Julie Tetel Andresen - The Time Slip Series
Julie Tetel Andresen - Linguistics and Evolution: A
Developmental Approach
JKSCommunications
A literary publicity
firm
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE CONTACT:
Marissa Curnutte
347.574.3136
ROMANCE
WRITER, LINGUIST KNOWS THE POWER OF WORDS
Summer promotion features Americana series by author
Julie Tetel Andresen
ORLANDO, Fla. – When Julie Tetel Andresen writes, her words excite the
emotions of romance readers, her storylines pique the interest of history buffs
and her acute attention to detail satisfies the hunger of academics.
Andresen has penned more than 20 books during her career, covering
everything from historical romance
and contemporary fiction
to paranormal tales
and linguistic theories.
Putting her expansive knowledge of language to work, she writes with an
impressive blend of wit, sincerity and intelligence. She uses the varied
lessons learned from each genre to help strengthen the other.
Andresen’s time-slip trilogy – “The Blue Hour,” “The Crimson Hour”
and “The Emerald Hour”
– takes readers on a trip around the world. The series of time traveling
excursions spans more than 100 years, exploring the economic consequences of
globalization through cancer research, pharmaceuticals and the rubber trade.
In addition to being an accomplished author, Andresen is a professional
linguist. Her newest academic release, “Linguistics and Evolution,”
reworks theoretical linguistics around a developmental systems approach for
these post-Chomskyan times.
Andresen’s official website
is hosting a special summer promotion for her beloved Americana romance series,
which includes “Dawn’s Early Light,”
“Unexpected Company,”
“Carolina Sonnet”
and “Heart’s Wilderness,”
each on sale for 99 cents through September. Her
site also offers for free download two stories: The Wedding Night
(when several things happen at once), an erotic/gothic short story, and Saigon
Spring (coming in September), a BDSM-inspired novella set in Vietnam.
Biography of Julie Tetel Andresen
Julie
Tetel Andresen’s seemingly disparate writing activities – fiction, non-fiction
and essays in foreign languages – all arise from a unified sense of her writing
self.
As a professional linguist, she loves language, while as a
romance writer she loves the language of love; and when learning a foreign
language, she loves nothing more than exploring the limits of her ability to
express herself in that language on paper.
In her academic writing, she has long been devoted to
exploring the history of linguistics, and this disciplinary exploration
parallels her devotion to writing historical novels. In her most recent
academic work “Linguistics and Evolution”
(Cambridge 2014), she shows the ways that the history of linguistic theory and
practice informs the current state of the discipline, and this sense of the
past pressing on the present informs her time-slip series.
Her writing activities have always been entwined
temporally. She wrote her first historical “My Lord Roland”
while writing her PhD dissertation “Linguistic
Crossroads of the Eighteenth Century,” and all her early academic
articles were written mostly in French. Twenty novels and dozens of journal
articles later, she wrote her Regency novella “French Lessons”
while waiting for the 2012 autumn meeting of the Cambridge Press Syndicate to
decide to issue her a contract for “Linguistics and Evolution.” At the same
time, she happened to be in Ho Chi Minh City learning Vietnamese and happily
writing her Vietnamese essays.
She
firmly believes that one type of writing strengthens the others. Her historical
novels have honed her craft of plotting and sub-plotting, while her time-slip
series has given her the Kraft (in the German sense of the word 'power')
to handle the long historical arc and multiple characters involved in
“Linguistics and Evolution.” Her professional study of language, in turn, makes
her sensitive to the vocabulary and rhythms of speech in other places and time
periods; while writing in a foreign language – be it French, German, Romanian,
or Vietnamese – is to her like the pianist warming up with scales and arpeggios
or the yogini trying out a new asana.
Can she get her leg behind her head in Romanian? No? Well, then how about
triangle pose? Can she get into full lotus in Vietnamese? Again, no? Let’s see
about half-lotus.
Andresen
grew up in Glenview, Ill. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from Duke
University and a doctorate from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
She has taught at Duke University
for the past 20 years where she specializes in linguistics.
Julie Tetel Andresen’s Collection of Books
THE TIMESLIP SERIES
“I felt danger, adventure, romance, empathy, excitement, suspense, and
surprise. I was so in touch with the characters that I found myself wanting to
scream at them when they were in certain situations. As an avid reader, I am
grateful to the author for opening up a new world to me. After years of Clancy,
Ludlum, Grisham, King and others, I am excited to explore the world of romantic
adventure!”
– Reader review, Amazon.com
“Not
‘just’ a time travel, contemporary romance, historical fiction or suspense novel.
The mystery, travel and adventure make it exciting, the historical aspects are
well-researched and nicely done, the reincarnation aspects make it fascinating,
and the romance is integral to the storyline.”
–
Reader review, Amazon.com
Durham ∙ Chicago ∙ Paris
Cancer researcher Alexandra Kaminski is on the verge of a
scientific breakthrough when she crosses paths with pharmaceutical
representative, Val Dorsainville, and the two are plunged into the mystery,
passion, and tragedy of their past lives in Paris of the 1800s. Can they solve
the mystery and avert tragedy this time around?
St.
Louis ∙ San Francisco ∙ Bucharest ∙ Hong Kong
Eloise Popescu has one last
entry to make in her screw-up-alog, and it's a doozy: she has just walked into
the cross-fire of warring Chinese mafia families and into the path of Hanes
Reynolds whose career has just been ruined by those same families. As Eloise
and Hanes reluctantly unite forces to escape the clans, they must learn to
trust one another … or repeat the fatal mistakes they made the last time they
were together in 19th-century Hong Kong.
London ∙ Rio De Janeiro ∙ Wilmington
Londoner Theodor West can't quite believe how, much less
explain why, the beautiful and free-spirited American botanist, Jordan Charles,
is bedeviling him and his high-tech career. But it's clear that if he wants his
career back and that if she wants to avert the destruction of the world's
rubber forests, they must repair what happened the last time they were together
– one hundred years ago in London and Rio.
HISTORICAL ROMANCE AND REGENCY
Middle
Ages
Lady Marguerite Montcrief finds herself forced by
circumstance into a marriage with the dangerous Sir Roland of Guimont—courtier,
rake, and some whisper, his brother's murderer. As she falls hopelessly in love
with her husband, she must learn the identity of Roland's brother's killer so
that she might be spared the same fate at the same hands.
“A reading experience that leaves me feeling like I actually
knew the characters, lived in their skins and in their time for awhile is for
me the magic that good writing is all about.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
What happens when Gwyneth of Northumbria meets Simon of Beresford, and it is
love at first sight, but neither one knows it? The answer is unpleasant
surprises, miscommunication, insults all around, and a healthy dose of physical
attraction.
“I was drawn in by the vivid details of medieval life, but
then seduced by the slow-burning romance.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
Dispossessed Frenchwoman Catherine de Lunais has fled to
York and is putting her good business skills to use in amassing a fortune so
that she can buy back her younger half-sister's place in the world. In her
effort, she is thwarted by Eric Shipwright, known as the Viking, who discovers
her secret trade. Who will win this battle of the sexes?
“I
particularly enjoyed how their individual motivations and storylines were
interwoven into the (somewhat fictionalized) political history and upheaval of
the time. It was skillfully done, and the slow reveals of their back stories
and of the central suspense kept me reading.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
17th
Century London
On a whim, straight-laced
Judith Beaufort goes out for a ride one fine day and is abducted, in a case of
mistaken identity, by a band of thespians headed by the rogue Charles Lambert.
This small incident will have consequences far beyond Judith's imagining, and
she is quickly drawn into dangerous political intrigue and an unexpected
relationship with the charming and disreputable Charles.
“Very
entertaining - funny and light.” – Reader review, GoodReads.com
17th
Century Caribbean
When the mismatched Miss Sedgwick and Mr. Winthrop find
themselves cast adrift together on a beautiful Caribbean island, the adventure
begins, and the sparks fly. How can our heroine not fall in love with a hero
who is willing to walk across burning coals for her?
“Witty, nicely
drawn characters and a lovely balance of sexual tension made for a very
satisfying read.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
18th Century London
Richard Worth wishes to reclaim his place in Society, and he
does so by offering for the hand of the well-born but penniless Caroline
Hutton. The eve of their marriage is shadowed by a brutal murder in which both
of them are surprisingly implicated.
“I happened to like this book very much. In fact I like all
the books I have read of hers because the heroines mostly have exceptional
minds…mathematical, philosophical, organizational, medical, political, etc.”
–Reader review, Amazon.com
After Marianna Lowth takes a chance on a marriage of convenience
with Richard Maddox, she discovers her flair for investing in stocks. Little
does she realize that her investments rouse the interest of her indifferent
husband, and he decides to court her…for reasons best known to himself.
“It was smartly
written and as far as I could tell historically accurate. I appreciate that in
a novel.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
18th Century Scotland
The much-sheltered Elizabeth Cameron takes part in the
summer meeting of her historical society where she encounters the attractive,
though disgraced Ian MacLaurin. Together they tumble onto clan secrets that
have been ruling—and ruining—their lives.
“The
castle was enchanted, or maybe it was the hero and heroine who made it so. The
plot had a couple of very nice surprises. It was fun along the way, and it all
made sense in the end.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
The
lovely Anne Chisholm is tricked into a handfast—the custom of marriage for a
year and a day when a couple plights their troth—with Alexander Sutherland only
to discover that her new husband is wanted for treason by the English
authorities, in particular, by her father.
“This
was a delightful book! Very well written. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I do look
forward to reading more of Julie's work! I will recommend this book to my
friends.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
Regency England
On the morning Lord Laxton's will is read, the existence of
his illegitimate daughter—one born in France, no less—is revealed, and his
heirs are naturally curious about their unknown half-sister. However, it is the
rich and well-born Marquis de Laleham who has reason to question the identity
of Geneviève Sainte-Vire who arrives that very afternoon on the Laxton's
doorstep.
“When I picked this book I expected it to be a good book but
it turned out to be an excellent book!! I really enjoyed and you will too.” –
Reader review, Amazon.com
While traveling to her first post as a governess, Helen
Denville is drawn into an adventure with the infamous gamester, Mr. Darcy.
While helping him recover an item that is of great value to him, she loses her
heart to him. Once he recovers that item, will he offer her his heart?
“A delightful
read that has all the necessary parts that seem so hard to find - two
fully-developed main characters that you care about, a plot that twists and
turns but doesn't develop holes nor asks you to repeatedly suspend disbelief,
and well-written prose that doesn't underestimate the reader's intelligence.
Her liberal use of humor and witty repartee are icing on the cake.” – Reader
review, Amazon.com
Danielle Wemberly, unmarried and on the shelf, is a
bookworm. She makes a practice of choosing a subject in her lending library and
reading through it. Her life changes the day she discovers a book, hidden
behind the dusty old tomes devoted to herbs, whose content no gently-bred young
lady should see, and it opens her eyes. It also inspires her to find a man with
whom she can put her newfound knowledge into practice and puts her on the path
to discovering the truth about Richard Grey, the mysterious Earl of Essex.
“Sexy. Smart. Fun. Wow!! Every woman that loves a good edgy
romance should buy this book now, I promise you will love it!” – Reader review,
Amazon.com
19th Century Americana
Series
With
the British army occupying her house in Maryland, Jane Shaw becomes the first
link in the relay chain of information that will help the American army turn
the tide in a war they are losing. Will James Stewart, a red coat camped out on
her farm, be able to thwart her activities and her loyalties?
“I think the
story ends with a strong emotional bond.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
When Barbara Johnson opens her door to the soul-scarred
drifter, Morgan Harris, asking for work, she has no way of predicting that he
will be the one man who can protect her from the people who will soon be
conspiring to take her beloved baby daughter away from her.
“Sucked
into another series? But this time I enter willingly, due to my continued high
regard for this author.” – Reader review, GoodReads.com
Big-hearted Cathy Davidson may be taken for granted by her
fellow inhabitants of Hillsborough, but Laurence Harris, who arrives in town
the day after the ornery Old Hitch's death, is instantly attracted to her.
Laurence is also the only one able to help the townspeople solve the mystery of
the will left by Old Hitch, and the solution transforms both Cathy's life and
his.
“A very silly,
very cute book.” – Reader review, Goodreads.com
Suddenly alone in the wilderness, Sarah Ross Harris meets
Wesley Powell who has just escaped Indian captors, and together they plunge
into adventure. However, finding a way to survive may prove easier than finding
a way to stay together.
