Romance Novel Giveaways - Freebies and Giveaways of All Things Romance Romance Novel Giveaways: On Loving by Lili Naghdi 💕 Guest Post, Book Tour & Gift Card Giveaway 💕 (Contemporary Romance)

Thursday, May 30, 2019

On Loving by Lili Naghdi 💕 Guest Post, Book Tour & Gift Card Giveaway 💕 (Contemporary Romance)



In 1972, Dr. Rose Hemmings has just finished her general surgery residency when a haunted stranger is shot in front of her in a New York City bar, and their lives become forever intertwined. And when, having been given the blessing of her adoptive father on his deathbed, Rose travels to prerevolutionary Iran to discover the past her American family kept secret from her, she finds a true Pandora's box. It is a world both foreign and familiar, in which her primary place is as the heiress to a great tribe. In Iran, Rose will find family she never dreamed of, her own people, and a man who loves her as passionately as he does the rare black roses of his garden. She will return to the United States carrying a new secret and torn between two men: the one she loves helplessly, and the one who loves her unconditionally.

Woven throughout with Persian poetry ancient and modern, On Loving is the story of one woman's lifetime of love and loss, of societal change in a nomadic people, and of overcoming personal challenges, including mental and physical health, to find true contentment. Above all, it is a story of love: its physiology, psychology and philosophy; the many forms it takes; its myths and truths; its challenges, its joys and its gifts.

Balancing life and writing
by Lili Naghdi

As a physician with a hectic work schedule, I needed to allocate enough time to be able to focus on my writing, so I wrote mostly late at night and early in the morning, when I could focus more and take advantage of the silence around me. I never felt tired and enjoyed the writing process very much. I am used to taking shifts at different times for many years, but I really enjoyed working on my manuscript at any given time. I should confess that when I was writing the scene and I was running short of time to get to my shift, I reluctantly left my story and couldn’t wait until I was done with everything and find time to work on the rest of it. I sure needed to make time for writing at times and to be able to manage both my ventures. Walking and exercising was very helpful since it gave me ideas about certain part of the plot. Over all, I loved the experience and as a new writer I enjoyed it a lot. I am a firm believer in what Hemingway suggested years ago, “Always stop while you are going good and don’t worry about it until you start to write the next day. That way your subconscious will work on it all the time. But if you think about it consciously or worry about it you will kill it and your brain will be tired before you start.” In fact he insists on balancing things in a way that you can accomplish things in your writing in a better way without exhausting your creative mind.



“It was almost nine when I got back. Kim had fed Layla and put her to sleep. I sent Kim home for the night, kissed Layla’s face good night and went to my room to change for bed.

Siyavash’s letter was still on the floor. I bent down and picked it up.

Inhaling the scent of the dried black rose, I wandered to the window and stared at the thin, even white carpet of snow on the street. Where do I want to be? I asked myself. Somewhere beautiful, calming. Somewhere full of life, with a boundless, vaulted sky above my head, perhaps!

I then closed my eyes and let myself being taken to Siyavash’s majestic rose garden in Isfahan. I could feel the breeze in my hair, could feel the warmth of the sun on my face. I remembered how Siyavash had looked at me with love and admiration there. I was blind not to see it then. I couldn’t recall Dean looking at me like that …

I opened my eyes and read Siyavash’s letter again, raking my fingers through my hair. Then, nervously rubbing my neck, I went to the phone next to my bed.

“Good evening,” I said when the other end of the line picked up.

“Rose! Is that … Is that you?” It was Siyavash.

“Yes, it’s me!” I paused and swallowed the lump that had risen in my throat. “Come back home! Just come back to me!”

I quickly hung up and rushed to the window, as if for air. Snowflakes were still dancing their way down to the ground.

My chest felt so constricted that I could hardly breathe.

Am I questioning Dean’s love for me? I wondered. Am I comparing it to Siyavash’s? But that was impossible! I shook my head. I’m just giving Siyavash a chance to redeem himself, a proper second chance. But the reminder to myself was pointless: the truth was something else, and I knew it!

I was at fault here. I was the guilty — guilty of blocking not only my ears but also my soul from hearing Siyavash’s voice, so ignorant indeed that my heart was finally reproaching me for my bigotry and cruelty.

