Tag: blogtour

Blog Tour/Review: If the Creek Don’t Rise by Leah Weiss

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I’m thrilled to host one of the stops on the blog tour for If The Creek Don’t Rise by Leah Weiss.  It’s a book I absolutely adored when I read it several months ago so I’m delighted to be able – finally – to share my review of this wonderful book. 

creekAbout the Book

 

In a North Carolina mountain town filled with moonshine and rotten husbands, Sadie Blue is only the latest girl to face a dead-end future at the mercy of a dangerous drunk. She’s been married to Roy Tupkin for fifteen days, and she knows now that she should have listened to the folks who said he was trouble. But when a stranger sweeps in and knocks the world off-kilter for everyone in town, Sadie begins to think there might be more to life than being Roy’s wife. As stark and magnificent as Appalachia itself, If the Creek Don’t Rise is a bold and beautifully layered debut about a dusty, desperate town finding the inner strength it needs to outrun its demons. The folks of Baines Creek will take you deep into the mountains with heart, honesty, and homegrown grit.

Book Facts

Format: ebook Publisher: Sourcebook Pages: 322
Publication: 22nd Aug 2017 Genre: Literary Fiction  

Purchase links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ Amazon.com ǀ
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find If The Creek Don’t Rise on Goodreads

My Review

This review is going to be a bit gushing because I was completely blown away by this book – I absolutely loved it. I’m split between finding it hard to believe that this is Leah Weiss’s first novel and shouting, Leah, why did you wait so long?   Did I mention that I adored this book?

There are a number of different narrative voices but they are each distinctive and convincing in terms of characterisation and tone.  The central character in the story is Sadie Blue. The reader is immediately drawn to her – not much more than a child herself, pregnant and saddled with a no-good husband who beats her up for the slightest reason:

‘Fifteen days has gone by since that piece of paper got signed. Roy beats on me pretty regular cause nobody stops him. I thought we got married for a mighty reason. I thought I was special to him. I musta made it all up, cause none of it’s true.’

Despite all she suffers, Sadie’s resilience is incredible as she looks for a way out – any way out – of the situation she finds herself in. Channelling the voice of her dead father and her singing idol, Loretta Lynn, she finds the strength to do this.

Sadie is just one of the incredible female characters the author has created. There’s Gladys, who also endured marriage to an abusive husband until his death in an accident, and finds herself alone and every day a struggle but still carries on because she knows no other way.

‘Life’s too shitty. For a old woman, it’s more shit that I can shovel. I can’t remember if I ever had a choice but to put one front of the other and walk the line on a rocky road to nowhere.’

Gladys has secrets that she thinks nobody knows but her friend, Marris, knows different. Marris, a widow, is a lovely warm character who looks out for the less fortunate in Baines Creek.

In case you’re thinking all the male characters are bad and the female characters good, the author redresses the balance with Eli Perkins, the preacher, and Prudence, his sister. Eli feels an immediate affinity with the new schoolteacher, Kate Shaw, an older woman who left her previous position under a cloud but whose passion for teaching shines through.

‘Kate is a magician, a pied piper who has absconded with our children’s hearts. Mine too.’

Eli recognises in her a kindred spirit, someone who is prepared to fight against the low expectations of the townspeople for their children, who can be ‘an ally to instil hope and possibility in my good people’.  However, as an outsider and single, independent woman, Kate attracts the malicious attention of Prudence, made resentful by her harsh upbringing in a family of several generations of preachers.

‘Everything I did was coated with the Lord’s slippery words. I almost drowned in verse. I learned to breathe underwater was what I did, being the daughter of an Eli.’

The close of the novel sees Sadie Blue’s story return to centre stage as she draws on all her strength of will to bring about a change in her situation.

This book will stay with me for a long time – even more so because of the devastating final line.  I’m not sure my review can do justice to this book but I’ll just say that if you love southern fiction, superlative writing, a compelling storyline and wonderful characterisation, please search out If the Creek Don’t Rise. I just hope Leah Wiess doesn’t wait as long to publish her next book.

I received an advance reader copy courtesy of NetGalley and publishers, Sourcebook Landmark, in return for an honest review.

In three words: Moving, authentic, compelling

Try something similar…The Fortunate Brother by Donna Morrissey

Leah-WeissAbout the Author

Leah Weiss retired in 2015 from a twenty-four year career as Executive Assistant to the Headmaster at a private school in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she resides. She has written many short stories that have appeared in literary magazines. Leah enjoys speaking to book clubs. If the Creek Don’t Rise is her debut novel.

Connect with Leah

Website ǀ Facebook ǀ Goodreads ǀ Instagram

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Blog Tour/Q&A: The Brotherhood by Shannon Condon

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TheBrotherhood

I’m delighted to be hosting today’s stop on the blog tour for The Brotherhood by Shannon Condon, the follow-up to the exciting Finding Magdalena. I’m thrilled that Shannon has agreed to answer some questions about The Brotherhood and her approach to writing.

