Harper-Collins Blog Tour for A Step Past Darkness by Vera Kurian

February 24, 2024 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I’m excited today to be part of the blog tour for Vera Kurian’s new thriller A Step Past Darkness.

This was a fast and exciting read, following 6 friends who witness something terrible and come back together twenty years later when one of them dies from a supposed accident. I could see this book being for adults or YA or new age readers. What I really could see would be it as a Netflix or Hulu limited series.

Thank you for my copy and for having me as part of the tour!

Here’s the scoop:

A Step Past Darkness : A Novel

Vera Kurian

On Sale Date: February 20, 2024

9780778310761

Hardcover

$30.00 USD

Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological

448 pages

ABOUT THE BOOK:

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER meets Stephen King in this character-driven thriller about a study group of six teenagers who witness something tragic in an abandoned mine, which comes back to haunt them 20 years later.

SIX CLASSMATES.

ONE TERRIFYING NIGHT.

A MURDER TWENTY YEARS IN THE MAKING…

There’s more to Wesley Falls than meets the eye, but for six high school students, it’s home.

Kelly, the new girl and rule-follower.

Maddy, the beauty and the church favorite.

Padma, the brains and all-A student.

Casey, the jock and football star.

James, the burnout and just trying to make it to graduation.

And Jia, the psychic, who can see the future.

When these six are assigned to work on a summer group project, their lives are forever changed. At an end of the year party in the abandoned mine, they witness a preventable tragedy, but no one will take them seriously. As things escalate, they realize the church, the police, and the town’s founders are all conspiring to cover up what happened. When James is targeted as the scapegoat, to avoid suspicion, they vow their silence and to never contact each other again. Their plan works – almost.

Twenty years later, Maddy is found murdered is Wesley Falls, and the remaining five are forced to confront their past and work together to finally put right what happened all those years ago. If they can survive…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Vera Kurian is a writer and scientist based in Washington DC. Her debut novel, NEVER SAW ME COMING (Park Row Books, 2021 was an Edgar Award nominee and was named one of the New York Times’ Best Thrillers of 2021. Her short fiction has been published in magazines such as Glimmer Train, Day One, and The Pinch. She has a PhD in Social Psychology, where she studied intergroup relations, ideology, and quantitative methods. She blogs irregularly about writing, horror movies and pop culture/terrible TV.

SOCIAL LINKS:

Author website: https://www.verakurian.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/verakurianauthor/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vera_kurian

BUY LINKS: Not affiliated with BBNB

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-step-past-darkness-original-vera-kurian/20155061?ean=9780778310761

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Step-Past-Darkness-Novel/dp/0778310760

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-step-past-darkness-vera-kurian/1143574161

Online Book Club Event with the Author: Meet Eva Stachniak, author of The School of Mirrors

February 21, 2024 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I am SUPER EXCITED to share that I will be hosting an online zoom book club event with Eva Stachniak, author of the historical novel: The School of Mirrors.

Here’s some info from Amazon about the book:

“A riveting epic, keenly observed and shining with lush historical detail. You’ll never forget this journey.”–Cara Black, New York Times bestselling author of Three Hours in Paris

“A sweeping tale of tumult and tragedy— intricate, absorbing, and impeccably depicted, The School of Mirrors will linger in your imagination long after you turn the last page.”–Ann Mah, bestselling author of Jacqueline in Paris

A scintillating, gorgeously written historical novel about a mother and a daughter in eighteenth-century France, beginning with decadence and palace intrigue at Versailles and ending in an explosive new era of revolution.

During the reign of Louis XV, impoverished but lovely teenage girls from all over France are sent to a discreet villa in the town of Versailles. Overseen by the King’s favorite mistress, Madame de Pompadour, they will be trained as potential courtesans for the King. When the time is right, each girl is smuggled into the palace of Versailles, with its legendary Hall of Mirrors. There they meet a mysterious but splendidly dressed man who they’re told is merely a Polish count, a cousin of the Queen. Living an indulgent life of silk gowns, delicious meals, and soft beds, the students at this “school of mirrors” rarely ask questions, and when Louis tires of them, they are married off to minor aristocrats or allowed to retire to one of the more luxurious nunneries.

Beautiful and canny Veronique arrives at the school of mirrors and quickly becomes a favorite of the King. But when she discovers her lover’s true identity, she is whisked away, sent to give birth to a daughter in secret, and then to marry a wealthy Breton merchant. There is no return to the School of Mirrors.

