HAWTHIORNE BY SARAH BALLANCE IS FREE TODAY, PLUS THERE'S A GIVEAWAY

If, as I do, you think you'd enjoy this book, you'll be happy to learn it's FREE on Amazon through the 14th of April. What a great deal, right? If you download the book, please be kind enough to leave a nice review on Amazon for HAWTHORNE. Reviews mean a great deal to authors and other readers.

Hawthorne by Sarah Ballance

After a terrifying encounter with the unexplained, it takes ten years and the news of her grandmother’s passing for Emma Grace Hawthorne to return to her childhood home. She seeks peace in saying a proper goodbye, but what she finds is an old love, a sordid family history, and a wrong only she can right.

Living in the shadow of Hawthorne Manor, Noah Garrett has never forgotten about Emma Grace. In a house full of secrets, his search for missing documents reveals a truth that can cost him everything. What he finds gave Emma the freedom to walk away from the mansion, her heart free and clear, but at what price to Noah?

Praise for Hawthorne

"This is a marvelous ghost story. The mystery, the suspense, the eeriness - all collaborate to weave a spell-binding tale . . . The story seamlessly flows to a shocking ending that is utterly brilliant." -- Coffee Time Romance

"When I finished it, honestly, all I could do was sit there - a little awestruck." -- Kick Back & Review

Hawthorne will be FREE on Amazon from April 10th to 14th

Excerpt from Hawthorne

Noah closed in on the convertible, giving the nearby grounds a cursory look. The lawn was meticulous, the beds overflowing with sprays of purple garden phlox which trailed around the bend in the road and disappeared. A riot of white and rust-red irises backed the smaller purple flowers, their leaves deep green and glossy. Overhead, Spanish moss swayed only occasionally atop a maze of live oak, more likely a result of a passing swarm of insects than an actual air current. The land was still. If there were tourists snapping photos of the historic plantation — or doing anything else — he didn't see them. But someone had been there. The car was certainly real, even if that too-familiar scream had been a figment of his imagination.

Wasn’t it always?

Resigned to another night alone with his memories, Noah pivoted.

And found himself nose to nose with Emma Grace.

Astounded, he opened his mouth, then closed it. He wanted to reach for her, but his arms refused the notion; they hung uselessly by his sides, the effort futile. His mouth wasn't much on cooperation, either. Finally, he found his tongue. "Em—"

Her expression cut him off. Green eyes wide, skin pale, her small frame shaking, she spoke. "I saw her, Noah. She's back." The words, nearly soundless, seemed to catch in the thick air. Lingering. Threatening.

And ripping the heart from his chest.

Author Sarah Ballance

Sarah and her husband of what he calls “many long, long years” live on the mid-Atlantic coast with their six young children, all of whom are perfectly adorable when they’re asleep. She never dreamed of becoming an author, but as a homeschooling mom, she often jokes she writes fiction because if she wants anyone to listen to her, she has to make them up. (As it turns out, her characters aren’t much better than the kids). When not buried under piles of laundry, she may be found adrift in the Atlantic (preferably on a boat) or seeking that ever-elusive perfect writing spot where not even the kids can find her.

She loves creating unforgettable stories while putting her characters through an unkind amount of torture—a hobby that has nothing to do with living with six children. (Really.) Though she adores nail-biting mystery and edge-of-your-seat thrillers, Sarah writes in many genres including contemporary and ghostly paranormal romance.

Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads * Pinterest

BookBlast Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 4/30/14

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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FINDING INSPIRATION

In only 18 days, I'll be releasing GABE KINCAID, Kincaids Book 4, at a Facebook Launch Party with author Geri Foster. We'll have prizes and fun from 5:00 pm until 10:00 pm CST on April 27th. You're invited, of course! You can sign up on the Facebook Events page for Bad Boys and Cowboys at http://on.fb.me/1iusLLc  Here's the perfect cover Kim Killion designed:

In the meantime, I want to remind you of my book THE MOST UNSUITABLE COURTSHIP, Kinciads Book 3. 

