Hi
lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Kathleen Duhamel and her new
book, “Deep End”! For other stops on her
Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of
the images in this post.
Be
sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes
and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back
daily to interact with Kathleen and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks
for stopping by! Wishing you lots of
luck in this fabulous giveaway!
Deep End
by Kathleen Duhamel
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GENRE: Contemporary Women's Fiction
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BLURB:
After
years of struggle and harsh criticism, happily married rock star wife Claire Martin
has finally achieved the career success of her dreams. As the featured artist
in an international traveling exhibit, she looks forward to her best year ever,
while her husband, singer Robert Silver of the legendary band Deep Blue,
contemplates a return to touring.
Things
are also looking up for Claire’s best friend, Denise Hrivnak, who’s planning
her wedding to Robert’s musical partner, Art Hoffman. However, what should have
been most joyful day of Denise’s life turns to tragedy when an unexpected event
forces both woman to contemplate the terrifying possibility of life without the
men they love.
Besieged
by the paparazzi and sick with worry, Claire waits for answers in a Las Vegas
hotel room, thinking over her improbable relationship with Rob and praying that
love alone is strong enough to bring her beloved husband back from the brink.
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EXCERPT THREE:
As
we entered the room, Artie handed Rob a non-alcoholic beer and asked me, “What
do you think?”
His
pool table and pinball machines were gone. The area we were standing in,
formerly known as Artie’s “toy room,” had been transformed into a dining space
furnished with a sleek new table and seating for eight. A contemporary
chandelier in a brushed silver finish hung overhead. A row of flickering votive
candles marched down the length of the table, which was set for a party of
four.
The
only reminder of the room’s previous function was a display of seven vintage
electric guitars hung on an exposed brick wall. Its centerpiece was a rare 1954
Fender Stratocaster with a sunburst finish. I was the one who suggested that
Artie turn his collection into an art installation, now the apartment’s focal
point.
“I
think the room looks great,” I told him. “And I’m glad you kept the guitars on
the wall. They say so much about who lives here.”
Artie
ran one forefinger along the Strat’s distinctive curves.
“Well,
I couldn’t bear to put the old girl back in her case,” he said.
Old
girl?
Uh-oh. Denise strolled into the kitchen, retrieved the unlit kitchen torch,
returned, and pointed it in Artie’s direction, while struggling to keep a
serious face.
“You
realize 1954 was the year Claire and I were born, don’t you? Are you calling us
old?”
“Rule
of thumb, Artie,” I chimed in. “Don’t insult a woman who has the ability to
burn you alive.”
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GUEST POST:
The
character of Artie Hoffman-guitarist, songwriter, and half of the rock duo Deep
Blue-didn’t even appear in the rough draft of my first book. He was an
afterthought, created primarily as a wise-cracker who could bring some comic
relief to the book. His character emerged almost immediately, though, and before
long he was playing a prominent role in the plot. Who knew?
Being
around Artie might get a little weird, but it would never be dull. I once
described him as the male equivalent of me (except I’m not rich). He is
unrelentingly sarcastic, completely uncensored, and unconcerned with what
others think of him. He says provocative things that we’d all like to say at
some point, and because he’s a rock star, he gets away with it.
For instance, after Deep Blue performed at a marriage equality rally, he was asked by a
CNN reporter if the band was becoming political.
“Oh,
no,” he quipped. “We’ve always been pro-marriage. In fact, I’ve been married
several times myself.”
His
take on today’s pop stars: “Talent doesn’t matter. As long as you’ve got Auto
Tune, a body that looks good naked and the willingness to whore yourself out,
you can make money in the music business.”
He
also made news after muttering “Funk this, America!” into his mic during a
live, televised performance. His ad-libbed comment earned him the wrath of a
certain loud-mouthed radio talk show host who said his words represented
“another rip in the moral fabric of society.”
Artie
found it all hilarious.
What
I like most about Artie, however, is his willingness to change and adapt.
Orphaned at a young age, he grew up as a lonely, distrustful foster child who
was saved by his talent and love of music. Until he met Denise, an accomplished
woman close to his own age, he’d been through a number of unsuccessful
relationships. At first, Artie is dismayed when Denise doesn’t fall at his
feet. They become friends, a new experience for him, and don’t get romantically
involved until almost two years later.
In Deep End, he comes face to face with his
own mortality, as well as his legacy as a musical artist, and emerges as a more
compassionate person, something many of us aspire to be.
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AUTHOR BIO:
Kathleen Duhamel is a
contemporary women’s fiction writer and the author of the Deep Blue Trilogy
(Deep Blue, Deeper, and Deep End) as well as the novella At Home With Andre.
She wrote and illustrated her first short story at the age of eight, and has
been a writer for most of her life. Her love of the written word continued
throughout her varied career as a newspaper journalist and editor, public
relations executive, freelance travel writer, and owner/operator of two small
businesses. A native of Texas, she has spent most of her adult life in
Colorado. She lives in the Denver area with her husband, a geriatric standard
poodle, and a spoiled cat. She is a lifelong devotee of rock and soul music,
contemporary art, and popular culture.
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CONNECT WITH KATHLEEN:
Website:
Blog:
Email:
kathleenduhamel@gmail.com
Facebook:
Twitter:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Kathleen will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC
to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
