OOOOOO I’m so excited to be participating in my first book review tour scavenger hunt!!!
Click on this link to find more clues and follow the tour.
From One Breath Away
My grandfather tells us this isn’t going to happen. My mother is far from being able to come home from the hospital. My mom will be in Arizona until she is out of the hospital and well enough to get on a plane and come here …
My thoughts:
Told in alternating voices, One Breath Away will keep you glued to the pages and have you one breath away from sheer terror. Not that it is a horror novel by any means, simply a heart-in-your-throat dramatic novel that in an age where lone gunmen commit unspeakable acts, the characters in One Breath Away will have you ‘gunning’ for a successful ending.
The characters ~
- A lone gunmen walks into the only school in Broken Branch, Iowa.
- A March snowstorm brews ever so closer and stronger.
- A teacher on the cusp of retiring and enjoying life with an adoring husband.
- A mother in a hospital recovery room a thousand miles away from wounds obtained in a freak accident.
- Two children ‘stuck’ with their mother’s estranged father, a grandfather they never knew.
- And a police officer with a past of her own determined to save a school-full of children.
These lives come together in the explosive novel by Heather Gudenkauf, author of These Things Hidden.
All I have to say about this one is hold onto your seat, be prepared to hold your breath and keep snacks and drink nearby cause you’re not going to want to put this one down til you read the very last sentence. Yes, it’s that good.
Interview with Heather Gudenkauf
Q. What do you draw from to write the emotionally charged scenes in your books?
A. As I write I try to imagine what each character is thinking and feeling and I find myself getting caught up in the drama and emotion of the story. Thankfully, my dog Maxine, is always around to lighten the mood.
Q. Which character in One Breath Away do you identify with the most?
A. I’d have to say that I relate most to Mrs. Oliver since she is a teacher. I do feel a kinship to each of the women in the novel because all are mothers. Though they are completely different characters with different personalities and experiences, they are all mothers and want what’s best for their children.
Q. If you could do it all over again, would you change anything about One Breath Away?
A. Once I finish a novel I am already moving on to the next project. I don’t spend a lot of time looking backward, but learn something new about myself as a writer with each novel.
Q. What is your favorite part of the writing process?
A. I love developing the characters in my novels. I get out my trusty notebook and begin to jot down these thoughts and gradually the character appears upon the pages ~ physical descriptions, histories, likes and dislikes, hopes and fears. I live with the characters for so long while I’m writing, and sometimes my hands hover over the keyboard and I have to decide which direction to take them, it’s not necessarily the outcome I envisioned, but it’s always an adventure.
Q. What is your least favorite part of the writing process?
A. I truly love every aspect of the writing process, but even so I get stuck once in a while and wonder if I’ve written myself into a corner that I won’t be able to escape from. When this happens, I go for a walk or eat a little bit (or a lot) of chocolate and all is well again.
I have been hearing a lot about this book, and have been eager to read some reviews of it. It sounds like it’s an excellent thriller that just grabs you and holds you down, which is just how I like them! Great post today! I loved the interview and the personal experience of what it was like to be captured by this book!
I don’t know if I could handle reading this … especially with a son in elementary school.