Readers often ask where authors receive their inspiration.  Author Bobbye Terry says she buys hers at a small factory in Ohio. ☺ Actually, it arises much closer to home—unless, of course, the author actually lives in a small town in Ohio.

I find inspiration all around me. An article in a magazine might spark an idea. A newspaper story might make me think how the tale would have been better if changes were made. Friends telling family stories might spark a “what if” moment.

One of the things that inspired the heroine of my latest release is a magazine story of Gruene, which is pronounced by its residents as if it were spelled Green. That area of the Texas Hill Country has numerous communities settled by German immigrants. Many families still speak German at home. It’s a lovely part of Texas that my family enjoys visiting over and over. 

When thinking of a heroine for Storm Kincaid, I wanted one unlike any I had written about in previous books. That’s a problem for authors who have multiple books already released. Each hero and heroine must be strong and independent, but at the same time be different from any other couple. Everything must be new and fresh, yet fit within the genre or genres and in the voice and story style the author’s readers expect. You’re correct—that is hard! In fact, for me that’s one of the hardest parts of writing.  

THE MOST UNSUITABLE COURTSHIP is book three in my Kincaid series. In the first two in the series, THE MOST UNSUITABLE WIFE and THE MOST UNSUITABLE HUSBAND, Pearl and Sarah were the heroines. Book three centers around their half-brother, Storm, and his quest for justice.  Here is the blurb:

Storm Kincaid wants justice; Rena Dmitriev wants vengeance.

When Storm’s best friend and the friend’s wife are murdered, Storm secures a temporary appointment as Federal Marshal so he can capture the killers. He follows them to twenty one year old Rena’s home, which is in flames when he arrives. She has survived by following her elderly husband’s strict instructions and watched in hiding while the men murdered him.  Storm intends to take her to the nearest town where she will be safe. She can identify the men who killed the person who had been her husband in name only and like a grandfather to her, and she vows to kill at least one of them. Whether or not Storm allows her to accompany him, she assures him she will go after the murderers.  She is the only person alive who can identify the evil foursome whose policy has been to leave no witnesses. Storm agrees to take her with him. She’ll be safer with him to protect her than she would riding alone.

As a powerful and passionate love blossoms, they unite to rescue three orphaned children, fight the elements, and encounter the killers. Will their love be enough to protect them?

THE MOST UNSUITABLE COURTSHIP Excerpt:

She emerged from the brush straightening her trousers and shoving her pistol back into her waistband. “Where do you think those men are going?”

“Indian Territory. They’ll steal all they can before they reach the Red River and leave no survivors to identify them. They’re selling off the stolen stock along the way, so that will slow them some.” He wondered if she knew how to use the gun.

“But I saw their faces.”

He sent her what he hoped was a frightening stare. “If they knew that, you’d be dead for sure.”

She shivered, but glared at him. “Do not think to frighten me. I will do everything I can to kill these men and reclaim my gold and my mother’s locket. It is not that I care about the jewellery that once belonged to Abram’s wife. But to him, it meant a great deal, and I want it because he gave it to me.”

Storm wanted to shake her. Not that he hadn’t lived all his life with stubborn women. At least his oldest sister Pearl made sense. He’d worried about shy Sarah, especially when she’d appeared head over heels with a con man. Now that Sarah and Nate were married, she had life figured out. Nate had surprised everyone, even himself. Storm suppressed a smile and worked up his anger again at his traveling companion.

“We can be in Llano by nightfall. We’ll get a couple of rooms there and you can rest.”

She shot him a suspicious glare. “You think to abandon me in that town. If we stay somewhere, we will be in the same room so I can watch you.”

Shocked, Storm wondered what he could do with this woman. “We wouldn’t be allowed to stay in a decent hotel. You want to sleep over a saloon? Besides that, folks will be shocked when they see you in those trousers. You want people to think you’re a fallen woman?”

