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.