I’m a little late with my #fridayreads recommendation but if you are looking for a book to get lost in, how about Emily Cavanagh’s latest – THE BLOOM GIRLS?
A little background on Emily…
Emily Cavanagh is a writer, teacher, and mother. Her work has been published in Grain Magazine, Transfer,The Vineyard Gazette, and Martha’s Vineyard Arts and Ideas among other online and print publications. Emily lives on the island of Martha’s Vineyard with her husband and their two daughters. Her first novel, THE BLOOM GIRLS released in March 2017 (Lake Union Publishing). Her next book, THIS BRIGHT BEAUTY, will release in March of 2018. She’s currently at work on a novel that takes place on a fictional island very similar to Martha’s Vineyard.
ABOUT HER BOOK
Pre-Order This Bright Beauty TODAY
Franci and Lottie may be identical twins, but that’s where the similarities end. Franci has always been the stable one, while Lottie has bipolar disorder, constantly battling depression and mania. After years of taking care of her sister, Franci moves across the country to build a life for herself. Now, all the two share is distance.
But when Lottie gets in an accident, Franci reluctantly steps back into her familiar role as protector. She returns to find her sister’s life in complete disarray and makes a shocking discovery: Lottie has an infant daughter she never told Franci about. Although Franci swore she wouldn’t get sucked back in, she can’t leave the baby alone in Lottie’s care.
As Lottie further unravels, a secret is revealed that she has kept since childhood—one that has the power to reframe the sisters’ entire relationship, forcing Franci to ask herself if the secret was too much for Lottie to bear. Was the accident really an accident, and who has been protecting whom all these years?
NOW TO THE GOOD STUFF…HER SECRETS…
Say you have a secret stash of treats around the house. Where would it be and what would you hide?
Top shelf of the pantry, pushed way in the back so my daughters won’t discover it. Inside you’ll likely find a stockpile of Irish candy (my husband is from Ireland and each year we bring back a supply that is replenished through care packages each Christmas and birthday). The Wine Gums and Boost bars are my favorites.
What would be the perfect food and drink pairing for your book?
There are a few different drinks consumed during the book– a nice glass of red wine, a gin and tonic, or a mojito would all go well with reading. Pair it with a bunch of easy appetizers like cheese and crackers, chips and salsa, a bowl of olives and some pot stickers, and you get a night off cooking.
Do you collect anything?
Other than books, I collect magnets from every place I visit. It started when my husband and I drove cross-country from California to Massachusetts right before we got married. We bought a magnet in every city or town that we stayed. It’s become a tradition, and now our refrigerator is a reminder of all of the places we’ve gone together.
What’s one word your friends would use to describe you?
Oh, that’s a tricky one to answer without coming off as self-deprecating or arrogant. I think I’m going to have to go with “driven”, as most of my friends know how hard I’ve worked to pursue writing.
Tell us one secret behind the writing of your latest book:
THIS BRIGHT BEAUTY was actually written several years before THE BLOOM GIRLS (which released last March). It was inspired by an article I read in the newspaper that involved twin sisters, one of whom was suffering from some sort of mental breakdown, and a tragedy involving the children of the other sister. While THIS BRIGHT BEAUTY is not about the events as I read them in the article, I did become interested in the bond between twins and how this changes when one becomes a mother. I wanted to explore the codependency such a relationship might have if one of the twins was battling mental illness and the other was torn between wanting to help her sister and needing to protect her own children. That exploration was the basis for the book. My first daughter was born during my first revision and that played a huge role in my understanding of both of the characters.
EMILY’S INFO
Website: http://www.emilycavanaghauthor.com
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GIVEAWAY!!
How about a chance to win a copy of Emily’s novel, THIS BRIGHT BEAUTY?? Let’s make this as easy as possible…
Do you share a special bond with a sibling, or other family member?
Post your response below in the comments and be automatically entered to win!
Contest is only open to residents of the United States and Canada.
Though my cousin now lives on the other side of the country from me (I am in NH and she is in CA), we have this bond that we somehow know when the other one is having a difficult time. There have been so many times that we have felt overwhelming emotion and an urge to call the other one only to find out that something big happened.
My sister and I have a wonderful bond. Now this hasn’t always been the case!! She is six years older than me, and has always been very bossy. When my parents divorced when I was 5, my sister stepped up and was a surrogate mother to me as my mother had to sometimes work two jobs to pay the bills and feed us. Now we are both adults, our bomd has gotten stronger throughout the years.
I have a special bond with my best friend. We have known each other 40+++years. She called me yesterday from Alaska to tell me about her new Great Granddaughter that is six weeks old. When our Grandson died a year ago I called her because I couldn’t stop crying. She started crying, too. We stayed on the phone crying together until we were able to talk and she knew I was going to be O.K. We have shared a lifetime together, the good and the bad. My husband was transferred several times and we lived on both coasts, a few southern states and other points in-between. No matter where we lived my best friend and I always stayed in touch by phone. She still lives in the same house in Oklahoma when I first knew her all those years ago. Only three different times have we lived in the same city. It is wonderful to have a friend that knows your history and will always say just the right thing when things are not going well for any number of reasons and to celebrate with you during special times. Friendship is truly a blessing.
There are five children in my family. I have a special relationship with my only sister. She and I are best friends. Although we don’t live close we email each other at least a couple of times a week and visit when we can.
I share a bond with my only sibling, my sister. We were together all the time as children and have stayed close as adults. Even though I don’t see her in person every month, we always talk and often have the same opinions about various issues going on in the world. I love her dearly!
I do not have a special bond with a sibling or special family member. But I do have a special bond with a man from India that I met 4 years ago through job I had before retiring. He came to US with five others for training. He was here for 6 weeks and a special bond between each other surfaced. We have been in close contact with each other over the years,through emails, telephone calls and cards. He was back over this past August for a month and the friendship grew stronger. He came alone this time and all my attention went toward him rather than being divided between 5 others as before. This visit we went on weekend trips to the mountains, the beach and to New York City. The special bond has grown even stronger since he departed September 3. We are hoping to meet up again in January in New York City. He is like a son to me more than a friend. Great memories are shared between the two of us.