With her chin raised, she placed her hands on her hips. “I am a good woman. You can tell them we are married and I wear britches to ride more easily.” She held up her hand and wiggled her fingers. “I have a wedding band, see?”

He raised his hands and backed up a step. “Oh, no. I’m not even pretending to be married. If I were ready to marry, which I’m not, I’d pick a woman who knew when to let a man do his job.”

“Ha, and when I recover my dowry, I will marry a man who knows a woman can do as much as a man.”

He swept a formal bow. “And when you marry, will you be wearing the lovely gown you now wear?”

She appeared angry enough to use that Colt on him. “You are wrong to…to talk so. I do not have the English words to tell you what I think, but do not try to leave me behind. If you do, I will go after the men alone.”

Disgusted, Storm stomped over and retrieved the horses. “Then let’s go.”

They rode into Llano in late afternoon. Since they arrived mid week, the town appeared peaceful and quiet. Storm spotted a hotel by the livery he remembered.

“If you’re determined to stick to me like glue, let’s stable the horses.”

At the stable, she staggered when she dismounted and he thought she might fall. He grabbed her arms. “Steady. You’re not used to riding so long.”

“Ja, my legs do not work so well. Do not worry, I will be fine in a minute.”

She remained quiet while he dealt with the hostler and insured his rifle and saddle would be safe. He threw his saddlebags over his shoulder and retrieved the two pillowcases and box he’d tied to the saddle pommel. They ambled the block toward the hotel.

 He indicated a mercantile. “Just what we need. After we get our room, let’s head for that store before it closes. You probably need to replace a few things that burned.” When she glared at him. “I’ll give you the money, all right? I don’t want folks thinking my wife runs around in men’s clothes. If anyone gets nosy, tell them you lost your bag crossing a river.”

She sniffed and sashayed as if she wore a ball gown instead of ill-fitting men’s trousers. “I will keep track and repay you when I kill those men.”

THE MOST UNSUITABLE COURTSHIP buy links are:

Amazon for print and e-book:

http://www.amazon.com/Most-Unsuitable-Courtship-Kincaids-ebook/dp/B00G5YXI6I/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1384191747&sr=1-4&keywords=caroline+clemmons

Barnes and Noble Nook

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-most-unsuitable-courtship-caroline-clemmons/1117264325?ean=2940045350990

 Thanks for stopping by!

INFERNO OF LOVE - HOMETOWN HEROES SERIES AND AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Inferno of Love (Hometown Heroes #2) 

by Allie Boniface

To kick off her post about INFERNO OF LOVE, Allie Boniface has let me interview her.

Caroline: Tell us about growing up.

Allie: Hi Caroline, and thanks so much for having me here today! I am a born and bred New Yorker who grew up in a very small town in the middle of the state and now lives in a very small town closer to New York City. I do love big city life and have lived in a few, but there's a very nice, peaceful, safe vibe to small towns that I love too. Of course, saying that, small towns also have their own dark secrets, complicated histories, entwined relationships that sometimes go back generations, and challenges as time marches on, and that's what I draw upon when I write my books.

            I was most definitely a bookworm growing up. I graduated at the top of my class and went on to do other scholarly high-achieving things in college and graduate school too. Today I'm a high school English teacher living with my husband, also a teacher, in the Hudson Valley. No kids – unless you count the 75 or so that I teach each year!

Caroline: Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres?

Allie: I love women's fiction and contemporary fiction overall, though I've also been reading a lot of Young Adult lately. Favorite authors, just because they're great storytellers, are Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, and John Green.

Caroline: What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge? Hobbies?

Allie: When I'm not writing, reading, or grading papers, I'm a gym rat. I love working out plus it keeps me sane during the school year. My favorites are Zumba, kickboxing, and yoga, but I'll take on the challenge of weight lifting too. Running is my second favorite when I can't get to the gym. All you need is a pair of sneakers and a road in front of you!

