The Liar's Diary by Patry Francis, posted by Kristy Kiernan

Yeah, it's a long title (it was longer when I initially wrote this post, more on that in a second), but there are a lot of long thoughts going on in my head these days. I've spent a lot of time in the last year thinking about relationships and people and karma and my own participation in the world in general. Lots of navel gazing going on down here in South Florida, and I have come to the conclusion that...I have no conclusion. I don't know.

I don't know anything.

And then I wrote a bunch more stuff. And deleted it. It was long too. And eloquent, I'm sure. And none of it matters. And over 300 other bloggers are blogging about what does matter today. Because people ARE good, and people DO raise their gaze from their navels once in a while and think about other people, and because what DOES matter today is this:

THE LIAR’S DIARY

A Novel
By Patry Francis

“The new questions and revelations just keep coming…Readers will be heartily rewarded.”—Ladies’ Home Journal


When new music teacher Ali Mather enters Jeanne Cross’s quiet suburban life, she brings a jolt of energy that Jeanne never expected. Ali has a magnetic personality and looks to match, drawing attention from all quarters. Nonetheless, Jeanne and Ali develop a friendship based on their mutual vulnerabilities THE LIAR’S DIARY is the story of Ali and Jeanne’s friendship, and the secrets they both keep.

Jeanne’s secrets are kept to herself; like her son’s poor report card and husband’s lack of interest in their marriage. Ali’s secrets are kept in her diary, which holds the key to something dark: her fear that someone has been entering her house when she is not at home. While their secrets bring Jeanne and Ali together, it is this secret that will drive them apart. Jeanne finds herself torn between her family and her dear friend in order to protect the people she loves.

A chilling tour of troubled minds, THE LIAR’S DIARY questions just how far you’ll go for your family and what dark truths you’d be willing to admit—even to yourself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Patry Francis is a three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize whose work has appeared in the Tampa Review, Colorado Review, Ontario Review, and the American Poetry Review. She is also the author of the popular blogs, simplywait.blogspot.com and waitresspoems.blogspot.com. This is her first novel. Please visit her website at www.patryfrancis.com.

Praise for THE LIAR’S DIARY

“Twists and turns but never lets go.”—Jacquelyn Mitchard, bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean

“A quirky, well-written and well-constructed mystery with an edge.”—Publishers Weekly

“Outright chilling.”—New York Daily News

“Genuinely creepy…The unlikely friendship between a small-town school secretary and a flamboyant teacher proves deadly in this psychological murder mystery.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A twisting ride full of dangerous curves and jaw-dropping surprises. This is one of my favorite reads of the year!”—Tess Gerristen, bestselling author of The Mephisto Club

“Francis draws and tense and moody picture of the perfect home and family being peeled back secret by secret…Four Stars.”—Romantic Times

WOW! Sounds like a damn good read, doesn't it? If you're still not convinced, check this out:

So stop navel gazing, like me, and buy this book. And yeah, it's about more than the book.

You can get it here: The Liar's Diary - and you should also visit her website here: Patry Francis.

AND, if you want a great discount, in support of Patry Francis and this remarkable blog initiative (as mentioned above, there are a lot, A LOT, of us doing this, read about it HERE), Penguin Group USA would like to offer 15% off the paperback edition of The Liar's Diary when purchased online from Penguin's online store until 2/15/2008. On the shopping cart page, enter PATRY in the coupon code field and click "update cart" to activate it.

And finally, let me know what you've done after reading this post. Did you get the book? Did you click on any of the links? Are you irritated by the post? Think it's crass, or commercial, or trading on sympathy? Think I should have blogged about Darfur, or the presidential election, or the fact that I believe the solution to the the world's problems is to arm women?

Or did you think "It could be me, it could be my husband, my child, my friend...it could be ME."?

This isn't my most cohesive writing ever, not my most eloquent, or lyrical, but I've been fooling with it for over three hours now. Writing, deleting entire passages, nervous about hitting "post."

It's not me.

But she is a daughter, a wife, a friend. She is someone who worked just as hard, who shares the same dreams, who might as well be me. And perhaps one day it will be.

And sometimes it is the smaller, more personal things that lift our gaze from our navels and eventually allow us the see the world in a broader way, a more giving way.

Be well, Patry.