Friday, July 29, 2016

Spotlight on M.J. Lee's The Irish Inheritance

02_The Irish Inheritance

The Irish Inheritance: A Jayne Sinclair Genealogical Mystery

by M.J. Lee

Publication Date: June 15, 2016
eBook; 285 Pages
ASIN: B01FR5PP9S

Series: The Jayne Sinclair Series, Book One
Genre: Historical/Mystery

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June 8, 1921. Ireland.

A British Officer is shot dead on a remote hillside south of Dublin.

November 22, 2015. United Kingdom.

Former police detective, Jayne Sinclair, now working as a genealogical investigator, receives a phone call from an adopted American billionaire asking her to discover the identity of his real father.

How are the two events linked?

Jayne Sinclair has only three clues to help her: a photocopied birth certificate, a stolen book and an old photograph. And it soon becomes apparent somebody else is on the trail of the mystery. A killer who will stop at nothing to prevent Jayne discovering the secret hidden in the past.

The Irish Inheritance takes us through the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish War of Independence, combining a search for the truth of the past with all the tension of a modern-day thriller.

It is the first in a series of novels featuring Jayne Sinclair, genealogical detective.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

03_MJ Lee

About the Author

Martin has spent most of his adult life writing in one form or another. As a University researcher in history, he wrote pages of notes on reams of obscure topics. As a social worker with Vietnamese refugees, he wrote memoranda. And, as the creative director of an advertising agency, he has written print and press ads, tv commercials, short films and innumerable backs of cornflake packets and hotel websites.

He has spent 25 years of his life working outside the North of England. In London, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok and Shanghai, winning awards from Cannes, One Show, D&AD, New York and London Festivals, and the United Nations.

When he’s not writing, he splits his time between the UK and Asia, taking pleasure in playing with his daughter, researching his family history, practicing downhill ironing, single-handedly solving the problem of the French wine lake and wishing he were George Clooney.

You can find more information on M.J. Lee and his novels on Goodreads, Amazon, Facebook, and Twitter.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, July 18

Tour Kick Off at Passages to the Past

Saturday, July 23

Review at One Book Shy of a Full Shelf

Wednesday, July 27

Review at Book Nerd

Friday, July 29

Spotlight at The True Book Addict

Saturday, July 30

Review at Beth's Book Nook Blog

Friday, August 12

Tour Wrap Up at Passages to the Past


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Thursday, July 28, 2016

Cat Thursday - Cat Mannerisms


Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

We have all experienced the typical, and not so typical, mannerisms of our cats. Certainly never a dull moment...am I right?








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Saturday, July 23, 2016

Reading Plans - #24in48 Read-a-Thon


I almost forgot about this! My read-a-thon, High Summer, is going on right now, but why not join another!?

I'm planning on going for a total page count rather than number of books read for this read-a-thon (I already finished one this week for High Summer. Woot!). I think I'm going to jump around with my reading rather than focus on just one book.


I have to finish the Earthsea Trilogy by Tuesday so will try to read a good chunk of it.


I'm going to get started reading 13 Ways to Look at a Novel and The Greenlanders, both by Jane Smiley. We're reading three Jane Smiley books for my Lit Collective group read (on Goodreads) in August. I'm picking up the third book, A Thousand Acres, at the library later today since I can't seem to locate my copy.

  1. Where in the world are you reading from this weekend?
    Nashville, Tennessee, US
  2. Have you done the 24in48 readathon before?
    I think I did once.
  3. Where did you hear about the readathon, if it is your first?
    Thank goodness I subscribe to the blog via email. Otherwise, I might have missed it!
  4. What book are you most excited about reading this weekend?
    13 Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley
  5. Tell us something about yourself.
    Mom of 2 boys, avid reader, writer, book blogger, cat lover, singer & owner of a massive home library
  6. Remind us where to find you online this weekend.
    Here on this blog, but most likely in my read-a-thon group on Facebook, Seasons of Reading, or on Twitter.

Full details on the 24 in 48 read-a-thon and you can still sign up! Hour zero post here.


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Thursday, July 21, 2016

Cat Thursday - Caught in the act


Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)







This kitty has the right idea...don't get caught. lol



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Wednesday, July 20, 2016

My guest today - Lee Ness, author of the Olympian series - #FREE Historical Fiction!


