes.”

“I’m so happy for you,” Lindsay said. “I guess that just leaves you Kel. Anything new?”

“Other than worrying about how much I will massively miss Mia and Harper once they move out, nope. I’m the same mommy-milking machine I was when you left.”

They all laughed, which woke Jonah and Grant. Both started crying.

“And I guess that’s my cue to finally head home,” Lindsay said, and stood.

“But you didn’t get a chance to tell us about your trip,” Kelly pointed out.

Lindsay looked at the crying boys and said, “Here’s the quick recap. We saw stunning waterfalls and the coolest black sand beach. We got to walk on a glacier and a volcano, and on our last night saw the most amazing display of northern lights. You have to put it on your bucket list.”

“It sounds incredible,” Mia said.

“You took tons of pictures, right?” Harper asked.

Lindsay nodded. “So many, and there’s more to tell, but I should really head home. I’ll call you girls tomorrow and we can catch up some more.” Lindsay scooped up her son, kissed her nephew and her cousins on the cheeks and went to find the rest of her family.

She and Dan had such a good trip, but it was good to be home.

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