Posted in 5 paws, coming of age, Review, Young Adult on January 27, 2023

 

 

Synopsis

 

The coming-of-age story follows Gwyn Madison, the summer after her high school graduation, as she grapples with her fast-approaching future. She’ll have to face more than she bargained for with her Aunt Delia, the family matriarch, who holds the purse strings and the final word. In the meantime, Gwyn stumbles upon a tightly held family secret. Could a mysterious letter provide Gwyn the leverage she desires? Will it only bring more family division? Or, maybe, the past was never meant to stay buried after all. Whispering Through Water navigates family dynamics, young love, and female autonomy with a little 1990s nostalgia.

 

 

Amazon * B&N * Bookshop

 

 

Review

 

I enjoyed this book and the journey back to the 1990s when we weren’t tied to cell phones or computers.

“I wanted nothing more than for Aunt Delia to understand that my choice to leave was not a rejection of my family. She tried to protect me from acting on the same fierce independence that I admired in her. My aunt, the one person I was terrified to confront, was the one who I most wanted to hear me.”

Gwyn is a senior in high school, living in a small town with her mother, aunt, and uncle. She has not had a carefree childhood, but it wasn’t bad. Then one day, she stumbles across a letter to her aunt that references someone getting married. This piques her interest, and she sets off on a quest to figure out who this person is and why someone is telling her aunt. There are a lot of secrets that will be revealed, and not just ones about her aunt. Turns out several people have not shared their whole story.

I really enjoyed the family dynamic. Not that it was perfect, but you could see the love they had for each other despite her Aunt Delia’s rules. Gwyn is mature for her age, and I appreciated how much she wanted to follow her dream of attending an art school and not abandoning it when the rug is pulled out from under her regarding funding. I also enjoyed watching her fall in love with an unlikely guy, one that she met trying to uncover the mystery of her aunt. His family was so welcoming and treated her like she was part of the family. Maybe they were psychic!

I found this book very engaging, and I had a hard time putting it down. This coming-of-age story might resonate with many readers. It is also a mystery and a love story too. It has a little bit of everything for everyone.

We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Rebecca Wenrich Wheeler was raised in West Point, a small town in the Tidewater region of Virginia. From the moment she submitted her first short story to a young author’s contest in second grade, Rebecca knew she wanted to be a writer. Her love of writing led her to earn a BA in English and an MEd in English education. She spent several years as a high school teacher, during which she also developed a passion for mental health advocacy. Rebecca completed an MA in professional counseling and now works in the school-based mental health field and as a college adjunct psychology instructor. Rebecca also teaches yoga for the young and the young at heart, and she likes to infuse yoga and breathwork in her counseling practice wherever she can.

She believes the most valuable use of her time is teaching youth how to love and care for each other and the world around them. Her stories share her focus on positive relationships and a love of nature. Rebecca now lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her husband, two children, and two spoiled Siamese cats.

Whispering Through Water is her first YA novel and second book. Her picture book When Daddy Shows Me the Sky was released November 2021.

 

Website * Instagram

 

 

 

 | 
Comments Off on Review – Whispering Through Water by Rebecca Wenrich Wheeler @WomenonWriting #WhisperingThroughWater #comingofage #YA #fiction #1990s
Posted in 5 paws, coming of age, Giveaway, Review, Texas, Young Adult on December 27, 2022

 

 

 

FIND THE MOON

By Beth Fehlbaum

 

Young Adult / Social Issues / Family Issues

Publisher: Progressive Rising Phoenix Press

Pages: 298 pages

Expected Publication Date: January 10, 2023

 

 

 

 

For as long as she can remember, Kylie Briscoe’s been searching for the moon even though she has no idea why it soothes her. Placed in an impossible situation by her mother, Kylie cries for help. It brings rescuers and a new life, but it feels more like a death sentence when she is separated from her three-year-old sister Aliza, the only person Kylie’s ever really loved.

Now she’s in tiny Patience, Texas, with her eccentric potty-mouthed grandmother, ever-patient stargazing grandfather, an uncle who reminds her a lot of a cop who terrified her during a drug bust, a herd of Norwegian Dwarf goats, their “guard donkeys,” and three canine roommates occupying Kylie’s former nursery.

When the authorities make a mistake that could cost her everything, Kylie must decide whether to tell the truth-all of it in order to save herself and her sister.

 

 

 

 

Amazon * Barnes and Noble

 

 

 

 

This young adult novel might resonate with many people, young and old, that dealt with issues growing up, including bullying, absent parents, drugs, and neglect.

Kylie Jean, Kylie to her friends, has endured a lot in her young life. Her mother was mostly an absentee mother, which left Kylie to help raise her younger sister, Aliza, on her own. When an event goes south at their trailer, Kylie and Aliza manage to escape the life they were living. However, the choice to leave and get help comes with a price. Aliza’s biological father takes custody of her but not Kylie. Kylie discovers she has grandparents that have been searching for her for 13 years. I can’t imagine being kept from family that wanted to love and protect you from those that may not know better, even if it is your own mother.

This novel is Kylie’s journey to discovering who she is without her sister and overcoming some of the incidents in her life prior to living with her grandparents. She doesn’t trust anyone, and you can’t blame her, considering her life for the last 13 years. She was just trying to survive. It was a struggle with her grandparents because they just wanted to love her but didn’t realize how much of an impact events in her life kept her on edge. Because she doesn’t trust anyone, she finds herself mixed up with one of the other students at her new high school. It isn’t a good situation, but at least she recognizes it and does seek help.

It was hard watching what Kylie was going through, knowing so many people have walked that same path. But she was surrounded by a loving family, which I think helped her in the end.

I would be remiss in not mentioning the goats! Her grandparents raise and breed goats, and one of Kylie’s jobs was to socialize the new kids. That has to be a lot of fun! And there are three dogs. A book is always better with a dog in it, in my opinion.

This book touched my soul, and we give it 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beth Fehlbaum is the author of the young adult novels Find the Moon, Big Fat Disaster (on the Spirit of Texas-High School Reading List, 2014-2015), Courage in Patience, Hope in Patience (A YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers), and Truth in Patience. With Dr. Matt E. Jaremko, Beth co-wrote the creative nonfiction book, Trauma Recovery: Sessions with Dr. Matt. She is a high school English teacher.

Authenticity, calling out hypocrisy, and finding one’s voice are frequent themes in Beth’s work, and they are absolutely essential themes in her life, as well. Beth has a B.A. in English, a minor in secondary education, and an M.Ed. in reading. Beth is in-demand as an author-panelist, having presented/appeared at the Texas Library Association Annual Conference, the American Library Association’s annual conference, YALSA, N.C.T.E./ALAN, and numerous YA book festivals. She’s a member of The Author’s Guild, SCBWI, Romance Writers of America, and the Texas Federation of Teachers.  She loves doing school visits and meeting teens, teachers, and librarians!

