Posted by Teddyrose@1 on January 31, 2014
Posted in Book Tours • Guest Authors/ Interviews | 2 Comments
Posted by Teddyrose@1 on January 30, 2014
Posted in Guest Authors/ Interviews • My Past Giveaways | 8 Comments
Today it is my pleasure to introduce my special guest author today, Dora Levy Mossanen.
Hi Dora, I just have one question for you today. Please describe your experience as an immigrant to the United States. What sort of culture shock did you experience? Did your journey as an immigrant inspire Soraya’s character?
Dora: I’ve experienced two major cultural shocks. Once when I moved from Israel to Iran at the age of nine. And again, when I was forced to leave Iran for the United States. Despite being a child, or because of it, perhaps, the move from Israel to Iran shook me in more profound and long-lasting ways, so much so that those early memories live on and continue to haunt my stories. Israel is a liberal country known to cherish its young, to give them voice, and encourage them to form ideas and flourish. But the Iran I moved to at the age of nine had a way of delegating children to the fringes of society. I had to learn to hide my emotions and keep silent in the company of adults, to wait for adults to serve themselves during meals, select the best crunchy rice and tender shank, before we children dared touch the food. But the most disturbing was the coincidence of arriving in Tehran on the very week that the 1953 coup d’état of Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh, the prime mister of the time, broke out. Statues of the Shah in prominent squares were yanked off their pedestals and urinated on in full view. Governmental offices and buildings were set on fire. The entire city of Tehran seemed to be aflame in the stifling August heat.
Dora is the bestselling author of the acclaimed novels Harem, Courtesan, and The Last Romanov. Her fourth and most provocative book, Scent of Butterflies, was released January 7, 2014. She is a frequent contributor to numerous media outlets including the Huffington Post and the Jewish Journal. She has been featured on KCRW, The Politics of Culture, Voice of Russia, Radio Iran and numerous other radio and television programs. She is the recipient of the prestigious San Diego Editors’ choice award and was accepted as contributor to the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Dora Levy Mossanen’s novels have been translated into numerous languages world-wide.
Posted by Teddyrose@1 on January 28, 2014
Posted in Book Tours • My Past Giveaways | 7 Comments
Thanks to Amy Bruno of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, I am giving away one Kindle copy of The Hands of Time.
Book Description:
When a young American woman vanishes without a trace from a quaint fishing village on the coast of England only one person knows the truth, but he remains silent, allowing the authorities to search for her in vain, safe in the knowledge that she will never be found. As Valerie’s bereft sister returns home alone, she struggles to understand what happened and come to terms with her terrible loss when she suddenly stumbles upon a clue that might finally shed some light on her sister’s disappearance.
Meanwhile, Valerie Crane finds herself transported to the year 1605. Terrified and confused she turns for help to the Whitfield brothers, who take her in and offer her a home despite their misgivings about her origins. Both Alexander and Finlay Whitfield fall in love with the mysterious woman who shows up on their doorstep, creating a love triangle that threatens to consume them all. Valerie must make her choice, deciding between the brother who will lead her down the path of destruction or one who will give her the love she couldn’t find in her own time.
About Irina Shapiro:
Irina Shapiro was born in Moscow, Russia, where she lived until she was eleven. In 1982 her family emigrated to the United States and settled in New York. Due to her love of reading, Irina was able to pick up English very quickly, and was an honor student throughout her school career.
After graduating from Bernard M. Baruch College in 1992 with a Bachelor’s degree in International Business, Irina worked in advertising for two years before shifting her focus to Import/Export. She worked her way up to the position of Import Manager in a large textile house before leaving the work force in 2007 to focus on her autistic son.
It wasn’t until Irina had been at home for some time that she began to write. Eventually the characters began to take on a life of their own and have conversations in her head, and once she started writing her musings down the stories came easily enough. Irina incorporated her love of history and travel into her writing to create a rich and detailed background for the characters. Since then Irina has written eight novels. She is currently working on book five of The Hands of Time Series.
Irina Shapiro lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children.
For more information, please visit www.irinashapiro.com. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
This giveaway is open internationally and ends on February 11, 2014. Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
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