Straight Up

Back Cover Copy:

Georgia Bishop, a could-be jazz great, has thrown away her life, her marriage, and her talent for her drinking habit. Her cousin, Fairly Godfrey, is living the good life in New York but wonders if deeper meaning exists beyond the superficial world in which she finds herself.

It takes a Congo refugee, a soul-food chef, a persistent husband, and one desperate night on the brink of freedom for Georgia and Fairly to realize how far they have drifted form their God-given purposes. When both women face the most difficult choices of their lives, only the power of grace can bring them to true healing.

Inside Scoop:

Okay, sometimes I have to write pages and pages to finally figure out what my book is about. Straight Up, however, took the cake on that! I don't know why, but zeroing in the real story was excruciating yet for some reason, I kept at it. It's the German in me, I guess. In any case, when my editor sent her notes for the developmental edit, I almost fainted when she said, "The book really begins on page seventy-five."

Oh great.

This was even more of a difficult message to hear because after writing the first original 100 pages, I threw 80% or those out. I guess sometimes it just takes a while to find your way, chipping the story out bit by bit, instead of having it flow like a river.

Chip. Chip. Yep. That would be Straight Up.

From Publishers Weekly:

Georgia Ella Bishop's life screams "wasted potential." The daughter of a great jazz pianist and a famous news correspondent, she has what it takes to combine her mother's talent and her father's celebrity into one extraordinary life. Her alcoholism, however, thwarts these ambitions even before she can imagine them, and by the time she reaches her mid-30s, all of her chances seem to be used up. When Georgia moves from Baltimore to Lexington, Ky., to make one last attempt to straighten out her life, her social justice–obsessed uncle, her fashion-obsessed cousin and her loving but estranged husband are there to help. Samson, author of the Christy Award–winning Songbird and several other faith-based novels, pulls few punches in this sobering yet sanguine account of God's patience, mercy and eternal optimism in the face of human folly. Samson's writing is characteristically crisp and vibrant—cutting quickly to the heart of her characters and their crises with prose that is emotionally resonant but rarely sentimental. Readers may find events in Georgia's life, particularly her astoundingly bad choices and the surprising consequences she experiences, hard to believe. Still, despite the extremes to which Georgia goes, in Samson's capable hands she becomes an everywoman in whom readers are likely to see at least a glimpse of themselves. (Sept. 19)
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Comments

[Dianne]

I just started this one, after a brief hiatus from your books. Really, I had to - your writing is so compelling, interesting, and inspiring that I can hardly put your books down. It did come in handy one night with a bout of insomnia. I actually polished off Tiger Lillie in under 24 hours (includes 2-3 hours reading in the wee hours of the a.m.). Yep, I've become a BIG Lisa Samson fan (don't worry - not in some really weird way! LOL!). I've read most of your books since beginning the Spring Reading Thing.

Truly, though, thank you for sharing your gift of writing. It's a blessing! :D

[Jeanette Morris]

As for me, Straight Up was my introduction to your books, and I'm eager for more. Thanks to Mary DeMuth who had this one on her Truffle Books list. Being a freelance editor, I was especially impressed with your skillful dialog (almost no tags). I feel like I can point my clients to your book and say - do it like Lisa! You don't even need the word "said."

Aside from craft stuff, I loved the characters, and you had my mouth watering for soul food at the most inopportune moments!

I'm looking forward to more good reads about "real" Christians.

Jeanette