Sandra's Book Club: Blog Tour: EFFIE by Rhonda Lee

Effie

by Rhonda Lee

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GENRE: FICTION / Romance / General

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BLURB: Effie is the heartwarming story of how a young couple, killed in a pickup truck accident in the spring of 1959, fulfill their dream of getting married in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee some forty years after their deaths, by helping a young widower and father find true love a second time in life, and a new mother for four-year old Effie.

Witness the incredible power of love, the undeniable force of destiny, and the enduring spirit of those who have passed before us. Get ready to be moved, inspired, and reminded of the beauty that can be found, even in the face of tragedy.

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Excerpt One:

VENICE BEACH, CALIFORNIA,

Spring, 1999

His eyes do a slow sweep over the objects settled behind its protective glass doors, coming to rest on an Academy Award. Pulling a door open, he lifts the gold-plated Oscar, engraved with the words Best Screenplay, from the shelf and reads his own name inscribed on it—a significance less clear to him now than when it was graciously accepted. The dreams, goals, purpose and commitment he steadfastly pursued to earn such a coveted prize have faded, now meaningless. There are other awards, stacks of scripts—from his first written to his last—framed photos, and newspaper articles. A California Angels baseball, protected in its original clear plastic cube, signed in 1966 by the famed “singing cowboy” and team owner, Gene Autry, sits dusty, patiently waiting for salvation. Vagueness has long replaced ambition—an emptiness that’s settled for long walks on the beach and activities to keep a four-year-old happy.

He drops the eight-and-a-half-pound award into a box at his feet, like garbage tossed into a trash can, and reaches to remove the first of two framed movie posters from the wall behind. Once proudly displayed, soliciting many conversations that undeniably promoted a healthy ego, the posters have long been half hidden by an aging Kentia Palm, taller and grander than the blockbuster advertising it shadows. Exhaustion suddenly overwhelms him. He props each poster hastily against the wall, as if dismissed members of a once popular fraternity, and steps over to the sweeping ocean-view window. Constructed to slide on a track up into the ceiling, the entire wall-sized window’s impressive design is an indulgent invitation to step out onto the second story balcony, simply for a breath of salty ocean air, or to ease into one of the rattan sun loungers to chill and take in the spectacular landscape. With the push of a button, a screen can be brought down, preventing one of the many different species of birds from entering at their own free will.

Today, they’re both closed. As he gazes out over the glittering sand, not paying any particular attention to the seagulls, surfers, Muscle Beach bodybuilders, skateboarders, rollerbladers, artists, sun worshippers, or anyone else enjoying the various other activities on the busy boardwalk, he ponders a promise he made many years ago. He glances at Effie as she rolls a 1956 Ford pickup truck model that had once belonged to her mother along a marble-ledge bookshelf built into the wall. Only days before, it had held the weight of education; now, it was relegated to a donation box. And in that moment, he decides with renewed determination that he must carry on with his plan.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Rhonda Lee resides in South-Western Ontario, Canada, and is a former talent agent for the film and television industry.

Ever since being introduced to the town of Gatlinburg—nestled deep in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee—by her parents when she was a young girl, Rhonda has continued to make the trek to the Smokies at least twice a year.

It was in the spring of 1987 that she first brought her husband to Gatlinburg, and it was during that same weekend, while attending their first F-100 Supernationals pickup truck show, that he introduced her to the mid-50s Fords, affectionately referred to as Effies, and thus, this story was born.

CONNECT WITH Rhonda Lee

INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/rhondaleeauthor/

PURCHASE LINKS Effie

AMAZON.COM

https://amazon.com/dp/0228835488

AMAZON.CA

https://amazon.ca/dp/0228835488

APPLE BOOKS

https://books.apple.com/us/book/effie-a-love-story-that-transcends-time/id6466886411

INDIGO CHAPTERS

https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/effie-a-love-story-that-transcends-time/9780228835493.html

BARNES & NOBLE