Guest Post with Sophie Barnes and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome back to RFTC, author Sophie Barnes. Sophie is celebrating the back to back release of her books There's Something About Lady Mary and The Secret Life of Lady Lucinda and has stopped by to chat. Please give Sophie a very warm welcome.

Born in Denmark, Sophie has spent her youth traveling with her parents to wonderful places all around the world. She’s lived in five different countries, on three different continents, and speaks Danish, English, French, Spanish and Romanian.

She has studied design in Paris and New York and has a bachelor’s degree from Parson’s School of design, but most impressive of all – she’s been married to the same man three times, in three different countries and in three different dresses.

While living in Africa, Sophie turned to her lifelong passion – writing.

When she’s not busy, dreaming up her next romance novel, Sophie enjoys spending time with her family, swimming, cooking, gardening, watching romantic comedies and, of course, reading. She currently lives on the East Coast.

Places to find Sophie:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | 

Staying focused.

Thank you so much for inviting me to join you today – it’s so great to be here!

It’s really incredible how quickly your life can take a full 180 degree turn. In the space of one year, I’ve gone from being a stay at home mom with my days revolving exclusively around my family, to a career author with deadlines. Balancing the two hasn’t always been easy – though I’ve gradually gotten the hang of managing my time so my kids get my full attention after school and on weekends, and so I can hang out with my husband in the evenings.

When you work from home it can be particularly difficult to switch gears and step into your “office” (especially when your desk is at the kitchen table like mine is =)), and it can be equally tough to avoid getting distracted by household chores when you’re constantly surrounded by things that need doing.

I think there are two things that have been key in helping me get the most out of my time:

1. Prioritizing
2. Accepting that it’s impossible to do everything

The second took me a while to get used to since I’ve always liked having my house in order. Right now however, the vacuum cleaner isn’t being used nearly as much as it ought to, the laundry has an increasing tendency to pile up before I manage to put it away and my garden … well, let’s just say that there were a few more weeds this year than I was comfortable with =)

I’ve never been the sort of person to ask for help from others if I felt I could do the job myself, but now, when my in-laws offer to babysit or help out with grocery shopping of something else that will give me a bit more time to work, I’m more than happy to accept. Additionally, I’ve gotten into the habit of turning a blind eye to household chores during crunch periods when there’s really not much I can do about it anyway. If I don’t, I’ll only stress myself out over all the dust-bunnies accumulating under the beds and my work will suffer as a consequence.

Instead, I make time for my family and my writing. These are my priorities and the rest will just have to take second place – I’ll get to it when I get to it. In the meantime, I just hope I don’t get any unexpected visitors =D

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I’ll be popping in throughout the day to chat with you and to answer any questions you might have.

If you’d like to follow my blog tour, I’ll be back tomorrow at Bookin It to discuss the differences and similarities between Mary Croyden from There’s Something About Lady Mary and Lucinda Blackwell from The Secret Life of Lady Lucinda.

To find out more about me, my blog tour and my books, please visit my website at: www.sophiebarnes.com

Mary Croyden lives a simple life . . . and she likes it. But when she inherits a title and a large sum of money, everything changes. Forced to navigate high society, Mary finds herself relying on the help of one man—Ryan Summersby. Determined not to lose her sense of self, she realizes that Ryan is the only person she can trust. But Mary's hobbies are not exactly proper, and Ryan is starting to discover that this simple miss is not at all what he expected . . . but just might be exactly what he needs.

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |

Lucy Blackwell is desperate, reckless, and maybe a little bit crazy. That's the only possible explanation for tricking a man she doesn't know into a dance, a kiss, and an engagement—all in the middle of the biggest ball of the year! But Lord William Summersby is the final piece of her grand plan, and she'll do what it takes to make this marriage of convenience work—as long as it's convenient for her. She just never counted on falling in love . . .

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |

Check out A Summersby Tale series:

Click for info.

Want to win some goodies from Sophie? Check out whats up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 2 lucky winners from the ENTIRE tour will win a copy of an eBook of choice 
• 1 lucky winner will win a swag pack

To Enter:

• Leave a meaningful comment or question for Sophie
• Please leave your email address along with your comment
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter
• International Shipping Available

Good Luck =)

a Rafflecopter giveaway