Blog Tour: The Life and Deaths of Blanche Nero by Ken Brigham
The Life and Deaths of Blanche Nero by Ken Brigham
Publication Date: August 1, 2016
Secant Publishing
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback & eBook
Genre: Thriller & Suspense/Historical Fiction/Mystery
At fifteen, Blanche Nero watches the electrocution of her Italian immigrant father, punishment for the inexplicable brutal murder of his recently acquired friend Old Man Flaherty. She resolves to do something with her life that values humanity over justice, mercy over sacrifice. But she is forever haunted by the mystery of her father. She is also drawn irresistibly to the bigger human mysteries of violence and death.
After a grueling but successful academic career at some of the nation’s finest university hospitals, Blanche is almost sixty. Her long career as a trauma surgeon at Charity Hospital in New Orleans has been abruptly ended by Hurricane Katrina. She takes a year sabbatical from the medical school and leases a small flat in Venice, seeking an understanding of her father in the place where he lived his formative years—and of herself by reliving and recording her own remarkable life.
On a cold morning in Piazza San Marco, Blanche meets Count Lorenzo Ludovici (Ludo) an aging, elegant, and charming Venetian who is dying of AIDS. Blanche is drawn to him and is uncharacteristically self-revealing as he introduces her to his beautiful city. As their relationship develops and his health deteriorates, Blanche becomes ever more fond of the count.
As she relives her past by writing down what she remembers, she sees the girl she was and the woman she became with new eyes: the mystery of her father’s death; her distant mother; her sometimes misguided adolescent efforts to grow up. And then discovering the thrill of medicine, especially the sensual thrill of trauma surgery and losing herself in that career, immersed in violence. She recalls her attempts at relationships, especially with Jesse Pinto, the one man whom she has ever loved, and how she ended that. She remembers her love affair with the Big Easy and Charity Hospital (the Big Free) that came suddenly to a violent end.
Through a series of painful and revealing conversations, Blanche and Ludo discover that each of them has private knowledge of interlocking pieces of their history.
Available on Amazon
About the Author
Ken Brigham is emeritus professor of medicine at Emory University. He is widely published in the scientific literature and has authored or coauthored two previous novels and two nonfiction books. He lives with his wife, Arlene Stecenko, in midtown Atlanta. 
For more information see www.kenbrigham.com. You can also follow Ken on Twitter.
Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, June 12Kick Off at Passages to the Past
Tuesday, June 13
Review at 100 Pages a Day
Wednesday, June 14
Spotlight at History From a Woman's Perspective
Thursday, June 15
Review at Turning the Pages
Spotlight at Laura's Interests
Friday, June 16
Interview at Author Dianne Ascroft's Blog
Monday, June 19
Review at Creating Herstory
Tuesday, June 20
Interview at Creating Herstory
Wednesday, June 21
Spotlight at The Book Junkie Reads
Friday, June 23
Review at Back Porchervations
Monday, June 26
Review at Trisha Jenn Reads
Tuesday, June 27
Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews
Friday, June 30
Tour Wrap-Up at Passages to the Past
Giveaway
To win a paperback copy of The Life and Deaths of Blanche Nero, please enter via the Gleam form below.
Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on June 30th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US & Canadian residents only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
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