READ THE BLURB
Three Army veteran misfits, a college dropout,
an unmotivated high school graduate accused of murder, a controversial warden
of a women's prison, and a little girl with the gift of prophesy – these are
the people 31-year-old Lara Kruger invites into her life after suffering a
miscarriage, a divorce from an abusive husband, and unemployment.
READ AN EXCERPT
Laramie
Larkins Kruger drove up to the hospital emergency door. It was the second time in twice as many
weeks. The hand that had been holding a
bloody towel against the left side of her face somehow managed to push the car
door open. Her other hand rested in her
lap, limp and useless. A hospital
orderly standing outside by the front entrance saw her. He crushed his half-smoked cigarette into the
concrete container of sand provided and quickly located a wheelchair for her.
“Jesus,
Ms. Kruger, what have you gone done to yourself now? You been working on that old house again,
haven’t ya?”
Lara
closed her eyes and let the strong hands of the orderly gently position her
into the wheelchair. “Thanks, Ben.”
“I
told you to call me next time you needed something done and Mr. Kruger wasn’t
around to take care of it. Didn’t
I? Didn’t I say that?” He pushed her through the emergency entrance
and over to the sign-in window where an elderly woman smiled and handed her a
form.
“Back
so soon, Mrs. Kruger?”
Lara
stared at the piece of paper that had been secured to a clipboard, but her eyes
wouldn’t read the print. She couldn’t
pick up the pen anyway. Ben took the
clipboard from her and began filling in the information next to her name: Age, 31; Time, 1:15 p.m.; Insurance,
on file; Nature of Visit, cuts and bruises caused by accident. It was always the same.
Lara
and Jake had been remodeling the old Victorian home they bought when they moved
to Rocky Mount six months earlier.
Everyone knew they were doing it.
In a town the size of Rocky Mount, nothing went by unnoticed. Since they were doing a lot of the work
themselves, it was easy just to say she slipped off a ladder, a rotten
floorboard gave way, something had fallen on her – whatever. No one questioned her answers.
“My,
my. Looks like you got scraped up pretty
good, Mrs. Kruger.” The elderly
volunteer worker smiled sympathetically and took the form Ben had just filled
out. “What happened this time?”
Lara
tried not to grimace from the pain. It
felt like one of her ribs was broken. “I
yanked too hard on the door of that old shed in back we’re trying to convert
into a garage and it gave way.” The lie
came easily.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Barbara Casey is president of the Barbara Casey Agency,
representing adult fiction and nonfiction for authors throughout the United
States, Great Britain, and Japan. She is
also the author of numerous articles, poems, and short stories. Her award-winning novels have received
national recognition, including the Independent Publishers Book Award, the Dana
Award for Best Novel, and the Publisher’s Best Seller Award. Her novel, The House of Kane, released in 2008, was considered for a Pulitzer
nomination, and her novel Just Like
Family received special recognition by the 7-Eleven Corporation. Her latest young adult novel, The Cadence of Gypsies, was reviewed by
the Smithsonian for its list of 2011 Best Books. The Gospel According to Prissy, a contemporary adult novel, was
released in the spring of 2013.
In addition to being a frequent guest lecturer at
universities and writers’ conferences, Ms. Casey served as judge for the
Pathfinder Literary Awards in Palm Beach and Martin Counties, Florida, and was
the Florida Regional Advisor for the Society of Children's Book Writers and
Illustrators from 1991 through 2003.
Judith, thank you so much for hosting me today. I am looking forward to exchanging comments with your bloggers.
ReplyDeleteBarbara
I do hope Lara gets out of her situation.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Hi Mary, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the decisions Lara makes and how everything turns out. Thank you for your comment and for stopping by.
DeleteI promised to introduce a new minor character today who is important to Lara as she attempts to redefine her life. Tyree is a star basketball player at the college where Lara works. Here is Tyree:
ReplyDelete“Hey, girl!”
Lara looked up at the tall black college student who had shortened his long stride to match hers. He was surrounded by several giggling coeds. He was probably only a little younger than Lara and he looked at least twice as tall. Lara had been working at the college for just over two months, and during that time there hadn’t been a day to go by that the school’s star basketball player hadn’t made a point to speak to her.
“Hey, yourself, Tyree Archibald Jones,” she answered cheerfully.
