Posts Tagged ‘literary fiction’

 

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Mother Knows Worst 

by Sofia Bella Roma

Category:  Adult Fiction (18+),  280 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction, Novel
Publisher:  Mascot Books
Release date:  December 2022
Content Rating:  PG -13


Pinnacle Award Winner!

“Author Sofia Bella Roma tells an absorbing story about two people from very different backgrounds falling in love and struggling to navigate the circumstances and people around them. Infusing romance, humor, and plenty of drama, Roma weaves an engaging narrative that keeps hold of the reader until the last page. Mother Knows Worst is not just a dramatic comedy but also a novel that showcases the challenges people sometimes face in adapting to other cultures, especially in relationships involving in-laws. The characters have their own idiosyncrasies, which make them very intriguing to read. Rose and Anil’s dynamic feels genuine, as do their respective struggles and conflicts. Recommended to readers who savor drama novels revolving around relationships.” – Reviewed by Pikasho Deka for Readers’ Favorite

“A lively, thought-provoking journey into one young woman’s marriage, cross-cultural encounters, and life. Mother Knows Worst is recommended not just for novel readers seeking stories of women’s experiences, but for reading groups interested in the psychological entanglements between different cultures and generations.” – Reviewed by Midwest Book Reviews


Book Description:

After trying her hand at acting, Rose decides to change career paths and enter law school.

She enrolls in law school in a sleepy New England town, only to find that the practice of law is not all she will study. This quirky thirty-something Italian girl falls in love when she lays eyes on Anil, a handsome intellectual from India. The two discover a deep connection and quickly begin a romantic relationship. What could go wrong as their romance blossoms? Their future looks bright. They have each other. They have great friends. They also have Anil’s mother. Inspired by true events, Mother Knows Worst is a humorous and heartfelt novel. Rose is on a path to finding herself, love, and relationships, taking the reader on a delightful and often comedic journey as she explores two cultural worlds colliding.

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Author Guest Post
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The Fear of Writing a Novel Based on a True Story

The biggest fear about writing a novel based on a true story is the risk of inaccuracies, misunderstandings or misrepresentations.  When writing the novel Mother Knows Worst, which is based on a true story, I had to ensure that I did extensive research and fact checking to avoid presenting false information.  I also was careful not to infringe on the privacy of the real-life individuals who may have been represented in the book.

Another fear is the possibility of offending or hurting the real-life people who are part of the story.  I had to be sensitive to the feelings of the people involved and ensure that their portrayal is respectful and accurate, which was tough because of the story.  I did not want to defame any individual and that was a huge consideration. Instead, I wanted to give a heartwarming story about the challenges of two cultures colliding.

I was concerned about the reception of the book by the public and how it would be received by those familiar with the true story.  I was concerned about criticism or backlash if readers feel that the book does not accurately represent the true events or if they feel that I had taken liberties with the story for dramatic effect.

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Meet Author Sofia Bella Roma:

Sofia Bella Roma is a lawyer in North Carolina. She has been practicing law since 2009. She was first licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and then went on to become licensed attorney in North Carolina. Sofia has spent most of her career telling stories. She regularly performs to judges when litigating her cases. Mother Knows Worst is Sofia’s debut novel. This book tackles common problems in relationships and takes on mother-in-law drama with a quirky point of view. Sofia knows firsthand about difficult relationships since she has been practicing law as a divorce attorney. She currently lives with her son and their pet lizard. She has a love for the arts and enjoys making people laugh.

 

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MOTHER KNOWS WORST Book Tour Giveaway

 

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We’re happy to host Eva Ungar Grudin and Eric Joseph’s SAVE THE LAST DANCE Virtual Book Tour today!  Please leave a comment or question to let them know you stopped by!

