Blog Tour: WHAT REMAINS OF LOVE by Suzanne Trauth

 

What Remains of Love

by Suzanne Trauth

 

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GENRE:   Contemporary General Fiction

 

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BLURB:

 

At the reading of her beloved father’s will, Kate, a divorced French professor, learns of his affaire de coeur during World War II with a French artist named Emilie, to whom he has left a substantial bequest. Kate, stunned to discover the existence of this woman who captivated her father, is determined to unravel the mystery of his past and unearth the truth. Though Emilie has passed away now, her daughter Yvette sends a box of her mother’s keepsakes from the war that are even more unnerving – among them a dried flower, a photograph, two smooth stones, and a train ticket. Kate wonders about her parents’ marriage. After the war had he abandoned passion for honor? Did he really love her mother, or was he compelled to marry her out of his sense of duty? How well did she really know her father? Or her mother? She embarks on a journey to the south of France to reconcile the past and confront her own demons, as well as the legacy of her father’s wartime love affair and the price he paid to live an honorable life. Kate’s life is changed forever…

 

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Excerpt One:

 

“I’d still like to know what there was between them.” I swaddle a picture in bubble wrap and secure it with a length of packing tape.  

 

“I’d say that was pretty obvious.” DJ could be snarky where Dad was concerned.

 

“What if it was more than a fling?” I say.

 

He sits down on the easy chair and fixes his gaze on me. “So, you think he never got over her?”

 

“I’m not saying that. I’d just like to know more.” The gift to Emilie Renault hints at a passion that disturbs me. A side of him I never saw. Dad was generous and thoughtful. But passionate? He and Mother had a caring but polite relationship. I don’t ever remember them sneaking a kiss or hugging with enthusiasm when they were younger. And since she died over twenty years ago, there hasn’t been another woman in his life. That I’m aware of. It seemed to me to be a well-bred, civil marriage, a peck on his cheek, an arm under her elbow.

 

DJ gathers up the putter and irons and jams them into the golf bag.

 

I have to say it aloud. “Maybe they were in love.” My statement hangs in the air.

 

DJ releases a deep sigh. His voice is firm but low. “Kate, you dumped on Mom while she was living and now you’re doing it again on her memory.” DJ slings the bag over his shoulder and bangs the door as he leaves the carriage house.

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Suzanne Trauth is the author of What Remains of Love and the Dodie O’Dell mystery series—Show Time, Time Out, Running out of Time, Just in Time, No More Time, and Killing Time. She co-authored Sonia Moore and American Acting Training and co-edited Katrina on Stage: Five Plays. In her previous career, she spent many years as a university professor of theatre. She lives in Woodland Park, New Jersey. Visit her website: www.suzannetrauth.com or connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SuzanneTrauth

 

Social Media:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SuzanneTrauth/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6187623.Suzanne_M_Trauth

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/SuzanneMTrauth/status/1518351835718950913

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

Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/suzanne-trauth

Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/What-Remains-Love-Suzanne-Trauth-ebook/dp/B0B27MSRPP/

 

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GIVEAWAY :

 

Suzanne Trauth will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway