THE BIG INCH
By KIMBERLY FISH
Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII
Date of Publication: January 19, 2017
Number of Pages: 344
Scroll down for Giveaway!
Kimberly Fish’s debut n
ovel, The Big Inch, was released in February, 2017 and it reveals the lengths to which Texas oilmen, state, and federal governments would go to get Texas crude oil to the troops fighting their first mechanized war. With Nazi threats (and a steady stream of oil tankers sunk by German submarines) speed was necessary, as was OSS intelligence. The Office of Strategic Services was often staffed with female spies and Longview’s World War II efforts were critical for success.
Lane Mercer, sent to Longview, Texas in July 1942, is part of a select group of women working undercover for the fledgling federal agency, the Office of Strategic Services. Assigned to protect the man carrying out President Roosevelt’s initiative to build the nation’s first overland pipeline to hurry East Texas crude to the troops, she discovers there’s more to Longview than the dossiers implied. There’s intrigue, mayhem, and danger. Shamed from a botched OSS mission in France, Lane struggles to fulfill her mission and keep from drowning in guilt. Getting involved in local life is out of the question. Between family, do-gooders, and Nazi threats, she’s knitted into a series of events that unravel all of her carefully constructed, plans, realizing that sometimes the life one has to save, is one’s own.
***
PRAISE FOR THE BIG INCH:
“With an eye for detail, Kimberly Fish weaves a compelling story of a war widow who finds herself in Longview, Texas in 1942. Reading Kimberly’s novel was a bit like going back to a cloak and dagger time, and I enjoyed the local references. Longview was an amazing place to be during WWII.” — Van Craddock, Longview News Journal, Columnist
“Kimberly Fish’s unique writing style snatched me out of my easy chair and plunked me down into the middle of her character’s life where I was loathe to leave when my real life called me back. Her descriptive visual writing drew me in on the first page. Can’t wait to read more stories by Mrs. Fish.” — Vickie Phelps Author of Moved, Left No Address
Author Interview with Kimberly Fish
What does your perfect writing spot look like? Is that what your ACTUAL writing spot looks like? I have an imperfect writing spot in an upstairs office in our home that I share with my husband (that’s not why it’s imperfect, really,) but its best qualities are proximity to the Internet router and my pantry—which I can raid without judgement. I also like to pack up my computer and drive to our cottage at Lake Cherokee and write there because it has no Internet router and an empty pantry—really better in the long run.
Do you have any strange writing habits or writing rituals you’d like to share with your readers? The process of writing is strange to anyone who doesn’t like to do it, because it involves a lot of staring into space. I have no special traditions beyond the usual obstacles to making myself sit down in a chair, put my fingers on a keyboard, ignore social media, the phone, laundry, possibly dinner, and write.
What book do you wish you could have written? Oh, without a doubt, the Mitford series, by Jan Karon. Or anything by Lauren Willig. Or Pam Jenoff. Or Mary Kay Andrews. Or . . ..
Is there any person you credit for being your inspiration for reading and/or writing? Jan Karon, she showed me that a writer could weave in a whole mixed bag of quirky people, tears, laughter, hope, faith, redemption, animals, art, and betrayal and still have an entertaining series that made sense and that readers would buy.
Who would you cast to play your characters in a movie version of your book? I do tape photographs of celebrities on my inspiration board to help me hear their voice and remember the character’s physical traits, but whether or not Matthew McConaughey or George Clooney would appear in my movie is up to their agents. Unless I stalked them, which, let’s be honest, wouldn’t really help my cause.
How important are names to you in your books? How do you choose names? I spent some time playing with names that I felt suited the people who’d be walking the path I set out for them. I enjoyed going back several generations to dust off names that are no longer in vogue.
Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it? I don’t read a lot of science fiction or things related to the occult, so I’d probably not write about that. Or vampires.
What do you like to read in your free time? I read books my friends have written, biographies, historical fiction, romance novels, cozy mysteries, travel blogs, newspapers of all persuasions, philosophy, magazines, and cookbooks.
If you were a superhero, what would your name be? What costume would you wear? I’d probably be the one to go obscure but with wings that I had to keep hidden under a coat. I like doing a good deed and then getting out of the way before it’s noticed.
Where is one place you want to visit that you haven’t been before? Australia
If you were an animal in a zoo, what would you be? Tell us why. Panda Bear, because seriously, who doesn’t think they’re adorable?
Do you have a mantra for writing and/or for life? Be kind.
What do you want your tombstone to say? She loved her life.
Kimberly Fish started writing professionally with the birth of her second child and the purchase of a home computer. Having found this dubious outlet, she then entered and won a Texas manuscript contest which fed her on-going fascination with story crafting. She has since published in magazines, newspapers, and online formats, She lives with her family in East Texas.
Author Links
Pinterest | Twitter | Website | Instagram | Amazon Author Page
—————————————
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
One Winner wins a signed copy of The Big Inch
One Winner who purchases the book during the tour wins a bag of Johnny Cace’s Cheese Croutons
March 8 – 22, 2017
a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js
CHECK OUT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
| 3/8 | Review | Hall Ways Blog |
| 3/9 | Author Interview | Reading By Moonlight |
| 3/10 | Excerpt | Books and Broomsticks |
| 3/11 | Review | Kara The Redhead |
| 3/12 | Promo | Blogging for the Love of Authors and Their Books |
| 3/13 | Character Interview | CGB Blog Tours |
| 3/14 | Review | Syd Savvy |
| 3/15 | Guest Post | Chapter Break Book Blog |
| 3/16 | Author Interview | Forgotten Winds |
| 3/17 | Review | Books in the Garden |
| 3/18 | Playlist | My Book Fix Blog |
| 3/19 | Promo | Margie’s Must Reads |
| 3/20 | Review | StoreyBook Reviews |
| 3/21 | Author Interview | The Page Unbound |
| 3/22 | Review | Missus Gonzo |
blog tour services provided by
The Page Unbound 