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Motherhood is a symphony, from the first movement, through crescendo after crescendo, to the finale. Don't Let Me Keep You Women's Fiction by Kathie Giorgio Book Tour with Guest Post & Giveaway

 

WOW! WOMEN ON WRITING TOUR

of

Don’t Let Me Keep You

By Kathie Giorgio



Book Summary

Motherhood is a symphony, from the first movement, through crescendo after crescendo, to the finale.

 

 Hildy Halverson, a genius in math and science, is pushed by her parents to step into a male-dominated field and change the world for women. But Hildy, enamored of the scientific force of the human body, and her own body’s ability to create and sustain life, decides to go against contemporary expectations. She marries young and raises a houseful of kids.

 

 Hildy wants her children to choose their own life paths. As each child is born, she tells them, “You can be whatever you want to be, and whatever you want to be will be great.” Despite her efforts to not influence her children, Hildy does so, often in unexpected ways. Each child is introduced in that first private moment between Hildy and her new baby. This is followed by a chapter revealing that child’s life, years later. Woven throughout is an underlying grief over the death of the sixth baby soon after birth. That grief is more pervasive than any of them expect.

 

 In this ambitious novel, the struggles and joys, fatigue and exhilaration of motherhood, are captured in the full panorama of family life. Hildy lovingly raises her children, then lets them go, finding herself along the way.

 

Publisher: Black Rose Publishing (October 3, 2024)

Print length:  230 pages

Reviews

Don’t Let Me Keep You is a lyrical meditation on motherhood seven times over, gestating, unfurling with rhythmic, poignant prose. Over decades we see each of the Halversons through the eyes of the others, bringing into sharp focus how differently each member can experience the same family. The way children protect their mothers, the way mothers remain children themselves, and what a mess we can still make of things despite our best intentions. That we can choose to love each other regardless of who we turn out to be, no matter what.

 –Maggie Ginsberg, author of Still True

 

Don’t Let Me Keep You follows a math prodigy’s unconventional and slightly obsessive journey through motherhood. Giorgio’s dynamic characters and complex emotional bonds turn this family saga into a propulsive page turner wherein motherhood as a career is an empowering choice. At once gritty, heartbreaking, and hopeful, Don’t Let Me Keep You shows the fallibility of the human condition through the haunting eyes of a mother’s love as she struggles with the age-old question, Am I a good mother? 

--Marisa Rae Dondlinger, author of Open and Come And Get Me

 

The thing I love about Kathie Giorgio's books are the surprises. Her books are not like anyone's. They are fresh, unique, and wonderful. Don't Let Me Keep You is all that and more. This is a story about motherhood, childhood and family. Belonging, expectations, and the enduring power of love. Of course, because this is Kathie's novel, there is poetry, and vignettes. A cast of characters worth knowing. And many opportunities to reflect on our lives as parents and children. I highly recommend Don't Let Me Keep You.

--Karen E. Osborne, Author of True Grace and Reckonings

 

 With delightful finesse, author Kathie Giorgio weaves a flawless web of family love that weathers plenty of storms, but still comes out shimmering.

--Mary Ann Noe, author of Water the Color of Slate

 

Purchase a copy of Don’t Let Me Keep You on

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Let-Me-Keep-You/dp/1685134882

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dont-let-me-keep-you-kathie-giorgio/1145428066

Black Rose Publishing: https://www.blackrosewriting.com/womens/p/dontletmekeepyou

 

You can also add this to your GoodReads reading list:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/211567748-don-t-let-me-keep-you


Guest Post

Kathie Giorgio

 

GUEST BLOG: YOU’VE BEEN BANNED – NOW WHAT?

 

In the news last year, on March 22, 2023, the American Library Association reported that there was a record number of requests to ban library books and materials in 2022. The ALA started to record banning numbers in 1982, so that’s a lot of history to cover. Book banning has been all over the news lately, not just for libraries, but in the schools and in bookstores themselves. The news in 2024 has not been good. With all the attention spent in the media on the subject of banning, I hoped the numbers would get better. Instead, they are growing steadily worse.

