Topspin

Hi there. Although I'm an established author I'm new to Aspen Mountain Press and Topspin, due to be published August 15th, is my first title with them. I also have two historical romances being published by Aurora Regency, so I'm pretty busy right now.

I'm a Brit and was brought up on the Isle of Wight in southern England, which probably explains why I've set my fictitious tennis club in that part of the world. My husband Andre and I now divide our time between Andorra - a small principality high up in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain - and west Florida. Right now we're enjoying the lovely summer weather in the mountains. This picture was taken on Saturday from my terrace. The crop you can see growing in the foreground is tobacco.

I've been involved with tennis clubs for years and when we first moved to Spain we joined one in order to meet people. The goings-on between ex-pats - the petty squabbles and power struggles - was grist to this writer's mill. Andre nagged me to write a novel on the subject.

"Call it Costa Capers," he said. "It will sell a million."

Yeah, right! Anyway, to stop him nagging I wrote the wretched book, changed the names to protect the guilty and set it in England. The result is Topspin.

 

A bit about  the characters I...er, invented. Jack Regent is an ex East End enforcer. When his wife cheated on him he lost focus, packed it in and moved to the Isle of Wight to spend his days drinking too much and playing tennis. He's a hard man with a past he doesn't share with anyone.

Joe Porterhouse is a respected cardiologist deeply in love with his much younger wife Claire. What he doesn't know is that Claire has voracious sexual appetites that she satisfies with an endless stream of faceless lovers. An accident waiting to happen if ever I heard of one.

Angela Shah has designs of Jack. She needs someone to relieve her loneliness and act as father to her fourteen-year-old twins. She's so tight-lipped about the identity of the twins' father that the other members conclude she must have a murky past.

And let's not forget Ed Brady, a man with his own agenda. When he's not bullying his wife he's plotting to take over the running of the club. We've all met someone like Ed, I'm sure.

The members rub along together, after a fashion, until the new coach turns out to be someone from Jack's past. In fact he's the man whom his wife cheated with and his presence affects not just Jack but all the main players at the club. Personal secrets become public property, resentments and grievances are aired, revenge extracted and firmly held views questioned as the story bulldozes to a bloody and unexpected conclusion.

This fast moving, gritty account of life in a small club will have you burning the midnight oil. Visit my website at http://www.wsoliman.com/ to read an excerpt. If you enjoy it please 'like' my Facebook author page at

http://on.fb.me/oBRZLO  to keep up with all my latest news and releases.

I'm planning a sequel to Topspin but need your help. I can't think of a catchy title connected with tennis. Any ideas? Come up with one that I use and it will earn you a mention in the acknowledgements and a copy of Topspin.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the tour. The next fabulous author up is:

Gloria Burland

Tour Rules:
1) Tour Starts: Monday, August 1, 2011 at Midnight (EST)
Tour Ends: August 7, 2011 at Midnight (EST)
Final Celebration is August 7th from 6pm-11pm (EST) at the AMP Community Loop.
Grand Prize: a Kindle (Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6″ Display with New E-Ink Pearl Technology) is the Grand Prize. Drawing will take place and be announced on August 7, 2011 on the AMP Community Loop at 11pm (EST). Only comments posted before 10pm (EST) on August 7, 2011 are eligible to win the Kindle. Winner will be notified by email on August 8, 2011 if they are not present on the Loop for the announcement.
***Individual winners from author contests will be drawn and posted August 8, 2011 on their individual sites.***
2) Participation at every blog on the tour is not required but the more blogs a person comments on, the more chances they have to win. If a person comments on one blog, they are entered into the Grand Prize Drawing once. If they comment on ten different blogs, they will be entered into the Grand Prize drawing ten times. Only one comment per blog per person will be entered to win the Grand Prize.
3) The winner of the Grand Prize must be a resident of the United States with a US mailing address. Non-US winners will be eligible for $50 US in Aspen Mountain Press books from the AMP Website.
4) Prizes at individual author blogs are completely at the discretion of the individual authors and are not in association with Aspen Mountain Press and its prize system. To enter the contest on any given blog, you must follow their contest rules and objectives.
5) By commenting on any blog in the tour, the participant is agreeing to these rules and policies.
6) All prize winners will be chosen randomly by using Random Line Picker.

To Move on to the Next Stop in the AMP Tour

CLICK HERE

Welcome to my World

Confession number one: I said I’d never do it. Run my own blog, that is. With thousands of intelligent, thought-provoking sites already well-established, the market’s overcrowded. Who’s got the time or inclination to care about the disjointed thoughts of a British author who has trouble taking life seriously?

Well, I’ve gone and done it anyway so let’s hope I’m wrong about that and I'm not talking to myself.

Welcome to my shiny new blog. I’m Wendy Soliman (nee Wood), native of the Isle of Wight in Southern England. This is me today, British by birth, gipsy by inclination.  

My intelligent, kind, witty husband André and I divide our time between Andorra and the west coast of Florida. Here we are earlier this year, enjoying the Florida lifestyle. As you can see, we believe in getting into the spirit of things!

Jake, a Spanish rescued dog of indeterminate pedigree, condescends to share our lives. I named him Jake Bentley after the hero in one of my books on the basis that they’re both hunky mongrels with independent spirits and naughty streaks. Here he is, attempting to tear the head off the squeaky chicken I brought back for him from America. The Yanks know how to make tough toys and he’s yet to make any…er, headway. (Sorry, couldn’t resist the dreadful pun).

I’m a huge animal fan. I grew up falling off horses and have had dogs all my adult life. If you get round to reading any of my books, you won’t find many where an animal doesn’t steal the show. Take The Hunter Files, for instance. I’m glad you asked about them. Oh, you didn’t. Well, never mind, since we’re on the subject, The Hunter Files is a series I’m writing for Carina Press under my W. Soliman persona featuring a retired policeman now living on his trawler yacht, the No Comment, in Brighton marina. He shares his life with Guilty, a large multi-coloured mutt who’s the hero of the hour in the first book in the series, Unfinished Business, due to be released in October.

Okay, so now you know all my secrets. Wendy Soliman writes Regency and contemporary romance. W. Soliman writes marine crime mysteries. The professional advice is to write about what you know and who am I to disagree? And just so we’re clear, that would be boats not crime. Honest!

If there really is anyone out there, thanks for stopping by.