Tour Stop/Giveaway: The Measure of Life

 

Please welcome author Judith Works to the Reading Nook as we discuss their new book, The Measure of Life and make sure you enter the tour wide giveaway as the author is giving away a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.The tour is sponsored by Goddess Fish Promotions and you can find all the tour stops HERE.

Talking with Author Judith Works on The Measure of Life:

Tell us about your latest book, who are the main characters and what can we expect when we pick it up?

          The reader of The Measure of Life can expect to find a story of love and loss, lies and truth beginning in Rome as Nicole shares a cappuccino and cornetto with her Italian tutor Alessandro. The meeting sets off a chain of events that upends the course of her life with husband Martin, and daughters Sophie and Jenna. While Rome also brings deep friendships and immersion into a sumptuous food scene there is no escape from acknowledging the consequences of her actions. In search of forgiveness and healing, she moves to Vashon Island near her childhood home in Seattle only to find the way to reunite the remnants of her family and discover her true path is to return to Rome and face the past. 

Do you come up with the hook first, or do you create characters first and then dig through until you find a hook?

          The hook in The Measure of Life evolved as I became immersed in my characters and developed some themes more than others. I settled on one hook that seemed right but the acquisitions editor at The Wild Rose Press convinced me that it needed to focus on the meeting between Nicole and Alessandro. She was right! 

Which of your own characters would you like to have lunch with?

          One of my characters runs an Italian cooking school and passes herself off as a Contessa. I’d love to have lunch with her after she cooks her favorite recipes. We’d sit outside in the sun and have a glass of wine followed by an espresso. 

Tell us about what you are reading at the moment or anticipate reading in the future? Any favorite authors you enjoy reading in your spare time?

          Right now, I’m reading Presumed Guilty a legal thriller by Scott Turow and The Leopard by Giuseppe Di Lampedusa on which the wonderful Netflix series is based. Some favorite authors are Jacqueline Winspear for the Masie Dobbs series and Donna Leon who writes the Inspector Brunetti series. 

Which of your own books would you like to live in?

           My first book, Coins in the Fountain, is a memoir about living in Rome for ten years. I had so many wonderful experiences traveling in Italy and elsewhere. I’d love to relive those days! 

What do you do when you have free time?

          If I’m at home, I love to read but my real love is travel. I’ve visited over a hundred countries although the latest travel has been Hawaii, Arizona, Alaska. I enjoy photography and post on Instagram when I see something interesting. And of course, I have coffee with writing friends. 

How do you approach character development in your stories? Do you have any specific techniques or methods that you find particularly effective?

          I’m pretty much seat-of-the pants when it comes to character – I had a clear idea of who the characters were and what would happen to them, but I developed them based on how they interacted with each other. When one took an action, I had to imagine how the relevant other received, processed, and reacted. This eventually led to rounded characters. 

What do you believe sets your writing apart from others in your genre, and why should readers choose to read your books?

          The genre for Coins in the Fountain is memoir. I wrote it so that the reader would be entertained. You can expect to have some laughs while you learn what it’s like for two naïve Pacific Northwesterners to land in Rome totally unprepared. My genre for The Measure of Life is women’s fiction. You can expect a heartfelt story of love and loss, lies and truth, that are experienced one way or another by so many women. 

Can you discuss any upcoming projects or books that you're currently working on? What can readers expect from your future works?

          I have recently started a new novel about a woman who unexpectedly inherits an old house in the Pacific Northwest that leads to a discovery about her ancestry.

THE MEASURE OF LIFE

AUTHOR: Judith Works

GENRE:  Women's Fiction

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

A story of love and loss, lies and truth, begins in Rome when Nicole shares a cappuccino and cornetto with her Italian tutor. The meeting sets off a chain of events that upends the course of her life. While Rome also brings deep friendships and immersion into a sumptuous food scene there is no escape from acknowledging the consequences of her actions. In search of forgiveness and healing, she moves to an island near her childhood home in Seattle only to find the way to reunite the remnants of her family and discover her true path is to return to Rome and face the past.

 

Excerpt One: 

I read about a new concept called blogging. Intrigued, I studied the process to launch my own blog. After a lot of false starts, I managed to post about the day I bought bread in the bakery Maggie recommended and ended up meeting the old man. I titled it FIAT PANIS (Let There be Bread):

 

Once upon a time I met an old man out of a fairy tale. He was tiny and perched in a gigantic carved chair where he presided over a treasure trove of books and antiques. And it was the same day I first savored the goodness of real Roman bread. The kind of bread that’s crispy brown on the outside and chewy inside. The kind baked in a wood-fired oven wafting a mouth-watering aroma out the door to compel you to follow the scent back to the bakery where fresh loaves await. I squeezed through the crowd toward the clerk to make my selection while imagining ancient Romans clustered at the baker’s stall—the baker pulling the rounds of whole wheat spiced with poppy and fennel seeds from the hot oven while his wife handed them to house slaves who gossiped about their owners, and matrons who gossiped about the neighbors as they handed over a few coins.

 

I included colorful photos of the bakery and a loaf of fresh bread on my kitchen table along with frescoes of loaves from the ruins of Pompeii.

Buy Links: 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-measure-of-life-judith-works/1146224295?ean=9781509257799 

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-measure-of-life-1 

Google: https://play.google.com/store/search?c=books%q=9781509257805 

Itunes: https://apple.com/us/book/the-measure-of-life/id6673911691 

Books a Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781509257799

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links: 

After I earned a law degree in midlife, I had the chance to leave the Forest Service in Oregon and run away to the Circus (Maximus). In reality my husband and I moved to Rome where I worked for the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization for four years as a legal advisor to the director of human resources. I could see the Circus that had hosted chariot races during the Roman Empire from my office window. 

My husband and I reluctantly returned to the US after four years. But we pined for the land of pasta, vino, art, and sunny piazzas. Then the gods smiled and offered a chance to return to Rome with the UN World Food Program. Six more years or food and frolic in the Eternal City passed much too quickly. The indelible experiences living in Italy and working for the UN were the genesis of my memoir Coins in the Fountain.

 

Social Media Links 

Website: https://judithworks.net

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/judith.works.5

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worksjudith

Threads: http://www.threads.com/WorksJudith

BlueSky: http://www.bluesky.com/WorksJudith