“You still workin’ here, Foxy Lady? I mean, just takin’ off like that for a few days. I was startin’ to worry. Like maybe some other liberal arts, coeducational college had took you away.” The teasing words slipped easily out of his mouth causing a fresh burst of giggles from his female admirers. His eyes, however, suggested something of a more serious nature. He had been on registration duty at the motel where he worked part-time when Lara checked in the day before. Just like then, he didn’t ask any questions now, but Lara wondered how much Tyree already knew. If he knew the real reason she hadn’t been at work for the past week, then everyone else on campus probably knew as well.
“Yes, I am still here.” Lara stopped in front of her office. “They can’t get rid of me that easily. Thanks again, Tyree, for your help yesterday.”
“Don’t mention it.” Tyree looked at the shiny brass plaque that had been installed on the front of her office door a few weeks earlier. “Vice President for Development,” he read out loud. “My, my.” He straightened an invisible tie and stood at attention in front of Lara, making his six foot, ten inch frame seem even taller. “Madam Vice President, on behalf of the student body at North Carolina Piedmont College, I’d like to tell you how glad we are that you are one of us.”
“Why, thank you, Tyree.” Lara did a little curtsy, obviously enjoying the friendship of this student.
“It’s about time we got somethin’ good to look at around here. See ya around, if you know what I mean.” He winked at Lara and loped off in the direction of the gymnasium, the girls following him like tentacles on a medusa jellyfish.
I promised to introduce you to another minor character who is important to Lara as she attempts to redefine her life. Meet Tyree Archibald Jones:
ReplyDelete“Hey, girl!”
Lara looked up at the tall black college student who had shortened his long stride to match hers. He was surrounded by several giggling coeds. He was probably only a little younger than Lara and he looked at least twice as tall. Lara had been working at the college for just over two months, and during that time there hadn’t been a day to go by that the school’s star basketball player hadn’t made a point to speak to her.
“Hey, yourself, Tyree Archibald Jones,” she answered cheerfully.
“You still workin’ here, Foxy Lady? I mean, just takin’ off like that for a few days. I was startin’ to worry. Like maybe some other liberal arts, coeducational college had took you away.” The teasing words slipped easily out of his mouth causing a fresh burst of giggles from his female admirers. His eyes, however, suggested something of a more serious nature. He had been on registration duty at the motel where he worked part-time when Lara checked in the day before. Just like then, he didn’t ask any questions now, but Lara wondered how much Tyree already knew. If he knew the real reason she hadn’t been at work for the past week, then everyone else on campus probably knew as well.
“Yes, I am still here.” Lara stopped in front of her office. “They can’t get rid of me that easily. Thanks again, Tyree, for your help yesterday.”
“Don’t mention it.” Tyree looked at the shiny brass plaque that had been installed on the front of her office door a few weeks earlier. “Vice President for Development,” he read out loud. “My, my.” He straightened an invisible tie and stood at attention in front of Lara, making his six foot, ten inch frame seem even taller. “Madam Vice President, on behalf of the student body at North Carolina Piedmont College, I’d like to tell you how glad we are that you are one of us.”
“Why, thank you, Tyree.” Lara did a little curtsy, obviously enjoying the friendship of this student.
“It’s about time we got somethin’ good to look at around here. See ya around, if you know what I mean.” He winked at Lara and loped off in the direction of the gymnasium, the girls following him like tentacles on a medusa jellyfish.
Thank you for hosting today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Tyree with us. He sounds like a fun, fliratous character
ReplyDeletefencingromein at hotmail dot com
He is, Shannon, but he is also "there" when Lara needs help. Thank you for your comment and for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteI find Lara's situation upsetting.
ReplyDeleteKit3247(at)aol(dot)com
Hi Ingeborg, I felt the same way when I wrote about Lara, but because of those feelings you have, the ending will be that much better for you. Lara is a strong woman, and she knows when to move on with her life. Thank you for stopping by again, and for your comment.
DeleteHi Ingeborg. I felt the same way when I was writing about Lara. But that will make the ending all the better for you. Lara is a strong woman, and she knows when it is time to move on with her life. I am so glad you stopped by again. Thank you for your comment.
ReplyDeleteJudith, thank you again for hosting me today and letting me talk about my latest book, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PRISSY. I will be checking back later for any other comments, but I had a wonderful time today.
ReplyDeleteBarbara
Hi Judith,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to stop back by and let you and your bloggers know that my book, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PRISSY, was just selected for the "2013 List of Best Summer Reads" by Conversations Live Radio/Conversations Book Club.
My best,
Barbara