FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE /
CONTACT LAURIE BORIS
lboris845(at)earthlink.net
Local Author Writes About an Artist’s First Love in Second Novel
Kingston, New York, May 9, 2012 – Author Laurie Boris is pleased to announce the release of her contemporary novel, Drawing Breath.
Drawing Breath is Laurie Boris’s second published novel and first self-published, full-length work. The story is about a teen artist and the complicated relationship she develops with her mentor. Students often fall in love with their teachers, but despite warnings from her mother, that’s exactly what 16-year-old Caitlin Kelly does. Daniel Benedetto, however, isn’t just any art teacher. Not only is he more than twice Caitlin’s age, he rents the Kellys’ upstairs apartment and suffers from cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening disease. Caitlin watches in torment as others, especially women, treat Daniel like a freak because of his condition. To Caitlin, Daniel is not a disease, not someone to pity or take care of but someone to care for, a friend, her first love. He, however, seems oblivious to her adoration. In a well-meaning yet naive gesture, Caitlin crosses the line and interferes with his private life, sparking a chain of events with devastating consequences. Neither of them will ever be the same again.
Boris dedicated the novel to a friend who died from cystic fibrosis in his mid-thirties. “When he talked about CF it was mainly to rage about medical funding and why AIDS got all the research money when there were more kids dying from CF,” she wrote in her acknowledgements. “Otherwise, he treated it as a fact of his life. Sometimes he had to go for therapy; sometimes he got really sick. Sure, he coughed, but after a while you just got used to it, waited until he was done, and continued the conversation. He was my friend, not a guy with a disease. We silly humans can put blinders on when looking at people with horrible chronic diseases. As if they’re saints or something. My friend was flawed, like all of us. Human, like all of us. He could have a temper. He spaced on details, which led to sometimes sad and sometimes comical results. But he could also be sweet and thoughtful and kind. He never had a real girlfriend, and that made me horribly sad, because he had so much to give and was so infinitely lovable. Maybe that’s also one of the reasons I wrote this book. But muses work in funny ways. As the character of Daniel became less about my friend and more Daniel, the love I wanted him to have became more complicated, more demanding, more human. I’m hoping that like Caitlin, the reader discovers that people with chronic diseases are people, first and foremost, and are not defined by their illnesses.”
The novel will be available through Amazon.com, as an e-book or paperback. Retail price for the paperback is $8.99; 147 pages. ISBN assigned is 978-1475270235.
About Laurie Boris
Laurie Boris, a freelance writer, former graphic designer, and closet stand-up comedian, has had her short fiction published in small magazines and on the Web. The Joke’s on Me, her first novel, was released in July 2011 by 4RV Publishing. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband.
To read an excerpt from Drawing Breath, go to https://laurieboris.com/drawingbreath.
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Laurie Boris 