Caroline: Do you have a favorite quote that sums up how you feel about life?

Allie: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”  Eleanor Roosevelt said this, and I believe it and try to live it every day. There is so much in life that can terrify us, from the everyday to the enormous. Facing down our fears is the best way to make it through.

Caroline: How long have you been writing?

Allie: My whole life.

           

Haha. It feels like that sometimes! I've been writing seriously, full-length novels, for about 10 years. My first book was released with Samhain Publishing in 2007.

Caroline: Are you a plotter or a panzer?

           

Allie: Although I do prefer to plot, I've learned over the years to let my characters deviate when they want to and grow within my outline. They're going to anyway, so I might as well go with it! But in all honesty, some of the best and most interesting scenes do emerge when writers let themselves go.

Caroline: So do I. I believe that makes us plotzers. Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration for stories?

Allie: I write contemporary romance, so almost all my stories are somehow based on people I know or events I've seen or experienced or read about. I love examining the interactions between people – and not only the romantic ones, but the friendships and the family dynamics and even those of strangers and enemies too. It's fascinating.

Caroline: Since you have a time consuming day job, I imagine setting daily writing goals is out of the question. Do you get a chance to write every day?

Allie: Since I teach full time, it's hard to write every day. I don't set daily goals, though when I sit down to write, I do aim for at least one hour/one chapter.  It used to take me about a year to write a full-length novel, but I've gotten that down to about 8-9 months now.

Caroline: What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

Allie: My favorite reviews or emails from readers are ones that say they loved the emotions between the characters. I hope that my readers find hope and belief in true love when they read my books.

Caroline: What long-term plans do you have for your career?

Allie: Long-term I'd like to publish at least 2 novels a year. I'm also in the process of working on a Young Adult novel, and I'd like to see where the possibility for that might go. It's definitely a genre I'm interested in both reading and writing.

Caroline: Would you like to tell us what you’re working on now?

Allie: Sure! I'm working on the 3rd book in the Hometown Heroes series, Labyrinth of Love, but before that comes out, I'm excited to announce that I have a trilogy of novellas releasing this summer: The Cocktail Cruise Novellas. They feature intertwined characters and all revolve around romance on a cruise ship: Tequila Sunrise, Sex on the Beach, and Between the Sheets. Make sure to follow my website, blog, or Facebook and Twitter pages so you'll know when they release!

Caroline: Sound like fun reads. What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

Allie: Never give up. Be persistent in your dreams of writing, and learn as much about the craft and your particular genre as you can. Also, develop a thick skin, because not everyone will love your books. Poor or mediocre reviews, or rejections from editors or agents, can sting. Allow yourself time to feel lousy, and then move on.

Caroline: Share a fun fact readers wouldn’t know about you.

Allie: I'm going to Iceland on vacation for the second time, this spring. It's a beautiful, unique country with a laidback vibe, and it's only a 5-hour flight from New York. I can't wait to go back!

Caroline: That’s the way I feel about Ireland and the UK. Is your book a series? Your book is a series. Tell us about the series.

Allie: Inferno of Love is the second book in the Hometown Heroes series. Beacon of Love, the first, introduced readers to Lindsey Point, Connecticut, a small coastal town with a haunted lighthouse and a whole slew of local townspeople – some with pretty dark secrets. Inferno of Love picks up about a year later, when the heroine Aubrey returns to Lindsey Point with no memory of the summer she spent there twelve years earlier, falling in love with Finn. When Finn sees her again, and discovers why she doesn't remember him, it's all he can do not to tell her about their history together...

 Caroline: Thanks, Allie, for sharing with us. And now, here's more about INFERNO OF LOVE.

Quick Facts                                        

                                   

Release Date: February 23rd, 2014                  

Genre: Contemporary Romance                                              

Formats to buy: Kindle, epub and Paperback 

INFERNO OF LOVE Synopsis

What happens when your soul mate returns after twelve long years – and has no idea who you are?