Beth lives in the woods of East Texas in a house on a slice of family acreage. The home was built by her family over one very hot, humid summer, a task she wishes never to repeat again. This sanctuary-of-sorts is lined by pine trees, and the woods are inhabited by raccoons, possums, and feral cats. All of these creatures appear to consider Beth, their cat-food-providing goddess. There is no place she would rather be.

 

Website  *  Facebook  *  Goodreads  *  Amazon Author Page

 

 

 

AUTHOR’S GIVEAWAY!

 

Pre-order a copy of Find the Moon and enter the author’s giveaway!

 

Three lucky winners will win a $50 Amazon Gift Card, a signed set of THE PATIENCE TRILOGY,

 

and a signed copy of BIG FAT DISASTER.

 

Ends 12/30/2022.

 

Visit Beth’s website for more information and to enter!

 

 

 

 

Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

For Participating Blogs

 

 

 

 

blog tour services provided by

 

 

 

Posted in 5 paws, coming of age, Giveaway, Magic, Mystical, Review, Young Adult on December 15, 2022

 

 

THE AQUAMARINE SURFBOARD

 

by

 

KELLYE ABERNATHY

 

 

 

Middle Grade / Magical Realism / Fantasy

Publisher: Atmosphere Press

Page Count: 290 pages

Publication Date: November 22, 2021

 

Scroll down for a giveaway!

 

 

 

 

“Age never matters; these things are about bravery and heart.”

 

Thirteen-year-old Condi Bloom’s dream is to learn to surf, but her laid-back beach town isn’t what it used to be. Big resort owners are taking over the cove. Worse, someone’s harassing the Beachlings, the mysterious old women living in the cliffs off Windy Hollow, a lonely tower of rock that people say is haunted. When a new surfer boy named Trustin shows up in town and invites Condi to a forbidden surfing spot, she’s swept into an extraordinary underwater adventure, where a surprising encounter with Koan, the Riddlemaster of the Sea, changes her life. Along with Trustin, his quirky twin and a mystical aquamarine surfboard, Condi learns the untold stories of the Beachlings, uncovering the timeless secrets of Windy Hollow.

Ebbing and flowing between reality and magic, times past and present, The Aquamarine Surfboard by Kellye Abernathy is a riveting beach tale about opening up to mystery, building community when and where you can — and discovering the ocean is filled with magic—the really BIG kind—the kind that changes the world.

 

 

 

Amazon  *   Barnes and Noble

 

IndieBound  *  Bookshop.org

 

Books-A-Million

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was swept away by this middle-grade novel that is more than just a story; it is a reminder to do good in this world.

Condi wants nothing more than to learn how to surf, but money is tight since her parents died and she moved in with her grandmother, Grand Ella. But that doesn’t keep her from watching the surfers and wishing to be one of them. However, an ill-fated event throws her into a world of magic and a task that she won’t be able to remember once she leaves that world.

This story blends the past with the present, the downtrodden with the upper class, and the popular and regular kids. There is an air of mystery surrounding the story tied to a former spa/resort and some of the Beachlings that live in the caves above the cove. I won’t share too many details because it might give away a lot of the story…but as you read, things will come to light that ties back to the past. This includes Condi’s new friends, Trustin and Marissa, twins that arrived in town one day.

Young girls (and boys, too) will enjoy this coming-of-age story and perhaps might find a bit of themselves in this book. They might be the science geek, the athlete, or the dreamer. No matter how they see themselves, this book will share joy, sadness, grief, and love in a way that any reader can relate to.

The shorter chapters make it easier to stop if necessary, but you might find yourself reading whenever you have a spare moment, enjoying the poetic prose and caring characters. You will even find some poems within the pages expanding your horizons and perhaps providing an interest in searching out more by the poets referenced.

Condi’s journey is hers, but we might find ourselves in her shoes or remember times in our own lives that mirror Condi’s.

This was a wonderful tale, and we give it 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kellye Abernathy’s passions are writing and serving trauma survivors as a yoga teacher and practical life skills advocate. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary English Education from the University of Kansas. Her home is in land-locked Plano, Texas—where she’s dreaming of her next trip to the sea!

 

Website * Instagram * Twitter

 

Facebook * Goodreads * Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

 

Three winners receive signed copies!

 

(US only; ends midnight, CST, 12/16/22)

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

 

 

 

 

 

Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

 

For Participating Blogs, added as they pop up.

 

 

 

 

blog tour services provided by

 

Posted in coming of age, excerpt, Guest Post, Romantic Comedy on November 6, 2022

 

 

Synopsis

 

Ila, a Mumbai-based teenager, is going nuts with Veena, her controlling, single mother who prevents her from stalking her pop idol, Ali Zafar. Veena wants her daughter to date real guys in the lead-up to finding a husband. But Ila decides that the only way to get her mom off her back is by finding her a boyfriend instead. With the help of her best friend Deepali, her crush Dev and her mother’s best friend Maleeka, they will come up with a plan to make it happen by setting up a profile in dating apps.

 

 

Amazon

 

 

Excerpt

 

IT ALL BEGAN with Deepali wanting to experiment with her sexuality.

“It’s about discovering the feminine mystique,” Deepali said. She peered out of the corner of her eye towards the far end of the school canteen, twirling a thick lock of hair that hung down over her left ear.

“That’s a book by Gloria Steinem…No, Betty Friedan,” I replied.

“Yaar, don’t be so literal. Just think about it. If you kiss a girl, maybe you’ll understand how a boy feels when he kisses you. It’s an experiment.” Interesting…the only thing I had experimented with was with sulphuric acid in a lab.

“There must be something you want to experiment with this summer,” Deepali continued, scrutinizing her perfectly manicured nails. “Something that you are obsessed with, that you love.
And that Aunty Veena probably despises you for.”

It was just like Deepali to have a dig at Aunty Veena, my mom. She did it only to test boundaries; riling me up was a matter of entertainment for Deepali. It had been ever since we were five. Every play date, every sleepover. Deepali was convinced that I was too over my head in trying to please my mother, so she did everything possible to encourage me to rebel. Although this trait had annoyed me throughout our twelve or so years of friendship, it was definitely a truism that helped me confront my inadequacies. Isn’t that what BFFs are for?

