news
APRIL 2024
Hope will be participating in the 40th Annual Franklin Main Street Festival! 🎉
🗓️ Saturday, April 28
⏰ 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
📍 Landmark Booksellers
The Main Street Festival attracts 120,000+ visitors annually. Over 150 arts and crafts vendors, entertainment, food & drink, and fun for the entire family in historic downtown Franklin.
For more information, visit The Heritage Foundation or Landmark Booksellers
MARCH 2024
Exciting news to share!
Where the Grass Grows Blue is a finalist for the Chatelaine Book Awards in Romance Fiction!
Grateful for this recognition from Chanticleer Book Reviews & Media. Winners will be announced in April. Congratulations to all of the finalists.
MARCH 2024
What an incredible way to start the week!!!
I woke up this morning to an email announcing Where the Grass Grows Blue is Reader Views 2023-2024 Overall Grand Prize Winner in Fiction!
It also won a Gold Medal in Romance, The A. Bellec’s Production Studio Marketing Package, The Amy Lignor Memorial Award of Excellence, and it was the North America Global Award Winner.
A HUGE thank you to @reader_views.
I am beyond grateful for this incredible honor. Reader Views has been so supportive of Where the Grass Grows Blue from the beginning. It was my first big review, and it meant the world to me.
Congratulations to all the winners. Click here to learn more and find your next great read!!
FEBRUARY 2024
I am so excited to share that I will be a guest on TALK OF THE TOWN WTVF—Nashville this Friday, February 23rd at 11:00 am CST!
This is extra special because I was an intern on this very show. Flashback to the summer of ‘92, when I was a WKU senior. I was a wide-eyed twenty-year old watching and learning from Harry Chapman, Debbie Allen, Meryll Rose, Henri Giles, and Tuwanda Coleman. I put a lot of miles on my K-Car driving back and forth from Kentucky…but it was worth it!
FEBRUARY 2024
Hope is interviewed on Local on 2: WKRN Nashville!
How journaling led to her life's passion.
JANUARY 2024
Speak Up Talk Radio announced the 2023 International Positive Change Podcast Award winners and
Authors Talking Bookish won in Best Newbie Podcast!
So grateful for this recognition and honor. Thank you @patriciajrullo and congratulations to all the winners. Looking forward to the 2024 season with Donna!
DECEMBER 2023
I’m in Times Square!! Where the Grass Grows Blue is being featured on this very billboard today as a winner in the 2023 BookFest Awards for both Best Contemporary Romance and Best Small Town Romance. Thank you so much The BookFest for this amazing opportunity!
AND bonus! I got to finally meet @donnanormancarbone
NOVEMBER 2023
Where the Grass Grows Blue
American Writing Award Winner!
Where the Grass Grows Blue was named Winner in Romance-Fiction and was a Finalist for Best New (Debut) Fiction in the 2023 American Writing Awards.
Where the Grass Grows Blue
Best Book Award Winner!
I am so excited to share that Where the Grass Grows Blue has been named the winner of the Romantic Fiction category for the 2023 Best Book Awards. Thank you @americanbookfest and congratulations to the other winners and finalists. To see a full list, visit www.AmericanBookFest.com
OCTOBER 2023
Hope Gibbs to speak at Bob Kirby Branch of the Warren County Public Library
Sunday October 29, 2023
Western Kentucky University Alumni and author Hope Gibbs will make an appearance at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Bob Kirby Branch of the Warren County Public Library.
Where the Grass Grows Blue
Book Fest Award Winner!
Where the Grass Grows Blue has been honored by the 2023 BookFest Awards as the winner of both the Contemporary Romance and Small Town Romance categories! But that’s not all, this website also won for best overall design. Thank you so much to The BookFest for this recognition.
I can’t express how grateful I am to the incredible readers out there who have made this possible. Your enthusiasm for Penny and Bradley’s story has fueled this dream of mine. Thank you for being part of this journey with me and for all of the support!
Congratulations to all of the winners of the 2023 BookFest Awards!
Where the Grass Grows Blue
Award Announcements!
Where the Grass Grows Blue has been selected as a Finalist in the Best New Fiction category for the 2023 American Fiction Awards!
Where the Grass Grows Blue has made the Long List for the 2023 Chatelaine Book Awards for Romantic Fiction!
“The Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best new books featuring romantic themes and adventures of the heart, historical love affairs, perhaps a little steamy romance, and stories that appeal especially to fans of affairs of the heart to compete in the Chatelaine Book Awards (the CIBAs). We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.”
-Chanticleer Book Reviews
Hope Gibbs Feature Article
Allen County-Scottsville High School News
Hope is the featured graduate in her high school newsletter. Read the article here!
