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.
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6) All prize winners will be chosen randomly by using Random Line Picker.

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