Check out the full tour schedule here

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TheBrotherhoodCoverAbout the Book

Starting where Finding Magdalena left off, nineteen-year-old Maggie marries her fiancé, Mateo, and moves to Milan for his new job and her scholarship at the famous Milan Conservatory. She has barely settled into her new home when Maggie uncovers The Brotherhood – a secret organization – and finds herself unwittingly involved in its sinister plans. Along with Shep and the rest of his team, she leads the covert mission to bring The Brotherhood to its knees.  Once again, Maggie embarks on a dangerous journey that tests her mental and physical limits. Can she escape The Brotherhood’s long reach and survive?

Format: ebook Publisher: Austin Macauley Pages: 374
Publication: 28th Apr 2017 Genre: Fiction    

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ Amazon.com ǀ
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Brotherhood on Goodreads

 

Interview: Shannon Condon, author of The Brotherhood

The Brotherhood carries on the story of Maggie whom we were first introduced to in Finding Magdalena. What are the challenges of writing a sequel compared to a standalone novel?

I didn’t find it challenging; I found it exciting. When I finished Finding Magdalena I felt there was still so much of Maggie’s story to be told. The Brotherhood flowed out of my imagination so quickly I had a challenging time keeping up with the typing and had to write little shorthand notes for myself so I wouldn’t forget to add certain details.

Why did you decide to make Maggie the subject of a second book?

Maggie is such an interesting, multilayered character. As mentioned above, there were so many places Maggie’s life could take her. I couldn’t leave her character after just one book. This sentiment was echoed by quite a few readers who wanted another Maggie book. I found this to be both a compliment and encouraging. I am currently working on the third instalment of Maggie’s story.

In The Brotherhood, Maggie has left the US behind and moved to Milan. What made you choose Milan as a location for the book?

Maggie was living in Malaga, Spain when she married Mateo. Since Mateo was an architect it made sense for them to move to the most metropolitan city in Italy, known for its architecture and the arts. Maggie, a music major, would be able to finish her music degree at the Milan Conservatory.

Maggie has experienced tragedy in her life. How do you think this has influenced her character?

It influenced her personality and the way she deals with situations. The first tragedy was the loss of her parents when she was fifteen. Maggie was already in a new environment at a US boarding school. Previously, she moved with her parents all over Europe and was homeschooled. When her parents died, she initially withdrew, experiencing anxiety and night terrors. Her best friend Graham was the only one who could reach her. Eventually, she learned to deal with her pain by throwing herself into her studies, running daily and her music. Basically, she kept herself busy all the time.

She had the ability to compartmentalize and push things down so she didn’t have to deal with it. Unfortunately, this kept her anxiety steady and she kept her Xanax handy. It was not the healthiest solution but her ability to focus and tune everything else out would serve her well in the months and years ahead.

The plot revolves around a secret organization, The Brotherhood. Why do you think secrets are so enticing to us as readers?

It invokes a level of excitement and intrigue. You can’t help but to guess who is involved and what is the purpose of the organization. Usually, when you are privy to a secret you feel special, maybe even entitled. In The Brotherhood, however, the secrets are difficult for Maggie to accept.

Do you have a special place to write or any writing rituals?

I don’t physically start writing until I have the story and characters worked out. I guess you could say I spend a lot of time writing in my head before I begin typing. I write from the first page to the last. I never skip around or write chapters out of order. The characters are so well developed in my mind it almost seems as if they lead the story!

What is your favourite and least favourite part of the writing process?

My favourite part is the actual writing. Sometimes I find myself changing the story and taking it in a different direction than what I had originally imagined. I love having the ability to do that. My least favourite part is the editing process. While very necessary, it takes a long time to go back and forth between writer and publisher before the book is ready for print. Once I finish a book, I am anxious for people to read it and see what they think of it.

Which other writers do you admire and why?

I admire the late Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum and William Golding. I love reading Clancy and Ludlum because they write such tight action/thriller stories with characters that resonate and live on from book to book. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is the first book I read that completely swept me up and left me peeling back the layers through a second and third reading of it.

What are you working on next? Will there be more adventures for Maggie?

I am currently working on the third instalment of the Magdalena series. I am not sure if I will end the series as a trilogy or continue. I will likely see how Maggie’s fans feel after the third book!

Thank you, Shannon, for those fascinating answers and the good news that Magdalena’s story hasn’t finished quite yet…

ShannonCondonAbout the Author

Shannon writes: Born in upstate New York, I was raised in South Florida where I was exposed to a multicultural background. From the time I was in elementary school, I was writing prolifically in journals and poetry. I attended the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications and graduated with honours. Life happens and it was necessary for me to put my writing aspirations on hold for a while. I still wrote poetry as time allowed, but as a single mother of three boys, there wasn’t much time. But time passes quickly and the opportunity presented itself for me to begin writing again. I developed the first story in the Magdalena series, Finding Magdalena, in my head before I put anything down on paper. I had the storyline, well-developed characters and ending before I began writing. I also took the opportunity to travel to Spain and Italy to do location research. It was a labour of love. The second book in the series, The Brotherhood, came pouring forth like a waterfall. The characters, now old friends to me, seemed to take over and write the book themselves. I am currently working on the third instalment of the Magdalena series and another book which is a different genre, one that deals with the relationship between three generations of women over three time periods.  For me, writing has always been a release, never work. I hope that continues. When it becomes work, I will probably stop. Right now, just the idea that people read my work and find enjoyment in it is a thrill for me.

Connect with Shannon

Website ǀ Twitter ǀ Goodreads

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