If the name of our guest today sounds familiar to you, it is because she was here in March when she stopped by to talk about her book, The Ninth Step, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  We had some email correspondence and to my surprise, she  generously gifted me a copy of one of her other books.   Another great read so I asked if she would come back, visit with us all and talk about the book that she sent me, and to my delight, she accepted.  So please, help me welcome back, Barbara Taylor Sissel.

ABOUT BARBARA TAYLOR SISSEL

Barbara Taylor Sissel is a freelance writer, book reviewer, and editor. In addition to The Ninth Step, she is the author of two other novels, The Volunteer and The Last Innocent Hour. A one-time editor for a small regional press, Barbara has written extensively for the public relations field. Her short stories and articles have appeared in a number of venues.

An avid gardener, Barbara is currently working with numerous clients on a variety of projects and writing a new novel. She has two sons and lives in Texas outside Houston.

For more information on past and forthcoming books, visit her website. She also blogs here.

GUEST POST

The Roots of the Story

One day I read in the newspaper about a man called a volunteer. In the article, the term “volunteer” wasn’t used in its usual sense. It applied to a prisoner on death row, a man who had been incarcerated there for a number of years, and who had subsequently decided to call off his appeals. Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, was a volunteer. So was serial killer Gary Gilmore.

The inmate whose story I followed through the news media had to go through channels. It wasn’t a simple matter of asking to die and having the request granted. There was a whole long legal process. In addition to petitioning the court through his attorneys, he had to submit to examination by psychiatrists and pronounced sound enough in mind to make such a decision. There were hearings, more than one if I remember right. He endured a lot of backlash from his fellow inmates. They thought he was copping out, that his act of volunteerism was tantamount to saying he supported the death penalty. Anti-death penalty groups were also against him. They contended, and still do, that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment and should be outlawed no matter who is asking for it. Others labeled it—and again, they still do—state-assisted suicide. According to them, the inmate was getting one over on the system, using it, in other words, to do what he could not find a way to do. All of this was interesting to me to think about, in particular I wondered what it was like to know the exact date of your death. Did the inmate have a calendar and did he mark the day with a red X? But even more than that, what weighed on my mind as I followed the inmate’s story through a number of days was the impact all of this was having on his family.

I wondered, too, about the families of his victims, the two people whom the inmate had murdered after taking them hostage in the course of a convenience store robbery. I wondered about the parents, children and siblings of these three people. I wondered about their friends, all the people who had known them way back when. In the “before” time, when they were just kids and still innocent.

I wondered most about the mothers. I’m a mother. I have two sons, both grown, but I still recall vividly how it felt holding them in my arms. I remember their small faces upturned to mine and their rapt attention when I read to them or sang to them. I remember walks in the woods with them and eating out in restaurants and going bye-bye in the car. I remember the warmth of their hands in mine when we crossed a busy street. So many small acts of love go into a childhood; as mothers we invest so much tender care, so much loving time in our children. Had the death row inmate’s mother invested in her son in this way? Chances are she had not. At least that’s what the statistics say, that criminals don’t ordinarily come from stable, loving homes. And if in the case of this inmate that was true, if this mom hadn’t loved her son, what happened? Why didn’t she?

So while The Volunteer is a story about death row, it is more a story about families under duress, families in the time of calamity. It is a story of mothers and their children when the children are young and when they are middle aged and their parents are old and all the sins come home to roost. It is the story of a woman, a mother and psychologist, who through a shattering series of events uncovers a terrible secret in her past, one that ultimately leaves her holding the power to save a man’s life even as it threatens everything she has come to believe about herself.

After I read the newspaper article, I wanted to know about the mothers; The Volunteer is the story about them that unfolded through hours of what proved to be fascinating and compelling research and writing. I hope you’ll be intrigued now and want to read it and if you do, that you’ll enjoy it.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the fall of 1999, psychologist Sophia Beckman is compelled by the court to give testimony on behalf of a death row inmate that results in his sentence being overturned. Haunted by secrets from her past, she avoids the media spotlight as much as possible, but soon, other prisoners’ families come seeking her assistance. One family in particular, the wife, children, and brother of Jarrett Capshaw, is especially insistent. Forty-one days ago Jarrett’s request to die was granted by the State of Texas, and he became a dead man walking, a man they call a volunteer.

Jarrett’s crimes were unusual, involving the theft of precious Mayan antiquities. Murder was never part of the plan, but murder is what happened. He pulled the trigger, and as little as he feels prepared for it, as much as he struggles with matters of the soul, he’s ready to die. It is the only way his family and the families of his victims will be free to move on. While Jarrett labors to find the words to say good-bye to those he has loved, Sophia finds herself drawn into a relationship with his wife and oldest son. It is Jarrett’s family she can’t resist and there will be a price to pay. But not even Sophia could have foreseen the outcome when the brutal truth is exposed, the unalloyed facts that, incredibly, will deliver Jarrett’s fate straight into her hands.

