Book Details:
- Book Title: A Year in the Company of Freaks by Teresa Neumann
- Category: Adult Fiction, 515 pages
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Publisher: All’s Well House
- Release date: Dec 21, 2015
- Tour dates: Sept 11 to 29, 2017
- Content Rating: PG + M (Little violence and profanity, no f-words, no sex, but some drug use)
Guest Post by the Author
“A Year in the Company of Freak” Isn’t Hallmark Movie Material But You Can Definitely Share It with Your Loved Ones!
“They teased each other awhile longer … and before they knew it, they were making love as if it were the first night of their honeymoon. As if she wasn’t pregnant. As if, despite being the town’s new judge and owner of a fixer-upper, Tom Jackson had nothing else to do. As if the entire universe revolved around them in their shabby bedroom on an old farm near the little town of Trinity Springs, California.”
– A Year in the Company of Freaks
True confession: I’m an “old-school romance” sort of girl. Although A Year in the Company of Freaks isn’t what I’d necessarily call “Hallmark Movie” material (because of the 70’s lifestyle and drug element), it ticks many of the boxes.
A recent Washington Post story addressed the fact that ratings for Hallmark movies are “booming” and credited its huge, growing success to an assortment of reasons.
“It’s feel-good TV. There’s no sex or gore,” the report noted. “The main characters do the right thing. The problems get worked out.”
Sounds like Pride and Prejudice or It’s a Wonderful Life or Anne of Green Gables to me. I’ve come to realize that’s a GOOD thing!
The defining moment for me came at a writer’s conference several years ago. Although there were some great speakers, and I have a long rope for those with opposing views, the instructor of one class was seriously jaded and his hyper-cynicism came through as intellectual elitism.
He said (paraphrased), “If you’ve written a book that you can give your mother or grandmother to read, then you’ve failed as a writer. The more barriers you break, the more you offend, the more you will succeed.”
I vowed, then and there, that I would never compromise my core character, who I am, for literary success – if that was, indeed, required to attain it. I WANT mothers and grandmothers and daughters and granddaughters to read my books! I honor and value them. I mean, if I don’t like being offended why would I purposely offend someone else – especially someone I love? It makes no sense.
So, enjoy A Year in the Company of Freaks, and – yes – DO share it with your loved ones!
Book Description:
It’s 1972 and a seismic clash-of-cultures is rattling northern California. In the redneck town of Trinity Springs, rumors of hippies migrating up from San Francisco have residents bracing for an invasion. When Italian-American hometown boy and Berkeley graduate Sid Jackson is busted for growing pot on his deceased parents’ farm, locals suspect the assault has begun. Will a crazy deferral program devised by the sheriff keep Sid out of prison? Or will a house full of eccentric strangers, a passionate love interest, and demons from his past be his undoing?
A “disarmingly appealing” tale of discrimination, transformation and restoration, Freaks is bursting with intrigue, drama, comic relief and romance. Reviewers agree this five-star, coming-of-age classic “very much reflects the attitude and mood of the times.”
Praise for A Year in the Company of Freaks:
“This coming of age story will draw the reader right in. Teresa Neumann demonstrates how much she values relationships in her writing … a precious skill. I held my breath all the way through to the final few pages. Five stars!” — The San Francisco Book Review
“As it relates to the complicated clash of culture and counterculture, Freaks acts as an authentic, strongly Seventies book. Northern California works as a strong presence in the novel that is vivid and omnipresent, but never overwhelming. Sure to intrigue and entertain, Freaks will have its digs in you before you realize how involved you’ve become.” — The Manhattan Book Review
To read more reviews, please visit Teresa Neumann’s page in iRead Book Tours.
Buy the Book:
Amazon ~
About the Author:
Author of highly-acclaimed “A Year in the Company of Freaks,” Teresa was raised in a large Midwest family and now lives in Oregon. She is also the author of “Bianca’s Vineyard,” and its sequel, “Domenico’s Table.” Both books are based on the true stories of her husband’s Italian family in Tuscany. In addition to enjoying family, writing, reading, meeting her readers, wine tasting, traveling, and all things Italian, Teresa loves playing the fiddle with other musicians.
Connect with the Author: Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
Enter the Giveaway!
Ends Oct 7
