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January 2023 Virtual Book Tour for A CASTLE IN BROOKLYN by Shirley Russak Wachtel

“This is a story about immigration, adaptation to new cultures, and, for Esther, a chance to grapple with the traditional roles that women play. The house itself is an important part of the story … a solid choice for book clubs.” ―Library Journal

“A vibrant family saga…A CASTLE IN BROOKLYN is an impressive debut novel that illustrates the many ways that the Holocaust continues to impact contemporary Jewish life; a deeply felt hatred of fascism gives the novel its heft and lasting relevance.” ―Foreword Reviews

For fans of Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House, Lauren Fox’s Send For Me and Linda Cohen Loigman’s The Two-Family House comes a moving and heartfelt immigration story of one man’s dream to have a family and build a home in America, a place where anything is possible. In A CASTLE IN BROOKLYN (Little A; January 1, 2023), critically acclaimed author Shirley Russak Wachtel pens her debut novel, an engaging and beautifully written tale that explores three main themes: the importance of following one’s dreams; the enduring nature of family and friendship; and the idea that home is a reflection of the lives within its four walls.

In 1944 Poland, Jacob Stein and Zalman Mendelson meet as boys under terrifying circumstances. They survive by miraculously escaping the brutalities of the Holocaust, but their shared past haunts and shapes their lives forever.

Years later, Zalman plows a future on a Minnesota farm, and Jacob has a new life in Brooklyn with his wife, Esther. When Zalman travels to New York City to reconnect, Jacob’s dream to build a home in Brooklyn becomes a reality. With Zalman’s help, they build a house for Jacob’s family and for Zalman, who decides to stay. Modest and light filled, inviting and warm, it’s a castle to call home for each of them.

Then an unforeseeable tragedy―and the grief, betrayals, and revelations in its wake―threatens to destroy what was once an unbreakable bond, and Esther finds herself at a crossroads.

Life goes on as others, with their own dreams, move into the home.  Eventually, the novel comes full circle as those who remain come to understand the true nature of friendship and family.

When asked about the inspiration for her novel, Wachtel explains, “I am defined by my parents’ legacy. Growing up the child of Holocaust survivors, never knowing my grandparents and with only a handful of extended family members, I came to understand the importance of family and am driven to express this idea in my writing.  From a young age, I learned of the horrific experiences my parents endured and their desire to build a better life for their children.  Their story is the story of so many others seeking to build a new home in America.  I wanted to express this idea in A CASTLE IN BROOKLYN.”

We have a great line up of fantastic bloggers who will share features, post reviews and offer giveaways throughout the month of January. We hope you will follow along to learn more about this wonderful new historical fiction!

Monday, January 2nd – We Love Big Books And We Cannot Lie

Tuesday, January 3rd – Cassie’s Books Reviews

Wednesday, January 4th – The Caffeinated Reader

Thursday, January 5th – Sue the Bookie

Friday, January 6th – Booklover Laura

Sunday, January 8th – Books N’ Yoga Pants

Monday, January 9th – Bookoholic Café

Tuesday, January 10th – Books Writing and More

Wednesday, January 11th – Lit by Lilli

Thursday, January 12th – Danish Mustard Reads

Friday, January 13th – Andrea C. Lowry Reads

Sunday, January 15th – Bookphile Belle

Monday, January 16th – Books and Coffee MX

Tuesday, January 17th – Suzy Approved Book Reviews

Tuesday, January 17th – Gloriana Wong

Wednesday, January 18th – Sarah and Her Bookshelves

Thursday, January 19th – Tina May Reads

Friday, January 20th – The Book Club Mom

Saturday, January 21st – Subakka Book Stuff

Sunday, January 22nd – Girl Who Reads

Monday, January 23rd – Momfluenster

Tuesday, January 24th – Storeybook Reviews

Wednesday, January 25th – Bookalong

Thursday, January 26th – Sarah’s Bookstack

Friday, January 27th – We Break For Books

Monday, January 30th – Kim Reads and Reads

Monday, January 30th – Books on my Mind

Tuesday, January 31st – The Book Review Crew

Tuesday, January 31st – Lexijava

Filed Under: Blog Tours, Uncategorized Tagged With: Amazon Publishing, fiction, historical fiction, January release, Jewish author, Jewish fiction, Literary fiction, Little A, OTRPR, Over the River PR, Over the River Public Relations

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The Easy Life in Kamusari by Shion Miura Translated into English by Juliet Winters Carpenter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Rachel Tarlow Gul, Rachel@otrpr.com

From Shion Miura, the award-winning author of The Great Passage, comes a rapturous novel where the contemporary and the traditional meet amid the splendor of Japan’s mountain way of life.

“Fans of all ages should enjoy the author’s blend of the traditional and the contemporary.” Kirkus Reviews

“Shion Miura, award-winning and world renown Japanese author of The Great Passage (2011), delivers yet another fascinating introspection into how the ancient and traditional worlds meet the modern and contemporary way of life in The Easy Life in Kamusari (2021) – the first book in Miura’s new Forest series. Translated into English by superb veteran translator, Juliet Winters Carpenter, this upcoming novel…unravels into a beautiful coming-of-age tale that makes the reader long for a greener life – one without phones, the internet, and where sentences end in ‘naa-naa.’” Asia Media International

Just in time for the holiday season comes, THE EASY LIFE IN KAMUSARI, an uplifting and absorbing story that is both simply told and full of beauty and depth.  Written by the award-winning Japanese author, Shion Miura and translated into English for the first time by Juliet Winters Carpenter, one of the foremost translators of Japanese literature, the novel will be out November 2nd from Amazon Crossing.

The narrator of the novel, Yuki Hirano, is just out of high school when his parents enroll him, against his will, in a forestry training program in the remote mountain village of Kamusari.  No phone, no internet, no shopping. Just a small, inviting community where the most common expression is “take it easy.”

At first, Yuki is exhausted, fumbles with the tools, asks silly questions, and feels like an outcast. Kamusari is the last place a city boy from Yokohama wants to spend a year of his life. But as resistant as he might be, the scent of the cedars and the staggering beauty of the region have a pull.

Yuki learns to fell trees and plant saplings. He begins to embrace local festivals, he’s mesmerized by legends of the mountain, and he might be falling in love. In learning to respect the forest on Mt. Kamusari for its majestic qualities and its inexplicable secrets, Yuki starts to appreciate Kamusari’s harmony with nature and its ancient traditions.

In this warm and lively coming-of-age story, Miura transports us from the trappings of city life to the trials, mysteries, and delights of a mythical mountain forest.

For further information and review copy requests, please contact Rachel Tarlow Gul at Over the River Public Relations: rachel@otrpr.com.

THE EASY LIFE IN KAMUSARI

By Shion Miura

Translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter

Amazon Crossing; November 2, 2021

Literary Fiction | 208 pp. | Paperback: $14.95, ISBN#: 978-1542027168;

Kindle: $4.99, ISBN#: 978-1542027144

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Amazon Crossing, Amazon Publishing, fiction, Fiction in translation, japanese literature, Juliet Winters Carpenter, Literary fiction, Over the River PR, Over the River Public Relations, Shion Miura

By otrpr 2 Comments

ALL ARE WELCOME Virtual Book Tour – August ’21. Introducing a fresh new voice in literary fiction, Liz Parker!

If you like Emma Straub, J. Courtney Sullivan, Camille Perri, and Maggie Shipstead, then you will love ALL ARE WELCOME, the debut novel from esteemed literary agent Liz Parker. The perfect beach read, this is a darkly funny novel about brides, lovers, friends, and family, and all the secrets that come with them.

Join this stellar roster of book bloggers and Bookstagrammers throughout the month of August and learn more about this fabulously funny and keenly perceptive lesbian romantic comedy about a Bermuda destination wedding on the brink of disaster. There will be lots of book giveaways, exclusive excerpts, Q&As, and reviews, so be sure to follow along each day. And remember, ALL ARE WELCOME!

Monday, August 2 – LAURA LOVES TO READ

Tuesday, August 3 – READS WITH ROSIE

Wednesday, August 4 – JANAI READS BOOKS

Thursday, August 5 –  BRIANA’S BEST READS

Friday, August 6 – JOYFULLY JAY and COMPULSIVE READERS

Monday, August 9 – ARMED WITH A BOOK

Tuesday, August 10 – SUZY APPROVED

Wednesday, August 11 – BOOK LOVER BOOK CLUB

Thursday, August 12 – OH THE BOOKS SHE WILL READ

Friday, August 13 – SOME KIND OF LIBRARY

Monday, August 16 – LITERARY QUICKSAND

Tuesday, August 17 – THE UNWINED BOOK CLUB

Wednesday, August 18 – WHAT’S BETTER THAN BOOKS

Thursday, August 19 – PROBLEMS OF A BOOK NERD

Friday, August 20 – MEL READS ALL THE THINGS

Monday, August 23 – BOOKAPOTAMUS

Tuesday, August 24 – BOOZY BAKING BIBLIOPHILE

Wednesday, August 25 – NURSE BOOKIE

Thursday, August 26 – BOOKS N BLAZERS

Friday, August 27 – NOVEL GOSSIP

Monday, August 30  – READING BETWEEN THE WINES

Tuesday, August 31 – BOOKS OVER BROS.

Filed Under: Blog Tours, Uncategorized Tagged With: All Are Welcome, Amazon Publishing, book club fiction, Lake Union Publishing, Lesbian fiction, LGBTQ fiction, LGBTQ Rom Com, Liz Parker, Queer fiction, WASP fiction

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May 2021 Virtual Book Tour on behalf of TEARS OF AMBER by Sofía Segovia, translated by Simon Bruni

#1 Amazon Family Saga Bestseller!

Buzzfeed calls this “breathtaking novel” an “upcoming historical fiction book you’re going to love.” And in their STARRED review, Booklist says, “Readers will quickly bond with the families and secondary characters, as Segovia, author of the acclaimed The Murmur of Bees (2019), makes each individual memorable. The variety of background stories and voices allows for greater understanding of shared experiences and creates deeper emotional engagement…Segovia’s novel provides the domestic perspective of those caught in conflicts they have no power to change. Book groups and individual readers will find plenty to appreciate and discuss.”  

Now readers will have the opportunity to learn more about this new bestselling work of historical fiction from Mexican writer Sofía Segovia. Mark your calendars for this highly anticipated Virtual Blog Tour on behalf of TEARS OF AMBER, and be sure to check in daily to read fascinating interviews with Sofía, thoughtful reviews, exclusive excerpts, and book giveaways!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR and TRANSLATOR:

Sofía Segovia was born in Monterrey, Mexico. She studied communications at Universidad de Monterrey, mistakenly thinking that she would be a journalist. But fiction is her first love. A creative writing teacher, she has also been a ghostwriter and communications director for local political campaigns and has written several plays for local theater. The Spanish edition of her bestselling El murmullo de las abejas (The Murmur of Bees) was an Audie Award winner and named Novel of the Year by iTunes. This English translation by Simon Bruni, narrated by Xe Sands and Angelo Di Loreto, was one of Audible’s Top 10 of 2019 and a Voice Arts Award winner. Segovia is also the author of Peregrinos (TEARS OF AMBER), Noche de huracán (Night of the Hurricane), and Huracán (Hurricane). Sofía likes to travel the world, but she loves coming home to her husband, three children, two dogs, and cat. She writes her best surrounded and inspired by their joyous chaos. For more information visit www.sofiasegovia.com.


Simon Bruni translates literary works from Spanish, a language he acquired through total immersion living in Alicante, Valencia, and Santander. He studied Spanish and linguistics at Queen Mary University of London and literary translation at the University of Exeter. Simon’s many published translations include novels, short stories, video games, and nonfiction publications, and he is the winner of three John Dryden translation awards: in 2017 and 2015 for Paul Pen’s short stories “Cinnamon” and “The Porcelain Boy” and in 2011 for Francisco Pérez Gandul’s novel Cell 211. His translations of Paul Pen’s The Light of the Fireflies and Sofía Segovia’s The Murmur of Bees have both become international bestsellers. For more information visit www.simonbruni.com.

