Book Details:
Book Title: Middle South by Maya Nessouli Abboushi
Category: Adult Fiction, 215 pages
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Lanier Press
Release date: March 8, 2017
Tour dates: April 17 to May 5, 2017
Content Rating: PG-13
Book Description:
Layla has recently moved out of her parents’ home in the Atlanta suburbs and into an apartment in the city to assert her independence. Between her job as a feature writer for a small newspaper and her social life, Layla has little time to think about marriage and children, much to the dismay of her Lebanese parents.On a hilarious journey that takes Layla from the Southeast to the Middle East and back, she finds out a little more about herself and what she is looking for in life and in love.
Maya Nessouli Abboushi is a Lebanese American born and raised in the United States. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and three children. This is her first novel.
Connect with the author: Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram
BOOK SPOTLIGHT TOUR SCHEDULE:
April 17 – Working Mommy Journal – book spotlight / giveaway
April 17 – Kristin’s Novel Cafe – book spotlight / guest post
April 17 – Library of Clean Reads – book spotlight / giveaway
April 17 – Corinne Rodrigues – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
April 18 – T’s Stuff – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
April 18 – Discovering/Writing Life – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
April 19 – 411 on Books, Authors and Publishing News – book spotlight / guest post / gw
April 19 – The World As I See It – book spotlight / giveaway
April 19 – Books, Dreams, Life – book spotlight / guest post
April 20 – Puddletown Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
April 20 – Cheryl’s Book Nook – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
April 21 – 100 Pages A Day – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
April 21 – Bound 2 Escape – book spotlight / giveaway
April 24 – Celticlady’s Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
April 24 – #redhead.with.book – book spotlight / giveaway
April 25 – Elsie’s Audiobook Digest – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
April 25 – The Autistic Gamer – book spotlight
April 26 – Jaquo Lifestyle Magazine – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
April 26 – Lukten av Trykksverte – book spotlight / giveaway
April 27 – Zerina Blossom’s Books – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
April 28 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
May 1 – Spines in a Line – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
May 2 – Books for Books – book spotlight
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May 4 – The All Night Library – book spotlight
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May 5 – Svetlana’s Reads and Views – book spotlight / giveaway
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My Writing Process for Middle South
Middle South came easy for me. I think the novel was brewing in my brain for years. I just opened my computer one day and started writing. I knew that the world had a skewed perception of Arab Muslims. I wanted to change that. I also just wanted to write something funny about an average American girl who readers could relate to. I had been reading a lot of women’s fiction at the time, and it occurred to me that I could do it too.
The hard part for me was finishing it. I let life get in the way. I had three children over the course of five years, and it consumed me in the most beautiful way. From time to time, I would return to Middle South, but every time I got writer’s block, I would put it away for too long and forget about it. I saw it only as a therapeutic hobby for a long time. When my mother passed away, it motivated me to finish it. I needed something to occupy my mind. I also realized that life is short, and you should never let your insecurities keep you from realizing your dreams.
As far as research, it was minimal. I had to brush up on the Lebanese political climate in 2005. I had to fact-check when it came to certain places in and around Beirut. Most of the people and places in the novel either came from my imagination or were an amalgamation of people or places I’d known in my life.
411 on Books, Authors & Publishing 