“Could
not put this book down! From page 1 it holds the reader captive. The characters
were delightful and the situations were sometimes laugh out loud funny. Loved
it and would recommend this to all my friends and family members.” – Reader
review, Amazon.com
Mid-20th Century
London
West
returns to London to find a new woman at the receptionist's desk in his
architectural firm. As he gets to know Gwendolyn Summers, London's most
eligible bachelor is forced to examine the secrets of his heart.
“I loved this
story. The setting is a favorite of mine and the time is intriguing. The
characters are endearing and the sensuality well written with charm and humor.”
– Reader review, GoodReads.com
21st CENTURY
After her first year in law
school, Dayna DeMarco returns to her family's café in SoHo, suspecting
financial problems. New to the neighborhood is Bo Grisham, a charming musician
who makes a play for her. Dayna is pretty sure he spells trouble, and Bo is
pretty sure he'll soon be moving on. Neither can predict how events concerning
the café's future will change their hearts.
“Andresen's
keen observation of character, and her ability to make readers feel themselves
in place and time brings the characters alive in the streets of New York and De
Marco's Café.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
NON-FICTION
Throughout this analytical book the idea is
developed that theories of language do not transcend the language in which they
are written, and ways are uncovered that are peculiar to the American-language
linguistic tradition.
Upcoming
Work
- “Linguistics and
Evolution. A Developmental Approach,” from Cambridge University Press
- “Languages of the World. An
Introduction through Culture and Cognition (working title), with Phillip
M. Carter from Wiley-Blackwell
Q&A with Author, Linguist Julie Tetel Andresen
When did you develop a passion for linguistics?
Ever since I was
about five years old. I remember lying in bed at night in the room I shared
with my older sister, making up new words that I would teach her. When I
discovered there were other languages in the world, with the words already made
up, I couldn’t get enough. I didn’t know, however, that there was such a thing
as a discipline of linguistics until I was working on my Masters in French.
After that I was hooked.
How do you bridge your career as a romance writer with your life as a
professional linguist and academic?
The two activities wrap around
another almost every day in my life, and this has been the case for the last
twenty years or more. Today I’m at a resort on the Black Sea in Bulgaria. My
friends are on the beach. I can’t tan, since I have redhead skin and was told
by a dermatologist years ago to stay out of the sun. I’m happy enough, however,
because I’m on the balcony of my room overlooking the sea, and working on the
some of the early chapters of the forthcoming Wiley-Blackwell book, Languages
of the World, skyping with my co-author, Phillip Carter. When I take a break
from this, I’ll probably download a werewolf story or a panther shape-shifting
story. I got into these subgenres in the past few months. At the moment, I
can’t get enough of them.
How do your two writing careers strengthen each other?
All good writing is story
telling, and this applies to academic writing, as well. I love reading about
language, and the question is always, “What story is this linguist telling me?”
I am currently reading The Last Speakers by David K. Harrison, and it’s a
wonderful world tour of the stories of speakers of endangered languages. My
favorite linguist may well be Stephen Levinson. Although it might not seem like
his Space in Language and Cognition would make for a gripping story, I read the
book (several times, actually), enthralled by the world Levinson was opening to
me. Following a good (academic) argument is like reading a well-plotted novel.
I think it was Fred Astaire who
said: “If I don’t dance for one day, I feel it. If I don’t dance two days in a
row, the audience will feel it. If I don’t dance three days in a row, I should
find another job.” Having two writing careers keeps me in writing shape. It’s
cross training. Yoga and Pilates.
You have lived and traveled all over the world – to France, Germany,
Vietnam, Romania, Greece, and Brazil just to name a few places. How did this
influence your writing?
I’ve always loved
historical romances, but I began my time-slip series when I realized I wanted
to write about the places I’m visiting in the here and now. I love it when a
place is a kind of character in a novel, ever-present and shaping events. I
also happen to love botanical gardens and the tropics, so I find myself
gravitating toward southern latitudes and the equator, where everything is
lush. When I write a story and find I need to check out the details of a place
I’m using as a setting, I can easily persuade myself I need to revisit the
location in order to make sure I have the details right. While writing The
Emerald Hour, I made sure to revisit the spectacular Jardim Botânico in Rio. In
fact, it would have been irresponsible of me not to revisit the location.
How do you see language changing?
For one thing, it’s always
changing! I wrote a short essay that’s on my website for the Duke Magazine
about where English will be in 25 years, where I offer a few ideas. Linguistics
isn’t a precisely predictive science where I can say that X grammatical change
is certain to happen. However, since William Labov’s groundbreaking work in
sociolinguistics, linguists are able to track language change in progress. Just
sticking to phonetic matters, Labov is currently tracking the Northern Cities
Shift and the Southern Cities Shift in North American English. As for lexical
and grammatical matters, there is no doubt that platforms such as Facebook and
Twitter compel their users to create new and abbreviated forms that will no doubt
get woven into the
spoken language. People are already speaking abbreves, and LOL has morphed into
the word lawl. One of the more interesting phenomena
created by social media is that previously unwritten forms of a language
(Arabic dialects, for instance) are now becoming written forms of
communication. Before these new media, in the case of Arabic, only Modern
Standard Arabic functioned (and still functions) as the written standard, while
the local dialects were written in very limited circumstances, if at all. Now
there is an explosion of writing in the local dialects, as people communicate
directly among themselves.
How many languages do you speak? Which one do you prefer and why?
I’m not a polygot. I’ve studied an array of languages – French, German,
Arabic, Japanese, Vietnamese, Romanian – sometimes just to get a sense of how
the particular language is put together, but I know true polygots, and I’m not
one of them. I make zero claim, for instance, to knowing anything but the most
superficial facts about Arabic or Japanese. At the moment I am immersed in
Romanian. If I’m not in the language at the moment, I can’t say anything about
it. The language I prefer is the one I am in in the moment. I do know that I
love Vietnamese enough to want to spend an entire year there, in a language school.
The six months I spent there last year was not enough.
Do you find it easier to write or speak in a foreign language?
For me, writing is always the easiest thing to do! When I was in
Vietnam, I kept coming to class with essays. The teachers wondered at first why
I was doing this, because they hadn’t assigned them. One of the first questions
one of my teachers asked was, “How long did it take you to write this?” I would
usually work on one for a couple of hours a day for maybe a day or two, so I
could sleep on things, and then go back and see what I wanted to say. I would
tell my teacher I spent maybe five, six, or seven hours an essay. She would
shake her head and say it would take her over a week to write something like
this in English. And her English was way better than my Vietnamese. I think
most people think speaking is easier than writing. For me, it’s the opposite.
It didn’t really even occur to me that I have routinely written in a
language I am studying until a little over six months ago. It simply seemed
like a natural thing to do as a writer, like a pianist warming up by playing
arpeggios. As I was putting my website together, I thought, Well, if I’m
putting together all my writing, I may as well include all my writing.
I’ve always written my foreign language essays for restricted audiences, either
a small group of academics interested in a particular question or for an
audience of one, namely my language teacher. They’re intimate pieces. I finally
put them on my website, because I thought maybe other people would enjoy them
as well.
Your collection of books explores so many points in history. Is there
one era that has a special place in your heart?
This is a
choosing-among-children question, only slightly less difficult to answer than, “What’s
the favorite book you’ve written?” All historical periods are fascinating.
Especially the present one, since I’m living in it.
How was your approach to writing your time-slip series different than
your historical and Regency pieces?
Not much different. I felt my
time-slip series explores and expands my sense of the boundaries of the
romance. I got my start with Regencies, which to me are like classic Hollywood
romanticomedies, and who doesn’t like a Frank Capra screwball comedy? Everything
I’ve written from that point on has been an extension of the form of the
romanticomedy, even if the tone is dark.
We can only assume you never stop writing. What can readers expect from
you next?
I yielded to trend and just
wrote a BDSM-inspired novella. Yikes! But I loved it. Not for everyone, of
course, but nothing is. After the linguistics book, it’s back to another
time-slip. (I think.)
I plan a trip to Mongolia in
2014 and want to find a good 6-week program for learning the language – the
basics, obviously, nothing for fluency. What will come out of that is anyone’s
guess. I, for one, don’t have the faintest idea.
Bill Gourgey - The Glide Trilogy
Goodreads:
Glide
Nu Logic
Website
Amazon:
Glide
Nu
Logic
JKSCommunications
A literary publicity firm
A literary publicity firm
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE CONTACT:
Marissa Curnutte
347.574.3136
ROMANCE
WRITER, LINGUIST KNOWS THE POWER OF WORDS
Summer promotion features Americana series by author
Julie Tetel Andresen
Andresen has penned more than 20 books during her career, covering everything from historical romance and contemporary fiction to paranormal tales and linguistic theories. Putting her expansive knowledge of language to work, she writes with an impressive blend of wit, sincerity and intelligence. She uses the varied lessons learned from each genre to help strengthen the other.
Andresen’s time-slip trilogy – “The Blue Hour,” “The Crimson Hour” and “The Emerald Hour” – takes readers on a trip around the world. The series of time traveling excursions spans more than 100 years, exploring the economic consequences of globalization through cancer research, pharmaceuticals and the rubber trade.
In addition to being an accomplished author, Andresen is a professional linguist. Her newest academic release, “Linguistics and Evolution,” reworks theoretical linguistics around a developmental systems approach for these post-Chomskyan times.
Andresen’s official website is hosting a special summer promotion for her beloved Americana romance series, which includes “Dawn’s Early Light,” “Unexpected Company,” “Carolina Sonnet” and “Heart’s Wilderness,” each on sale for 99 cents through September. Her site also offers for free download two stories: The Wedding Night (when several things happen at once), an erotic/gothic short story, and Saigon Spring (coming in September), a BDSM-inspired novella set in Vietnam.
Biography of Julie Tetel Andresen
Julie
Tetel Andresen’s seemingly disparate writing activities – fiction, non-fiction
and essays in foreign languages – all arise from a unified sense of her writing
self.
As a professional linguist, she loves language, while as a
romance writer she loves the language of love; and when learning a foreign
language, she loves nothing more than exploring the limits of her ability to
express herself in that language on paper.
In her academic writing, she has long been devoted to
exploring the history of linguistics, and this disciplinary exploration
parallels her devotion to writing historical novels. In her most recent
academic work “Linguistics and Evolution”
(Cambridge 2014), she shows the ways that the history of linguistic theory and
practice informs the current state of the discipline, and this sense of the
past pressing on the present informs her time-slip series.
Her writing activities have always been entwined
temporally. She wrote her first historical “My Lord Roland”
while writing her PhD dissertation “Linguistic
Crossroads of the Eighteenth Century,” and all her early academic
articles were written mostly in French. Twenty novels and dozens of journal
articles later, she wrote her Regency novella “French Lessons”
while waiting for the 2012 autumn meeting of the Cambridge Press Syndicate to
decide to issue her a contract for “Linguistics and Evolution.” At the same
time, she happened to be in Ho Chi Minh City learning Vietnamese and happily
writing her Vietnamese essays.
She
firmly believes that one type of writing strengthens the others. Her historical
novels have honed her craft of plotting and sub-plotting, while her time-slip
series has given her the Kraft (in the German sense of the word 'power')
to handle the long historical arc and multiple characters involved in
“Linguistics and Evolution.” Her professional study of language, in turn, makes
her sensitive to the vocabulary and rhythms of speech in other places and time
periods; while writing in a foreign language – be it French, German, Romanian,
or Vietnamese – is to her like the pianist warming up with scales and arpeggios
or the yogini trying out a new asana.
Can she get her leg behind her head in Romanian? No? Well, then how about
triangle pose? Can she get into full lotus in Vietnamese? Again, no? Let’s see
about half-lotus.
Andresen
grew up in Glenview, Ill. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from Duke
University and a doctorate from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
She has taught at Duke University
for the past 20 years where she specializes in linguistics.
Julie Tetel Andresen’s Collection of Books
THE TIMESLIP SERIES
“I felt danger, adventure, romance, empathy, excitement, suspense, and
surprise. I was so in touch with the characters that I found myself wanting to
scream at them when they were in certain situations. As an avid reader, I am
grateful to the author for opening up a new world to me. After years of Clancy,
Ludlum, Grisham, King and others, I am excited to explore the world of romantic
adventure!”
– Reader review, Amazon.com
“Not
‘just’ a time travel, contemporary romance, historical fiction or suspense novel.
The mystery, travel and adventure make it exciting, the historical aspects are
well-researched and nicely done, the reincarnation aspects make it fascinating,
and the romance is integral to the storyline.”
