Bestselling Author, Ventriloquist, & Humorist
In this excerpt from the audiobook of my memoir Frozen Dinners,my emotions cause my voice to falter when I’m reading about my mother. I tell the sound engineer I’m imagining a clown falling out of a clown car so I can regain my composure, start over with the paragraph, and finish the chapter.
The audiobook will be released September 10. Support your local bookstore and order through:
https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781515933793-frozen-dinners
To order through Amazon, click here:
On May 9, 2019, the Independent Press Award recognized Frozen Dinners – A Memoir of a Fractured Family by Idaho Author Elaine Ambrose as the winner of a 2019 Distinguished Favorite in the memoir category. This is the third consecutive win for the author in three different genres: humor, children’s books, and memoir. The author’s books won the 2019 award for memoir, the 2018 award for children’s books, and two awards in 2017 for humor.
The Independent Press Award competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers and professional copywriters. Selected award Winners and Distinguished Favorites are based on overall excellence.
Frozen Dinners – A Memoir of a Fractured Family was released in November by Brown Books Publishing Group and remains a national bestseller. The book is available from local bookstores and online in hardcover and eBook, and the publisher recently sold the audio rights for the author to read the manuscript for an audio version to be released this summer. The memoir describes the author’s childhood on an isolated farm outside the village of Wendell, Idaho. Her father, an intense entrepreneur, made a fortune hauling frozen food throughout the Northwest. After his early death, the family and fortune were destroyed, and the author spent half a century seeking warmth and freedom.
For the 2019 competition, the INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD had entries from across the globe. Worldwide participation included books submitted from cities such as London to Madrid; Dallas to Philadelphia; Calgary to Melbourne, Chicago to San Francisco, and many different countries such as Australia, Africa, Canada, Egypt, India, Japan and Scotland as well as others.
“We are overjoyed to announce the winners and distinguished favorites in our annual 2019 INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD. Independent publishing is prospering in every corner of the earth, and we are thrilled to be highlighting key titles representing global independent publishing.” said awards sponsor Gabrielle Olczak.
Books by Ambrose have won multiple international writing awards in the past five years.
In 2017, Midlife Happy Hour – Our Reward for Surviving Careers, Kids, and Chaos
* Finalist for INDIES Book of the Year Award for Humor
* Independent Press Award – Distinguished Favorite – Humor
* Independent Press Award – Winner – Midlife
* 5-Star Review from Foreword Reviews
In 2018, Gators & Taters – A Week of Bedtime Stories
• 2018 “Distinguished Favorite” for Children’s Literature from the Independent Press Awards
• One of 50 Children’s Books Selected for Bowker’s National Recommended Reading List
Also in 2018, The Magic Potato – La Papa Mágica
•2018 Silver Medal Winner from the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards for Children’s Literature
Adopted by the Idaho State Board of Education for the statewide curriculum.
In 2014, Midlife Cabernet – Life, Love, and Laughter After Fifty
• “Laugh-out-Loud Funny”- Publishers Weekly
• “Erma Bombeck” – Foreword Reviews
• Silver Medal for Humor from the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY)
Find more information about the author’s books and blog at ElaineAmbrose.
Frozen Dinners – A Memoir of a Fractured Family sold more than 28 eBooks every day during the month of March for a delightful total of 873. The memoir was published in November 2018 by Brown Books Publishing . Hardback books are selling well across the country, and the eBooks started to gain traction in February. The 873 eBooks sold were on Amazon Kindle, and additional eBooks were sold on Barnes & Noble Nook, KOBO, and Apple iTunes. During March, the eBook sold well in several foreign countries, including the United Kingdom, India, Canada, and Australia.
The eBook ranked #7 in a memoir category on Amazon. According to Just Publishing Advice, there are more than 4.8 million eBooks on Amazon Kindle.
The memoir describes the author’s childhood in the Idaho village of Wendell, Idaho, and explains how her father rose from poverty to build a multi-million-dollar trucking empire hauling frozen food throughout the Northwest. After his untimely death, his survivors implode in a maelstrom of brutal courtroom drama, illness, and dementia. The author spends half a century searching for love and warmth beyond the contaminated legacy of her fractured family. Now the author’s parents and brothers have died, and the family and the fortune are all gone.
