in the context of love #eggcerpt exchange

Author Linda K. Sienkiewicz writes women’s fiction/contemporary romance. Her debut novel is titled In the Context of Love.

About the book:

What makes us step back to examine the events and people that have shaped our lives? And what happens when what we discover leads to more questions? In the Context of Love revolves around the journey of Angelica Schirrick as she reevaluates her life, and its direction.

Returning with her children from their first visit with her now imprisoned husband, she tries to figure out where it all went so wrong. Can she face the failures and secrets of her past and move forward? Can she find love and purpose again? Her future, which once held so much promise, crumbled like dust after the mysterious disappearance of her first love, and the shattering revelation that derailed her life, and divided her parents. Only when she finally learns to accept the violence of her beginning can she be open to life again, and maybe to a second chance at love.

Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of #1 NYTimes Bestseller, DEEP END OF THE OCEAN, says: “With humor and tenderness, but without blinking, Linda K. Sienkiewicz turns her eye on the predator-prey savannah of the young and still somehow hopeful.”

Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of Michigan Notable Book MOTHERS TELL YOUR DAUGHTERS, says “Sienkiewicz’s powerful and richly detailed debut novel is at once a love story, a cautionary tale, and an inspirational journey. It should be required reading for all wayward daughters, and their mothers, too.”

Excerpt from In the Context of Love:

Mom appeared behind me in the bathroom when I was washing my face and said, “And another thing, don’t even think about going steady.” Then, she startled me when I turned the corner in the living room. “Did you know he’s practically failing his classes? The principal called him in for truancy last year? Don’t be stupid for this boy.” I wondered who she was shaking down for information. Dad would stroll into a room and find Mom and me chopping at each other, and he’d slink back out, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire.

Was she jealous of me? What was making her so angry and discontented, what vague disappointment snaked through her restless mind? Did she think she’d made a mistake marrying Dad? Maybe she once envisioned a rewarding career, or a different kind of life. Maybe she dreamt about having an affair at the Cardinal Motel with Mr. Schakowsky, and during the day she scrubbed the passion away with Bon Ami, or sucked it up with the Eureka. Maybe I was a reminder of what she could have been.

There was something disturbing sliding around under the surface of my family, but the truth was more than I’d bargained for, and Mom was practiced at lying about it before I was even born.

In the Context of Love can be purchased in paperback or e-reader on Amazon http://amzn.to/1IiVWEs  or Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/1QFs340 

Let’s talk with Angelica Schirrick, the narrator of In the Context of Love:

1. Do you have a nickname?
I’ve been called troublemaker, short stuff, hot stuff, cupcake, angel, and hure (by my German grandmother — don’t ask why), but most people call me Angie.

2. What do you do for a living?
I’m the marketing and community service director for Safe Harbor, a non-profit women’s domestic violence shelter in Cleveland, Ohio—not bad for someone with an associate’s degree from a community college!

3. How would you describe yourself?
Diminutive with a big heart. I’m only 4’9” tall. My mother once said I’m a mesomorphic, but that sounds more like a rock formation than a woman!  

4. What’s your favorite saying?
When we speak out, we let go of the burden of holding our memories outside the story of our lives. That means bad things happen in life, but you don’t have to let them define you.

5. Who do you admire most?
That would be my mother. When I was a girl, I wanted to be the complete opposite of her because she was obsessive and controlling. She’d have smothered me if I let her. Now that I know the story of her life, I have nothing but admiration for her. Of course, she’s grown in many ways since those days, too. It’s a good story. You’ll have to read the book!

Author Linda K. Sienkiewicz attributes her creative drive to her artistic mother, who taught her to sew, and her father, who let her monkey around with the gadgets in his workshop. Her poetry, short stories and art have been published in more than fifty literary journals. She has a poetry chapbook award from Bottom Dog Press and an MFA from The University of Southern Maine.

Website http://lindaksienkiewicz.com
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