Aubrey Anderson is a pediatric occupational therapist who’s spent the last twelve years rebuilding her life after a car accident killed her boyfriend and crushed her legs. A series of strokes on the way to the hospital left her with no memory of either the accident or the weeks leading up to it, so when she starts having nightmares she can’t explain, she decides to return to the scene to see if she can piece together her past.

Finn Cavallo is Lindsey Point's resident playboy, owner of a popular bar, and hero of the Cove Fire, when he pulled seven people from a burning building twelve years earlier. But his flirtatious personality hides the heart of a man who lost his soul mate the night of the fire. When Aubrey walks into his bar with no memory of who he is or what they had, he’s stunned – and it takes everything he has not to tell her about the summer they spent falling in love.

It's only a matter of time before bar conversation turns to passion on the beach and more. But when a series of events raises suspicion that Finn himself might have started the Cove Fire, Aubrey is forced to do whatever she can to discover the truth about both their pasts, including going back to the spot where it all began...

PURCHASE

AMAZON

B&N

Excerpt:

Aubrey stared at her glass of wine. "God, I just – I wish I could remember something."

            Finn fell again just like that, watching her catch her bottom lip in her teeth as she mulled over her words. The rhythm of her voice, the way her eyes caught the light…he was nineteen all over again, crushing on another man's girlfriend without a clue of what to do about it.

            Only he wasn't nineteen anymore.

            And Aubrey wasn't here with another man.

            Forget it. He was done thinking. He moved from around the bar without a word, and as he closed the distance between them, she slipped from her stool, moving toward him and landing in his arms like she'd been there all this time. His hand went to the back of her head, cupping it and easing it closer. Her chin lifted, and he caught her mouth with his, loving the way her breath hitched in her throat. She melted into him, the warmth of her curves searing his skin and soaking into the very core of him. His eyes closed.

            He slid his tongue over her bottom lip, taking it slow, waiting for her to step back or break the connection. She didn't. A minute passed, then another. The kiss deepened, and he wasn't sure who pressed first, who wanted more urgently, but it didn't matter. Their tongues met, twisting over and under, delicious and wet and so hot he could barely stand it. Her hands moved from his shoulders to his waist to slide down the back of his jeans and pull him close, closer, until he knew she could feel the way he rose under her touch, wanting her like no other woman he'd ever been with.

            "Oh, Finn…" she said into his mouth, and the words set him on fire. He couldn't wait, couldn't hold back one more second. His palm skimmed down her dress and beneath it, to the swell of her ass and skin so smooth he wanted to taste it. She rose onto her toes, and her mouth crushed his until she pulled her lips away and moved them to his neck and his jaw line and up to his ear, leaving a breathy trail every place she touched.

            "Listen, we  – " know each other. We've done this before. He had to tell her. Didn't he?

            "I don't want to talk."

The Author

Allie Boniface was born and raised in a tiny community in upstate New York, which probably explains her fascination with the magic of small town life. She currently teaches high school English in the lower Hudson Valley, where she lives with her husband and two furry felines. She is the author of six contemporary romance novels; INFERNO OF LOVE is the second in her Hometown Heroes series. Allie loves chatting with other authors and readers and can be found around the Web (visit her on Facebook or Twitter, and stop by her blog to check out the latest news). She loves attending writers' conferences, giving workshops, swapping stories, and generally talking about romance. Allie loves stories set in small towns and is a firm believer in the power of love and the emotions that connect us all!

Find more about her at:

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Other books by Allie Boniface:

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Follow the tour:

April 1: Karen Docter's Blog: Author Interview

April 2: My Devotional Thoughts: Spotlight

April 3: Mythical Books: Top 10 List

April 4: Little Black Notebook: Guest post

April 7: A Writer's Life: Author Interview

April 8: Every Free Chance Book Reviews: Spotlight

April 9: Reviews By Molly: Review

April 10: Roxy's Reviews: Review

               Books and Fandom: Spotlight

April 11: Lindsey Gray ~ Author and Reviewer: Review

April 14: Clean Romance Reviews: Interview

April 15: Deal Sharing Aunt: Review

April 16: That Girl Reads: Review


Thanks for stopping by!

