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Monday, June 29, 2020

Blog Tour- NO WAY BACK TODAY by @eric_shoars With An Excerpt & #Giveaway! @RockstarBkTours 




I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the NO WAY BACK TODAY by Eric Shoars Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About the Book:
Title: NO WAY BACK TODAY
Authors: Eric Shoars
Pub. Date: November 22, 2019
Publisher: BookBaby
Formats:  Paperback, eBook
Pages: 336

Field of Dreams + This Is Spinal Tap = No Way Back Today. Midlife demands some reckoning and Eric realizes he can wait no longer. As Eric hurtles headlong toward the big 5-0, he realizes there is unfinished business and is determined to find his childhood friends, convince them to form their own rock and roll band, and to go on tour! He searches out Todd, Laurel, and Lorelei so he can fulfill that dream. The story of four Midwestern grown-ups and their childhood desires to create No Way Back Today in the face of improbable odds and middle age will have you both laughing and cheering as you recognize your own unfulfilled dreams. No Way Back Today is the incredible story of the improbable journey of a reunion tour for a band that never was!

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite
No Way Back Today by Eric Shoars is a hilarious, bittersweet tale of childhooddreams and middle-age. It isn't just a novel, it's about not letting go of yourdreams, of taking second chances when you get them and of never lettingyourself down. The friendships between the four main characters were amazinglydeveloped, an inspiration to us all, and real people that we can all relate toin some way. This story will make you laugh and it will give you hope as itsteadily marches towards the end; you will be cheering them on, you will beholding your breath but, most of all, you will be compelled to read to the veryend and you will find yourself thinking back on your own dreams, especially theones that you never realized. Anything is possible if you just put your mind to it. A fun read!

Reviewed By Sherri Fulmer Moorer forReaders' Favorite
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a compelling novel not only about secondchances and pursuing your dreams but about friendship and self-worth as youmove through different stages of life. I'm a bit younger than the protagonistsbut so much of what they felt resonated with me as I found myself wondering ifthere are any dreams from my youth that might be worth pursuing as I entermid-life myself. The evolution of the relationships with Eric, Todd, Laurel, andLorelei was amazing and inspiring and shows that friendship can remain nomatter how much life changes. It also seemed to me that they "bonded"and their relationships matured as they shared their experiences and as newopportunities arose for each of them as a result of pursuing this dream. No WayBack Today is an excellent novel of inspiring redemption and shows thatmid-life doesn't have to be a crisis at all - in fact, it can rock! Great work,Eric Shoars! I loved this novel!

Book Trailer:


Interview:
Hey Eric!! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books I’m glad you could stop by for a chat! NO WAY BACK TODAY sounds AWESOME and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!

Thanks for the opportunity to chat and to share! My website is www.onionsreunion.com People can get more behind the scenes access plus see some of what the group experienced on their journey.

For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about the NO WAY BACK TODAY and the characters?

The four main characters are Eric, Todd, Laurel, and Lorelei. They were childhood friends who drifted apart. As Eric approaches 50, he gets the idea to find his friends, reunite them, and convince them to live out a rock and roll dream they had as 4th graders. A reunion tour for a band that never existed. While their outward goal is doing a tour, their journey becomes one of what the next phase of their lives look like as they are turn 50 with a healthy bit of nostalgia thrown in.

Eric has a wife and two adult daughters. He is one to take a risk. He’s not afraid to shake things up. I like to describe him as spontaneous in a planned sort of way with more than a hint of mischief. He’s smart, creative, and idealistic which can sometimes lead him to shoot before he aims…which can get him into trouble.

Todd was Eric’s best friend until he moved away after 8th grade and never spoke to Eric again. We learn why that is as the book moves forward. Todd owns an implement dealership. He’s big, gruff, and irascible. He is a loner and alone. His great pain comes from letting “the one” get away. He never married.

Laurel is a wife and mom to three boys – the last of which is about to head off to college, leaving her as an empty nester. She struggles with her identity. Who is she if she’s not a mom? Laurel is intelligent, very down to earth, very warm, but she is logical and methodical. She thinks everything through.

Lorelei is a widow having lost her husband to cancer a few years earlier. She has two adult twin daughters. Lorelei has an unpredictable personality which knocks people off balance but always in a positive way. She is someone who is impossible to dislike. Very magnetic. Though Lorelei has a good life she struggles to find a purpose for her life after her happily ever after died.

One of the secondary themes that runs through the story is: “what do I get out of this?” Eric gets the rock and roll band he always wanted but the others have to figure out what this journey means for them during the tour but also once the tour ends.

What are you working on now?

Actually, I’m working on the Onions At A Crime Scene album. Even though No Way Back Today is fiction, I wanted to make it as real and as meaningful as possible. I worked with a freelancer to collaborate with me on eight original songs that are specific to the life experiences of Generation X. The songs became plot points in the story. The lyrics are in the book and on the OnionsReunion.com website. I decided that I should work with a recording studio to record the songs and make them available on iTunes later this year. I’m excited to bring the songs to life.