Cadet, Book 2 in the Olympian series released on June 30, 2016. Scroll down for more info on the book and how you can download Books 1 and 2 for free.

About writing the series:
It all started with a conversation over a cup of tea. A few of us at work read a lot of books and we all have a preference for historical fiction. The conversation was around which periods had not really been covered by the big hitters, like Scarrow, Cornwell and Iggulden. We couldn’t really think of any. It was an interesting conversation, but didn’t amount to anything. At the time I was writing a non-fiction book called The Sports Motivation Master Plan.

A year or so later, the Master Plan was off with the editor and I was at a loose end. I was still maintaining the same routine, up at 5am sat in front of the computer, but doing nothing productive. On the way to a competition with a mini-bus full of athletes, a 5 hour round trip on the motorway of mind-numbing frustration in a bus that was restricted to 56mph, I started to think about writing a novel, but what about?

There I was, with a bus full of athletes…….

And then, there it was. Ancient Olympics. (The idea of writing a contemporary novel about the Olympics came to mind, but it didn’t even interest me, never mind a reader!) I thought back to that conversation and tried to think of a major series of books set in Ancient Greece, and I couldn’t. Brilliant. I was sure there was, but the fact that none sprung to mind was good enough. By the time the bus journey finished I had the plot, not just for one book, but for a whole series.

I love Greece, and I’ve been there many times. I even plan to retire there when the time comes. Perfect. Except I knew scant amount about the history, only tourist levels of knowledge. Time to research. I read an excellent book called The Naked Olympics, by Tony Perrottet which gave me some great ideas and helped me decide the exact period I wanted to set it in. The aim wasn’t to write about specific historical events, only to use them as a backdrop. The aim was for the characters and the plot to carry the day.

I finished the first novel at the end of 2013, but didn’t release it for another year. I wrote a contemporary fiction novel in the meantime and then the sequel to that after the first Olympian was released.

The second book is darker than the first. Alexander needed to suffer, to reach the very bottom so that in later books when he needs to draw on his reserves, he’s been there and done it in the worst/best way. Most novels follow a three act type structure and mine are no different, where there is an event that closes act 1 and launches the main meat of the story. The series is also following the same pattern and Cadet is the end of Act 1 and Alexander is launched on the trajectory that eventually gets him to the Ancient Olympics. As in life, he just has to suffer a bit first. 

In a moment of sudden and terrible clarity, he realised the magnitude of what he had done by coming here. His mother was alone back in Agryl and, because she was a Thracian, her status as a citizen came from his father and him, and they were both here. If his father perished and he wasn’t there either, she would lose everything, her husband, her home and her means of support. He didn’t know where she would go, if he would ever find her again. He had to do something, his panicked thoughts tumbled through his mind. He couldn’t get home now until the next transport returned. He had to try and protect his father somehow instead. The twelve year old boy protecting the seasoned veteran. It sounded ridiculous to his own mind, but he reasoned that there must be something he could do to help, with the rain of death descending on the phalanx below. He would work it out as he went along. With the decision made, he set off down the ridge at a run towards the imminent battle below.

Cadet, Olympian Book 2
The cadets still eyed each other warily as Alexander dragged himself to his feet. His back was on fire, but the rage he felt at Hermes blotted out the pain he felt. It was a distant part of him; there but not there. Hermes had his back to Alexander and didn’t see him. Aethon was the most alert and frowned at what he saw. Alexander was covered in sand and blood from his earlier beatings. His hair was matted to his head, his face streaked with dried blood and one eye swollen. Where skin was visible through the sand that clung to him, he was covered in bruises in deep red, blue, purple and yellow. Aethon’s eyes widened at the sight.

The other cadets spotted Alexander in turn and stopped eyeing each other to look at him. Hermes tilted his head and tried to decide if this was some kind of trick, then carefully looked over his shoulder. He jerked backwards at the sight of Alexander behind him, a look of fear on his face, before he recovered and laughed. He turned back to the others.

“Looks like we have another opponent to deal with, boys,” he laughed. 

Athens 438 BC 
"So the gods have seen fit to give you to me," said Zosimos. "I thought they must be smiling on you after Samos, but it seems they were just playing a cruel trick on you. That fool Pericles might have taken a shine to you, but he can't protect you here. You're mine now." 

