Please welcome Julie A. Burns author of The Purse.
Julie will be awarding a free Paperback copy of The Purse OR a eBook copy plus and additional eBook to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
The Purse
by Julie A. Burns
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GENRE: Mystery Thriller
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INTERVIEW:
What or who inspired you to
start writing?
Reading is what inspired me. As I read, it would give me ideas about
what else could happen beyond what the author had written. I wrote poetry, but I really wanted to weave a story
together with real characters.
How did you come up with your
idea for your novel?
A friend showed me an antique silver
purse, and I was fascinated by the
possibilities of where it had been, who it belonged to, and its meaning. My
friend’s mother had died when she was three years old, and nobody would discuss it with her. I started thinking,
“what if she is alive somewhere?”
What expertise did you bring
to your writing?
In the book, there is a minor character who has Down’s Syndrome. I have
spent over twenty years working with people with developmental disabilities and
mental illness; I wanted to show all walks of life in this story.
As far as your writing goes,
what are your future plans?
I have a second novel due in February 2017,
and I have plans to keep writing more stories. I would love to be able to make
a living at writing one day.
If you could be one of the
characters from this book, who would it be and why?
I think I would be Sonja, the police officer and love interest for the
main character Lydia. She is a kick-ass kind of person, yet when pushed she has
her sensitive moments. I would like to be that brazen.
When did you first decide to
submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big
step?
I self-published The Purse
originally through a ‘vanity publisher’ though I didn’t know it was such at the
time. I didn’t like the way it came out,
and I paid lots of money to have it done. I just believed in the story and
thought it could be better with some help.
I wrote it in 2000 and finished in 2004, so it’s been a long time coming.
Do you outline your books or
just start writing?
Most often I write on a tablet of paper, plotting names, ages, family
history and as much about that character as I can, which ends of being more of
a flow chart because the ideas just keep going.
How do you maintain your
creativity?
I have a musical playlist that I make. I pick songs that make me think
of certain characters and/or situations; I try to put myself in their head. It
really keeps me thinking about motivations, dialogue and often I come up with
more ideas.
Who is your favorite character
in the book? Can you tell us why?
I really enjoyed Joel (the head of the mob crime family who also wants
the purse). There is something fun in writing a villain. He is suave and
debonair but inside still trying to please his father like all of us wanting to
please our parents.
Are your plotting bunnies
angels or demons?
I think they are both! Good Vs. Evil but Evil is also human and
BLURB:
When Lydia Blackwell visits her dying father for the last time, he reveals the
deeply hidden truth about her mother. After the funeral, the stranger Derek
Meade gifts her with a gorgeous antique purse. But before she has the chance to
connect with the man who knew her father intimately, Lydia finds Derek murdered
in his home.
Lieutenant Sonja MacIntosh is assigned to investigate Mr. Meade’s death, but
her career on the force never prepared her for Lydia Blackwell. As Sonja works
to solve the murder, Lydia takes the greatest risk of her life in leaving
Chicago to search for clues to her mother’s past. Their instant attraction
surprises them both, but even through the chaos Lydia can’t deny the intensity
of her feelings for the strong willed Lieutenant.
Lydia’s possession of the antique purse throws her already chaotic life into a
whirlwind of kidnapping, blackmail, vengeful mob bosses, and mind-numbing
revelations. Through it all, Lydia must find the strength to accept herself –
and those closest to her – despite their darkest secrets.
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EXCERPT:
At
thirty-eight, Lydia Blackwell was a striking woman, taller than most, but not
quite six-foot, with long, flowing black hair and hazel eyes in which many men
could lose themselves. Many men, however, would not. It took several years for
Lydia to realize that men didn’t make her heart beat faster. It wasn’t until
college that she discovered her real self, thanks to a beautiful, blonde
study-partner. Something in her had captured Lydia’s heart and she was never
the same again. To many of her friends, it had just been “experimenting”. But
this was Lydia’s life, her soul, and her very being. Still, it wasn’t
everything.
For
years, Lydia kept her innermost thoughts and her secret life to herself. Her
father would never have understood her way of thinking—of being. It was
possible he could have made the assumption. After all, there were no men around
and no children. There were so many things she couldn’t discuss with her
father, nothing resembling emotions, or even people about whom she’d felt
emotional. No, nothing like that. Certainly not even Danielle. Oh Danielle.
Lydia’s mind drifted away as she traveled the open road closer to her father’s
house.
Danielle
Baldwin certainly had issues, but issues were Lydia’s specialty. Lydia was a
psychotherapist and ran her own practice in a posh suburb of Chicago. Five
years had passed since she first saw Danielle smile, and now Lydia held therapy
groups out of her home. So much had changed, yet somehow the feelings remained
the same.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Julie A. Burns is a native Iowan born in Marshalltown, Iowa and raised
in Davenport, Iowa. After her parent’s divorce at age 7, she took to writing,
whether it was her diary or poems about people she met or situations that
bothered her. After graduating from high school in 1983, she spent time working
as a Nurse’s Aide in different nursing homes in Iowa. In 1989, she gave birth
to a daughter, Brittany and raised her as a single parent. In the same year,
she enrolled at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. She graduated with a
Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology in 1994. Since then, Julie has spent time
working with developmentally disabled adults and the mentally ill throughout
Iowa and also in Wyoming, where she lived for 6 years. Julie currently lives in
Waterloo, Iowa with her spouse. When she’s not writing, she enjoys being a
grandmother to 3 year old Sophie.
http://amzn.to/1RGUTRq
https://www.facebook.com/JulieABurnsAuthor
https://twitter.com/jadegally48
http://ramrampublishing.com/julie-a-burns.html
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JulieABurns
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Julie will be awarding a free Paperback copy of The
Purse OR a eBook copy plus and additional eBook to a randomly drawn winner via
rafflecopter during the tour.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f1760