Title: Save The Last Dance
Author: Eric Joseph & Eva Ungar
Publisher: Hargrove Press
Pages: 360
Genre: Literary Fiction
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My Review
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I’m always drawn to stories about second chances at love. This one sounded particularly fascinating as the whole rekindled romance is told through emails.
At first I got a little confused as the emails bounced between several different characters. But once I got into the swing of things, it flowed right along.
Adam and Sarah are no spring chickens anymore. They’re also not free to explore their burgeoning feelings towards each other. But that saying, “The heart wants what the heart wants,” rings loudly through these pages.
I’m not one for supporting taboo relationships. It’s always been my feeling that you should nip those feelings in the bud before they do harm. Reading Adam’s and Sarah’s text messages and emails allowed me to see how they struggled with it and their turmoil over hurting others they cared about.
An engaging story that brought back memories of my first love and had me wondering, what if. If you do read this book, be sure to set aside plenty of time to finish it. You’ll not want to stop until you found out how it ends.
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4 Stars
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A tale of the power and peril of first love rediscovered.
           
Adam Wolf and Sarah Ross were teenage sweethearts who grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio in the late 50’s and early 60’s. They set a wedding date when they turned fifteen. The day came and went. For most of their lives the two were out of contact.
With their 50th high school reunion approaching, Adam and Sarah reconnect. Email exchanges – after the first tentative “hi”, then a deluge- five, ten- by the end of the week twenty emails a day. Soon Sarah admits, “All my life I’ve been looking for someone who loves me as much as you did”.
Written entirely in email and texts, Save the Last Dance allows the reader to eavesdrop on Sarah and Adam’s correspondence as their love reignites. It also permits the reader to witness the reactions of significant others, whose hum-drum lives are abruptly jolted by the sudden intrusion of long-dormant passion. Can Sarah and Adam’s rekindled love withstand the pummeling they’re in for?
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For More Information
Book Excerpt
From: Adam Wolf
To: Paul Bishop
October 12, 2014 4:54 pm
Subject: Finally saw Sarah, virtually
Oh Paul — “L’avventura” continues. No pauses for
breath or thought. Since the last email, this thing with Sarah has detonated.
We are now writing each other all day, every day, sometimes at night, on the
way to work, at work, lunch, at intersections, on the back porch. I spend my
days longing for her messages and panic when an hour goes by without. No more
tentative phrases and innuendo. No more stuff about vague ambiguous longing.
It’s full blown, Paul. Jesus H — it’s sweet passion and sexy -particularly
exciting because we never had the chance in our first go-round way back when.
The day came. We decided it was the right time to
finally see each other — to Skype. I was in Cleveland,
alone. Sarah picked a time when I would call. I brought three changes of
clothes and tried each of them on before we Skyped — stood back from the mirror
and rejected them all. I finally settled on a button-down light blue shirt with
one of those newfangled small-ish collars, and a dark blue crew neck. (I
remembered that Sarah doesn’t like V-necks.) The pants, Izod chinos with the
pleated front and room to grow. I was now prepared with my best Belmondo charm
to woo Sarah into bed.
It wasn’t like that, though. I don’t know what it was, Paul. Maybe it was modesty,
perhaps fear about what we must look like now to people who last saw us when we
were young. The mask of age. Anyway, whatever it was, when the time came we
both sat in the shadows in our respective rooms and just peered at the camera.
First there was giggling over nothing. Eventually, I decided to thrust my face
forward into the light, regardless of the consequences. Sarah leaned forward
herself for a moment, her hand over her face, just briefly let her eyes show
and stared at me nervously. Later she said she thought me so handsome still. I
told her I would recognize those beautiful baby blues anywhere, if only she
would let me see them clearly.
I couldn’t really see her face. The light was arranged so only a silhouette was
visible. For a while she resembled someone being interviewed in the witness
protection program. I expected her voice to sound shrill and electronic. “I
foist met Vinnie da Butcher Bugliosi in 1946 at a pizza parlor in Passaic.
He showed me a good time. His last words to me were ‘keep your mouth shut’.”
As for the rest of her, I conjured up the worst — telling myself I will love her
no matter what. I had visions of Sarah Ross now — cauliflower ears and 7 teeth,
four of which dangled precipitously. I feared her neck would show signs of some
old rope burns from 10 years ago, when she tried to hang herself in the mental
ward.     
When Sarah finally spoke, her voice was soft. Softer than I remembered, sweet, more
confident, deeper. At first she spoke out of the darkness. She said, “It’s you.
It’s really you.” The conversation deteriorated from there. And I said, “It’s
you, really you,” but I wasn’t sure. Except for the voice it could have been
Golda Meier there, for all I knew.When she finally leaned into
the light, I must have lost my breath. I saw her — and despite the few
wrinkles, the face more set in place, she was immediately my girl, her smile
now even sweeter. Her gestures were more refined and confident. She was dressed
elegantly for me — a silky salmon top and a paisley shawl. The years dissolved,
and the fears about age were gone. My Sarah and she beamed at me.    We talked softly, nothing sexually charged about it, just soft remembrance. We imagined that we were back in her sunroom,
with the low red love seat — tamely making out — her hand caressing my belly
but- ton, just under the belt — how we slept together at 15, quite literally,
in that hot room, napping together in the heat — or about her head on my lap
when we watched The Twilight Zone Friday nights — or the path we took
through Cain Park when I carried home her books after school — or the people we
routinely met along my paper route.    At some point, Paul, we stopped talking and simultaneously touched our fingers to our lips and reached toward the screen.

