Book Details:
Book Title:
A Year in the Company of Freaks by Teresa Neumann
Category:
Adult Fiction, 515 pages
Genre:
Historical Fiction
Publisher:
All's Well House
Release date:
Dec 21, 2015
Tour dates: Sept 11 to 29, 2017
Content Rating: PG + M (Little violence and
profanity, no f-words, no sex, but some drug use)
Book Description:
It's 1972 and a seismic clash-of-cultures is
rattling northern California. In the redneck town of Trinity Springs, rumors of
hippies migrating up from San Francisco have residents bracing for an invasion.
When Italian-American hometown boy and Berkeley graduate Sid Jackson is busted
for growing pot on his deceased parents' farm, locals suspect the assault has
begun. Will a crazy deferral program devised by the sheriff keep Sid out of
prison? Or will a house full of eccentric strangers, a passionate love
interest, and demons from his past be his undoing?
A "disarmingly appealing" tale of
discrimination, transformation and restoration, Freaks is bursting with
intrigue, drama, comic relief and romance. Reviewers agree this five-star,
coming-of-age classic "very much reflects the attitude and mood of the
times."
A Year in the Company of
Freaks: A Marriage of Reality and Romance
True confession:
At heart, I’m a romantic; an “old-school romance” sort of girl. What that means
exactly is open to interpretation, but for me “old-school romance” is Rhett
Butler and Scarlett O’Hara, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, Humphrey Bogart and
all his leading ladies – strong men and equally strong-willed women,
magnetically attracted to each other even as they lunge and parry and spar
towards a final, inevitable tango.
In other words,
as a romantic, I cheered when Anne Shirley ended up with Gilbert Blythe and wilted
when Jo March married the staid Professor Bhaer instead of her ardent beau,
“Laurie!”
That said, none
of my three books, including A Year in
the Company of Freaks, are what you’d call “romance novels.” Still, deep
relationships – especially love – are at the core of all them. Without that key
element, a great story can only go so far. Why not have comedy AND love? Drama
AND love? Sci-fi AND love?
For me, the best
stories are a heady combination of all the universals of real life: a cast of
diverse characters, love, loss, angst, humor, desperate challenges, dangerous
choices and sometimes dire consequences, family and friends we can’t live with but can’t live without. In fact,
it’s the tension of opposites who, though they may often drive us crazy, give
balance to our own weaknesses.
But what I
absolutely desire most in a story – what I need most – is hope: hope that flaws
are redeemable; hope that love prevails; hope that justice is served. It’s hope
that carries us through the toughest times of life and, on a much smaller
scale, through a book (or movie) that has us desperately longing – please, God!
-- for a “good” ending.
It’s why I hated
the movie The Perfect Storm but loved
Life is Beautiful. Both films were
based on true stories and featured hopeless story arcs. The difference was
that, despite its sad ending, Life is
Beautiful left me with an inexplicable sense of hope for humanity whereas The Perfect Storm left me never wanting
to step foot on a boat again and wondering why in the world ANYONE would want
to be a commercial fisherman for a living.
Life is
distressful enough as it is without investing precious hours, nay days, into a
book that leaves a reader more depressed than when they started.
I always write
with this philosophy – the marriage of reality and romance -- in mind. So
readers beware and enjoy!
“This coming of age story will draw the reader
right in. Teresa Neumann demonstrates how much she values relationships in her
writing … a precious skill. I held my breath all the way through to the final
few pages. Five stars!” — The San Francisco Book Review
“As it relates to the complicated clash of
culture and counterculture, Freaks acts as an authentic, strongly Seventies
book. Northern California works as a strong presence in the novel that is vivid
and omnipresent, but never overwhelming. Sure to intrigue and entertain, Freaks
will have its digs in you before you realize how involved you’ve become.” — The
Manhattan Book Review
To read more reviews, please visit Teresa Neumann's page in iRead Book
Tours.
Buy
the Book:
About the Author:
Author of highly-acclaimed "A Year in the
Company of Freaks," Teresa was raised in a large Midwest family and now
lives in Oregon. She is also the author of "Bianca's Vineyard," and
its sequel, "Domenico's Table." Both books are based on the true stories
of her husband's Italian family in Tuscany. In addition to enjoying family,
writing, reading, meeting her readers, wine tasting, traveling, and all things
Italian, Teresa loves playing the fiddle with other musicians.
Enter the Giveaway!
Ends Oct 7
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