Monday, February 4, 2013

Blog Tour (Excerpt+ Giveaway): Heart's Storm by Julia Sherman

Author Name: Julia Sherman
Genre: Women’s Fiction
YA/New Adult/Adult: Adult
Release date: 9/12/2012

Links to find/buy book:

Elizabeth Shulman, a twenty-seven-year-old Russian Jewish immigrant, would like nothing better than not to die a corporate accountant working at a Fortune 100 company. She wants to walk away from the corporate rat-race, but...she’s still holding onto the painful memories from her poor past—from the days her family came to America with nothing so that their children could have a free life.

But soon one day’s event turns Elizabeth’s world upside down and inside out. With her bubble burst, Elizabeth decides to take the first step, quit her job. However, her bullying boss from HELL offers her a promotion and a big raise. But there’s a hitch. She must also agree to do pro bono work to bolster the company’s image. Her pro bono assignment: tutor unprivileged kids in a Southwest Chicago elementary school. And there, in school, her life begins to change when she gets a peek at a different type of world from her own.

Heart’s Storm is a bitter-sweet romantic comedy about love and career, family and friends, immigration and hardships, betrayal and forgiveness, and the promise of the American dream.

Heart’s Storm: Excerpt #1:

You still hope you’ll find the job you love, don’t you?” she asked.
Yes,” I said. “Don’t you?”
I don’t know, Liz. It’s a job. Don’t you think it’ll suck anywhere you go? At least this one pays well.”
No, I don’t believe that.” I looked down at the side of my left palm, nervously tracing thin, curvy lines with my right index finger. “Mandy, maybe when I get married, after we pay off our college loans and save enough money to buy a house, I can quit my job, go back to school, and then start over. I still hope that my life can change,” I said quietly, afraid to look at her, as if her gaze could alone take that away from me. “This just can’t be it, can it?”
What will you study if you go back to school?” she asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. That’s the problem. But something else, something that will actually bring my life some…meaning. This just can’t be it, can it?” I repeated. “I just wish I knew what it was, I wish I wasn’t so lost all the time. Don’t you ever feel like that, Amanda?”
She shook her head. “I know what I want. I want to have a child, and I want to stay at home. But we can’t afford that. So even when we do get pregnant, I still have to have a job.”
Maybe Sam will get a big promotion, and you won’t have to.”
Maybe.” She sighed heavily and I patted her shoulder.
Not everyone’s a lost star in this universe. True. But somehow I always managed to be one, and I mean that in every way possible.
Life’s a mystery for some people and not so much for other people. Some know what they want, like Amanda, and others, like me, always wonder. Not about Justin, I’m sure about him and about our life together, very sure. Yet despite all of this, why do I feel so empty? “This place just can’t be it, can it?” I whispered loudly again.
That’s exactly what I said thirty years ago,” Nancy Wilson said. My God, thirty years ago! Nancy is sixty-two. She’s another accountant from our group. She turned her head and smiled at me, revealing a perfect set of sharp fangs. “And I’m still here. God gave me the courage to accept the things I can’t change.” She leaned and waggled a bony finger in my face. Is that what I will look like? Of course, you will look like that! “And now I enjoy it. I come in every day and know what to expect. It gives me stability, and now I’m about two years away from retirement.” She flashed me another sweet smile and adjusted her green glasses. I saw myself in thirty-five years. I thought I was about to faint.
That’s so nice, Nancy,” I said, and swallowed several times, trying to hold back the nausea. God… Help Me Please!
Ladies and gents, thank you and don’t forget that next week is our employee appreciation day luncheon,” the president announced from the stage. “Pizza and ice cream will be served in the cafeteria.” The end of the speech was followed by a round of enthusiastic applause.
Is it finally over?” I breathed, grateful for the chance to flee out the door. “Amanda, I have to go,” I said getting up. “Cover for me with Brandon, in case he asks for me.” I got up and rushed towards the exit. My last glimpse backward was of Brandon’s vigilant stare trailing after me.


About the Author: Julia was born in Minsk, Belarus. At the age of eleven, she immigrated with her family to the United States. She currently lives in Chicago, IL with her husband and their daughter, Arielle.

She graduated from DePaul University in 2002 with a B.A. in Accounting and Finance. She also has an MBA from DePaul University in Entrepreneurship.

She studied Creative Writing with Jerry Cleaver at the Writer's Loft, and with Susan Breen at NYC Pitch and Shop, among many others. Additionally, Julia was one of the staff writers for the Chicago Holocaust Project, "Evidence of Holocaust: Never Forget."


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Up for grabs are six (6) eBook copies of Heart’s Storm. This giveaway is open for US and international entrants. 
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