An Absent Mind by Eric Rill Giveaway & Guest Post

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One commenter will win a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A riveting new novel from Eric Rill, author of Pinnacle of Deceit and The Innocent Traitor, is about a race against time. The ticking time bomb is Saul Reimer’s sanity. His Alzheimer’s is going to be the catalyst that will either bring his family together or tear it apart.

About the Author Eric Rill was born in Montreal and graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts, and from UCLA with an MBA. He held several executive positions in the hospitality industry, including president of a global hotel group. His hobbies include trekking, scuba diving, and collecting antique carpets. Eric has two sons and divides his time between his residence in Panama and international travel. You can reach him at his website at: www.ericrill.com

Buy the book at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Guest Post:

            Back-Story of An Absent Mind

            It took one year for each of my first two novels to come to fruition. That included time for the idea to germinate, research, writing, and finally the dreaded editing. The idea for my third novel came from a real-life fact—my father’s being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and going through a harrowing eight years, for both himself and our family. So, in a sense, the germination was many years in the making.

            After he passed away, I started to write a novel, not even remotely about him or us, but about a fictional family. Even if I had wanted to, I doubt I could have written about such a personal subject in a non-fiction book. I guess I’m too private a person, so I have to commend those who have written such books and thank them for their courage.

            Before this, I wrote to entertain, and in interviews would say, “I just want to let people escape into a world where they forget their own problems.” Well, you can do that in a thriller, and it may not be a noble cause, but if done well, can allow for a few hours of distraction.

            But you can’t do that with a terminal disease like Alzheimer’s. Yet I knew I had to write something that would resonate with people who wanted not only entertainment, but also information—or, as my publicist says, “edutainment.”

            Yes, they want it to be a page-turner, but they also want to learn about the disease. It took me years to get there, and although I think I did, and have corroboration from experts, it’s going to be readers who will ultimately decide if I have succeeded.

            Certainly the day-to-day joy of penning a thriller is exhilarating. When I am in the middle of the writing process, I can’t wait to get out of bed and rush to my computer. And when doing research, I have the opportunity to enter the world of the CIA, Secret Service, FBI, etc. That’s all really exciting, like a young kid with his face plastered against a window, getting to see the inside of what really goes on in these secret branches of government.

            Although the process of writing about Alzheimer’s is more difficult and not a “fun” project, there is a sense of accomplishment in being able to expose the reader to the reality of what this dreaded disease really is. And that’s done through a different window, one that takes the reader into the lives of the family and exposes them to the different stages of Alzheimer’s.

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