On Tour and Voices: The Comfort of Lies by Randy Susan Meyers

“Happiness at someone else’s expense came at a price. Tia had imagined judgment from the first kiss that she and Nathan shared. All year, she’d waited to be punished for being in love, and in truth, she believed that whatever consequences came her way would be deserved.” Five years ago, Tia fell into obsessive love with a man she could never have. Married, and the father of two boys, Nathan was unavailable in every way. When she became pregnant, he disappeared, and she gave up her baby for adoption.

Five years ago, Caroline, a dedicated pathologist, reluctantly adopted a baby to please her husband. She prayed her misgivings would disappear; instead, she’s questioning whether she’s cut out for the role of wife and mother.

Five years ago, Juliette considered her life ideal: she had a solid marriage, two beautiful young sons, and a thriving business. Then she discovered Nathan’s affair. He promised he’d never stray again, and she trusted him.

But when Juliette intercepts a letter to her husband from Tia that contains pictures of a child with a deep resemblance to her husband, her world crumbles once more. How could Nathan deny his daughter? And if he’s kept this a secret from her, what else is he hiding? Desperate for the truth, Juliette goes in search of the little girl. And before long, the three women and Nathan are on a collision course with consequences that none of them could have predicted.

Riveting and arresting, The Comfort of Lies explores the collateral damage of infidelity and the dark, private struggles many of us experience but rarely reveal. ~~ synopsis from Goodreads

My thoughts about The Comfort of Lies ~~

I read Randy's first book, The Murderer's Daughters when it first came out. AND LOVED IT! I immediately added her to my list of authors that 'I have to read everything they write'. I actually read this book twice, once on my own and then again when one of my book groups picked it to read. I was so excited when it was suggested! My thoughts about The Murderer's Daughters are posted here. I saw back then that she was working on her second novel so I have been keeping my eyes pealed for it. Now here it is! And it did not disappoint me!

Randy is a wonderful writer who can spin such a great story that you just get lost in. She is one of the most creative storytellers I have read. She takes a very emotional story, a story of adoption, and presents to the readers all the points of view of that story. This is the story of the three women involved; the woman who gave up the baby, the wife of the father of the baby and the family who adopts the little girl.

The Comfort of Lies will grab you and not let go until you read the last page. You will wish that there was more. I highly recommend this to all readers of women's contemporary fiction. The Comfort of Lies will be another great book club read.

Voices

I asked Randy to respond to my usual question about voices in her head ~

I have heard other authors say that they 'hear voices in their head' and that is how they write their books: the characters are telling their stories. Not being a writer myself, that concept has always intrigued me.

When some people hear voices, we get them medical attention, others end up becoming writers. Does this happen to you? How do you come up with your stories?

Here is what she has to say about that ~

My characters inhabit me -- they actually live inside before, during, and after the novel. I don't feel as though they talk to me so much as I see the world through their eyes along with my own. My stories come mainly form a huge "what if" -- I think about things that have happened to me or others, and what would happen if these stories were blown up to the most dramatic of proportions I can imagine.

And then, I enter that world. It's when I'm at my most complete.

About the author

The drama of Randy Susan Meyers' novels is informed by her years spent bartending, her work with violent offenders, and too many years being enamored by bad boys. Raised in Brooklyn New York, Randy now lives in Boston with her husband and is the mother of two grown daughters. She teaches writing seminars at Boston’s Grub Street Writers’ Center.

Her debut novel The Murderer’s Daughters was a finalist for the Mass Book Awards and was included as a “Must Read Book” by the Massachusetts Council of the Book. Chosen by Target as the February-March 2011 “Club Pick,” it was also a best book pick by Elle France, Daily Candy, Goodreads, The Boston Herald, The Winnipeg Free Press, and Book Reporter. The Murderer’s Daughters has been published in sixteen foreign editions and was a top title for the Book of the Month Club, Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club.

Her new novel, The Comfort of Lies will release from Atria/Simon & Schuster in February 2013. It is a story of three mothers, one child born of an affair, and the year their lives collide.

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