The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker by Charlene Bell Dietz | Book Review ~ Guest Post from Author ~ Excerpt ~ $25 Gift Card | #HistoricalFiction #Mystery @GoddessFish
“The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker” is a captivating tale set in the vibrant era of 1923, where America is abuzz with the Model T’s popularity and jazz music’s reign. Prohibition dominates social gatherings, and the daring flapper lifestyle challenges traditional norms.
A book blog tour from Goddess Fish Promotions.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and Marianne & Judy at Goddess Fish for providing me with the information for this tour.
Book Details
The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker by Charlene Bell Dietz Series: Part of the Inkydance Book Club Collection
Published by Quill Mark Press on November 21, 2017
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Suspense
Format: eBook, Hardcover, Paperback
Pages: 308
n 1923 ten million families own the Model T, America's most popular automobile. Ziegfeld Follies comes into its heyday and jazz reigns as king of music. This is the time when prohibition dominates social gatherings, and F. Scott Fitzgerald becomes the Flapper expert. Younger women all over the country shun having to wear corsets and trailing Victorian dresses like their mothers. These ladies rebel against waist-length braids in favor of the right to bob their locks. They argue for free speech and equality, beg to wear lipstick, and on occasion, show their knees.
When college-bound Kathleen McPherson, in Minneapolis, pushes her family's traditional boundaries, she's horrified to discover a stalker intent on killing her. A classmate, whose romantic life seems to parallel Kathleen's, is stabbed to death near Kathleen's home. Gossip implies the murdered girl carried on with an older man.
Kathleen and her best friend run away to Chicago to escape the knife-wielding stalker and to find happiness as Flappers. Instead of an entertainer's life full of fun and frolic, Kathleen encounters deception, death, heartbreak, and revenge. Not only does the stalker continue to pursue her, but she must rescue her best friend from gangsters, and escape being murdered by the mob.
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Excerpt from The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker
Kathleen continued, “You said you wished you could go to college with me. What if we could go somewhere together, not to college, but someplace where we could dance and act and you could sing? I bet with our talents, we could turn this horrid world into something much more joyful—help make it one big party.”
“How?” Sophie’s eyes opened wide.
“We’ll go where you won’t have to teach kids piano or act or dance unless you want. You’ll be able to sing your heart out and, who knows, maybe even write your own songs.”
“My mother would never let me.” Sophie looked off into the near distance.
“Sophie, we’ll get to wear sparkly dresses. And wouldn’t you love to wear those modern, classy clothes? We’d bob our hair even shorter, wear lipstick, and be around people who know how to have fun and not have a care in the world.” Sophie should see the photos in Kathleen’s collection of theater magazines again. Then she’d be excited too.
“I’m sick of funerals and consoling others,” Kathleen continued.
“Look at how miserable Dolly is. Aren’t you tired of that too? We’d be around progressive people, thinking people, people who know how to make the most out of life. They’re searching for talent, Sophie. We’ll fit right in.”
“Where, Kathleen? No one much appreciates our abilities here.”
“Chicago. There are all sorts of openings for attractive young ladies with well-turned ankles and voices like canaries. That’s what the advertisements say.”
Excerpt provided by the author/publisher for use in this post.
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Purchase Links for The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker
Amazon – OneLink for every country
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I love my Amazon Kindle Unlimited Subscription. So many books, so little time!
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About Charlene Bell Dietz
Charlene Bell Dietz writes science and historical-suspense, award-winning mystery novels, and short stories. Her award-winning short stories have been published in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers 2016 Anthology and SouthWest Writers 2019 Anthology. The Flapper, the Scientist, and the Saboteur combines family saga with corporate espionage. The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker propels readers back into 1923 frenetic Chicago during the Roaring Twenties. Both these novels were named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2018, and each won the coveted Kirkus Starred Review. Her latest novel, The Scientist, the Psychic, and the Nut, gives readers a frightening Caribbean vacation. Her current work in progress, a biographical historical novel, starts in England in 1638 and ends in precolonial Maryland.
Charlene, a retired educator, traveled the United States as a consultant for Houghton Mifflin Publishers after a career of teaching little ones, older ones, and college graduates. Surrounded by forests and meadows, she currently lives in the foothills of the mountains in central NM, several miles from the small village of Torreon.
Charlene is the current president of Croak & Dagger, New Mexico Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She belongs to Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and SouthWest Writers.
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Guest Post from the Author
Writing The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker:
I’ve written four major award-winning books. I love all my books because I don’t rush the writing of them. I need my characters to feel real to me, so I can’t even begin to turn out a book every year. This book, The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker holds dear to my heart because this book grew out of my forced association with a cantankerous old aunt, I knew little about. As her only relative, I ended up caring for her. She told stories about her life in 1923 when she was a teen. She refused to tell me juicy details, for the most part, so this book really is fiction.
This isn’t just another “Flapper” story. I love deep internal conflicts, and unpredictable plots. One of the ways I create these, is to write only in close- third person perspective. Third person becomes close-third when the author has the reader experience the emotions and sensations as the character. My stories do not head-hop, so the reader only knows what the protagonists knows.
My redoubtable aunt stole my heart, and her fictional story did too.
Two sequels are out there for your enjoyment, too. The rest of Kathleen’s story is covered in two other books: The Flapper, the Scientist, and the Saboteur takes place when Kathleen is quite old, and she wants to maintain her independence—as she always has, but her obsessive niece insists on keeping Kathleen safe. However, the niece works in a biomedical science laboratory where someone is sabotaging the research and murdering staff. Being compulsive and obsessed with her work, she can’t let this continue.
The final book, The Scientist, the Psychic, and the Nut was a hoot to write. It mostly takes place in the Caribbean, and is full of quirky character. The scientist takes her husband on the vacation of his dreams, that quickly turns into a deadly nightmare because the scientist won’t give up digging into the flapper’s past life. She annoys an angry nest of islanders, in her quest to uncover past secrets. This last novel ties up many of the dangling ends of the previous two books, and should give the readers some serious things to think about along with lots of giggles, too.
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Purchase The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker online from a local bookstore.
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Easy Amazon Info Link
Amazon – OneLink for every country
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Giveaway!
Charlene Bell Dietz will award a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Visit more stops on this Goddess Fish tour for extra chances to win!
Official Tour Page for The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker
Full Tour Schedule:
July 17: Kit ‘n Kabookle
July 24: Sandra’s Book Club
July 31: The Avid Reader
July 31: Gina Rae Mitchell
August 7: Aubrey Wynne: Timeless Love
August 14: Joanne Guidoccio
August 21: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
August 28: Westveil Publishing
September 4: Literary Gold
September 11: The Key of Love
September 11: Readers Roost
September 18: wendi zwaduk – romance to make your heart race
September 25: Fabulous and Brunette
October 2: travel the ages
October 2: Long and Short Reviews
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[…] Gina Rae Mitchell […]
This book sounds like a fantastic read and one that I will really enjoy!
Thank you for posting my blog. Just for the readers’ information, this book comes in three formats: Hardcover, paperback, and ebook. The ebook is only .99 right now. Gina, I appreciate your offering the readers’ such a good discount on the hardcover and the paperback. Yay, for you.
The book sounds very interesting. Love the cover.
Thank you!
Your book The Flapper, the Scientist, and the Saboteur sounds like a fascinating family saga entwined with corporate espionage!
I appreciate your comment. Thanks!
Thank you for hosting!