–
Reader review, Amazon.com
Durham ∙ Chicago ∙ Paris
Cancer researcher Alexandra Kaminski is on the verge of a
scientific breakthrough when she crosses paths with pharmaceutical
representative, Val Dorsainville, and the two are plunged into the mystery,
passion, and tragedy of their past lives in Paris of the 1800s. Can they solve
the mystery and avert tragedy this time around?
St.
Louis ∙ San Francisco ∙ Bucharest ∙ Hong Kong
Eloise Popescu has one last
entry to make in her screw-up-alog, and it's a doozy: she has just walked into
the cross-fire of warring Chinese mafia families and into the path of Hanes
Reynolds whose career has just been ruined by those same families. As Eloise
and Hanes reluctantly unite forces to escape the clans, they must learn to
trust one another … or repeat the fatal mistakes they made the last time they
were together in 19th-century Hong Kong.
London ∙ Rio De Janeiro ∙ Wilmington
Londoner Theodor West can't quite believe how, much less
explain why, the beautiful and free-spirited American botanist, Jordan Charles,
is bedeviling him and his high-tech career. But it's clear that if he wants his
career back and that if she wants to avert the destruction of the world's
rubber forests, they must repair what happened the last time they were together
– one hundred years ago in London and Rio.
HISTORICAL ROMANCE AND REGENCY
Middle
Ages
Lady Marguerite Montcrief finds herself forced by
circumstance into a marriage with the dangerous Sir Roland of Guimont—courtier,
rake, and some whisper, his brother's murderer. As she falls hopelessly in love
with her husband, she must learn the identity of Roland's brother's killer so
that she might be spared the same fate at the same hands.
“A reading experience that leaves me feeling like I actually
knew the characters, lived in their skins and in their time for awhile is for
me the magic that good writing is all about.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
What happens when Gwyneth of Northumbria meets Simon of Beresford, and it is love at first sight, but neither one knows it? The answer is unpleasant surprises, miscommunication, insults all around, and a healthy dose of physical attraction.
“I was drawn in by the vivid details of medieval life, but
then seduced by the slow-burning romance.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
Dispossessed Frenchwoman Catherine de Lunais has fled to
York and is putting her good business skills to use in amassing a fortune so
that she can buy back her younger half-sister's place in the world. In her
effort, she is thwarted by Eric Shipwright, known as the Viking, who discovers
her secret trade. Who will win this battle of the sexes?
“I
particularly enjoyed how their individual motivations and storylines were
interwoven into the (somewhat fictionalized) political history and upheaval of
the time. It was skillfully done, and the slow reveals of their back stories
and of the central suspense kept me reading.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
17th
Century London
On a whim, straight-laced
Judith Beaufort goes out for a ride one fine day and is abducted, in a case of
mistaken identity, by a band of thespians headed by the rogue Charles Lambert.
This small incident will have consequences far beyond Judith's imagining, and
she is quickly drawn into dangerous political intrigue and an unexpected
relationship with the charming and disreputable Charles.
“Very
entertaining - funny and light.” – Reader review, GoodReads.com
17th
Century Caribbean
When the mismatched Miss Sedgwick and Mr. Winthrop find
themselves cast adrift together on a beautiful Caribbean island, the adventure
begins, and the sparks fly. How can our heroine not fall in love with a hero
who is willing to walk across burning coals for her?
“Witty, nicely
drawn characters and a lovely balance of sexual tension made for a very
satisfying read.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
18th Century London
Richard Worth wishes to reclaim his place in Society, and he
does so by offering for the hand of the well-born but penniless Caroline
Hutton. The eve of their marriage is shadowed by a brutal murder in which both
of them are surprisingly implicated.
“I happened to like this book very much. In fact I like all
the books I have read of hers because the heroines mostly have exceptional
minds…mathematical, philosophical, organizational, medical, political, etc.”
–Reader review, Amazon.com
After Marianna Lowth takes a chance on a marriage of convenience
with Richard Maddox, she discovers her flair for investing in stocks. Little
does she realize that her investments rouse the interest of her indifferent
husband, and he decides to court her…for reasons best known to himself.
“It was smartly
written and as far as I could tell historically accurate. I appreciate that in
a novel.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
18th Century Scotland
The much-sheltered Elizabeth Cameron takes part in the
summer meeting of her historical society where she encounters the attractive,
though disgraced Ian MacLaurin. Together they tumble onto clan secrets that
have been ruling—and ruining—their lives.
“The
castle was enchanted, or maybe it was the hero and heroine who made it so. The
plot had a couple of very nice surprises. It was fun along the way, and it all
made sense in the end.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
The
lovely Anne Chisholm is tricked into a handfast—the custom of marriage for a
year and a day when a couple plights their troth—with Alexander Sutherland only
to discover that her new husband is wanted for treason by the English
authorities, in particular, by her father.
“This
was a delightful book! Very well written. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I do look
forward to reading more of Julie's work! I will recommend this book to my
friends.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
Regency England
On the morning Lord Laxton's will is read, the existence of
his illegitimate daughter—one born in France, no less—is revealed, and his
heirs are naturally curious about their unknown half-sister. However, it is the
rich and well-born Marquis de Laleham who has reason to question the identity
of Geneviève Sainte-Vire who arrives that very afternoon on the Laxton's
doorstep.
“When I picked this book I expected it to be a good book but
it turned out to be an excellent book!! I really enjoyed and you will too.” –
Reader review, Amazon.com
While traveling to her first post as a governess, Helen
Denville is drawn into an adventure with the infamous gamester, Mr. Darcy.
While helping him recover an item that is of great value to him, she loses her
heart to him. Once he recovers that item, will he offer her his heart?
“A delightful
read that has all the necessary parts that seem so hard to find - two
fully-developed main characters that you care about, a plot that twists and
turns but doesn't develop holes nor asks you to repeatedly suspend disbelief,
and well-written prose that doesn't underestimate the reader's intelligence.
Her liberal use of humor and witty repartee are icing on the cake.” – Reader
review, Amazon.com
Danielle Wemberly, unmarried and on the shelf, is a
bookworm. She makes a practice of choosing a subject in her lending library and
reading through it. Her life changes the day she discovers a book, hidden
behind the dusty old tomes devoted to herbs, whose content no gently-bred young
lady should see, and it opens her eyes. It also inspires her to find a man with
whom she can put her newfound knowledge into practice and puts her on the path
to discovering the truth about Richard Grey, the mysterious Earl of Essex.
“Sexy. Smart. Fun. Wow!! Every woman that loves a good edgy
romance should buy this book now, I promise you will love it!” – Reader review,
Amazon.com
19th Century Americana
Series
With
the British army occupying her house in Maryland, Jane Shaw becomes the first
link in the relay chain of information that will help the American army turn
the tide in a war they are losing. Will James Stewart, a red coat camped out on
her farm, be able to thwart her activities and her loyalties?
“I think the
story ends with a strong emotional bond.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
When Barbara Johnson opens her door to the soul-scarred
drifter, Morgan Harris, asking for work, she has no way of predicting that he
will be the one man who can protect her from the people who will soon be
conspiring to take her beloved baby daughter away from her.
“Sucked
into another series? But this time I enter willingly, due to my continued high
regard for this author.” – Reader review, GoodReads.com
Big-hearted Cathy Davidson may be taken for granted by her
fellow inhabitants of Hillsborough, but Laurence Harris, who arrives in town
the day after the ornery Old Hitch's death, is instantly attracted to her.
Laurence is also the only one able to help the townspeople solve the mystery of
the will left by Old Hitch, and the solution transforms both Cathy's life and
his.
“A very silly,
very cute book.” – Reader review, Goodreads.com
Suddenly alone in the wilderness, Sarah Ross Harris meets
Wesley Powell who has just escaped Indian captors, and together they plunge
into adventure. However, finding a way to survive may prove easier than finding
a way to stay together.
“Could
not put this book down! From page 1 it holds the reader captive. The characters
were delightful and the situations were sometimes laugh out loud funny. Loved
it and would recommend this to all my friends and family members.” – Reader
review, Amazon.com
Mid-20th Century
London
West
returns to London to find a new woman at the receptionist's desk in his
architectural firm. As he gets to know Gwendolyn Summers, London's most
eligible bachelor is forced to examine the secrets of his heart.
“I loved this
story. The setting is a favorite of mine and the time is intriguing. The
characters are endearing and the sensuality well written with charm and humor.”
– Reader review, GoodReads.com
21st CENTURY
After her first year in law
school, Dayna DeMarco returns to her family's café in SoHo, suspecting
financial problems. New to the neighborhood is Bo Grisham, a charming musician
who makes a play for her. Dayna is pretty sure he spells trouble, and Bo is
pretty sure he'll soon be moving on. Neither can predict how events concerning
the café's future will change their hearts.
“Andresen's
keen observation of character, and her ability to make readers feel themselves
in place and time brings the characters alive in the streets of New York and De
Marco's Café.” – Reader review, Amazon.com
NON-FICTION
Throughout this analytical book the idea is
developed that theories of language do not transcend the language in which they
are written, and ways are uncovered that are peculiar to the American-language
linguistic tradition.
Upcoming
Work
- “Linguistics and Evolution. A Developmental Approach,” from Cambridge University Press
- “Languages of the World. An Introduction through Culture and Cognition (working title), with Phillip M. Carter from Wiley-Blackwell
Q&A with Author, Linguist Julie Tetel Andresen
When did you develop a passion for linguistics?
Ever since I was
about five years old. I remember lying in bed at night in the room I shared
with my older sister, making up new words that I would teach her. When I
discovered there were other languages in the world, with the words already made
up, I couldn’t get enough. I didn’t know, however, that there was such a thing
as a discipline of linguistics until I was working on my Masters in French.
After that I was hooked.
How do you bridge your career as a romance writer with your life as a
professional linguist and academic?
The two activities wrap around
another almost every day in my life, and this has been the case for the last
twenty years or more. Today I’m at a resort on the Black Sea in Bulgaria. My
friends are on the beach. I can’t tan, since I have redhead skin and was told
by a dermatologist years ago to stay out of the sun. I’m happy enough, however,
because I’m on the balcony of my room overlooking the sea, and working on the
some of the early chapters of the forthcoming Wiley-Blackwell book, Languages
of the World, skyping with my co-author, Phillip Carter. When I take a break
from this, I’ll probably download a werewolf story or a panther shape-shifting
story. I got into these subgenres in the past few months. At the moment, I
can’t get enough of them.
How do your two writing careers strengthen each other?
All good writing is story
telling, and this applies to academic writing, as well. I love reading about
language, and the question is always, “What story is this linguist telling me?”
I am currently reading The Last Speakers by David K. Harrison, and it’s a
wonderful world tour of the stories of speakers of endangered languages. My
favorite linguist may well be Stephen Levinson. Although it might not seem like
his Space in Language and Cognition would make for a gripping story, I read the
book (several times, actually), enthralled by the world Levinson was opening to
me. Following a good (academic) argument is like reading a well-plotted novel.
I think it was Fred Astaire who
said: “If I don’t dance for one day, I feel it. If I don’t dance two days in a
row, the audience will feel it. If I don’t dance three days in a row, I should
find another job.” Having two writing careers keeps me in writing shape. It’s
cross training. Yoga and Pilates.
You have lived and traveled all over the world – to France, Germany,
Vietnam, Romania, Greece, and Brazil just to name a few places. How did this
influence your writing?
I’ve always loved
historical romances, but I began my time-slip series when I realized I wanted
to write about the places I’m visiting in the here and now. I love it when a
place is a kind of character in a novel, ever-present and shaping events. I
also happen to love botanical gardens and the tropics, so I find myself
gravitating toward southern latitudes and the equator, where everything is
lush. When I write a story and find I need to check out the details of a place
I’m using as a setting, I can easily persuade myself I need to revisit the
location in order to make sure I have the details right. While writing The
Emerald Hour, I made sure to revisit the spectacular Jardim Botânico in Rio. In
fact, it would have been irresponsible of me not to revisit the location.
How do you see language changing?
