One my favourite novels of [2014] as a 1st Year Book Blogger was Safe & Sound because it broke through a few literary barriers and told an honest story from a contemporary point of view whilst giving you a hearty Romance and a narrative that owned itself to it’s own living truth inside the world Krupa created. I appreciated the fact the equality in lit inclusion of a happily engaged couple proved that when you seek out diversity and stories of equality, there can be a softness to the inclusion to where everything feels quite natural and organic, rather than purposely included to be ‘different’.
I like honest stories and especially Romances rooted in relationships, as these are my favourite kinds to read and thereby the ones I seek out the most to devour! On the contemporary and modern side of the ledger, since I read Safe & Sound and even a bit before, there is a bit of a gap in my reading life as I recently mentioned on a post I’m still composing to publish (it’s my first attempt to release a ’10 Bookish and Not Bookish Thoughts’ meme!) as much as I related a bit about this on my review of Robin’s Reward.
My initial reaction to hearing about the premise of On the Edge proves my wicked good cheer to celebrate Krupa’s sophomore release:
I’m focusing on military stories in June, and the week of Flag Day has two highlighted already (Meant to Be by Jessica James and Those Who Remain by Ruth Crocker), so if I were to mark down the 20th of June (that Saturday) it would be a full week of military stories! :) I love war dramas, which you may or may not have known, and therefore I have a soft spot for military families and stories of war widows. Another contemporary author whose approached this is Mary McNear with her Butternut Lake series; I reviewed the first two novels (Up on Butternut Lake | Butternut Summer) and upcoming at the end of May will be the third.
I’ve been itching to know where you were going to take us next and this story, wow. It’s aces for me, because your talking about topics and subjects that are right up my alley! And, snowboarding!? Did you catch my Winter Olympic & X-Games tweeting!? I *LOVE!* snowboarding events! It’s one of the most viewed sports in my family! Wicked awesome!
I feel if you can take a modern day setting and domestic situations to knit a compelling drama out of a story any reader can feel attached to by the novel’s central heart, than your a novelist who has an ace in the hole such as Krupa because she writes the stories that are both convicting as much as they are inspiring. You feel uplifted by the emotional journey you’ve taken with her characters, and I can only foresee this happening again as I get to know those who inhabit On the Edge.
Drama is best written when the reader feels as if they’ve transitioned through the story’s arc and come out the opposite end in much the same fashion as the character they’ve lived the experience alongside; to me, this is one reason I actively seek out Romantic dramas a bit more than Romantic comedies; although I appreciate both equally, the dramas simply speak to me in a way that pull your heart closer to the humanity threaded throughout all of literature.
It’s an honour to welcome back Ms Krupa for her Cover Reveal and Book Birthday Announcement on behalf of ‘On the Edge’ because I truly am wicked happy to see her new release a year after her debut! I hope that each of my readers have taken stock of her stories as they alight on my blog, and have settled into Safe & Sound knowing they will have a new favourite writer to read and follow.
Don’t be shy —
leave Ms Krupa a comment or question in the threads below this post OR tweet her directly @TS_Krupa!
Biography for T.S. Krupa:
T.S. Krupa was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Raised in a Polish household with a blended American culture, she is fluent in Polish. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree from Franklin Pierce University, where she also played field hockey. She earned her Master’s from Texas Tech University and recently graduated with her Doctor of Education from North Carolina State University. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and her dog.
In 2014, T.S. Krupa published her award-winning debut novel Safe & Sound. On The Edge is her second novel.
My Connection to the Author:
Although we only tweeted a few times and exchanged preliminary emails to have this special showcase of her novel Safe & Sound featured on Jorie Loves A Story, I feel as though I have had the pleasure of getting to know her a bit better in the process! And, by extension her publicist Ms. Caitlin O’Brient Bauer (of Royal Social Media). As you will see as you retreat back to the Author Interview & Live Author Q&A threads of conversation, you will find Ms. Krupa to be warm, engaging, and inspiring! I am blessed twice over for our paths to have crossed and I have my Jorie Loves A Story Twitter account to thank for bringing us together! I am hopeful I can continue to work with her on future book releases as well as with Ms. Bauer on forthcoming new clients. I appreciate both of them as they give book bloggers their time and grace.
On a side note: the mere fact that Ms. Krupa is published by an Indie Publisher who generally focuses on all subjects outside the realms of Women’s Fiction / Contemporary Romance, one could say she has enough moxie to make her mark in the literary world quite memorable indeed! Hence, why I called her a ‘rebel with a cause’ during the Live Q&A! The fact that Advantage Media Group believes in the principles of tree-neutral publishing practices warmed my heart as well! I had spoken about my passion for green publishing practices whilst Ms. Leesmith was enjoying a spontaneous conversation thread erupting underneath her Cover Reveal for “Love’s Promises”!
In the time since I hosted Ms Krupa last year until now [May 2015], our paths have separated a bit as I wasn’t able to return too frequently to #ChickLitChat nor interact as much as I had hoped to with her via the twitterverse. I lost touch for more than half a year to be honest, and when her beautiful note arrived into my Inbox about her sophomore release, I felt truly blessed our paths had crossed at the publication of her debut novel. She’s definitely an author I consider a blessing to have known and I look forward to following her literary career.
I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with her ahead of reading her début novel. I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author OR whether I am reading a book by them for the first time. This is also true when I follow-up with them on future releases and celebrate the book birthdays that come after their initial publication.
