The Standout Blog Tour Giveaway!

 

 

 

 

 

First Robin gets the email with its simple demand: dump your fiancé or else. Then someone puts up the slanderous Rotten Robin Website that threatens to crush her chances to win The Standout, a ballet-themed, fashion reality show. Surrounded by backstabbing co-contestants and haunted by mysterious ghosts from her past, Robin can’t trust anyone, including herself.

This new psychological thriller by Laurel Osterkamp, author of The Holdout and The Next Breath, is Black Swan meets Project Runway. Get ready for a breathtaking novel about love, betrayal, tall buildings, and finding the courage to jump.

 

 

I google Clara for a current home or work address, but I can’t find anything. I don’t even know if she and Robert are still married. So I drive to her parents’ home, and now I’m sitting in my car, which is parked along the curb, trying to work up the nerve to get out and ring the doorbell.

What will I say if her mother answers? Sorry about that mishap several years ago, when I had sex with your son-in-law and ripped your daughter’s heart out. Could you put me in touch with her so I can offer a real apology and appease my guilt?

I lean my head against the seat-back and realize that’s pretty much exactly what I’ll say, leaving out the sex part. No need to go into specifics. Be brave, I tell myself, and I release my seat belt and open the car door.

My heart is beating so hard there’s an echo in my ears, but I carry myself up to their front step and demand that my finger press their doorbell. For a moment it’s just silence, and I think, Oh well, I tried, but then I hear footsteps and the door opens.

The face that greets me is older than I’d expected. I’m pretty sure it’s Clara’s mom, but it’s like she’s aged decades in the last few years. “Mrs. Thompson?” I ask.

She nods her head, which is sparsely covered with gray, thin hair. Years ago her hair was thick, wavy, and chestnut brown, like Clara’s. “Hi,” I stutter. “I don’t know if you remember me. I was a friend of Clara’s -”

“I remember you.” Her firm voice doesn’t match her diminished appearance and my head snaps back in shock. “You’re Robin. You came for that awful Easter, years ago.”

“Yeah…” I shift my weight, aware that she’s not going to ask me in. “Sorry about that. Actually, that’s why I’m here. You see, I’m engaged now, and I’ve been thinking about marriage and the sanctity of it and, well, I would love an opportunity to really apologize to Clara. I tried before, but I think it was too fresh, so, um…”

Mrs. Thompson rolls her eyes. She seems like I woke her from a nap and she just wants to crawl back into bed. “You’re too late.” She grips the doorknob, pulling the door close as if in protection. “Clara passed away a few months ago.”

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! What happened?”

“I’m sorry. I’m not feeling well today, so forgive me if I don’t give you the details of my daughter’s death.” Then Mrs. Thompson yanks the door and slams it in my face.

Laurel Osterkamp becomes very attached to her characters. The Standout, The Holdout, The Next Breath, November Surprise, Blue State, and American Angst all feature the Bricker family, but these books can be read in any order. Laurel teaches English and Creative Writing in Minneapolis, where she tries to stay warm, hang out with her husband and two chatty children, and find the time to write. Her other novels are the award-winningFollowing My Toes and Starring in the Movie of My Life.

You can find Laurel on Twitter but she needs to work on sending clever Tweets. A better idea is to follow her blog atwww.laurelosterkamp.blogspot.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

$25 Amazon gift card (INT)

Ends December 23

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