Scrooge’s Folly- Saving Jacob <— FALL IN LOVE WITH A GHOST ALERT!!! And the author is today’s newsletter sponsor!
’Could you ever fall in love with a ghost? ’Opps…I meant spirit…they really do hate the term ghost.
Andrea Smilow is every woman who is smart and successful, and has had America’s male dominated society crap all over her. She warms to Jacob Marley’s advances slowly.
It is definitely not ‘love at first sight’…but then this is a romantic comedy.
The author told me a few fun things like:
“I will say I consider this to be a ‘beach read’, that just happens to involve Christmas.”
“I’ve been reviewing auditions for the audiobook this afternoon. One actress has me laughing so hard I can hardly breathe…and I wrote the damn thing.” <— side note from Maryse: I wonder if the one he chose (Amy Gorelow is his audiobook narrator) is her? Now I’m so curious!
“In the Fall I’ll start pulling together the movie.”
Five Fun Facts:
- God looks like ‘blonde Tina Fey.’
- Ebenezer Scrooge was one of the most charitable men London has ever seen.
- Beth Mayer is the most powerful witch in America.
- Andrea Smilow was the youngest Tony award winner at age 25…for her play ‘Rememberings.’
- Jacob Marley is handsome, funny, and a true gentleman.
So what’s it about?
David Weinberg’s Scrooge’s Folly- Saving Jacob Marley ponders where ever did Charles Dickens come up with the names Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley? From his two best friends. Charitable merchant bankers, they refused to finance A Christmas Carol…which caused them to be turned into elderly curmudgeons in Dickens story. Scrooge eventually becomes a beloved father Christmas…but Marley is forever wrapped in chains. So much the laughingstock in London, his marriage and his happiness are destroyed. Even in the afterlife he hungers for redemption.
Award-winning, but down on her lucky playwright, Andrea Smilow, is commissioned by The Playhouse in Connecticut to save it from bankruptcy with a new work. When she arrives, she discovers that The Playhouse is inhabited by Jacob Marley’s spirit, and he wants her play to be about him…to set the story straight about how Dickens ruined his life with A Christmas Carol. Andrea comes to believe he needs to be reunited with the spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge, who lives in the caretaker house. It is all Scrooge’s idea. He has been working with Andrea’s roommate, the most powerful witch in North America, to win a second life for Marley from God…and to get Marley and Andrea to fall in love.
Weinberg’s Scrooge’s Folly – Saving Jacob Marley proves love and redemption are always possible…even for the dead. It’s a great ‘beach read romance’…that just happens to be set at Christmas.
Teasers
- Cats, of every color, hate witches.
- When Scrooge was first alive, he had many, many lovers…and pleased them all.
- Jacob Marley decks Andrea’s old boyfriend with one punch…he had it coming.
Excerpt
Everyone at the Playhouse was well aware of Andrea’s genuine dislike of Englishmen. Samantha Bidwell often stated she had fled England and come to America precisely to rid her life of ‘batshit stuck-up blokes.’ She and Andrea had shared a couple of pints of beer at the restaurant across the street and compared dating horror stories. Andrea was certain that Samantha would never send an Englishman to greet her on her first day. She was beyond curious as to who was standing in front of her, so she decided to play along.
“Who were you then?”
The stranger took a step forward. “In life I was known by the name of Jacob Marley.”
Andrea’s mouth actually dropped open a little. She wanted to say ‘no shit,’ as she had imagined him to be Marley. That thought had been nonsense, so long ago that she had put it out of her mind.
“No really, who are you?”
“I assure you that I am who I say I am.”
Andrea stared for a long moment, and then the laughter came. That turned into a full belly laugh that reverberated through the entire Playhouse. She was certain that Samantha Bidwell was pranking her with a welcoming practical joke. She walked to Jacob and enveloped him in a hug. In fact, she squeezed him so tight he could hardly breathe.
Giveaways (the author says):
- Everyone who sends me their name and address on my website will be sent a business card sized magnet of the front cover.
- Everyone who buys the book and leaves a review on Amazon and BN.com will be entered into a drawing to have a cameo appearance in the movie version. Second prize is an Ibanez acoustic guitar. Details on website.
- Everyone who simply leaves name and email address on website, get first chapter emailed, or the first chapter to the sequel.