THE MONA LISA SISTERS by George Cramer
In early 2011, the
company I worked for was bought out. Over the next few months, 90% of our
employees were laid off. I was one of the last. Looking for work, I learned a
great deal about age discrimination. That’s a story for another time. After
about a year, I spotted a notice for a writing class at the local senior center,
a place I had sworn never to enter. From the notice, I had the feeling it was a
resume improvement presentation. Oh, well, swallowed my pride.
The class was about
creative writing. I fell in love with the process, and, in addition to taking the
local class, I returned to college and began taking English classes.
One afternoon at
the senior center, the instructor randomly passed out pictures. The assignment
was to describe the setting in fifteen minutes. I couldn’t do it. I was
astonished that a story filled my mind. In the time allotted, I had a rough
outline of The Mona Lisa Sisters. The title then, and eight-plus years
later, it still is.
Until then, all I
had written were crime and thrillers. The Mona Lisa Sisters is
historical fiction with a touch of romance.
The first draft was
like most first drafts, a total mess, requiring more writing classes. One of my
instructors was a fan of Joy Harjo. Ms. Harjo is an internationally renowned
writer of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
About this time, I
decided I would pursue an MFA in Creative Writing. I learned that Ms. Harjo was
a regular speaker at the Institute of American Indian Arts. I enrolled, met
her, and even sat with her one time at dinner.
All this time, I
continued to write and rewrite The Mona Lisa Sisters. The novel became
my thesis project. I enjoyed the help and guidance of outstanding professors
and mentors. This spring, the novel was completed.
* * * * *
The Mona Lisa
Sisters, a historical fiction novel of Lura Grisham Meyer, George
Cramer’s debut novel, will be released on August 14, 2020.
Lura Grisham Myer lives a
perfect life until her world is ripped apart. Wealth cannot protect Lura
from the tragedies that befall her in the late nineteenth century. Reborn, forged of pain and
misery, she voyages to Paris after months as a recluse in Grisham Manor.
There Lura finds new purpose in life when she meets two American girls who face
a tragedy of their own.
The Mona Lisa
Sisters is available for pre-order. Here is a link to his Amazon Author
Page where you can order paperback ($14.99) or Kindle ($3.99): https://rb.gy/j2m46l.
George
Cramer was born to a Karuk Indian, a career soldier, one of the last horse
soldiers of World War II. George served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam
War. Completing his military service, George became a police officer, retiring
as a sergeant after years working in criminal and undercover investigations.
For five years, he volunteered two days a week at a local police department
investigating missing person’s cold cases.
In
addition to The Mona Lisa Sisters, George has written a historical crime
novel, is completing the second novel in the Liberty – A Hector Miguel
Navarro Novel trilogy, as well as numerous short stories. He has had eight
pieces published in anthologies and one in 0-Dark-Thirty, the literary
journal of the Washington, D.C., based Veterans Writing Project.
If you would like
to host George on a blog, give him a shout at gdcramer@msn.com
Comments
Thanks for hosting Mr. Cramer on your blog!
Thanks for your post, George.
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