 

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About the Authors
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Eric Joseph and Eva Ungar (Grudin) were teenage sweethearts in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, who set a wedding date
when they turned 15. The last time they saw each other they were 21 years old.
Three years ago they reunited, around the time of the 50th high school reunion.
Although their book is a work of fiction, it’s about a couple like them, who
fall in love again, almost instantly, via email.
Eric is in public health, a consultant/educator at hospitals and
clinics, concentrating his career on Native American health services across the
country. Eva is an art historian who taught at
Williams College in Massachusetts for 40+ years. She
specialized in African and African-American art; the history of European
painting: also Holocaust Studies – memorials and museums; In addition, she has
performed in and written Sounding to A,
a multi-media work about inheriting the Holocaust. It premiered at the Ko Festival
of Performance in 2004.
Learn more about Eva and Eric and their history together by visiting hargrovepress.com
– At the website you’ll find memories about their time together in the late
50s, early 60s, as well as interviews from today.
Their latest book is the literary fiction, Save The Last Dance.
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Fore More Information

 

http://www.pumpupyourbook.com

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An Absent Mind Banner copy

I just love the cover art for An Absent Mind! The puzzle pieces and the different format and color for the letters really captured my attention.

I bet the story is just as captivating.

Check it out and see.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

An Absent Mind

by Eric Rill

BLURB:

A riveting new novel from Eric Rill, author of Pinnacle of Deceit and The Innocent Traitor, is about a race against time. The ticking time bomb is Saul Reimer’s sanity. His Alzheimer’s is going to be the catalyst that will either bring his family together or tear it apart.

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Saul: My Last Place on Earth

 

It’s all unraveling.

 

Last night, I found myself somewhere on Monkland Avenue. I had no idea how I got there. I looked in a store window and saw my reflection. It took me a bit to figure it all out—like that the person in the window was a man, and that the man was me.

 

I didn’t know what to do. I glanced down at the bracelet on my wrist and everything— well, not everything, but the gist of it all came back to me. I am Saul Reimer, formerly a healthy, intelligent man, married to the same woman for many years, and the father of two children he loves more than anything in the world.

 

The key word is formerly, as I am sure you’ve already figured out. Because today—and I have no idea what day it is, other than it is really cold and I wish I had a jacket on—I am nothing, not a real man, that’s for sure. I mean, how can you be a real man when you don’t even know where you are half the time, and when you do know, more often than not, you can’t grasp the concept of your surroundings?

 

I felt in my pocket for my wallet, but it wasn’t there. All I had was my bank card. I spotted an ATM machine at the corner. But when I got there, I couldn’t figure out how to work it. A woman walked up from behind. I gestured for her to go in front of me. She smiled and said she was in no rush. I looked at the machine, with all the words flashing across the screen. My hands were getting slimy, and beads of that wet stuff covered my forehead. Why couldn’t she just go first?

