Author: Bernadette WalshTitle: The House On Prospect
Publisher: Echelon Press
Publish Date: Jan 11, 2012
Buy:Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: Reading Addicts Book Tours and the author
Book Blurb: Ellen Murphy spent her childhood in an idyllic house by the sea. A house surrounded by flower-filled gardens and a white picket fence. A house she fled at eighteen. A house full of secrets.
When her mother Rose, an ex-nun, is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Ellen reluctantly returns home to care for her and uncovers a clue to the one secret that has haunted Ellen all her life: the identity of her father. But that is just one of the many secrets hidden behind the beautiful facade of the house on Prospect Road. Ellen discovers the high price both her mother and her Irish grandmother paid for the house on Prospect and she realizes that her meek mother is more of stranger to her than her absent father.
Review: I totally read this book on the wrong day. I started it on the anniversary of my grandma's death. Needless to say, I cried through the book. It is an emotionally charged read and I was over emotional reading it.
It is however a worthy read. The story is Harlequin in length, but that doesn't mean that the plot doesn't pack a punch, because it does. You get the story of two lives, mother and daughter. One ending and one on the verge of beginning again.
I have to say, I loved Rose, the mom that wanted to be a nun. Ellen, not so much. There was something about her character that irked me. I think it was her lack of forgiveness throughout most of the story, as well as her sticking with her husband when he was a cad (or any other nasty word you'd like to choose). But the thing is, this behavior made her real, and even though I didn't like her very much, she is the reason I loved Rose.
Rose had a horrible life, yet it was a good one, filled with love from most of the people around her, and though having Ellen might not have been the best choice, she loved and would have done anything for her daughter. I think that's what made the way Ellen treated her so hard to take.
I love how things slowly come together. It is a shame it had to be through her mother dying. It was nice that she really ended up with a true family at the end, the kind she wanted, however dysfunctional it may be.
If you like stories that feel like they are happening in the "real world," then you must read The House On Prospect.
Rating: 5 flowers
A Day in My Writing Life
By Bernadette Walsh
I have always been an avid reader. Books are my drug. When I was a kid my father would take the book out of my hand and throw me outside to play. I always found a way to sneak in through the back door and keep reading.
Four years ago I decided to write a novel. I started by reading “how to write a novel” books and did a lot of surfing. For my first book I followed a modified form of the “snowflake” method and wrote short bios for all of my characters. I made an outline. However, since then I’ve become more of a pantser.
I usually spend a month or two just thinking about my book. I try to enter the head of my main character. I do a lot of my thinking during my daily commute on the Long Island Rail Road, staring out the window. Once I have a feel for my characters, I then put pen to paper, or rather fingers to the keyboard. During the work week I have at most twenty minutes to write at night after my family goes to bed. Before I sit down, I always have a very specific goal for the scene I am about to write (i.e. at the end of this scene Character X has to accomplish Y). I sneak an hour here and there for writing, and as a result need to be very disciplined and get the most out of my writing time. I don’t have the luxury of writing just to see where things go.
My writing tends to be very concise. I am not sure whether that is because of my legal background or my limited available writing time. The result is I tend to write short. My first two books were around 60K with my latest novella being under 30K. Because I write so short, that has limited my publishing options. Fortunately, I have been able to place my work with two fine e-publishers, Lyrical Press and Echelon Press.
I have also skipped around genres. My first novel, Gold Coast Wives, is a “chick-lity” contemporary romance, the second, The House on Prospect, is women’s fiction and my third work, The Devlin Legacy is a paranormal romance trilogy. I has such a blast writing The Devlin Legacy that I’m working on another paranormal romance so I will stay in the land of Irish witches a while longer.
One of my friends recently said to me that all this writing stuff just seems like a lot of work. And as my fellow writers know, she is right. It is more work, but it has also added a richness into my life. As a corporate lawyer I had never really thought of myself as a creative type. I was more navy blue suits and pearls. But now, at the ripe old age of 45, I have discovered my inner artist and that is a gift for which I will always be grateful.&
Author Bio
I have always been a bookworm and had always meant to write a novel “someday.” You know, when I won the lottery and could live in beach house and look out onto the water and feel inspired. Four years ago I decided to stop waiting for my winning lottery ticket and sat down and started writing in between work and family obligations. I piled the words on top of each other until they formed sentences, paragraphs, chapters and eventually a book. The House on Prospect
Title – The House on Prospect
Genre – Women’s Fiction
Format – eBook: January 11, 2012
WebsiteBlog
Twitter: @BWalshWriter
Links to Buy
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
1 comments:
Thanks so much Andrea for taking the time to read my book and for the wonderful review!!
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