Sketches of Life

Today it is my pleasure to welcome author A. Gavazzoni and her action-mystery-historical novel, Sketches of Life

Author’s description:

In the middle of WWII, France has surrendered to Germany, and young Lily, half French and half American, has her life turned upside down. A careless girl full of dreams, Lily must leave France and go to her father’s homeland, taking her mother with her. Lily’s mother becomes completely dependent upon her teenage daughter, and Lily is forced to grow up quickly.

Trying her best to support them both, balancing work and dreams of continuing her studies, Lily meets her first love and discovers passion and betrayal on her way. Ninon is a survivor. Alone in the world, she works as an exotic dancer in a French cabaret called Le Passioné, where she moves her hips to put food on her plate until a new and dangerous opportunity is presented to her. Although Ninon has lost faith in love and God, life will show her surprises can be found around every corner.

France, the United States, Spain, Austria, and Argentina present the backdrops for an epic tale of people trying to adapt to a world in turmoil—one that’s filled with secrets and surprises.

How much time should an author spend researching history?

I asked the author how much of her time was spent on historical research and how important she thought historical accuracy is (or isn’t) when telling a story. Here is her interesting response.

The novel is set in an historical era, but it’s not really an historical novel. Still, I wanted to show my readers only the real facts, places, and events, so I had to spend a long time researching various facts, from simple things such as when the first blender was created, to more complicated topics such as the presence and actions of the Mob in New York City.

I hate when I read a book and the facts are completely phony. I feel betrayed by the author, so I wanted to write fiction but in a way that a person could read my novel and know for certain the events and settings were accurately described. Every scene is calculated to have a true-to-life background; I did extensive research on each place and the people who inhabited those areas during those times. I try to make certain every character acts, dresses, and thinks in accordance with the novel’s timeframe and setting.

It takes a long time to conduct research like that. I write at least one hour per day, and usually, the research consumes at least a third of that time, but in the end, I’m usually very happy with the results.

About the Author:

A. Gavazzoni is a Brazilian writer, a former professor of law, and has been a practicing lawyer for 28 years.  Her first series of self-published novels,  Hidden Motives: Behind the Door, Lara´s Journal and The Brilliant Game, won several writing contests, gathered five gold medals, one bronze medal, five honorable mentions and was a finalist of many great contests (B.R.A.G medallion (Gold Medal); Book Excellence Awards (Two Gold medals);  e-lite awards (Gold medal), Golden Book Award (Gold Medal);  IPPY AWARDS (Bronze Medal), Readers Favorite (three honorable mentions); Paris Book Festival (Three honorable mentions); Eric Hoffer Book Award (Finalist); American Fiction Awards (Finalist); Indie Excellence Awards (Finalist); Independent Author Network (Finalist); Indie Excellence (Finalist); The IAN book of the year awards (Finalist); The Kindle-book award (semi-finalist).

Adriana speaks Portuguese (her native language), English, French and Spanish and she loves to travel.  Adriana loves to cook for her friends, to dance the tango, to work out, she is a voracious reader and a proud dog’s mom of two girls, Juno and Charlotte.

Find the author at:
http://www.agavazzoni.com/
https://www.instagram.com/adri_gavazzoni/
https://twitter.com/a_gavazzoni
https://www.facebook.com/A-Gavazzoni-513404948849469/

See the book video at https://youtu.be/nG4e1ARxqR8

Buy Sketches of Life on Amazon. 

During this tour, the book is $0.99!

Yes, there is a giveaway.

A. Gavazzoni will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Enter here to win.

This post is part of a tour sponsored by Goddess Fish. Check out all the other tour stops. If you drop by each of these and comment, you will greatly increase your chances of winning.

My Favorite Excerpt:

Having nobody else in the world and nothing to lose is terrifying, but it’s also liberating. No matter what I had to do, I would have the courage. I couldn´t disappoint anybody, nobody would cry over my actions, and I had nobody to please.

Things are as big as your proximity to them, and if you keep your distance, nothing can scare you or threaten you. Everything is just a matter of perspective, and the secret to surviving was to keep my heart safe and never expect anything from anyone. In the end, all feelings, good or bad, are only as powerful as you allow them to be.

I learned to live day by day, planning but not living for my plans, trying to solve just the problems I had in front of me and not worrying about things that hadn´t introduced themselves yet. As life had shown me, and Malena once told me, we had no control over the future, and it was as unpredictable as the ocean—it could drown a person if they thought they could tame it.