Then suddenly, it all made sense. I followed the directions, but it took me a few tries to get the card into the machine with the strip the right way. I looked behind me again. The woman was fidgeting with her purse strap. Then the machine asked me for a personal identification number. The good news is, I knew I had one. The bad news is, I had no idea what it was. My brain is like a shortwave radio, mostly static that occasionally finds the station, but even then the sound isn’t always clear.

 

In a way, it will be a blessing when my mind is totally gone, when I am a vegetable, slouched in a wheelchair. Like many Alzheimer’s patients on Montreal’s West Side, I’ll probably make a pit stop at Manoir Laurier. Then, when Manoir Laurier can’t cope with me, or we can’t afford it anymore, they’ll ship me off to Belfrage Hospital, my final stop on this beloved earth. I’ll be there, incontinent, drooling, and incoherent—that is, if I can even manage to get a word through my blistered lips. And when it’s all over—when my heart finally gives out, or I contract pneumonia, and my family says, “Let Saul go; he deserves some peace”—when that happens, they’ll take me down to the autopsy room, cut my skull open, and find the tangles and plaques on my brain. Then they will be able to say with 100 percent certainty that Saul Reimer had Alzheimer’s.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

an absent mind  Author Photo Eric Rill

 

Eric Rill was born in Montreal and graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts, and from UCLA with an MBA. He held several executive positions in the hospitality industry, including president of a global hotel group. His hobbies include trekking, scuba diving, and collecting antique carpets. Eric has two sons and divides his time between his residence in Panama and international travel. You can reach him at his website at: www.ericrill.com

 

Buy Links:

 

Barnes & Noble ~ Amazon

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bronzeTour Schedule

I love it when I find a new series to follow.

The Glister Journals : Bronze is the first of four in this series.

I’m looking forward to getting lost in these books and becoming friends with the characters.

Read on to learn more and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

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Bronze

The Glister Journals: Bronze

Allison Anderson knows she’s a little different, but it hadn’t bothered her too much-until now. Moving away from everything she’s ever known to a new house, new neighborhood, and new school is bad enough, but it’s her first year of high school too, making it even more intimidating. She’s more aware of her social and physical limitations than ever before. And then there are the new people she meets: the tough-looking girl in her home room; the cute but dangerous-looking boy she first saw before school even started; the quiet, older girl who keeps to herself; the sullen-looking, seemingly isolated junior that doesn’t seem to trust or like her at all. Can she trust them? While the peaceful situation of her new home only amplifies the sound of her own doubts, she begins to learn that things are not always what they seem, and her world is turned upside-down by these new friends, two-legged and otherwise. Life soon becomes more complicated, and much more interesting!

*****

Enjoy this Excerpt.

First Encounters

 

After a moment I could hear an engine—a high, uneven revving approaching from that direction—and a rider on a motorcycle came into view around the corner in the road. As he slowly drew closer, the engine noise dropped to a lower, even drone. He was looking from side to side, ahead, and sometimes behind as he drove. He had almost passed the house when he caught sight of me, looked away, did a quick double take, rode the bike in almost a full circle in the middle of the road, then sat staring at me, legs to the ground, his bike idling.

I realized at once, of course, that it was the sight of the dog which had caught his attention, not me, but that didn’t stop my cheeks from feeling like they had burst into flames. It wasn’t a response I was used to and I hoped that he wouldn’t be able to notice it that far away or that my sunburn was covering it. I thought he was the most attractive boy I’d ever seen. It was difficult to tell how tall he was, but the one jeans-clad leg I could see looked long and slim, and the tanned arms holding the handlebars of the motorcycle were very well-muscled for someone who didn’t look too much older than myself. I guessed he was probably about sixteen but could have been older. I would be turning fifteen in January but was sure I looked about twelve.

The boy’s hair was a medium brown and even at this distance I could see highlights of a lighter shade. It was a little on the long side, longer than most of the boys I’d gone to school with anyway, and slightly wavy. His face was tanned too, and while I couldn’t tell the color of his eyes, his eyebrows were dark and finely shaped. From what I could tell, at this distance and with my imperfect vision, he looked really cute.

