In the Middle of Almost and Other Stories Virtual Book Publicity Tour December 2011

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Join S.B. Lerner, author of the women’s fiction short story and memoir collection e-book, In the Middle of Almost and Other Stories (Samson Books, September 2011) as she virtually tours the blogosphere from December 5 – 16, 2011 on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

Susan Lerner photo

About S.B. Lerner

S.B. Lerner worked as an attorney in Manhattan for many years, and in the evenings she wrote and published short stories. They are now available as a collection, called In the Middle of Almost and Other Stories.

After getting married and becoming a mom, she was struck with the importance of knowing family history, so she researched and wrote the story of her father’s fascinating life. It was through learning about his early passion for a Zionist youth group in Poland that she became interested in the subject of her first novel, A Suitable Husband, which is set in prewar Poland.

S. B. loves to read historical fiction and novels set in other times and places, as well as to travel and meet people. Travel time is limited, lately, but she teaches an ESOL class and learns about other cultures through her diverse group of students. When not teaching, doing ‘mom’ things or playing with the puppy, she is at her desk working on another novel set on a college campus in New York.

You can visit S.B. Lerner’s website at www.sblerner.com, and read her blog ‘Novel Thoughts” through a link on the website. You can find Susan’s book on Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12708823-in-the-middle-of-almost-and-other-stories

About In the Middle of Almost and Other Stories

For anyone who has ever sat home alone on a Saturday night… In the Middle new cover

An engrossing collection of funny, poignant and bittersweet stories about busy young women who find men in all the wrong places (the garage attendant across the street, the stay-at-home dad in the playground, the younger man at the diner counter, the blind date) and discover something about themselves in the process.

These short stories and memoir were previously published in literary magazines and newspapers.

Read an excerpt!

Jessica sat on a ledge that enclosed a patch of grass in front of her white, brick apartment building. It was too hot to stay inside her summer-sublet studio apartment; even her light linen dress was soggy from the humid air. Passing cars honked and fragments of conversation wafted by, lingering in the air along with the aroma of Chinese food carried by delivery boys on bicycles. She glanced up, but tall buildings cut the evening sky into ribbons. It felt as though she was in a giant maze.

She let out a sigh. She was living in Manhattan to be close to her job, not for the nightlife. Sometimes other students who worked as summer associates at the law firm asked her to join them as they club crawled downtown. But it was a strain to be heard over the music and she didn’t enjoy drinking anyway. She worked long, tiring hours, and preferred to sit on the ledge, smoking a cigarette to wind down.

Her job had followed on the heels of her first grueling year of law school and the work required intense concentration. It seemed to her as though her whole future lay in the balance with every memo she wrote, every passing conversation with a partner at the firm. An image of the short, overweight, balding attorney she reported to took form in her mind and her throat tightened at the thought of him. His head jutted forward on his neck as he scurried around the office on seemingly important missions, like Alice’s rabbit, always about to be late. She treated him with ostensible respect but he seemed faintly ridiculous to her, and in the privacy of the moment she allowed herself to finally laugh aloud, almost choking on the smoke in her lungs.

It was then she realized that the uniformed attendant from the garage across the street was watching her with interest, as though he wanted to share the joke. Or perhaps he was simply curious about why she was sitting outside alone. It crossed her mind that any distraction might be a relief to him from the monotony of parking cars.

“Keeping cool out here?” he said, pausing before crossing back to the garage.

“Just barely.” She spoke with no inflection and her eyes looked past him. Her instinct was to be wary of friendliness from a stranger in the big city.

“Yeah, I guess you need to go by the river for some breezes,” he said, as he ambled back across the street.

She’d noticed he had a pleasant voice, through the haze of her caution. Its timbre reminded her of a tenor sax, mellow and soothing. She’d been vaguely aware of the him; he had passed her several times, taking cars to an overflow lot next to her building and then returning to the main lot across the street. But he had merely been part of the scenery. Suddenly he was a presence to reckon with. Feeling exposed, she went inside a few minutes later, but was annoyed at depriving herself of the city’s breezes, however polluted, after a long day at work.

So the next night she was out on the ledge again, engrossed in a magazine which lay sprawled across her lap. A vaguely familiar voice addressed her and she felt a sensation of peacefulness.

Read the reviews!

“What an impressive literary debut! Susan Lerner’s story collection, In the Middle of Almost and Other Stories, offer up deft, deeply insightful glimpses of women who live in urban landscapes, surrounded by millions of people, but are uniquely isolated amidst the throngs. Her characters are looking for connection but are never desperate in their quest. Strong women who are often disappointed but you never get the sense that the flawed men her characters meet will destroy their optimism and turn them bitter. The protagonists in her stories exude a deep sexuality and abiding intelligence that make the reader root for her to find the man who’s truly deserving and even though it doesn’t happen, you know it will. These stories resonate long after you put down the book.”

–Les Edgerton, Amazon reviewer

In the Middle of Almost and Other Stories Virtual Book Publicity Tour Schedule

Monday, December 5^th

Guest blogging at Literarily Speaking

Tuesday, December 6^th

Interviewed at The Hot Author Report

Wednesday, December 7^th

Interviewed at The Book Connection

Thursday, December 8^th

Book Spotlighted at Divine Caroline

Friday, December 9^th

Interviewed at Pump Up Your Book!

Guest blogging at Lori’s Reading Corner

Sunday, December 11^th

Book reviewed at Thoughts in Progress

Book reviewed at Everyday is an Adventure

Monday, December 12^th

Book Spotlighted at Live to Read

Guest blogging at Thoughts in Progress

Tuesday, December 13^th

Guest blogging at Literal Exposure

Wednesday, December 14^th

Book reviewed at Lil’ Maddies Meemaw

Thursday, December 15^th

Interviewed at Paperback Writer

Friday, December 16^th

Interviewed at Blogcritics

Guest blogging at Café of Dreams

S.B. Lerner’s IN THE MIDDLE OF ALMOST AND OTHER STORIES VIRTUAL BOOK PUBLICITY TOUR will officially begin on December 5 2011 and end on December 16, 2011. Please contact Cheryl Malandrinos at ccmal(at)charter(dot)net if you are interested in hosting and/or reviewing his book. Thank you!

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Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

-- Sheila Roberts, Author of Winter at the Beach