For one thing, it’s always
changing! I wrote a short essay that’s on my website for the Duke Magazine
about where English will be in 25 years, where I offer a few ideas. Linguistics
isn’t a precisely predictive science where I can say that X grammatical change
is certain to happen. However, since William Labov’s groundbreaking work in
sociolinguistics, linguists are able to track language change in progress. Just
sticking to phonetic matters, Labov is currently tracking the Northern Cities
Shift and the Southern Cities Shift in North American English. As for lexical
and grammatical matters, there is no doubt that platforms such as Facebook and
Twitter compel their users to create new and abbreviated forms that will no doubt
get woven into the
spoken language. People are already speaking abbreves, and LOL has morphed into
the word lawl. One of the more interesting phenomena
created by social media is that previously unwritten forms of a language
(Arabic dialects, for instance) are now becoming written forms of
communication. Before these new media, in the case of Arabic, only Modern
Standard Arabic functioned (and still functions) as the written standard, while
the local dialects were written in very limited circumstances, if at all. Now
there is an explosion of writing in the local dialects, as people communicate
directly among themselves.
How many languages do you speak? Which one do you prefer and why?
I’m not a polygot. I’ve studied an array of languages – French, German,
Arabic, Japanese, Vietnamese, Romanian – sometimes just to get a sense of how
the particular language is put together, but I know true polygots, and I’m not
one of them. I make zero claim, for instance, to knowing anything but the most
superficial facts about Arabic or Japanese. At the moment I am immersed in
Romanian. If I’m not in the language at the moment, I can’t say anything about
it. The language I prefer is the one I am in in the moment. I do know that I
love Vietnamese enough to want to spend an entire year there, in a language school.
The six months I spent there last year was not enough.
Do you find it easier to write or speak in a foreign language?
For me, writing is always the easiest thing to do! When I was in
Vietnam, I kept coming to class with essays. The teachers wondered at first why
I was doing this, because they hadn’t assigned them. One of the first questions
one of my teachers asked was, “How long did it take you to write this?” I would
usually work on one for a couple of hours a day for maybe a day or two, so I
could sleep on things, and then go back and see what I wanted to say. I would
tell my teacher I spent maybe five, six, or seven hours an essay. She would
shake her head and say it would take her over a week to write something like
this in English. And her English was way better than my Vietnamese. I think
most people think speaking is easier than writing. For me, it’s the opposite.
It didn’t really even occur to me that I have routinely written in a
language I am studying until a little over six months ago. It simply seemed
like a natural thing to do as a writer, like a pianist warming up by playing
arpeggios. As I was putting my website together, I thought, Well, if I’m
putting together all my writing, I may as well include all my writing.
I’ve always written my foreign language essays for restricted audiences, either
a small group of academics interested in a particular question or for an
audience of one, namely my language teacher. They’re intimate pieces. I finally
put them on my website, because I thought maybe other people would enjoy them
as well.
Your collection of books explores so many points in history. Is there
one era that has a special place in your heart?
This is a
choosing-among-children question, only slightly less difficult to answer than, “What’s
the favorite book you’ve written?” All historical periods are fascinating.
Especially the present one, since I’m living in it.
How was your approach to writing your time-slip series different than
your historical and Regency pieces?
Not much different. I felt my
time-slip series explores and expands my sense of the boundaries of the
romance. I got my start with Regencies, which to me are like classic Hollywood
romanticomedies, and who doesn’t like a Frank Capra screwball comedy? Everything
I’ve written from that point on has been an extension of the form of the
romanticomedy, even if the tone is dark.
We can only assume you never stop writing. What can readers expect from
you next?
I yielded to trend and just
wrote a BDSM-inspired novella. Yikes! But I loved it. Not for everyone, of
course, but nothing is. After the linguistics book, it’s back to another
time-slip. (I think.)
I plan a trip to Mongolia in
2014 and want to find a good 6-week program for learning the language – the
basics, obviously, nothing for fluency. What will come out of that is anyone’s
guess. I, for one, don’t have the faintest idea.
“Glide”
March 1, 2011, Jacked
Arts Press
March 1, 2011, Jacked Arts Press
“Nu Logic”
October 15, 2013,
Jacked Arts Press
October 15, 2013, Jacked Arts Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Marissa Curnutte
347.574.3136
INDUSTRY
GIVES HIGH PRAISE TO INDIE BOOK “NU LOGIC”
Author Bill Gourgey continues sci-fi trilogy with
thought-provoking second novel
“Nu Logic” is garnering high praise from the industry, including a starred Publisher’s Weekly review dubbing it a “fascinating and thought-provoking adventure tale” that “also offers serious reflections on the potential darker aspects of our ever-increasing subjection to the yoke of e-everything.”
With more than 5 million reads from science fiction and fantasy fans all over the world the trilogy’s debut “Glide” (March 1, 2011, Jacked Arts Press) has been a hit on Wattpad.com where Gourgey has nearly 5,000 fans and followers, and the book’s trailer has garnered more than 18,000 views on YouTube and Vimeo.
Gourgey incorporates his professional knowledge of science and technology into the story of two courageous teens, the Prophet and, of course returning in book two, Captain Magigate. The first book in the series chronicled the captain’s quest to change the world through technology, and in Gourgey’s newest release, Magigate comes face to face with a sinister scientist who plans to unleash a devastating virus.
“The human-technics love affair –
what I like to refer to as humanity’s Great Romance – fascinates me, especially
in our modern era where the pace of change spurred on by technology has
accelerated to a blur,” Gourgey says. “Who among us could survive without
technology? But, who among us will
survive if our passion for it burns too hot?”
Gourgey lives in Washington D.C. where he is working on the third and final book in the “Glide” trilogy, “Genesys.” He worked in the field of technology for 20 years before becoming a full-time writer. He is also the author of “Unfamiliar Fruit” (2012, Jacked Arts Press) and “Outside the Box” (2007-2008, Jacked Arts Press).
###
Biography
of Author, Technologist Bill Gourgey
After
spending two decades in the field of technology, Bill Gourgey put his expertise to work as a full-time writer,
releasing the first book in his “Glide” trilogy in 2011.
Gourgey was born and raised in New York City and moved
to Huntington, Long Island, as a teenager. He studied at Cornell University in
Ithaca, New York, where he earned degrees in electrical engineering and
materials science in 1985. Gourgey
later lived in New York City, Chicago, Tampa, Boston and New Jersey.
Gourgey served as a managing partner at Accenture
where he was awarded a patent for Software Service Architectures. Now, he
spends time as a venture capital partner at Omni Capital and a technology advisor
for startup companies. He is a member of the Alpha Sigma Mu and Tau Beta Pi
engineering honor societies.
Gourgey’s first science fiction novel, “Glide” (2011, Jacked
Arts Press), has drawn more than 5 million reads on Wattpad.com, and the second book in the series, “Nu Logic,” received
a highly coveted starred review from Publisher’s Weekly.
Gourgey has contributed to Wattpad, PatrickMcMullan.com, Wavecloud and Enterprise
Systems Journal.
He is also the author of the short story collection “Unfamiliar Fruit” (2012, Jacked
Arts Press) and the book of poetry “Outside the Box” (2007-2008, Jacked
Arts Press).
Gourgey lives in Washington D.C. and enjoys spending time on
Maryland’s eastern shore with his wife and two sons. He is currently working on
“Genesys,” the last book in his tech-themed
sci fi trilogy.
Praise for “Glide” and “Nu Logic”
“Gourgey provides a devastating satirical portrayal of online gamers, and an alarming vision of the potentialities of a world where privacy is a vanished concept. Satire and technology merge in this fascinating and thought-provoking adventure tale that … also offers serious reflections on the potential darker aspects of our ever-increasing subjection to the yoke of e-everything.”
– Publisher’s Weekly starred review of Nu Logic
“Gourgey writes with a fine flair,
injecting believable characters into highly imaginative situations punctuated
with humor and intrigue. His clever extrapolations of such current technology
as avatars, the Kindle, the ‘monopolistic Amazon,’ CNN, military drones,
Google, blogs, online games, and text messages are an added fillip.”
– Publisher’s
Weekly on Glide
“Philosophy,
scientific theory, literary allusion, espionage and magic combine to create a
world where secrets in hidden lands and laboratories threaten a
post-apocalyptic civilization.”
– Kirkus Reviews on Glide
What readers are saying
“A tale that is as much about our
love affair with invention as it is about our future.”
– Arun
Netravali, President [Emeritus] Bell Labs
“One of my favorite features of the
book was how believable everything seemed. You can't help but become totally
enveloped in this world. It was like my hands were superglued to the Nook!”
– G.
Parks, U. Del. student
“A teenage love affair, a mutual
crush…the character development was deep…the moral of the story was great. Really loved it man.”
– R.
D’Angelo, Rutgers student
“If you like Crichton, you will love
this author! He takes the implausible/impossible and makes it seem not only
reasonable, but obvious. LOVED IT!”
– Amazon review
“‘Glide’ is a fascinating story
that keeps the reader engaged and intrigued from the very first page to the
last. Gourgey's knowledge of science, philosophy and technology come together
beautifully to create a believable, exciting futuristic world.”
– Amazon review
“The author paints an incredible
picture. The story is both clever and entertaining from cover to cover. I hope
this is the beginning of a lot of stories from this guy.”
– Amazon review
“Literary, philosophical and
scientific references abound. The author has combined his breadth of knowledge
with a fascination with what could be. I highly recommend it.”
– Amazon review
– Amazon review
Book Details for “Glide”
Captain
Magigate, a legendary inventor and recluse who is equal parts Albert Einstein
and Don Quixote, confronts his own shadowy destiny when two adventurous teens
disrupt the status quo of his covert lab on Isla de Tiempo Muerto. When the captain's
nemesis, the Prophet, who once had an iron grip over much of the world's
commerce, escapes her island prison taking one of the teens hostage, Captain Magigate
must face not only his long-time foe and erstwhile lover but also the ambiguous
legacy of his inventions. “Glide” is a dark and quixotic look at what happens
when invention reaches beyond its pale to compensate for the shortcomings of
heart and soul.
Book Details for “Nu Logic”
In “Nu Logic, Rise
of the Neos,” accomplished virologist, Dr. Janot (whose specialty is
crossover pathogens), threatens the promising Glide era with his wildly popular
augmented reality gaming world – Neology. Only the genius inventor, Captain
Magigate, can stop him, but Magigate is lost in the past with his erstwhile
lover and foe, the Prophet. Teenage artist Maddy’s cryptic paintings hold the
key to reaching the Captain, but will she discover their secret in time to stop
Dr. Janot, whose Connected Reality vision threatens to transform the human
experience forever?
Q&A with author and technologist Bill
Gourgey
You describe the relationship between humanity and
technology as the “Great Romance.” Can you explain that a little more?
We humans have always had one great love
in common—one that arguably precedes our love of the divine. Ever since the
first spark flew off a fragment of flint and inadvertently lit the beard of
some startled Neanderthal, we have been in love with our technologies. Many
philosophers argue that humanity, by definition, began when we distinguished
ourselves from our contemporary species by knapping flint, making weapons, and
crafting tools. This love affair—the human-technics love affair—fascinates me,
especially in our modern era where the pace of change spurred on by technology
has accelerated to a blur. Who among us could survive without technology? But,
who among us will survive if our
passion for it burns too hot?
“Glide” and “Nu Logic” seem like they would lend themselves
well to all sorts of media – apps, games, enhanced e-books, online
interactivity, feature film – was that your intention as you were writing?
Glide
is not only a story about technology, it’s a story for technology. For writers,
it’s no longer sufficient to think in terms of the printed page when crafting a
story. To me, writers are the quintessential content creators whose content
should be developed in such a way that they not only span media formats, but also
transcend them. There’s a term for this interplay—transmedia. I think the term
is too hifalutin for pop culture, but I happen to like it because it captures
this notion of transcendence. The idea that any story can be served up on any
number of planes—from books to smartphones to tablets, interactive TV’s, even
Google Glass or whatever comes next.
Because Sci-Fi and Fantasy tend to create
new worlds, they lend themselves well to the transmedia matrix of apps, games,
film, and even net/web integration. Even better, if the science fiction story
showcases new inventions (like Glide) or is set in an online game world (like
Nu Logic) the story begs to be told through apps and games. Truth is, for my
Glide Trilogy, I have grand visions of all of these: apps, games, electronic
toys, even theme park rides all based on the fictional inventions and online
world in my Glide trilogy.
What do you hope readers take away from the “Glide”
series?
That we can and should be more
optimistic about our collective future. That even though Armageddon and
environmental catastrophe seem just around the corner, it doesn’t have to be
that way. That technology can lead us
out of the dark places that our own biology and self-interest take us. That
it’s time to recapture our collective joie de vivre – like what we experienced
during the heady days of the Race to the Moon. That some form of mega-tech
project designed to restructure the way we consume resources (e.g., energy,
rainforests, etc.), and preserve and restore what’s left, might be enough to
capture our imagination on a global scale – a sort of Scientific Olympics.
