Monday, May 13, 2013

VICTORIA BERNADINE SHARES A LIFE LESS ORDINARY

Have you had those weeks where things are either disastrous or heavenly? That's what my past week has been, with no happy medium for me to allow me to coast. For instance, we thought we had sold our house, but the deal fell through. Then I learned I won the Winter Rose Contest for BRAZOS BRIDE and my HIGH STAKES BRIDE came in second. Plus, BRAZOS BRIDE won the overall grand prize. See, roller coaster week.

Once of the disasters is the disappearance of the copy for today's blog on A LIFE LESS ORDINARY by Victoria Bernadine. Yep, it's out there somewhere in the cybersphere, floating along looking for my computer. This is especially upsetting because A LIFE LESS ORDINARY sounds like a terrific book. I downloaded it, but haven't had a chance to read it yet.

So, with apologies to Victoria, here is the most I have.

Now Available on Amazon and Smashwords


About A LIFE LESS ORDINARY

For the last fifteen years, Rose “Manny” Mankowski has been a very good girl. She turned her back on her youthful fancies and focused on her career. But now, at the age of 45, she's questioning her choices and feeling more and more disconnected from her own life. When she's passed over for promotion and her much younger new boss implies Manny's life will never change, something snaps. In the blink of an eye, she's quit her job, sold her house and cashed in her pension, and she's leaving town on a six month road trip. After placing a personal ad for a travelling companion, she's joined in her mid-life crisis by Zeke Powell, the cynical, satirical, most-read – and most controversial – blogger for the e-magazine, What Women Want. Zeke's true goal is to expose Manny's journey as a pitiful and desperate attempt to reclaim her lost youth – and increase his readership at the same time. Leaving it all behind for six months is just an added bonus. Now, armed with a bagful of destinations, a fistful of maps, and an out-spoken imaginary friend named Harvey, Manny's on a quest to rediscover herself – and taking Zeke along for the ride.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Victoria Bernadine (a pseudonym) is, as the saying goes, a "woman of a certain age". After twenty-something years of writer's block, she began writing again in 2008. She began with fanfiction about a (now-cancelled) TV show called "Jericho" and particularly about the characters of Heather Lisinski and Edward Beck. From there, she expanded into writing original fic and she hasn't stopped since.

Victoria enjoys reading all genres and particularly loves writing romantic comedy and post-apocalyptic science fiction. What those two have in common is anybody's guess.

She lives in Edmonton with her two cats (The Grunt and The Runt). A LIFE LESS ORDINARY is the first novel she felt was good enough to be released into the wild.



I'll update Victoria's post information as soon as I receive replacement copy. Please stop back by. 

The Rest of the Tour


Thanks for stopping by!

12 comments:

Mary Preston said...

Road trips can be very revealing, for good or ill.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Andra Lyn said...

Sounds like a fun ride! What made you want to start writing this book!?!

andralynn7 AT gmail DOT com

Anonymous said...

Hi Caroline.

Oh my - this has been a roller coaster week for you! Sorry to hear about the house; congratulations on the awards (that's awesome!!) - and ooops about losing the blog copy (I really, really hate when that happens).

Thanks for hosting me today and I hope you enjoy the book when you read it! :)

Anonymous said...

I can't seem to respond to individual comments directly**.

Mary Preston: Thanks for commenting, and yes, road trips can be very revealing - as anyone who has ever gone on a long trip with family can attest! LOL

Andra Lyn: Thanks for stopping by! I hope readers enjoy the ride; it really is meant to be fun. :) I wrote this book as pure wish fulfillment. I was 45, looking at my life and thinking "where am I and how did I get here?" This book was a way to escape the mid-forties-blues I was in at the time. I hope it's as fun to read as it was to write!

Rita Wray said...

I can't wait to see how this road trip turns out. I'm happy to be along for the ride.

Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Ingeborg! I hope you enjoy the ride! :)

Unknown said...

You mentioned to Andra Lyn that you wrote the book as wish fulfilment. What were the good or easy things about writing that kind of story, what did you find difficult - and were you ever surprised by Manny or where the story went and what she wanted?

Anonymous said...

Hi, Liz.

Thanks for the comment. :)

Well, the easy thing about writing this kind of story was the ability to have the character experience things I'd like to experience. So, for example, she rides a donkey into the Grand Canyon; goes to a red carpet movie premiere in Los Angeles, goes to a classic film festival, etc., etc.

I was constantly surprised by all of the characters (not just Manny) and the things they wanted/ended up doing. There are basically four storylines in the book and how the characters ended up bouncing off of each other wasn't something I'd originally envisioned.

I was also surprised by how little time I spent describing the "touristy" things Manny does. When I started this, I really, truly intended it to be a bit of a travelogue. It very quickly changed its focus to the joy you can get from being a "politely tacky tourist" (I am one - trust me! LOL), how much fun it is to connect to the people you meet, and how that, in turn, can revitalize you.

So the book ended up focusing more on how she's affected by everything/everyone around her and less on what she does (in terms of "touristy" things).

I also have to say...the ending surprised me, too. ;)

Karen H said...

Sorry I missed your day here.

kareninnc at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

Hi Karen - no worries! I'm glad you dropped by! I'll be checking regularly until the tour is over. :)

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