Lisa Barr is truly unbreakable...plus a book giveaway

We're pleased to welcome Lisa Barr to CLC and celebrate the publication of her latest novel, The Unbreakables! Melissa A loved this novel and will be reviewing soon. All she can say for now is that you'll need a glass of red wine for some parts. (Lisa recommended this to her and it was warranted!) Lisa is a delightful person, just based on some e-mail exchanges. We hope you will enjoy getting to know her. She has one copy of The Unbreakables for a lucky reader!

Lisa Barr is the award-winning author of THE UNBREAKABLES (Harper) and the historical thriller FUGITIVE COLORS, a suspenseful tale of stolen art, love, lust, deception, and revenge on the eve of World War II. The novel won the Independent Publishers Book Award (IPPY) gold medal for "Best Literary Fiction 2014" and first prize at the Hollywood Film Festival (Opus Magnum Discovery Award). In addition, Lisa has served as an editor for The Jerusalem Post, managing editor of Today’s Chicago Woman, managing editor of Moment magazine, and an editor/reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. 

Among the highlights of her career, Lisa covered the famous handshake between the late Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat, and President Bill Clinton at the White House. Lisa is also the creator and editor of the popular parenting blog, GIRLilla Warfare. She has been featured on Good Morning America, Today, Fox & Friends, and the Australia morning news show Sunrise for her work as an author, journalist, and blogger. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband and three daughters (aka Drama Central).

Visit Lisa online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Synopsis:
The worst birthday ever might just be the gift of a lifetime…

It’s Sophie Bloom’s forty-second birthday, and she’s ready for a night of celebration with Gabe, her longtime, devoted husband, and her two besties and their spouses. Dinner is served with a side of delicious gossip, including which North Grove residents were caught with their pants down on Ashley Madison after the secret on-line dating site for married and committed couples was hacked. Thirty-two million cheaters worldwide have been exposed…including Sophie’s “perfect” husband. To add insult to injury, she learns Gabe is the top cheater in their town.

Humiliated and directionless, Sophie jumps into the unknown and flees to France to meet up with her teenage daughter who is studying abroad and nursing her own heartbreak. After a brief visit to Paris, Sophie heads out to the artist enclave of Saint-Paul-de-Vence. There, for the first time in a long time, Sophie acknowledges her own desires—not her husband’s, not her daughter’s—and rediscovers her essence with painful honesty and humor, reawakening both her sensuality and ambitions as a sculptor.

As she sheds her past and travels the obstacle-filled off beaten path, Sophie Bloom is determined to blossom. Allowing her true self to emerge in the postcard beauty of Provence, Sophie must decide what is broken forever...and what it means to be truly unbreakable. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

What is the inspiration behind The Unbreakables?
It was July 2015, and a story broke about Ashley Madison, a web site for married cheaters. Their motto was “Life is short. Have an affair.” (I’m not joking). Hackers made good on a threat that if the infidelity site didn’t shut down they would reveal the estimated 32 million names of its users. And so there I was with a small group of friends, having dinner, and reading off the list of Ashley Madison cheaters in our community together (Awful, right? Not my proudest moment). I was shocked—neighbors, high school friends, acquaintances, etc. were on this exposed list of cheaters from the hacked site. It was the train wreck that you knew you should just look away, but simply couldn't. The story began to form in my mind …

How are you and Sophie similar to or different from each other?
Sophie Bloom is all heart and fiercely loyal to those she loves. I, too, love and protect those who are close to me like a Mama Bear. Like Sophie, I’ve had the same best friends since high school and earlier. She also tends to put everyone before herself – especially her husband’s and her daughter’s needs trump her own. Me too (but I'm working on it). But unlike Sophie, who is afraid of her own creative powers until she decides to set herself free, my creativity has always been my escape, my breath, and the one thing I've never given up. In fact, writing has “saved” me in my toughest moments. Sophie has been with one man her whole life until everything falls apart, and later she experiences a sensual awakening. Let’s just say that I’ve had my share of experiences in the past, but I love being married and I’m very committed. I had a tough divorce, but got it right the second-time around. So will Sophie …

If The Unbreakables were made into a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?
So this is funny … in my head and in my iPhone notes, Sophie is played by Linda Cardellini and her husband Gabe, is played by James Marsden. Then just last week I delved into my newest Netflix binge, Dead to Me…and who are the leads? Yes, you got it! I screamed at the TV: NOOOOO, they’re mine. What is Reese going to say now when she makes my movie?

If we were to visit you right now, what would we go to see in Chicago?
If you visited me this second, you would find yourself at my favorite little café called That Little French Guy in Highland Park, Illinois. The croissants are to-die-for – I actually dream about them. If you visit me later on in the day, we would be doing Hot Yoga together at Core Power, then at night we’d go for drinks at our local haunt, Bobby’s. If you want to do something cultural – then we’d flee Suburbia like bats out of hell, and I would take you to the Art Institute’s Modern Art wing – my absolute fave.

What TV show are you currently binge watching?
I am a major BINGE watcher with my hubby. Just finished Dead to Me, as you now know. We also love VEEP, Goliath, Better Things, and Billions. I think I’m the very last person in America to say this … but we just STARTED Game of Thrones. It wasn’t my thing… but now it’s become my thing.

What is the funniest thing that has happened to you recently? 
So I was in New York this week on Book Biz. I was wearing a nice dress meeting a wonderful podcaster for an interview. In her lovely home office, she has floor-to-ceiling authentic football helmets from every NFL team. My eyes popped when I saw the Chicago Bears helmet high up on the shelf. Of course, I had to put it on and get a picture for my husband and my brothers. Did I mention that in college I was the quarterback for my sorority (for the record: we never won a game). Anyway, her husband walks in with a football at that moment, tosses it, and I throw a lamo spiral back at him (in their gorgeous home – what was I thinking?). My publicist eyed me with an “are you kidding me” look on her face. It was funny, and definitely one interview I will always remember, and I’ve got the pic to prove it.

Thanks to Lisa for putting a smile on our faces and for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway ends June 10th at midnight EST.