Is the science described in your books real?
Most of the inventions I describe in Glide
are based on research and development happening in laboratories around the
world. Today! Some have already started to trickle out—like Google Glass, which
I called a v.Fone, short for vista phone and described even before Google ever
announced its Glass program. From solar emulsifiers to microturbines, plasma
reactors, internet-enabled contact lenses, memory mappers—many of these are
incubating in labs today.
You worked in the field of technology for 20 years
before becoming a full-time writer. What was your job, and how has it helped you
write science fiction?
I started out as a software developer and
designer at Accenture, which, at the time, was known as Arthur Andersen.
Eventually, I worked my way up to the point where I was paid to think
strategically for my clients to help them figure out how to use technologies
like automation, data mining, collaboration, and analytics to compete more
effectively. I still do that sort of consulting today as an advisor and board
member for technology startups. I enjoy the challenge of detecting the trends
in technology and figuring out how new services or products might find their
markets.
So, after more than twenty-five years of
deep immersion in technology, the
human-technics chemistry fascinates me. It has all of the hallmarks of a
great romance—a star-crossed romance. Who isn’t drawn to read and write about
stories of star-crossed lovers?
Q&A CONTINUED
With a background in engineering and technology, do
you ever have trouble explaining complicated concepts in layman’s terms?
If it can’t be described to me in layman’s
terms then I probably wouldn’t understand it in the first place, which makes it
less of a challenge than it might seem! Even so, I’m the sort of reader who
likes to be challenged when I read (to a point!) and I don’t think I’m the
exception. Conventional publishing wisdom for writers is to keep the action
moving and exposition to a minimum, but that’s never been true of the great
novels. Still, there is a fine line between challenging a reader and putting
them to sleep. In Glide, the opening chapters are highly technical mostly
because I was trying to take the reader into the mind of the genius inventor,
Dr. Magigate. Some of my readers like
that part of the book best; others claim that it was tough to get through. C’est la vie!
Do you really think humans will develop more
environmentally-friendly technology in the near future?
Future?! It’s here already. Sadly, new
technology gets lost in the Sturm und Drang of commerce and politics. There are
fortunes to be preserved, and if a new technology challenges those fortunes,
well…it’s like Dr. Magigate’s laboratory in Glide: “For years, Cape Knot had been the source of great
intrigue and controversy: on the one hand, incubating a never-ending supply of
inventions that sprouted new business models and addressed myriad social and
civic challenges; on the other hand, disregarding industrial convention and the
protocols of product lifecycles, thereby rendering generations of products
obsolete long before their intended return on investment had been realized. In
other words, tycoons and politicians alike kept a wary eye on Cape Knot’s
tenants, while public opinion of the lab verged on superstitious, wavering
between acclaim and distrust.”
Still, the most promising new
technologies have a way of breaking through the inertia of institutional
wealth, and I suspect this breakthrough rate will increase as climate and
health events around the world underscore our need. After all, I’m a
glass-half-full kind of guy!
What other possible innovations and theories in
science would you like to explore and write more about?
Think genetics!
One of your fans wrote that “the images, theories
and ideas” in “Glide” completely captivated her and even inspired her to start
writing again. How do these types of reader comments affect you as a writer? Do
you feel pressure for the next book to be even better?
Of course that’s the kind of compliment
any writer would die for, but along with such high praise, I’ve also received
feedback that it’s all techno-babble and my characters are shallow. I’m sure
the truth lies somewhere in between! The best writing happens when the words
dissolve for the reader and the images, ideas, and voice of the characters take
over. That’s really what I strive for whenever I set my proverbial pen to
paper.
Do you have any advice for others who may be
interested in transitioning from their current job to becoming a full-time
writer as well?
Use all of your spare time to write BEFORE
you leave your day job and try to get something read and published. Nowadays
with so many social media and reading-writing communities, it’s a lot easier to
find venues where readers will take your works out for a spin. Take advantage
of them. But don’t give up the day job unless you’re absolutely committed or
already have a bestseller in hand. It’s
hard work getting “found” by readers and publishing industry professionals
alike.
Do you have any upcoming projects you could tell us
about today?
Right now I’m focused on finishing my Glide Trilogy, so I’m hard
at work on book 3. But, just as Glide simmered in the back of my brain for
several years before I could write it down, I’ve been kicking around another
set of ideas that straddle the realms of fantasy, mythology, and historical
fiction—ideas that share a loose connection with Glide in the sense that
Glide’s roots can be traced to an exploration of the human-technics
relationship, to that which makes us human. This new project (working title, From Stony Sleep), explores early myths
such as The Epic of Gilgamesh and how the simple act of setting these stories
in stone (literally) may have set off a cycle of misinformation from which we still
have not recovered. Stay tuned!
Larry Colton - Southern League: A True Story of Baseball, Civil
Rights and the Deep South's Most Compelling Pennant Race
Goodreads
Website
Amazon
Kevin Jakubowski
Goodreads
Website
Amazon
Anne Marie - Letters To Ann: The Korean War 1950-1951
Goodreads
Website
Amazon
Kathleen George - A Measure of Blood
*This will be pre-order since the book comes out in January. You can get caught up on her past titles.
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE CONTACT:
Marissa Curnutte
347.574.3136
KATHLEEN
GEORGE RELEASING TWO NEW BOOKS IN 2014
‘A Measure of Blood’ continues popular Richard Christie
mystery series, and ‘The Johnstown Girls’ commemorates 125th
anniversary of devastating flood
PITTSBURGH,
Penn. – Incorporating bits and pieces of her own life as a university
professor and a proud Pennsylvanian, novelist Kathleen George continues to prove she is – as Pulitzer
Prize winner Robert Olen Butler wrote of her – “a crack mystery writer” and “a
crack writer, period,” with the release of her newest books, “A Measure of
Blood” and “The Johnstown Girls.”
Back by popular demand, George introduces the
seventh installment in her Richard Christie thriller series with “A Measure of Blood” (Jan. 14, 2014, Mysterious/Open
Road). The major crimes commander collects his best detectives to investigate
the murder of a woman and to comfort the son she left behind. The police
have just one clue – the man who killed Maggie Brown claims he was the boy’s
father. But is it true? The puzzle turns out to be very complex and culminates
in a race to save the boy. “A Measure of Blood” is brimming with page-turning
action, much of it on the road, some of it set in the theater department at the
University of Pittsburgh where George is a professor.
“George…writes with the kind of attention to detail
that's rare in any genre,” says Rege
Behe, of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
“Using her stage background, she uses
the interior language of her characters like a master psychologist, revealing
the story in escalating layers of suspense.”
As the 125th
anniversary of the devastating Johnstown Flood approaches, George will take readers on an emotional
rollercoaster ride in “The Johnstown Girls” (April 2014, University of
Pittsburgh Press). In this fictional story with a real, historical backdrop,
George tells the story of a rookie newspaper reporter who meets a 104-year-old
woman who survived the Great Flood of 1889. Years later, the woman is
still mourning the death of her twin sister who disappeared during the flood.
“This novel is a departure from my
mysteries, though it has a sort of mystery at its core,” George explains.
George teaches theater arts and writing at the
University of Pittsburgh. She is the author of the police thrillers “Taken,” “Fallen,” “Afterimage,” “The Odds,” “Hideout” and “Simple.” She is the editor of “Pittsburgh Noir”, a collection of
short stories, and the author of her own short story collection, “The Man in the Buick.” She has also
written three books about theater.
###
Biography of Kathleen George
Known
for her gritty, crime-ridden mysteries, novelist Kathleen
George returns to bookstores with two new novels
in 2014, “A Measure of Blood” and “The Johnstown Girls.”
George
grew up in Johnstown, Penn., a small city that found its way into the history
books with the Great Flood of 1889. In addition to a bachelor’s degree
and a master of fine arts in creative writing, she holds a master’s degree and
a doctorate in theater from the University of Pittsburgh. She now teaches theater arts and
writing at her alma mater.
George
published her first short story collection, “The Man in the Buick,” in 1999. The book
was a finalist for the Helicon Nine prize in fiction. She is the author of the
acclaimed Richard Christie mysteries, which started in 2001 with “Taken.” The book has been translated
into six languages and was recommended by critic David Kipen on “The Today
Show.” She continued the series with “Fallen,” “Afterimage,” “The Odds,” “Hideout,” “Simple” and her latest “A Measure of
Blood.” “The Odds” was nominated for an Edgar award for
best novel by the Mystery Writers of America.
Stepping
just outside of the mystery genre, George introduces “The Johnstown Girls” in
April 2014 (University of Pittsburgh Press).
George is the editor of “Pittsburgh
Noir,” a
collection of stories featuring Stewart
O'Nan, Hilary Masters, Reginald McKnight, K.C. Constantine, Lila Shaara, Nancy
Martin, Kathleen George, and many others. She
has also written three books on theater.
She
has appeared as a guest on mystery and literary blogs including Criminal Minds,
Jungle Red Writers,
The Stiletto Gang,
Writers Read,
The Page 69 Test
and Janice Gable Bashman,
among others.
George
lives in Pittsburgh where she enjoys cooking Lebanese food for her husband and
fellow writer, Hilary Masters.
Praise for Kathleen
George’s Writing
“The Man in the Buick” (1999)
"George doesn't waste a word as she
plunges the reader into her characters' lives with startling intensity, then
skillfully reveals as much about them as it is necessary to know. . .These
masterfully shaped stories mark George as a writer to watch." – Booklist
“Kathleen George does not write simple
stories. They are layered in likenesses, textured and haunting, bubbling with
keen observations.” – William Van Wert, “Chelsea”
“Taken” (2002)
“A first-class first novel...plenty of suspense....it
is George's grasp of the human factor that makes her novel such a
pleasure..." – The Washington Post
“‘Taken’ is a tough and tender thriller by a writer who knows
the world of the heart as well as the world of crime....This is a moving, gripping
and multilayered story in which the search for love touches everything, even
grief for a lost baby.." -- Perri O'Shaugnessy,
author of “Writ of Execution”
“Fallen” (2004)
"George . . . writes with the kind of
attention to detail that's rare in any genre. Using her stage background, she
uses the interior language of her characters like a master psychologist,
revealing the story in escalating layers of suspense." – Rege Behe, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"A well-loved doctor is shot dead on a
Pittsburgh street while returning late from work, and no one can fathom who did
it or why. . . . part dirge for dysfunctional families…‘Fallen’ startles,
stings and gives fair value." –
Eugen Weber, Los
Angeles Times
“Afterimage” (2007)
"George's solid third Pittsburgh
thriller (after 2004's ‘Fallen’) introduces rookie detective
Colleen Greer to the homicide squad... George leaves enough balls in the air
that fans will eagerly await Christie and Greer's next case." – Publishers Weekly
“‘Afterimage’ sizzles with irony, tension, and
surprise.... Nearly flawless in its plot and execution, Kathleen George's ‘Afterimage’ is—we
can hope—just one of many Colleen Greer adventures waiting for us in the
future." – Tim Davis, Mystery News
“The Odds” (2009)
"In this sequel of sorts to ‘Afterimage’—a gritty police procedural set on Pittsburgh's North
Side—homicide chief Richard Christie is ill, leaving detectives Greer and
Potocki to work a murder case that grows more complicated by the day. TV Pitch:
Homicide, Pittsburgh-style. Lowdown: If anyone's writing better police
thrillers than George, I don't know who it is." –Entertainment Weekly
“Pittsburgh Noir” (2009)
“An apparently straightforward justified
homicide, involving a homeowner protecting his attractive teenage daughter,
rankles the investigating officers in editor George's ‘Intruder,’ but she packs
a wallop into the ending in perhaps the volume's best entry.” – Publishers Weekly
“These regional gems give us a chance to sample new
stories from the locals, writers who know the dark sides of their cities,
regions, or even countries.” – Library
Journal
“Hideout” (2011)
"A winning combination of nuanced
character study and expertly plotted, nitty-gritty police procedural." – Booklist
"...taut page-turner filled with
unpredictable twists, memorable characters and a subtle exploration of class
tensions." – Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette
“Simple” (2012)
"George's all-too-familiar story is so
richly observed, subtly characterized, precisely written—her syncopated
paragraphs are a special delight—and successful in its avoidance of genre
cliches that you'd swear you were reading the first police procedural ever
written." – Kirkus, Starred
review
"Kathleen George continues to make
Pittsburgh delightfully lurid...‘Simple’ is fast-paced, pitting, in different
ways, Mike, Cal and the homicide crew against an amoral villain hiding in plain
sight." – Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette
The Latest From Kathleen George
“A Measure of Blood”
Paperback,
$14.99
ISBN: 978-1480445604
Mystery,
400 pages
Mysterious/Open
Road, Jan. 14, 2014
A murder sends a
child into foster care and drags a detective into a feverish hunt for justice
Nadal watches for weeks before he first
approaches the boy. No matter what Maggie Brown says, he’s sure Matt is his
son, and a boy should know his father. After their first confrontation, Maggie
should have run. She should have hidden her child. But she underestimated the
man who was once her lover. With self-righteous determination, Nadal goes to
her apartment. He demands to spend time with the boy. When she refuses, he
reaches for a knife.
