Category Archives: Author

Author, Bluff Tour, Lenore Skomal

Bluff Tour

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Bluff Cover“To the medical world, I was a host body, surviving only to bring a new life into the world. And while I wanted to die more than anything in the world, I never wanted this. No, I never wanted to cease to exist. This was the worst death of all.”

Jude Black lives in that in-between, twilight place teetering on death but clinging to life in order to bring her baby into this world. Only she knows the circumstances surrounding her mysterious fall off the bluff that landed her in the hospital being kept alive by medical intervention. Only she knows who the father of her baby is. In this poignantly crafted literary novel, the mystery unfolds and the suspense builds as the consequences of Jude’s decisions threaten to reveal everyone’s deceptions, even her own.
BLUFF offers a sensitive look at essential questions such as the value of human life, the consciousness of those in a coma and the morality of terminating life support. At the core is the story of a tragically misunderstood woman who finds peace, acceptance, understanding and even love on her deathbed.

My Review:
The book up for review is “Bluff” by Lenore Skomal.

I was at my favorite mom and pops diner when I started reading this book. Soon I heard an ah hum as I looked up at the waitress who had placed my food down and was waiting for me to acknowledge her. The first chapter had me so engrossed every thing around me had disappeared into a void. To me that is a heck of a way to start a book. I came close to emailing Lenore to tell her this in fact.

The book’s main character is Jude who has fallen off a bluff near her home. Ending up in the hospital with massive trauma and broken bones she lays in a coma. The plot thickens when doctors discover she is pregnant. Something that is a mystery due to the fact she is a lesbian and has clearly shown she is not interested in men.. She tells her dearest and only friend Frances prior to the fall her condition but that is all.

Throughout the book while Jude is in a coma you can still hear her thoughts as she observes the ongoings around her. From this you get a sense of who she is and her thoughts on the people who come to visit her.

The doctors decide to keep Jude on life support so the baby can come to term and be delivered. This is a slipper slope since the hospital is supported by the church.

Who is the father? Does he know about the baby? Did she fall or was she pushed? The questions keep popping up making me unable to put the book down.

There are numerous characters in this book. Normally when this happens I have to start writing them down so I don’t get confused. I did not have to do this once for this book. Each character was developed so well that they stuck in my mind easily. That was a major kudo for this author.

The various twists and turns fill this book. Some you see coming while others come upon the reader without any warning. That also made the book very enjoyable. You just never knew what was going to be on the other page when you turned to it.

Novel Publicity Blog Tour Notes

Wanna win a $50 gift card or an autographed copy of Bluff?

  1. Leave a comment on my blog. One random commenter during this tour will win a $50 gift card. For the full list of participating blogs, visit the official Bluff tour page.
  2. Enter the Rafflecopter contest! I’ve posted the contest form below, or you can enter on the tour page linked above.

Lenore Skomal

About the author: Lenore Skomal wants you to eat her books. Her passionate desire is to touch your heart, inspire you, and luxuriate in the world of the written word. She is an award-winning author with the single goal of resonating with others. Winner of multiple awards for blogging, literature, biography and humor, her catalogue spans many genres. With 30 years of writing experience, 18 books published, a daily blog and weekly newspaper column, the consistent themes in her work are the big issues of the human experience and adding depth and voice to the intricacies involved in living a multi-dimensional existence. She has won many Society of Professional Journalist awards, the Whidbey Island Writer’s Conference honorable mention for best fiction, Writer’s Digest 73rd Annual Fiction Contest, New York Public Library’s Best Books for Teens 2003, and most recently, the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Award for humor for “Burnt Toast.,” her first anthology of her award winning humor columns. From journalism, to literary fiction, to humor and biography, her writing is consistent, if not in genre, then in message.

Connect with Lenore on her website,  Facebook, GoodReads, or Twitter.

Get Bluff on Amazon.

Rafflecopter Link

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/YzE3YzI0YTkzYTJkODQ0ODQxZDUwNTUwMTQ3OTkxOjUw/

Author, Guest Post, Merry Farmer

Guest Post: Merry Farmer

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Why History Makes the Best Stories: Part 1

 

I’ve known I wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. The bug first bit me when I was ten years old and realized I didn’t have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. But when my college years rolled around and it came time to choose a major, instead of taking the English or Creative Writing track I chose to major in History. Why? Why would I do such a thing if I knew I wanted to write?

 

As I told people at the time, and still firmly believe, I majored in History so that I would always have something to write about.

