Blog Tour: NIGHT IN JERUSALEM by Gaelle Lehrer Kennedy @GaelleLKennedy @pumpupyourbook

Monday, November 27, 2017

Blog Tour: NIGHT IN JERUSALEM by Gaelle Lehrer Kennedy @GaelleLKennedy @pumpupyourbook

Title: NIGHT IN JERUSALEM
Author: Gaelle Lehrer Kennedy
Publisher: PKZ Inc.
Pages: 246
Genre: Historical Romance

Blurb:

A bewitching love story that is also an extraordinary portrait of Jerusalem, its faith, spirituality, identity, and kaleidoscope of clashing beliefs, Night in Jerusalem is a novel of mystery, beauty, historical insight, and sexual passion.

David Bennett is invited to Jerusalem in 1967 by his cousin who, to the alarm of his aristocratic British family, has embraced Judaism. He introduces David to his mentor, Reb Eli, a revered sage in the orthodox community. Despite his resistance to religious teaching, David becomes enthralled by the rabbi's wisdom and compassionate presence. When David discloses a sexual problem, Reb Eli unwittingly sets off a chain of events that transforms his life and the life of the mysterious prostitute, Tamar, who, in a reprise of an ancient biblical story, leads both men to an astonishing realization. As passions rise, the Six Day War erupts, reshaping the lives of everyone caught up in it.

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Excerpt:

David lay awake thinking about Anat. He was intimidated by her sexuality, but also fascinated by her free spirit and daunting intelligence. He had never met anyone like her. He wondered if Jonathan and the others knew she preferred women lovers, and why she had confided in him. He became anxious, thinking perhaps she sensed he had sexual issues and was someone she could easily manipulate.

Earlier, out on the roof, he had asked her why she preferred women. She had answered simply, "For the same reasons you do," then adding, "I find women more interesting intellectually, as well as sexually."

Her directness was equal parts frightening and exciting. He wanted to know her better. Perhaps, with her, he could get over his sexual problem. The truth was, he desired her as much as he found her intimidating.

Interview with Gaelle Lehrer Kennedy

What inspired you to write Night In Jerusalem?

he love story in came to me on a movie set. We were filming on a blazingly hot day, dressed as lightly as possible. A young Hasidic woman in long black clothes and a wig kept coming out to look at us from her balcony. We spent most of the afternoon filming there, and she kept reappearing. I realized she was attracted to one of the crew members who had unbuttoned the top of his shirt, exposing his handsome chest. I sensed how strongly she yearned for contact. The gap between us could have been crossed in a few paces, yet we were centuries apart. I imagined what it would be like to be her, what courage it would take for her to break free, how she might do it. It became the inspiration for Night In Jerusalem.

Can you tell us a little bit about your next book or what you have planned for the future?

Presently, I’m working on a novel which deals with the great recession, it’s impact on the middle class, especially those who were over 55, and their struggle to regain the life they once knew. I’m superstitious about naming titles until the book is actually published.

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Night In Jerusalem?

When people’s finances collapse, their relationship to themselves and others change. Friends suddenly distance themselves or even disappear. My characters are thrown into a blizzard of uncertainty in which the best and worse come out in them. The realization that the government, and it’s institutions are not there for them, creates havoc in their psyches. Now they have to discover where it all leads to, what can be learned, what will be gained, and how they will survive.

You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?

I love stories that are told simply, where the writer is unobtrusive and the characters and plot say it all Einstein said it is easy to make something complicated, but it takes genius to make things simple. Einstein gets blamed for a lot of stuff, I know, but you get the drift – there’s a simple that takes mastery to achieve. It is hard to write stories that are so clear and transparent you can see right into the souls of the characters. That’s what works for me, no matter what the genre, and Isaac Bashevis Singer is a stand-out master of it. He’s my favorite.

If you could time-travel would you travel to the future or the past? Where would you like to go and why would you like to visit this particular time period?

The 1700’s, in which Beethoven’s lived, was the era of romanticism, and great appreciation of art and beauty. There was an elegance and style to living that was reflected not only in art, but in ones lifestyle as well. Unfortunately, it was available only to the wealthy. Not much different today. At least that era cultivated a greater appreciation.

Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?

I’ve had two incredible dogs that were wonderful, loving creatures. I miss them both and am thinking of adopting another.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit with us today.

About the Author:

Gaelle Lehrer Kennedy worked as an actress and writer in film and television in the United States and Israel. Night in Jerusalem is her debut novel, which she has adapted to film. She lives in Ojai California with her husband and daughter.

She writes, "I lived in Israel in the 1960s, a naive twenty-year-old, hoping to find myself and my place in the world. The possibility of war was remote to me. I imagined the tensions in the region would somehow be resolved peacefully. Then, the Six Day War erupted and I experienced it firsthand in Jerusalem.

I have drawn Night in Jerusalem from my experiences during that time. The historical events portrayed in the novel are accurate. The characters are based on people I knew in the city. Like me, they were struggling to make sense of their lives, responding to inherited challenges they could not escape that shaped their destiny in ways they and the entire Middle East could not have imagined.

I have always been intrigued by the miraculous. How and where the soul's journey leads and how it reveals its destiny. How two people who are destined, even under the threat of war and extinction, can find one another.

Israel's Six Day War is not a fiction; neither was the miracle of its victory. What better time to discover love through intrigue, passion, and the miraculous.

Writing this story was in part reliving my history in Israel, in part a mystical adventure. I am grateful that so many who have read Night In Jerusalem have experienced this as well."