By the time homicide detective Richard Christie
arrives on the scene, the killer has vanished, and Matt is too scared to
remember much more than his mother’s fear. As Christie looks for the killer and
Maggie’s friends fight to keep Matt out of the hands of Child Services, Nadal
watches the news and waits. A boy should be with his father. He’s going to get
his son.
“The Johnstown Girls”
“The Johnstown Girls” is the story of Nina Collins, a rookie
writer for the Post-Gazette who
happens upon a remarkable woman of 104, a woman who survived the Johnstown
Flood and who has quite a story to tell. Ellen Emerson is already famous for
having survived the flood after a harrowing ride on a cart and a mattress in
racing flood waters. When Ellen Emerson reveals the truth about what really
happened that day, when she finally tells a family secret, she also mourns anew
the loss of her twin sister whom she could never persuade herself perished in
the flood. No body was ever found. There is no closure. Nina’s lover Ben gets
the assignment to do a series on the flood for the newspaper, but it is Nina
who pursues the emotional story of the woman who lost her sister. This novel
traces the lives of a couple of women over the course of the 20th century.
Q&A with Kathleen
George
For
those new to your series, can you describe the Pittsburgh Richard Christie
mysteries?
My series has been called suspense, mystery, thriller, and
procedural. I think all of those labels apply in different mixes in different
books. The series is very character oriented. Both the victims and the
criminals have personal lives in each book and sometimes those lives mirror
those of the police. The police have an ongoing story of their personal
relationships over the course of the novels. They fall in love and out. I feel
I know them.
One reader told
me my books reminded her of the Inspector Morse series. I love that compliment
because I like to make my police, and especially Christie, human, flawed,
contradictory, thoughtful. Lots of people have told me they've fallen in love
with Christie. I have too. As I write him, I love him. There are other
important police characters—and one of them is Colleen Greer who is a rookie in
book three but well on her way in the profession by book six. She and Christie
pretty much share the stage.
What makes
Pittsburgh the perfect setting for a crime series?
Pittsburgh
has a lot of “parts.” There are gorgeous views, more bridges than in Venice,
many trees and parks and also very poor areas, boarded up buildings, dark,
rough streets. Needless to say there are dramas of class and race in the very
makeup of the city. And in between the extremes there are ethnic neighborhoods
that started out as immigrant strongholds and somehow held onto that identity
even when mostly taken over by students looking for affordable housing. The
people are extremely colorful. The braying Steelers fans that Tom Hanks made
sport of on David Letterman.
World famous doctors. The grandchildren of immigrants who have come up in the
world and who are almost invariably friendly and unpretentious. Pittsburgh is friendly
except when a ‘burgher is in a car. All bets are off for sweetness. The driver
simply wants to get home.
How
do you know so much about police work?
I
called the police a lot. Then I realized just how much I had absorbed and how
much was common sense. I started to get freer about calling my own shots and
when I checked with the police on what I had done, I got the nod of approval.
I’ve been extremely lucky. The police have been supportive and open with me.
Actually the FBI, too, in the early days when I needed to consult were also
helpful. My husband loves to tell people that when I tried certain plots on the
FBI consultant, he said I had a fine criminal mind.
“The
Johnstown Girls” is based on a real event that happened in your hometown. What
inspired you to write about this piece of history?
The Great Flood of 1889 is an
amazing story of greed and survival in America, a story everyone should
know. And I come from Johnstown. And there were subsequent floods. My mother was in two of them. None was as big or devastating as the Great
Flood though the lesser floods were plenty serious with numerous deaths and
significant loss of property. I wanted
to include all three floods to some extent in my novel because I experienced
the fear in 1977 that I would lose my mother and I realized that disaster
stories are really about those moments of longing for those you love, fear of
losing them. When I couldn’t get news,
when the town was cordoned off, the drama that I knew first hand was that classic
one of fear followed by joy at reunion.
How
long have you worked on these books?
“A Measure of Blood”
took about four years with some off and on time. Actually I began working on “The Johnstown Girls” twenty-five years ago. It haunted me. I worked intensely but sporadically over the
years.
What
was it like to grow up in Johnstown, Penn.?
Sweet!
Little ethnic neighborhood. Smells of pierogies and kielbassa, small grocery
stores where the owners knew your family and what brands you wanted. And in the
old days kids could play dodgeball in the street if it was flat and well-paved
or sled-ride down a steep street. We felt connected to Pittsburgh. It was the
big bit brother down the road. We were Pirates fans for sure. The whole town
listened to the 1960 world series.
How do you juggle your career as a theater arts professor at the
University of Pittsburgh with your life as a mystery writer?
Eeeek.
Sometimes juggle is the operative word. It’s tough to do it all, but I love all
of it. I tend to get up very early. In those morning hours when lots of people
are sleeping and some are rocking babies or walking dogs, I put words on a
page.
How
does your background in theatre help with writing?
Well
it helps immensely. Theatre teaches you early on what a scene is, how a scene
is an interaction with tensions. Theatre teaches about motivation and what is
going on underneath what is said. Almost all plays are about lying. To oneself.
To others. And that makes for the center of a lot of plots.
When I was
directing, I would coach actors for hours on four lines of dialogue. We would
totally explore inner life. What is thought, felt, seen, attempted. That is
definitely good training for writers.
Your
husband, Hilary Masters, is a well-known writer who has been honored by the
American Academy of Arts and Letters. What’s it like to have two writers in one
household? Do you critique each other’s work?
Only
very carefully. We know how tender the other is. So generally we wait for a
whole draft before showing anything. That’s the best way not to interrupt or
get in the way of the initial impulses.
But then, after that, we read and tell the truth. Even if it hurts.
Would
you ever collaborate with your husband for a book?
I
suppose if we ever were interested in the same subject. Our work is pretty
different and so is our prose. But it is not out of the question. He has so
much soul. And I am so dogged. I wonder how that would work?
Has
there been film interest in your work?
Yes,
particular for Taken, my first novel. Even a screenwriter in France wanted to
pitch it as a French story (which I would totally love!). Someday, I have been
assured, somebody is going to want the whole series because of the ways the
relationships change over time among the repeating characters while time passes
and challenging new cases come along.
Tilia Klebenov Jacobs - Wrong Place, Wrong Time
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE CONTACT:
Marissa Curnutte
347.574.3136
KATHLEEN
GEORGE RELEASING TWO NEW BOOKS IN 2014
‘A Measure of Blood’ continues popular Richard Christie
mystery series, and ‘The Johnstown Girls’ commemorates 125th
anniversary of devastating flood
PITTSBURGH,
Penn. – Incorporating bits and pieces of her own life as a university
professor and a proud Pennsylvanian, novelist Kathleen George continues to prove she is – as Pulitzer
Prize winner Robert Olen Butler wrote of her – “a crack mystery writer” and “a
crack writer, period,” with the release of her newest books, “A Measure of
Blood” and “The Johnstown Girls.”
Back by popular demand, George introduces the
seventh installment in her Richard Christie thriller series with “A Measure of Blood” (Jan. 14, 2014, Mysterious/Open
Road). The major crimes commander collects his best detectives to investigate
the murder of a woman and to comfort the son she left behind. The police
have just one clue – the man who killed Maggie Brown claims he was the boy’s
father. But is it true? The puzzle turns out to be very complex and culminates
in a race to save the boy. “A Measure of Blood” is brimming with page-turning
action, much of it on the road, some of it set in the theater department at the
University of Pittsburgh where George is a professor.
“George…writes with the kind of attention to detail
that's rare in any genre,” says Rege
Behe, of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
“Using her stage background, she uses
the interior language of her characters like a master psychologist, revealing
the story in escalating layers of suspense.”
As the 125th
anniversary of the devastating Johnstown Flood approaches, George will take readers on an emotional
rollercoaster ride in “The Johnstown Girls” (April 2014, University of
Pittsburgh Press). In this fictional story with a real, historical backdrop,
George tells the story of a rookie newspaper reporter who meets a 104-year-old
woman who survived the Great Flood of 1889. Years later, the woman is
still mourning the death of her twin sister who disappeared during the flood.
“This novel is a departure from my
mysteries, though it has a sort of mystery at its core,” George explains.
George teaches theater arts and writing at the
University of Pittsburgh. She is the author of the police thrillers “Taken,” “Fallen,” “Afterimage,” “The Odds,” “Hideout” and “Simple.” She is the editor of “Pittsburgh Noir”, a collection of
short stories, and the author of her own short story collection, “The Man in the Buick.” She has also
written three books about theater.
###
Biography of Kathleen George
Known
for her gritty, crime-ridden mysteries, novelist Kathleen
George returns to bookstores with two new novels
in 2014, “A Measure of Blood” and “The Johnstown Girls.”
George
grew up in Johnstown, Penn., a small city that found its way into the history
books with the Great Flood of 1889. In addition to a bachelor’s degree
and a master of fine arts in creative writing, she holds a master’s degree and
a doctorate in theater from the University of Pittsburgh. She now teaches theater arts and
writing at her alma mater.
George
published her first short story collection, “The Man in the Buick,” in 1999. The book
was a finalist for the Helicon Nine prize in fiction. She is the author of the
acclaimed Richard Christie mysteries, which started in 2001 with “Taken.” The book has been translated
into six languages and was recommended by critic David Kipen on “The Today
Show.” She continued the series with “Fallen,” “Afterimage,” “The Odds,” “Hideout,” “Simple” and her latest “A Measure of
Blood.” “The Odds” was nominated for an Edgar award for
best novel by the Mystery Writers of America.
Stepping
just outside of the mystery genre, George introduces “The Johnstown Girls” in
April 2014 (University of Pittsburgh Press).
George is the editor of “Pittsburgh
Noir,” a
collection of stories featuring Stewart
O'Nan, Hilary Masters, Reginald McKnight, K.C. Constantine, Lila Shaara, Nancy
Martin, Kathleen George, and many others. She
has also written three books on theater.
She
has appeared as a guest on mystery and literary blogs including Criminal Minds,
Jungle Red Writers,
The Stiletto Gang,
Writers Read,
The Page 69 Test
and Janice Gable Bashman,
among others.
George
lives in Pittsburgh where she enjoys cooking Lebanese food for her husband and
fellow writer, Hilary Masters.