 

There’s a reason two-thirds of the word “History” is “Story”. Every dry, dusty story that we take notes on in history class, every name and date and location that we’re forced to memorize for standardized testing, has a wealth of emotion behind it. These things really happened! It sounds trite saying that, but I’m convinced that most students forget that fact as they study. But when you read the literature of the time period, when you study its art and feel its artifacts you begin to realize. Today’s history was yesterday’s current events.

 

More than that, the truth of what happened all those years ago is usually stranger, wilder, and more vivid than any modern depiction. Take the background subject of my Noble Hearts trilogy. The books are set in the reign of Richard I of England while he was off fighting the crusade. Oh!, you say. I know all about that! King Richard was the Lionheart, Prince John was an evil miser, and Robin Hood robbed from the rich to give to the poor!

 

Wrong.

The true history of Richard and John is way different and far more interesting. Richard and John were the 4th and 5th sons of the great king, Henry II. Neither of them were meant to take the throne, but their three older brothers killed each other off fighting for the crown. Richard lived most of his life in France, hated England, and didn’t speak English. John was his father’s favorite and spent a great deal of his life directly responsible for much of England under the feudal system of management. Richard bankrupted his kingdom fighting a pointless war and by being captured and held for ransom by his enemies. Richard was probably bisexual and only spent six months of his reign in England.

 

Wow. Right there, hidden in those facts, is enough plot and passion to produce an entire dramatic mini-series! And yet it all happened.

 

Some of the most fascinating plots ever were not created in the mind of Stephen King or J.R.R. Tolkein or John Grisham, they were the result of lives lived, wars fought, loves requited and unrequited. And they’re all hidden in plain sight, between the pages of your history textbook.

 

Merry’s Author Bio

Merry Farmer is an award-winning novelist who lives in suburban Philadelphia with her two cats, Butterfly and Torpedo. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized one day that she didn’t have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. She then went on to earn not one but two degrees in History so that she would always having something to write about. Today she is a giant History nerd and a hopeless romantic waiting for her own love story to start. Her first book, The Loyal Heart, is a swashbuckling Medieval Historical Romance involving a love triangle that will keep you guessing. Both The Loyal Heart and its sequels, The Faithful Heart and The Courageous Heart, are available wherever eBooks are sold. She has also begun a new Western Historical Romance series set in Montana in 1895. The first of that series, Our Little Secrets, is now available. The second, Fool for Love, will be released in early 2013. Merry is also passionate about blogging, knitting, and cricket and is working towards becoming an internationally certified cricket scorer.

Merry can be found here: http://merryfarmer.net/

Advice, Author, Books, Reviewer

Goodreads and Reviews: A Stone Throw Away

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There are so many sites writers can use for their social platforms. The last few weeks I have posted about Twitter, FB’s author page and one’s own website. It does not stop here. Goodreads and Shelfari are a book lovers dream. There you can share reviews of books you have read. It is similar to the reviews of Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It is a good way to let others know what your thoughts are on individual books.

Leaving a review however should not be taken lightly. A number of people will base whether they will read a book on the reviews they read. We all know that some of the good reviews will come from family and friends. That is to be expected. But a good book should have various reviews whether the member thinks it is 3 star worthy or 5. A good combination across the board will help not other the author but those interested in purchasing the book

I have been reviewing for BookSneeze for a few years now and I take it very seriously. This is not just for the author that I am reviewing but for potential readers. It is my job to honestly state what I feel about the book whether it is good or bad. This is not always easy for we don’t want to hurt one’s feelings but to tell an author empty compliments does them no favors. Even when you personally know them. One does not have to be cruel but instead use tact when the review is one that they might not like.

One thing I have learned from my writers group thankfully is how to review and critique the various books that come across my desk. I look for flow and pace. Are there any loopholes? Is it believable and even if it is fiction it has to make sense to a point. Does it have a hook? Are the characters well-developed? Does it keep my attention or am I bored by the end of chapter 1? There is so much to take into account.

There are times I have come across books and by the end of the first few chapters want to put it down to never read again. A flaw I use to have. No matter how bad the book was I would always finish it, always. Thanks to Booksneeze I no longer have that problem.  I will finish the book for them.  However when I am reading a novel primarily for pleasure if it does not hook me, down it goes.

You have to have thick skin to be a writer and equally so as a reviewer. People will not always like what you have to say even if it is in their best interest. The questions I ask myself is what I want people to ask when they are reading anything of mine. It may not always be easy to hear the negatives but it is one of the best tools for us to grow as writers. So while I may not always like what people tell me I am grateful for them First for taking the time to read my writings and second for telling me where it can be improved. One of these ways is from reviewers.

A tool that should not be ignored b y anyone who wants to make it as an author.