BEFORE THE RAIN FALLS
by
CAMILLE DI MAIO
Genre: Women’s Fiction / Historical / Family
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Date of Publication: May 16, 2017
Number of Pages: 334
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After serving seventy years in prison for the murder of her sister, Eula, Della Lee has finally returned home to the Texas town of Puerto Pesar. She’s free from confinement—and ready to tell her secrets before it’s too late.
She finds a willing audience in journalist Mick Anders, who is reeling after his suspension from a Boston newspaper and in town, reluctantly, to investigate a mysterious portrait of Eula that reportedly sheds tears. He crosses paths with Dr. Paloma Vega, who’s visiting Puerto Pesar with her own mission: to take care of her ailing grandmother and to rescue her rebellious younger sister before something terrible happens. Paloma and Mick have their reasons to be in the hot, parched border town whose name translates as “Port of Regret.” But they don’t anticipate how their lives will be changed forever.
Moving and engrossing, this dual story alternates between Della’s dark ordeals of the 1940s and Paloma and Mick’s present-day search for answers―about roots, family, love, and what is truly important in life.
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Praise for Before the Rain Falls:
Still wiping away tears! Before the Rain Falls is simultaneously heartbreaking, hopeful, and joyous: a story of complex characters with varied pasts and bright futures. Loved it! – Jennifer B. on Goodreads
This novel takes readers on an emotional, fast-paced, ride through one sister’s journey to self, redemption, and the true meaning of “freedom.” – Nicole W. on Goodreads
There is romance, mystery, and secrets that are kept till the very end that will have you not wanting this beautifully written story to end. – Carol B. on Goodreads
Before the Rain Falls – A Review
“Some things were never meant to be told outside of the people they happened to.”
Before the Rain Falls is well written and takes readers between the past 70 plus years to the present. The interweaving of the story between the past and present is so well created that it never loses its pace.
Camille Di Maio wrote a book that kept me intrigued enough to ignore checking emails and social media. The book stopped my world while I was reading the story. Maybe it was the older storyline that kept me intrigued of Della being sentenced to prison for the crime of killing her sister. There is a touch of romance, but it’s not enough to turn off a reader like me, who avoids romances.
What impressed me the most about the book is Di Maio expertly wove actual history into Before the Rain Falls. From Abba Zaba bars, which were created in 1922, to Governor Coke Stevenson, to the Huntsville Prison Rodeo. While the trial was a fictitious one the author did accurately write about it. Texas criminal trials in the 1930s and 1940s were fast meaning a person could be charged, a grand jury called, actual trial set for either a conviction or not and held all within in a mere span of two weeks or less.
How the character’s lives were all interwoven at the end of the book was beautifully done. Because when Della had no hope left – she finds out, in the end, she has more to live for than she realizes.
Camille recently left an award-winning real estate career in San Antonio to become a full-time writer. Along with her husband of 19 years, she enjoys raising their four children. She has a bucket list that is never-ending and uses her adventures to inspire her writing. She’s lived in Texas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and California, and spends enough time in Hawaii to feel like a local. She’s traveled to four continents (so far), and met Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II. She just about fainted when she had a chance to meet her musical idol, Paul McCartney, too. Camille studied political science in college but found working on actual campaigns much more fun. She overdoses on goodies at farmer’s markets (justifying them by her support for local bakeries) and belts out Broadway tunes whenever the moment strikes. There’s almost nothing she wouldn’t try, so long as it doesn’t involve heights, roller skates, or anything illegal. The Memory of Us is Camille’s debut novel. Her second, Before the Rain Falls was released on May 16, 2017.
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THREE SIGNED COPIES!
(US ONLY)
May 17- 31, 2017
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CHECK OUT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
| 5/17 | Promo | Texas Book Lover |
| 5/18 | Review | Momma On The Rocks |
| 5/19 | Excerpt 1 | My Book Fix Blog |
| 5/20 | Review | Books in the Garden |
| 5/21 | Promo | Margie’s Must Reads |
| 5/22 | Author Interview | Chapter Break Book Blog |
| 5/23 | Review | Syd Savvy |
| 5/24 | Promo | Books and Broomsticks |
| 5/25 | Guest Post | The Page Unbound |
| 5/26 | Review | Reading By Moonlight |
| 5/27 | Excerpt 2 | StoreyBook Reviews |
| 5/28 | Promo | Missus Gonzo |
| 5/29 | Review | Forgotten Winds |
| 5/30 | Deleted Scene | CGB Blog Tours |
| 5/31 | Review | The Librarian Talks |
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