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Brooke Morgan Talks About Writing and Her Move to England

January 28, 2010 by

Brooke Morgan is the author of Tainted (click for my review), which is a suspenseful novel about love, loss, and familial bonds.  For a chance to win a copy of her book, please visit the review and comment.  The giveaway is international!  Also, for an additional entry, please comment on this post.


Please give Brooke a warm welcome:

Having moved to London, I’m slightly surprised to find that in many ways I have become more American than I already was. English people can sometimes be casually dismissive about Americans and their lack of history, which is irritating; but worse, I can guarantee that in some point during a conversation with an English person, that person will always say “Americans have no sense of irony.” To which I always reply, bristling, “Go watch an episode of Frasier.” 

Writing Tainted as I sat at my desk in my house in Hammersmith was an exercise in time travel. Because I set the novel in a Cape Cod town not unlike the one I used to spend every summer in; I admit I wallowed in the feeling of being back home. And to help me, I hung pictures on my study wall — watercolor paintings and  aerial photos of that area of the Cape. Plus old snapshots of my family on the beach.  

These were visual aids, definitely, but I could also close my eyes and just plain remember. And that nostalgia trip was part of the pleasure of writing Tainted. 
Henry, one of the characters in the book, is modeled on my Uncle Sam. Which was fine until Henry gets into big trouble – it was such a real scene to me that when I finished it, I had to pick up the telephone on my desk and wake him up at six in the morning his time to make sure he was all right.  

When you relocate to another country, you lose your past. It’s impossible to turn to someone and say: “Remember when?” because they don’t. One of the great advantages of being a writer is to bring that past into the present and live it every day as you  write.  It’s a great cure for homesickness and a lot cheaper than a whole load of Transatlantic airline tickets.

Thanks, Brooke, for taking the time to share with us your writing and cultural experiences.

Deadline for the giveaway is Jan. 29, 2010!

FTC Disclosure:  Clicking on image or title links will lead to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.

Copyright of Serena M. Agusto-Cox at Savvy Verse & Wit 2007-2010. This is not original content, this content is owned and copyrighted by Serena M. Agusto-Cox
Filed Under: guest post Tagged With:

Tainted by Brooke Morgan

January 22, 2010 by

Brooke Morgan’s debut novel, Tainted, is a thrill ride in a small, shoreline town in Massachusetts — Shoreham — as Holly Barrett meets the man of her dreams on a bus.  Jack Dane is dashing, charming, and British — an accent to die for — but there is something below the surface that is not so inviting.

“Tell your heart lies enough times and it will fashion them into the truth.”  (Page 34)

Holly’s had a tough youth from getting pregnant at a young age to losing her parents and struggling as a single parent.  Jack swoops in and casts a spell that she is unwilling to break, despite the objections of her family and friends and only knowing him for about three weeks.  Morgan’s writing is upfront and engaging, though at times chapters shift from the point of view of Holly, her five-year old daughter, her grandfather, and others.

“‘Jesus, Holl.  You’re traveling faster than the speed of love.'”  (Page 106)

Readers will eat up these pages, trying to uncover Jack’s dark secrets, while at the same time wishing they could shake Holly into her right mind.  At times, Holly is very naive about Jack and moves too quickly into a relationship, which can be attributed to her inexperience with men and her self-imposed isolation.  However, there are a number of occasions where Holly sees clear red flags in Jack’s behavior and chooses to ignore them, reminiscent of abused women.  Morgan’s debut novel is a solid thriller with many twists and turns that will have some readers guessing until the very end.

To enter this INTERNATIONAL giveaway for 1 copy of Tainted by Brooke Morgan:

1.  Leave a comment on this review.
2.  Blog, Tweet, Facebook, or otherwise spread the word about the giveaway.
3.  Comment on the guest post.

Deadline is Jan. 29, 2010, at 11:59PM EST

About the Author:

Brooke Morgan is a Bostonian who now lives in London with her two children. Tainted is her first novel.

If you are interested in Tainted, you should check out the rest of the TLC Book Tour.

This is my 5th book for the 2010 New Authors Challenge.

I’m considering this for my 2nd book, a romantic thriller, for the 2010 Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge.

 

FTC Disclosure:  Thanks to TLC Book Tours, HarperCollins, and Brooke Morgan for sending me a free copy of Tainted for review.  Clicking on image or title links will lead to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated. 

Copyright of Serena M. Agusto-Cox at Savvy Verse & Wit 2007-2010. This is not original content, this content is owned and copyrighted by Serena M. Agusto-Cox
Filed Under: 2010 Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge, fiction, giveaway, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2010, review copy, reviews, tlc book tours Tagged With: ,