Emily and Einstein

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• ISBN13: 9780312382186
• State: New

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Amazon Exclusive: A Q&A with Author Linda Francis Lee

Q: What made you write a book about an unfaithful husband?

A: My primary goal wasn't to write about an unfaithful husband, it was to write about a man who lived a lie--and he didn't just live a lie to the world, he lied to himself. I wanted to tell a story about someone who found it easier to blame others for what was wrong in his life rather than take responsibility and attempt to help make it right. No life is perfect, but frequently it's easier to blame others or external circumstances than take responsibility.

Q: Why did you decide to write a book with a dog as the main character? Are you yourself a "dog person"?

A: At the time I was plotting the book, I had been thinking a lot about our dog Sophie who had passed away several years ago. For so long just thinking about her broke my heart. But a shift had started to happen and the memories started making me smile or even laugh. Sophie had so much personality. If she was mad at me, she ignored me. If I was sad about something, she leaned up against me until I felt better. I know it sounds crazy, but she felt like a little person, a sometimes crotchety person! So with all this thinking about Sophie, one day when I came through a tunnel in Central Park and saw the statue of Balto the dog, the pieces came together. A dog has to be a character in this book, and not just any dog, a wonderful but crotchety dog...and Einstein came fully to life!

Q: At certain points throughout the story, Einstein's animal instincts kick in, both confusing and inconveniencing Sandy. Was there a reason to keep this animal influence involved in Sandy's transformation?

A: I had become obsessed with Cesar Millan's THE DOG WHISPERER and to paraphrase Cesar, The problem is with the humans, not with the dogs. In watching the show I was always amazed at how owners learn to be better humans by learning how to deal with their dogs. As a result, between my memories of Sophie, and seeing Balto, then add in Cesar, I realized it had to be through Einstein the dog's instincts that Sandy Portman learns how to be a true man.

Q: Throughout the book the theme of "second chances" comes up again and again. What do second chances mean to you? Why did you want to explore this idea?

A: I think most of us have moments in our lives that we would like to do over. While we can't get an actual "do over", I love the idea that we can get another chance to make things right, or find another chance to achieve a dream. Second chances are all about having hope, and it's hope that gets us out of bed in the morning.

Q: As Emily turns her life around, she goes through several changes, from finding new love and beginning to exercise, to taking risks at work and attempting to discover more about her family and her own upbringing. Is there one aspect of her reawakening that you find to be the most important or groundbreaking?

A: I think everyone has a vision of who they want to be, or who they think they are. Generally the image we hold of ourselves is an appealing version. The fact is, who can afford to live with an unappealing vision of themselves. What I liked most about Emily was that she was willing to look at who she was, and when the truth started to unravel her, she held on, fought against falling apart, then moved forward in an attempt to be someone better. And through that (in addition to through Einstein) her husband sees an example of someone trying to be their best. It both helps him and makes him angry.

Q: Once Emily stops running from the things in life that scare her, what did this represent to the storyline as a whole?

A: I think any time we do something that is difficult--something that we think we can't do--it strengthens us. It gives us a foundation on which to reflect back when the next challenge hits. A sort of: Err, this new challenge is impossible! But I did accomplish the other thing, so maybe I can do this too. Growing up I was never particularly serious about anything. But when I turned twenty, I realized life was passing me by. I started doing anything I didn't think I could do. I focused on school. I took probability and statistic courses, geology courses. I mountain climbed, I repelled, I set out to run a marathon. I even started to write. All these years later, I still push myself to do things that are out of my comfort zone. And every morning I get up and I go into the park to run because making it to the top of Heartbreak Hill, or finishing a run when I am surrounded by snow, reminds me that I can get to the top of a hill and nothing but fear holds me back. Emily learns who she really is by pushing herself beyond what she believes are her own limits.

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The Devil in the Junior League

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The Ex-Debutante

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The Wedding Diaries

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He may turn out to be the best gift she has ever received. . . SHE WAS READY TO TIE THE KNOT.
NOW SHE’S FIT TO BE TIED.

Texas heiress Vivienne Stansfield’s dream of being a bride was about to come true. But in a startling change of fortune, her safe, reliable fiancé proves himself to be neither–and her wealthy, eccentric father disappears, leaving her with no money, no explanation, and no choice but to find a job. Determined to prove that she isn’t the pampered princess the tabloids say she is, she seeks the position of nanny for sexy real estate mogul Max Landry’s young sisters. With to-die-for clothes and a heart as pure as her gold charm bracelet, Vivi steps up to the challenge. But how to resist her irresistible employer?

Max needs a nanny. But the last person he wants is a knockout who doesn’t know the first thing about taking care of herself, much less two young girls. But once she arrives, he learns that there is more to Vivi than her short skirts and high heels imply. And when she asks Max to teach her about the game of life and passion, this strong-willed man realizes that he wants to play for real, for keeps–and he has no intention of losing this woman’s surprisingly fragile heart.

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The Ways of Grace

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GRACE COLEBROOK HAS A WAY ABOUT HER
THAT JACK BERENGER CAN’T FORGET. . . .

If there’s one thing Grace Colebrook cannot tolerate, it’s hysterics. So when her fiancé betrays her on their wedding day, she refuses to make a scene. She simply walks away—straight into the arms of a powerful stranger. The morning after, regrets fly. But life gets truly complicated when it turns out that the man lives in the apartment below hers.

Legendary ER doctor Jack Berenger is a man used to getting what he wants. And he doesn’t want Grace Colebrook—or so he tells himself when he can’t get her out of his mind. She’s prim, passionate, and unpredictable, a far cry from the ice queens who usually catch his eye. But most of all, she breaks through the hard shell he has built around himself . . . filling him with a burning hunger to possess her.

At once deeply moving and wildly romantic, two unforgettable people find each other in a world turned upside-down. Now Jack has one final chance to open his heart and prove he can be the sort of man a woman like Grace could love. . . .

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Sinfully Sexy

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After a close encounter of the sexy kind,
Chloe discovers her wild side. . . .

Plain-Jane Chloe Sinclair has never been bad . . . until she stumbles– literally–into the arms of a gorgeous stranger. To make matters worse, the morning after, her world is rocked completely off its axis when the sensual dreamboat turns out to be the man brought in to save the TV station where she works.

Sterling Prescott is hard-driven, sexy as hell, and determined to take over the struggling KTEX TV. But all bets are off when the shameless wildcat who disappeared on him last night walks back into his life–acting like a squeaky-clean librarian. Life gets truly complicated, however, when Sterling decides to win more than the station–and to show her that being sexy isn’t a sin.

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