JULY 2023
Where the Grass Grows Blue
2023 Speak Up Talk Radio
Firebird Book Award Winner
Summer Beach Read: Winner
New Fiction (Debut): Winner
Romance: Winner
Southern Fiction: Runner Up
Women's Fiction: Runner Up
Where the Grass Grows Blue
Five-Star Review: Chick Lit Central
“The tone to Where the Grass Grows Blue reminded me of the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The small-town feel, the close-knit groups of friends of family, the kind who would never dream of leaving the towns they’d grown up in, not for anything in the world. And of course, the proverbial prodigal “daughter” who returns home, but in this case, there was a deeper level, considering the seriousness of the subject matter involved. Adding that element really elevated everything, making this perfect story an obvious five-star read for me.”
JUNE 2023
Where the Grass Grows Blue featured in Kirkus Reviews
May 15th Edition
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
International Book Awards Finalist!
Where The Grass Grows Blue was named a International Book Awards Finalist for Best New Fiction 2023!
Best New Fiction
Winner
Red Clay Suzie by Jeffrey Dale Lofton
Post Hill Press
Finalist
Abandon Us: An Apocalyptic Survival Thriller by E.T. Gunnarsson
Bragi Press
Finalist
Music from a Strange Planet: Stories by Barbara Black
Caitlin Press
Finalist
Once in a Lifetime by Suzanne Mattaboni
TouchPoint Press
Finalist
Owl in the Oak Tree by Penny Walker Veraar
GG Publishing
Finalist
Where the Grass Grows Blue by Hope Gibbs
Red Adept Publishing
LaunchPad
This special episode of LAUNCH PAD features authors from Bookish Road Trip – a community of over 5,000 readers and writers.
In this episode, we celebrate book debuts, families, folklore, envy, redemption, and all that is sacred. Join these seasoned and debut authors and learn about their unique tales and lives just as you fall in love with your next great read.
Hope Gibbs
Donna Norman-Carbone
Linda Rosen
Meredith R. Stoddard
WFWA: Women's Fiction Day Giveaway
To celebration Women's Fiction Day on June 8, I am partnering with the Women’s Fiction Writers Association and three fantastic authors, Annie Cathryn, Donna Norman-Carbone, and Lisa Roe, to giveaway FOUR signed books, a $25 Amazon gift card, and tons of book SWAG to one lucky winner! Follow all of us on Instagram for details.
The Friendship Breakup by Annie Cathryn
Where the Grass Grows Blue by Hope Gibbs
All That Is Sacred by Donna Norman-Carbone
Welcome to the Neighborhood by Lisa Roe
MAY 2023
Where The Grass Grows Blue is a Best Seller!
Y’all! I have some exciting news to share. WHERE THE GRASS GROWS BLUE is in the top ten bestsellers for Red Adept Publishing for the month of April—and it doesn't debut until May 16th! None of this could have happened without YOU! I am beyond grateful for the support and love for this book.
If you haven’t had the chance to pre-order WHERE THE GRASS GROWS BLUE yet, click here!
Books By Women features Hope!
Hope reflects on writing her first novel and the publishing process.
Read the article here.
APRIL 2023
KIRKUS Review for Where The Grass Grows Blue
"A sweet tale of finding love and redemption that fans of strong female leads will particularly enjoy."
"The author crafts a complex will-they, won’t-they romantic dynamic that delves into the importance of confronting personal demons and the irony of finding yourself in the place you tried to leave behind."
"Although primarily a romance narrative, the multifaceted plot is refreshing in that the hero, a mother entering middle age, is allowed the room to find and understand herself in addition to becoming embroiled in a romance plot."
KIRKUS Verdict: GET IT
Blackstone announces narrator for Where The Grass Grows Blue
Helen Laser will narrate for the audio book version. Read more here!
Reader Views gives Where The Grass Grows Blue a Five Star Gold Seal
“Where the Grass Grows Blue was a page-turner from the beginning. The author’s writing was like paint on a canvas, creating a vibrant picture of life in Kentucky, so much so that I was easily transported there. Moreover, through flashbacks and introspection, Penny’s character development was flawless, and I was invested in all her relationships. If you’re craving an immersive storyline, this book provides the perfect escape!"
Read the full review here.
DECEMBER 2022
I’m thrilled to be a new Bookish Road Trip tour guide. I will be heading up "Author Take the Wheel" starting in January 2023.
Once a month, I will interview an author, discussing their book and writing journey on Facebook.
Bookish Road Trip is a growing online community of enthusiastic readers and talented authors.
You can find BRT on Facebook, Instagram, and their website.
This group is passionate about books and travel, and offers newsletters, virtual book clubs, podcasts, and blogs.
"Travelers and book lovers in pursuit of their next destination and their next great read."
If you love books, check it out!
NOVEMBER 2022
I’m thrilled to announce that Blackstone Audio will be producing WHERE THE GRASS GROWS BLUE in 2023!
I’m still pinching myself.
Thank you Red Adept Publishing, Lynn McNamee, Blackstone, and Liza Fleissig.