LIFE'S FUN INSTRUCTIONS

Before I start my post for today, have you signed up for my newsletter? If not, please click on the square at the right and sign up to be alerted to contests, giveaways, new releases, and news. Now back to my regularly scheduled blog:

 In researching GABE KINCAID (releasing April 18) as well as previous books, I come across regional sayings I love and collect. Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I write western contemporary and historical romances set in Texas.  Here are several of my favorites:

“Sick? Why there’re people in the cemetery feel better than I do.” (Unfortunately, the man who used to say this has passed away and is now in the cemetery.)

“Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.” 

Photo by Nelda Liles, Frisco, Texas

 “Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.” Darling Daughter 1 found this out firsthand when a skunk got inside her feed/tack shed back when we had horses. Phew! She learned you do NOT poke a skunk with a pole to get it to leave a shed.

“Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.”

“A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.” Hero learned hornets are faster than a Ford tractor when he mowed over a hive. I wasn’t around but Darling Daughter 1 drove him to the ER for a treatment. They gave him a shot and wanted to admit him to the hospital, but he refused. Men!  At least he came home and went to bed for a few hours.

 “Words that soak into your ears are whispered…....not yelled.” Perhaps this why when I’m especially angry—seldom happens—I almost whisper.

 “Meanness don't just happen overnight.”

“Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.”

“Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.”

“It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.”

“You cannot unsay a cruel word.”  Especially important to remember!

“Every path has a few puddles.”

“When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.”  

“The best sermons are lived, not preached.” This is so true. Children pattern themselves after us, not simply what we say. Adults around us also see whether we practice what we preach. I hope I do.

“Most of the stuff people worry about, ain't never gonna happen anyway.” Since she’s passed away and can’t come over and scold me, I’ll tell a family story. My mom was a champion worrier, and I mean world class. Once when there were heavy rains in Houston, she called my brother to see if he’d gotten home safely from work but he didn’t answer his home phone.This was before everyone had a cell phone. She called again a couple of hours later and he still didn’t answer. She decided he’d driven off into flood water and drowned. She called every fifteen minutes until 3 am and then stopped for a few hours and tried again before she called me. I told her if there was a problem, he would have called us. Sure enough, that afternoon he called because he’d just returned home from a trip. I’d like to say that cured her of worrying needlessly, but it didn’t.

 “Don 't judge folks by their relatives.” Oh, this is one we know is true, don’t we?

“Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.”

“Live a good and honorable life, then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.”

“Don 't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none.”

“Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.”

"If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.”

“Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.”

 “Always drink upstream from the herd.”

“Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.”

“Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.”

"If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.”

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

And my favorite:

“The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with watches you from the mirror every mornin'.”

Thanks for stopping by!

GUEST POST: MY OBSESSIONS: I CAN'T WRITE WITHOUT THEM

By Sue Williams Silverman, author of THE PAT BOONE FAN CLUB: MY LIFE AS A WHITE ANGLO-SAXON JEW

            Good writing – inspiration – stems from obsession. That obsession can reflect general issues like love or loss, or specific things like red shoes or pop stars.

One of my own personal obsessions, which began back when I was a teenager living in Glen Rock, New Jersey, is Pat Boone. Pat Boone is a singer who catapulted to fame by winning Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour: think American Idol but on black and white TV. I loved his music, his wholesome image. My new book, The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew, stems from this preoccupation with him.

What I came to understand later, as an adult, as a writer, is that, to me, he isn’t just an idol, or an idle crush.