 Some people joke that book banning must be good for writers, because a well-publicized ban is almost instantly followed by that book zooming up in sales, as everyone rushes to see what all the fuss is about. But actually, having your book(s) banned feels like the most intense slap in the face. It feels like a slap, followed by duct tape being put tightly over the mouth. Someone, or a lot of someones, doesn’t want you to say what you want to say, and they’re willing to use force if necessary.

My first experience with censorship started pretty mildly. As a senior in high school, in 1978, I wrote a short story that was set in Heaven. God was actually a computer, and Jesus was a computer technician, or what I called way back then, a “computer mechanic”. The angel Gabriel was a trumpet-playing, drug-using jazz musician. And the proverbial end of time occurred when God-the-computer essentially blew up, and Jesus couldn’t fix him. However, instead of it being the end of everything, there was only a crazy thunderstorm. Nothing happened. Earth continued.

The story was accepted in the school’s little literary magazine, and word got out about its topic. Parents complained, saying it was sacrilegious and shouldn’t be allowed, but my creative writing teacher, and the administration, stood beside me and the story was published. I was proud of the support, but as the sales of the magazine were greatly decreased that year, I also felt incredibly mortified and guilty. That’s a pretty jarring experience for a 17-year old writer. For quite a few years, I tiptoed in my writing, and since it wasn’t true to who I am, pretty much all of my stories failed.

Years later, when I got my feet back under me, I had a story accepted at a literary magazine that was published at a well-known college. There was a faculty advisor and graduate students running the magazine and they praised me to high heaven. I was to be the lead story. About six weeks later, I received an apologetic email from the advisor. Seems the magazine had to be trotted in front of the advisory board of the college, and they felt my story was “inappropriate”. Why? It mentioned masturbation.

I felt slapped in the face again. I was only in my late twenties at that point. But this time, I picked myself up faster and submitted the story again, elsewhere. It was eventually published.

When I finally entered the world of book-publishing at the tender age of fifty, I not only had my feet back under me, I had them firmly planted. Years of writing, writing, and writing, hundreds of stories being published, along with poetry and essays, and following the pull of what I wanted to do – write for change in the world – helped me to be steadier when I put my words about controversial subjects out there. I’ve had 15 books traditionally published in 14 years, the latest on 10/3/2024, and, at times, earned the descriptions of “dark”, “disturbing”, “brave”, “fearless”, and “honest”.

But I am not untouched by what the ALA calls the highest numbers of books being banned. That same creative writing teacher, who stood by me when my God-as-computer story was published, has remained by me all these years, and as each of my books were published, he donated them to the library in the school where I graduated from, and to another school he eventually transferred to and taught until his retirement. He is a much lauded and revered teacher, and I was placed on my school’s “Wall of Stars” in 2021. Yet during the summer of 2022, as a result of the book-banning sweeping our country, my school district also swept through their libraries…and my books disappeared.

Why? Because the topics are “inflammatory”.

This one wasn’t a slap in the face, but an all-out sucker punch. At the same time, given the nature of what’s happening in our country, it wasn’t unexpected. So I got back up, soothed my hurt feelings, brushed myself off, and returned to my desk. My novel that was published after my books were banned, Hope Always Rises, was released on February 28, 2023. It’s on the topic of suicide and our treatment of those who choose to end their lives. My latest book, with a very close-up view of motherhood, was just released on 10/3/2024.

Hurt feelings go away. And duct tape just doesn’t stick to my mouth.

The best way to deal with book banning? First off, fight against it. Support every author whose books have been banned. But second, keep writing. Write your very best.

Those whose minds and ears are open will hear. And sometimes, your work is just what a closed mind needs. 


 

About the Author

Kathie Giorgio is the author of a total of fifteen books: eight novels, two story collections, an essay collection, and four poetry collections. She’s been nominated for the Pushcart Prize in fiction and poetry and awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association, the Silver Pen Award for Literary Excellence, the Pencraft Award for Literary Excellence, and the Eric Hoffer Award In Fiction. Her poem “Light” won runner-up in the 2021 Rosebud Magazine Poetry Prize, and her work has also been incorporated into many visual art and musical events.  Kathie is the director and founder of AllWriters’ Workplace & Workshop LLC, an international creative writing studio.

