Elizabeth will be awarding an eBook version of EACH of her three short stories to a randomly drawn commenter at each stop. Plus a grand prize of an eBook version of her first novel, Ship to Shore, will be awarded to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. To be entered for a chance to win a prize, leave a comment below. And to increase your chances of winning, visit other tour stops and leave comments there, too.
Blurb:
What rules would you break for the one you love? What lies would
you tell?
Three weeks before their wedding day, Nicola and Greg discover
that they may have the same mother.
They met when Greg joined the San Francisco newspaper where Nicola
is the travel editor. After six months, eager to start a life together and
raise a family, they decide to marry.
When Nicola finally meets his family in Seattle, and mentions the
circumstances of her adoption, Greg’s horrified mother is forced to reveal the
shameful secret she has kept for 36 years.
As they struggle to deal with her revelation, their relationship
is challenged and strained. If his mother’s suspicions are true, they will be
forced into a devastating choice: break all of society’s rules and fight for
their love, or break their hearts and give each other up.
It will be the greatest test their newfound love has faced – and
their love may not survive.
Excerpt:
Scene:
Nicola and her friend Hélène talk about
what constitutes a family.
“Families
are funny, when you think about it,” mused Hélène.
“Why?
Apart from the well known fact that you can’t choose them.”
“That
is what I mean. I was thinking of you,” explained Hélène. “You were chosen.
Gwen and Arthur and Bill and Alison are your family, but not due to luck or
circumstance.”
Nicola
nodded, drowsy but puzzled. “So?”
“Would
you ever have sex with Bill?”
Nicola
bolted upright, wide awake. “No! Ewww, no! How can you ask such a thing?”
“This
is my point. There is no shred of shared DNA between you, but he is your
brother and you react with quite proper revulsion to the idea of sex with him.
Yet if it happens that you and Greg do share DNA, it is expected that you
should have that same reaction, despite the fact that you met only six months
ago and you in no way regard him as your brother.” Hélène swirled the cognac,
warming it in her hand. “Why is Bill your family, but Greg not? That is what I
was getting at when I said families are funny.”
“Nurture
over nature,” proclaimed Nicola suddenly.
Hélène
said, “I do not understand. The words, yes, but not the meaning.”
“It’s
one of the few things I remember from my first-year psychology class. The
debate about which is more important in determining how a person turns out –
his genes, or his upbringing. In this case, I think of Bill, totally unrelated
to me, as my brother because that’s how I was brought up to think of him.”
Hélène
nodded. “I see. And by the same reasoning, you do not see Greg that way. Your
genes did not recognize each other.”
Author Bio
and Links:
Elizabeth
Krall grew up in Canada and lived in London, England, for many years. She has
now settled in Sydney, Australia.
Most
of her career was spent as an editor, but now she works as a print and digital
graphic designer. An unexpected side-effect of leaving editing was the
resurgence of an interest in writing. Her first novel, Ship to Shore, was
published in February 2012; her second, Too Close, in January 2013.
She
is also the author of an occasional series of short stories themed around
holidays, called Holiday Romances.
Elizabeth’s
interests include travel, tall ship sailing and cocktails.
3 comments:
hi Lisa, Thanks for hosting a stop on the 'Too Close' book tour.
And 'Hi' to everyone who stops by!
Thank you for hosting today.
I enjoyed this book.
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