Welcome to the Official Blog Tour for Gone By Nightfall by Dee Garretson! Today, on our tour stop, we have an exclusive excerpt AND a tour-wide giveaway to share! So... Be sure to check it out and grab your copy now! Follow the tour, HERE!
Genre:
Genre:
Young Adult
Historical Fiction
Publish Date:
January 21, 2020
Publisher:
Synopsis:
A young woman is torn between her home and her dreams during the Russian Revolution.
It’s 1916, and Charlotte Mason is determined to make a life for herself in czarist Russia. When her mother dies, Charlotte is forced to put her plans to go to medical school aside to care for her unruly siblings. Then a handsome new tutor arrives. Charlotte has high hopes that he’ll stay, freeing her up to follow her dreams of becoming a doctor. But there’s more to Dmitri that meets the eye.
Just when she thinks she can get her life back, Russia descends into revolution and chaos. Now, not only does Charlotte need to leave Russia, she needs to get her siblings out too–and fast.
Can Charlotte flee Russia, keep her siblings safe, and uncover Dmitri’s many secrets before she runs out of time?
*Excerpt*
When I got to the hospital, Gallina came to find me as I was putting the food away in the pantry. “Charlotte, Irina Igorneeva’s husband is here. He’s demanding his wife come home. She’s crying.”
I tried to contain a sigh. We’d had this same sort of situation too many times before, even the very first day the hospital had opened. I remembered my mother getting angry at a man ruining the little celebration we’d had.
As I followed Gallina into the ward, I heard the man before I saw him. He was shouting of course. They always shouted. The other patients were trying not to notice the scene playing out at Irina Igorneeva’s bed. Her was not a big man but I stopped when I saw his black uniform. He was a policeman. We’d never had to deal with a policeman husband.
I didn’t want to approach him but I knew the others would be waiting for me to do something. It had always been my mother’s job and they had just expected it to become mine. Because we were foreigners and patrons of the hospital, the husbands were less likely to try to bully us.
The man turned on me when Gallina explained who I was. “She needs to come home now!” he said. “Other women have babies and get right back to work.”
I took a deep breath and tried to sound stern. “Not all women can get out of bed right away. It will just be a few more days before she’s home.”
He made a sound almost like a snarl and motioned to his wife’s breakfast tray. “It’s her job to stand in line for food and get something on the table for me. She’s just lying here being treated to all this food when working men don’t have enough.” Grabbing a hunk of bread off the tray, he stuffed it in his pocket.
I’d learned from watching my mother that harsh words were the best way to stand up to these sorts of men. “If she leaves now, she’s likely to collapse at home,” I said. “Then what will you do? Now I want you to leave. We have work to do and your wife needs to rest.” I moved so that I stood directly between him and the bed and crossed my arms over my chest. I was too close to him and I could feel sweat forming on my back.
He glared at me and I forced myself not to shift my eyes away from him. After what seemed a long time, he gave a snort, then mumbled a few derogatory words about women as he spun around and marched out of the room. I waited until I heard the sound of the main door closing to find the nearest chair so I could sit down.
“Now don’t cry,” Gallina said to the woman as she adjusted her blanket. “I’ll bring the baby to you. You don’t want to upset the child.”
The woman gave a weak smile and wiped her tears. I got back up and hurried out of the ward wanting to go hide in the office, not trusting my voice to speak to anyone. I could manage to stand up to those men, but once they were gone, I always felt sick to my stomach, the sort of sick I got that threatened a major headache. I didn’t want any of the other nurses to know. They expected me to be just like my mother, but I was not nearly as strong as her.
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**About the Author**
Dee Garretson spent her childhood helping her father build his offbeat inventions and playing adventure games in the woods. After working as a landscape designer and teaching landscape horticulture classes for several years, Dee returned to writing. Her debut novel, Wildfire Run, has been praised for its suspense and its hero, Luke, who “with his companions, displays generous measures of courage and ingenuity in rising to the occasion” (ALA Booklist). She lives with her family in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Stay connected with Dee Garretson
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***The Giveaway***
Giveaway Open to the U.S. Only - ends January 30th
Note: Not Responsible for Lost & Damaged Prizes in Your Mail Box
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Thanks for being on the tour!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! My pleasure! Happy to help!
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