Alexander has survived the Siege of Samos and been sent to a military academy as a cadet. The battles with the Athenian army are nothing to what he faces in the Academy. With his life in danger from all sides, Alexander must draw on everything he has learned just to survive, but is survival enough? It isn't long before the fight back starts, against every cadet, the trainers and the head of the Academy. Can he be the last man standing?


About the author
I’m a General Manager for an upholstery company by day, an athletics coach by night and get up with the lark to be a writer. Sometimes, I spend time with my wife, two kids and my dog as well. I used to write articles for stack.com, speedendurance.com and Athletics Weekly before the fiction bug took over my life. Now that’s all I write.

Website: http://leeness.co.uk/


Download Book 1, Hoplite and Book 2, Cadet for FREE by visiting this page. If you download the books, please consider writing an honest review and sharing on your blog, Amazon and/or Goodreads. Thank you! 

Note: These are Kindle (mobi) format. If you need a different format, please contact me via the contact tab in the menu. The author will provide a link to the format you require.


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Tuesday, July 19, 2016

High Summer Read-a-Thon - What's in the books for me? #HSreadathon


As my summer comes to a close... Yes, I know you're probably saying, "...but summer doesn't end until September." Well, not for me. My sons go back to school on August 3rd. Ugh. Anyway, I digress. As I was saying, as my summer comes to a close, I seem to have a crap load of reading to do. Between working on my novel during my Sit Down and Write 8 writing challenge and Camp NaNoWriMo this month (on which I had a MAJOR breakthrough last week...more on that over at Stories Inside), studying for a test I have to take by Friday for a new work at home job I'm trying to get, and doing work for my two clients, the reading I have to do has kind of snuck up on me. Gah! I'm exhausted just reading this.

Anyhoo, you see my stack at the top. Let me break it down...

I have to read a large chunk of the Earthsea trilogy by Ursula K. Le Guin (I have the omnibus edition) for TuesBookTalk Tuesday night.

I'm reading Mayan Blue by Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason for a review on Friday at my horror blog, Castle Macabre. I can't wait to read this! I've heard some raves about it.

I'm going to get started reading 13 Ways to Look at a Novel and The Greenlanders, both by Jane Smiley. We're reading three Jane Smiley books for my Lit Collective group read (on Goodreads) in August. The third book is A Thousand Acres and damned if I can't find my copy. Grrr. I'll worry about that after the read-a-thon. lol

I'll be posting updates in our read-a-thon Facebook group, or on Twitter. #HSreadathon

You can still join us for the read-a-thon. It ends at the end of the day on Sunday. Click the button below for details/to sign up.


Happy reading this week!

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Thursday, July 14, 2016

Cat Thursday - Authors and Cats (55)


Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

The second Cat Thursday of each month is Authors and Cats Thursday. Each time I will feature an author with their cat(s), or pictured with a cat(s).

How can I not acknowledge the ultimate cat loving author this month? Happy Birthday, Ernest Hemingway (on July 21). I hope you are spending time with lots of cats wherever you may be. 





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Tuesday, July 12, 2016

D.J. Niko's The Judgment - Review #TheJudgment


My thoughts
The Judgment is an historical novel based on the life and reign of the biblical Solomon. It is very well written, descriptive and lyrical.

I have to admit to not knowing much of Solomon's story. I'm more familiar with his father, David's story, as I have always been fascinated by the story of David and Bathsheba. The author has done a wonderful job of telling the story (with some embellishment, I'm sure), taking the reader on a jury into the historical and biblical past. However, I have to admit to having a hard time with all the religious talk. My views on religion have changed dramatically in the last four years so the religious dedication, and at times, fervor the characters experience was a bit much for me. I had to keep reminding myself how important religion was, especially in historic times.

Niko definitely has a knack for storytelling and she even writes a fantastic battle/siege scene. The opening scene when the women and children flee to the tunnel was nail biting. Also, the plotting of Solomon's wife, Nicaule, and how easily Solomon is deceived, was an intriguing part of the story. Once again, a man makes his decisions from the wrong end of his body. Why does it still surprise me when this happens in a story? It really shouldn't.

I have not read Niko's Sarah Weston Chronicles yet, but upon reading The Judgment, I'm definitely adding them to my to-be-read list. I look forward to her future historical offerings as well.

