Tag Archives: Best Literary Fiction

Kimberly Young, Author of The Eighth Wonder, On Tour

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This post was most recently updated on March 6th, 2013

Publisher: Author House, January 31, 2012
Category: Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Tour Dates: February/March, 2013
Available in: Print, Kindle,  & Nook, 208 pages

A modern Bridges of Madison County, Nicole Benson, 35, is an ambitious college professor with dreams of teaching at an Ivy-League school until she meets Tom Ryan, 44, married 23 years and shattered after his daughter’s death from leukemia. A first-generation in her family to go to college,  Nicole is a self-made woman. She put herself through school, sacrificing marriage and children for her career. In the summer of 1997, she finally graduates with a Ph.D. from NYU, but her life is thrust into chaos when her father is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Abandoned by her mother as a girl, her father is all she has.

After fifteen years in New York City, Nicole leaves everything and everyone she knows to teach for a year in rural Bradford, Pennsylvania to be close to him in nearby Buffalo. Now, trapped in tiny Bradford, she has never felt more alone in her life…until she meets Tom Ryan.

At 44, Tom represents what Nicole longs to be: settled, secure, and clear about his purpose and direction in life. Emotionally scarred, he and his wife are empty nesters with an older son away at college and struggle to grieve together after the death of their daughter. Tom and Nicole’s story begins as a journey of self-discovery for both of them but turns to bittersweet romance when their friendship becomes love. Nicole risks offering what she has never given before, her heart; and Tom has never felt happier or more conflicted when he falls in love for the second time in his life.

Praise for The Eight Wonder:

“Kimberly Young has constructed an amazing first novel about unexpected love and the strange chemistry of May-November romances. This is no bodice-ripper or sappy saga of moonstruck entrancement.  Her characters are deep, and the reader roots for them.” – John M. Hanchette, Pulitzer Prize-winner and St. Bonaventure University journalism professor.

” I was sucked right into the story that unfolded in the Eighth Wonder.  After a few paragraphs, I was hooked. It all became “real” just like the love that never died between two special people – a great reminder that the complexities of life only become complex because we make them so. And that each and every day there is an opportunity to love and be loved in a secret place called the heart.”- Jacqueline Dunkle, Amazon.com Reviewer

“This is a must read story. I just finished reading it and could not put it down. This is one story you won’t soon forget.”- Bob C., Amazon.com Reviewer

“For those of us who live in northern Pennsylvania, The Eighth Wonder evokes a sense of place and home. Nicole Benson and Tom Ryan are finely drawn characters who seem real, like people we know or would like to know. The story is both realistic and sweet. I was drawn into the story from the very first page. For readers who do not live in northern PA, close to the Kinzua bridge, it is just a great romantic novel. Perhaps it will make you want to come and visit our beautiful area.”- Teacherlady42, Amazon.com Reviewer

“The author has woven a wonderful human story set in my part of western Pennsylvania near the Kinzua Bridge. She touches all the human emotions and draws the reader in.  The Eighth Wonder is a can’t put it down love story.”- John, Amazon.com Reviewer

“I am not one to read love stories.  This is not the love story I am familiar with. The characters were easy to relate to. I saw some of myself in Nicole – professional woman in a small town knowing she is capable of more but committed to family and content with her choices. When I found myself shouting at my e-reader about the decisions being made by the characters and when I started to cry toward the end, I knew the author had me. The raw emotion she was able to elicit with such incredible characters shocked me. I didn’t realize I was as committed to the characters and the story as I was. That is a testament to very good writing and plot development.”- Pwhoffmann, Amazon.com Reviewer

“Ms. Young did a great job with this book, developing the character’s so thoroughly that I felt like I personally knew them. The descriptiveness of the scenes at the cabin made me feel like I was right there.  I definitely found this an enjoyable read and hope that Ms. Young keeps writing novels!”- Colleen, Goodreads.com Reviewer

About Kimberly Young:

Kimberly Young is a licensed psychologist, an author, and an internationally-known speaker on Internet addiction. In 1995, she founded the Center for Internet Addiction and since then she has written numerous articles on the topic including four books, Caught in the Net, Tangled in the Web, Breaking Free of the Web, and Internet Addiction: A Handbook for Evaluation and Treatment.

She is a professor at St. Bonaventure University and her work has appeared in hundreds of media outlets including The New York Times, USA Today, Time, and Newsweek, and she has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN, and ABC World News Tonight. She has written creatively on and off since she was eight-years-old, mainly working on poems and short stories. While recovering from retina re-attachment eye surgery, she was homebound for several months and decided to pursue her creative writing more seriously. The Eighth Wonder is her first novel.

