I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the IN LIGHT OF RECENT EVENTS by Amy Klinger Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out
my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Author: Amy Klinger
Pub. Date: March 22, 2022
Publisher: The Story Plant
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 336
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, TBD, Bookshop.org
In the 1990s American workplace, survival of the fittest is sometimes less about clawing your way to the top than developing good camouflage. And Audrey Rohmer is doing her very best to blend in as an undistinguished middle manager. Uninspired by her job and uneasy about her father's new marriage, Audrey coasts through the work week leaning on her “partner in apathy” – an admin assistant named Pooter – to keep her relationship with the married head of her department from becoming water cooler gossip.
But when an old family friend-turned-Hollywood-superstar crashes on her
doorstep in the midst of a publicity crisis, Audrey's under-the-radar status
quo gets upended, and the writing may literally be on the bathroom wall that
secrets will find a way out.
Equally acerbic and heartfelt, In Light of Recent Events is
both an endlessly engaging piece of storytelling and a fascinating commentary
on workplaces, families, and fame.
Reviews:
“I really
enjoyed IN LIGHT OF RECENT EVENTS. It's a fast, fun, emotionally engaging novel
about friendship, family, and the day-to-day horrors of middle management. Amy
Klinger gives us a delightful cast of characters to relate to, laugh with, and,
ultimately, root for.” -- Matthew Norman, author of DOMESTIC VIOLETS
“With a wit as precise as an edge of a carefully cut diamond, In Light of
Recent Events navigates universal workplace intrigues in this thoughtful story
about love, friendship, and growing up.” -- Jane Ward, author of In
the Aftermath
SCENE STEALERS: A FEW
FAVORITES FROM IN LIGHT OF RECENT EVENTS
At this point in its existence, the actual writing of In
Light of Recent Events (shorthand: ILORE) is a bit of a blur.
Part of that is due to the nature in which it was written—over a decade,
essentially in hour-long increments in the evening after working full-time and
wrangling a family. But even without picking up a copy of the book, I can
pretty easily rattle off my favorite scenes. The intriguing part of this
exercise was thinking about why I like them.
If you haven’t read the book yet, you might want to bookmark
this page as I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of spoilers.
INTRODUCING AUDREY & POOTER, pages 10-12
No secret, it was a lot of fun writing the scenes between
Audrey and Pooter. I knew how critical their first interaction would be in
setting the tone for the book. While many of their other scenes were trashed or
rewritten, this one remained remarkably intact from the first draft. Catching
these two characters in the middle of what could have been any number of
mundane moments in the five-day work week was given a lift by Pooter’s realization
that the rhythm of the copy machine is the same as Talking Heads’ song “Road to
Nowhere.” For Audrey and Pooter, it’s these kinds of small, unexpected bright
spots in the day that make bearable the routine, the interminable meetings, and
the gnawing feeling that they’re busy working but getting nothing done. Indeed,
a road to nowhere. (But ask me how I really feel about corporate environments…)
THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLARS, pages 119-128
Having completed an earlier version of the story that was
completely first-person, it felt like a missed opportunity to give small
windows into some of the supporting characters. Obviously, Pooter, but also
Jamie, and in the end, Dan. When I started imagining Jamie’s childhood, it
opened a lot of memories of my own. I, too, remember the gypsy moth
infestation, including the day the airplanes rained pesticides on the town. My
own experience was nothing quite as dramatic as Jamie’s. I was probably ten or
eleven and we just stayed in the house while school was cancelled. Those
images, though, of writhing, dying caterpillars pouring out of the trees and
carpeting the ground will forever be burned in my brain.
POOTER AND DAISY GRAB A MUFFIN, pages 135-138
Daisy was a later addition to the story, and I’m so glad she
showed up. Her confidence, smarts, and WYSYWYG way of being were a joy to write
dialogue for. And she talks a lot in this scene, showing off her smarts with a
wink rather than condescension. She turned out to be the perfect foil to call
bullshit on Pooter’s bullshit. Fun fact: I just learned that I have not one,
but two typos in this scene misspelling Wendell as Wendall. My sheepish apologies,
Mr. Berry.
RIGID FLOSSES, pages 255-256
Everyone knows a “Rigid” Knutsen. Someone who is a complete
rule stickler with superhuman organizational skills and maybe not the best
bedside manner. That’s the person on the surface. What I imagine, though, is
that for people like Bridget, this committed sense of caring doesn’t stop at
superficial things like process and neatness, it extends to the people around
them even if they’re not able to express it. I knew I wanted to show that side
of Bridget, upending Audrey’s expectations in a big way. It’s not Dan or Pooter
or Jamie or Julie that comes to Audrey’s rescue, it’s competent, controlled
Bridget.
TUG O’WAR WITH MRS. ASS, pages 267-269
Mrs. Ass and her unfortunate nickname were inspired by a woman
who lived in the apartment next to my sister probably twenty years ago. We
never knew her name or interacted with her because every time we were on the
grounds in her vicinity, she would bend over and start gardening, hence, her
rear was the only part of her we ever saw. The gesture seemed so deliberate, it
left me imagining a backstory for her. But rather than making Mrs. Ass a benign
presence, there was something really satisfying about having her turn menacing
in the end…or as menacing as an old lady strapped to a gurney with an oxygen
mask over her face could be.
What I most hope for readers of ILORE is that these
scenes and all the ones built around them are fun to read, make people laugh,
and maybe call to mind personal recollections about work and life and growing up as a kid and growing up as
a grown-up. I’d love to hear these stories from you. Get in touch through my
website at AmyKlinger.com.
About Amy Klinger:
Amy Klinger
is a fiction writer and essayist, a freelance copywriter and message strategist.
She is also an amateur baker, a mediocre mountain biker, and whatever the
opposite of "handyman" is. Amy has an MFA from University of Utah and
lives with her family in Vermont where she is currently working on her next
novel. Visit AmyKlinger.com for blog
posts and other updates.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon
Giveaway Details:
1 winner will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card courtesy of Rockstar Book Tours, International.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour
Schedule:
Week
One:
|
3/14/2022 |
Guest Post/IG Post |
|
|
3/15/2022 |
Guest Post |
|
|
3/16/2022 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
|
|
3/17/2022 |
Guest Post |
|
|
3/18/2022 |
IG Post |
Week Two:
|
3/21/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
|
|
3/22/2022 |
Review |
|
|
3/23/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
|
|
3/24/2022 |
Review |
|
|
3/25/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
Week Three:
|
3/28/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
|
|
3/29/2022 |
Review |
|
|
3/30/2022 |
Review |
|
|
3/31/2022 |
Review |
|
|
4/1/2022 |
Review |
Week Four:
|
4/4/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
|
|
4/5/2022 |
Review |
|
|
4/6/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
|
|
4/7/2022 |
Review |
|
|
4/8/2022 |
Review |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.