Blog Tour: More Than We Can Tell – Guest Post

March 15, 2018 Heidi ARC, Blog Tour, Guest Post 0

I received this ARC from Publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Source: ARC from Publisher

I’m thrilled to have a guest post from Brigid Kemmerer for the More Than We Can Tell blog tour. Letters to the Lost was one of my favorite books from last year. I was so excited to hear that we’d get Rev’s story in this book. My review will be up soon. Just know that I loved it!

About the Book:

Rev Fletcher is battling the demons of his past. But with loving adoptive parents by his side, he’s managed to keep them at bay…until he gets a letter from his abusive father and the trauma of his childhood comes hurtling back.

Emma Blue spends her time perfecting the computer game she built from scratch, rather than facing her parents’ crumbling marriage. She can solve any problem with the right code, but when an online troll’s harassment escalates, she’s truly afraid.

When Rev and Emma meet, they both long to lift the burden of their secrets and bond instantly over their shared turmoil. But when their situations turn dangerous, their trust in each other will be tested in ways they never expected. This must-read story will once again have readers falling for Brigid Kemmerer’s emotional storytelling.

*While this book exists in the same universe as Letters to the Lost, it is a standalone title.*

* Goodreads * Amazon * Indiebound *

Guest Post:

While working on this book what types of research did you have to do? Find anything interesting or unexpected?

When asked for ideas for a guest post the librarian in me came out and wanted to know all about the types of research Brigid had to do. Here’s what she had to say:

One of my favorite aspects of writing has always been the research. This would probably come as a surprise to any of my teachers in high school, because when I was a kid, I hated research. Then again, talking to the local fire chief about what it’s like to walk into a burning building is a lot more fun than watching a newt every day and tracking how much water it drinks.

For More Than We Can Tell, I needed a lot of resources, because the book involves a lot of heavy topics: child abuse. Online harassment and stalking. Cyber-crime. PTSD. Visiting a prison. A lot of my research was heartbreaking, and I could only take it in small doses, especially in regards to the child abuse. The overall message of the book is hopeful, but the journey my characters go on is quite a roller coaster.

That said, the research wasn’t all traumatic. The most fun was Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I took about 8 classes. My main character Rev is skilled in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu—BJJ—and after talking to a psychologist about how helpful it can be for people moving past trauma, I knew I had to try it myself.

As with most things I research, I went in cold. I had no idea what to expect. Honestly, I thought BJJ would be kind of like Tae Kwon Do, and everyone would be in lines doing martial arts movements in the air.

Boy, was I wrong.

Let me set the scene. I’m a 40-year-old chubby soccer-mom type with glasses. I was pretty out of shape. By comparison, everyone else in the class looked like Oliver Queen from Arrow. Yes, really. When I walked into the gym, it looked like any other martial arts place: a big room with concrete block walls and mats all over the floor. There was a caged area in the corner, and a few heavy bags suspended from the ceiling. After a brief warm-up of running around the mats and doing some stretching, the instructor talked about some movements and told everyone to pair up.

I was paired with an experienced young(er) guy who said, “Do you want to be on top first, or me?”

I said, “Um, what?”

He said, “You be on top.” And then, without hesitation, he laid down on the floor and spread his legs.

You read that right.

I just kind of stared down at him and said, “I’m sorry, what?”

He said, “You want to get on top of me and pin my hips down. I’m going to wrap my legs around you. You don’t want to let me flip you over.”

I said, “Maybe I should get your name first.” Cough “Or a glass of wine?”

I can’t believe I’m putting this in writing. You should see how red my face is while I’m typing this.

BUT! Despite how unprepared I was for how physically … um, intimate BJJ was, it was really quite thrilling. It made me feel incredibly powerful and strong. It’s all grappling on the floor. I have a much greater understanding of how to protect myself if I’m ever attacked. I convinced a friend to come with me for a session, and she said, “It’s like wrestling as a kid.” I highly recommend taking a lesson to anyone who wants to give it a try. I guarantee you won’t regret the experience.

I especially loved being able to take that experience and translate it into the “lesson” Rev and Emma have together. But I won’t say too much about that, because I’ll don’t want to spoil anything.

Thank you so much for reading!