But back to being obsessed. Yes, I knew all about that. In no particular order, I was besotted with:

1. Ice-cream
2. Puppy dogs
3. Ali Zafar
4. Roller-coaster rides
5. Sleeping in on weekends.
6. Dev

Okay, okay, I admit that’s not entirely true. So let me rephrase.

In this particular order, I was crazy about:

1. Ali Zafar
2. Ali Zafar’s voice
3. Ali Zafar’s eyes
4. Dreaming about Ali Zafar
5. Ice-cream, puppy dogs, roller-coaster rides, sleeping in
on weekends, Dev.

No, not Dev! Perish the thought! He was far from being anywhere near my league. In recent days, I had more exposure to this particular so-called love interest of Deepali’s. Yes, I choose my words carefully, but as long as the ‘so-called’ part was still valid, I needed to put him out of my head and focus on Ali Zafar, Pakistan’s hunkiest singer-songwriter who, until my very recent experience with Dev, had been the object of my attention since I was fifteen.

Mom could never stomach my obsession with Ali Zafar. As far as she was concerned, two years was way too long to have a teen pop idol crush. “For god’s sake, Ila, get a grip,” she would grumble, perhaps on a weekly, if not daily, basis. I couldn’t understand why it so riled her, but I did try to reason. “I’m in love, Mom. You were seventeen once. You should know the deal.”

“Yes, I do know the deal.” She was, as always when it came to Ali Zafar, dismissive. “The deal being that, at seventeen, you can’t tell love from the backside of a bus.”

Mom’s metaphors are so confusing. “Ali Zafar is a beautiful man. He can hardly be compared to the backside of anything.”

“Still, you should set a more achievable target.”

Should. Conversations with Mom are always peppered with the word. Ila, you should this; Ila, you should that. Perhaps I should, but in my eyes, just one target counted—Ali Zafar. He was definitely more achievable than Dev.

I’ve never been much of a groupie, but I figured I could spend most of the summer following Ali around the country from concert to concert. Some people travel, some do internships. I could make an art out of stalking my celebrity. If not an art, a science. That’s what I wanted to experiment with.

Recently, while shopping at Phoenix Mills, I couldn’t help but notice a horde of people and cars in front of the mall. I finagled my way into the crowd, anxious to find out what the fuss was about. A big black sedan drove up to the front. A sedan in Mumbai? Must be some big shot. The car door opened and out stepped a black tank-topped, skin-tight-jeaned Ali Zafar, bodyguard and all! A lady-killing machine. You should have seen the jaw-dropping entourage cluster around him as he sauntered over to the popcorn vendor.

My heart pounded harder and harder with every step he took farther into the mall. He took off his dark glasses and smiled at the crowd. At one point, his eyes actually met mine—the ultimate moment of romantic connection.

“Hey, babe,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Of course, I couldn’t say anything. What can one possibly say in response to a ‘hey, babe’ from the world’s hottest teen pop idol? I just stood there, frozen to the bone, trying to conceal the embarrassment that spread through my being. What I was actually nervous about, I have no idea—the sheer thrill of being acknowledged by my heartthrob had rendered me utterly useless.
Within seconds, he had left me for someone else at the other end of the crowd. He posed coyly for photos with some girl and then with another girl, both of whom had been frantically pushing and shoving to get framed with him. And then his bodyguards skillfully maneuvered him into the lift.

What a colossal idiot I was. Instead of standing there like a victim of Medusa, I should have gone right up front and demanded a photo with him. I hate it when my nerves take over
my powers of judgement.

That was two months ago but, of course, I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Every day since, I have become increasingly obsessed with the idea of tracking him down.

 

 

Guest Post

 

 

Operation Mom – an opportunity to whack the funny bone

 

In general, I think life would be more fun if we took it down a notch. I am a huge proponent of stand up comedy and improv because I think it helps us let go of our Type A existence, be spontaneous and have a laugh or two. That goes for the performers as well as the audience members. So many of us take ourselves way too seriously and really need a whack of our funny bone from time to time.

I grew up reading very serious novels, most of them Classic British literature. It wasn’t until I moved to the United States many years later that I discovered the American sense of humor – so basic, so subtle and so able to lighten your mood on any given day. It made me think about how I had so material right here in my home.

In Indian life, be it in or outside of India, there is an element of predictability and safety that underscores practically every decision — it’s a classic example as to why Indian parents want their kids to go into ‘safe’ professions like medicine and engineering. There is plenty of comedy in that itself – you just need to dig for it. And when it comes to predictability, you don’t typically find an Indian situation in which the daughter is setting up her mom – usually it happens the other way around. You don’t find stories which expose you to a variety of cray cray ethnic situations strewn around Mumbai – all ripe for comedic interpretation. That’s what I wanted to do with Operation Mom — in many ways it is an LOL window into my life and circumstances. As a Mumbaikar I feel like I have many affinities – to the Punjabi way of life, to the Parsi community, to places like Swati Snacks and Worli Seaface…all these are part of my ordinary world that I wanted to share with folks everywhere. I wanted to highlight the contextual comedy that is such a huge part of my people and in these places. And the fun with writing fiction is that through it, you can make the ordinary, extraordinary.

My relationship with my own mom has been fairly laid back. She definitely played her role of ‘Classic Punjabi Mother’ during my younger years but as any Punjabi will tell you, the moment you enter into the institution of marriage, the Punjabi mother becomes completely hands-off. My book actually has nothing to do with my own mother but her ridiculous Punju traits definitely carry through all the humorous set-pieces. For anyone familiar with the quirks of this particular community, the anecdotes will resonate.

When I was a kid, she was highly skeptical of anything concerning me – where I went, who I met and why I pursued the things I wanted to do. Her old-school Punjabi mindset had her believe that if I was too ‘interesting’ or ‘determined’, then it would naturally become an impediment to ‘marrying me off’. So when I successfully stalked George Michael, my teen pop idol, it truly stressed her out.

Who is George Michael, you ask? Well, back in the eighties, he was the lead singer of Wham! Okay that completely gives away my age 🙂 I was one of many teenage girls in the eighties who was completely obsessed with him. Determined to meet him in person, I went through lengths to stalk him one summer holiday in England. It took practically all summer for me to track him down, and mind you this was long before the age of internet or social media, so I really take great pride in my grass roots research skills! I made my way to his father’s restaurant in Edgware, and then followed his cat to his house in Bushey Meads where I had a long chat with his mother, who finally pointed me to the office of his manager in Central London, where I eventually met him. I was fifteen then, obsessive to put it mildly…or perhaps I should say, ‘determined.’ But this event propelled me to teen stardom…as pathetic as that sounds! And the story has kept listeners marveling and laughing with each re-telling these last thirty-five years. So I chose to copy-paste the George Michael story from my life and into my novel, almost verbatim.

