# Life on Hold ~ Karen McQuestion



## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

At the beginning of the month I released a new novel, _Life on Hold_ ($1.99).

Description: Fifteen-year-old Rae Maddox just wants to stay in one place like everyone else, but there's no chance of that happening-not with a free-spirited mother who thrives on cross-country moves. When the two of them land in Wisconsin sophomore year, things are off to a great start: her mom promises they'll stay until graduation, Rae makes two good friends and finally gets a chance at love. Her newfound happiness is jeopardized when the vice-principal at the high school pairs her with Allison Daly, a new girl with a bad attitude. As Allison's secrets unravel, and Rae's mother gets involved, Rae is forced to take charge of her own life or risk losing everything important to her.

Life on Hold











If anyone decides to give it a try, I hope you enjoy it. Thank you!


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## victoriag (May 31, 2009)

Just picked this up  
I loved Easily Amused...and I think I have Scattered on my Kindle as well...haven't read it yet though!
edit:
Okay, very silly of me...edit to say, yes, I just looked back and I read A Scattered Life last week!  Book titles sometimes fade away from my memory, but the story remains   Loved that one, very entertaining, stayed up extra late reading it!


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## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

Too funny, victoria! I can relate. I usually remember books, but I totally blank out on movie titles. I've already gone to put something on my Netflix queue and realized I've already seen it. I'd blame getting older, but I don't think that's it. 

Thanks for buying _Life on Hold._ Fingers crossed you like it!


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## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

Yesterday I got an email from a woman who'd read several of my books and she said _Life on Hold_ "is your best yet!" Words to make an author smile. And this was a librarian who reads a lot of YA (young adult) novels, so her words carry a lot of weight.

Have I mentioned that some of my favorite people are librarians? That's always been the case, even before the nice email.


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## Tangiegirl (Dec 21, 2008)

You know I 1-Clicked.....we ended up with 24 inches of snow and with no work for me til Tuesday,  I'll be reading even more than usual, although....I'm not even sure that's possible.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Karen_McQ said:


> At the beginning of the month I released a new novel, _Life on Hold_ ($1.99).


How the heck did I miss this one?!? Off to buy right now.


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## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

Thanks, Tangiegirl, for another 1-click! I hope you have a cozy snow day. Lots of reading and NO shoveling would be ideal.

Susan, I feel like a broken record (ha, does tha expression date me or what?), but thank you! I hope you enjoy the book.


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## luvkin (Sep 25, 2009)

Karen, can you tell me how many pages the book is?  I wish Amazon would list the number of pages rather than the KB.  Thanks!


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## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

Hi luvkin,

_Life on Hold_ is about 51,000 words. To figure out approximately how many page numbers that would be, I compared it to the book, _Sweethearts_ by Sara Zarr, which is just under 52,000 words. _Sweethearts_ is 224 pages long, so _Life on Hold_ would be pretty close to that.

Probably more information than you needed.  I've also thought it would be helpful to have an approximate page count for Kindle books.


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## luvkin (Sep 25, 2009)

Hi Karen, 

Thanks so much for the information.  I've bought the book and will keep the calculation as I like to know ballpark how many pages a book is.  Yours have been a joy to read and I hope to read more in the future.


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## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

luvkin said:


> I've bought the book and will keep the calculation as I like to know ballpark how many pages a book is. Yours have been a joy to read and I hope to read more in the future.


Aw, thank you!

As far as the future goes--I'll keep writing books as long as people keep reading them, (and maybe even longer than that...)


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## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

My daughter agreed to pose for the cover of Life on Hold







. I described how the cover image was created on my blog:
http://www.mcquestionablemusings.blogspot.com/

Thanks to everyone who's bought the book! I appreciate it.


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

Sounds like one I should grab for my niece! She just can not get used to the idea of Kindle though, thinks she needs to 'smell' the book! "It just ain't a book if ya can't smell it when you open it... I love to smell new books!" (OK she may be a little weird... takes after her Auntie a wee bit )


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## mistyd107 (May 22, 2009)

I have all of your books on my TBR list I look forward to reading them soon


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## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

Meredith Sinclair said:


> Sounds like one I should grab for my niece! She just can not get used to the idea of Kindle though, thinks she needs to 'smell' the book! "It just ain't a book if ya can't smell it when you open it... I love to smell new books!" (OK she may be a little weird... takes after her Auntie a wee bit )


Some of my favorite people are a little weird.  I think you may convert her yet, though. A person can love traditional books AND the Kindle. It's not strictly either/or.

