I’ve read all but one of Laurel Osterkamp’s books, and she continues to be a favorite of mine. Not only is she this month’s Author Crush, I’m excited to be a part of the blog tour for her newest novel, November Surprise. If you’re a follower, you know I really liked Laurel’s Campaign Promises, a novella about finding love but told in parallel with stories about political contests.  That story is told in greater detail here in November Surprise. 

In true Osterkamp fashion, Laurel gives us in Lucy a quirky, very real heroine, someone I can identify with more than many of the other chick-lit heroines I read about.  That’s one thing I love about Laurel’s books.  She gives us characters outside the mold, but with a sense of realism.

This time, the story of Lucy and Monty  is revealed against the backdrop of a number of elections.  If you’re a political junkie like me, you’ll really enjoy how Osterkamp uses the campaigns to further the story. The characters are passionate about their candidates, which really made the story that much more fun for me to read. Laurel is excellent at drawing parallels between elections and the passions that surround them to relationships and the passions that drive the best of them. I think it’s especially fitting with our own election just days away.

And Laurel’s doing a very cool thing with her characters from November Surprise: she’s continuing their story, right up through the events of today, in Lucy’s blog.  There’s a link below that will take you to “Lucy’s” blog so you can continue the story as well.

If you like chick lit for the thinking woman, November Surprise is for you.  And here’s some more information about Laurel:

Laurel Osterkamp was a comedy writer in Minneapolis before she began writing novels. Her first novel, Following My Toes, has been a Kindle best seller and won the 2008 Indie Excellence Award for Chick Lit. Starring in the Movie of My Life received honors in the 2011 Indie Excellence Awards for Chick Lit, and in the 2011 International Book Awards for Women’s Fiction and Young Adult Lit. Both books are indie approved at indiereader.com. She currently teaches high school, and is working on her next book, which is inspired by her recent jury duty.

 

Connect with Laurel!

http://www.laurelosterkamp.com/ – my website

http://www.laurelosterkamp.blogspot.com/ – my blog

http://www.novembersurprises.blogspot.com/ – blog written by “Lucy” that continues the story of November Surprise, about the 2012 campaign

 

Buy the Book!

http://www.amazon.com/November-Surprise-ebook/dp/B008TWYW0U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1350654507&sr=8-3&keywords=laurel+osterkamp

 

Laurel is excellent at drawing parallels between elections and the passions that surround them to relationships and the passions that drive the best of them.  There’s humor, drama, and a real sense of identification with the characters.