Today it is my pleasure to kick off the tour for Woman on Top!

 Book Description:

Publisher: Laudan Press (May 30, 2013)
Genres: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction
Tour Dates: November 2013
Available in: Print & ebook, 346 pages
A Woman’s Struggle To Find Herself After Losing Everything She Believed Was Important.
We hear a great deal in the media about women who become victims of wealthy and powerful men. Like a breath of fresh air, the heroine in Deborah Schwartz’s inspiring book, Woman on Top, does escape becoming yet another casualty… literally…all the way to the top of a mountain!
New York, NY, September 4, 2013 – One has to wonder has anything changed since Nora slammed the door over a hundred years ago in Ibsen’s iconic play A Doll’s House? Deborah Schwartz made sure that they did in her timely novel, Woman on Top (Laudan Press).  Like a breath of fresh air, the heroine in Deborah Schwartz’s inspiring book, Woman on Top shows the way things have changed…all the way to the top of a mountain!
Book Description:
Falling prey to Len, a very wealthy Wall Street banker who is hell-bent on acquiring her as his next deal, Kate struggles after the death of her husband to keep control amidst the detours of a tempestuous New York romance. As witness to a world of power and greed that life in New York offers to a vulnerable woman, can Kate ultimately rescue herself from the lure that is Len’s world?
Throughout this compelling story, which is inspired by actualevents from the author’s own life, Schwartz cleverly weaves self-empowering thoughts into her heroine’s exploits, making it less the ‘damsel in distress’ and more the infinitely successful ‘woman on top!’ In this amazing look at a woman’s journey to finding herself, readers will both laugh and cry as they relate to Kate and her decisions, emotions and experiences.
While following her quest for a reaffirmation of life and love, including a surprising adventure, Kate’s story touches on the unexpected pleasures and decisions we face throughout our lives. Readers who have dreamed of, or survived, a “Len” in their lives, will recognize themselves in Kate as she searchesto find what matters most in her new life. What does a 35 year-old woman who seems to have it all do when the rug is pulled out from under her? Kate’s struggle to find inner strength on her journey down a slippery slope with a Wall Street man leaves readers wondering and rooting for her to land as the ‘woman on top.’

Excerpt:

L

en began inviting me to dinners with his friends, most of whom were investment bankers with whom he worked. One night we were to have dinner at a small but very exclusive French restaurant in New Jersey with Thomas, a tall and strikingly handsome man. Len would hint to me at the extent of Thomas’ wealth but never give flat out figures.

“He donates millions every year to charity,” Len declared.

Thomas was accompanied by Linda, his beautiful wife and former secretary, who showed up with the largest breasts and most jewelry, both very real, that any woman could possibly carry all at the same time. Joining us at dinner was Paul, a media mogul from Alpine, and his surprisingly very ordinary wife, Sandra.
“Paul might be hard to take. He’s very full of himself,” Len warned me on the way over.
The restaurant looked crowded with diners elegantly dressed for a suburban restaurant on a Saturday night. Our men surveyed the wine list and finally agreed on the appropriate bottles, each well over a hundred dollars. The women sat idly by, so conversation had to be made with Linda and Sandra.
“Do you have children?” I smiled politely at them.
“Two, both in boarding school,” Linda replied.
“No, we don’t have children,” Sandra said quietly.
“Did you do any skiing this past winter?” Len asked Paul.
“Went heliskiing for a week in British Columbia. Spent a week skiing in Chamonix. We also went to Paris for ten days and did a week in Israel. I have to say, I love the French. Definitely prefer them to Americans,” Paul said.
Nobody said a word.
“And more than the French? I certainly favor the Palestinians over the Israelis. The Israelis are just a bunch of terrorists,” Paul continued.
Silence.
“I’m not sure how many people would agree with you that the Israelis are solely responsible for the troubles there and that they are a bunch of terrorists,” I finally said.
“Are you kidding? Are you aware of what goes on there?” Paul asked.
“Yes, as much as anyone is. I don’t think it’s as black and white as you make it out to be. It’s a very complicated situation,” I responded.
Len asked the waiter for the bill and paid.
Dinner ended and I gathered it was not a success.
We said our very polite good-byes while the valet parking attendants retrieved our cars. Len opened my door for me and then quietly got in on his side of the car. We drove in silence until we emerged out of the long driveway of the restaurant. Len turned to me as he drove.
“If you ever do that again, ever argue with a client or at a dinner, I’ll kick your chair right out from you at the table.”
Len glared at me and with those icy, unforgiving eyes. I did not doubt his words.
I filled my friends in on the details of the dinner while we ate our salads at The Oasis.
“Those women just sat there, like they’re not supposed to talk.”
“Len didn’t really say that to you? Did he?” Rachel said.
“Yeah, he did. These people live in another world. You wouldn’t recognize the women I’m meeting. It’s the fifties. They don’t work. All they know how to do is play tennis, golf, exercise and shop. They’re subservient to these rich, successful men. One of these women was laughing one night at dinner that she had just flown over to Paris for the weekend. She said she did the Louvre in fifteen minutes and checked it off her list. She said and I quote, ‘Nothing in there’.”

