Pre-order, Meet-n-Mingle, and Spotlight
Greetings and salutations, Rock 'n' Rollers! I'm happy to introduce you to a new-to-me author today that I met fairly recently, but first...
THIS SATURDAY I will be joining a bunch of other groovy authors to have a virtual event! Each of us will have our own separate video chat room so it will be JUST LIKE a live signing (well, as close as we can get!) I've got a signup form in the group where you can receive a swag pack from me complete with goodies from my upcoming release Brains and Brawn: Summer of Hush Book Two WHICH IS AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER—
Which leads me to my NEWS! Hurricane Reese and Typhoon Toby will be re-released on August 1st and will be in KINDLE UNLIMITED FOR THE FIRST TIME! They have shiny new covers and some bonus material at the back so I'd love it if you'd check them out. Summer of Hush: Book One follows on August 10th, also in KU and with a shiny new cover, and then BOOK TWO RELEASES ON AUGUST 24TH... Many of you have been asking for Brains and Paul, and you're gonna get them...The cover reveal for this book will be August 17th and I can't WAIT! I'm going to be a mess this next month as these books that mean so much to me are back in the hands of readers! I poured my heart and soul into Brains and Brawn and I hope you'll join me for the ride!
Without further ado, I'd like to introduce a new author pal, George Cramer. George braved a writing retreat back in February with me and my rowdy writer's group up in Grass Valley and it was great to get to know him! Please join me in welcoming him to the Rock 'n' Romance Blog to talk about his latest book, The Mona Lisa Sisters.
Tell us about the book, which is available for preorder and out August 14th!
The Mona Lisa Sisters, a historical fiction novel set in the 1890s, is about the life of an amazing woman, Lura Grisham Myer. Lura lives a perfect life until her world is ripped apart. Wealth cannot protect Lura from the tragedies that befall her in the late nineteenth century. Reborn, forged of pain and misery, she voyages to Paris after months as a recluse in Grisham Manor. There Lura finds new purpose in life when she meets two American girls who face a tragedy of their own.
Your genre is usually police procedural/thriller. How did you come to write this historical novel, which I understand has a touch of romance?
It’s a long story, but I’ll make it brief. In 2012, I got laid off from a fantastic job after a corporate takeover. Looking for work, I learned a great deal about age discrimination and decided to take a writing class to improve my resume. Instead, I fell in love with fiction writing.
One afternoon, an instructor randomly passed out pictures. Mine was of two girls looking at the Mona Lisa. Immediately, I had a story seize my imagination. Within minutes, I had a rough outline of The Mona Lisa Sisters.
Until then, all I had written were crime and thrillers. The Mona Lisa Sisters is set in the 1890s and does have a touch of romance. The romance could be mistaken for a chance, or not so chance, encounter aboard one the world’s premier steamships, or maybe it was in Paris, the City of Love.
I decided to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico. The novel became my thesis project. I enjoyed the help and guidance of outstanding professors and mentors.
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George Cramer was born to a Karuk Indian, and one of the last horse soldiers of World War II. George served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. Completing his service, he became a police officer, retiring as a sergeant after years in criminal and undercover investigations. He has been a licensed private investigator for over three decades. For years, he volunteered at a local police department investigating missing person’s cold cases.
In addition to The Mona Lisa Sisters, George has written a historical crime novel, is completing the second novel in the Liberty – A Hector Miguel Navarro Novel trilogy, as well as numerous short stories. He has had eight pieces published in anthologies and one the literary journal of the Veterans Writing Project.
The Mona Lisa Sisters is available for pre-order. Here is a link to his Amazon Author Page, where you can order the paperback ($14.99) or Kindle ($3.99): https://rb.gy/j2m46l.
Recent Awards
2020 Public Safety Writers Association
Flash Fiction Non-Published Third Place - Welcome Home
Short Story Non-Published Honorable Mention - Hard Time
Fiction Book Non-Published Fourth Place - A Tale of Robbers and Cops
Award-Winning Author
Blog http://gdcramer.com
Author http:www.amazon.com/author/george.cramer
Thanks so much to George for joining us today! As a lover of true crime and mysteries, I'm curious to check out his other books as well!
Speaking of true crime, anyone else watching "I'll Be Gone In The Dark" on HBO? I've not read the book by Michelle McNamara, but I'm a huge Patton Oswalt fan and I've followed the story since before her death. The show is fascinating, heart-wrenching, and a creepily intense study of Northern California crime history. I remember being a young person in the late 70s/early 80s and I was particularly terrified of Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker. A young girl my sister knew, Kelly Poppleton, was kidnapped near my house and it had a profound effect on me, especially after a friend and I had been nearly kidnapped near our house by a man in a white van. I made my parents put a stick in my window so it couldn't be pried open and I kept clippings of the articles from the newspaper about the case. Then in college, I worked for my professor on a true crime novel about a cult murder in Kirtland, Ohio. Someday, I'll dig back into those types of stories. I think I moved away as a parent of younger children as true crime hits close to home, but I'm riveted by this show on HBO. Drop a note in the comments and let me know if true crime is your thing, or if you read historical fiction. I'll be gifting a copy of George's book to a random commenter. AND FROM OUR LAST SPOTLIGHT... Jamie Manous is our ebook winner. Send me a message Jamie!
Stay Tuned for more Rock 'n' Romance...