My mind was racing. Should I just sit here? Maybe he was waiting for me to do something. Should I stand up? Not a good idea. Long expanses of skinny burned flesh with welts and scratches from my ramble the other day could hardly be attractive. He probably wouldn’t see them from the road, but I knew they were there. Should I talk to him?

‘Um . . . hello . . . is this your dog?’ Of course it was his dog. Why else would he even be looking over here? That would sound way too stupid.

‘Um . . . nice dog. What’s its name?’ I’d have to yell if I wanted him to really hear me. I didn’t like yelling. My voice would probably crack and squeak; it always did if I tried to talk too loudly.

The next thing I knew, he gave a loud, high-pitched whistle—I was impressed that he didn’t have to use his fingers in his mouth to do it—revved his engine twice, and raced back down the street the way he had come. The dog hadn’t shown any inclination to move until hearing the whistle, though it had been watching the boy the whole time. Now it didn’t hesitate or look back at me but tore after him and soon disappeared from sight.

*****

About The Glister Journals series:

The Glister Journals series is told from the perspective of a normal but not average teenage girl. It is not obvious, but Allison has a mild pervasive developmental disorder (autism spectrum). She thinks and experiences things a little differently from most of the other kids. In the past it has caused her to be alienated at best and bullied at worst. After the family moves, she becomes involved with a group of teens that open up new worlds to her. The four book series follows her through high school but is equally about her friends who have their own problems, fears, and aspects of their lives they’d rather keep quiet. There is action—mostly in the form of equestrian and extreme sports—and though there are only hints of it in Bronze, there is a love story which will play a more prominent part as the series progresses. The main story is about assumptions, acceptance, love, and friendship, though there are other themes running throughout the series.

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Amazon * Indiebound * Barnes & Noble

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Praise for Bronze

Allison narrates a gentle coming-of-age story that has a strong equine subplot…undeveloped plot points hint at future complications and will likely keep readers looking for the next entry. — Cindy Welch Booklist Online

Written with intelligent humor, this tale follows an awkward girl as she enters a new school…This is a strong first book, both for Shepherd and for the series. The friendships the characters build are realistic and lifelike, strong, and durable, just like bronze. — Beth VanHouten ForeWord Reviews

The story is well-written and sweetly told. Allison’s anxieties and insecurities are true-to-life, and so affectionately and clearly portrayed as to make anyone who’s ever been through adolescence wince in sympathy. Dave, Robin and Chris are complicated, intelligent, three-dimensional characters whom the reader enjoys getting to know, and all of the minor characters are vividly drawn and believably real. The author is adept at setting a scene, both external and internal, bringing Allison’s mind and world to vivid life. — Catherine Langrehr IndieReader

“Bronze: The Glister Journals” is a well-written novel of teenagers and their world. It is also a story of horses and teenage horsemanship. The main character Allison is a totally delightful fourteen year old girl whose innocence and awkwardness is refreshing. — Alice DiNizo Readers’ Favorite

indie reader

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Literary Fiction IndieReader Award Winner

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BBAuthor B.B. Shepherd

A graduate of Cal Poly with graduate work at Chapman and U C Santa Cruz, B. B. Shepherd has lived most of her life in California and loves the diverse beauty of its many landscapes. Music, horses, literature, and art have been her passions as long as she can remember. She enjoys road trips, almost all horse sports and extreme sports (as a spectator), and is addicted to research.

As a writer, Shepherd enjoys exploring emotions and motivations: why do people do what they do? She also likes trying to find the funny side of things. She admits to being a hopeless romantic and often gets in trouble for her sense of humor. Bronze is her debut novel, the first in a series of four called The Glister Journals. She currently works full time as a music professional and educator, and lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her youngest daughter and a very silly cat.

Website * Facebook * Goodreads * Twitter * Blog

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Blog Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Click on the rafflecopter link below to enter.

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

Ends 10/31/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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