Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Tuesday Memes: The From-Aways


Every Tuesday Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where you can share the first paragraph, or a few, of a book you are reading or thinking about reading soon.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Today I am spotlighting The From-Aways by C J Hauser.


Fresh talent CJ Hauser makes her literary debut with The From-Aways, an irreverent story of family, love, friendship, and lobsters, in the tradition of J. Courtney Sullivan’s Maine and Richard Russo’s Empire Falls.

Two women come to Maine in search of family and find more love, heartbreak, and friendship than they’d ever imagined one little fishing town could hold.

When Leah, a young New York reporter, meets Henry, she falls in love with everything about him: his freckles, green thumb, and tales of a Maine childhood. They marry quickly and Leah convinces Henry to move back to Menamon. As Leah builds a life there, reporting for The Menamon Star and vowing to be less of an emotional screw-up, the newlyweds are shocked to discover that they don’t know each other nearly so well as they thought they did.

When Quinn’s mother dies, she tracks down the famous folk-singer father she’s never known, in Menamon. Scrappy and smart-mouthed, Quinn gets a job at the local paper, an apartment above the town diner, and tries to shore up the courage to meet her father. But falling in love with her roommate, Rosie, was never part of the plan.

These two unruly women’s work relationship at The Star deepens into best-friendship when they stumble onto a story that shakes sleepy Menamon—and holds damaging repercussions for Leah’s husband and Quinn’s roommate both. As the town descends into turmoil, both women must decide what kind of lives they are willing to fight for.


Opening Paragraph

    I have two lobsters in my bathtub and I’m not sure I can kill them.
    I’m sitting on the rim of the tub. It has curled, brass feet. Everything seems alive and haunted in this house; that’s my first problem.
    My second problem is that I pet the lobsters. I roll up a white-buttoned sleeve and run my pinched fingers along the length of Lobster Number One’s antenna. It feels sensitive and unbreakable like coiled wire. Lobster Number One knocks his crusher claw against my hand, but there’s a thick, pink rubber band binding it up, so I’m in no real danger. I stroke Lobster Number Two’s antenna as well, so they’re even.


My Teaser

    I bet you tell zero people zero things. And not telling people things is not a favor! If you try to not bother people by not telling them important things, all you do is put fluffy unknowable stuff between you, and that is sad and also dangerous.
page 101

(These quotes are from uncorrected advance proofs. Please refer to the final printed book for corrected quotes!)

So...what do you think? Is this one you would pick up? Leave a comment below!
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20 comments:

  1. Since I loved both Maine and Empire Falls, I should probably read this book!

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  2. Keep reading.

    I have a weird thing for books set in Maine (please note, I live in Australia!)

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  3. This sounds terrific. Love the cover too. I couldn't kill lobsters. I feel bad walking past them in the grocery store. Here's Mine

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  4. I would keep going ... I like to eat lobsters but also have to gear myself up to cook them.

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  5. That teaser makes sense :-D Thanks for passing by my page

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  6. I had to read the teaser twice before it made sense to me. My teasers this week are from The Inventor's Secret by Andrea Cremer and Shadow Spell by Nora Roberts. Happy reading!

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  7. Nice teaser! I'd keep reading. Here's my Teaser Tuesday!

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  8. I have been curious about this book...love that title. And Maine settings appeal to me, too. That lobster scene is funny. Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

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  9. I like the cover. It has a nice summer-time feel to it. :-) I also like the sound of this book and would definitely keep reading.

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  10. I love the sound of this one,..definitely my kind of read. Thanks for sharing it.

    My Tuesday post: http://www.bookclublibrarian.com/2014/06/first-chapter-first-paragraph-65-and.html

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  11. I like the sound of this one…adding it to my TBR list. And I absolutely LOVE the teaser quote!

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  12. The Maine setting is intriguing. I can't help but wonder if the lobsters survive!
    My Teaser is from MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND.

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  13. Interesting. I'm not sure I could kill lobsters either. Here's mine
    http://www.lovebitessilkties.co.uk/2014/06/teasertuesday-opening-paragraph-harlot.html

    Kay

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  14. A good intro and I love the teaser, telling people nothing leaves others with nothing to work with. Here is my Tuesday Teaser

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  15. I don' think this is my cup of tea, but the teaser is lovely! Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier!

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  16. I love that intro and it sounds like just the kind of book I need right about now. First I heard of it so THANKS.

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  17. Nice teaser -- I'll admit I had to read through it twice to follow it, haha!

    Here is my TT post.

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  18. Love the setting and the intro caught my attention.

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  19. I like the first paragraph. I laughed when he said he was petting the lobsters. If he names them, he'll never eat them. Hope the book is good for you.

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  20. Ooooh, you give so much good stuff from this book. Please tell my significant other, husband, it's important to share deep stuff.:) Otherwise, he's a good guy. I also love the part about the lobsters. I mean how in the world did the author think to write so deeply about a woman touching two lobsters? It's just so moving. Also, would like to know the cliffhanger. What's the secret? Is it really horrible? Will it hurt other people? I really like this book. Plus, I like the hat the woman is wearing on the cover.

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