The Volunteer is a story about families, how they are made, and how in one single, horrifying instant, they can be broken. It is a story about mothers and the lies they tell to protect their children, to keep them from being hurt. But what happens when the truth comes out anyway and nothing and no one is spared? Sometimes the truth has the power to break your heart, and in Sophia’s case it will also endanger her freedom and threaten everything she has ever believed about her life.
Read my review here.

THANKS TO AUTHOR, BARBARA TAYLOR SISSEL, I HAVE TWO (2)
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The Volunteer by Barbara Taylor Sissel
Published by Author
ASIN: B005WKCZGA
At the request of author, Barbara Taylor Sissel, a Kindle Edition was gifted, at no cost to be, for my honest opinion.

Synopsis (from Amazon): In the fall of 1999, psychologist Sophia Beckman is compelled by the court to give testimony on behalf of a death row inmate that results in his sentence being overturned. Haunted by secrets from her past, she avoids the media spotlight as much as possible, but soon, other prisoners’ families come seeking her assistance. One family in particular, the wife, children, and brother of Jarrett Capshaw, is especially insistent. Forty-one days ago Jarrett’s request to die was granted by the State of Texas, and he became a dead man walking, a man they call a volunteer.

Jarrett’s crimes were unusual, involving the theft of precious Mayan antiquities. Murder was never part of the plan, but murder is what happened. He pulled the trigger, and as little as he feels prepared for it, as much as he struggles with matters of the soul, he’s ready to die. It is the only way his family and the families of his victims will be free to move on. While Jarrett labors to find the words to say good-bye to those he has loved, Sophia finds herself drawn into a relationship with his wife and oldest son. It is Jarrett’s family she can’t resist and there will be a price to pay. But not even Sophia could have foreseen the outcome when the brutal truth is exposed, the unalloyed facts that, incredibly, will deliver Jarrett’s fate straight into her hands.

The Volunteer is a story about families, how they are made, and how in one single, horrifying instant, they can be broken. It is a story about mothers and the lies they tell to protect their children, to keep them from being hurt. But what happens when the truth comes out anyway and nothing and no one is spared? Sometimes the truth has the power to break your heart, and in Sophia’s case it will also endanger her freedom and threaten everything she has ever believed about her life.

My Thoughts and Opinion: This is the second book I read by this author, the first being The Ninth Step. I am always a bit skeptical reading follow up novels by an author, especially when I enjoyed the first one as much as I did with The Ninth Step. Will it be as good? Will it have the same quality writing? Will I once again be able to connect with the characters? Are my expectations too high for the second book? Or could the first book have been a “one hit wonder”?

Barbara Taylor Sissel is an amazing author and I can’t say enough about her work. It is phenomenal. She writes about complex emotional and moral issues and weaves in flawed and life like characters into a suspenseful story that leaves the reader with thought provoking thoughts. The Volunteer is a book that will stay with the reader long after the last word is read. The author’s writing style is so detailed and fluid that the reader feels that they are present in the plot and characters’ lives. Full of emotions that are palpable. A story that the reader becomes invested in that it is hard to put down. A novel full of family relationship dynamics and how the past and lies can affect the future with dire consequences. Heart wrenching!! The suspense has twists and turns but I found myself more involved with the characters and that the suspense was a subplot. Would I recommend this book? Absolutely!! But, more so, I would recommend this author!! Her work is brilliant!!

(2012 Challenges: Romantic/Suspense, EBook, Mystery/Suspense, Off The Shelf, Just For Fun, FreeReads, Where Are You, A-Z, I Want More, 52 in 52, Outdo Yourself, 100+)

Hosted by An Island Life

MY QUESTION:
Out of your circle of friends, who have you been friends with the longest and what is the length of time?

My Answer:
It would be my friend Donna who I have known for 31 years.

http://btt2.wordpress.com

This week’s question:
A while ago, I interviewed my readers for a change, and my final question was, “What question have I NOT asked at BTT that you’d love me to ask?” I got some great responses and will be picking out some of the questions from time to time to ask the rest of you. Like now.
abookandashortlatte1 asks
If you had to choose to live within a novel, which would it be?

My answer:
The first novel that came to mind was one that I had read last year and it was Beachcombers by Nancy Taylor.  It  takes place in Nantucket and the premise is of 3 sisters that come home to reconcile their pasts.  It was the type of novel where I became invested in the lives of the characters and wanted to follow their journey long after I finished the book.

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Today is a very special day and I get to share it with all of you.  My guest has been here before with his previous novel, Voices of the Dead, and today he is back with his newest book.  Why is it special?  Because Peter and Mr. Aronica, publisher of  The Story Plant,   have given me the honor of kicking off his virtual tour with Partners In Crime Tours, as All He Saw Was The Girl hits the shelves today!!!!!!  So please help me welcome back , Mr. Peter Leonard!

ABOUT PETER LEONARD

Peter Leonard lives in Birmingham, Michigan with his wife and four children. He is a partner in the ad agency Leonard, Mayer & Tocco, Inc.

Peter Leonard’s debut novel, QUIVER was published to international acclaim in 2008, and was followed by TRUST ME in 2009, and VOICES OF THE DEAD in 2012.

You can visit Peter at his website here.

ABOUT THE BOOK

McCabe and Chip, two American exchange students, are about to become embroiled with a violent street gang, a beautiful Italian girl, and a flawed kidnapping plan.

Detroit:
Sharon Vanelli’s affair with Joey Palermo, a Mafia enforcer, is about to be discovered by her husband, Ray, a secret service agent.

Brilliantly plotted and shot through with wry humor, ALL HE SAW WAS THE GIRL sees these two narratives collide in the backstreets of Italy’s oldest city.

See my review here.

Amazon link    B&N link

Read an excerpt:

They’d take his boat out on Lake St. Clair and she’d sunbathe topless. Something she’d never done in her life and never imagined herself doing. She felt invigorated, liberated. He always told her she looked good, complimented her outfit. Showered her with gifts, bought her clothes and jewelry. She felt like a teenager again. They’d meet and talk and touch each other and kiss. She was happy for the first time in years. She had to be careful. Ray, the next time he came home, might notice something and get suspicious.Why’re you so happy? she could hear him saying – like there was something wrong with it.

But this relationship with Joey also made her nervous. Things were happening too fast. She was falling for him and she barely knew him, and she was married.

DISCLAIMER
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com,
Barnes & Noble and/or any other retail/wholesale
outlets either online and/or elsewhere.
I am providing this link solely for visitors
that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.
I do not receive any monetary compensation from any parties

All He Saw Was The Girl by Peter Leonard
Published by The Story Plant
ISBN-10: 1611880424
ISBN-13: 978-1611880427
At the request of The Story Plant, an ARC digital version was provided, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

Synopsis (from publisher):
Rome:
McCabe and Chip, two American exchange students, are about to become embroiled with a violent street gang, a beautiful Italian girl, and a flawed kidnapping plan.

Detroit:
Sharon Vanelli’s affair with Joey Palermo, a Mafia enforcer, is about to be discovered by her husband, Ray, a secret service agent.

Brilliantly plotted and shot through with wry humor, ALL HE SAW WAS THE GIRL sees these two narratives collide in the backstreets of Italy’s oldest city.

My Thoughts and opinion: I was first introduced to this author when I read, Voices of the Dead, which I thoroughly enjoyed due to his writing style, his character development and descriptive settings, however, I am always a bit skeptical when I start to read a follow up novel.   Will it be as good?   Have I set my expectations too high and compare it to the first book?

All He Saw Was The Girl, just like Voices of the Dead, within the first few pages the book pulled me in with the introduction of a few of the characters that the author brought to life. Chip and McCabe, 2 students studying in Italy.   Then Sharon, a lonesome wife from Detroit, married to a secret service agent, is injected into the story line.   Characters, so different and on different ends of the spectrum, had this reader wondering what is their connection?   The suspense starts and builds, like a ticking time bomb with one kidnapping that has gone bad, and continues with the tumultuous “mob” related cat and mouse chase of another kidnapping through the streets of Italy.

What I like about Peter Leonard’s books is that he creates the cast of characters, with the reader not knowing the connection, and in a very fluid manner, interweaves them all into an intricate plot.   Another aspect of his writing that I enjoy is that he alternates chapters with different characters and leaves the reader with mini cliff hangers that it’s a “one more chapter” read to find out what happens and I found that I had read many more chapters than one.   The detailed descriptions of Italy were vivid, and for me, factual as I had seen and visited many of the locales that he used as his settings.   The action fast paced, with twists and turns of suspense and a bit of dry humor thrown in.

Did All He Saw Was The Girl meet my expectations, yes!   It was what I call “a transport read”, where I was so engrossed into the story that I was unaware of what was going on around me.   A page turner!!   Would I recommend it, absolutely!!!   Only one problem now, waiting for his next novel!!

(2012 Challenges:  Romantic/Suspense, EBooks, ARC, Mystery/Suspense, Off The Shelf, FreeReads, Where Are You, A-Z, Merely Mystery, I Want More, 52 in 52, Outdo Yourself, 100+)

…….of An Unexpected Guest by Anne Korkeakivi

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An email has been sent to the winners and they have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address or another winner will be chosen.  Thank you to all that entered.

ADDENDUM  05/16—Another winner has been chosen due to notification that one of the above winners had also won the book on another site.  The new winner is:

• 32 Margaret Be a Public Follower of ‘CMASH Loves to Read’