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Friday, June 2, 2017

I Love You Today by Marcia Gloster (Author Guest Post / Book Review / Contest Giveaway)

In association with Providence Book Promotions, Jersey Girl Book Reviews is pleased to host the virtual book tour event for I Love You Today by author Marcia Gloster!







Author Guest Post

Thoughts on Writing

I became a writer quite unexpectedly. One day while shopping in Manhattan, I heard a song in a store that triggered a deep memory from the summer when I was 20. Seconds later I had the name of a book and the first page. I ran home and began writing. For the next six months, I wrote 12-16 hours a day. Three years later, 31 Days: A Memoir of Seduction was published by The Story Plant.

The idea for I Love You Today came to me very differently. I was discussing the first two seasons of “Mad Men” with a friend, who said, “You actually lived that life. Why don’t you write about it?” 

The novel took four years to write and edit. There were two interruptions that took me away from writing for a few weeks, and there were times when I had to take a break to think through where the story was going. 

I usually write in the morning and once I begin very little distracts me. I know most writers require quiet and solitude, but brief interruptions like the phone ringing seldom disrupt my concentration. My focus keeps me on track, and often half a day goes by before I realize how much time has passed. Sometimes, when I’m dealing with something sad or confrontational within the story, I have to push myself to write, but once I begin, it somehow kicks in. 

My advice to writers is to read voraciously. I read both fiction and nonfiction. An agent once told me that one couldn’t be a writer unless one had read a lot.

If you hit a roadblock, you either have to write through or around it, or step back and think about where you are going. In one instance I actually interviewed my character. I made coffee, sat at a table and imagined that my character and I were in a cafĂ© talking. I asked questions and she answered, and suddenly it began to make sense. After our “chat” I had the next chapter. 

Also, I don’t think it’s necessary to write in a linear fashion. For I Love You Today. I often wrote a few paragraphs or even an entire chapter that I knew would occur later in the book and then worked it in when I got to that part. You have to write as you feel it—even if it’s disconnected.  




About The Author




After graduating from Rhode Island School of Design in the 1960s, author Marcia Gloster built a career in New York City as an award-winning book designer and art director. A decade later, she founded and ran a boutique ad agency specializing in fashion. Gloster is a member of the National Association of Women Artists and Studio Montclair and exhibits her paintings in the New York area. Her first book, 31 DAYS: A MEMOIR OF SEDUCTION, was published in 2014.


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Book Review




I Love You Today by Marcia Gloster
Publisher: The Story Plant
Publication Date: April 17, 2017
Format: Paperback - 392 pages
               Kindle - 1350 KB
               Nook - 1 MB
ISBN: 978-1611882438
ASIN: B01NBVZKM4
BNID: 978-1943486991
Genre: Women's Fiction



Buy The Book:



Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Providence Book Promotions.



Book Description:

Maddie Samuels is a woman of – and ahead of – her time. She knows she doesn’t belong in the kitchen, and she refuses to become trapped in a secretarial pool. In mid-sixties New York City, she’s not only determined to succeed in a man’s world, but to prove her work is as good – or better – than any man’s.

With “free love” redefining relationships with head-spinning rapidity, Maddie learns how to push the accepted boundaries of established old-boy networks while refusing to accept the all-too-pervasive harassment by men in power. And yet as a woman in love, she discovers that beliefs and actions are often very different things – especially when it comes to a man like the seductive and charismatic Rob MacLeod.

Set in the era of Mad Men, I LOVE YOU TODAY is passionate, sexy, liberating and deeply moving. With a story as relevant today as it was then, this is a novel that readers will take to their hearts and their souls.


Reviewers Are Loving I Love You Today!:

“Love, sex, lies, and advertising in the era of Mad Men. Compelling and provocative.” – James Wiatt, former Chairman and CEO, William Morris Agency

“A romp through the Mad Men era, told from a woman’s point of view.” – Pamela Fiori, author and former editor-in-chief, Town & Country

“Marcia Gloster paints an intimate portrait of life in 1960s Manhattan… Readers looking for a peek into the magazine publishing and advertising world of that era will be intrigued!” – Marilyn Brant, New York Times bestselling author

“I Love You Today pulled me right in, from the wrenching love story that could never have a happy ending, to the ultimate strength shown by the main character. An overall compelling journey.” – Andrea Hurst, author of Always with You