What’s wrong with the Comedy of Obsessiveness? Like I said, life would be so much more fun if we took ourselves a little less seriously.

 

 

About the Author

 

Reenita Malhotra Hora is a founder, executive-level content, operations & marketing leader, and prolific writer. With multiple years of experience in media, entertainment, communications, tech/innovation and wellness industries in the USA and Asia, she grows organizations, ranging from early stage startups through mid-size businesses, through storytelling, creative marketing and business strategy.

Reenita has written seven books – five non fiction and two fiction. She is the writer, anchor and executive producer of Shadow Realm and True Fiction Project podcasts and founder of the Chapter by episode fiction app. She has contributed to The Hindu, South China Morning Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, Asian Investor, Times of India, National Geographic Kids, Cartoon Network Asia, Disney, and more.

 

Website * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter

 

 

 

 

Posted in 5 paws, coming of age, Giveaway, Historical, humor, Review, Science Fiction on October 29, 2022

 

 

LIBERTY BELL AND THE LAST AMERICAN

 

by

 

James Stoddard

 

Alternative History / Science Fiction

Pages: 347 pages

Publication Date: April 4, 2021

 

Scroll down for the Giveaway!

 

 

 

 

Americans love their Constitution. In seventeen-year-old Liberty Bell’s era it has become a myth.

Centuries after the Great Blackout obliterates the world’s digitized information, America’s history is forgotten. Only confused legends remain, written in The Americana, a book depicting a golden age where famous Americans from different eras lived and interacted with one another during the same time.

Raised on the stories and ideals from The Americana, Liberty Bell joins secret agent Antonio Ice on a quest for her country. But in the Old Forest, forgotten technologies are reawakening. Historic figures such as Albert Einstein, Harriet Tubman, and Thomas Jefferson are coming to life.

The source of their return, a mystery hidden since before the apocalypse, lies waiting for Liberty. Her knowledge of The Americana holds the key to unraveling the riddles of the past.

Will the American continent return to the freedom of Liberty’s forefathers? Or will it descend into a dark age of tyranny? The choices she makes will determine its fate. For, as The Americana says, “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it—and forfeit all coupons, discounts, and travel miles.”

Filled with quotations from exceptional Americans, here is a humorous and poignant celebration of America and its Constitution.

 

 

 

 

 

Paperback | Kindle

 

Read for Free via Kindle Unlimited

 

 

 

 

How well do you know American history? I can tell you that after reading this book, I discovered I didn’t know very much!

James Stoddard takes history and twists it, interjects humor, and reminds us of our past, both good and bad. He does this through a seventeen-year-old young lady named Liberty Bell. Liberty is off to visit her family and ends up smack dab in a robbery on the train. When I first started reading this book, I was a little confused. We know it is 800 years after The Great Blackout, so around the year 2800 or so, but it seems like an old west setting. Apparently, when something takes out all of the computers and electronics, it takes away knowledge since it was all stored in the cloud and couldn’t be accessed. It was a downhill slide from there because there were no books to rely on, and civilization started passing down stories orally like they did centuries ago. It was like playing a game of telephone, and the stories were mixed with commercial jingles, music, and other sayings of the time. Civilization’s intelligence also started to wane, and they relied on one book, The Americana, as their source of historical knowledge. Liberty is one of the few that can read the book, and she can quote it as situations arise. In a small way, this book also reminded me of the movie Idiocracy.

Once into the story, I had difficulty putting the book down. I giggled often at their sayings, held my breath during some tense moments, and cheered when the good guys won battles and skirmishes. It does take a little effort to translate some of their words into what they should be since many words are spelled phonetically, but only the first time.

Liberty is quite skilled for her age but naive at the same time. She takes everything in the book at face value. However, this experience for her is quite an eye-opener. She still sees the good in everyone and believes in democracy, even when those around her think otherwise. Further into the book, she starts learning some truths and is saddened by what she discovers. I can’t blame her for feeling discouraged, but at the same time, being armed with the truth causes her to rethink her position on many things.

I enjoyed all of the characters and the parts of history that they represented. I appreciated the nod to slavery and civil rights and Native Americans and how the white man and our government impacted them. There are many nuggets of truth within these pages amidst the puns and idioms. It also reflects the patriotism the various characters felt and their regard for the constitution.

This was one of those books that surprised me, and it was more than I expected. We give this book 5 paws up and highly recommend you pick up a copy and enjoy it for yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

James Stoddard’s short fiction has appeared in science fiction publications such as “Amazing Stories” and “The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.” “The Battle of York” was included in Eos Books’ Years Best SF 10, and “The First Editions” appeared in The Year’s Best Fantasy 9 from Tor Books. His novel, “The High House” won the Compton Crook Award for best fantasy by a new novelist and was nominated for several other awards. He lives with his wife in a winding canyon in West Texas.

 

Website | Facebook | Amazon | Goodreads

 

 

 

 

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

 

THREE WINNERS:

 

2 winners each receive a Signed Paperback copy of

 

LIBERTY BELL AND THE LAST AMERICAN

 

1 winner receives a $25 B&N eGift card

 

(U.S. only; ends at midnight, 11/4/22.)

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

 

 

Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

For direct links to each post on this tour, updated daily,

Or visit the participating blogs directly:

 

10/25/22 Hall Ways Blog Author Audio
10/25/22 The Page Unbound Notable Quotables
10/26/22 Bibliotica Review
10/26/22 LSBBT Blog BONUS Promo
10/27/22 It’s Not All Gravy Guest Post
10/27/22 Boys’ Mom Reads! Review
10/28/22 The Book’s Delight Excerpt
10/28/22 Reading by Moonlight Review
10/29/22 StoreyBook Reviews Review
10/30/22 The Plain-Spoken Pen Review
10/31/22 Shelf Life Blog Review
11/01/22 Forgotten Winds Author Interview
11/01/22 Jennie Reads Review
11/02/22 Rox Burkey Blog Review
11/03/22 Chapter Break Book Blog Review
11/03/22 Book Fidelity Review

 

 

 

 

blog tour services provided by

 

 

Posted in coming of age, excerpt, Giveaway, Review, Young Adult on October 14, 2022

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

 

Jacob is at that most magical time between childhood and adolescence. As the end of the school year approaches, he is dreaming of baseball and the beach, but most of all, about working on the comic book he and his best friend Jonathan have created, The Osprey Man. Then tragedy strikes and Jacob has to find an inner strength he is not sure he has.

This beautifully written tale of youth, coping, and working through grief is ideal for readers of all ages.