And mistyd107, thanks so much for adding me to your TBR list! I hope you enjoy them.

Happy New Year!


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## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

Thanks Cobbie, for buying _Life on Hold!_ I hope you like it. 

http://www.mcquestionablemusings.blogspot.com/


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## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

Life on Hold







has gotten four reviews--all of them positive, I'm happy to say.

My thanks to everyone who's bought this book. I do appreciate it.


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## karij123 (Dec 27, 2009)

How did I miss this?  My husband is just lucky I got some housework done today as tomorrow will be dedicated to reading.


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## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

karij123 said:


> How did I miss this? My husband is just lucky I got some housework done today as tomorrow will be dedicated to reading.


A day dedicated to reading--sounds wonderful! Thanks for letting my book be part of that day.


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## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

Originally this book was titled, WAITING FOR MY REAL LIFE TO BEGIN. I loved that particular title and a song by the same name, but it was just too long and it made the cover look cluttered. It also was hard to remember. I think Life on Hold







comes close to conveying the same sentiment.


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## Kippoe (Jan 17, 2010)

Yes it's a great song but it is hard to put on a book cover. I thought Life on Hold was great now im starting "Favorite" looking forward to your next book


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## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

Thanks, Kipp! I appreciate your nice  comments (and your wonderful reviews!).


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## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

Karen_McQ said:


> [size=10pt]_Life on Hold_ ($1.99) is technically a YA (young adult novel) but one Amazon reviewer named Alice said she'd recommend it for anyone ages 10-100. High praise, indeed. Thanks, Alice!
> 
> Description: Fifteen-year-old Rae Maddox just wants to stay in one place like everyone else, but theres no chance of that happeningnot with a free-spirited mother who thrives on cross-country moves. When the two of them land in Wisconsin sophomore year, things are off to a great start: her mom promises theyll stay until graduation, Rae makes two good friends and finally gets a chance at love. Her newfound happiness is jeopardized when the vice-principal at the high school pairs her with Allison Daly, a new girl with a bad attitude. As Allisons secrets unravel, and Raes mother gets involved, Rae is forced to take charge of her own life or risk losing everything important to her.[/size]
> Life on Hold
> ...


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## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

_Life on Hold _ now has seven Amazon reviews, all of them good, I'm happy to say. The most recent reviewer did a most excellent job summarizing the storyline. Far better than I could have. She also said it was a "must read for all ages." It's technically a young adult novel, but I believe it has crossover appeal, so it's nice to hear when readers agree.

Thanks to everyone who bought the book, and a special thanks to anyone who took the time to leave a review. One of the reviewers, FairyGirl, is a regular poster here, so if you're reading this FairyGirl, thanks a bunch!


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

Hi Karen,

I recently read _Life on Hold_ and just finished _Favorite_. I have to say, I could not put either one down! _Favorite_ was very different from what I had expected when I started reading it. I love that the characters seemed like real people who were just thrown into bizarre situations. I only wish your books were a little longer so I could spend more time with them!

Keep writing!

N


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Hi, Karen

Just wanted to say hello too. 

And congratulations on all your good fortune with your books, much deserved!

You've given hope to so many authors struggling to be noticed.

I read about your own struggles with agents and publishers on Joe Konrath's blog.

I hope, A Scattered Life, becomes a movie soon. Wow is all I can say.

I read the sample and was about to download it (loved it) and then they took it away. So I will buy it when it is released soon.

P.S. Will purchase, Life on Hold, also. Thanks for reminding me to do so!!

All the best, Nancy


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## Karen_McQ (Aug 9, 2009)

Hi Nancy,

Thanks so much for the hello and congratulations.    I'm always glad to hear when my experience has given other writers hope because when I started out, not too long ago, I was inspired by Boyd Morrison and Joe Konrath. My story has been coming up lately because of the movie option, but there are a lot of writers doing as well or better. Honestly, I think there's room for everyone.


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