In the disastrous economic times of the 1930s, Joseph Gaston, a young widower with four children, arrives in the small town of Philibuster seeking security for his family. Instead, he faces barriers everywhere. He does his best despite great adversity, but the strain of feeding and protecting his family whittles away his strength. Finally, destitution forces him to consider giving up his children in order to save them. Enraged by his situation, he attempts one last desperate act—on the night he learns about the mysterious Lisa.
Heart
wrenching, humorous and historically authentic, Dinner with Lisa
incorporates the crucial issues of the depression: poverty,
unemployment, drought and racism. In the midst of love and loyalty,
trickery and despair, the ultimate message of the novel is one of
hope and the courage to survive even the worst odds.
Excerpt
# 1
He
looked up when Nolan suddenly exclaimed, “Dad!”
“What?”
Joseph felt drained as he pulled the overalls from the suitcase.
“The
baby isn’t moving!” Nolan sounded alarmed.
Clare
had been crying all day; for the first time she was silent. “She’s
sleeping,” Joseph said, his attention still on Sarah.
Nolan’s
brown eyes were wide with panic. “But, Dad, she’s not breathing!”
The
words brought Joseph instantly back to his feet. Bending over the
baby, he studied her closely. Nolan was right. Clare showed no sign
of life. Quickly Joseph put his face to Clare’s nose and mouth, and
waited—prayed—for her to exhale. Nothing. Were her lips blue or
was he imagining it? He wasn’t sure. “Christ!” he muttered, as
he grabbed the limp infant from Nolan’s arms and shook her gently.
“Did
she swallow something?” he barked at his son, startling nearby
passengers.
“No,”
Nolan said tensely, as he watched his father part the baby’s lips
and investigate her mouth with his fingers.
Joseph
balled up Cole’s overalls and placed them under Clare’s
shoulders, arching her head back and opening her windpipe. In an
effort to force air into her lungs, he drew her arms up and over her
head. When that didn’t work he flipped her onto her belly, turned
her head to the side, placed her hands beneath her chin, and lifted
her elbows to expand her lungs. All this took less than a minute.
Joseph
had never been so frightened. He had done everything he’d been
taught in the army, but Clare still didn’t respond. Oblivious to
the silence in the car and the distress of those around him, he began
to strike Clare’s back. Again and again he struck, each time a
little harder. By now the baby’s small hands and feet were grey.
“Help!
Someone please help!” he screamed, looking around pleadingly. “My
baby’s not breathing!”
The
other passengers were frozen with shock. No one moved.
Follow the Tour
April 21 - Author Spotlight at Wise Words
April 24 - Author Spotlight & Book Feature at Lori's Reading Corner
April 26 - Book Featured at B'Tween Prose
April 30 - Interviewed at Writing Innovations E-zine
May 3 - Guest Blogging at Ami Blackwelder's Blog
May 7 - Reviewed at Ereading on the Cheap
May 9 - Interviewed by Louise James
May 11 - Author Spotlight & Book Feature at This Author's Life
May 15 - Interviewed at BK Media Entertainment
May 17 - Interviewed at From the Mind of Omegia
April 24 - Author Spotlight & Book Feature at Lori's Reading Corner
April 26 - Book Featured at B'Tween Prose
April 30 - Interviewed at Writing Innovations E-zine
May 3 - Guest Blogging at Ami Blackwelder's Blog
May 7 - Reviewed at Ereading on the Cheap
May 9 - Interviewed by Louise James
May 11 - Author Spotlight & Book Feature at This Author's Life
May 15 - Interviewed at BK Media Entertainment
May 17 - Interviewed at From the Mind of Omegia
R.
L. (Rod) Prendergast was the entrepreneurial kid you saw on your
neighbourhood street selling lemonade on a hot summer's day.
Recognizing young Rod's preoccupation with money, his mother bribed
him to read with an offer of 25 cents per book—and instilled in him
a lifelong love of reading. Although he continued down the path of
industry—he started and sold his first business before completing
his Bachelor of Commerce—he continued to read voraciously. After a
number of years working in sales, marketing and management for
several companies he spent a year's sabbatical surfing and reading in
New Zealand and, free of business pressures, he began to write. Those
first words became the backbone of The
Impact of a Single Event—which
was long listed for the Independent Publishers Book Award for
literary fiction, and which became a national bestseller in Canada.
Spurred on by the success of his first novel, he took another
sabbatical and wrote Dinner
with Lisa.
He is currently working on his next book.
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