About the book

Publication Date: May 10, 2016 
Publisher: Medallion Press 
Publication Length: 416 pages 

965 BCE

Upon the death of his father, Solomon has been appointed king of the united monarchy of Israel and Judah and charged with building the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. He travels to Egypt to negotiate with Pharaoh Psusennes II for gold for the temple and to improve relations between the two nations. There he falls in love with the pharaoh’s beautiful daughter, Nicaule, and the two kings agree to an arranged marriageh. Against her will, for she loves another, Nicaule follows her new husband to Israel.

Forty years later, Solomon’s empire is on the verge of collapse. Power has made him arrogant, permissive, and blind to the scheming of his wife and one of his lieutenants to topple the united monarchy. As the king’s faith falters and his people’s morals collapse, enemies gather at the gates of Israel. A visit from a mysterious queen restores Solomon’s perspective in time to save his soul—but it is too late to preserve his kingdom.

Someone who once was loyal to King Solomon has come back to claim the crown of Israel—and tear Solomon’s empire asunder.


About the author 
D.J. Niko is the pseudonym for Daphne Nikolopoulos, an award-winning journalist, author, editor, and lecturer who has spent her entire adult life traveling the world.

As a former travel writer and zealous adventurer, she has visited remote spots on six continents, many of which have inspired her archaeological thriller series, The Sarah Weston Chronicles. She was born and raised in Athens, Greece, and now resides in Florida with her family.

Find out more about D.J. Niko on her website.

Praise for D.J. Niko 
“Like a sandstorm roaring out of the Judean Desert, The Riddle of Solomon rips readers out of the familiar world, dropping them breathless in a place where ancient kings still keep their secrets. D. J. Niko’s storytelling carries the grit of desert dust and the seductive scent of incense on every page as Sarah Weston races with a madman to save the treasures that King Solomon left behind.” - Mary Anna Evans, award-winning author of Artifacts and Wounded Earth

"Take a dash of Dan Brown, a sprinkle of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and a whole lot of originality, and you've got the recipe for D.J. Niko's latest novel, the second in the spellbinding Sarah Weston saga. For readers who like their adventures steeped in research, authenticity, and nonstop intrigue, The Riddle of Solomon is highly recommended!" - Ronald Malfi, author of Floating Staircase and Cradle Lake

“Action, adventure, romance and historical mystery—who could ask for more? The Oracle is a great read.” —James O. Born, award-winning author of Scent of Murder

“Although each book in the Weston series can be read as a stand-alone, there is clearly a story arc involving the series’ two lead characters, one that enriches each book and makes the series more than just a collection of independent thrillers.” —David Pitt, Booklist

“This wonderful action-adventure story has all the elements of Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider and a little James Bond thrown in for good measure. This is exactly the kind of story I love, and I found it very hard to put down. The story moves between the fall of Delphi and a modern-day archeology thriller. Well researched, well written, with strong and believable characters.” — LibraryThing

Buy the book

Want to Feature D.J. Niko? 
If you would like a copy of the book for review or to conduct an interview with D.J. Niko, please contact Erin Al-Mehairi, Publicist, at Hook of a Book Media: hookofabook@hotmail.com.



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Monday, July 11, 2016

The Couple Who Fell To Earth by Michelle Bitting - Review and {Giveaway}


My thoughts
This is a moving book of poetry. I found myself immersed in many of the poems. Although I couldn't much relate to the wife/love side of things (I've sort of renounced romance/true love over the past several years...cynical, I know), I very much related to the poems about family and motherhood.

This poem about the importance of family is one of my favorites...

GOLD RING

The one with big and small diamonds
     on my left ring finger
          belonged to Grandma
     everybody comments on it
quite stunning
     and kind of ugly, too
          the way a grandma ring can be
     a bit clunky and overwrought
the gems have a story
     the grubby tiny ones
          from their original engagement
     on the California coast
north of Malibu
     that place where two giant rocks
          come to a head
     and the surf tumbles around
the gods inside
     at war with each other
          he said, I love you, Doll
     he said that
and how could she not answer?
     all they had
          this thing they were making up
     other stones came
from a wedding band
     one for each anniversary
          (their 25th, their 50th)
     the large "bling" jewels
you could say
     and all of it
          deconstructed, reconstructed 
     like marriage goes
bound up
     in one crazy sculpture
          when she died
     he gave it to me
we stood in the blue bedroom
     where she took the last terrible gasps
          sailed off
     on a sea of silent dreams
he opened the drawer and said
     Seventy five years, seventy-five years
          I don't know what I'll do
               without her
     and pressed the ring 
into my palm
     all that preciousness 
          my grandpa never talked much
     until she got sick
and then I visited regularly
     though she hardly knew me anymore
          he was glad for the company
     and the words tumbled out
now I come all the time
     we sit in his backyard
          talking about birds
     about his roses
he tends with such care
     and the bright red feeder
          swinging over our heads
     glitters in the sun
its perfect geometry
     sugar and water mixed
          for the hummingbirds
     the moment they sip
so sweet they can't resist
          coming back for more

Such a touching poem of familial legacy and love. Beautiful.

