Freefall by Lily Iona MacKenzie Book Excerpt and Guest Review! @lilyionamac @teddyrose1

Freefall: Divine Comedy by Lily Iona MacKenzie 
Publisher: Pen-L Publishing (Oct 1, 2018) 
Category: Women’s Fiction, Literary Fiction 
Tour dates: Oct-Nov, 2018 
ISBN: Available in print & ebook, 255

   
During a four-day reunion in Whistler, B.C., Tillie Bloom, a wacky installation artist, reconnects with three women she had hung out with in the late ’50s and early ’60s. While in Whistler, secrets surface and a near death experience occurs during a hike, both of which bind the women at a deeper level. Their new intimacy prompts them to celebrate the millennium as well as their approaching sixtieth birthdays in Italy. So a few weeks later, Tillie travels to Venice to have an extended reunion with her friends. While the women assume they’re in Venice to vacation and deepen their relationships, Tillie has a hidden agenda: she intends to crash the Venice Biennale, hoping to find a larger audience for her art. Cupid’s arrows complicate her goals when she and an Italian priest fall for each other. The reflective quality of Venice’s canals also create unexpected changes in the women, causing them to turn inward. They all end up with a fresh take on themselves and their lives. Tillie, in particular, experiences a deeper understanding of herself. But will it take her on a path she’s ready to travel, and will Venice finally give her the recognition she seeks as an artist?

Advance Praise Freefall: Divine Comedy by Lily Iona MacKenzie

“Hilarious, spiritual, and sensual, Freefall: A Divine Comedy takes you on a rollicking ride spanning three countries and four decades. These fascinating characters will fill your imagination, defying expectations about aging, art, and what truly matters in life.” —Laurie Ann Doyle, author of World Gone Missing “This is an enchanting story about old friends reuniting as they struggle with thoughts on aging, religion, motherhood, men, art, and death. A delightful trip in every respect, with plenty of surprises and laughs along the way. A Divine Comedy, indeed!” —Mark Willen, author of Hawke’s Point and Hawke’s Return

About Lily Iona MacKenzie

A Canadian by birth, Lily Iona MacKenzie has published reviews, interviews, short fiction, poetry, travel pieces, essays, and memoir in over 155 venues. Her poetry collection All This was published in 2011. Fling!, her debut novel, was published in July 2015. Curva Peligrosa, another novel, was released in September 2017. Currently, she teaches creative writing at the University of San Francisco’s Fromm Institute of Lifelong Learning. She also blogs about writing and reading. 

Website: http://lilyionamackenzie.com 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lilyionamackenzieauthor/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lilyionamac

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Not Available Yet. Expected publication date is January 1, 2019

Freefall: Divine Comedy by Lily Iona MacKenzie

Guest Review by Nora S.

I received an email about this new literary fiction book that won’t be coming out until January.  Once I saw the cover and read the description I knew I couldn’t wait until January to read it! I enjoyed ‘Freefall’ immensely. I love when I come across a novel that I end up treasuring like this.

The book revolves around a woman named Tillie who is approaching her 60th birthday and decides to call up her old friends from her teenage years to celebrate their birthday together with a trip to Italy. What follows is a comedic romp that calls to mind some classic female-driven comedy movies like 'Bad Moms' or 'Mamma Mia.' Tillie's friends assume that she brought them on the trip to bond but they soon find out that she intends to use it as an excuse to try and finagle a way into an exclusive art showing. She wants to use the showing to promote her own art.

Tillie is an excellent character all on her own, but playing off of the other characters she was even better. Tillie's friends Sybil and Moll were kind of like a grounding force to Tillie and Daddy's zany, off-the-wall antics. The combination really made for a fuller and more fleshed out story overall.

The book also switches back and forth between current day and flashbacks to the 1950's and 60's when the group were young, rebellious feminists on a course for adventure or possible destruction. I loved the scenes in the past. I felt like the atmosphere and setting were done really well especially for a novel that already had a lot going for it. Honestly, if you like funny literary books, with a deeper meaning and some magical realism, you can't go wrong with this book. I recommend it highly to anyone who likes to spend their down time getting a good laugh as well as some genuinely heartwarming moments.

Giveaway Freefall: Divine Comedy by Lily Iona MacKenzie

This giveaway is for the choice of a print copy or ebook for three winners. Print is open to Canada and the U.S. only. ebook is open worldwide. This giveaway ends on November 30th at midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only. a Rafflecopter giveaway

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