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Monday, June 24, 2024

Blog Tour- A MISFORTUNE OF LAKE MONSTERS By #nicolemwolverton With A Deleted Scene & A #Giveaway! @camcatbooks

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the A MISFORTUNE OF LAKE MONSTERS by Nicole M. Wolverton Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: A MISFORTUNE OF LAKE MONSTERS

Author: Nicole M. Wolverton

Pub. Date: July 2, 2024

Publisher: CamCat Books

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 304

Find it: Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/A-MISFORTUNE-OF-LAKE-MONSTERS 

When legends bite back.

Lemon Ziegler wants to escape rural Devil’s Elbow, Pennsylvania to attend college―but that’s impossible now that she’s expected to impersonate the town’s lake monster for the rest of her life. Her family has been secretly keeping the tradition of Old Lucy, the famed (and very fake) monster of Lake Lokakoma, alive for generations, all to keep the tourists coming. Without Lemon, the town dies, and she can’t disappoint her grandparents . . . or tell her best friends about any of it. That includes Troy Ramirez, who has been covertly in love with Lemon for years, afraid to ruin their friendship by confessing his feelings. When a very real, and very hungry monster is discovered in the lake, secrets must fall by the wayside. Determined to stop the monster, Lemon and her best friends are the only thing standing between Devil’s Elbow and the monster out for blood.

For readers who enjoy Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis, House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland, Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain, and The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst.

 

A deleted scene or a scene from another character's POV.

The original finished version of A Misfortune of Lake Monsters was in close third person, past tense, though still told from both Lemon’s and Troy’s point of view—and it emphasized Darrin’s Jewish heritage much more. Through various edits, third person became first person, and a seder dinner scene at Darrin’s house was scrapped as the plot evolved. Still, I love that scene, not least of all because a good friend was kind enough to check it over for errors—and also because I love ritualized dinners.

 

 

The dining room glowed bright and cheery. The long table was set with a pristine white cloth, white plates and bowls at each place, next to napkins set with matzo. Dr. Flanagan gestured Lemon in and smiled. Darrin’s mother’s hair was as out of control as his but dark blonde. She straightened her scarf, loose around her pale neck, and pointed to a chair. “Don’t you look nice, Lemon. Glad you could make it.”

“Thanks for inviting us.” Lemon sat and squirmed on the lofty cushion beneath her, sure that a raft of questions and accusations would come her way any second. If Darrin knew something was happening, his parents probably did, too. Devil’s Elbow was the size of a postage stamp. Plus, Darrin’s dad had to have heard the emergency call on his own scanner. She was lucky he hadn’t personally shown up to her house in the ambulance. She braced herself, waiting.

“It wouldn’t be Passover without you and Troy.” Mr. Flanagan leaned forward in his chair, planted his skinny elbows on the table, and scratched his mustache.

“Stop flirting, Dad,” Darrin said with a grin. “It’s unbecoming of a man of your years.”

“Oh, come on. Your father’s sexy. And he cooks.” Dr. Flanagan reached to place a large silver platter in front of her husband.

Lemon had been coming to dinner at the house long enough to recognize everything on the plate. The boiled egg, parsley, and lamb bone were easy enough, but it had taken her a while to figure out the tiny bowl of horseradish, the charoset salad, and the salt water. It didn’t matter how many times Darrin ran her through the Seder plate, though—she never could remember exactly what everything represented. At least focusing on the food kept her from worrying about the onslaught of the third degree and what might be happening back at the lake.

Darrin’s sister careened into the room in a blur of dark blonde and turquoise, and the sweet smell of candy perfume. “Oh, gross.” She flung herself into the chair next to Lemon’s. “You’re old, Dad. Old people are not sexy.” She flipped a hank of hair over her shoulder and set her cell phone on the table. “Could we get started? Jenny’s supposed to call me in an hour.”

“Far be it from me to get in Jenny’s way,” Mr. Flanagan said.

“You’re eleven, Betsy,” Darrin said, “What could you possibly have to talk about that’s so important?”

“Shut up, Darrin,” Betsy said and folded her arms over her chest in a gesture that looked so much like Darrin’s, Lemon almost laughed.

She let her shoulders unknot. Maybe there would be no inquisition after all. Small mercies.

“Why don’t you all shut up while I bless the wine and matzoh, hmm?” Mr. Flanagan said, grinning.

Darrin’s mother chuckled and slid into a chair before lighting the two candles set in silver holders on the table. Darrin and Troy sat at the other end of the table, and Troy caught Lemon’s eye and smiled. She returned his smile and for the eight billionth time in the last couple of days, thanked the universe for giving her Troy. She was still totally unhinged over this monster business, but at least she wasn’t alone. He’d been amazing, tendency to blab when nervous notwithstanding. More than amazing.

While Mr. Flanagan recited the berakhah, Lemon relaxed—really relaxed—for what seemed like the first time in a week. In this house, nothing could go wrong.

 

 

I think we all have our preferences for how a story is told—in the end, the first-person, present tense point of view in A Misfortune of Lake Monsters works, though I often find myself wishing there would have been space to explore additional themes that had been originally planned. You know what they say: kill your darlings… and in horror that often means more than your beloved characters.

 

 

 

About Nicole M. Wolverton:

Nicole M. Wolverton is the author of the adult psychological thriller The Trajectory of Dreams (2013) and served as the editor of Bodies Full of Burning (2021), an anthology of short horror fiction through the lens of menopause. She is a Pushcart Prize-nominated writer of short stories and writes creative nonfiction and essays as well. Her work has been published in over forty anthologies, magazines, and podcasts.

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Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of A MISFORTUNE OF LAKE MONSTERS, US Only.

Ends July 23rd, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

6/24/2024

Two Chicks on Books

Deleted Scene/IG Post

6/25/2024

MoonShineArtSpot

Book Playlist/IG Post

6/26/2024

Fire and Ice Reads

Top 5 Books/IG Post

6/27/2024

YA Books Central

Interview/IG Post

6/28/2024

Ilovebooksandstuffblog

Review/Top 5 Movies Post/IG Post

6/29/2024

Writer of Wrongs

Dream Cast/IG Post

Week Two: 

6/30/2024

Daily Waffle

Excerpt

7/1/2024

@dana.loves.books

IG Review/TikTok Post

7/2/2024

@stargirls.magical.tale

IG Review

7/3/2024

@evergirl200

IG Review

7/4/2024

@dreaminginpages

IG Review

7/5/2024

Lifestyle of Me

Review 

7/6/2024

@thepagelady

IG Review

Week Three: 

7/7/2024

@enthuse_reader

IG Review/TikTok Post

7/8/2024

Edith's Little Free Library

IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post

7/9/2024

@amysbookshelf82

IG Review

7/10/2024

Book-Keeping blog

Review/IG Post

7/11/2024

Country Mamas With Kids

Review/IG Post

7/12/2024

jlreadstoperpetuity

IG Review/TikTok Post

7/13/2024

@niks.bookshelf

IG Review

Week Four:

7/14/2024

A Blue Box Full of Books

IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post

7/15/2024

Books and Zebras

IG Review

7/16/2024

Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's

Review/IG Post

7/17/2024

Brandi Danielle Davis

IG Review/TikTok Post

7/18/2024

Bookborne Hunter

Review/IG Post

7/18/2024

@jaimes_mystical_library

IG Post

7/19/2024

@heyashleyyreads

IG Review/TikTok Post

7/19/2024

Deal sharing aunt

Review/IG Post


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