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HEY FRIENDS, I AM SO EXCITED TO HAVE SHIRA ANTHONY ON THE BLOG TODAY TALKING ABOUT THE RESEARCH THAT GOES INTO WRITING A BOOK LIKE 'A SOLITARY MAN', IN ADDITION TO THAT I HAVE THE BLURB, MY REVIEW IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT, AND AN AWESOME GIVEAWAY YOU JUST CAN'T MISS! LET'S GET STARTED:
LET'S START WITH A NOTE FROM SHIRA:
A Solitary Man by Aisling Mancy and Shira Anthony
Doing Our Homework: Realism (and Research!) in Romance
Thank you Bike Book Reviews for hosting the A Solitary Man book tour today! Aisling Mancy and I are so excited to finally see our book in print. Please be sure to read to the bottom of the post and enter the great tour giveaway, which features a goodie bag with signed paperback books and fun swag!
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HERE IS THE BLURB, DON'T MISS THIS ONE IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT, THE BUY LINKS ARE AFTER SHIRA'S POST, GRAB YOUR'S TODAY!
Sparks fly when Chance meets tall, sexy Xav at a Wilmington bar and they have the hottest one-nighter of their lives. But Chance doesn’t do repeats, Xav seems detached, and they go their separate ways without a word. Later, when closeted Assistant District Attorney C. Evan “Chance” Fairchild meets Dare's Landing's newest deputy sheriff, Xavier “Xav” Constantine, Evan isn’t only wary. He’s irritated as hell.
Xavier is a former FBI agent turned deputy sheriff who is hot on the trail of a South American child prostitution ring. Evan is fighting to put an end to rampant cocaine trafficking and chafing under the thumb of an election-hungry boss. When someone tries to kill the eleven-year-old witness who holds the key to both their investigations, they’re forced to work together as they put their lives on the line to protect him. As Chance and Xav collide in the heat of a sweltering North Carolina summer, dodging bullets and chasing bad guys isn’t the only action going on.
Xavier is a former FBI agent turned deputy sheriff who is hot on the trail of a South American child prostitution ring. Evan is fighting to put an end to rampant cocaine trafficking and chafing under the thumb of an election-hungry boss. When someone tries to kill the eleven-year-old witness who holds the key to both their investigations, they’re forced to work together as they put their lives on the line to protect him. As Chance and Xav collide in the heat of a sweltering North Carolina summer, dodging bullets and chasing bad guys isn’t the only action going on.
NOW HERE IS THE POST WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR, SHIRA TALKS ABOUT RESEARCH FOR WEIGHTY SUBJECTS:
As you may have gleaned from the blurb, A Solitary Man touches on some serious subjects, including child sex trafficking and illegal drugs. It’s an edge of your seat thriller with a mystery at its heart, and there’s a romance that helps frame the exciting plot.
While both Aisling and I have background in issues involving child abuse and the law in general, and while I’m personally familiar with the area of North Carolina where the fictional city of Dare’s Landing is located, quite a bit of research went into writing the story. I thought I’d share just a little bit of that research with you today.
Some of you may know I’m a public sector attorney. But the only criminal law matters I have ever handled are appeals of child sexual abuse convictions. And while working on an appeal certainly gives me some knowledge of what goes into making a criminal case stick, I don’t have the kind of experience handling those cases at the trial level to write about it comfortably. I am, however, lucky to have worked with a former assistant district attorney from the area where the story takes place, and I spoke to her at length about what that job might look like in practice.
In A Solitary Man, C. Evan “Chance” Fairchild is an assistant district attorney for Carver County. Chance left a lucrative private practice to become a prosecutor, because he knows firsthand how drugs can destroy lives. His boss, James “call me Jimmy” Faison, is a politician with only one thing on his mind: he wants to move his political career forward.
In speaking with my former ADA friend, I learned that the big-shot DAs usually have a lieutenant to run the office for them. A “managing” ADA, who takes care of the day to day work, assigns cases, and does the hiring. That was exactly what we needed for Chance in this story.
So taking it from there, we dug deeper and asked more questions. “Does an elected DA actually prosecute cases? Or is s/he just a figurehead?” The answer surprised me. Most elected DAs don’t prosecute cases, but when they do, it’s often a political statement. Perfect! Chance chafes under his boss’s seeming lack of interest in prosecuting drug cases. So when Jimmy Faison tells Chance that he, the elected DA, is going to sit first chair (i.e. run the show in court), Chance struggles not to blow a gasket! Here's an excerpt from that scene:
Faison always withheld information, and Evan sometimes wondered if that was because Faison worried someday Evan might run to unseat him. He’d laughed the thought off, but one of the other ADAs had said the same thing. It didn’t matter—Evan would work around Faison to get his job done. He always did.
“I’ll be lead counsel on your next drug case,” Faison said after he finished the call. “Show the assholes I can get down in the dirt with them and get the job done.”
“Sir, we have the cases under control.” Faison hadn’t tried a case since he’d been elected. Of course he could, but—
“I think it’s high time we show them who’s in charge. What better way than to nail their asses in court?”
Faison didn’t add what Evan already knew: Faison wouldn’t be doing any of the work to prepare for trial.
“Of course.” Evan gritted his teeth and turned onto Carver Street. This would be all about the show, and it would be up to Evan to make it look good for Faison. Evan had made his peace with that when he’d taken the job five years before. He hadn’t come to work for the DA for the limelight. He just wanted the drugs, dealers, and all the trash that came with them out of Dare’s Landing. He’d give Faison his most experienced witnesses, make him look good, and limit the potential damage. Faison leaned back in his seat, and Evan had no doubt he envisioned himself in Raleigh, shaking the governor’s hand. “We need to get this in front of the people. Drum up a little interest.”
Interest, as in press coverage. Free advertising, Evan thought.
“Talk to Walter Talley,” Faison continued, on a roll now. “Get his thoughts on how to play this.”
Talley was Faison’s Yale Law School buddy and a former prosecutor the legislature had hired to appeal a ruling overturning the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. Talley had offered up the first fifty grand of his work on the case pro bono, and Evan guessed Talley had seen the freebie for what it was: a potential cash cow and a prelude to a campaign for state senate.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Evan said as he tightened his grip on the wheel. “I’ve got plenty of experience working with county law enforcement to—”
“Walter’s more experienced.”
Only at kissing your political ass. “I don’t see that we need—”
“Call him.” Faison was back to texting before Evan could answer.
Dismissed yet again, Evan pulled into the parking lot without another word. He knew his place. He didn’t have to like it. He’d put up with Faison’s shit if it meant getting the drugs out of the schools and off the streets.
That’s just a little taste of some of the research Aisling and I did to create the backdrop for A Solitary Man and how we incorporated it into the book. I hope you enjoy the story! –Shira
THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE AWESOME POST AND EXCERPT SHIRA! ALL THE RESEARCH REALLY SHOWS IN THE STORY, IT IS SEAMLESS AND OFF THE CHARTS WONDERFUL!
IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE BOOK GRAB IT BELOW, AND BE SURE TO LIKE A SOLITARY MAN ON FACEBOOK (LINK BELOW), AND FRIENDS MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE A REVIEW, THOSE ARE ALL KINDS OF IMPORTANT! :)
Now at Dreamspinner Press, ARe, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble
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Thursday, October 29th Aisling is at The Novel Approach Reviews
A Brief and Frank Discussion of A Solitary Man
Thursday , November 5th
Friday, November 6th RELEASE DAY CELEBRATION!
Yarning to Write Kermit Flail with lovely Amy Lane!
Aisling is at Divine Magazine
More Notes Behind the Music Playlist
Shira is at The Novel Approach Reviews
Southernisms!
More Notes Behind the Music Playlist
Shira is at The Novel Approach Reviews
Southernisms!
Aisling is on Dreampsinner's Blog
As Authors and Readers, We Bring Awareness to the World
Saturday, November 7th Aisling is at Love Bytes Reviews
Sunday, November 8th
Shira is at My Fiction Nook
LIVE FACEBOOK CHAT with Shira & Aisling 2-5pm EST
Monday, November 9th Aisling is at My Fiction Nook
Tuesday, November 10th Shira is at Bike Book Reviews
Wednesday, November 11th Shira is at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
TWEET, COMMENT, AND VISIT A SOLITARY MAN'S FACEBOOK PAGE
TO BE ENTERED TO WIN A TOTE BAG,
SIGNED BOOKS FROM SHIRA & AISLING,
AND SWAG!
TWEET, COMMENT, AND VISIT A SOLITARY MAN'S FACEBOOK PAGE
TO BE ENTERED TO WIN A TOTE BAG,
SIGNED BOOKS FROM SHIRA & AISLING,
AND SWAG!
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THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME FOR MY 'SHIRA' BLOG TOUR STOP! ENTER TO WIN THE GIVEAWAY TODAY, THAT SWAG LOOKS AMAZING! THANKS SHIRA FOR JOINING ME AND FOR THE AMAZING BLOG POST! IF YOU HAVEN'T READ 'A SOLITARY MAN' GRAB IT TODAY!
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