It’s an exciting end of the year for me … my first novel, THE DEMISE OF THE SOCCER MOMS, is now available as an eBook at Amazon and Smashwords, coming soon to other eStores, and available in print by the end of January. 
You can purchase the eBook here:
Amazon
Smashwords (Stanza, Palm, Sony)
Barnes & Noble – coming soon
Apple iBook – coming soon
On this last day of 2010, I’d like to introduce you to the main characters and explain what “Suburban Noir” evokes in my mind.
Back cover copy: A seemingly quiet suburban neighborhood is upended when a provocative single mother saunters onto the school playground for the first time. Her Doc Marten boots, tight T-shirts, and in-your-face attitude stir up buried fears and sexual anxiety.
In the dark corners of her home, a woman battles crippling memories that threaten to destroy the family she wants so desperately to protect. A suspicious death forces her best friend to make a hard choice between marriage and friendship.
Paranoia, jealousy, and maternal instinct collide, leading to the demise of the soccer moms.
Suburban Noir – where the mundane is menacing.
Curious about what I mean by “Suburban Noir”? Traditionally, Noir Fiction is said to illustrate a subterranean stream of discontent, a sense that the so-called “good life” isn’t really that good — that it’s actually quite toxic, because it’s based on envy, greed, and materialism. In some ways, this describes suburban culture where having everything isn’t enough.
I think of Suburban Noir as a sub-genre of psychological suspense. The characters are wounded and flawed, yearning for something they can’t always define. A few of them are more than a bit off balance, driven to crime by mental and emotional forces they’re unable to control.
And here are the main characters in this first novel-length peek into my noir suburban world:
- Rachel Matthews – A woman obsessed over her son’s peculiar behavior and more devoted to her friends than to her adoring husband.
- Amy Lewis – A traumatic event in her childhood left her brimming with anxieties. A newcomer’s provocative style stirs up the cruel voice of Amy’s father and intensifies her paranoia.
- Charlotte Whittington – Living in suburbia isn’t her first choice, but it’s the best place for her daughter right now. All she wants to do is feel safe and pursue her artistic desires, but Amy Lewis views her as a femme fatale who doesn’t belong in their Silicon Valley community.
I’m going to have to do something about my RSS reader. I didn’t get this until this morning!
Congratulations on the release! I’m reading it now and anxious to finish. Do you think I could tell my family to go away and leave me alone until I’ve finished?
I’m getting blog updates late too. It’s hit and miss, sometimes almost immediate, sometimes the following day.
Thanks and thanks for reading
Maybe just point them to the fridge!
Pingback: What did I decide? « Out of My Mind
Pingback: Close to it « Nancy Drew Too
Cathryn this is so wonderfully EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your book sounds wonderful, and I love the description of Suburban Noir – I am even more intrigued now!
My only regret is that I wasn’t here on the day of this post to say congratulations!
So, do I read your novel as my first ever e-book, or do I wait for print?
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks, your comment made me smile!
The print should be out (PoD) by the end of January, so whatever you prefer. I’m enjoying eBooks more than I thought I would, I feel like I can squeeze in more moments of reading time, but I still like my print books (they hang around like old friends).
Glad to make you smile
Would I read it on my laptop?
(Gosh, sometimes I feel like such a dinosaur! But I’m commenting from my iPhone for the first time)
I don’t have an ereader or iPad ….yet:)
You can get free Kindle for Mac on your laptop (you can download from Amazon).
I’ve read novels on my iPhone. I have mixed feelings … you do a lot of page turning and it just “feels” tiny holding the phone. The screen size didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would because the font was a size that was easy on my eyes. I loved that I could read a few pages standing in lines, waiting for meetings to start, etc. In fact, it’s expanded my available reading time, which I love. (But I don’t have small children, so my line-standing experience is likely far different from yours!)
lol, yes I’m sure it is
free kindle…..well, well, well.