Were any of the characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?

All of the characters in the book are inspired by people from my real life. My wife, daughters, family members, the friends are all inspired by actual people. I hope I did everyone justice.

Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?

Favorite character to write would have to be Lorelei. My goal was to make each friend’s personality unique and I needed one of them to be a “live wire” and Lorelei definitely is that for this group. She was a blast to write because I never really knew what was going to come out of her mouth. She surprised me often.

Least favorite…that’s a tough one because I tried to make everyone likeable in some fashion. I would probably say the most difficult character to write was Todd because of the tension/baggage between him and Eric. Trying to get him to share what he was really feeling and thinking was challenging at times. He’s not a touchy-feely guy and when the four are going through a journey that is emotionally charged, it made Todd an enigma for most of the book. He did not want to let people in or show emotion other than losing his temper now and again. As a writer, that was a tough balancing act.

What is your favorite passages/scenes in NO WAY BACK TODAY?

Oh, come on, that’s like asking me what my favorite kind of pizza is!  I will say that probably my favorite scene is The St. Louis show in Chapter Seven which, ironically, involves a revelation for Todd. I can’t go into detail without spoiling but let me say this: from the moment I was in my car writing the scene in my head to this moment I get incredible chills when I think of that scene, let alone read it. There’s a huge payoff that comes out of nowhere for the characters and it’s so real and so satisfying to me plus it caught me off guard which, as a writer, is just the best.

What kind of research did you have to do for the story?

Early on the greatest obstacle Eric has to face is just finding the friends. One friend he graduated with while the other two moved away in junior high and he has no idea where they are. The research I had to do as a writer was – to make this authentic – figuring out how in our internet era to go about trying to find people you’d lost track of and how far was too far to go in trying to locate them. What is the line between searching and stalking?

The other research I did was largely on the venues at which the band played and television shows on which they made appearances. Again, this book is fiction but I want the characters’ experiences to be so real for readers that they question if what they’re reading actually happened.

Who are some of your favorite bands/musicians?

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Sheila E., Duran Duran, Jim Croce, Foo Fighters, Pat Benatar, Queen, Linkin Park, Rage Against the Machine


What inspired you to write NO WAY BACK TODAY?

A few years ago a close friend who is like my sister invited me to speak to her high school English classes on the subject of storytelling. One of the stories I shared was my rock and roll dream that never happened. Not long after that, as I was approaching 50, I realized that dream would go forever unfulfilled. It was then I concluded I had the power to write that story and – in literary form – tell the tale of a reunion tour for a band that never was. No Way Back Today was also my 50th birthday present to myself.

Lightning Round Questions

What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?

I’m reading Sheila E.’s “Beat of My Own Drum”. Dying to read Ready Player One.

Instagram, Twitter or Facebook?

I’m on all three. I’d have to say Twitter is my favorite because the things and people I’m interested in are more often found there.

Favorite Superhero?

Batman. Since I was four years old.

Favorite TV show?

Legends of Tomorrow. It is so flippin’ out there, I love it. Close second – Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.

Sweet or Salty?

Sweet.

Any Phobias?

Snakes. I hate snakes.

Song you can’t get enough of right now?

“Talk Dirty to Me” - Poison

2020 Movie you’re most looking forward to?

Black Widow. Love her in comic books. Love her in movies. Love Scarlett Johannson.


Thanks so much Eric for answering my questions! I can’t wait for everyone to read NO WAY BACK TODAY!





About Eric:


Eric Shoars is a serial storyteller who considers the English language his playground and who never met a pun he didn’t like. Eric is a modern day Walter Mitty with a serious twist. His writing style is best described as “fly on the wall” putting the reader in the shoes of the lead character experiencing what he does as he does. His heart’s desire is to have a personal narrator for his daily life. It works in comic books so why not in the real world?

No Way Back Today is Shoars’ first foray into fiction. His non-fiction works include Women Under Glass: The Secret Nature of Glass Ceilings and The Steps to Overcome Them and Evil Does Not Have The Last Word.



Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a personalized, signed finished copy of NO WAY BACK TODAY, US Only.





Tour Schedule:
Week One:
6/29/2020
Interview
6/29/2020
Excerpt
6/30/2020
Interview
6/30/2020
Excerpt
7/1/2020
Guest Post
7/1/2020
Guest Post
7/2/2020
Excerpt
7/2/2020
Guest Post
7/3/2020
Instagram Post
7/3/2020
Guest Post

Week Two:
7/6/2020
Review
7/6/2020
Guest Post
7/7/2020
Review
7/7/2020
Review
7/8/2020
Review
7/8/2020
Review
7/9/2020
Review
7/9/2020
Review
7/10/2020
Review
7/10/2020
Instagram Post

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