Interview & Giveaway - Bob at the Lake by R. Murphy

 

Bob at the Lake

By R. Murphy

 

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BLURB: 

Take a crabby woman of a certain age, move her to the wintry shores of a New York lake, and then throw in a martini-loving ghost from 1920s Manhattan. Last, stir in the good-looking grape grower who lives up the hill. Now there’s a recipe for a potent screwball cocktail!

 

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EXCERPT: 

“Trust me, it will hit you like a brick of gold.” 

That’s Bob. He’s my ghost. Well, not my ghost since I’m sitting here writing, but the ghost who lives with me. Other women probably get muscleman ghosts who can fix plumbing and take out the garbage, or romantic ghosts who set their hearts a-flutter. Me, I get a ghost who’s middle-aged, plump, and who likes to lounge around the house in a silk smoking jacket from the nineteen-thirties. Not exactly the kind of ghost I’d ever imagined I’d get. I will admit, though, that Bob does make an amazing martini. A martini that, in fact, hits you like a brick of gold.  

I found, unfortunately, the longer Bob lived at my place, the more I appreciated his skill with martinis. Which was probably not a great thing for my liver, or my relationships with my sisters, but what the heck.  

Remember the Great Recession? According to the newspapers, some consumers seem to be wiping it from their memories, but it had a big impact on a lot of people, including me. That economy hurt. Lost jobs, lost houses, lost marriages, lost hopes—lives turned upside down in the flutter of a pink slip. People scrambling just to keep from drowning—couch surfing, penny pinching, living newly frugal lives.  

Like millions of others, the economy sucked me into its undertow...

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Let's Learn a Little about R. Murphy: 

Sue, thanks so much for inviting me to stop by today! I’m delighted to tell you a little bit about myself and my new book, Bob at the Lake.

What is your writing environment? Although the writing locations in my house might vary (kitchen table, office desk, sofa), they all have one constant: a view of beautiful Keuka Lake. I’ve traveled throughout much of the world, but this place mesmerizes me like no other.

Who is your perfect hero and why? I love men who are competent, modest, and have a great sense of humor. A perfect blend of my two male characters, Bob and David. Which might explain why my heroine, Roz, has such difficulty choosing between the two of them!

What authors have caught your interest lately and why? I’ve been reading a lot about World War 2 and the Algonquin Round Table recently. Just finished Connie Willis’ Black Out (set in England during the Blitz) and can’t wait to start her sequel All Clear. Recently laughed my way through Harpo Marx’s autobiography Harpo Speaks! Few people know that Harpo was an unofficial member of the Round Table, and this book has one of the best narrations of its inner workings that I’ve ever read. Did you know they were total croquet maniacs?

What type of book have you always wanted to write? I love books with heroines who give themselves permission to color outside the lines at the risk of looking eccentric. Books by British women during World War 2 fascinate me. These plucky women battled, on a daily basis, bombs, terror, and starvation and yet never seemed to fret about anything more serious than hemlines and stockings. Readers have to peer through layers of froth and humor in their writings before they get to the iron backbones that kept those writers, and that nation, alive.

Top 3 things on your bucket list? Shopping in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, writing more Bob novels, and living in a city where I can get the New York Times delivered every morning.  (I currently live in a very rural area miles and miles from the nearest town.) (Some of my dreams are very modest…)

How did you get the idea for this particular novel? It stewed for a long time while I spent years working 9 to 5. Different ideas and themes would get thrown into the pot at different times--ghosts, humor, The Algonquin Round Table, Finger Lakes wines--all combined to make the novel now known as ‘Bob at the Lake!’

What is your favorite scene in your new release? I love, love, LOVE the ghost ball!

What are you working on now and when can we expect it to be available? I’m just finishing the second Bob book, tentatively titled, Bob at The Plaza. I hope to submit it to my publisher within the next month or so, and then we’ll see how it goes. Fingers crossed!

What do you like to do when you are not writing? Depends on the season, actually. In the winter, when I’m snowbound, I like nothing more than curling up on the sofa with a blanket, a mug of hot soup, and a good book.  Since I live in a house on the lake, free hours in the summer usually involve swimming, gardening, or working on the stone wall that protects my house from the water. 

What would you consider a perfect date? Dinner out and great conversation.

 
What is one interesting fact about you that readers don’t know? I’ve written a screenplay called Cha-Cha Bimbo that I keep meaning to polish and circulate. It’s all about ballroom dancing and how it changes lives.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links: 

Roz Murphy is the pseudonym of a shy, retiring writer who doesn’t want her neighbors to know how nutty she really is. Brooklyn-born and Jersey-bred, Roz now lives on the misty shore of one of New York’s beautiful Finger Lakes. Prior to that, her business writing career took her to many locations, including Manhattan, where she worked for a number of years. As a freelance and corporate writer, Roz won several national and international writing and communications awards. 

Now Roz is pursuing her first love—fiction. She’s writing the ‘Bob’ books, the humorous chronicle of a crabby ‘woman of a certain age’ who moves to the wintry shores of a New York lake—and gets a ghost. And not just any ghost, mind you. Bob’s a plump, middle-aged ghost from 1920s Manhattan who swans around in a silk smoking jacket and drinks far too many martinis. Stir the good-looking grape grower who lives up the hill into this mix and you get a pretty potent screwball cocktail! 

When she’s not reading, writing, hill-walking, staring mindlessly out the window at the lake or piling rocks onto her ever-diminishing lakefront, you can usually find Roz hanging out with her family, travelling, or exploring the amazing wines and wineries of the Finger Lakes. 

‘Bob at the Lake’ is exclusively available as a Kindle download from Amazon. Please join Roz Murphy Author on FaceBook for updates on the many adventures of Roz, David—and Bob.

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Roz-Murphy-Author/213668102110571

 

Buy Link:   Amazon

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Giveaway:
The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.  The more you comment, the better your chances of winning!  Follow the tour HERE

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