This next one speaks to me of motherhood, of wanting the best for your child, and your heart breaking over the rejection they might inevitably receive. We mothers with our unconditional love for them...sometimes we can't quite grasp the thought of everyone not loving them as we do. Side note: A holiday, Valentine's Day, which I hate, that can make someone painfully aware of their aloneness and of being rejected, especially for adolescents.

LUPERCALIA

The ides of February are brutal,
Love's sticky sentiments 
gumming up the air
make it harder
to breathe. Gilded truffles
snug in their cellophane tombs
dare you to pluck them 
from underneath 
and eat. Hearts dangle
in pharmacy windows 
pretending to pump real red.
Brutal for a boy who feels
but won't say
what it is to be sixteen
and never one secret admirer,
never a glitter doily
or silver Hallmark
waxed with lipstick's 
smoky kisses. What ghost
can this mother conjure?
What diaphanous caress?
When in Rome
and if long ago, I could run
naked through alley ways,
my breasts swinging 
like fevered trolls,
like devil bells bared,
tolling resident evil. I could 
don a goat-skin cap,
carry my pot
of flames to the desert,
burn salted meal-cakes
with vestal virgins 
and raise them
to the stars,
to dead crows
and broken Caesars. But
it wouldn't change the fact 
of his incomplete beauty,
how girls turn away
when he opens his mouth to speak 
a sound less than smart.
Won't change the fact 
of his gawky bust 
and uncommon sense,
an art far too wild
and no longer cradled 
in the cave of a darkened living room,
where once we rocked
and he suckled, at times, stopped
to let glide 
the nipple from his mouth
and look up at me,
     just look at me...
his future,
his mother
and unconditional lover,
his only Valentine.

Here's a video of Lupercalia being read by the poet, Michelle Bitting...



Yup, this one had me in tears. Mothers will understand.

Moving, poignant, illuminating. Words I would use to describe this wonderful book of poetry.

About the book
These meditations, cosmic-toned, yet utterly visceral, demonstrate Michelle Bitting’s continuing growth and power as a poet of love, loss, the daily and deeply human experience, together with a maturing eye to understanding greater mythological tropes. Woven throughout her contemplation of the terrible beauty and struggle of family dynamics, corporeal desire, the injustices and revelations of life in the 21st century, thrums a vital connectivity to the mystic and mythological strains of the past, newfangled to the present in a way that ultimately sheds light on what it is to be alive and conscious of who we’re called to be.

To read Michelle’s poetry is to take a wild, passionate ride through the rubble of the quotidian, to be shocked by sensual discovery and awakened to a relentless curiosity for both the surreal and historical. These poems travel–an expansion in service of communion with the world, confrontation and acceptance of self.

Here’s what others are saying:
In a multi-directional “one shape” of voices, time, people, spaces Bitting takes us in and out of her all seeing third eye poetics. We go into an orb of family, love, then we swoop out into the delight of humanity. And, in a sense, these refractions are the “the self’s / shady daguerreotype coming to surface / through exposure to light.” In day-to-day terms we find enlightenment and paradox—“ of death and peppermint,” of “birth and strange beauty,” of “Elysium nothingness” and “mythmaking machinery.” I find Michelle’s cosmic mechanics fused with historical platforms akimbo and the “sheen” of personal meditations, a rare accomplishment. A unique treasure of visions and voice. –Juan Felipe Herrera, Poet Laureate of the United States

There’s delirious beauty tumbling down every page of The Couple Who Fell To Earth. Michelle Bitting’s poems deal with the domestic and the feral; I’m caught up in “Eden-scorched mouths,” and “a sea of furrowed manes and exoskeletons,” and I never want to leave. She confronts personal history, the familiar body, the spiritual world, and the human condition in rich, wildly original language. –Bianca Stone, Author ofSomeone Else’s Wedding Vows

