{"id":154,"date":"2012-05-25T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-25T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/morefrommom.com\/suspending-reality-book-tour\/"},"modified":"2012-06-23T07:50:13","modified_gmt":"2012-06-23T12:50:13","slug":"suspending-reality-book-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/morefrommom.com\/?p=154","title":{"rendered":"Suspending Reality Book Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Excerpt 1<\/p>\n

In some places, autumn is a month that is experienced with the fullness of the
\nsenses. The first of a year\u2019s goose-bumps and shivers arrive with the dawn of cooler
\nweather. The red and gold and yellow and brown of dying leaves blanket the earth.
\nDusty, smoky wood fires burn in fireplaces that have been unused for months, and the
\nsmell hangs heavy over towns and cities.<\/p>\n

There are even sounds unique to the season \u2014 those first light coughs of children
\nadjusting to cooler weather, and the brisk brushing of men sweeping clear their all-
\nimportant driveways. The tastes are rich \u2014 pumpkin soup with a dollop of sour
\ncream and a sprinkling of paprika, or a creamy warm milk before bed.<\/p>\n

Cheryl parked her car and slid out awkwardly. She looked up to another clouded
\nsky that threatened rain that would never come, and sniffed the air. It smelt just
\nlike it always did \u2014 dusty. She thought about her childhood and how autumn had
\nonce descended upon life and left its mark, and was suddenly very homesick for the
\nchanging of seasons.<\/p>\n

Parkes had no visible autumn. The eucalypts did not lose their leaves, so there was
\nnothing but the usual dust to sweep from the driveway and where Cheryl lived, no
\none even did that. She did not know a single soul who made pumpkin soup or heated
\nmilk, unless of course there was a baby involved. It wasn\u2019t yet cool enough for
\nchildren to cough, or for anyone to light a fire unless they wanted to start a bushfire.
\nAutumn in Parkes felt a whole lot like summer in Parkes if someone took the sting out
\nof the sun.<\/p>\n

Cheryl pushed the door to the health centre open with her shoulder and stepped
\ninside. In one hand, she held a packet of Tim Tams, in the other, a half-eaten
\nchocolate bar. The dusty overhead fan swirled musty air around the room. Cheryl
\nthrew the Tim Tams down onto the low coffee table and stuffed the rest of her
\nchocolate bar into her mouth to free up her hands to work open the stiff windows.<\/p>\n

Any minute now, three other Young Mothers would waddle into the room and
\nthey’d spend half an hour complaining about how bad their lives were. A well-
\ndressed social worker would teach them about good parenting. The Tim Tams would
\nbe eaten \u2014 sooner, rather than later \u2014 and then they’d all go home.<\/p>\n

Cheryl made herself a cup of no-name coffee at the lukewarm urn and lowered
\nherself into a slouch in a wide vinyl chair. The government-issue furniture in the
\nhealth centre, much like every other object she encountered on a day-to-day basis,
\nwas old and worn. The lino tiles on the floor were peeling and chipped, and the
\ncounter where the urn rested had been covered in grey contact which long-had since
\nbubbled and cracked.<\/p>\n

She settled back against the dull green vinyl and sipped her coffee, washing the last
\nof the chocolate from her mouth. Cheryl was generally bored and depressed, but was
\nespecially unsettled today. The sheer shock of having tipped the scales that morning
\nat almost one hundred and fifty kilograms had knocked her passive melancholy into
\nan active slump. Somehow, she was getting fatter, and there didn’t seem to be a
\nsingle thing she could do about it. Sadder still was the reality that her gargantuan size
\nwas almost the least of her problems.<\/p>\n

I am completely, hopelessly trapped.<\/p>\n

She was stuck in a life that was going nowhere. It was a life that she couldn\u2019t<\/p>\n

remember deciding to live.<\/p>\n

When the meeting finished and the time came to leave, Cheryl would struggle to
\nget out of her chair because it was so low and she was so large. She dreaded that
\nmoment each week, it brutally reminded her that what she really needed was some
\nway to pry herself out of the life into which she had slid. The problem was, the
\ntechnique required was a complete mystery and she was beginning to suspect she\u2019d
\ndie before she mastered it.<\/p>\n

\u201cCheryl! You forgot your frozen stuff again. Lucky I saw the ice cream on the seat
\nwhen I walked past. Sometimes I think you\u2019d be lost without me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I would. Thanks, Lisa,\u201d Cheryl murmured. Lisa tossed Cheryl\u2019s bag of
\nperishables into the fridge and opened her can of Diet Coke, before turning back
\ntowards her friend and peering down at her pointedly.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what\u2019s with the lemon face? Jessica giving you problems again?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheryl shook her head and offered a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just didn\u2019t sleep well last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lisa sat opposite Cheryl and drank most of the can of Coke in one mouthful. She
\npropped her feet up onto the table beside the biscuits and motioned towards Cheryl
\nwith the can.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need a man, Cheryl.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheryl instantly reached for the Tim Tams. She opened the packet awkwardly with
\nher thick fingers, then shook two out onto her palm and tossed the packet back onto
\nthe table.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you keep telling me, but you don\u2019t seem so happy with Mick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lisa was already rocking a little, which she often did after more than a few minutes
\nwithout her Winfield Golds. She never, ever ate in public \u2014 and seemed to live
\noff a diet of cigarettes and soft drink. Lisa was a proud size 6, and had slightly stiff
\nbut perfectly peroxided blonde hair. Excessive smoking and her atrocious diet had
\ndamaged her skin and Lisa looked much older than 35, but someone had forgotten to
\nmention this to Lisa and she carried herself like a 19 year old supermodel.<\/p>\n

May 21: Love, Laughter, Friendship<\/span><\/a> <\/span>(Giveaway\/Guest Post)<\/span><\/p>\n

May 22: My Devotional Thoughts<\/span><\/a><\/span>(Giveaway\/Guest Post)<\/span><\/div>\n
May 23: Black Hippie Chick’s Take on Books & the World<\/span><\/a> <\/span>(Giveaway\/Guest Post\/Review)<\/span><\/div>\n
May 24: The Bunnys Review<\/span><\/a> <\/span>(Giveaway\/Interview)<\/span><\/div>\n
May 25: More from Mom\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong>(Guest Post\/Excerpt)<\/span><\/div>\n
May 26: Storm Goddess Book Reviews & More<\/span><\/a> <\/span>(Giveaway\/Guest Post\/Review)<\/span><\/div>\n
May 27: Full Moon Bites<\/span><\/a> <\/span>(Giveaway\/Guest Post)<\/span><\/div>\n
May 28: TBD <\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
May 29: TBD <\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
May 30: S.O.S. Mom<\/span><\/a> <\/span>(Giveaway\/Guest Post)<\/span><\/div>\n

Blurb:<\/strong>
\nEveryone has parts of their life they\u2019d like to change – but if your whole life had become a disappointment, how far would you go to find happiness?<\/p>\n

Esther feels stifled by her religious, judgmental family. Cheryl is unfulfilled by motherhood and trapped by her poverty. Carla is beautiful and successful, but haunted by the ghosts of her past.<\/p>\n

For these women to find peace, someone might need to die.<\/p>\n

Suspending Reality is a fast moving, intricate novel of character and suspense.<\/p>\n

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