 

 

Amazon * B&N * DX Varos Publishing * IndieBound * Bookshop

 

 

Praise

 

“Osprey Man reveals its surprises, unwrapping them through the course of the story like birthday gifts.”- D.Donovan, Midwest Book Review

“Chris Tuthill crafts a really touching story with very relatable themes here. It’s a vivid coming of age tale of loss and endurance.”- Matt Caputo, Goodreads 5 Star Review

“I truly enjoyed this book. Full of nostalgia, heart break, love and loss. I definitely recommend this for young and old alike!”-Maria, Goodreads 5 Star Review

 

 

Guest Review by Nora

 

Summer 1984, a fourth grader named Jacob is looking forward to his school break and enjoying the long summer evenings when he receives some life-altering news. His best friend, Jon, has been killed in an accident.

Not only was Jon a treasured confidant, but he was responsible for the illustrations in the comic book that he and Jacob were creating together. Osprey Man is a superhero with huge wings and razor-sharp talons who catches poachers and stops them from hurting animals.

Without Jon’s help, Jacob is unsure if he can finish the comic and this adds to the grief that he feels over the loss of his friend. Also adding to this is the loss of Jacob’s younger brother, Mikey, to cancer two years earlier. As Jacob begins working through his grief over both deaths, he tries to carry on with his summer and begins working at a local pizza place owned by the father of a friend.

Feeling compelled to finish ‘Osprey Man’ and share it with the world, Jacob asks for a friend named Kris to help him complete the illustrations, but the boys suffer more difficulties along the way.

This is the first novel by Christopher Tuthill that I have read, but I would gladly read more! The atmosphere in this novel was perfect. The nostalgia of the 1980s and the beginning of summer after school lets out created a pitch perfect setting that made the background of the novel almost feel like a character in its own right.

Learning how to cope with grief is incredibly difficult for people of all ages, and that really comes through in Tuthill’s usage of a young boy as the main character of this novel. Jacob’s grief for Jon, and for his younger brother are timeless in many ways. This is a satisfying story with a very touching ending.

 

 

Excerpt

 

There will never be another day like this, he thought. Tears sprang into the corners of his eyes at the idea of it. There would never be another last day of fourth grade/first day of summer when the finches land upon your hands as you hold out seed for them, when Suzie Vail asked you to her beach house, and Chaz Mancuso wanted to be your pal and offered you a job, when the streets were lined with shoppers eager beyond belief for the warm days ahead and the freedom those days promised. When those shoppers browsed the stores for beach chairs at Swezey’s and fishing line at Edward’s sporting goods and new tennis shoes at Stride Rite. When the sun blinded your eyes and the big cauliflower truck rumbled by, spewing diesel exhaust, bringing its bounty west to the big city, when the lunch counter at the Star Confectionary across the street was filled with kids getting ice cream floats, when he knew there were fifteen dates marked on his calendar for the little league season (and maybe this year his team, the Moose Lodge, would finally finish in the first division), when the Boston Terrier passing by at the end of an old man’s leash paused to consider him and then licked his hand free of pizza grease. It was an overabundance of goodness, and he wanted to savor it all, but he couldn’t.

There would never be another day like this, that much he knew, but he also knew there would never be another Jonathan Hubbard, and the grief almost swallowed Jacob whole. The tears streamed down his face and he did nothing to wipe them, because he knew they were sacred, and he thought, I can’t go to see his parents like this. I can only go to Golden Memories.

© Christopher Tuthill

 

 

About the Author

 

Christopher Tuthill’s short fiction has appeared in The Mythic Circle, Dark Tales from Elder Regions, and Tales of Reverie. A native of Riverhead, on Long Island, and a graduate of Catholic schools, Chris grew up around many of the places and people that inspire his writing.

He lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with his wife and children. He works as a librarian, and his hobbies include board games, baseball, hiking, camping, and telling stories to his three children. Among his other interests, he is co-founder of the New York Tolkien Conference.

 

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Instagram

 

 

Giveaway

 

This giveaway is for 3 print or ebook copies.

Print is open to the U.S. only. eBook is open worldwide.

This giveaway ends on October 28, 2022 midnight, pacific time.

Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Posted in 3 paws, Book Release, coming of age, Review, Young Adult on September 24, 2022

 

 

Synopsis

 

When sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis discovers the dead body of thirteen-year-old Ashley James, she teams up with Ashley’s older sister, Nora, to find and bring the killer to justice before he strikes again. But their investigation throws Georgia into a world of unimaginable privilege and wealth, without conscience or consequence, and as Ashley’s killer closes in, Georgia will discover when money, power and beauty rule, it might not be a matter of who is guilty—but who is guiltiest.

A spiritual successor to the 2018 breakout hit, SadieI’m the Girl is a masterfully written, bold, and unflinching account of how one young woman feels in her body as she struggles to navigate a deadly and predatory power structure while asking readers one question: if this is the way the world is, do you accept it?

 

 

Amazon * B&N * Kobo * Bookshop

 

 

Review

 

This is the second book by this author that I have read, and it is definitely a book to make you stop and think about the impact of perceived beauty in our culture.

This wasn’t an easy book to read due to various situations. I say not easy as the topics are deeper such as exploitation of young girls, rape, assault, drugs, and self-worth.

Georgia has had to endure a lot in her life with the death of her mother, being lured into a seamy situation by an older man, death of a friend, and trying to find her place in this world. Sadly, she hinges everything on her perceived beauty. She may be beautiful, but she believes that she can become more based on this one attribute. As we learn in our lives, beauty is fleeting, and there has to be more to a person to make it in this world. I think she is lost and has not had the best role models or guidance from family members to realize that there is more to life than the outside package.

I did feel like the book was disjointed in various spots, and I sometimes wondered why the characters were so obtuse. That said, it is still a story that fits into our world, and I think there might be some that can relate to the character’s situations. It won’t be a comfortable read, so be prepared.

We give it 3 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Courtney Summers is the bestselling author of several novels. Her work has been released to critical acclaim and multiple starred reviews, received numerous awards and honors–including the Edgar Award, the John Spray Mystery Award, the Cybils Award, the Odyssey Award, the Audie Award–and has enjoyed the recognition of many library, state, ‘Best Of’ and Readers’ Choice lists. Courtney has reviewed for The New York Times, is the founder of the 2015 worldwide trending hashtag #ToTheGirls, and in 2016, she was named one of Flare Magazine’s 60 under 30. She lives and writes in Canada.