This is also the story of the King’s daughter by Veronique—Marie-Louise. Well-provided for in a comfortable home, Marie-Louise has never known her mother, let alone her father. Capable and intelligent, she discovers a passion for healing and science, and becomes an accredited midwife, one of the few reputable careers for women like her. But eventually Veronique comes back into her daughter’s life, bringing with her the secret of Marie-Louise’s birth. But the new King—Louis XVI—is teetering on his throne and it’s a volatile time in France…and those with royal relatives must mind their step very carefully.

This sounds SO good and I can’t wait!

Our zoom event will be on Saturday, April 6, from 3:00-4:30 EST.

I will send my zoom link closer to the date (as a good reminder, too!). It would be great if folks could RSVP but my zoom is unlimited for time and up to 500 people, so it’s okay if you don’t.

Bird’s Eye View by Jan Capps

February 11, 2024 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

Jan Capps, the author of Bird’s Eye View, reached out to me earlier in the winter so offer her memoir which tells of her year living and working at a medical clinic, with her ten-year-old daughter, in Guatemala.

This was such an interesting story that I will admit I read it in pretty much one sitting (it’s 388 pages but who’s counting).

Here’s the scoop:

When Jan Moves to Guatemala with her young daughter to run a medical clinic on the heels of her divorce, she knows the experience will be difficult and life-changing. But she doesn’t anticipate all the ways she will change.

To make sense of her professional, personal, and parenting turmoil in a country with plenty of its own turmoil, Jan finds herself adopting a Maya worldview that weaves together concepts of duality (there can be no light without dark, no joy without pain), harmony with nature, and the importance of connecting to the past to understand one’s present self.

Awash with elements of Maya mythology, history, and culture and innumerable revelations of the compassion, intelligence, and resilience of the Guatemalan people, Bird’s-Eye View is a coming-of-middle-age story that shows how viewing life through the prism of a different set of myths can help an individual understand the familiar tales they have unwittingly followed.

About the Author

Jan Capps has been a public health advocate for immigrants, farmworkers, domestic violence victims, and people of color in the US, Guatemala, and Mexico for over thirty years, focusing on building local capacity and health equity. During her two stints living in Guatemala, she organized and trained community health workers and midwives, managed a medical clinic, and studied the Maya Tz’utujil language. She has presented, trained, and written for national audiences. Her greatest joy and most humbling experiences have been being a mother and watching her glorious daughter grow and launch into the world. Jan splits her time between Seattle, Washington, and North Carolina.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read your book, Ms. Capps!

Harper-Collins Blog Tour for The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman

February 10, 2024 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I’m so happy today to be part of the tour for this wonderful new historical fiction novel about a plucky female aviator.

Here’s the scoop:

THE UNCHARTED FLIGHT OF OLIVIA WEST

Author: Sara Ackerman

ISBN: 9780778369516
Publication date: February 6, 2024
Publisher: MIRA

Book Summary:

1927. Olivia ‘Livy’ Jones is a young and determined pilot with a love of adventure. She’s been bit by the flying bug and yearns to cross oceans and see the world, pioneering the way for other women pilots. When she learns of the Dole Air Race–organized immediately after Charles Lindbergh’s famous flight–a race to be the first to make the 2,400 mile Pacific crossing from the West coast to Hawaii, with a huge grand prize of $25,000–she sets her sights on qualifying. But it soon becomes clear that only men will make the cut. In a last ditch effort to take part, Livy manages to be picked as a navigator for one of the pilots, before setting out on a harrowing journey that will change her life forever.

1987. Nothing is going right for Emma Summers. When she learns that she has inherited a piece of land from a great uncle, she hopes it might hold something valuable, but instead she finds nothing but an old barn full of junk, including a small plane is in disrepair, with faded paint and a broken propeller. Then she discovers her great uncle’s journal. He was a pilot in the Dole Air Race, but in the journal, he reveals that he fell ill over the Pacific, and that it was his navigator who piloted his plane. As she uncovers Livy’s story, Emma finds new purpose, restoring the old plane and fighting to secure Livy’s place in the aviation hall of fame.

Author Bio:

Sara Ackerman is a USA TODAY bestselling author who writes books about love and life, and all of their messy and beautiful imperfections. She believes that the light is just as important as the dark, and that the world is in need of uplifting stories. Born and raised in Hawaii, she studied journalism and later earned graduate degrees in psychology and Chinese medicine. She blames Hawaii for her addiction to writing, and sees no end to its untapped stories. Find out more about Sara and her books at http://www.ackermanbooks.com and follow her on Instagram @saraackermanbooks and on FB @ackermanbooks.

I love Sara Ackerman’s writing and this novel has my favorite plot sequencing of past/present timelines. Ms. Ackerman’s writing is always engaging and her characters well developed. I loved the character of Livy and I’m sure you will, too!

Thank you for my copy and for making me part of the tour!

Buy Links: Not affiliated with BBNB

Social Links: