Chick
Lit / Womens Fiction
Title: November Surprise
Author:
Laurel Osterkamp
Date Published: 8/2012
Synopsis: Synopsis:
For Lucy Jones, the distinction between love and
politics is hazy at best. Both can be all-consuming, and either can lead to a
heart-breaking loss or an exhilarating win. Whatever the case, if you’re seen
as a loser, you probably are one. Lucy first learns this lesson in 1988, when
she’s a shy girl, battling a high school bully and rooting for Dukakis. Through
the years Lucy will experience the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat as
she makes the choices that define her. Meanwhile, she also struggles to define
her relationship with Monty, who comes in and out of her life like the changes
in public opinion. Is Monty simply a one-night stand, a kindred spirit, or the
love of her life? And by 2008, can he offer her a change to believe in?
Over the course of twenty years and six presidential
elections, Lucy grows and adjusts with the times. Filled with snarky political
and pop-culture references, November
Surprise is
about the journey we take to believe in a candidate, in love, and in ourselves.
November Surprise is a companion piece to Campaign
Promises, which
is free on Amazon. They can be read in either order. Both have a liberal slant.
Author Bio
Laurel Osterkamp was a comedy writer in
Minneapolis before she began writing novels.
Her first novel, Following My Toes, has been a
Kindle best seller and won the 2008
Indie Excellence Award for Chick Lit. Starring in
the Movie of My Life received honors
in the 2011 Indie Excellence Awards for Chick
Lit, and in the 2011 International Book
Awards for Women's Fiction and Young Adult Lit.
Both books are indie approved at
indiereader.com. She currently teaches high
school, and is working on her next book,
which is inspired by her recent jury duty.
Links to
Buy
Excerpt
Monty and I have been dancing
together all evening. The slow songs are the best, but we also do the Macarena
and even the Chicken Dance. I can’t stop laughing the entire time I’m quacking
my hands.
Jack and his new wife, Petra, have
fed each other cake. Petra has thrown her bouquet, and all the toasts have been
given. The night is winding down, and Monty leads me off the dance floor.
“I’m really glad neither of us had
dates,” he says.
“Yeah, me too.” My heart beats just
a little bit faster than normal.
“And I’m sorry about earlier.
Hitting on you like that. It was clumsy. Will you forgive me?” His face is
flushed and his tie is loosened. I’m sure I’ve noticed before how good looking
he is, but this is the first time I’ve let myself appreciate it.
“There’s nothing to forgive.” I
look around, make sure nobody is watching, and then I stand on my tip-toes and
plant a kiss on his cheek. When he doesn’t flinch or pull away, I give him the
barest whisper of a kiss on the lips.
It’s all the encouragement he
needs.
With a conspiratorial smile, he
takes my hand and leads me outside the reception hall. I follow willingly.
When we get to a dark, hidden spot,
he wraps his arms around my waist and kisses me deeply. I can feel it
everywhere, my entire body is tingling, my knees are weak, and I’m sure that at
any moment, my heart will explode.
I don’t want him to stop. But he
does.
“Where are you staying tonight?” he
asks.
“I was going to drive back to my
parents’ house.”
“Hmm…” he leans in and kisses me
some more. I press up against him like I can’t get close enough. He tilts his
head back ever so slightly, so he can talk. “That’s a long drive. Do you want
to stay with me, instead?”
“You have a hotel room?”
“It’s close to the airport,” he
whispers. “I fly back to New York really early tomorrow.” Then he baby kisses
my eyes, nose, and chin.
I don’t answer immediately. I’m
trying to steady my breathing. “So you can make a clean get away?”
“It’s not like that.” he smiles.
“And you haven’t even said yes, yet.”
But he knows I’m going to. “You
can’t ever tell Jack,” I say.
“He just got married, Lucy. Do you
really think he’ll care?”