“But they can’t be happy. Can they?” Zoë asked.
“Why not? They don’t have to drag themselves out of bed to work when they don’t want to. They have tons of money, spend weeks in Europe and at spas every year, and all they have to do is keep their mouth shut while their narcissistic rich husbands do their thing,” I answered.
“But, it’s not us. Can you imagine being so stifled? It’s like being a prisoner in a marriage,” Bonnie said.
“These women are not the ‘social X-rays’ that Tom Wolfe wrote about in Bonfire. They’re a step below the sophisticated Manhattan socialites who are at least into charities and museum work,” I said.
“Who are they?” Rachel asked.
“I don’t know but what does this mean for our daughters?” I asked her.
Rachel had two ambitious daughters, an actress making it on Broadway, and a daughter in medical school. She couldn’t be concerned.
“Do we teach them to be gold diggers so they can marry rich men and live soft lives?” I continued. “Or do we tell them to be like us, women who most of these rich men can’t handle?”

A rare silence enveloped our table.
“Why’d you work so hard to get into Harvard and Harvard Law School? You could have just married a rich man and had a soft life,” I asked Zoë.
“I love my work. Aren’t you missing that point?”
“I do too. I can’t picture living such empty lives. And imagine how bored their husbands must get with them,” Rachel responded. We all knew that she had left her first husband after he refused to let her go to Yale Law School.
“What happens to these women when their fifty-five-year old husbands trade them in for thirty-year olds? They’re nothing. At least we have our work,” Bonnie said.


Praise for Woman On Top:
“Every now and then you find a book that you have difficulty putting down. Last month, I had that experience with the novel Woman on Top, released May 30, 2013 by first time author Deborah Schwartz. Readers may snicker about the title assuming this is a poorly written shallow romance novel; however, quite the opposite is true. The title is a double entendre and refers to the empowerment of a woman.”– Kristin Meekhof, Huffington Post
“The reader will go through a range of emotions but will not want to put this book down since Woman on Top is inspirational, entertaining, and heartbreaking as Kate straddles two completely different worlds.”– Elise Cooper, Working Mother
“The writer Deborah Schwartz, in her novel “Woman on Top,” demonstrates her writing chops by the way she deftly shifts between two literary genres: romance and pathography. The language she uses and the tones she creates align with the chapters covering the stormy romance of the main character and the intense and ultimately tragic illness experience of the main character’s husband.  In this way, the author makes the reader feel deep sympathy for the main character as the story concerns her husband’s plight, yet feel great frustration with the main character as the story concerns her romance. The author makes us wonder how someone who is so clear and soulful can also be so vulnerable and superficial. She’s probably telling us that we’re just stuck with these seemingly contradictory attributes and characteristics. We’re all capable of manifesting a range of behaviors that work against our self interests and that are determined by circumstances beyond our control. Thus, while Woman on Top tells the excruciatingly sad story of an untimely death and the story of a tempestuous romance with its own pathology, the novel has more to tell about us humans.”– JRT, Amazon Reviewer
“You know those great books that from the first sentence (and the cool cover art) grab your attention, and make you want to read it? Well, this is one of those. Settle in, and get ready for a great ride. Schwartz alternately made me laugh and cry out loud over and over in this funny, sad, sexy, entertaining novel. A psychotherapist, I found myself cheering for Kate, as she brings us with her on her journey , refusing to abandon her true self while rebuilding her life after tragedy. Schwartz also deftly paints a picture of the ups and downs of monied NY dating that makes us non-east coast people shake our heads in wonder in this absorbing and fun summer treat.”– littlesrink, Amazon Reviewer 
“The most life-affirming book I’ve read all year! “Woman on Top” is a testament to all women who have overcome adversity (in life and in love) through strength of character and a sheer zest for living. After losing the love of her life, Kate finds herself in the arms of a powerful New York banker who prides himself on being able to give a woman everything she could want, and more. But can he? Schwartz’s book speaks to an essential ingredient for happiness–finding your inner strength. “Woman on Top” will make you laugh and cry and laugh and cry again. If you are in danger of losing faith in true love…or in yourself, read this book now!”– lilybrat, Amazon Reviewer
 About Deborah Schwartz:

Born and raised in New York, Deborah Schwartz graduated from Tufts University and then obtained her Masters in History at Columbia University where she wrote a thesis on “Feminism in Eighteenth Century England.” She received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law. Today, Deborah’s passion is writing and she incorporated her achievement of having reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in 2011 into her debut novel. A New Yorker to the core, Deborah is most grateful to be the mother of her two grown children.  For more information, please visit: www.deborahschwartz.net.
Thanks to the author, Deborah Schwartz, I am giving away one copy of Woman On Top.  This giveaway is open internationally.  Print copy is restricted to the U.S. and Canada only.  U.S. or Canadian winners can choose either print or ebook.  ebook is available for international winners.  This giveaway ends on November 28, 2013.  Please use Rafflecopter to enter.

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Follow the Tour:
So Many Precious books Nov 7 Spotlight, Guest Post & Giveaway
From L.A. to LA Nov 8 Review
Paperback Writer Nov 8 Guest Post
Chick Lit Central Nov 11 One Week Feature
Deal Sharing Aunt Nov 12 Review
Teena In Toronto Nov 13 Review
Bookalicious Travel Addict Nov 13 Spotliight
Rainy Days & Mondays Nov 14 Review
Celtic Lady Nov 15 Review
Mom in Love with Fiction Nov 18 Review
Sweeps 4 Bloggers Nov 19 Review & Giveaway
Mina’s Bookshelf Nov 20 Review
Mina’s Bookshelf Nov 21 Interview
Most Happy Reader Nov 21 Review
Most Happy Reader Nov 22 Interview & Giveaway
Saving for Six Nov 25 Review
Every Free Chance Nov 25 Guest Post  & Giveaway
Romance & Inspiration Nov 26 Review
Joy Story Nov 27 Review     
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