Book Excerpt:


Maddie exited the subway and walked a block to the Status offices, arriving just at three. The stark simplicity of the reception area surprised her: a white leather sofa and a glass coffee table stood on a small beige area rug with two matching Barcelona chairs on either side. The only color came from large fashion photos that covered the walls behind the couch and reception desk. She had expected a bit more glitz.
The receptionist was tapping rapidly on her typewriter while talking equally as rapidly on the phone. Seeing Maddie, she looked up with an impatient expression on her heavily made-up face and whispered that she’d call back. Maddie told her she was there to see Mr. MacLeod. After an appraising glance, the receptionist unwrapped a piece of Juicy Fruit, popped it in her mouth and dialed an extension. Maddie straightened her skirt, suddenly wondering if she should have worn something other than a suit.
Have a seat,” the girl said in a bored voice, indicating the couch. “His secretary will be right out.”
Maddie sat, feeling nervousness creep in and her earlier, all-too-fragile confidence beginning to fade. A few minutes later, a short dark-haired young woman in a miniskirt came in and introduced herself as Tara, Mr. MacLeod’s secretary. Maddie followed her along a corridor lined with several windowed offices on the left and a bright open bullpen area on the right where it looked like some assistants worked in different sized cubicles. On the far side she saw two more large, sun filled offices. In one of the doorways two men stopped talking and glanced at her.
Tara stopped at the second to last office, looked in and grinned. “Rob, this is Miss Samuels, your three o’clock appointment.” There seemed to be an inside joke somewhere in there, but Maddie didn’t get it. Not then.
As she walked in he stood up, buttoned his suit jacket and stepped forward to shake her hand. She caught her breath; not only was he attractive, he had bright emerald green eyes and perhaps the longest eyelashes she had ever seen. Wasted on a man, she thought, trying not to stare. Or, perhaps not. His dark brown hair was cut short with long sideburns that framed his handsome face.
She sat down on one of the metal and leather chairs that faced his desk. A large drawing board, covered in layout sheets, rolls of galleys and photo stats was to his right. On the left, flat files were piled high with books of typefaces and stock photos. The office wasn’t designed for so much furniture; there was little room to move around.
He sat back and asked her to tell him about herself. Interviews generally didn’t faze her, but this time she was unusually flustered. She began by mentioning Today’s Bride, saying that she had liked working there.
“Why did you leave? You weren’t fired were you?”
“No. Not at all. It was just becoming uncomfortable. I’m not sure it’s something I should talk about.”
Her answer seemed to intrigue him. A smile lit up his eyes and he leaned forward, elbows on his desk. “Now you have to tell me, Miss Samuels. I promise I won’t tell anyone. Was it some sort of conspiracy?”
“No,” she stammered, wishing she had never brought it up. “Nothing like that. I was very close to Joan, the art director who hired me. She was a great teacher, actually a mentor for me. I was a kid just out of art school. But after two years her husband was offered a job at Publicis, the big ad agency in Paris and they decided to move there. Before she left she tried to have me named as art director. By then I was doing half the work on the magazine anyway. But the publisher told her he had already decided to bring in a well-known art director from a rival publication.” She stopped, unsure how to proceed.
“So what was the problem?”
“Well,” she took a breath, “not only was he hiring her, but his weekly meetings with his so-called ‘investors’ were really long afternoons at the Biltmore, a few blocks away.”
He leaned back in his chair and laughed. “You had to leave because the publisher was screwing…pardon me, sleeping with the new art director?”
She bit her lip, sorry she had mentioned it and realizing she had backed herself into a corner.
“It wasn’t quite so simple. Over the first couple of months she did everything she could to make my life miserable. Suddenly I wasn’t allowed to cover photo shoots and then she didn’t even want me doing layouts. She began quietly bringing in her own team. By the time everyone realized what was going on, there wasn’t anything anyone could do about it. I spoke to the publisher who I knew liked me, but he said it was now up to her. It was out of his hands. So I resigned.” Taking another big breath, she looked at him, hoping she hadn’t said too much.
He shook his head. “Too bad. It sounds like you were happy there.”
“Yes. I was.”
He asked her to tell him more: what her goals were and did she really want a career or just a job until she found the right man to marry.
His questions didn’t surprise her; she had been asked the same things at every interview.
“Mr. MacLeod. I have no desire to be married. I’m focused on my career. I hope to be an art director one day.”
“And how do you plan to become one?” She looked back at him wide eyed. It was a question she had never been asked. “I guess I’ll just have to keep on working and learning. I’m very motivated, Mr. MacLeod. If something needs to get done, I’ll make sure it happens.”
He nodded, green eyes flashing. “I’ll bet you will. Let me have a look at your portfolio.”
As she stood up, she noticed him glance at her legs. She wondered if her skirt was too short but not wanting to appear self-conscious she stopped herself from smoothing it down. Standing next to him, she answered his questions as he leafed through the pages.
“Miss Samuels, can you leave the portfolio with me? Unless, of course, you have other interviews today.”
“Yes. I mean, no.” She wanted to kick herself. What is wrong with me? “Yes, I can leave it, and no, I don’t have any more interviews today.”
He smiled, amused at her obvious discomfort. “Good. I’d like to show it to the managing editor. I’ve already seen several potential candidates and I expect to make a decision later today.”
She thanked him and he shook her hand, holding it she thought, a bit longer than necessary.