Author Website: http://kimberlyyoung.net
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kimberly-S-Young/110260432388254
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrKimberlyYoung

Buy The Eight Wonder at:
Amazon.com: Hardcover, Paperback, or  Kindle
Barnes & Noble: Hardcover or Nook
Book Depository: Hardcover and Paperback

Follow the Tour:

So Many Precious Books  Feb 2 Review & Giveaway
Ann’s Reading Corner Feb 5 Review
JoyStory Feb 6  Review
Romance Bookie  Feb 7 Guest Post
Laurie’s Non-Paranormal Thoughts Feb 8 Excerpt
 I Know That Book  Feb 9 Guest Post
My Life In Stories Feb 11 Review, Guest Post, Excerpt, & Giveaway
From L.A. to LA Feb 13 Review
Teena in Toronto  Feb 14 Review
Got Fiction Feb 15 Guest Post
Books a l mode Feb 15  Excerpt & Giveaway
Melissa’s Midnight Musings Feb 16 Review
A Book Lover’s Lib. Feb 18 Interview
A Book Lover’s Lib. Feb 19 Review
Sweeps 4 Bloggers Feb 20 Review & Giveaway
Peaceful Wishing Feb 21 Review
wall-to-wall books  Feb 22 Review & Giveaway
Romance & Inspiration Feb 24 Review
Romance & Inspiration Feb 25 Interview
Dr. Bill’s Book Bazaar Feb 25 Review
Reader Girls Feb 26 Review
Tina’s Book Review Feb 26 Guest Post  & Giveaway
Reader Girls  Feb 27 GuestPost
Rainy Days & Mondays Feb 28 Review & Interview
Lily Pond Reads March 1 Review & Interview
Walk on Words  March 4 Review
Minding Spot March 5 Review
Walk on Words March 5 Interview & Giveaway
Got Fiction Mar 6 Review

Jamie Lisa Forbes, Author of Unbroken: On Tour

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This post was most recently updated on April 18th, 2012

Publisher: Pronghorn Press

Category: Literary Fiction

Date: May 20, 2010

Available in Paperback: 324 Pages

Gwen Swan’s dreams of a life as a rancher’s wife have withered through years of  24/7 chores and warring family members.  Bitterness has tarnished her outlook and troubles with her son, Rory, burden her hopes for the future.

Meg Braeburn, who has broken away from her family’s ranch, expects hard work when she takes a job on the place neighboring the Swans’.  She is determined to leave a troubled past behind, yet she does not foresee how isolation will corrode her resolve.  Over time, she is grateful for the friendship and support that Gwen extends to her.

But as the ranching seasons grind relentlessly onward, hearts seek comfort where it can be found and the womens’ bond is strained as both the Swan family and the Braeburn family find themselves struggling against the elements and each other to continue their way of life.

Unbroken, is the 2011 winner of the WILLA Literary Award for outstanding contemporary fiction.

Comments from the WILLA  judges:

“Forbes’ debut novel is powerful and she presents a host of characters who are all complex emotionally flawed beings. . .”

“What an amazing story about strength and weakness, and about how grinding disappointment and endless hard work play out in people’s lives.”

Reviews:

“Unbroken is a powerful, absorbing book from the first page to the last. Forbes’ Wyoming ranch background adds rich flavors to the story. The author draws realistic, complex characters. Unbroken is an unvarnished testimonial to a way of life that few of us know.“-Mary E. Trimble, Author

“Jamie Lisa Forbes’ exquisitely written debut work, “Unbroken”, has a permanent place in my heart.  The author’s own early years on a Wyoming ranch add an insider’s observations which enrich the story line and bring vivid, fully-fleshed life to the characters.  The author’s subtle storytelling places us right into the lives of these characters, sharing with them their tragedies and triumphs. In an intimate, involving manner we follow them through with their starts, stops, and restarts, and we want so much for them to find peaceful resolution. “Unbroken” is unforgettable.”-Virginia Campbell, Vine Voice: Amazon Reviewer

“I was roped into the story by the lyrical poetic style of the author from page one. To my surprise–I never thought I would be interested in reading about ranching life and wrangling cows–I could not put the book down until I’d read the last page.  I recommend this very well-written novel to everyone. It left me with a sense of enrichment, of knowing and feeling more than before the reading. Truly a great book!- Nel Rand,Amazon Reviewer

“What a thoroughly absorbing and entertaining story, told by a first time author! I was impressed on so many levels. The story itself held interest, the manner in which it was told and the descriptions of a life few of us know about as well as the pace and timing of the story, were done with the flare of a far more experienced author. This book should appeal to both men and women.- BassLady, Amazon Reviewer

About Jamie Lisa Forbes:

Jamie Lisa Forbes was born and raised on a family ranch along the Little Laramie River in southeast Wyoming. After graduation from the University of Colorado in 1977, she studied and worked in Israel for over a year and then returned to Wyoming where she ranched and raised a family for the next 15 years. After the family ranch was sold in 1993, she moved to North Carolina and eventually began law school at the University of North Carolina. While in law school, she started her debut novel, Unbroken. Unbroken won the 2011 WILLA Literary Award for outstanding contemporary fiction featuring women in the West.  Ms. Forbes practices law in Greensboro, North Carolina and is working on a second novel.

Jamie’s Website

Tour Dates:

TeacherWriter April 2 Review and Interview
As I Turn the Pages  April 4 Review
Sylvia’s Literary Blogspot April 5  Spotlight
WV Stitcher April 9 Review
Rainy Days & Mondays April 10 Review
Rainy Days & Mondays April 11 Guest Post
My Reading Room April  11 Review
Colloquium  April 12 Review
Colloquium  April 13 Guest Post and Giveaway
The Bookworm  April 13 Review
My Reading Room  April 17 Interview and Giveaway