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Longing And Limerence
Glissando follows a divorced woman who is successful in her career and is ready to try her hand at love again, what she ends up with is two men and some big life decisions to make. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
I was in a community jazz band in northeastern Pennsylvania (I play alto sax) and just like any other group of people, there were relationships formed, wished for, begun and discarded. When love and lust were put against a backdrop of jazz, this became fascinating to me.
Ellie recovers from her divorce and builds a good life for herself before getting involved again. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
She’s flawed. She knows better, but doesn’t always choose to do the things that will help her evolve. It was important to show a smart woman who was nevertheless stuck in her bad decisions.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Longing and limerence; loneliness and companionship; and ultimately, seeking the right, loving partner.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Thanks for asking! It’s a noir mystery about a sax player who falls to his death, but the question remains: accident or murder? The protagonist is once again a woman, and she goes to Russia to find a very rare jazz record. Once there, she learns more about the jazz world and what likely caused the death of the sax player. Like it or not, she finds herself involved in the investigation. It’s out in December. Watch this space: https://bit.ly/DebbieBurkeAmazon.
Author Links: Website | GoodReads | Twitter
Glissando
Glissando by Debbie Burke is a compelling story of love, lust, and jazz revolving around Ellie Greenberg. At 23, Ellie is love-struck immediately when she meets Rudy. She marries him, but their matrimony is short-lived when he steps out on her. Now, In her mid-fifties, juggling an amiable social life and a flourishing career as a paralegal at Schneider & Snee, Ellie joins a community jazz band where she meets and falls hopelessly for musician and somewhat jazz legend Vince Keyes. To her dismay, he is married to a much younger woman. Ellie starts dating co-worker Stan while contemplating whether to pursue Vince or not.
Debbie Burke has a way with words. It is impressive how she comfortably switches from one story to another and still carries the reader along. Ellie’s love for jazz illuminates the pages. Her character is relatable and intelligent enough to know what she wants. The fallibility and realistic portrayal of Ellie’s character, not to talk of her quirky soliloquies, will constantly make you laugh.
The story is fascinating, even without a lot of drama. It is the story of a successful divorced woman that is trying to figure out her own love life in her fifties. It is realistic in the sense that sometimes people don’t know what they want and have to work out in their own minds what is important and what they really want. However, I feel that some of the chapters seem to have a monotonous sound with many filler scenes that held no significance to the development of the plot. Glissando is still a book worth reading as Ellie is a great character to read about and get to know.
We all love a woman who has a mind of her own. Readers with a knack for resilient female protagonists will find Glissando enjoyable. I particularly loved how Ellie retained her youthful sensuality and imagination, proving that middle-aged women can still have fun.
Pages: 264 | ASIN : B08QR27H6F
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