TEARS OF AMBER Virtual Book Tour

Tuesday, May 4 – THE CAFFEINATED READER

Wednesday, May 5 – BOOKS, LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING

Thursday, May 6 – READ WITH JAMIE

Friday, May 7 – NURSE BOOKIE

Monday , May 10 – MOMMA LEIGHELLEN’S BOOK NOOK  

Tuesday, May 11 – KIM READS AND READS

Wednesday, May 12 – JENNIFER TAR HEEL READER

Thursday, May 13 – LATEST BOOK CRUSH

Friday, May 14 – BOOKTIMISTIC

Monday, May 17 – COMPULSIVE READERS BLOG

Tuesday, May 18 – ALLEGEDLY MARI  

Wednesday, May 19 – ARMED WITH A BOOK  

Thursday, May 20 – STRANDED IN CHAOS

Friday, May 21 – DANISH MUSTARD READS

Monday, May 24 – SUZY APPROVED

Tuesday, May 25 – THE LIT BITCH

Wednesday, May 26 – WHAT’S BETTER THAN BOOKS  

Thursday, May 27 – SUE THE BOOKIE  

Friday, May 28 – STOREYBOOK REVIEWS

Filed Under: News & Announcements, Uncategorized Tagged With: Amazon Books, Amazon Crossing, Amazon Publishing, Family Saga, historical fiction, Mexican author, Murmur of Bees, Novel in Translation, Prussian history, Simon Bruni, Sofia Segovia, Tears Of Amber, Women in Translation, World War II Fiction

By otrpr Leave a Comment

February Blog Tour for GERTA by Kateřina Tučková translated by Véronique Firkusny

Release Date: February 1, 2021 from Amazon Crossing

We’re excited to introduce you to the gifted Czech author, Kateřina Tučková and her award-winning novel, GERTA, her first to be translated into English by the talented Véronique Firkusny (Amazon Crossing; February 1, 2021; $24.95). Set in Brno, a city in the South Moravian region of the Czech Republic and the author’s hometown, GERTA is a breathtaking story of a woman’s courage and empowerment in postwar Czechoslovakia and explores themes of guilt and responsibility, forgiveness and repentance. It won the Magnesia Litera Readers’ award and was short-listed for the Jiří Orten Award, the Josef Škvorecký Award and the Magnesia Litera in the prose category.

SYNOPSIS: It’s late spring 1945. Allied forces liberate Nazi-occupied Brno, Moravia. For Gerta Schnirch, daughter of a Czech mother and a German father aligned with Hitler, it’s not deliverance; it’s a sentence. She has been branded an enemy of the state. Caught in the changing tides of a war that shattered her family—and her innocence—Gerta must obey the official order: she, along with all ethnic Germans, is to be expelled from Czechoslovakia. With nothing but the clothes on her back and an infant daughter, she’s herded among thousands toward Vienna, later to be termed The Brno Death March, where many die from typhoid and dysentery. Gerta and a handful of other German women manage to save themselves by doing forced labor in southern Moravia, where they remain for several years.  After reclaiming her Czechoslovakian citizenship, Gerta returns to Brno, where she lives through the turbulent events of the second half of the twentieth century. But the discrimination only makes Gerta stronger and more empowered to seek justice. Her journey is a relentless quest for a seemingly impossible forgiveness.

Here is the full blog tour schedule that will include reviews, interviews, exclusive excerpts, and book giveaways:

Monday, February 1 – Hasty Book List

Tuesday, February 2 – Women Writers Women’s Books

Wednesday, February 3 – The Constant Reader

Thursday, February 4 – Crystals Library

Saturday, February 6 – Tina May Reads

Sunday, February 7 – Suzy Approved Book Reviews

Tuesday, February 9 – Grace J Reviewerlady

Wednesday, February 10 – Jessica Belmont

Thursday, February 11 – Storeybook Reviews

Friday, February 12 – Monika’s Book Blog

Saturday, February 13 – Life of a Bookworm

Monday, February 15 – Booxoul

Tuesday, February 16 – Long and Short Reviews

Wednesday, February 17 – Girl Who Reads

Thursday, February 18 – Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb

Friday, February 19 – The Bookish Brunette

Sunday, February 21 – Book Nerd Kat

Monday, February 22 – Bookstasam

Tuesday, February 23 – One Chapter At A Time

Wednesday, February 24 – Sue The Bookie

Thursday, February 25 – The Best of Both Pages

Friday, February 26 – Stranded in Chaos

Sunday, February 28 – Bargain and Books

Monday, March 1 – Read with Joshie

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Amazon Books, Amazon Crossing, Amazon Publishing, blog tour, Book in Translation, February Blog Tour, February Release, historical fiction, Katerina Tuckova, Literary fiction, Veronique Firkusny, World War II

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