On the Eighteenth of May

Please say hello to author Jordan R. Samuel today! Jordan's doing a virtual book tour for On the Eighteenth of May, a romance available now. The tour will run July 6 - July 24.

Jordan R. Samuel will be awarding a $30 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the following link to place your comment:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3405/

Blurb

On the evening of the eighteenth of May, a young woman named Cass walks alone into a small village with the intent to stay for exactly one year. Cass soon meets two precocious children, a caring and generous business owner, and the Chief of Police from the neighboring town. Family and loss are parts of many of their stories, and while these people, as well as others, attempt to know and help her, the history and troubled memories of what led Cass to this place begin to gradually unfold. As the potential for love and the pathway for healing become clearer, the date of departure approaches. Cass and those around her will be forced to decide how forcefully they are willing to hold on: to the past, to the pain, and to the person.

On the Eighteenth of May is the story of the people and events that are interwoven throughout Cass’s journey and her life.  It is a story that examines the true test of strength in the deepest depths of sorrow, as felt by the human heart. It is a story that explores the perceived helplessness of those within the support structure, and the extent to which those we love can hinder or accelerate the healing process.  Finally, it is a story that reminds us of the overwhelming power of comforting influences in all of our lives, as our human souls struggle, against all odds, to survive.

Excerpt

Taking his keys from his pocket and unlocking the back porch door, Lucas returned to the present. He was well aware that this was his mother’s favored napping time, a time she lovingly referred to as her “pre-supper beauty sleep”, so he was careful to open the back door quietly. After entering, he softly stepped through the kitchen and headed straight for his old bedroom.

The bedroom door was closed, which seemed odd. He quickly shrugged it off and proceeded to walk towards it, intending to find the croquet set and leave the home so quietly his mother would never even know he had been there.

As he turned the doorknob, the bedroom door slid slowly open, offering him a small and then ever-increasing slice of vision. As the opening grew wider, Lucas suddenly saw. There was a stranger in his bedroom. 

The stranger was looking out his window. Her face was fully turned away. However, he did not need to see her face to realize the stranger was the drifter. The very same drifter he had seen earlier in the day. The same clothes, the same sweat, the same hair.

He thought back to the questions he had considered earlier in regards to her age. Whatever her age, she was old enough. Old enough to know how to break into an older woman’s home and steal her blind. 

Author bio and links

Jordan R. Samuel is a former public school teacher and administrator who enjoys her current work as an Assistant Professor of Education. She spends her days with her husband and her three children as she teaches, studies and writes. She immensely enjoys travelling, and penned many parts of this particular story while relaxing in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina.

I asked Jordan why she prefers to write in this genre. This is what she answers:

I probably shouldn’t admit it, because I am sure it will come across as a little lazy, but this is the genre I love to read myself! As I wrote the book, I kept thinking – “wow, I can’t wait to finish so I can relax, lay on the couch, and read this book!”

I love simple romances, with a little bit of mystery. And as I started writing On the Eighteenth of May, I started picturing all the people in my mind who probably loved this type of book as well and were all just waiting for me to finish!

I have already started writing my next novel, The Broken Bridge, and I am happy to share that, yes, it is the same general type of genre. A sad romance that will pull on your heartstrings and leave you cheering for characters even though you suspect, against all hope, that a rough road is ahead – just around the curve.

I belong to a book club and we met recently to discuss a historical fiction that we had just read. I was so relieved when everyone started sharing how hard it was for them to “get into it”. It was then that I knew, I’m not alone. Sometimes we all just need a sad love story to engross ourselves in, as we lay on the beach or sit on our couch or swing on our front porch.

I hope you and your readers will enjoy On the Eighteenth of May!

Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ontheeighteenthofmay

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20148821.Jordan_R_Samuel

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Jordan-R-Samuel/e/B087CB3RTF/