VBT and Giveaway: Secrets of the IN-Group by Carolyn Re and Loretta Re

Secrets of the IN-Group

by Carolyn Re & Lorreta Re

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GENRE: Women’s Fiction

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BLURB:

A small town. A world wide web. Is the net really a friend?

What do you do when the children have flown the nest and you have time on your hands?

Six women in the Australian riverside city of Albury realise that, without social media skills, they’re staring irrelevancy in the face. Their book club won’t cut it any more. It’s time to go virtual.

But their decision to plunge into the on-line world brings shocking revelations and unexpected outcomes. Friendships, new and old, are tested and their lives teeter on the edge of collapse. They must navigate a path through the chaos. But who exactly can they trust?

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EXCERPT

[At Martin’s technology lesson, Sarah is shocked at an image on her husband’s iPhone]

—Sarah tried to smile, but her face felt stiff, as if she’d had Botox injected. Her mind screamed: Who is this girl who looks so like Anna? Why is she on Rob’s home screen? And why is he enveloping her in some sort of … horrible hug? It wasn’t the kind of hug you’d give a girlfriend, more like a father’s proud embrace.

Andrea cleared her throat loudly in a distracting way, quite out of character.

‘Sorry, but I have to go soon,’ she said, gathering her things. She slid her iPad into its leather satchel. ‘Such a nuisance. It’s been fun tonight.’ She looked at Martin. ‘There’s only ten minutes left, would you mind if we finished early? Pick up on this again next week?’

Thank you, Andrea. The ploy had given Sarah momentary breathing space. Her internal scream quietened a little. She had to get out of here, away from the goodbye chatter and the polite offers to take a slice of cake home. She needed to digest what she’d seen and work out what it meant. She had to have time to think.

She dreaded time to think. With the flick of a switch—what a cliché, but how true in this case—her life had changed. It was all so confusing; her fragmented brain whirled with questions. But an answer, barely thought out, misshapen but insistent, was boring into her brain.

Rob has another daughter somewhere. A daughter who’s the image of ours …

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Carolyn Re worked for over twenty years as a general practitioner before turning to writing. No longer needing to produce serious medical and scientific articles, she's now writing contemporary fiction for older women. Carolyn lives in the regional city of Albury, New South Wales, with Ziggy the whippet and three contented chickens.

Loretta Re is a former lawyer who is now writing novels and screenplays. Her book for middle grade readers, Stand Up and Cheer, is a story inspired by the rescue of the Uiver DC2 over Albury during the 1934 Centenary Air Race. It was voted one of the best books for literacy and language development in 2015. Loretta lives in Sydney and is on the board of Writing NSW.

Carolyn Re worked for over twenty years as a general practitioner before turning to writing. No longer needing to produce serious medical and scientific articles, she's now writing contemporary fiction for older women. Carolyn lives in the regional city of Albury, New South Wales, with Ziggy the whippet and three contented chickens.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/regal525
Website: https://outsidethesquare101.com/

Loretta Re is a former lawyer who is now writing novels and screenplays. Her book for middle grade readers, Stand Up and Cheer, is a story inspired by the rescue of the Uiver DC2 over Albury during the 1934 Centenary Air Race. It was voted one of the best books for literacy and language development in 2015. Loretta lives in Sydney and is on the board of Writing NSW.

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/abridgedtoofar7

Buy Links

https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-group-Carolyn-Re-ebook/dp/B07Q8GSDBL

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/secrets-of-the-in-group-carolyn-re/1131124322

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INTERVIEW

What does your writing space look like?

Carolyn: I’m lucky enough to have a dedicated small office, replete with piano (a temptation to procrastinate, or a source of reward. I’m not sure which). One wall is lined with bookshelves containing all my ‘never to be thrown out’ books. Sure, I can source them all on-line, but a room without books is an empty husk. My whippet, Ziggy, is curled up on his dog bed—or rather, in his dog bed, nearby, keeping me company.

Loretta: My writing nook was set up for me by a friend with great interior decorating skills—something I’ve never had. It’s in a corner of my bedroom near a huge window with gorgeous flowered curtains and a wonderful view. Sydney, Australia, where I live, is all about views and from where I sit I can see ferries and yachts bobbing about on the water with the harbour bridge arching above them. Basically I need to sit with my back to the window if I want to get any work done.

What is a must-have while writing?

Carolyn: The promise of a small reward once I’ve written a certain number of words, or been at my desk for a set amount of time is my best helper. The reward might be walking the dog to the corner café for a hot chocolate, or taking a break in the garden.

Loretta: My must-have occurs before I start writing— going for a long walk to get into the creative mental space, or doing some breathing exercises. Meditation is another great way to get creative. 

Where did you find the inspiration to write this book?

Carolyn: I’ve been in a group of like-minded women for about eight years and we meet fortnightly to explore something new. I noticed that we were all a little fearful and reluctant to go down the social media pathway and I thought ‘it can’t be just us who are timid about this’. It was the seed of an idea for a book about women who haven’t grown up with social media, but decide to get acquainted — and then meet some problems. The adventures they have were inspired by news articles, a life-time’s experience and a chance discussion with a friend that led me to think, ‘what if … ?’.

Loretta: Some of my friends asked a computer guru to give us a session on computer techniques and social media. It was a huge help— the sort of thing people who’ve never used social media really need to explore such a vast field. Of course, I’ve been in plenty of book clubs too, so it wasn’t a big step to have a book club in our story that morphs into an information network group (the IN-group). Once that happens in our story it leads to all sorts of complications for the women. 

What do you do in your limited spare time?

Carolyn: My spare time now seems to be filled with exploring and recording interesting things to do, to feed my blog — https://outsidethesquare101.com/2019/04/30/76-write-a-novel/. It’s about fun (and frivolous) things to try in retirement. I’ve learned how to tessellate, baked the most wonderful Austrian Panama Torte from a recipe handed on by my elderly neighbour and now, I’ve written a novel!

Loretta: Reading is a favourite pastime. Also, like most Australians, I’m a great traveller. Some of my highlights have included seeing the orangutans on a river trip in Borneo and visiting the Parthenon in Greece.

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GIVEAWAY

Carolyn Re and Loretta Re will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

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