DISHARMONY OF SILENCE

WOW! Women on Writing Presents

A Book Blog Tour for:

One person who comments will be awarded a copy of DISHARMONY OF SILENCE! If the winner lives outside the U.S., the copy will be an e-book. Inside the U.S., the copy will be a print book.

The Disharmony of Silence

 By

Linda Rosen

Tour Starts March 2nd

Ends April 5th

About the Book

In her desperate quest for family, Carolyn Lee is determined, against all advice, to reveal the shocking eighty-four-year-old secret she uncovered…until she realizes that "family" means more than blood.

In 1915, jealous, bitter Rebecca Roth cuts all ties with her life-long friends, the Pearls. Eight years later, Rebecca’s son and young Lena Pearl begin keeping company in secret. Rebecca agrees to a truce when the couple marries. But the truce is fragile. Rebecca’s resentments run deep.

In 2010, Carolyn Lee, fitness instructor and amateur photographer, must come to grips with the fact that her mother’s imminent death will leave her alone in the world. While preparing her childhood home for sale, she realizes for the first time that her mother’s antique brooch is identical to the one pinned to the lady's dress in the painting hanging above the fireplace. Coincidence or connection?  Carolyn is determined to find out. What she discovers has the potential to tear lives apart or to bring her the closeness and comfort she longs for. It all depends on how she handles her newfound knowledge.

Praise for The Disharmony of Silence

“Linda Rosen spins an intriguing tale of long-held family secrets, an emotional search for identity, and a painting that may just be the key to untangling the complicated past. The bittersweet mystery kept me reading rapidly until the last page!” —Kristin Harmel, bestselling author of The Winemaker’s Wife

Rosen paints a vivid picture of a family torn apart then shows us what true family means.  – Pamela Taylor, author of the Second Son Chronicles   

A wonderful novelist . . .  Ms. Rosen's writing is both tender and inspiring. The Disharmony of Silence unfolds with emotional and wise insights. – Bunny Shulman, author of After Aida

"A family torn apart by jealousy and reunited by love is devastated again when tragedy strikes. A poignant and moving debut novel about the fragility of life, the power of love, and the cost of keeping a secret." Gina Sorell author of Mothers and Other Strangers

About the Author

Linda Rosen, fitness professional turned writer, lives with her husband splitting their time between New Jersey and Florida. She was a contributor to Women in the Literary Landscape: A WNBA Centennial Publication for the Women's National Book Association and has had stories published in Foliate Oak and Crack the Spine, both in their online magazine and print anthology. Follow her at www.linda-rosen.com.

Guest post by Linda Rosen

Does it Matter Where the Novel is Set?

 When Barbara Kingsolver was pondering themes for her latest novel, Unsheltered, she “had a vague feeling the world as we knew it was ending.” This thought brought her to another “dangerously uncertain” time in our history – the 1870s. As she explained, “The country was wrecked by war and a book by Charles Darwin was shaking the very notion of what it meant to be human.” So, Kingsolver “went looking for an American scientist involved in that radical debate.” She found her living in Vineland, New Jersey and had her setting.

There are books where the setting is obvious, though there are also some where readers might wonder why, that there is nothing in the setting germane to the story or theme. It’s simply where the characters live.

In The Disharmony of Silence my protagonist, Carolyn, lives in Tarrytown, NY. Why? The story isn’t set around the town’s history and has absolutely nothing to do with Ichabod Crane or Sleepy Hollow. Simply, it’s because I have always been attracted to a housing complex I see as I drive across the Tappan Zee Bridge, now named the Mario M. Cuomo. (It bothers me when names are changed!) Therefore, I decided Tarrytown would be Carolyn’s home. It’s close to her mother in New Rochelle. Also, there is no major reason for using that town. It’s just that I once worked in New Rochelle and it was sexier than using my own home town, and a short train ride from New York City which is important in the novel.

Another character in my book, Kate, lives in Venice Beach, California. I could have chosen any town 3,000 miles from Carolyn’s home, but Venice, with its narrow streets surrounded by canals and purple and orange Birds of Paradise, enchants me.

Thinking of settings in some novels I’ve recently read, the towns or countries are pertinent to the story, as in Unsheltered. Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone, set in Alaska, is perfect for the theme and will make you want to bundle up in a warm blanket as you read. On the other hand The Moon Sisters by Therese Walsh, which takes place in the wilds of West Virginia, could have been set in any wilderness as long as it had bogs and humidity. And in the novel, The Girls of 17 Swann Street, the town does not matter at all. It’s the unforgettable characters in a house on a street which can be anywhere.

Settings, with sounds, scents and textures, whether a town or country, a coffee shop or even a front porch with a swing, bring the reader in close, just as a camera does when using a zoom lens. Will you now wonder about the setting in the novel you are reading, if it’s not obvious? I hope so. It definitely makes discussing a book, as well as what the author’s intentions might have been, fun.

  

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