Book Tour & Giveaway: The Seduction of Esther by Jennifer Wilck

The Seduction of Esther

The Seduction of Esther
Jennifer Wilck

Genre: Contemporary Romance (Jewish Themed)
Publisher: Rebel Ink Press, LLC

Date of Publication: May 31, 2013

Word Count: 65,000

Cover Artist: Carl J. Franklin

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon     B&N     ARe

Samara Goldberg has a problem even the most beautiful singing voice can’t fix. She’s a walking disaster, especially when she’s around handsome men. To make matters worse, she’s in desperate need of someone to play the character of Mordecai for the Purim spiel she’s producing and the new congregant, Nathaniel Abramson, is a perfect fit. Nathaniel is a divorced dad who’s recovering from the biggest public scandal of his life. The last thing he needs is a relationship with the choir director at his new synagogue, who also happens to be playing the lead female role of Esther in the very play he’s been coerced into joining.

Woven around the Jewish holiday of Purim, The Seduction of Esther is a story of two people whose lives mirror the plot of the Purim story. Like Esther, who had to hide her Jewish identity from the King of Persia, Samara and Nathaniel are hiding key pieces of themselves. Evil Haman wanted to destroy the Jews, and the nasty Josh will do anything to keep Samara and Nathaniel apart. Will their love survive, like the Jewish people in Shushan, Persia, or will their fear keep them apart?

Excerpt: 

Never in his life had he heard anything more beautiful. The transformation when she sang amazed him. She commanded the music, bent it to her needs, and shaped it into an almost physical object of beauty. Her smile as she sang made him think she held a deep and precious secret she’d share with anyone who asked, if they could follow along and join in with her music.

But no matter how often he opened his mouth to sing along, her voice mesmerized him and he remained silent.

The hour-and-a-half service flew by. Before he knew it, the congregation had risen and walked into the social hall behind the sanctuary to bless the challah and wine and for the oneg, the snacks after the service.

He and Zoe joined everyone for the blessings. When the prayers were complete, Zoe pulled him by his coat tails toward the choir director.

“Come on, Daddy, you have to meet Ms. Goldberg.”

She pulled him through the groups of people who talked and munched on cookies, cake and fruit, toward the front of the room where the choir director, another woman, and the Rabbi stood together.

“Hello, Zoe!” Ms. Goldberg pulled away from the Rabbi and the other woman, grinned and opened her arms. Zoe raced up and hugged her back.

“I want you to meet my Daddy. I told him all about you and how great you sing and here he is!”

Ms. Goldberg looked up, her face open, eyes wide with happiness. Nathaniel met her eyes and for a moment, everything was fine. Fine, until recognition turned her brown eyes to cognac and her face to rose. Fine, until her hand shook and spilled her red wine down the front of his light blue shirt and burgundy tie.

He jumped back. This was the woman he remembered.

Giveaway: 

Jennifer will be awarding a $25 Amazon gift card and chocolate to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour (international giveaway)

So follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.

Book Tour Info: 
Don't forget to check out the other stops on the Book Tour:

Excerpt Tour:
June 10: Tinasbookreviews
June 11: My Devotional Thoughts
June 12: Flirting With Romance
June 13: Just Trying to Let it Be
June 14: Musings and Ramblings
June 17: Power of Passion
June 18: Books to Light Your Fire
June 18: It's Raining Books
June 19: As the Pages Turn
June 20: Deal Sharing Aunt
June 21: Bea's Book Nook

Reviews Tour:
June 24: Reviews by Crystal
June 25: Reading Reality
June 26: Queen of the Night Reviews
June 27: Straight from the Library
June 28: Harlie's Books


Author Bio:

When I was a little girl and couldn’t fall asleep, my mother would tell me to make up a story. Pretty soon, my head was filled with these stories and the characters that populated them. Each character had a specific personality, a list of likes and dislikes, and sometimes, even a specific accent or dialect. Even as an adult, I think about the characters and stories at night before I fall asleep, or in the car on my way to or from one of my daughters’ numerous activities (hey, anything that will drown out their music is a good thing).

One day, I started writing them down (it was either that or checking into the local mental hospital—the computer was way less scary) and five years later, I’ve gotten two book contracts from Whiskey Creek Press. A Heart of Little Faith came out in June; Skin Deep is coming out in November.

In the real world, I’m the mother of two amazing daughters and wife of one of the smartest men I know. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, reading, traveling and watching TV. In between chauffeuring my daughters to after-school activities that require an Excel spreadsheet to be kept straight, I serve on our Temple Board, train the dog we adopted from a local shelter, and cook dinners that fit the needs of four very different appetites. I also write freelance articles for magazines, newspapers, and edit newsletters.

When all of that gets overwhelming, I retreat to my computer, where I write stories that let me escape from reality. In my made-up world, the heroines are always smart, sassy and independent. The heroes are handsome and strong with just a touch of vulnerability. If I don’t like a character, I can delete him or her; if something doesn’t work, I can rewrite it. It’s very satisfying to be in control of at least one part of my life. My inspiration comes from watching the people around me and fantasizing about how I’d do things differently.

I can be reached at www.jenniferwilck.com or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jennifer-Wilck/201342863240160. I tweet at @JWilck, my blog (Fried Oreos) is www.jenniferwilck.wordpress.com and I contribute to Heroines With Hearts at www.heroineswithhearts.blogspot.com.

My books can be purchased through Rebel Ink Press, Whiskey Creek Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

To connect with the author online:

Website      Facebook      Twitter      Heroines With Hearts