A forbidden love, lost dreams, and family turmoil - Duet for Three Hands by Tess Thompson

A story of forbidden love, lost dreams, and family turmoil. The first book in a new historical series from bestselling author Tess Thompson, Duet for Three Hands is equal parts epic love story, sweeping family saga, and portrait of days gone by. Set against the backdrop of the American South between 1928 and 1934, four voices blend to tell a tale of prejudice, fear, and love. 

Description:

Published: February 13th, 2015

A story of forbidden love, lost dreams, and family turmoil. The first book in a new historical series from bestselling author Tess Thompson, Duet for Three Hands is equal parts epic love story, sweeping family saga, and portrait of days gone by. Set against the backdrop of the American South between 1928 and 1934, four voices blend to tell a tale of prejudice, fear, and love. The Bellmonts are the epitome of the rich and elite in Atlanta society, but behind the picture-perfect façade are hidden moments of violence and betrayal.

After marrying into the Bellmont family, Nathaniel, a former concert pianist who is nearly ruined by his wife’s unrelenting ambition and unstable mind, finds hope in the promise of his most recent protégé. His brother-in-law, artistic Whitmore Bellmont, and the maid’s daughter, Jeselle, have a secret relationship despite their drastically different circumstances and shades of skin. Unfortunately, most of the world disagrees with their color blindness.

GUEST POST

I live in the Pacific Northwest. I grew up in rural Oregon on eight acres in the country. As a child, most of our family vacations were camping trips. I love nature and beauty. Wood fires are lovely. And, yet, I hate camping. I know my Pacific Northwest brothers and sisters are all letting out a collective sigh of disapproval, but I cannot lie. 

Here is my list of complaints. 

Sleeping on the ground is unpleasant. Bugs, ants and spiders are everywhere. Packing, setting up camp, and packing up again is work, not leisure time. Figuring out how to cook in the great outdoors isn’t nearly as fun as barbequing in your own back yard. Washing dishes in water heated from a cook stove or fire is unsanitary and unpleasant. In my experience, other than some help putting up the tent, women seem to be responsible for a majority of campsite activities: cooking, cleaning, scrubbing melted marshmallow off children’s hands, taking little ones to the bathroom in the middle of the night. 

Speaking of bathrooms. I am an over forty woman. I’ve given birth to two children. I have to use the bathroom at least once during the night. That means trudging across the campground in the dark with nothing but my flashlight between a bear and me, or worse yet, squatting to pee under some tree. 

No, that’s not a vacation. Vacation is sitting on the beach with a tropical drink in hand watching the waves come and go with a soft, clean bed to look forward to after a day in the surf. Vacation is exploring little towns on an extended road trip and staying at a bed and breakfast. Vacation is a rental cottage on a lake holding hands with your sweetheart on the porch. Vacation is Paris in springtime. Vacation is walking on the beach at sunset. Vacation is reading a good book by a cozy fireplace. 

So, there, I said it. I’m an Oregon girl who doesn’t like camping. It might mean, if online profiles are any indication, that I will remain forever single. Most men put camping and hiking as their favorite activities. I didn’t think it was possible to see that many photographs of men in down vests and hiking boots. But I digress… 

I’ve done enough camping for at least two women, maybe three. I figure I’ve paid my dues with all the trips we did when I was a kid and while married to a man who loved to camp (but didn’t want to go to Europe). And yes, I understand children love it. Mine do. Which is why I’m grateful for an ex-husband who is also a boy scout. He can take them camping. I’ll stick with the beach and a soft bed. And a good book.

TOUR SCHEDULE

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About the author:

Tess Thompson is a novelist and playwright with a BFA in Drama from the University of Southern California. Her first novel, "Riversong", became a bestselling ebook in 2012, reaching #1 on Nook and spending 35 days in Amazon's Top 100. Riverbend and Riversong, also Amazon bestsellers, continue the tale of life in fictional River Valley, Oregon. The Legley Bay Collection, named for the fictional Oregon coast town of Legley Bay, includes "Caramel and Magnolias", followed by "Tea and Primroses," released February 16, 2014.

Like her main characters in the River Valley Collection, Tess is from a small town in Southern Oregon. She currently lives in a suburb of Seattle, Washington with her two young daughters, Emerson and Ella, and two kittens, Midnight and Mittens, that Santa brought for Christmas. She is inspired daily by the view of the Cascade Mountains from her home office window.

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