 

Instagram * TwitterFacebook * Website

 | 
Comments Off on Review – I’m the Girl by Courtney Summers @courtney_s #YA #comingofage
Posted in Book Release, coming of age, excerpt, memoir, nonfiction on September 18, 2022

 

 

Synopsis

 

“I spent the first three years of my life unaware of the disaster that had befallen my family.” Annette Libeskind Berkovits writes: “I was shaped by the aftermath of the Holocaust…I adapted…grew a protective shield for self-preservation, then put on a smile and moved forward to meet the world on my own terms.”

She was born in exile among the red poppy-strewn foothills of the Himalayan Mountains and raised in Soviet Kyrgyzstan. Annette and her parents returned via cattle train to Poland only to discover that the Nazis had murdered almost their entire extended family and reduced their homes to rubble. After her parents obtained exit visas from the Soviet authorities, she became a teenage immigrant to two different countries in the space of two years.

Israel, a country barely ten years old – rough, sweet, vibrant, with its brilliant sky and azure sea – was like stepping into Technicolor after Poland’s dreary grays. Annette fell in love with it. But just two years later Annette’s life was upended again when the family was driven to emigrate to America.

Leaving the blue of Israel behind Annette was greeted by the green patina of the Statue of Liberty as the ship reached New York harbor. Her father and an Auschwitz survivor aunt welcomed the family with excitement, but many obstacles lay ahead.

The American immigrant experience is realized here from a perspective of a young girl. New languages, customs, and cultures, learned at lightning speed while mastering the normal angst of adolescence, make this a vivid and immersive memoir, rich with the detail of everyday life.

Annette graduated from one of the most selective public high schools in America and later became an internationally respected wildlife conservation educator and a writer of memoir, poetry, and historical fiction. Her brother, Daniel Libeskind, the internationally renowned architect, is very much a part of her story.

 

 

Amazon * B&N * Bookshop

 

 

Excerpt

 

During the mid-40s and 50s there was no organization more feared or more powerful in Poland than the UB, the Ministry of Public Security—the secret police. More than 30,000 of its employees were installed in every community to serve as a listening post for the faintest signs of political opposition. Everyone was considered a suspect under the UB’s lidless gaze. To maintain its grip, the communist government depended on neighbor denouncing neighbor. Within a decade more than 300,000 people were arrested and 9,000 executed for alleged anti-government activities.

In our home conversations were usually whispered, especially if they related to money, to our friends or neighbors, or things about our plans for the future, to anything of importance. “Sha, sha,” Mama usually cautioned with a finger to her lips and a look of concern on her crinkled forehead. “Even the walls have ears.”

It wasn’t until much later that I understood the reason for the secrecy. In communist Poland any neighbor could have been a spy and even the most innocent remark could have landed my parents in jail, or subjected them to relentless scrutiny and endless questioning by the authorities. As uncomfortable as such a life must have been for my parents, we kids felt a part of our own little secret society, taking comfort in our togetherness and a shared sense of purpose; us against unfriendly neighbors and a hostile city. In Poland we were keenly aware that we were Jewish, like none of our neighbors. That meant that many of our relatives were killed

during the war, that my parents spoke Yiddish, but only at home, and that Israel was where some of my mother’s relatives lived. It also meant that our neighbors thought we had horns and lice on our heads, and piles of money under our mattresses. At least this is what I surmised from the frequent derogatory comments thrown our way.

 

 

About the Author

 

Annette Libeskind Berkovits is the author of two acclaimed memoirs: “In the Unlikeliest of Places: How Nachman Libeskind Survived the Nazis, Gulags and Soviet Communism” a story of her father’s survival, and “Confessions of an Accidental Zoo Curator.” She has also penned a poetry book, “Erythra Thalassa: Brain Disrupted” and a historical fiction novel, “The Corset Maker.” “Aftermath” is her latest release.

 

Website * Twitter * Facebook

 | 
Comments Off on Excerpt – Aftermath by Annette Libeskind Berkovits @ALBerkovits #newrelease #memoir #nonfiction
Posted in coming of age, excerpt, fiction, Spotlight on August 28, 2022

 

 

Synopsis

 

It is 1990 and, while the country stands on the brink of war with Iraq, Kirby Russo is finally at peace with the world. At seventeen years old, he’s figured out some important lessons: how to stay out of trouble with the authorities; how to write muck-raking articles that expose the hypocrisy of said authorities; and, most importantly, how to avoid obsessing about his long lost girlfriend Izzy (who has run away and may be in trouble in Chicago). But when a rich classmate snags the editorship of the school newspaper out from under him, Kirby knows his brief career as a conformist is over. An opportunity to reestablish his hell-raising bona fides arises when his long-lost father shows up with a shady past and a half-baked scheme. Together, they embark on a cross-country road trip to connect with a family he never knew, and maybe even track down Izzy. Kirby soon realizes, however, that life’s biggest lessons – the ones that really matter – never happen according to plan.

 

 

Amazon * Publisher * Bookshop

 

 

Praise

 

I couldn’t stop reading The Prince of Infinite Space. I read it in one sitting because I cared about the characters. The people in this story are credible and flawed. The novel is a journey of a young man to himself. We root for him. The writing is clean and engaging, designed to carry us along. We go with it. It’s worth the ride into infinite space. —Angela Jackson, poet, novelist, playwright

O, Kirby Russo, Prince of bad choices! Why do I still love you so? Is it your gadfly sense of humor, the way you turn a phrase, or how you keep making brave misguided plans in the face of adult hypocrisy and compromise? Thank you for letting me see the vulnerability you hide from everyone around you. Most of all, last-chancer, I love you because Giano Cromley created you too complex and contradictory to be pigeon-holed. You are always true and vitally alive. —Diane Lefer, author of Out of Place and California Transit (winner of the Mary McCarthy Prize)

Reading Giano Cromley’s fabulous new novel, The Prince of Infinite Space, is a little like taking a road trip with Holden Caulfield. Kirby Russo, Cromley’s narrator, is young and intelligent, and like Holden, he’s quick-witted and damaged. But Kirby is kinder and more vulnerable than Salinger’s narrator; he’s a young man searching for purpose, for love, and for family. In this engaging, funny, and moving love story/road story, things go right and things go wrong. Ultimately, though, they keep on going like the grumbling but mostly reliable Crown Vic that carries Kirby, his newly found father, and by extension us, toward Chicago and self-discovery, toward grief and toward grace. Once in these pages, we have no choice but to sit back enjoy the ride. —Patricia Ann McNair, author of Responsible Adults