Praise for Kathleen
George’s Writing
"George doesn't waste a word as she plunges the reader into her characters' lives with startling intensity, then skillfully reveals as much about them as it is necessary to know. . .These masterfully shaped stories mark George as a writer to watch." – Booklist
“Kathleen George does not write simple stories. They are layered in likenesses, textured and haunting, bubbling with keen observations.” – William Van Wert, “Chelsea”
“Taken” (2002)
“A first-class first novel...plenty of suspense....it is George's grasp of the human factor that makes her novel such a pleasure..." – The Washington Post
“‘Taken’ is a tough and tender thriller by a writer who knows the world of the heart as well as the world of crime....This is a moving, gripping and multilayered story in which the search for love touches everything, even grief for a lost baby.." -- Perri O'Shaugnessy, author of “Writ of Execution”
"George . . . writes with the kind of attention to detail that's rare in any genre. Using her stage background, she uses the interior language of her characters like a master psychologist, revealing the story in escalating layers of suspense." – Rege Behe, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"A well-loved doctor is shot dead on a Pittsburgh street while returning late from work, and no one can fathom who did it or why. . . . part dirge for dysfunctional families…‘Fallen’ startles, stings and gives fair value." – Eugen Weber, Los Angeles Times
"George's solid third Pittsburgh thriller (after 2004's ‘Fallen’) introduces rookie detective Colleen Greer to the homicide squad... George leaves enough balls in the air that fans will eagerly await Christie and Greer's next case." – Publishers Weekly
“‘Afterimage’ sizzles with irony, tension, and surprise.... Nearly flawless in its plot and execution, Kathleen George's ‘Afterimage’ is—we can hope—just one of many Colleen Greer adventures waiting for us in the future." – Tim Davis, Mystery News
"In this sequel of sorts to ‘Afterimage’—a gritty police procedural set on Pittsburgh's North Side—homicide chief Richard Christie is ill, leaving detectives Greer and Potocki to work a murder case that grows more complicated by the day. TV Pitch: Homicide, Pittsburgh-style. Lowdown: If anyone's writing better police thrillers than George, I don't know who it is." –Entertainment Weekly
“Pittsburgh Noir” (2009)
“An apparently straightforward justified homicide, involving a homeowner protecting his attractive teenage daughter, rankles the investigating officers in editor George's ‘Intruder,’ but she packs a wallop into the ending in perhaps the volume's best entry.” – Publishers Weekly
“These regional gems give us a chance to sample new stories from the locals, writers who know the dark sides of their cities, regions, or even countries.” – Library Journal
“Hideout” (2011)
"A winning combination of nuanced character study and expertly plotted, nitty-gritty police procedural." – Booklist
"...taut page-turner filled with unpredictable twists, memorable characters and a subtle exploration of class tensions." – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Simple” (2012)
"George's all-too-familiar story is so richly observed, subtly characterized, precisely written—her syncopated paragraphs are a special delight—and successful in its avoidance of genre cliches that you'd swear you were reading the first police procedural ever written." – Kirkus, Starred review
"Kathleen George continues to make Pittsburgh delightfully lurid...‘Simple’ is fast-paced, pitting, in different ways, Mike, Cal and the homicide crew against an amoral villain hiding in plain sight." – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Latest From Kathleen George
“A Measure of Blood”
Paperback,
$14.99
ISBN: 978-1480445604
Mystery,
400 pages
Mysterious/Open
Road, Jan. 14, 2014
A murder sends a
child into foster care and drags a detective into a feverish hunt for justice
Nadal watches for weeks before he first approaches the boy. No matter what Maggie Brown says, he’s sure Matt is his son, and a boy should know his father. After their first confrontation, Maggie should have run. She should have hidden her child. But she underestimated the man who was once her lover. With self-righteous determination, Nadal goes to her apartment. He demands to spend time with the boy. When she refuses, he reaches for a knife.
By the time homicide detective Richard Christie arrives on the scene, the killer has vanished, and Matt is too scared to remember much more than his mother’s fear. As Christie looks for the killer and Maggie’s friends fight to keep Matt out of the hands of Child Services, Nadal watches the news and waits. A boy should be with his father. He’s going to get his son.
Nadal watches for weeks before he first approaches the boy. No matter what Maggie Brown says, he’s sure Matt is his son, and a boy should know his father. After their first confrontation, Maggie should have run. She should have hidden her child. But she underestimated the man who was once her lover. With self-righteous determination, Nadal goes to her apartment. He demands to spend time with the boy. When she refuses, he reaches for a knife.
By the time homicide detective Richard Christie arrives on the scene, the killer has vanished, and Matt is too scared to remember much more than his mother’s fear. As Christie looks for the killer and Maggie’s friends fight to keep Matt out of the hands of Child Services, Nadal watches the news and waits. A boy should be with his father. He’s going to get his son.
“The Johnstown Girls”
“The Johnstown Girls” is the story of Nina Collins, a rookie
writer for the Post-Gazette who
happens upon a remarkable woman of 104, a woman who survived the Johnstown
Flood and who has quite a story to tell. Ellen Emerson is already famous for
having survived the flood after a harrowing ride on a cart and a mattress in
racing flood waters. When Ellen Emerson reveals the truth about what really
happened that day, when she finally tells a family secret, she also mourns anew
the loss of her twin sister whom she could never persuade herself perished in
the flood. No body was ever found. There is no closure. Nina’s lover Ben gets
the assignment to do a series on the flood for the newspaper, but it is Nina
who pursues the emotional story of the woman who lost her sister. This novel
traces the lives of a couple of women over the course of the 20th century.
Q&A with Kathleen
George
For
those new to your series, can you describe the Pittsburgh Richard Christie
mysteries?
My series has been called suspense, mystery, thriller, and
procedural. I think all of those labels apply in different mixes in different
books. The series is very character oriented. Both the victims and the
criminals have personal lives in each book and sometimes those lives mirror
those of the police. The police have an ongoing story of their personal
relationships over the course of the novels. They fall in love and out. I feel
I know them.
One reader told
me my books reminded her of the Inspector Morse series. I love that compliment
because I like to make my police, and especially Christie, human, flawed,
contradictory, thoughtful. Lots of people have told me they've fallen in love
with Christie. I have too. As I write him, I love him. There are other
important police characters—and one of them is Colleen Greer who is a rookie in
book three but well on her way in the profession by book six. She and Christie
pretty much share the stage.
What makes
Pittsburgh the perfect setting for a crime series?
Pittsburgh
has a lot of “parts.” There are gorgeous views, more bridges than in Venice,
many trees and parks and also very poor areas, boarded up buildings, dark,
rough streets. Needless to say there are dramas of class and race in the very
makeup of the city. And in between the extremes there are ethnic neighborhoods
that started out as immigrant strongholds and somehow held onto that identity
even when mostly taken over by students looking for affordable housing. The
people are extremely colorful. The braying Steelers fans that Tom Hanks made
sport of on David Letterman.
World famous doctors. The grandchildren of immigrants who have come up in the
world and who are almost invariably friendly and unpretentious. Pittsburgh is friendly
except when a ‘burgher is in a car. All bets are off for sweetness. The driver
simply wants to get home.
How
do you know so much about police work?
I
called the police a lot. Then I realized just how much I had absorbed and how
much was common sense. I started to get freer about calling my own shots and
when I checked with the police on what I had done, I got the nod of approval.
I’ve been extremely lucky. The police have been supportive and open with me.
Actually the FBI, too, in the early days when I needed to consult were also
helpful. My husband loves to tell people that when I tried certain plots on the
FBI consultant, he said I had a fine criminal mind.
“The
Johnstown Girls” is based on a real event that happened in your hometown. What
inspired you to write about this piece of history?
The Great Flood of 1889 is an
amazing story of greed and survival in America, a story everyone should
know. And I come from Johnstown. And there were subsequent floods. My mother was in two of them. None was as big or devastating as the Great
Flood though the lesser floods were plenty serious with numerous deaths and
significant loss of property. I wanted
to include all three floods to some extent in my novel because I experienced
the fear in 1977 that I would lose my mother and I realized that disaster
stories are really about those moments of longing for those you love, fear of
losing them. When I couldn’t get news,
when the town was cordoned off, the drama that I knew first hand was that classic
one of fear followed by joy at reunion.
How
long have you worked on these books?
“A Measure of Blood”
took about four years with some off and on time. Actually I began working on “The Johnstown Girls” twenty-five years ago. It haunted me. I worked intensely but sporadically over the
years.
What
was it like to grow up in Johnstown, Penn.?
Sweet!
Little ethnic neighborhood. Smells of pierogies and kielbassa, small grocery
stores where the owners knew your family and what brands you wanted. And in the
old days kids could play dodgeball in the street if it was flat and well-paved
or sled-ride down a steep street. We felt connected to Pittsburgh. It was the
big bit brother down the road. We were Pirates fans for sure. The whole town
listened to the 1960 world series.
How do you juggle your career as a theater arts professor at the
University of Pittsburgh with your life as a mystery writer?
Eeeek.
Sometimes juggle is the operative word. It’s tough to do it all, but I love all
of it. I tend to get up very early. In those morning hours when lots of people
are sleeping and some are rocking babies or walking dogs, I put words on a
page.
How
does your background in theatre help with writing?
Well
it helps immensely. Theatre teaches you early on what a scene is, how a scene
is an interaction with tensions. Theatre teaches about motivation and what is
going on underneath what is said. Almost all plays are about lying. To oneself.
To others. And that makes for the center of a lot of plots.
When I was
directing, I would coach actors for hours on four lines of dialogue. We would
totally explore inner life. What is thought, felt, seen, attempted. That is
definitely good training for writers.
Your
husband, Hilary Masters, is a well-known writer who has been honored by the
American Academy of Arts and Letters. What’s it like to have two writers in one
household? Do you critique each other’s work?
Only
very carefully. We know how tender the other is. So generally we wait for a
whole draft before showing anything. That’s the best way not to interrupt or
get in the way of the initial impulses.
But then, after that, we read and tell the truth. Even if it hurts.
Would
you ever collaborate with your husband for a book?
I
suppose if we ever were interested in the same subject. Our work is pretty
different and so is our prose. But it is not out of the question. He has so
much soul. And I am so dogged. I wonder how that would work?
Has
there been film interest in your work?
Yes,
particular for Taken, my first novel. Even a screenwriter in France wanted to
pitch it as a French story (which I would totally love!). Someday, I have been
assured, somebody is going to want the whole series because of the ways the
relationships change over time among the repeating characters while time passes
and challenging new cases come along.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time
by Tilia Klebenov Jacobs
October 2013, Linden Tree Press
October 2013, Linden Tree Press
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TILIA
KLEBENOV JACOBS RELEASES WRONG PLACE,
WRONG TIME
Award-winning writer uses Jewish faith for new spin on
thriller novel
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. –
A psychological thriller with an unconventional heroine, Wrong Place, Wrong Time by award-winning author Tilia Klebenov Jacobs
is a rush of adrenaline.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time
(October 1, 2013, Linden Tree Press) introduces
Tsara Adelman, a Jewish mother and wife who finds herself abducted and on the
run after she learns her uncle is holding several children captive on his
property. Originally a project for National Novel Writing Month in 2009,
Jacobs’ book is packed with action and emotion, presenting ethical questions
and unpredictable drama on every page.
“This is a story of redemption,” Jacobs
says. “This is a story about an ordinary
woman fighting back in extraordinary circumstances.”
Jacobs
was inspired by the 1950 Burt Lancaster
film “The Flame and
the Arrow,” a light-hearted, Robin Hood-esque story about Dardo Bartoli (Lancaster) kidnapping Anne de Hesse (Virginia Mayo)
in Medieval Lombardy as part of a struggle against the evil Hessian overlords,
one of whom is holding Dardo’s son hostage to keep the rebels quiet. After
watching the movie a few dozen times, Jacobs started wondering, “What if this happened in real life? What
if the woman weren’t a voluptuous 20-something but a happily married wife and
mother? What if she didn’t fall in
love with him? What if she were Jewish?”
Jacobs
weaves elements of the real world into Wrong
Place, Wrong Time with fight scenes based on her experience as a student in
a women’s self-defense course and in-depth interviews with a lawyer, a
Massachusetts state trooper, psychologists, an archer, a rabbi and FBI agents.
Jacobs
lives near Boston, Mass. with her husband, their two children and a pair of
standard poodles. In addition to teaching writing in state prisons, she is a
judge in the Soul-Making
Keats Literary Competition and a member of Grub Street, an independent
writing center in Boston. She has won numerous awards for her fiction and
nonfiction work.
###
Biography
of Tilia Klebenov Jacobs
Writer Tilia Klebenov Jacobs
has mastered the art of keeping readers in suspense with her newest release, Wrong Place, Wrong
Time (October 1, 2013,
Linden Tree Press).
Jacobs
was born in Washington D.C. and studied at Oberlin College in Ohio where she
earned a bachelor of arts in religion and English with a concentration in
creative writing. After spending time as a park naturalist with the Fairfax
County Park Authority in picturesque Virginia, she returned to school and
obtained a master of theological studies from Harvard Divinity School and a
secondary school teaching certification from the Harvard Graduate School of
Education in 1997. She went on to teach
middle school, high school and college. She is a world traveler, having lived
in or visited Colombia, Norway, England, Venezuela, Bulgaria, Israel and Jordan,
among many other countries.
Jacobs has won numerous awards for her fiction and
nonfiction work. Her writing has appeared in The Jewish Magazine and anthologies including Phoenix Rising: Collected Papers on Harry Potter (2008,
Narrate Conferences Inc.)
and The Chalk Circle (Wyatt-MacKenzie
Publishing, 2012), a collection of
intercultural essays.
Wrong Place, Wrong
Time was designated IndieReader Approved
and the book won honorable mention for the 2010 Joanna Catherine Scott Novel
Excerpt Prize.
