Anne Marie Ruff's Blog, page 5
June 26, 2018
Female First!
Female First! is featuring "10 Things I'd like my readers to know about me by Anne Marie Ruff"
Read the full feature at this link.
Read the full feature at this link.
June 22, 2018
Borderlines Review
I adored this book. From the preview of Paula's international foible to the details about the lawyers' motivations and weaknesses, the book rang true to me. I found the interweaving of the political/international arbitration story line and Paula's flashbacks of her love life very well timed. Both story lines held my interest. Despite the fictional country, the political and moral conundrums in the book really happen in our world, and real people struggle in the absence of easy answers. Paula's dark sense of humor made me smile, and I must admit I loved the bits about her former New York lawyer fashion sensibilities.
I have spent time in Ethiopia near the Eritrean border, but I have never been to Lira (wink wink), so this book provided me with a vicarious adventure, peopled with textured and engaging characters, backed by a really substantive legal issue and fascinating moral questions. I think expanding a reader's life experience and a reader's perspective is one of the best and highest purposes of fiction. This piece of fiction delivers on that promise.
I have spent time in Ethiopia near the Eritrean border, but I have never been to Lira (wink wink), so this book provided me with a vicarious adventure, peopled with textured and engaging characters, backed by a really substantive legal issue and fascinating moral questions. I think expanding a reader's life experience and a reader's perspective is one of the best and highest purposes of fiction. This piece of fiction delivers on that promise.
June 20, 2018
Amazon Review
"This is an amazing story of love joining two very different cultures. You feel that you are part of both cultures, as you view the world through their eyes and their dramatically different approach to fulfilling family obligations. This is a book that you won't be able to put down until you finish the last page." - Shoregirl via Amazon review of Beneath the Same Heaven
Pic via Sophie Phythian
Pic via Sophie Phythian
June 15, 2018
Kind words for Beneath the Same Heaven
I must admit to a little thrill when I see comments about the book. Thank you, Sidney!
Via Sidney Higgins - "A great novel written by my dear friend."
Via Sidney Higgins - "A great novel written by my dear friend."
June 14, 2018
Reuniting with Friends
Fun to connect with people from earlier parts of my life because of my novel. Barbara Mauk, the capable librarian at Westminster Presbyterian's Lowe Library, who has known me since I was an infant, welcomed me with a warm introduction and an even warmer hug. And I was thrilled two of my Blake Upper School writing teachers joined us, wonderful teachers that I hadn't seen since graduation 27 years ago.
June 13, 2018
Terror at Home
"Beneath the Same Heaven" is a book about terrorism told from a very personal, intimate perspective. This is not an action thriller, or a masculine tale of intrigue. This story looks deeply at why someone would commit a terrorist act, and comes to the surprising understanding that love and a desire for justice can motivate a terrorist. In this story the terrorist is not a dehumanized other from a barbaric culture, but a relatable man, a husband to a mainstream American woman and the father of their children.
June 12, 2018
Excerpt from Beneath the Same Heaven
The house must be bugged, the FBI would not have spent so much time questioning me only to let me go freely. I imagine that all of my actions are being observed, I start to feel self conscious. What happens if they know I am aware of their surveillance? What are they expecting to see me do? How long have the cameras been here?
I slide off the counter and stand in front of the stove as if an actor on a stage. I smooth my hair with my fingers, brush the dust off my pants. I clear my throat and address the stove. “If you’re observing me, let me just tell you directly. I know nothing I have already told you…. “ “So stop watching me. I have nothing you want. I’m just trying to start a new life, to raise my boys. Leave me alone!”
In the silence that follows, the stove does not respond, my imagined audience does not react. How absurd I must seem, addressing an appliance.
I slide off the counter and stand in front of the stove as if an actor on a stage. I smooth my hair with my fingers, brush the dust off my pants. I clear my throat and address the stove. “If you’re observing me, let me just tell you directly. I know nothing I have already told you…. “ “So stop watching me. I have nothing you want. I’m just trying to start a new life, to raise my boys. Leave me alone!”
In the silence that follows, the stove does not respond, my imagined audience does not react. How absurd I must seem, addressing an appliance.
June 11, 2018
Reading at the Monte Carlo
Thanks to all who joined at the Monte Carlo last week to help me launch Beneath the Same Heaven. I so enjoyed the opportunity to share the novel with friends and family. Stay tuned for more readings in Minneapolis this summer and in Los Angeles in September.
June 8, 2018
Leave a Review for Beneath the Same Heaven
Have you finished reading my newest novel? I would be honored if you took a minute to leave a review on GoodReads and/or Amazon. And thanks for reading!
June 7, 2018
Terror-Alert.com
A fantastic mention from Terror-alert.com who picked up the Broadway World feature on my newest novel, Beneath the Same Heaven! Find the full write up at this link.