The author discussed her memoir in a podcast for “Magnificent Midlife Woman” with Sheree Clark. Listen to the interview here.
Books are available from local bookstores and online. EBooks are on Amazon Kindle, KOBO, iTunes, and Nook. The audio version will be available in the summer.
Are you ready to explore and write about your journey? Cl.ick on this link for registration details:
Facilitated by bestselling author Elaine Ambrose, this workshop is designed for intermediate writers who want to expand their work in the areas of non-fiction, personal essay, and memoir. Using creative techniques, musical prompts, and targeted anecdotes, Ambrose will guide participants through a review of their own experiences to enhance their ability to “Write what you know.” The workshop includes the empowering experience of reading aloud to a group. Registration is limited to 20 people.
Saturday’s events will be in the Board Room at The Club at Spurwing in Meridian, Idaho. http://www.theclubatspurwing.com/the-club-house
The $150 fee covers Friday’s reception, Saturday’s workshops, all materials, refreshments, and lunch.
Elaine Ambrose is an award-winning, bestselling author of 10 books. Four of her recent books won six national writing awards, and her memoir Frozen Dinners ranked #23 out of 60,000 memoirs available on Amazon. Ambrose presents writing workshops at conferences across the country, including the prestigious Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop. Read about her books, blogs, and events at ElaineAmbrose.com.
Guest speaker AK Turner will present her fail-proof formula for how to establish a writing routine. She is the New York Times bestselling author of the Vagabonding with Kids series (Brown Books) as well as This Little Piggy Went to the Liquor Store, Mommy Had a Little Flask, and Hair of the Corn Dog (Fever Streak Press). Her works have received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, IPPY Awards in Humor and Travel, a Foreword Indies Award, an Independent Press Distinguished Favorite, and listing in BookLife’s Top 5 Indie Books of 2014. http://vagabondingwithkids.com/
Agenda
Friday, April 5, 7:00 – 9:00 pm – Private reception at the home of Elaine Ambrose at Spurwing. Details provided upon paid registration.
Saturday, April 6, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
9:00 am – Board Room at Spurwing Country Club
Coffee, Tea, and Introductions
Writing Workshop: The Delicious Art of Word Stew
Writing Workshop: Your Journey is Your Story
Writing Workshop: Music as Muse
Writing Workshop: Fail-Proof Formula to Establish a Writing Routine – presented by AK Turner
Assignments
Lunch – Meals will be ordered from the Spurwing Menu.
Workshop: Reading and Speaking
Participants Read Their Work
2:00 pm – Assignments and Adjourn
Participants can remain on site until 4:00 pm to write and socialize.
Bring samples of your writing, paper, pen, and/or computer for writing and reading assignments.
No refunds after April 1.
‘Tis the season to give lasting gifts, so stock the stockings with award-winning books from Idaho bestselling author Elaine Ambrose. Save a few for yourself! Shop local and order books from local bookstores. If they can’t secure books, find them online.
The new memoir, Frozen Dinners – A Memoir of a Fractured Family, debuted in November and has received 5-star reviews. It’s available from local bookstores, online, and from the author in hardcover and eBook formats.
Four other books by Ambrose have won professional praise and six national writing awards in the past four years.
Midlife Happy Hour – Our Reward for Surviving Careers, Kids, and Chaos
Midlife Cabernet – Life, Love, and Laughter After Fifty
Gators & Taters – A Week of Bedtime Stories
The Magic Potato – La Papa Mágica
For those in the Boise area, Ambrose is available to autograph and personalize her books. She prefers to meet at The Club at Spurwing with books and can include a holiday hot toddy.
But wait! There are more books and anthologies to view for your reading pleasure. For additional information about the author’s books, blogs, and events, see her website at www.ElaineAmbrose.com.
Midlife can absolutely be some of the BEST years of your life. Join me for “The Magnificent Midlife Woman: How to Feel Fabulous in Your Skin, Your Body, and Your Life When You’re 40+.”
I’ll be interviewed on Thursday, January 31. The entire series runs January 10th through February 4th. I’ll be offering a free eBook of my new book, Frozen Dinners – A Memoir of a Fractured Family. After the interview, you will be able to download the free eBook from a link on this website.
