Dear Readers,

Today, I’m thrilled to announce that Living by Ear is experiencing a rebirth. Thanks to my wonderful and innovative publisher, Booktrope, the book has been totally revamped with an edit and a gorgeous new cover.

Living by Ear is about a forty-six year old mom named Christine Daley who’s desperately trying to reclaim her former life as a popular Boston musician after a hiatus of sixteen years. But she’s up against plenty of challenges, among them her teenage children–who are mortified at the thought of their mother performing in public–and the numerous significant developments in the music industry since the 1990s. Then there’s her soon-to-be-ex-husband, who’s doing everything he can to keep Chris from divorcing him, despite the fact that she’s certain the marriage is over. Is it possible for a middle-aged woman to get a second chance at love and career fulfillment?

Living by Ear–which was originally self-published in 2013–has been well received by professional reviewers and readers on Amazon. Please take a moment to check it out, and feel free to share this post with anyone who may be interested.

Thank you! And to celebrate the relaunch, this blog will be running a giveaway and listening party all week long. Here’s how the giveaway works. In the comments section below, post a link to a YouTube video for a song you love. Feel free to say anything you’d like about the song, or just post the link–whatever you prefer. The giveaway will continue until Friday, so if you don’t get around to posting today, you can post Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, September 19th, 2014 up until 6:00 PM EST. Then, on Saturday morning, I’ll put the names of everyone who posted into a hat and draw one winner for a new Kindle copy of Living by Ear and one winner for a new paperback copy.

I look forward to seeing/hearing the videos you post! And to get the music started and keep it going, I’ll be posting songs and videos featured in Living by Ear all week, along with little stories about why I chose them. On Friday, I might even do a little singing for you (yes, you heard that right) but more on that later.

Here’s one of my favorite videos by Conor Oberst/Bright Eyes, performing “Method Acting” It’s a fan video and it starts off a little shaky, but I think it’s an excellent performance. Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions. “Method Acting” is significant to Living by Ear because when I self-published the book last spring, I realized that some of the song’s lyrics perfectly capture the way Chris Daley feels about performing. So I got in touch with Sony/ATV music and purchased the rights to print those lyrics as an epigraph in a limited number of copies of the book.

Here are the lyrics:

Because I don’t know what tomorrow brings. It is alive with such possibilities. All I know is I feel better when I sing. Burdens are lifted from me, that is my voice rising! 

OK, enough for now. Please don’t forget to post your favorite video links below for a chance to win either a Kindle or paperback copy of the new Living by Ear!