Release Date: 9th of June, 2015 | Cover Art Designer: Hafsah Faizal of Icey Designs
Published by: BookBaby (ebook edition) | TS Krupa LLC (paperback edition)
Page Count: 318 | Not yet available on Riffle
Genre(s): Women’s Fiction | Xtreme Sports (X-Games) | Military Families
Contemporary Romance | Realistic Fiction
Andy Parker is a war widow raising her fifteen-year-old daughter on her own. Hayden Grace dreams of becoming a professional snowboarder, and Andy is doing everything she can to make that happen. When Hayden Grace’s passion begins to falter, Andy is at a loss for how to re-inspire her daughter.
Andy does her best balancing Hayden Grace’s competition schedule, practice, and school with her own work schedule at home, in the city, and on the mountain. But work starts to demand more from Andy. Then, Andy receives an opportunity of a lifetime. An opportunity that will turn their lives upside down. But is it too good to be true?
Soon, mother and daughter find themselves in Aspen for Hayden Grace’s first national competition when a chance encounter brings Andy into a passionate, unexpected romance, a romance that could change everything. Will Andy be able to find the happiness she deserves?
On why I appreciate the style of Krupa’s story-telling:
{ taken from my review of Safe & Sound }
The gentleness in which Krupa introduces her readers to her lead character is knitted together in such a way as to reflect back our own recollections of doing the same ordinary things in our own lives. She does not elude to the fact that most of us would long for the kind of slow waking in the resplendent morning hours Jill is indulging in when Safe & Sound opens into view. She captures the blissfully unaware feelings of being ‘caught’ in the tranquility of our everyday worlds on the apex of sudden change unforeseen. In this, she has a style of graceful story-telling which readers of romance will appreciate because she innately shifts us into Jill’s inner world.
I truly appreciated how she had written Lanie’s character as she did not overly empathise Lanie’s romantic life, but rather celebrated her character’s romance whilst giving us a perspective on one of Jill’s best friends. It was naturally written into the story where it wasn’t forced or felt like an addition for the sake of having it included. She has a calm spirit in acknowledging relationships and the differences therein. I appreciate the gentleness and the compassion of presenting uniquely defined characters who live outside of convention!
This cover reveal and announcement
{ follow the convo on Twitter: #OnTheEdge }
courtesy of T.S. Krupa and:
Information about her debut novel from 2014:
Published By: Advantage Media Group, 1 January, 2014
Author Connections: Site | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads
Converse via: #SafeandSound
Genres: Fiction | Women’s Fiction | Contemporary Romance | Life Shift
Available Formats: Softcover and E-Book
Page Count: 312 | Add to Riffle | Public Library
Visit my ruminative thoughts to find out what I thought about Safe & Sound!
Similar to blog tours where I feature book reviews, as I choose to highlight an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog. I provide the questions for interviews and topics for the guest posts; wherein I receive the responses back from publicists and authors directly. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them; I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers.
{SOURCES: Author photograph of T.S. Krupa, author biography, book cover art for “Safe & Sound” and “On the Edge” as well as the “On the Edge” book synopsis, and the banners for the Cover Reveal itself were provided by Royal Social Media and used with permission. Tweets were able to be embedded by the codes provided by Twitter. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Comment Box Banner & Stories Sailing Into View Banner made by Jorie in Canva.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2015.
Comments via Twitter:
.@TS_Krupa | #JorieLovesIndies Wicked #newbook #Contemporary Romance #Indie Writer http://t.co/klKQgsXfer #OnTheEdge pic.twitter.com/y2l2NYDdKN
— Jorie Loves A Story (@JLovesAStory) May 11, 2015
@JLovesAStory @TS_Krupa Jorie, you are AWESOME as always. Thanks for always being there for us! :)
— Royal Social Media (@RylSocialMedia) May 11, 2015
.@RylSocialMedia + @TS_Krupa Bless you for your note of gratitude; the honour IS mine though! :) Joy overflows! :) https://t.co/Fpxj1d1zeH
— Jorie Loves A Story (@JLovesAStory) May 11, 2015
Thank you SO much for such a lovely and thoughtful post, Jorie. It’s truly an honor to be hosted on your blog. I am blessed to have met you as well. I am very much looking forward to hearing your thoughts about On The Edge next month. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. Talk more soon! xoxo
Hallo, Hallo Ms Krupa,
Hosting your blog tours and featuring your stories on Jorie Loves A Story have always been a lot of joy for me over the years. I’ve been visiting your blog and checking your feeds on Twitter, however, I haven’t been able to find your newer stories. I thought for sure you had a Non-Fiction which was going to release between then and now; but I could be mistaken. I know over the years I’ve lost touch with some authors and also with the comments on my own blog due to my chronic migraines and then, post-2016 I’ve been focused on my father’s recovery from his stroke before my own health afflictions took over in 2018-19. I had wanted to say back then how appreciative I was to be included in showcasing your stories and being a part of your book launches.
I enjoyed working with you and your publicist and I have such fond memories of everything we put together. I also miss seeing you during @SatBookChat – we resumed our chats in September, 2019. Steadily growing our audience and I’ve had booked guests every months since – in fact, most of this first half of 2020 was booked before January! lol I hope the years have been kind to you since we last talked and that you’ve simply been away – following your muse and instincts to write your next stories.
I look forward to seeing what you produce and am grateful our paths crossed.