In The Prince of Infinite Space, a sequel to The Last Good Halloween, Giano Cromley revisits his wise-beyond-his-years protagonist Kirby Russo, always whip-smart and disarmingly honest, now in military school with America about to enter the Gulf War. When Kirby’s estranged dad shows up to take Kirby on a road trip to heal old wounds, you’ll be hooked by this big-hearted tale that’s full of wit and vulnerability. You’ll want to follow Kirby to a third book as he grows up to inevitably ask: Do any of us ever really grow up? —Leland Cheuk, author of No Good Very Bad Asian

There may be no pot of gold at the end of all the various rainbows that Kirby Russo tracks down in his well-meaning misadventures, but there is for the reader who engages with Giano Cromley’s entrancing, comedic, and at times poetic coming-of-age-story which is true story-telling gold. —Joseph G. Peterson, author of The Rumphulus

With Cromley’s clear vision, a road trip to find a girl transforms into a quest much more meaningful and profound. Kirby Russo is an engaging and relatable anti-hero who can’t decide if he needs to blow up his life or put it back together. By turns funny, charming, sad, and beautiful, Prince of Infinite Space is a delightful read. —Darrin Doyle, author of The Girl Who Ate Kalamazoo and The Beast in Aisle 34

 

Excerpt

 

Chapter 6

 

[Context: It’s the first day of Kirby Russo’s senior year at Haverford Military Institute. His journalism teacher, Mr. Lombardi, is about to announce who will be named executive editor of the school newspaper, a position Kirby is expecting to be named to.]

 

My eyes are chalky, and there’s a gross film in my mouth. Plus, my nerves are making my stomach squirm like a net full of eels. There are maybe twenty bekhakied boys sitting around the two long wooden tables.

Andrew Thetford is sitting near the front of the room. Somehow, his khaki service uniform fits him better than anyone else’s. He says something to the guys sitting around him, and they all bust out laughing. Then he crosses his legs and laces his hands behind his head.

I’m sitting across from Marcus Greely, our staff photographer, who’s tinkering with some new lens he got over the summer. Mr. Lombardi walks in and everyone self-shushes.

“Welcome back, gentlemen,” Mr. Lombardi says. “I hope you all had productive summer vacations. I’m sure you’re geared up for what will be a rewarding year with the Haverford Bugle. The first order of business will be naming our new leadership team.”

The room goes silent. I can hear the hum of the fluorescent lights overhead.

“We’ve got a lot of talented individuals on staff, so choosing these positions was extremely difficult.” He pauses and looks around the room.

Across the table, Marcus hoists his camera and starts spraying photos around the room. With each shot, the aperture makes a grinding noise that sets my eyes twitching.

“I won’t hold you in suspense any longer,” Mr. Lombardi goes on. “For the position of Executive Editor, I’m naming someone who I’ve watched for a while now, and who I’ve really seen grow as a journalist.”

My face is burning. My hands are gripping my thighs. When he calls my name, should I stand up and wave? Will people start clapping? I hope I won’t be expected to make a speech, though I’ve got a rough outline in my head of what I might say, should the need arise. Marcus keeps snapping photos.

Mr. Lombardi takes one last breath and says, “I’m pleased to name Andrew Thetford as your next Executive Editor.”

People do indeed start clapping, but I can’t hear it because someone has sucked all the oxygen out of the room. I turn my head toward Andrew in time to see him put on a fake-surprised expression. The boys next to him pat him on the back. He high-fives the kid across the table.

“Your face looks blue,” Marcus says. He’s peering through his camera at me, squeezing off a fusillade of photos. “I don’t think it’s this lens. That might be, like, a health thing.”

My vision swims for a moment. “Andrew’ll do a great job,” I say, to no one in particular. “A really, really, really, really great job.”

Mr. Lombardi is droning on, naming the rest of the staff, but it’s all just noise.

Part of my brain is telling me to snap out of it, to be gracious in defeat. It tries to latch onto some aphorism about finding the true measure of a man when the chips are down or some other tripe they feed to losers when they lose. But another part of my brain is telling me to burn this place to its foundations, to plow its fields with salt.

I have no idea how long these two factions duke it out in my head. The next thing I know, the room has cleared and I’m sitting alone at the table. I feel a hand on my shoulder. Mr. Lombardi is hovering over me, a hangdog look on his face. I can see from here he hasn’t shaved in a few days. His beard is coming in gray.

“I know you’re disappointed, Kirby.”

“Try something stronger.”

“It wasn’t an easy choice,” he says, as if that’s supposed to help.

“Take your fucking hand off my shoulder,” I snap.

He pulls back as if he’s been bitten. It’s a fearful gesture, and knowing that I caused fear in him gives me an ounce of strength. I stand up abruptly, knocking my chair over backwards.

The hallways are empty. I’m adrift, unable to latch onto anything other than my own pain. And it’s telling me one thing: They’ll regret this. All of them.

 

 

About the Author

 

Giano Cromley is the author of the novel, The Last Good Halloween and the story collection, What We Build Upon the Ruins, both of which were finalists for the High Plains Book Award. He is the recipient of an Artists Fellowship from the Illinois Arts Council and was a BookEnds Fellow with Stony Brook University. He is an English professor at Kennedy-King College in Chicago, where he is chair of the Communications Department and sits on the committee for the Center of Equity for Creative Arts. He lives on the South Side of Chicago with his wife and two dogs.

 

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Instagram

 

 | 
Comments Off on Excerpt – The Prince of Infinite Space by Giano Cromley @gianoc #comingofage #family #fiction
Posted in coming of age, excerpt, Giveaway, Short Story, Southern, Texas on July 9, 2022

 

 

PICTURES OF THE SHARK

 

by

 

THOMAS H. McNEELY

 

 

Short Stories / Southern Fiction / Coming of Age

Publisher: Texas Review Press

Date of Publication: July 12, 2022

Number of Pages: 205 pages

 

Scroll down for the Giveaway!

 

 

 

 

A sudden snowfall in Houston reveals family secrets. A trip to Universal Studios to snap a picture of the shark from Jaws becomes a battle of wills between father and son. A midnight séance and the ghost of Janis Joplin conjure the mysteries of sex. A young boy’s pilgrimage to see Elvis Presley becomes a moment of transformation. A young woman discovers the responsibilities of talent and freedom.

Pictures of the Shark, by Houston native and Dobie Paisano award-winning author Thomas H. McNeely, traces a young man’s coming of age and falling apart. From the rough and tumble of Houston’s early seventies East End to the post-punk Texas bohemia of late eighties Austin, this novel in stories examines what happens when childhood trauma haunts adult lives.

