‘Rapeseed’ turns 1, and you get the birthday present! Ebook price drop celebration starts Sept 1.
Named a ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Finalist in General Fiction, ‘Rapeseed’ is a fun, fast read that delivers real substance. It’s an unusual self-discovery story about an extraordinary woman, her bright and quirky teenage son, and their family — because families mature and come of age too. Carolann Cooper is a synesthete with blended senses. She sees her letters and numbers and turbulent memories in color. Her family’s move from small town Kansas to London, England cracks open her complicated history and exposes secrets she’s been keeping with her husband — and from him as well — just as her son is tempted by new and dangerous freedoms abroad. Carolann must urgently figure out who she really is to reconcile her past with her family’s future. ‘Rapeseed’ is a multi-colored, cross-cultural novel of fine contemporary fiction — and a delightful page-turner too. The perfect pick for a book club or a satisfying conversation with one good friend.
“Funny, engaging, and painfully true…” — Meg Gardiner, Edgar Award winning author of ‘The Shadow Tracer’
“A novel of resilience and heart, of teenaged indiscretions and marital discontentment, humor… and boundless compassion.” — Amber Dermont, New York Times bestselling author of ‘The Starboard Sea’
“A tender and evocative novel about the slippery nature of home and inheritance… Nancy Freund writes with authority and charm.” — Nick Dybek, author of ‘When Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man’
“Nancy Freund’s style is clean, spotlessly competent in technique and logic, and always contains an irreverent note or a narrator with a mischievous glint in the eye.” — Michelle Bailat-Jones, author of ‘Fog Island Mountains’
Targeted Age Group:: adult
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
My own background as an expatriate writer from Kansas City living in London (and a prior teacher and mother of teenage boys) gave me access to my main characters’ many challenges. I am not a classic synesthete, so I don’t see my letters and numbers in color, but I do have strong color associations with emotions and physical sensation, so I was eager to explore synesthesia with Carolann’s story. The original idea for the book came to me as I was leading the American Women of Surrey’s Antiques Discovery Group on a field trip to Woburn Abbey in April, 2003. The bright yellow rapeseed fields were in full bloom, and the 53 women on my bus were awed by the scene as the bus rounded a bend and the evening light threw the scene into utmost vibrancy.. I knew then that I would write this novel. It took me ten years to publish it, and its journey has been as wonderful as that first sighting of those yellow fields.
How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
Many writers say certain lines of dialogue, certain plot ideas, and certain characters just come to them — in dreams perhaps, or somehow unbidden. That is nearly the case with Carolann, Lyn, and Chip Cooper, as well as Chip’s would-be girlfriend, Ticia Olague and the Coopers’ neighbor Rowan. It is as if these people genuinely exist in another universe, and somehow I was granted an amazing privileged access to them. They are and have been very real to me from the beginning. When I visit book groups and hear people discussing my characters as if they are real, it feels like they’re my own children and I want to defend or protect or explain their actions, or I swell with pride when a reader falls in love with one of my fictional people the way I have. Most people fall in love with Chip.
Book Sample
Carolann tied a knot in the twine and tapped her birdfeeder. It was just the right place, stable and protected under the last of the season’s pink roses. She checked her watch. It was an ideal time to have finished the job, and the perfect job for a free afternoon. If she hadn’t spent the morning at the pub, of course, she would not have to focus on all her perfection. Though knowing the local pubs would fortify her marriage. Perfect.
About the Author:
Nancy Freund is a poet, editor, reviewer, and novelist. Born in New York, raised in Kansas City, and educated in Los Angeles, she was married in England, and today lives in French-speaking Switzerland. She is the author of ‘Rapeseed,’ published in 2013 by Gobreau Press, ‘Global Home Cooking’ in 2014, and two more novels forthcoming in 2015, ‘Effort of Will, and ‘Racing for the Mailbox.’ Her poetry and fiction have appeared in journals such as The Istanbul Review, Blood Lotus Journal, and Offshoots. In September 2012, Nancy was the writer-in-residence for webjournal Necessary Fiction, where she is also a regular book critic. Her short story ‘Marcus’ won the Geneva Writers’ first fiction prize, selected by American novelist Bret Lott in June, 2013. She co-founded the Lavaux Literary Salon (serving readers, writers, and artists representing 11 countries) and she is active in Community Literacy projects for teens and adults. She holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing and an M.Ed. from UCLA.
Links to Purchase Print Books
Link to Buy Rapeseed Print Edition at Amazon
Link to Buy Rapeseed Print Edition at Barnes and Noble
Link to Rapeseed Print book for sale via other sites
Links to Purchase eBooks
Link To Buy Rapeseed On Amazon
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Book Sample:
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