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Friday, 15 January 2016

☀ Simmer and Smoke: Squash Blossom Trilogy [1] - Peggy Lampman

Thank you for joining us on the Virtual Book Tour for Simmer and Smoke: A Southern Tale of Grit and Spice, a Women's Contemporary Fiction novel by début author (, Peggy Lampman, 381 pages).

This is the first book in the Squash Blossom Trilogy.

Ten percent of net profits from the sale of this  novel are donated to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and excerpt below, as well as our Q&A with author Peggy Lampman. Read the Prologue and the first chapter with Amazon Look Inside.  Simmer and Smoke is FREE on Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Owner's Lending Library.

Author Peggy Lampman will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.   Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other excerpts (☀), interviews (ℚ), reviews (✍) and guest blog posts (✉).

Synopsis | Teaser | Author Q&A | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

Synopsis

A single mother who dreams of becoming a chef.

A food writer who just lost the love of her life.

Two women discover what's worth fighting for in this deliciously rendered novel that illuminates the power of food, love, friendship and family on the human heart

1. ASSEMBLE INGREDIENTS:

Shelby Preston--a young, single mother trapped in a hardscrabble life in rural Georgia--escapes her reality as she fantasizes herself a respected chef in a kitchen of gleaming stainless steel and pans shimmering with heat. Mallory Lakes--an Atlanta newspaper food writer--may lose her job, and searches for her muse in a shot glass of illusion.

2. SIMMER:

Mallory secures her job by crafting a zealous doppelgänger to satisfy the expectations of an illusive cyber audience. This also mollifies the memories of her lover who recently bolted; no warning. Shelby persuades her mother to take care of her daughter so she can pursue her dream of going to chef school in Atlanta. She cooks them a special dinner said to bring good luck; Lord knows her family could use a pot of something good.

3. SMOKE:

Chasing desires and ambitions, the women's lives unravel down a path beyond the kitchen, then weave together in an unsettling culinary landscape of organic farms and shadowy borders--some borders not meant to be crossed. As Mallory combats her demons with booze and pills, and Shelby battles the odds stacked against her for becoming a chef, the women discover what's really worth fighting for.

Teaser: Excerpt

Mallory

     Memos from the edge, self-help hieroglyphics, throwaway lines galloping off paper, most of them unfinished. These are the words I should have said to Cooper the day he left, bade farewell, adios, arrivederci—however you say goodbye. Itchy, my dearest friend, is returning a platter and will ignore them, assuming they are recipe scribbles. But if these tourniquets had a voice, their banshee wail would rant, rage and scream, shaking the foundations of Atlanta.
     Dearest Cooper. What a splendid feast you made of me. A sprinkle of salt, a grind of pepper, you chewed me up then spit me out. Was I that abhorrent?
     Visceral, grisly, teeth-gnashing words; much better script. I write, post, then return to my cutting board. Chopping furiously, I collect, examine, and discard words much too ordinary to assuage my grief. Words...words...I need more words; what words can I write that will ease the pain of what you’ve done?

Simmer and Smoke
Available NOW!

UK: purchase from Amazon.co.uk US: purchase from Amazon.com purchase from Barnes & Noble find on Goodreads

About the Author

Peggy Lampman was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama.

After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in communications, she moved to New York City, where she worked as a copywriter and photographer for Hill and Knowlton, a public relations firm.

She moved back to Ann Arbor, her college town, and opened up a specialty foods store, The Back Alley Gourmet.

After selling the business, she wrote under a weekly food byline in The Ann Arbor News and MLive.

This is her first novel.

Follow Peggy Lampman:

Visit the author's blog Visit the author's website Visit the author on Facebook Visit the author on Twitter Visit the author on Google+ Visit the author on their Amazon page Visit the author on GoodReads Visit the author on Instagram Visit the author on Pinterest

Giveaway and Tour Stops

Enter to win a $50 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
Remember to comment to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

26 comments:

  1. Goddess Fish PromotionsFriday, 15 January, 2016

    Thanks for hosting!

    ReplyDelete
  2. dinnerfeedFriday, 15 January, 2016

    Good Morning! It's a pleasure to be invited to Book Chatter. By the way I love the layout and font used on your site-it's easy to navigate and welcoming. I'll be in and out through the day to answer any questions any of you have.

    My news (and sorry to be redundant for those following the tour), is that on Monday my agent called with a deal from Lake Union Publishing to buy this book and they're giving me an advance to write a next book. The scary news for me is that my idea for a second book (which I'm already well into writing) is not their idea for the next book! The next book has to be agreed upon (we have a good idea cooking) and written within the year. I took me a solid 3 years to write Simmer and Smoke. If any readers have any hints on inspiration and focus, I'm all ears!

    ReplyDelete
  3. NikolinaFriday, 15 January, 2016

    Really enjoyed reading the entire post, thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dinnerfeedFriday, 15 January, 2016

      Thank you, Nikolina. I hope you didn't miss the playlist on the other post. That was fun (at least for me!) Peggy

      Delete
  4. UnknownFriday, 15 January, 2016

    Great post, thank you for sharing! It's very generous of you, Peggy, to donate part of your profits! Congratulations on your great news! Unfortunately, I don't have any tips for you but I'm sure you can do it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dinnerfeedFriday, 15 January, 2016

      Thanks for the comment, Betty. I"m honored to donate a portion of the proceeds of the sales to the Southern Poverty Law Center. For years I've admired there work helping those less fortunate who don't have the means of protecting their rights in the legal system. Peggy

      Delete
  5. Rita WrayFriday, 15 January, 2016

    Sounds like a great read.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dinnerfeedFriday, 15 January, 2016

      To read more for free and decide if you like it, go to the "look inside" feature on Amazon. You'll be able to read the first couple of chapters: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0128KSSLW/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1

      Delete
  6. Anna Josefin BergmanFriday, 15 January, 2016

    Thanks for the chance!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousFriday, 15 January, 2016

    Good luck with the release!

    --Trix

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dinnerfeedFriday, 15 January, 2016

      Hi Trix. Yep--I believe that mother luck does play a role in new release. One can't manipulate current trends and timing. Thanks for the good wishes! Peggy

      Delete
  8. MomJaneFriday, 15 January, 2016

    Sounds like a great story.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Victoria AlexanderFriday, 15 January, 2016

    Really great post, thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  10. KarrieSaturday, 16 January, 2016

    I much enjoyed the post

    ReplyDelete
  11. Amy FriedentagSaturday, 16 January, 2016

    Thanks for the chance!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Nat (Lendo Romances)Saturday, 16 January, 2016

    I love cooking and books/movies about it. Have you seen "Burnt" yet?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dinnerfeedTuesday, 26 January, 2016

      No I haven't but I'm told that I should. Did you enjoy it?

      Delete
  13. Karla SSunday, 17 January, 2016

    Sounds great,thanks for the chance! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Bridgett WilburSunday, 17 January, 2016

    This book sounds great and I would love to read it. ty.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Diane EstrellaSunday, 17 January, 2016

    Thanks for the excerpt. I can feel the angst in the cooking!

    ReplyDelete
  16. UnknownMonday, 18 January, 2016

    Great giveaway, thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  17. UnknownTuesday, 26 January, 2016

    I just love the book cover, it’s amazing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dinnerfeedTuesday, 26 January, 2016

      I'm glad you like it, Dario. Lake Union, however, is planning to re-do. Should be interesting to see what they come up with!

      Delete
  18. UnknownTuesday, 26 January, 2016

    Thank you for a great post. I enjoyed it thoroughly!

    ReplyDelete