For the past 12 years, Jacobs has lived in near Boston,
Mass. with her husband, two children and their two standard poodles. She is a
judge in the Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition and a member of Grub Street,
Boston’s premier writing center. In addition to teaching writing at several
state prisons in Massachusetts, she has been a guest blogger for Jungle Red Writers,
Femmes Fatales
and author Terri Giuliano Long’s website.
Critcial Acclaim for Tilia
Klebenov Jacobs’ Wrong Place, Wrong Time
“This is a book that manages to include
fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping action, thoughtful ponderings about morality,
and a witty sense of humor all in one novel, an impressive feat.” – IndieReader.com
“With sharp, clear
prose and a refreshing lack of sentimentality, Jacobs tells her tale with
compassion, humor, compelling characterization and intense drama,”
–
Peter Ullian, award-winning author of “Flight of the Lawnchair Man,” “Black
Fire White Fire” and “Eliot Ness in Cleveland”
“Witty and engrossing,
‘Wrong Place, Wrong Time’ is a genuine page-turner.”
–
Joanna Catherine Scott, judge, Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition
“A page-turner for
brainiacs!”
–
Lisa Moricoli-Latham, TV sitcom writer
“This
absorbing, masterfully structured suspense is infused with delightfully wicked
humor and shimmers with vivid descriptions, sharp dialogue, and fascinating,
multi-dimensional characters. With Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Ms. Jacobs
made me laugh, made me cry, and, while drawing me into a complex web of human
frailty, desperation, resilience and ultimately survival, both inspired me and
urged me to think.”
—Terri
Giuliano Long, author of In Leah’s Wake and
Nowhere To Run
“Heroine
Tsara Abrams is edgy swagger with an overlay of happily ever after thrown in –
think Angelina Jolie and Naomi Watts morphed together. Add a smidgen of Katniss Everdeen thrown in
for that fun, action/adventure read we all crave, and you’ve got this great
debut novel. Pick it up NOW.”
—Mary
Kennedy Eastham, author of Squinting Over
Water and The Shadow of a Dog I Can't
Forget
“Wrong Place, Wrong Time
is a genre-shifting story. On one hand, it is a classic tale of suspense: a
beautiful woman is kidnapped and taken on a frightening trek through the
mountains of New Hampshire. On the other hand, her kidnapper is not a brute,
and as the reader becomes more aware of and sympathetic to his story, the novel
takes on the uncomfortable nuances of a romance. In the end, this is an
exploration of forgiveness, beautifully crafted through dialogue and built
on the perennial themes of love and loyalty.”
—Sarah Jordan, Ph.D, Professor of Language and Literacy
What
Readers Are Saying…
On GoodReads.com
“What a delight to discover a female protagonist who actually keeps her head and does everything she can to survive and escape! Tsara is no milk-water miss. She’s tough, intelligent, and darkly humorous.”
“Wrong Place, Wrong Time is an action-packed
thriller. I want Tsara to be my best friend! She
is smart, sarcastic, and courageous.”
“Wrong Place, Wrong Time is a
suspenseful, action-packed thriller that is also redemptive and rewarding.
Tilia Klebenov Jacobs creates a heroine who is tenacious and brave, and her
writing is clever and funny, even while tackling material that is far from
humorous. I look forward to reading more from this author!”
“Love
the strong female lead. Lots of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming!”
On Amazon.com
“Love,
love, love this book! Very suspenseful, well written and detailed.”
“Jacobs moved
me to tears more than once.”
“Part action
and adventure drama and part psychological thriller, Wrong Place, Wrong Time keeps you turning pages. The complex
characters are woven into a many-layered conflict with as many turns as the
mountain roads on which they travel. This is a must read book.”
Book Details for
Wrong Place, Wrong Time
ISBN: 978-0-9898601-1-6
Fiction/Thriller, 406 pages
Linden Tree Press, October 1, 2013
When Tsara Adelman leaves her husband and two young children
for a weekend to visit her estranged uncle, she little dreams he is holding
several local children captive on his lavish estate. Mike Westbrook, father of
one of the boys, kidnaps her to trade her life for the children’s. Soon Tsara
and Mike are fleeing through New Hampshire’s mountain wilderness pursued by two
rogue cops with murder on their minds.
Q&A with Wrong Place, Wrong Time author Tilia Klebenov Jacobs
The main character in Wrong Place,
Wrong Time isn’t your typical leading lady. She’s a 43-year-old married
Jewish woman with kids. Tell us more about Tsara.
In Tsara I hoped to create a smart, funny, tough
Jewish woman who might conceivably live next door to me. This is because for the most part when I look
at popular culture I don’t see women I recognize, certainly not when they have
the gall to be over thirty-five or so; and I don’t see Jews I recognize. (Pop culture’s two main species of Jew are
Woody Allen neurotics and Holocaust victims.)
Action-adventure stories are full of exciting men, but darned few
believable women. Yet in real life I
know so many wonderful Jewish women! And
wonderful women who aren’t Jewish! Why
shouldn’t they have adventures too?
I think Tsara’s struggles and triumphs will appeal
to women and men. She is an ordinary
person who happens to be Jewish and sees the world through that lens—and that
becomes a lifeline for her when she is thrust into extraordinary circumstances.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time doesn’t end when the action is over. It continues to show how Tsara
grapples with the emotional and moral implications of her experience. What do
you hope readers take away from her aftermath?
That we make choices about how we continue after
life has dealt us a blow.
A big
part of the reason I wrote Wrong Place,
Wrong Time is that often I find the ending of an adventure story
unsatisfying. Everything stops when the crime is solved, but I frequently
wonder what happens afterwards. Where
does the experience leave you emotionally?
Spiritually? How does it affect
your relationships? In most kidnapping stories, the woman who is kidnapped
falls in love with her abductor. I once
met a woman who was held hostage by a terrorist group, and she never once
mentioned what a turn-on it was. So I
wanted to take what is in some ways a very typical story—hunky guy abducts
attractive woman—and play it differently, in a way that to me seems more true
to life.
At the same time, I tried to make Tsara and Mike
people who could have fallen in love
with each other if they had met under less, shall we say, awkward
circumstances. Because that has a lot to
do with the choices they make after the crime is solved too.
How does Tsara’s Jewish faith come into play in the dilemmas she encounters
throughout the book?
Again, this has to do with why I chose to write a
Jewish protagonist. We very seldom see
Jews in fiction making decisions based on Jewish principles and ethics. In real life, of course, people often make
choices that are guided by the dictates of their faith. And the thing that many people often don’t
realize is that Jewish ideas about morality are different from Christian ideas. Even though the conclusions we reach may very
well be the same, Jews and Christians (and Muslims and others, for that matter)
often take very different paths to arrive at their destinations.
When Tsara goes to her rabbi for help, she gets
distinctly Jewish advice that helps her cope with her experiences in way that
is both ethical and pragmatic. The
guiding principle here is that being a Jewish adult means living an ethical
life even when you don’t feel like it.
Of course, people of all faiths struggle with life
and morality with the wisdom their culture gives them. Tsara is Jewish, so I explore that aspect of
her personality as we see how she personally views the world through a Jewish
lens, and copes with her experiences with the help of her tradition.
The fight scenes in Wrong Place,
Wrong Time are based on your experience as a student in a women’s
self-defense class. Why did you take part in the course, and what did you end
up learning?
When I was a teenager, a speaker came to
my high school and announced that a huge number of us girls (and a lower number
of boys) would be assaulted at some point in our lives, and that when it
happened we must not fight back because it would make the assailant angry and
“escalate the violence.” It was a very
damaging thing to hear as a young girl:
it made me feel terrified and helpless.
Fortunately, the message is false.
Years later I found that in reality, women who fight back against an
assailant have an excellent chance of getting away, even if they have no
particular training. As for making the
guy angry, anyone who is attacking you is already angry, so don’t worry about
his feelings.
Shortly after college I took a women’s
self-defense course called Model Mugging.
(It has many chapters across the United States, some of which are called
“Impact” instead.) Instructors taught us
a few easy, reliable ways to fight, and when we were good enough they brought
in a martial artist wearing sixty pounds of padded armor. He attacked us, and one by one we beat the
snot out of him. It was full-force
fighting, hitting as hard as we could against a guy who was role-playing a
rapist, drugged-out sadist, mugger, etc.
It was a huge rush, especially after having feared the assault predicted
by that speaker so many years earlier.
More to the point, it is excellent
self-defense in real life. Graduates of
this course who have had the misfortune to be attacked in real life have
defended themselves beautifully, often knocking the guy out in seconds. All of Tsara’s fights are Model Mugging
fights—it was one of the few things I didn’t have to research!
As for what I learned, it is this: women
need to know they can fight back, and
that when they do they will often win.
How long did it take you to write Wrong
Place, Wrong Time? And you first wrote it as a project for National Novel Writing
Month?
Yes, I’d had the story
knocking around in my head for some time and I decided to let it out. Several of my friends had done NaNoWriMo
(National Novel Writing Month), so I put aside the nonfiction I’d been writing
up till then and let my novel off the leash.
For those who are
unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo, it is an annual competition perhaps better described
as a self-challenge to write a fifty thousand-word novel in the month of
November. This approach really worked
for me. I went hell for leather every
day, and hit the 50K mark without breaking a sweat. (As I said, the story had been in my head for
a long time! And I had meticulously
outlined it before starting, so I never had to stop and wonder what the heck
happened next.)
I wrote the first draft
in seven weeks. At that point, much of
it read like Nancy Drew on a very bad day.
That never bothered me, though, because I figured now I had something to
work with. I rewrote it endlessly.
You interviewed so many people – psychologists, FBI agents, law
enforcement officers – for your book. Who was the most interesting to talk to?
The FBI agents were amazing.
First off, they were ridiculously generous with their time and
information. Before talking to them I
knew as much about crime procedures as anyone else with a TV. By the end—well, I won’t call myself an
expert, but I definitely had the inside scoop!
And they were kind enough not to laugh at me, which must have been a
strain.
As I talked to them, I realized that the stories I read and write as
fiction are the way they live in real life.
They actually have tackled the
bad guys and rescued the hostages.
They’ve planted bugs and tracking devices, delivered ransoms, outsmarted
villains. They had a protocol for my
every plot twist. And they do all this
for you and me, ordinary people with ordinary lives who are protected by these
agents and their colleagues without ever necessarily knowing it. It was pretty stunning.
How did you get involved with teaching the art of writing at prisons in
Massachusetts, and what’s that experience like?
I got involved with prison education through a
volunteer program that has been around since the 1970s. It was so rewarding that soon I left the organization
to teach my own courses independently.
Given my experience with National Novel Writing Month, I chose to create
a course based on that model. Yes, it’s
true—I teach NaNoWriMo Behind Bars!
The experience of teaching in prison is always a
little surreal. The corrections officers
(guards) and other staff are always thrilled to see me, because they genuinely
value my contributions. Then they search
me with a thoroughness that puts the TSA pat-down to shame. Once I’m in the classroom it’s a lot like any
other classroom, except that the door has a window in it and an officer comes
by to do a head count at least once. And
sometimes I get little reminders of where I am, such as the time a student
offered to get me an eraser—I had left mine at home—and was gone for almost
twenty minutes. Upon her return she
apologized sincerely, but explained that a guard had stopped her in the hallway
and strip-searched her.
You might be interested to know that teaching in
prison is the single best way to reduce future crimes. Study after study has borne that out, and
it’s been backed by bleeding-heart liberals such as the Bureau of Prisons. Education of inmates cuts recidivism better
than tougher laws, more cops, mandatory minimums, or bigger, badder
prisons. It’s cheaper, too.
Of course, there’s a payoff for me, too. Whatever else these inmates may have done in
their lives, they are the best students I have ever had because they are so
eager to learn. If I give them a few
tools—for example, showing them how a plot works, and how to outline their
stories before starting—the results are spectacular. Many of them are talented, and all are
grateful. Teachers pretty much live for
that combination. I hope to continue my
present work for many years.
Anything new you’re working on?
I’ve completed a novel called Second Helpings at the Serve You Right Café.
It was inspired by a chance encounter I had with one of my former students
after his incarceration, and it led me to ask myself the question, “At what
point in the dating process do you tell someone you’re out on parole?”
In some ways the book is very different
from Wrong Place, Wrong Time; in some
ways it’s quite similar. I hope it has
the same emotional pull that readers have told me they feel from my first
novel. I learned so much about narrative
craft while I was writing that book that I wanted to do a second one,
essentially using all the tricks I wish I’d known the first time around. It’s really been
fun.
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