After The Sucker Punch... a novel

They buried her father at noon, at five she found his journals, and in the time it took to read one-and-a-half pages her world turned upside down… he thought she was a failure.

Every child, no matter what age, wants to know their father loves them, and Tessa Curzio – thirty-six, emerging writer, ex-rocker, lapsed Catholic, defected Scientologist, and fourth in a family of eight complicated people – is no exception. But just when she thought her twitchy life was finally coming together – solid relationship, creative job; a view of the ocean – the one-two punch of her father’s death and posthumous indictment proves an existential knockout.

She tries to “just let it go,” as her sister suggests, but life viewed through the filter of his ****ing words is suddenly skewed, shaking the foundation of everything from her solid relationship and winning job to the truth of her family, even her sense of self. From there, friendships strain, bad behavior ensues, new men entreat, and family drama spikes, all leading to her little-known aunt, a nun and counselor, who lovingly strong-arms Tessa onto a journey of discovery and reinvention. It’s a trip that’s not always pretty – or particularly wise – but somewhere in all the twists and turns unexpected truths are found.

Author and longtime Huffington Post contributor, Lorraine Devon Wilke, takes an irreverent look at father/daughter relationships through the unique prism of Tessa’s saga and its exploration of family, faith, cults, creativity, new love and old, and the struggle to define oneself against the inexplicable perceptions of a deceased parent. Told with both sass and sensibility, with the unique bonus of a free downloadable song link in the epilogue, it’s a story wrapped in contemporary culture but with a very classic heart.

Cover design by Grace Amandes @ www.gracemandes.com
Cover photographs by Lorraine Devon Wilke

www.lorrainedevonwilke.com

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• 2014 indieB.R.A.G. Medallion® Honoree
• Best of Summer 2014 —Fran Briggs, Publicist
• Top 50 Indie Books, June 2014 —IndieAuthorNews
• Top-5 Beach Reads —Rosie Amber’s Beach Reads Blog Tour 2015

• Publishers Weekly/BookLife — “A realistic and profound journey of realization and forgiveness…a solid novel that admirably explores the fragile, fraught relationship between parent and child.”

• Tracy Trivas, author of The Wish Stealers (Simon & Schuster)— “With bare-bone honesty and fiery dialogue, Wilke explores the loaded relationship between parents and their adult-children, examining the brave and lonely journey of self-discovery, reinvention, and healing…raw and brave.”

• Junior Burke, author of Something Gorgeous (farfalla press/McMillan & Parrish)— “A keenly executed character study. The novel is tightly structured and holds its complex elements with a sure and skillful grip. The dialogue pops…a thoroughly engaging and enjoyable read.”

• Mark Barry, Green Wizard Publishing— “A great, sweeping, beautifully written, page turning read, gripping from page one. A family saga with ambition and class. Meant to be read in bed; absorbed, over time, savoured by lamplight.”

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