 

 

 

 

CLICK TO PURCHASE

 

 

Praise

 

“McNeely’s brilliant stories are filled with delicious menace and heartbreaking hope.” – Pamela Painter, author of What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers and Fabrications: New and Selected Stories

“In these gorgeously crafted interlinked stories, Thomas McNeely demonstrates once again an uncanny ability to illuminate the darkest emotional corners of his characters with a vision that is as tender and compassionate as it is unflinching.” – Antonio Ruiz-Camacho, author of Barefoot Dogs

“With masterful prose, McNeely draws you down into emotional depths where your ambivalence and confusion show you at your most profoundly human. These stories hook you quickly and deeply and keep you even after they end. – C.W. Smith, author of Steplings, Buffalo Nickel, and Understanding Women

 

 

 

Excerpt from “No One’s Trash”

 

From Pictures Of The Shark

 

By Thomas McNeely

 

 

Outside the kitchen, past the glassed-in storm door, rain lashed the back yard, which was already filling up with water.  On the TV, light poles littered the streets, and freeway underpasses were ponds where windshields of cars peeked out like frogs.  Margot hoped Jimmy wouldn’t be foolish enough to drive across Houston to pick up Buddy; though she didn’t want to begrudge him their time together, either.

Buddy sat in front of the TV, his back to her, rigid as a mannequin, the usual mood he assumed when Jimmy came to get him on Saturdays.  Margot had left the back door open to keep an eye on the pecan tree that swayed over the fence with Mr. Knight’s back yard.  What good it would do to watch it fall on her garage, she didn’t know.  Even through the thrum of rain and air conditioner’s moan and the TV announcers’ gabble, she could hear the Knights arguing next door.

Just as she told Buddy to say a prayer that his father would be safe, the lights in the house went out, the TV went dead, the air conditioner stopped.  Buddy glanced back at her – she was standing at the sink, checking the road, which was still clear – then he leaned across the piles of paper on her desk, pressing his nose against the air conditioner to catch the last cool drops, his eyes closed, beatific, as if receiving a sacrament.  How delicate he still was, she thought, his milk-pale skin covering blue veins, his wrists so small she could circle them with her forefinger and thumb.  All morning, he hadn’t spoken to her; she still wasn’t sure if he would now.  Her heart constricted with tenderness for him, a physical ache.

Outside, there was only the steady thrum of rain.  Even the Knights had fallen silent.  Margot wanted to say something to Buddy, but felt suddenly shy.  It was a foolish thing, a humiliating thing, to feel this way with one’s own son.

The phone rang.  She nearly jumped out of her skin; in the sudden quiet, it was uncanny and absurd.  Buddy looked at her, then at the phone, an accusation.

It could only be one of two people: Jimmy, or her mother.  It was Jimmy.  All morning, Margot had called the lab, and Jimmy’s beeper, and his parents’ house, where Jimmy said that he lived.  Jimmy’s mother answered, and asked Margot who she thought she was, calling her son at all hours, hounding him, before she hung up.  Jimmy’s voice, now, was falsely causal, as if he’d just gone to the grocery store and was phoning to see if there was anything he could bring back.  He asked how they were doing, in a tone that suggested he still lived with them, a tone that never failed to jolt her with anger at its presumption, and relief that it was no longer true.  She said they were fine.  He asked her about the backyard.  She said that it was fine, too, that it hadn’t taken on any water, and thanked him for putting in the drain, which was what she knew he wanted to hear.  Buddy glared at her, catching her lie; she turned her back on him.

“I’m not going to be able to make it over there today,” Jimmy said.

“Of course not,” she said, too quickly.

“Have you thought anymore about the letter?” he said.

It was all she thought about.  “Not yet,” she said.

Buddy was watching her.  He’d understood, she saw, that Jimmy wouldn’t come; his expression was like water clearing – relief and also anger.

“I’m sorry,” Jimmy said.  “Tell Buddy I’m sorry.”

“Tell him yourself,” she said.

Buddy cradled the receiver against his shoulder, turning from her, giving mumbled one-word answers to the questions Jimmy always asked:  How was school that week?  How was his horror movie coming along?  He told Jimmy he loved him, too, then put the receiver back in its cradle.  Then he jumped up and down silently, shaking his fists, baring gritted teeth – a hateful, sorrowing dance.  She had borne this kind of anger before from Jimmy.  Now she couldn’t look at him, at Buddy, her son.

Outside, she saw the Knight girls, Cara and Darla, hop across the paving stones in the back yard, like naiads, like water sprites, already soaked to the bone.  Buddy turned to her, his mouth pinched and vindictive.

“Get rid of them,” he said.

“I can’t do that,” she said.

She couldn’t, even if she had wanted to; they were already at her door.

 

 

 

 

Thomas H. McNeely is an Eastside Houston native. He has published short stories and nonfiction in The Atlantic, Texas Monthly, Ploughshares, and many other magazines and anthologies, including Best American Mystery Stories and Algonquin Books’ Best of the South. His stories have been shortlisted for the Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories, and O. Henry Award anthologies. He has received National Endowment for the Arts, Wallace Stegner, and MacDowell Colony fellowships for his fiction. His first book, Ghost Horse, won the Gival Press Novel Award and was shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize in Writing. He currently teaches in the Stanford Online Writing Studio and at Emerson College, Boston.

 

Author:

 

Website  ◆  Facebook

 

Twitter ◆ Amazon  ◆  Goodreads

 

 

Publisher:

 

WebsiteFacebook  ◆  Twitter

 

 

 

 

GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

 

 FOUR WINNERS!

 

2 winners: autographed copy of Pictures of the Shark

 

2 winners: autographed copy of Pictures of the Shark

 

+ editorial critique of an excerpt (up to 20 pages) from an unpublished short story or novel.

 

(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 7/15/2022)

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

 

 

Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

For direct links to each post on this tour, updated daily,

or visit the blogs directly:

 

7/5/22 Excerpt Shelf Life Blog
7/5/22 BONUS Promo Hall Ways Blog
7/6/22 Review Boys’ Mom Reads
7/6/22 BONUS Promo LSBBT Blog
7/7/22 Guest Post All the Ups and Downs
7/8/22 Review Bibliotica
7/9/22 Excerpt StoreyBook Reviews
7/10/22 Playlist Forgotten Winds
7/11/22 Review Jennie Reads
7/12/22 Author Interview Rox Burkey Blog
7/13/22 Review Reading by Moonlight
7/14/22 Review The Book’s Delight

 

 

 

 

blog tour services provided by

 

 

 | 
Comments Off on Excerpt & #Giveaway – Pictures Of The Shark by Thomas McNeely @thmcneely @TxReviewPress #LSBBT #TexasAuthor #TexasBook #ShortStories #ComingOfAge #SouthernFiction #newrelease