I folded the letter and tucked it away in the drawer next to my bed.

I’ll know soon how I need to deal with him, I told myself. Or I’ll just have to find a way around it!”

  




Lili Naghdi is an Iranian Canadian physician who was born and raised in Tehran. She continued her education and research after moving to Canada with her husband and daughter in 1996. Today she practices family medicine in Vaughan, Ontario, with particular interests in women’s and mental health. Being a family physician gives her the privilege of connecting with patients and participating in their care with a deeper understanding of the physical, emotional and social adversities they face. Interacting with people of many different backgrounds has also provided Dr. Naghdi with the opportunity to grow as a person, a physician and an author.

Growing up in pre- and post-revolutionary Iran, Lili became fascinated by the magical realm of literature, poetry and history. She began collecting prized quotations at the young age of eight. Dr. Naghdi has written poetry and short stories in both Farsi and English, but she eventually followed William Wordsworth’s advice to “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart,” and turned to fiction.

On Loving is her first novel. Inspired by both the ordinary people she has the honor to support and by the great literature of Persia and the world — from Hafez to Forugh Farrokhzad and from John Steinbeck to Margaret Mitchell — Dr. Naghdi passionately agrees with Boris Pasternak, whose Yuri Zhivago is a physician and patriotic poet, when he writes: “Literature is the art of discovering something extraordinary about ordinary people and saying with ordinary words something extraordinary.”


  


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54 comments :

  1. This sounds like a good book

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    1. Thank you! Hope you can find time to read it. Good luck with the draw!

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  2. Hello everyone,

    Thank you all for joining me today on the 4th stop of my virtual tour. I'm so excited to be here and I would like to thank our dear host at Romance Novel Giveaways for giving me this opportunity.Also, I'd like to thank Goddess Fish Promotions for coordinating this tour.

    “On Loving”, my debut novel, is not only a love story but in fact, it is a story about love itself, its physiology and philosophy, the many forms it takes, its myths and truths, its challenges, its joys and its gifts. It is the story of one woman’s lifetime of love and loss, and of the true meaning of love, and this “true meaning” could be different for different people.

    I’d like to ask everyone the following question (on each and every stop of the tour), and I’d really appreciate everyone’s participation:

    How do you define “LOVE” in your own words and based on your own experiences?

    So … let me know what’s in your mind!

    Best,

    Lili Naghdi

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  3. I loved your novel "On Loving" and I'm following you on the tour. It was a real page-turner for me and I couldn't stop reading it. I'm looking forward to your next one! I have a question for you: have you ever read a book more than once?
    If so which one? Thank you.

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    1. Hi Nili. Thanks for your kind attention. I'm happy to hear you liked Rose's story. Yes! In fact, there are few books that I've read more than once and I will certainly read them again in the future! The Thorn Birds, Gone With the Wind, The Forty Rules of Love are in that list. Masterpieces never get boring for us! Thank you for joining us today and good luck with the Giveaway!

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  4. Replies
    1. Thanks for joining us today. I hope you like it if you find time to read it. Good luck with the draw!

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  5. Thanks for sharing your book and I enjoyed getting to hear about it.

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    1. Hi James. Thanks for your interest in "On Loving". Good luck with the Giveaway!

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  6. Do you have any plans for your next book?

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    1. Hi Bernie. So nice of you to join us. As a matter of fact, I am currently working on my new fiction which is also another romance covering different social issues involving women. Hope I can have it ready by the end of this year. Good luck with the draw!

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  7. Replies
    1. Hi Victoria. I thank you for joining us today.Hope you can enjoy Rose's story if you find time. Good luck with the Giveaway!

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  8. I like the cover and love the premise for this storyline. I'm intrigued especially since it has Iranian culture as well. Sounds like a great read.

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    1. Happy to see you liked it. while reading Rose's story you will travel to different cities in Pre-revolutionary Iran and get to know the facts about people, traditions , history and culture. Also, you will learn about all this through Rose who's trying to find her roots. I hope you find time to read it and give me your feedback. Good luck with the draw!

