Spotlight & Giveaway: THE BOOK OF SILVER LININGS by Nan Fischer

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Nan Fischer to HJ!

Hi Nan and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, THE BOOK OF SILVER LININGS!

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

The Book of Silver Linings is about Constance, a people-pleaser and animal lover, who says yes to her kind but secretive boyfriend’s proposal, even though she’s uncertain. While researching the story behind her antique engagement ring she discovers a book of letters tied to it, written by James, a WWI ambulance driver in France. She immediately recognizes he’s a kindred spirit and leaves a note confessing her fears as there’s no one else she can talk to about them. She’s shocked days later when the long-dead man writes her back. But will a bond based on letters impossibly sent from the past derail Constance’s present? Or will she discover her voice, raison d’étre and true soul mate?
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“Dogs are some of my favorite people.”

“Do you seriously think a ghost has any interest in a thirty-two-year-old woman looking for romance at Scrabble night?”

“What happened before you came here is not your fault. What happens from now on is up to you.”

“The memory of kissing Ellis in my dream returns. Except this time there’s no guilt attached, just a smoldering desire that’s impossible to ignore.”

“This place is part of James’s legacy… we’re the silver lining to his short life. Maybe you’re reading those letters to figure out how you can be, too.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• There were several inspirations that led to writing The Book of Silver Linings…
• My husband gave me an antique ring for our engagement. I know it’s from France, late 1800’s, but nothing else. I’ve always wondered about the woman who wore it before me and her love story.
• I wanted to write a novel with themes of finding your voice and raison d’étre because that was such a difficult experience for me – I dated the jetsam and flotsam of the boyfriend world – and I think so many women have trouble discovering their passion and voice. Without knowing who you are and what you want, it’s impossible to find lasting love!
• There’s a black and white photo of my husband, Henry’s, grandfather Captain Charles H. Fischer in 1911 with President Theodore Roosevelt at the Naval Station Great Lakes Training Center. Henry is a dead-ringer for the grandfather he’s never met. That gave me the idea of creating a ghost story with hints of reincarnation.
• As for research, I learned so much about WWI, ambulance drivers, nurses, and the horrible toll of that war. I also learned that female doctors from the US (and other countries), who at the time weren’t allowed to treat men, volunteered to work in hospitals in France to prove their abilities. The US physicians also wanted to show the world they deserved the right to vote. All of these medical professionals were lauded by the French for the abilities and even ran entire hospitals.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Constance is attracted to James’s ghost because of his love story during WWI with a nurse named Anna and his desire to find love, passion and his raison d’étre despite his family’s wishes. In the real world, she’s attracted to Hayden because he’s kind, loves working with his students, is allergic to animals but opens his home to them for her, and wants to live in the present, not delve into her past. And finally, she’s attracted to Ellis because beneath his self-assured attitude and good looks he cares about his patients, animals, and is willing to learn from his past mistakes, take risks and open his heart.
 

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

There’s a scene with Ellis and Constance that definitely had me blushing! Here’s a snippet…

“What do you want,” Ellis murmurs, his fingers tracing the curves of my hips…”

Readers should read this book….

Readers who love a book about second chances, finding your passion and voice, threaded with a ghost story, hints of reincarnation, animal rescue and a HEA will love this story!!
v

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m working on my next contemporary fiction novel. No title yet—titles are harder for me than writing a book;-). It’s about perspective, finding your way to a true home, and redefining family. And there’s a giraffe named Vegas!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Berkley can offer one giveaway copy of THE BOOK OF SILVER LININGS by Nan Fischer to a winner with a US shipping address.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: When Constance discovers a note from James, long-dead, in the pages of his book of letters, did you think a ghost was writing her or have other ideas?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Book Info:

Within the margins of an antique book, a timeless love waits for a young woman on the precipice of a terrible mistake in this enthralling exploration of fate and independence from the acclaimed author of Some of It Was Real.

Constance Sparks always says yes…when her capricious best friend needs money; when her boss gives her more responsibility without a raise; and when her boyfriend, Hayden, who is very kind but also secretive, asks her to marry him.

While planning their wedding—and struggling with anxiety about the right course for her future—Constance researches the history of her antique engagement ring and unearths the name of a man who might be connected to it, plus his tragic love story. When she finds a book of letters in her library’s old manuscript section written by the long-dead man, Constance is deeply touched by his words and leaves a note for him confessing her uncertainty and doubts. She’s shocked days later to find a response tucked among the pages.

As the notes continue to arrive, Constance finds herself quickly falling in love with a ghost and putting her real-life relationship in jeopardy. Will a bond based on letters impossibly sent from the past derail her future? Or will Constance discover her voice and risk everything for the chance to somehow connect with her true soul mate?
 
 

Meet the Author:

Nan Fischer is the author of SOME OF IT WAS REAL and THE BOOK OF SILVER LININGS (Penguin Random House/Berkley Publishing), the young adult novels When Elephants Fly and The Speed of Falling Objects (HarperCollins/Inkyard Press) under the name Nancy Richardson Fischer, a Star Wars trilogy for LucasFilm and six sport autobiographies ranging from Bela Karolyi and Monica Seles to Apolo Anton Ohno and Julie Krone.