Michelle Bitting is a poet of the natural world but in a completely Transcendental sense. Like Emerson, her poems seem to claim that, even in the face of all kinds of traumatic loss, “beauty breaks in everywhere.” The Couple Who Fell to Earth holds things of the world up to the eye in an effort to glimpse heaven, or as Bitting herself says, “Accept me. I love the dawn. / The sun is a sea / I throw myself into…” This book is all heart. –Jericho Brown, Author of The New Testament


About the poet
Michelle Bitting’s first collection, Good Friday Kiss (C & R, 2008) won the DeNovo First Book Award. Her second collection, Notes To The Beloved (SPC, 2011) won the Sacramento Poetry Center Book Award and received a starred review from Kirkus. Poems have been published in the American Poetry Review, Prairie Schooner, Narrative, The L.A. Weekly, diode, Linebreak, and The Paris-American, and have been nominated for the Pushcart and Best of the Net prizes. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific University and is currently a Ph.D candidate in Mythological Studies at Pacifica Graduate Institute. She grew up in Los Angeles near the ocean.

Add to GoodReads:



Available on Amazon.

GIVEAWAY
Leave a comment below for a chance to win a paperback copy of The Couple Who Fell To Earth. Please be sure to include your email address so I can contact the winner. Open to U.S. entrants only. Last day to enter, July 25th at 11:59pm CDT. Good luck!

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Thursday, July 7, 2016

Cat Thursday - Cats in Art (20)


Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

Some lovely paintings of cats by Henriëtte Ronner-Knip (1821–1909).

Cat Resting (1896)

Contentment

Kitten's Game (circa 1860-1878)

Kittens at Play (1897)


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Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Release Day Blitz! The Memory Painter by Gwendolyn Womack


Publication Date: July 5, 2016
Picador USA
Paperback; 336 Pages
ISBN: 978-1250095770
Genre: Historical Fiction/Time Travel/Mystery/Romance

Finalist for the 2016 RWA Prism Awards for Best First Book & Best Time Travel/ Steampunk category.



Two lovers who have travelled across time.

A team of scientists at the cutting edge of memory research.

A miracle drug that unlocks an ancient mystery.

At once a sweeping love story and a time-travelling adventure, Gwendolyn Womack’s luminous debut novel, The Memory Painter, is perfect for readers of The Time Traveler’s Wife, Life After Life and Winter’s Tale.

Bryan Pierce is an internationally famous artist, whose paintings have dazzled the world. But there’s a secret to Bryan’s success: Every canvas is inspired by an unusually vivid dream. Bryan believes these dreams are really recollections―possibly even flashback from another life―and he has always hoped that his art will lead him to an answer. And when he meets Linz Jacobs, a neurogenticist who recognizes a recurring childhood nightmare in one Bryan’s paintings, he is convinced she holds the key.

Their meeting triggers Bryan’s most powerful dream yet―visions of a team of scientists who, on the verge of discovering a cure for Alzheimer’s, died in a lab explosion decades ago. As his visions intensify, Bryan and Linz start to discern a pattern. But a deadly enemy watches their every move, and he will stop at nothing to ensure that the past stays buried.

The Memory Painter, like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Inception, is at once a taut thriller and a deeply original love story that transcends time and space, spanning six continents and 10,000 years of history.

“Gwendolyn Womack’s tale dazzles.” ―US Weekly (Standout Spring Novels)

“…hang on for a wild and entertaining ride around the world and through the centuries back to ancient Egypt.” ~ Library Journal, starred review

“A sweeping, mesmerizing feat of absolute magic. . . . ” ~ M.J. Rose, New York Times Bestselling Author ofThe Witch of Painted Sorrows

“Layers of past and present form a rich pastry of a narrative, poignant and thoughtful, rich and suspenseful, filled with intrigue and dripping with meaning… ” ~ Charlie Lovett, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Bookman’s Tale and First Impressions



About the Author
Originally from Houston, Texas, Gwendolyn Womack began writing theater plays in college at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. She went on to receive an MFA from California Institute of the Arts in Directing Theatre, Video & Cinema. Currently she resides in Los Angeles with her husband and son where she can be found at the keyboard working on her next novel. The Memory Painter is her first novel.

For more information visit Gwendolyn’s website. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

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