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    1. Hi Julie. Thanks for joining us.Glad to hear that and cannot wait to get your feedback. You can always contact me through my website: www.lilinaghdi.com. Good luck with the Giveaway!

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  10. Replies
    1. Great! Thanks for stopping by and good luck with the draw!

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  11. Great trailer & excerpt! Thanks for sharing it.

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    1. And thank you for your comment and attention! Good luck with the Giveaway!

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  12. I love the description. This sounds like a book I will have a hard time putting down until I am finished.

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    1. Thank you for your kind attention and taking time to leave a comment. I hope you'll like it and don't forget to give me the feedback through my website if you find time to read "On Loving": www.lilinaghdi.com. Good luck with the draw!

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  13. Congratulations on the release of your first novel! It sounds great! Thanks so much for the spotlight!

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    1. Hi Glenda.Thanks for your kind words and participation. Good luck with the Giveaway!

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  14. I went to college with Iranian students around the time this novel was set, it's intriguing to read about someone torn between two worlds like that.

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  15. Hi Richard. You are certainly right! This can also apply to certain number of people who live around us, trying to discover their unknown past to be able to move on and build their future. Life challenges are always there as we all know, particularly for people who are coming from different worlds.
    Thanks for participating and good luck with the Giveaway!

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  16. Love is, in my experience, a very fluid emotion. You love every person differently from everyone else you love. We also experience evolving love as one's relationship with the loved one changes and grows.

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    1. Beautifully defined! Everyone's definition for love could be so much different in many ways. But I'm sure people who experienced it first hand would be able to define it as beautifully as you did! When I started to write this story, I intended to draw everyone's attention to explore the depth of their crude emotions and pure feelings. The bitter truth is that sending each other Emojis won't take us anywhere in the near future. No eye contact, no real understanding! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. Greatly appreciated! Good luck with the draw!

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  17. It was a great pleasure and lovely opportunity today to interact with you avid readers. I'd like to thank our host once more and also, thank all of you for your participation. Have a wonderful night and good luck with the Giveaway!

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  18. It was a great pleasure and lovely opportunity today to interact with you avid readers. I'd like to thank our host once more and also, thank all of you for your participation. Have a wonderful night and good luck in the Giveaway!

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  19. The main character is "carrying a new secret and torn between two men: the one she loves helplessly, and the one who loves her unconditionally." This is how I feel about my current situation. One just has to make sacrifices or compromises.

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    1. Isn't "love" always about sacrifices and compromises, my friend?! Hope you'll find your way around it. That was what Rose did at the end, but she never intended for it to happen that way! Wishing you the best in life and also, the Giveaway! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings with us.

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  20. Replies
    1. Thanks for joining us. Good luck with the draw!

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    1. No, it isn't. Good luck with the draw!

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  22. Sounds like a good book can't wait to read it.

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    1. Hi Jean. Thanks for participating and your kind attention. Good luck in the Giveaway!

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  23. How long ago did you start writing your book?

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  24. Hi Bernie. I started writing it on Feb 25th last year while I was on vacation with my daughter in Panama. Thanks for joining us. Good luck in the Giveaway!

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  25. For you,what is the hardest part about writing a book?

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  26. Hi Jeffrey. I am a physician by profession and this was my first novel. This was a long manuscript (almost 600 pages) and also, a story full of twists in many ways. Fitting different plots in one wasn't an easy job! On the other hand, all through this story I referred to many medical issues and was a bit worried if I wasn't elaborating enough on them or even over-explaining different medical concepts. I am a big fan of Chekhov, Gertrude Stein and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, all physicians by profession and I never found their works boring or under or over explanatory. I think that was my main challenge and hope"On Loving" can satisfy my readers in this regard. Thanks for joining us and Good luck!

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  27. Sounds like a book you can't put down! Adding this to my TBR list.

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  28. How do you come up with story ideas? This sounds like a good read.

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  29. thanks this sounds like an amazing book

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  30. sounds like a fun one

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  31. This sounds like an interesting story.

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  32. Ooo, I like the background location in the cover!

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  33. I'm looking forward to reading this.

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  34. Great cover! Thanks for hosting as well.

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