THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PRISSY
BY
BARBARA CASEY
BLURB:
Three
Army veteran misfits, a college dropout, an unmotivated high school graduate
accused of murder, a controversial warden of a women's prison, and a little
girl with the gift of prophesy – these are the people 31-year-old Lara Kruger
invites into her life after suffering a miscarriage, a divorce from an abusive
husband, and unemployment.
Excerpt:
Laramie Larkins Kruger drove up to the hospital emergency
door. It was the second time in twice as
many weeks. The hand that had been
holding a bloody towel against the left side of her face somehow managed to
push the car door open. Her other hand
rested in her lap, limp and useless. A
hospital orderly standing outside by the front entrance saw her. He crushed his half-smoked cigarette into the
concrete container of sand provided and quickly located a wheelchair for her.
“Jesus, Ms. Kruger, what have you gone done to yourself
now? You been working on that old house
again, haven’t ya?”
Lara closed her eyes and let the strong hands of the orderly
gently position her into the wheelchair.
“Thanks, Ben.”
“I told you to call me next time you needed something done
and Mr. Kruger wasn’t around to take care of it. Didn’t I?
Didn’t I say that?” He pushed her
through the emergency entrance and over to the sign-in window where an elderly
woman smiled and handed her a form.
“Back so soon, Mrs. Kruger?”
Lara stared at the piece of paper that had been secured to a
clipboard, but her eyes wouldn’t read the print. She couldn’t pick up the pen anyway. Ben took the clipboard from her and began
filling in the information next to her name:
Age, 31; Time, 1:15 p.m.; Insurance, on file; Nature of Visit, cuts and
bruises caused by accident. It was
always the same.
Lara and Jake had been remodeling the old Victorian home
they bought when they moved to Rocky Mount six months earlier. Everyone knew they were doing it. In a town the size of Rocky Mount, nothing
went by unnoticed. Since they were doing
a lot of the work themselves, it was easy just to say she slipped off a ladder,
a rotten floorboard gave way, something had fallen on her – whatever. No one questioned her answers.
“My, my. Looks like
you got scraped up pretty good, Mrs. Kruger.”
The elderly volunteer worker smiled sympathetically and took the form
Ben had just filled out. “What happened
this time?”
Lara tried not to grimace from the pain. It felt like one of her ribs was broken. “I yanked too hard on the door of that old
shed in back we’re trying to convert into a garage and it gave way.” The lie came easily.
GIVEAWAY DETAILS!
Barbara will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC to a
randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
FOLLOW the tour and comment; the more YOU comment, the better YOUR chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
FOLLOW the tour and comment; the more YOU comment, the better YOUR chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Barbara Casey
is president of the Barbara Casey Agency, representing adult fiction and
nonfiction for authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, and
Japan. She is also the author of
numerous articles, poems, and short stories.
Her award-winning novels have received national recognition, including
the Independent Publishers Book Award, the Dana Award for Best Novel, and the
Publisher’s Best Seller Award. Her
novel, The House of Kane, released in 2008, was considered for a Pulitzer
nomination, and her novel Just Like Family received special recognition by the
7-Eleven Corporation. Two other novels,
The Gospel According to Prissy (released in the spring of 2013) and Shyla’s
Initiative, both received an IPPY Award for Best Book in Regional Fiction. Her
most recent young/new adult book, The Cadence of Gypsies, has been selected as
an Amazon Best Read and received the 2013 IPPY Living Now Award.
In addition
to being a frequent guest lecturer at universities and writers’ conferences,
Ms. Casey served as judge for the Pathfinder Literary Awards in Palm Beach and
Martin Counties, Florida, and was the Florida Regional Advisor for the Society
of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators from 1991 through 2003.
Thank you so much for hosting me today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThe story sounds like a very intense read.
ReplyDeleteKit3247(at)aol(dot)com
Thanks for the excerpt and the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great read!!
natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR BOOK AND THANKS FOR THE GIVEAWAY! SHELLEY S. calicolady60@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteThank you for your good wishes and for stopping by, Shelley.
ReplyDeleteAlready on my wish list.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com