The Path to Pat Boone

       After publishing two memoirs, one about surviving child abuse, and a subsequent one about sexual addiction (examples of dark obsessions), an unlikely event led me to write this third memoir. Several decades after my original teenage crush, I happened to see a photograph of Pat Boone in my local newspaper – a newspaper I hardly ever even glance at. The photo was an advertisement for his concert, twenty minutes from my home in West Michigan.

What choice did I have but to attend? And after the concert, given my obsession, what choice did I have but to barge backstage in order to tell Pat Boone what he meant to me while growing up? In a rush of garbled words (would I be unceremoniously thrown out by his road manager, staring at me aghast?), I told him about my scary childhood. I told him how he, Pat Boone, represented hope, safety, belonging.

After all, since my Jewish father hurt me, how could I help but fall in love with Pat Boone, whose squeaky-clean Christian image – this father of four daughters – represented a good parent? He was an antidote to my own father. Really, I’d always wanted Pat Boone to adopt me.

But in lieu of adoption, and now an adult, I could at least write about him! And in the writing process I was able to explore this obsession in much greater depth, metaphorically.

How Individual Obsessions Work Together to Form a Whole

            In The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew, three separate encounters with Pat Boone frame my quest to belong to the dominant religion. Because this book is a collection of linked essays, I also explore other obsessions, some humorous, some sad: Charlie Chaplin, John Travolta, an Israeli paratrooper, Volkswagen campers (not a good obsession), the TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000, and more.

            However, all these essays, all these obsessions, advance the overall theme of the book: a life-long spiritual crisis – a quest for identity – resulting from child abuse. During the revision process, if something didn’t fit, it was deleted. In order to earn its place in the book, each essay, each obsession, had to embody the theme.

All Our Obsessions are Important

             The word “obsession” can have negative connotations, but, for a writer, being obsessed means engaging with the world. The trick is to transform that obsession into a metaphor that enlightens some aspect of the writer’s life.  

I write what I’m passionate about – even if these things are dark or scary. I use obsessions as motivation, as inspiration to write. What do my obsessions reveal about me – these forces that shaped me?

What are some of your obsessions? What do they reveal about you?

The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew

Genre: Memoir

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

Publication Date: March 1, 2014

Paperback: 248 pages

Synopsis:

Gentile reader, and you, Jews, come too. Follow Sue William Silverman, a one-woman cultural mash-up, on her exploration of identity among the mishmash of American idols and ideals that confuse most of us—or should. Pat Boone is our first stop. Now a Tea Party darling, Boone once shone as a squeaky-clean pop music icon of normality, an antidote for Silverman’s own confusing and dangerous home, where being a Jew in a Christian school wasn’t easy, and being the daughter of the Anti-Boone was unspeakable. And yet somehow Silverman found her way, a “gefilte fish swimming upstream,” and found her voice, which in this searching, bracing, hilarious, and moving book tries to make sense of that most troubling American condition: belonging, but to what?

Picking apricots on a kibbutz, tramping cross-country in a loathed Volkswagen camper, appearing in a made-for-television version of her own life: Silverman is a bobby-soxer, a baby boomer, a hippy, a lefty, and a rebel with something to say to those of us—most of us—still wondering what to make of ourselves.

Amazon link to The Pat Boone Fan Club: http://www.amazon.com/Pat-Boone-Fan-Club-Anglo-Saxon/dp/0803264852/ref=la_B000APU4YM_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383753234&sr=1-4

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sue Williams Silverman, Author

Sue William Silverman’s new memoir is The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew. Her two other memoirs are Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction, which is also a Lifetime TV movie, and Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You, which won the Association of Writers and Writing Programs award in creative nonfiction. Her craft book is Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir.  As a professional speaker, Sue has appeared on The View, Anderson Cooper 360, and more.  She teaches in the MFA in Writing Program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Website: http://www.suewilliamsilverman.com/

Facebook: http:/​/​www.facebook.com/​SueWilliamSilverman
Twitter: @SueSilverman

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