The Lark: Author Interview and Giveaway

THE LARK
by
Dana Glossbrenner
Genre: Humorous Literary Fiction
Publisher: Boldface Books
Date of Publication: June 7, 2016
Number of Pages: 270

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Synopsis

You’re never too old to learn—or too young

Good-looking, good-hearted Charley Bristow’s the most sought-after hair stylist in five West Texas counties. He’s an expert on the dance floor and sharp at the pool tables, too—but when it comes to picking cars, dogs, and women, luck hasn’t quite gone his way lately. And there’s the ever-present worry over his mother, whose own trailer-park plight he’d just as soon steer clear of.

Just when he’s sworn off temptation of the female sort, an evening at the local honky-tonk drives two prime targets right into his path. Weighing the sudden wealth of options in his love life, while also searching for the right choice of wheels to suit his needs, Charley stumbles upon a long-hidden secret and an unforeseen road to redemption.

The colorful denizens of the Wild Hare Salon, Jarod’s Automotive, and Hopper’s nightclub, along with those of the Briargrove First Methodist Church and the Sulfur Gap Centennial Celebration, will two-step their way right into your heart, to music as familiar as Willie Nelson and Charley Pride. And you just might start to fall in love with an old Johnny Mercer tune, too, as Charley Bristow faces his past and embraces the challenge of his future.

Praise for The Lark

“Good-time Charley” Bristow is a popular twenty-something West Texas hairstylist who’s already dodged two bullets with two failed marriages (the second time, literally). . . . The Lark invites us to join Charley’s friends, the rural cosmopolitans of Sulfur Gap, and ride shotgun alongside this rogue with an honest heart . . . on a journey into his past. Dana Glossbrenner has crafted a totally engaging quest for happiness, set it in a totally genuine contemporary Texas, and delivered up great characters for a great read.

— Cliff Hudder, author of Splinterville and Pretty Enough for You

Charley Bristow takes some things seriously–work, dancing, pool-playing, and women, but maybe not in that order. He finds the true importance of friends and family.

— Rick Smith, San Angelo Standard Times

The Lark Hi Res Cover

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AuthorInterview

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

super strength

If you were a superhero, what would your name be? What costume would you wear?

I would be lean and mean in top to bottom spandex—turquoise, preferably.

Where is one place you want to visit that you haven’t been before?

Ireland

If you were an animal in a zoo, what would you be?

a monkey—the agile ones that swing like supercharged robots around the branches.

If you could speak with any accent from anywhere in the world, what would you choose?

French (I can already do drawl and Southern belle.)

What’s something fun or funny that most people don’t know about you?

I soloed an airplane when I was sixteen. I had to circle the field twice because I overshot the runway. My father, who was also my instructor, nearly had a heart attack watching me from the ground. I decided I lack the depth perception to be a pilot.

My absentmindedness is entertaining to my husband, and I try to keep it a secret when I’m out in public. I have a tendency to look for my glasses when they are on my head and to start a frantic search for eggs in the fridge when I’ve just left them on the counter and forgotten in two minutes while I answered the phone. It’s not senility. I’ve always been this way. I can tell stories of my goofiness on and on. Like the time I scraped my cat’s food from the can to the bowl with a spoon, set her dinner down, and turned around and absent-mindedly licked the spoon. Had to brush my tongue.

about the author

Glossbrenner Pic

Dana Glossbrenner’s debut novel, The Lark, features Charley Bristow, a successful young hair stylist in a small West Texas town. His misadventures provide humor, intrigue, and catharsis, as he discovers a lost family history. Women Behind Stained Glass: West Texas Pioneers, a historical work, recounts the lives of women who helped settle the area around San Angelo, Texas.

Glossbrenner taught high school and university English classes and worked as a guidance counselor. She grew up in Snyder, Texas, earned degrees from Texas Tech, Angelo State University, and Texas State University. She now lives in San Angelo, Texas.

She cites Larry McMurtry, Cormac McCarthy, and Elmer Kelton as major inspirations for writing about Texas.

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