 

She lives with her husband, mystery writer Michael Giorgio, and their daughter Olivia, in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Three of her adult children, Christopher, Andy, and Olivia, live close by, along with her solo granddaughter, Maya Mae. One adult child has wandered off to Louisiana and lives among the mathematicians and alligators.

You can follow the author at:

Website: http://www.kathiegiorgio.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathiegiorgioauthor/

X/Twitter: @KathieGiorgio

Instagram: @kathiegio1


GIVEAWAY

Join us as we celebrate the launch of Kathie Giorgio's novel Don't Let Me Keep You. Read an interview with the author and enter to win a copy of her book.

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com


#dontletmekeepyou #familylife #domesticfiction #womensfiction #booktour #kindleunlimited #kathiegiorgio #womenonwriting #WOW 
@wow_womenonwriting @kathiegio1 @WomenonWriting  @KathieGiorgio 


Blog Tour Calendar

October 21st @ The Muffin
Join us as we celebrate the launch of Kathie Giorgio's novel Don't Let Me Keep You. Read an interview with the author and enter to win a copy of her book.
https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com
 
October 22nd @ Tracey Lampley
Kathie Giorgio reveals how she had 15 books published with traditional publishers in 14 years, including her latest Don't Let Me Keep You.
https://www.traceylampley.com/guest-author-interviews
 
October 24th @ What Is This Book About
Get a peek inside Don't Let Me Keep You with today's excerpt.
www.whatisthatbookabout.com
 
October 25th @ The Frugalista Mom
Rochie will be reviewing Kathie Giorgio's latest novel Don't Let Me Keep You.
https://thefrugalistamom.org/
 
October 26th @  A Wonderful World of Books
Author Kathie Giorgio writes about controversial books and the hurdles they face in today's post: You've Been Banned. Now What?
https://awonderfulworldofwordsa.blogspot.com/
 
October 29th @ Michelle Cornish
Learn what Michelle thinks about Kathie Giorgio's latest novel: Don't Let Me Keep You.
https://michellecornishauthor.com/blog/book-reviews
 
October 30th @ Create Write Now!
Is Writer's Block real? Learn what author Kathie Giorgio has to say today on CreateWriteNow!
https://www.createwritenow.com/journal-writing-blog
 
October 31st @ The Frugalista Mom
In a complicated world, author Kathie Giorgio shares how she takes on controversial topics in her writing.
https://thefrugalistamom.org/
 
November 1st @ Michelle Cornish
Author Kathie Giorgio shares the challenges of writing through illness and crisis.
https://www.michellecornish.com/blog
 
November 4th @ A Story Book World
What's on your TBR list for November? Learn more about Kathie Giorgio's latest novel Don't Let Me Keep You.
https://www.astorybookworld.com/
 
November 5th @ Chapter Break
Kathie Giorgio writes about the precarious balancing act of writing and raising children.
https://chapterbreak.net
 
November 6th @ Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
Don't miss today's interview with novelist Kathie Giorgio.
https://lisahaselton.com/
 
November 7th @ Knotty Needle
Still deciding on your November read? Check out today's review of Don't Let Me Keep You by Kathie Giorgio.
http://knottyneedle.blogspot.com
 
November 8th @ Word Magic
Author Kathie Giorgio shares her thoughts on Writing as a Business.
https://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com
 
November 12th @ The Faerie Review
The spotlight is on Kathie Giorgio's latest novel, Don't Let Me Keep You.
https://www.thefaeriereview.com
 
November 13th @ Words by Webb
Jodi is reviewing Don't Let Me Keep You by Kathie Giorgio.
https://www.jodiwebbwriter.com/blog
 
November 14th @ Some Thoughts - Everything Creativity
In today's guest post, learn if author Kathie Giorgio is Plotter, Pantser or Both?
https://www.kaeceymccormick.com/blog
 
November 15th @ Choices
Author Kathie Giorgio writes about Depression: Putting One Foot in Front of the Other.
http://madelinesharples.com
 
November 19th @ StoreyBook Reviews
Looking for a good book for the Thanksgiving holiday? Leslie is reviewing Don't Let Me Keep You by Kathie Giorgio.
https://www.storeybookreviews.com

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