Excerpt from I Love You Today by Marcia Gloster. Copyright © 2017 by Marcia Gloster. Reproduced with permission from The Story Plant. All rights reserved.



My Book Review:

In I Love You Today, author Marcia Gloster transports the reader back to the mid-1960s pre-feminist Mad Men era in Manhattan, where twenty-four year old budding art director Maddie Samuels is a woman ahead of the times, driven to pursue her career passions. When Maddie starts a new job at Status magazine as an assistant to art director Rob MacLeod, there is no denying the chemistry between them. Even though Maddie knows that Rob is married, they engage in a five year intense and all consuming illicit affair that inevitably leads Maggie to falling in love with Rob, while maintaining a strong determination to climb the career ladder in the male dominated advertising and publishing world on Madison Avenue.

While I thoroughly enjoyed following the intense affair of the heart between Maddie and Rob, I found myself more intrigued by the utilization of the author's past professional experience to interweave a richly vivid and powerful description of the 1960s time period, and the inner-workings of the advertising and publishing industry. This evocative women's fiction tale easily draws the reader into Maddie's journey, you can't help but get caught up in the drama, challenges, choices, and surprising twists and turns that she faces along the way.


RATING: 4 STARS 






Contest Giveaway


This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Providence Book Propotions for Marcia Gloster and The Story Plant.

There will be 1 winner of one (1) $25 Amazon.com Gift Card and 5 winners of 1 eBook copy of 31 DAYS: A MEMOIR OF SEDUCTION by Marcia Gloster.

The giveaway begins on April 17th and runs through June 19th, 2017.

This giveaway is for US residents only.

Void where prohibited by law.

a Rafflecopter giveaway





Virtual Book Tour



Tour Schedule:

4/17 Guest Post @ Books Direct

4/18 Interview @ The Reading Frenzy

4/19 Showcase @ Books, Dreams, Life

4/21 Review @ CMash Reads

4/25 Interview @ Writers and Authors

4/28 Showcase @ The Bookworm Lodge

5/02 Guest post @ Hott Books

5/15 Blog Talk Radio w/Fran Lewis

5/15 Review @ Just Reviews

5/17 Interview @ BooksChatter

5/18 Review @ Bunnys Review

6/02 Review/Guest Post @ Jersey Girl Book Reviews

6/05 Review @ BookLove



7 comments:

  1. I too enjoyed the time frame of this novel and am looking forward to future books by Ms. Gloster.

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    1. Hi Cheryl! I have always been fascinated with the 60s time period, especially since I was born during this time. This was an intriguing story, and I can't wait to read more. :)

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  2. Kathleen, thanks so much for featuring I Love you Today!

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    1. Hi Marcia! Thank you for the opportunity to host your virtual book tour event. I really enjoyed reading Maddie's story, and I loved the rich description of the 60s time period. :)

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  3. Cool cover and I really enjoyed the post. Thanks for the giveaway and have a great weekend.
    sherry @ fundinmental

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sherry! Thank you for stopping by my blog, I appreciate it. :)

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