Napoleon by Emilia Rutigliano Excerpt, Author Interview, Guest Post and Teaser

Title: Napoleon
Genre: Women’s Fiction with an Attitude
Author: Emilia Rutigliano
Publisher: Emilia Rutigliano
Pages: 387
Language: English
Format: Kindle
Purchase at AMAZON

They say that when a student is ready, a teacher appears.

What they don’t say is where to register, and how to matriculate in that teacher’s class.

That is a divine gift.

Veronica had it all:  the looks; the brains; the personality; and the wardrobe.  Not to mention a perfect husband, a fabulous career and two adorable children, until the perfect husband leaves her for another woman.

Thus begin the daily routines of a typical New York City immigrant with ambition whose teachers keep appearing, and for whom divine interventions keep affording new opportunities. 

Though it starts like ordinary connections going through the tried and true, each relationship continues to delve into parts of her own universe that Veronica didn’t know existed.  A universe that is suddenly open to her.

This is a different kind of heroine…

Welcome to the New American Dream, Dare to Dream…

BOOK EXCERPT:

“You see the details and you are awed by them.  It shows in your dress, in your manner, in how you look at things, how you eat...  It’s all art.  No amount of money or education can give it to you.  You either see it, or you don’t.”  He took another sip.

          He was about to tie it all together for her.  “Our society works in layers...”

          “Oh, my god ... what did you just say?”  Her eyes opened wide, and she stared at him.  But he didn’t see what was so shocking.

          “Our society works in layers.  Notice I didn’t say levels.  It’s not linear.”  This was important.  He needed her to see this.  “Think of it this way.  You consider a person’s worth by their financial statement.  This is how much you earn/own, and this is how much you owe/spend.  Like, John Smith is worth a billion dollars.  With me so far?”

          She shook her head ... Someone else subscribes to the layers theory? She continued to stare at him.

          “You transcend that, Veronica.  There are several more layers of you that you don’t even know.  You know that you are very beautiful, but you also have this magnificent charisma, this affect on people.  You talk with your clients, your friends, your kids, and with me on completely different “layers”... like a napoleon, yes?”

          She nodded her head, still in awe.

          “It isn’t that one layer is better than the other, although some will argue that the soaked bottom is best because it has the most flavor; others will say the flaky top is best; still others prefer the middle because it is just the right amount.  But one cannot exist without the other.  I would very much like to see you discover the layers of yourself.  There are many that you have not discovered, and it's only because no one has taught you.  You excel in things that you do.  You’re quite a virtuoso, and I’d like to teach you about more.  Interested?“

          I’m being presented with an opportunity.  Am I even hearing this correctly?  Did he just say that there is another world, layers, that I am worthy of attaining, and that he would like to help me reach and discover these layers?  Wasn’t that what I was hoping for when we first met … to learn from him?   Concentrate, Nika, this is serious.  “I’m more than interested, Jeremy, but I’m unaware of what is required of me.”

          He smiled.  “Good question. There are many layers here, but let’s deal with the first two.  First things first... you have trust issues.”

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES: FAIRYTALES (BOOK 2)

Veronica’s story continues.
Ever wonder why there is so much gore in the storybooks that we read to our children?  Is it because it is appropriate preparation for life?
Amidst the balls, and gowns and champagne … there are evil stepmothers and death and disease.  There are also valiant princes, and kindly matriarchs and enchanted lands.  There is no alternate reality though.  It is still modern day New York… and Paris, of course.
Still, Veronica needs to get up and go to work, and take the kids to school, and play nice with the ex’s new wife.  But each layer is enchanted with its own romance… and its own lover becomes a benevolent wizard.  There’s Ben… and Jeremy… and Edmonde.  And then there’s KD.  Why choose?
These are the games your mama never taught you.  These are men’s games played by a woman.  And a woman is only eligible to play when she is taught to see the world differently.  It isn’t just a matter of calculations… it is a matter of nobility.  What Jeremy taught in NAPOLEON, becomes a world of experience in FAIRTYATLES.
They say you only love once… but that isn’t a fact for Veronica.   Each of her bedmates offers her and demands from her something different.
What starts out as a parochial life, with known participants and variables, is unveiled with more and more opportunities.  Each comes with a privilege and an obligation – and Veronica has never shirked an obligation.  Not even in a fairytale.
It’s all connected… just on a higher layer.

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES: PETALS (BOOK 3)

Veronica’s story continues.
The prettiest of blooms commence with the nurturing of the seed?  In PETALS… Veronica’s life goes global, and she unites her family with the aristocracy around her, without self- betrayal.
Physical recovery post trauma is not the difficult part.  How do you heal the other parts of you?   And what if you were stupid enough to throw out the healer in your life?
Every relationship takes work.  Every relationship is a lesson.  Each has a depth.
Where NAPOLEON and FAIRYTALES opened a magical kingdom dominated and ruled by men… PETALS reveals the same monarchy ruled by women.   There is a new perspective on the same world, and the same characters.  Relating to women, and taking your place among the nobility requires a lot… and not at all a marriage or blueblood.
But of course it wouldn’t be Veronica’s life…if there weren’t more lovers, more galas, more jewels and of course… more heartbreak…

It is a fun journey.    What it isn’t -- is a known destination.

