Tag: Overlook

WFWA Online Book Launch Party

Published on by Elizabeth Hein1 Comment

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On May 10th, I will be part of the WFWA’s Online Book Launch Party. The quarterly Facebook parties are always lively and attended by an awesome group of authors. This event will be extra special for me because my buddy, Samantha Bryant, is celebrating a book launch as well.

Drop by the  Women’s Fiction Online Book Launch Party  on Tuesday afternoon and chat with me from 4:00 – 4:30.

Check out the impressive line-up of amazing authors:

May 10th from 1:00 – 6:00

1:00 — Kristy Harvey — Lies and Other Acts of Love

1:30 — Aimie Runyan — Promised to the Crown

2:00 — Weina Randel — The Empress of Bright Moon

2:30 –Cara Achterberg — Girls’ Weekend

3:00 — Nicole Meier — The House of Bradbury

3:30 — Alessandra Harris — Blaming the Wind

4:00 — Elizabeth Hein — Escape Plan

4:30 — Cynthia Ruchti — Song of Silence

5:00 — Samantha Bryant — Change of Life

5:30  — Camille Di Maio — The Memory of Us

 

 

Escape Plan available for pre-order now

Published on by Elizabeth Hein4 Comments

My next book will be coming out in a couple of months, but you can pre-order it now so it will magically appear on your Kindle on April 1st.

I am very excited about this book. When I wrote Overlook, the prequel to Escape Plan, I didn’t plan to continue Kitty and Stacia’s story in another book, but the gals wouldn’t leave me alone. One day, I was minding my own business washing my hair, when I imagined Stacia Tate Curran sitting on the bathroom counter. She flicked her cigarette into the sink and said, “If I hadn’t written that editorial, I never would have known that Bitsy wore a hair piece.” I had no idea what she was talking about, but I had to quickly dry off and get to a pen and paper before I lost Stacia’s voice in my head. Now, a year or so later, I’m ready to share the story of how Kitty and Stacia cover up a murder, hide an heiress from her husband, and keep their nosy neighbors from finding out what is going on behind closed doors.

epKitty Haskell needs help. After recklessly killing her lying, cheating, no-good husband, Kitty turns to her sister, Rose, and her good friend, Stacia Tate Curran to help her cover up her crime. Together, the women concoct a plan to make it appear that Seth died in a boating accident far from home, all while casting suspicion on his mistress. What they don’t anticipate are the dire financial consequences of Seth’s disappearance, the indifferent response of Kitty’s children, and the strain of guilt on their relationships. Kitty’s life is further complicated by the addition of a perpetually drunk heiress, an adorable baby that resembles Kitty’s children, and the intriguing young artist that shows up in Kitty’s life just when she needs him most. As their plan expands to include more and more people, Kitty is less certain she can get away with murder.

Pre-Order Now

Jackson Katz Video

Published on by Elizabeth Hein3 Comments

While researching the topic of domestic violence for an upcoming book, I came across this interesting TED talk from last year and wanted to share it with my readers. I am considering introducing the topic of domestic violence into the second book in my Overlook series, but it is a complex subject and I want to get it right. Also, that series takes place in 1976, so I have to be clear about how domestic abuse was treated then by the police and by society.

Anyway, I liked the connections Jackson Katz makes in this video between people’s attitudes towards domestic violence and society’s need to maintain the status quo. He also stresses the need for men to speak out against violence of all sorts as bystanders and peers. It’s worth watching.

Women Behaving Badly

Published on by Elizabeth Hein7 Comments

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In writing Overlook, I did hours of research on group dynamics and the issues that influence adult female friendships. I found many fascinating academic articles and several excellent books (most notably Queen Bee Moms & King Pin Dads by Rosalind Wiseman) that discussed the underpinnings of friendship. None of them were as candid and truthful as Alana Munro is in Women Behaving Badly – Exposing the Truth about Female Friendship. Her book is both gritty and accessible. I wish I had read it before writing Overlook. It would have been a big help in getting those scenes between Stacia and The Lookers right.

Here is the review I wrote on Goodreads: In Women Behaving Badly, Alana Munro exposes the ugly underbelly of female friendships. In this brave discussion of how women mistreat each other; Munro discusses how jealousy, gossip, and competitiveness erode relationships. She shares her own deeply personal experiences as well as the stories of pain and betrayal she has collected. I found it cathartic to read about how super intense female friendship is not “closeness” but a form of manipulation. The discussion of cliques and exclusive dyads was spot on.

Ms. Munro does not merely debunk the notion of a sisterhood of women. The last section of the book lays out some good tips on what to look for in a healthy friendship and offers support to every woman hurting from the betrayal and pain found in many female friendships.