I rub my hands down his back and
across the taut muscles in his arms. “I never had sex with him, and we dated
for months. If he finds out you and I had a one night stand…”
Monty cuts me off with another
kiss. “I promise I’ll never tell him,” he murmurs, between kisses.
We make out a few seconds more, but
our kissing is interrupted when I’m consumed with a fit of giggles.
“What’s so funny?” Monty asks.
I shake my head. “Sorry. It just
occurred to me. I’m about to do it with the homecoming king.”
Monty chuckles. “Does that turn you
on?”
“Yeah,” I admit. “Kind of. Is that
okay?”
He kisses my neck. I tilt my head
back and sigh in pleasure.
“Are you kidding?” His lips are a
mere centimeter from my skin as he mumbles, and his arms tighten around me even
more. “If I had known, I would have worn my crown.”
Now we’re both laughing.
“You know this isn’t the sort of
thing I usually do…”
He raises his face so he’s looking
me in the eye. “I know,” he says, and he smiles. Crinkles form around his green
eyes, and I feel a moment of panic. There’s no way I’m casual enough to be with
him for just one night.
“Let’s make it special, okay?” He
reaches down and clasps my hand, and I let him lead me somewhere, again. This
time, I follow him to the parking lot. Tonight, I’d follow him anywhere.
My Reading Addiction
Author Interview Questionnaire
Is There a Message in
Your Novel That You Want Readers to Grasp?
Definitely!
Lucy, the main character, even states the theme towards the end. “It’s our
history that brought us to this point, and it’s made us who we are.” Since the
whole book is about finding parallels between Lucy’s personal dramas and the
country’s public dramas, I think that’s pretty fitting.
Is there anything you
find particularly challenging in your writing?
I
have a writing group where we share our work and give each other feedback. They
always tease me about the lack of setting in my books, and when I actually
describe the setting, they tease me for that too! I forget to provide details,
so that’s something I really need to work on.
How many books have
you written and which is your favorite?
I’ve
written three full length novels: Following
My Toes, Starring in the Movie of My Life, and November Surprise.
Also, two
novellas: Looking for Ward and Campaign Promises
I think my
favorite is a tie between Starring in the
Movie of My Life and November
Surprise. I really pushed myself and discovered new things about my writing while
working on both of them, but in different ways.
If you had the chance
to cast your main character from Hollywood today, who would you pick and why?
That’s
hard. Whoever plays Lucy has to come off as smart, pretty without realizing it,
and believable from the ages of 17 to 37. Perhaps Gennifer Goodwin.
When did you begin
writing?
I’ve been
writing things for fun, like journals and short stories, for as long as I can
remember. I started writing sketch comedy about 15 years ago, and my first
book, Following My Toes, was written
about eight years ago.
How long did it take
to complete your first book?
The first
draft took about six months, but all the revisions took well over a year. I
guess all total, it was around two years.
Did you have an
author who inspired you to become a writer?
Oh, sure.
There are tons. Today I’ll mention Jennifer Weiner. She’s very prolific, and I
love how she helped to redefine the romantic heroine. Good in Bed was one of the first “chick lit” novels with a flawed
main character, who was beautiful and strong in her own way.
What is your favorite
part of the writing process?
Probably
revisions. By that time I know the characters and the story arc really well,
and I can work on refining the details and making it as perfect as possible.
The challenge can be a lot of fun.
Describe your latest
book in 4 words.
Awesome
political love story!
Can you share a
little bit about your current work or what is in the future for your writing?
I have a
blog written in Lucy’s voice about the current election and her marriage to
Monty. It’s fun to continue their story. You can read it at http://novembersurprises.blogspot.com
This spring
I was on a federal jury, and of course the whole time I was thinking about how
I could use the experience for my next novel. I have some ideas, so that’s what
my next book will be about. Since it’s going to be fiction, I can make jury
duty much more exciting than it actually was!
*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading
Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author.
Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no
payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation
to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may
not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or
readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade
Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and
Testimonials in Advertising*
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