Author Guest Post:

Control Issues…

They are completely out of control!  Not all of them, mind you… but most do whatever the hell they want!  I’m talking about characters, of course.  Those imaginary figments of YOUR imagination that you, as the author, brought to life, who categorically do and say what they want without your intent.

Specifically, my gripe is with KD Tarasovsky.  His original purpose in the book series was to be a contrast to the other lovers that Veronica is enjoying, thus exploring the differences between the layers of life and love.  Let me clarify that.  That was MY original purpose for him.  He didn’t get my memo.  Or, if I learned anything about him, he did, and didn’t care. 

“I don’t like his name.”  My girlfriend complained, reading the book in its infancy.

“Me neither.”  I agreed.  It wasn’t the sexy name that should have been chosen for a romantic hero.

“So what’s the problem?  Change it!”  She stated, suggesting 25 other names best suited for a character such as him.

“I can’t.  He said his name is Arkadiy Tarasovsky, people call him KD.”  I try to explain as she looks at me with disbelief.

“Ok, whatever.  But just so you know, if she doesn’t end up with him, you could kiss our friendship goodbye.”  She assures me.

“I have no control over him.”  I remind her.  35 years of friendship, and she’s threatening to say goodbye because of KD.

It was supposed to be so simple.  I set up the scene, the flirt, the drinks and the full moon over Miami Beach as they enjoy themselves at the Fontainbleu Hotel lounge.  They each have a suite at the hotel, and though Veronica starts by playing hard to get, she is so into him by the end of the evening, she’s ready to do anything… and HE says no.  Really, HE refuses to put out.  Who had ever heard of that? 

That was certainly not my intent.  In fact, that completely diverted the story line!

What was the point of setting up that romantic hook-up place if all they were going to do was “talk” – after all of that warm-up and deliberation?  But I had nothing to say about it.  KD had his own agenda. 

And after Napoleon got published, the Miami Fontainbleu opened a bar named Arkady – I had no control over that either.  Sigh.

About the Author:

Emilia I. Rutigliano scored fiftieth percentile on her SATs... and on her LSATs... and on her BAR...Sigh...
But she nevertheless survived, and seems to be doing OK. She practices Law read lore) in Brooklyn, New York (read Nu Yawk). She was born in the former Soviet Union, and emigrated in 1979. She is happily married to the same crazy Italian she's been with since college, who suffers from a severe addition to travel (still in acute form). Together they are doing a somewhat passable job with their three precious darlings (who are now teenagers, thus elaboration is not necessary).
Which is why Emilia writes about Veronica. Veronica, though... is interesting. And Emilia knows interesting.
So she weaved the tale about the interesting characters, places and events from her own life. It is remarkable how if you choose to view a subject objectively, it becomes downright artistically gorgeous. So Emilia views and shows Brooklyn Russians as gorgeous, and the Barese intricacies as gorgeous, and she even tolerates Paris, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia for the reader's interests.
Thank you, dear reader, for tolerating these scenes....
LAYERS OF VERONICA IS ON FACEBOOK...LIKE US.
Her first book in the Layers of Veronica series is Napoleon.
Visit Emilia Rutigliano’s website at www.layersofveronica.com.

Connect & Socialize!

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Author Interview:

1.) Your name seems Italian. Have you ever been to Italy?
A.  Italy and I… why yes!  LOL.  I was born in Russia, and my father named me after his favorite cousin.  Because we emigrated to the US via Italy 1979, my name was spelled the Italian way back then, Emilia I s the traditional Italian spelling of the name.  Some thirteen years later, I met a crazy Italian from Brooklyn who swept me off my feet and married me.  I’ve been Emilia Rutigliano ever since.  I supposed that was meant to be.  We go back to Italy (to see his family and travel) regularly.  Our kids are also growing up with the multiple cultures and languages.

2.) What is your favorite place to relax and write?
A. My favorite place to relax is anywhere where I am either barefoot or wearing cozy socks… it could be a home, a beach or in bed.  My favorite place to write is in bed.  (Funny how no one had ever asked me that. Thank you).  Everything I need/want is on my side table, and I can happily immerse into the world opening up on my laptop.  That’s seldom the case though… I usually write ‘on-the-go’.  There just isn’t enough time to dedicate time to writing exclusively, so I grab my laptop with me, and write whenever I can.

3.) Who would you like to write a book with?
A. There’s no one that comes to mind.  Mostly this is because I don’t think of myself as a ‘writer’.  I’m a storyteller, and those darn characters inside my head continually want their story told!  I tell a story a particular way.  The same story could be told differently, but… it’s what I do for fun. 

4.)  When did you realize that you wanted to be a writer?
A. I was always a storyteller.  Taking facts and putting them into an interesting storyline has been my way since I was a teen.  I never sat down and wrote anything that wasn’t work related.  When I hit 40, a friend dared me to write something instead of critiquing.  So I did.  I wrote what would turn out to be the first two books of the Layers of Veronica.  It was being passed around between friends, and so it was epublished because people found it easier to read.  The story was interesting so I continued it until all five books were written.  

5.)  What would you like to tell my readers?
A. Layers was a lot of fun for me to write.  It is both a journal and philosophical.  Everyone gets something different from it.  Every reader has a favorite ‘boyfriend’, location and best friend for Veronica.  That’s kind of the way it should be.  There is no right answer, and your experience with the book shouldn’t be exactly like anyone else’s.  I truly hope you enjoy the journey.