Hard-copy Giveaway of Psychological Thriller novel - BLUFF

Original Title: Bluff
Author: Lenore Skomal
Publisher: Lenore Skomal Press
Release Date: October 1st 2012
Genre: Psychological Thriller

"To the medical world, I was a host body, surviving only to bring a new life into the world. And while I wanted to die more than anything in the world, I never wanted this. No, I never wanted to cease to exist. This was the worst death of all.”

Jude Black lives in that in-between, twilight place teetering on death but clinging to life in order to bring her baby into this world. Only she knows the circumstances surrounding her mysterious fall off the bluff that landed her in the hospital being kept alive by medical intervention. Only she knows who the father of her baby is. In this poignantly crafted literary novel, the mystery unfolds and the suspense builds as the consequences of Jude’s decisions threaten to reveal everyone's deceptions, even her own.

Bluff offers a sensitive look at essential questions such as the value of human life, the consciousness of those in a coma and the morality of terminating life support. At the core is the story of a tragically misunderstood woman who finds peace, acceptance, understanding and even love on her deathbed.

INTERVIEW WITH LENORE SKOMAL

1.      Is there an inspiration behind why you chose writing? 

      I didn’t choose writing. Writing chose me. Learning how to read and subsequently write are pretty much the two-fold event that birthed me. I have always found a way to incorporate the written word into my life, predominately through using my craft is every job I have had.

2.      When you were little, what did you want to be when you "grew up"?  
     An author. I wanted to write the Great American Novel, to be candid. Getting to that place has been a bit of a circuitous path, including a 30-year career in journalism, with bouts of making ends meet through all kinds of odd jobs. But in the end, all those experiences are woven into the tapestry of my work.

3.      Finish the sentence- one book I wish I had written is..
      “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Nell Harper Lee wrote just one novel and that’s all she needed to write to effectively change the landscape of American writing. And as readers will see with my next novel, I am working to do just that with my own novel, “Third Willow.”

4.      What are your current literary works?  Any sneak peaks?

BLUFF was launched on October 1^st as my debut novel, but I have written 17 other, traditionally published books, including three biographies and several inspirational works. My heart as a writer is wed to fiction, however, and as I mentioned above “Third Willow” is my next novel—a seemingly straightforward coming-of-age plot about four Midwestern kids in 1954. But, as readers have come to expect thanks to BLUFF, there are multiple, deep and varying adult issues these children have to cope with that force them to grow up over one summer. I love this book.  Here’s an excerpt:

“Hap reached over the back of the sofa and pulled the threadbare afghan over his dad. Kelly green with yellow and dark brown octagons, Hap used to call the old thing the stop sign blanket. It made his dad laugh back then. He never knew who had crocheted the ratty afghan, but he remembered sleeping with it in his crib and sucking on it for comfort. Now a fixture on the back of the beat-up sofa bed that doubled as his dad’s bedroom, it’d become his dad’s nightly bed linen.

His eyes softened as he looked down at him—the complicated, broken orphan, who had no more dreams; this drifting raft of a man who spent his hours counting and recounting his money hoping the exercise would mystically make him wealthy one day. The man who stole his son’s paper route pay, vented his frustration on his boy every now and again, never took a lick of interest in his life, and hadn’t bear-hugged him in a month of Sundays. But still, this was the same man who fed him, clothed him and gave him the only bedroom in the house. And the only house he had ever known. And despite all of it, Hap thought, “he’s the only family I got.”

So instead of stabbing his dad, Hap, overcome with emotion, leaned down and kissed him. And then he placed his forefinger gently on the snoring man’s heart, hoping to leave his fingerprint on his soul.”

5.      If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future?

Early 19^th century New England with the express purpose of meeting Edgar Allan Poe. This tortured soul was my favorite writer as a young girl. My father read his poems and short stories to me. And I fell in love with him. He definitely influenced how I write and what I write about. To be able to sit with him and have a good ole fashioned interview or, better yet, fireside chat over a bottle of spirits would be a great gift.

Edgar Allen Poe

6.      What is your favorite scene in the book and why do you love it?

My favorite scene in BLUFF is the final scene, when Jude is finally experiencing joy. I actually wrote that scene right after I wrote the opening scene. I always knew where the story was going to end and how. When those words came streaming out of me, I knew I was tapping into the muse. I think the last line is perfect for this book because it bookends the preface.

GIVEAWAY

Lenore is giving away a PRINT copy of BLUFF to one winner of the Rafflecopter giveaway.

Personally, I like the concept of this book and am soon hoping to read it.  Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY and ends November 30th, 2012!

a Rafflecopter giveaway