Guest Post (and a Giveaway!): Hope Bolinger & Picture Imperfect

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Picture Imperfect by Alyssa Roat & Hope Bolinger, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! I’m delighted to have Hope on the blog today to share what writing this book taught her!

PICTURE IMPERFECT
Series: Roseville Romances #1
Author: Alyssa Roat & Hope Bolinger
Publisher: Mountain Brook Ink
Release Date: November 5, 2021
Genre: Christian, Contemporary Romance

Can a struggling career woman and a procrastinating artist save a beloved nonprofit?

Aspiring novelist Caroline Penn expected a promotion, not a picture book assignment. But when her employer, the non-profit Helping Hope, runs into financial trouble, this book might be the solution. With the company struggling to stay afloat, she and the illustrator will need to collaborate on a strict deadline—no problem for a workaholic like Caroline, right?

Andy Jackson, a “starving” artist, pays the bills by taking on graphic design gigs, but his perfectionism gets in the way. If only he could focus on a project for once, perhaps he could achieve his dream to make art for children for a living.

When the two are thrust together to create a book, Caroline can’t seem to write for children, and Andy can’t meet a deadline to save his life. As time ticks down to release day, the two must face their pasts and insecurities. If they can avoid strangling one another for long enough, they may just bring to the table what the other is missing.

If not, the fate of their careers—and a beloved nonprofit—hangs in the balance.

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How a Book Taught Me to Say No

by Hope Bolinger, author of Picture Imperfect

Alyssa and I always manage to learn something any time we sit and write a book together. But gathering something from a sweet romance? That certainly hadn’t floated to the forefront of our minds.

Until we wrote Andy and Caroline.

I’d taken the guy—since I always take the guy. Probably owing to the fact that my sister always made me play the prince or male counterpart in our games growing up. And my guy, Andy, procrastinates.

As someone who has said yes to everything ever since a college writing professor told us, “If you turn down a writing project, someone will take your place, and you will fail miserably in publishing,” I didn’t know if I could relate to Andy.

Part of me wished I’d grabbed Caroline, the go-getter, the one who always turned in everything early, like myself.

But the more I wrote Andy, the more I realized that burnout and procrastination are often coiled together. Not polar opposites, but rather, slight deviations of flavor.

Andy and Caroline both had a hard time saying no to jobs.

Caroline suffering a lack of a social life, and sleep schedule.

Andy suffering a lack of confidence from his inability to keep up with it all.

And in writing these characters and experiencing early twenties along with them, I discovered how hard it is for young creatives to say no (or honestly, creatives in general). We’ve been taught that if we don’t say yes to everything, if we don’t burn ourselves out, we’ll never burn bright. That some author will simply shine bright.

But in writing this book, we discovered something—hope. That the right doors will open. That it’s okay to rest. And that when you say no to something, you say yes to something else.

Alyssa and I had hopped onto so many lunchtime phone calls to discuss how we’d found ourselves establishing more boundaries in the workplace, for book marketing, etc.

“I finally have established office hours for my freelance routine. No more answering emails at midnight.”

“I said no to this unpaid opportunity. I know it’s for a ministry, but I have student loans to pay off.”

“I learned you don’t have to be perfect. We’re following our calling. The right steps will follow.”

As our characters learned and grew, we did so right along with them.

And that when we said “no” we said “yes” to so many beautiful things.

Hope Bolinger is the author of 12 books, including the award-winning Blaze trilogy. She has worked in the industry as an agent, done acquisitions and editorial roles for publishers, and has also worked for magazines, newspapers, and online publications such as Crosswalk.com. Her articles and other publications can be seen by millions yearly, and she has 1100 bylines to her name. When she isn’t battling deadlines, she loves to hike in Ohio’s national parks and pet her high-maintenance cat Twix. Find out more about her at https://www.hopebolinger.com.

CONNECT WITH HOPE: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Alyssa Roat has worked in a wide variety of roles within the publishing industry as an agent, editor, writer, and marketer. She is the publicity manager at Mountain Brook Ink and Mountain Brook Fire, a former associate literary agent at Cyle Young Literary Elite, an editor with Sherpa Editing Services, and a freelance writer with 200+ bylines in local, national, and international publications. She is the author of The Wraithwood Trilogy and the co-author with Hope Bolinger of the YA superhero chat fiction romances Dear Hero and Dear Henchman. Her name is a pun, which means you can learn more about her at www.alyssawrote.com or on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook as @alyssawrote.

CONNECT WITH ALYSSA: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

(1) winner will receive a signed copy of Perfectly Arranged
OR a $20 Amazon gift card (winner’s choice)!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight November 8, 2021 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on November 15, 2021. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

This giveaway is hosted by JustRead Tours, not RimSP
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

What about you? What makes you want to read Picture Imperfect by Hope Bolinger & Alyssa Roat?