Woman on Top
by Deborah Schwartz
Publisher: Laudan Press (May 30, 2013)
Genres: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction
Tour Dates: November 2013
Available in: Print & ebook, 346 pages
A Woman’s Struggle To Find Herself After Losing Everything She Believed Was Important.
We hear a great deal in the media about women who become victims of wealthy and powerful men. Like a breath of fresh air, the heroine in Deborah Schwartz’s inspiring book, Woman on Top, does escape becoming yet another casualty… literally…all the way to the top of a mountain!
New York, NY, September 4, 2013 - One has to wonder has anything changed since Nora slammed the door over a hundred years ago in Ibsen’s iconic play A Doll’s House? Deborah Schwartz made sure that they did in her timely novel, Woman on Top (Laudan Press). Like a breath of fresh air, the heroine in Deborah Schwartz’s inspiring book, Woman on Top shows the way things have changed…all the way to the top of a mountain!
Book Description:
Falling prey to Len, a very wealthy Wall Street banker who is hell-bent on acquiring her as his next deal, Kate struggles after the death of her husband to keep control amidst the detours of a tempestuous New York romance. As witness to a world of power and greed that life in New York offers to a vulnerable woman, can Kate ultimately rescue herself from the lure that is Len’s world?
Throughout this compelling story, which is inspired by actualevents from the author’s own life, Schwartz cleverly weaves self-empowering thoughts into her heroine’s exploits, making it less the ‘damsel in distress’ and more the infinitely successful ‘woman on top!’ In this amazing look at a woman’s journey to finding herself, readers will both laugh and cry as they relate to Kate and her decisions, emotions and experiences.
While following her quest for a reaffirmation of life and love, including a surprising adventure, Kate’s story touches on the unexpected pleasures and decisions we face throughout our lives. Readers who have dreamed of, or survived, a “Len” in their lives, will recognize themselves in Kate as she searchesto find what matters most in her new life. What does a 35 year-old woman who seems to have it all do when the rug is pulled out from under her? Kate’s struggle to find inner strength on her journey down a slippery slope with a Wall Street man leaves readers wondering and rooting for her to land as the ‘woman on top.’
Praise for Woman On Top:
“Every now and then you find a book that you have difficulty putting down. Last month, I had that experience with the novel Woman on Top, released May 30, 2013 by first time author Deborah Schwartz. Readers may snicker about the title assuming this is a poorly written shallow romance novel; however, quite the opposite is true. The title is a double entendre and refers to the empowerment of a woman.”- Kristin Meekhof, Huffington Post
“The reader will go through a range of emotions but will not want to put this book down since Woman on Top is inspirational, entertaining, and heartbreaking as Kate straddles two completely different worlds.”- Elise Cooper, Working Mother
“The writer Deborah Schwartz, in her novel “Woman on Top,” demonstrates her writing chops by the way she deftly shifts between two literary genres: romance and pathography. The language she uses and the tones she creates align with the chapters covering the stormy romance of the main character and the intense and ultimately tragic illness experience of the main character’s husband. In this way, the author makes the reader feel deep sympathy for the main character as the story concerns her husband’s plight, yet feel great frustration with the main character as the story concerns her romance. The author makes us wonder how someone who is so clear and soulful can also be so vulnerable and superficial. She’s probably telling us that we’re just stuck with these seemingly contradictory attributes and characteristics. We’re all capable of manifesting a range of behaviors that work against our self interests and that are determined by circumstances beyond our control. Thus, while Woman on Top tells the excruciatingly sad story of an untimely death and the story of a tempestuous romance with its own pathology, the novel has more to tell about us humans.”- JRT, Amazon Reviewer
“You know those great books that from the first sentence (and the cool cover art) grab your attention, and make you want to read it? Well, this is one of those. Settle in, and get ready for a great ride. Schwartz alternately made me laugh and cry out loud over and over in this funny, sad, sexy, entertaining novel. A psychotherapist, I found myself cheering for Kate, as she brings us with her on her journey , refusing to abandon her true self while rebuilding her life after tragedy. Schwartz also deftly paints a picture of the ups and downs of monied NY dating that makes us non-east coast people shake our heads in wonder in this absorbing and fun summer treat.”- littlesrink, Amazon Reviewer
“The most life-affirming book I’ve read all year! “Woman on Top” is a testament to all women who have overcome adversity (in life and in love) through strength of character and a sheer zest for living. After losing the love of her life, Kate finds herself in the arms of a powerful New York banker who prides himself on being able to give a woman everything she could want, and more. But can he? Schwartz’s book speaks to an essential ingredient for happiness–finding your inner strength. “Woman on Top” will make you laugh and cry and laugh and cry again. If you are in danger of losing faith in true love…or in yourself, read this book now!”- lilybrat, Amazon Reviewer
About Deborah Schwartz:
Born and raised in New York, Deborah Schwartz graduated from Tufts University and then obtained her Masters in History at Columbia University where she wrote a thesis on “Feminism in Eighteenth Century England.” She received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law. Today, Deborah’s passion is writing and she incorporated her achievement of having reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in 2011 into her debut novel. A New Yorker to the core, Deborah is most grateful to be the mother of her two grown children.
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/schwartzd18
My thoughts:
If you love NYC, a sexy and alluring city full of promise and heartbreak, then you are sure to love Deborah Schwartz’s debut novel Woman on Top. Set amidst the glamour and excess of NYC Kate struggles to cope after the death of her husband when she finds herself suddenly vulnerable in this city controlled by power and greed.
Lonely without her husband Kate gives in to the charms of the stereotypical Wall Street shark, Len and finds herself immersed in a world she neither knows how to navigate or escape.
Woman on Top is a compelling story, made more so when you realize that it is inspired by the author’s life. Deborah Schwartz, using her own experiences and struggles, reminds every woman that the road to self-empowerment is journey. Often an uphill one on its best days, but the struggle to find oneself and emerge from a woman on top is definitely worth the struggle. Women every will relate to Kate, her emotions, her decisions, her experiences and her mistakes.
Schwartz definitely reminds her reader that life is a journey more than a destination and it is in finding the adventures along the way that is essentially what life is all about. I believe that readers will easily relate to Kate’s unexpected pleasures as well as her often-heartbreaking missteps along her journey of self discovery and at times recall the moments that took their breath away, both for the good or for the bad, in their own life experience.
I truly enjoyed Woman on Top and relishing the privilege of sharing Kate’s journey and especially the memories reading the novel evoked in myself. I found myself cheering Kate on as she relentlessly pushes forward refusing to abandon her true self while rebuilding her life after tragedy.
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I'm glad you enjoyed Woman On Top so much!
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