Check these out…
Here’s a sample of Brandon Potter reading the narrative. Wait until you hear him do the Middle Eastern voices…
Would you like to enter to win one? Sign up for my newsletter at www.normandiefischer.com — click the link, sign up where it asks if you’d like to join the club–and then leave a comment here, saying you’d like to win!
SAMPLE
I think Brandon Potter and Spoke Media did an excellent job, especially on the Middle Eastern accents.
Travel with Rina from Morehead City, NC, to Perugia, Italy, where bodies begin to drop, and Rina has no idea who is friend and who foe. Follow Tony to Perugia and then to Jordan and Israel as Israel prepares to defend itself against Hamas rockets. Meet terrorists and good guys, friends and foes.
Grab a copy of the full audiobook for yourself. Go SHOPPING at the Sleepy Creek Press Store (it will be available with other vendors soon) and experience the excitement.
I listen to audiobooks while I’m cooking and cleaning, driving and walking, and especially while I’m on the elliptical, trying to keep this aging body in shape. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have as much time as I’d like to sit with a book in my lap, but I can justify “reading” with a narrator because I’m being so productive.
Do you remember that Heavy Weather was a finalist in the Colorado RWA’s Award of Excellence Contest for Mainstream Fiction with Strong Romantic Elements? I adore anything that validates my work, my words.
Guess what? Today I learned that the cover of Two from Isaac’s House won the cover contest for Romantic Suspense. Congratulations to Jenny from Seedlings Design Studio for bringing my idea to fruition and giving the book such a gorgeous face.
Pretty medallion!
Pretty cover!
I live on a creek. At any time during the work day, I can turn from my computer and look out over the expanse of water and refill my beauty-hungry soul. Granted, today it’s all slate on slate with the gray broken by splashes of white, because even our shallow body of water can form whitecaps when the wind pushes hard through the creek’s mouth.
But even with the beauty, even with the blessing of marriage to a best friend who encourages me (as does my dear mama who has been my cheerleader forever), writing can be a lonely pursuit. I mean, husbands, children, mamas, and good friends are supposed to support us, aren’t they? So you write, I write, and we send our words out…
Will they touch anyone at all? Will our book(s) be found? Be read? Be loved–or hated?
We shouldn’t be so insecure. But I don’t know a single writer/artist/musician who sits in a void, untouched, uncaring.
We care. We care.
Which is why readers who leave reviews are so very, very important. You nurture the place that remains wary in every writer. No matter how many books we publish, no matter how many accolades we receive, there’s always the fear that this time, no one will care. This time, no one will want to read our story. This time, the void will swallow our words. 
With that fear real in my heart, I have waited for reviewers’ words.
And then these first reviews came from the TLC Blog Tour (still ongoing):
Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews: “…Part romance, part mystery, and all fast-paced, this novel is a fabulously spun tale that will reel in the reader and keep them hooked to the very spine-tingling end…”
Patricia’s Wisdom: “…An excellent read…”
Queen of All She Reads: “…Part literary romantic suspense and part coming of age story, Ms. Fischer’s story grabbed my attention from the first page. Likeable characters, good dialogue, an intriguing mystery and just the right amount of tension, kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. If you like exotic locations, good food, and romantic suspense, this is a book you won’t want to miss….” [Emphasis mine!]
Redhead with Book : “…This story will keep your heart thumping…a fast-paced, believable and intelligent read…”
Reading Is My Superpower: “… Two From Isaac’s House reads like Southern fiction but is very much a novel of international intrigue. You will want to curl up with it and absorb the delicious way the writing lilts across the page, but at the same time Fischer’s command of international suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat. And then there’s the new romance and the new friendships – sweet in a way that wraps you in an old & comforting quilt but never so saccharine that it makes your teeth hurt. In a book that could go political in a heartbeat, the plot stays just outside that line and instead whispers a few subtle hints toward the spiritual that both surprised and touched me with their presence. Normandie Fischer’s latest book is definitely a dichotomy of genres, but I loved the result!
“The author’s writing style is so beautifully descriptive (without over-telling) and immerses readers in the scenes – the sights, the smells, the sounds, the emotions. Wry Southern humor subtly peppers each chapter, providing delightful relief in the midst of suspenseful tension. Fischer’s words lilt in a pleasing meter that, as I mentioned earlier, makes you want to curl up and settle in….”
And from Romantic Times Magazine:
I am so grateful. Grateful for the time to write. Grateful for the friends my writing has given me. Grateful that I can, from the isolation of our creek house, travel the world, share tea or coffee (or even a glass of wine) with new friends, and be part of something that feels so like a gift from God.
Would you consider becoming part of my community of reader-friends? If so, will you send me a note and let me know? If you do, I’ll certainly return the favor with a reply.
Reaching out. Touching hearts. Getting to know strangers. Finding common ground. Becoming friends.
Encouraging one another to be a light — or to find the light — in the darkness.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Thank you for this lovely review!
4.5 STARS **** Top Pick
Fischer’s recent romantic thriller is replete with awkward encounters that eventually turn into romance amid Palestinian-Israeli terrorist activity and a flurry of mysterious disappearances. Complete with a well-defined cast set within alternating parallel-narrative chapters that zero in on two principal characters—he, an engineer, and she, a history teacher wanting more out of life—Fischer’s novel is nothing less than thoroughly gripping!
A recipient of an unexpected windfall soon after the death of her tight-fisted and domineering father, Rina Roberts leaves her North Carolina environs for the very first time and sets off without her fiancé on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure to Italy. A train ride suddenly turns Rina’s excitement into fear, especially when she learns of a murder. But while en route, Rina sees Tony, an American-Israeli who’s in her language class. As Tony pursues her, what began as an awkward encounter turns into a full-blown love affair. Yet Rina is unsure if she can trust Tony, especially when she gets caught in an unexpected crossfire. (SLEEPY CREEK PRESS, Nov. ’15, 414 pp., $13.95)
ENTER TO WIN ONE OF TWO SIGNED COPIES!
Giveaway ends December 31, 2015.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
I just received another of those newsletters. You know the ones: Buy These Books, Bargain Books, E-Book Specials… When you read as much as I do, you hunt up bargains. And so I faithfully peruse the four or five presented each day.
And what happens at first glance? The covers either work…or they don’t.
Today’s were all failures. If they were professionally done, they were failures in taste. If they were homespun, they were still failures in taste.
Of course, that is my taste we’re talking about. You may have loved one and all. To be honest, I bet some of you did like them, and I say that based on the “gorgeous cover” comments I see in social media for covers I think abysmal.
Which brings me to the questions for today. What are your criteria in judging a cover? Will you buy a book even if you hate the cover? And if so, why? What would make you take a chance on a book if not the cover?
And just for fun, I’ll post my latest covers, designed by the talented Jenny at Seedlings. Would these prompt you to stop, maybe even buy one or both?
WHY?
Please tell me in the comments section. I’d like to know.
This will be the baby sister for my latest:
