Temptation Rag by Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard with #Giveaway

Welcome to the blurb blitz tour for Temptation Rag, a historical fiction novel by Elizabeth Hutchison. I have an excerpt for you to check out. Be sure to let the author know in the comments what you think of it. And then follow the tour to check out even more. Plus there’s a great giveaway at the end!


Temptation Rag

The world of ragtime is the backdrop for a remarkable story about the price of freedom, the longing for immortality, and the human need to find forgiveness. Seventeen-year-old May Convery, unhappy with her privileged life in turn-of-the-century New York City, dreams of becoming a poet. When she meets the poor but talented Mike Bernard, an aspiring concert pianist, she immediately falls in love. But after their secret liaison is discovered, neither is prepared for the far-reaching consequences that will haunt them for decades. From vaudeville’s greatest stars to the geniuses of early African American musical theater, an unforgettable cast of real-life characters populates this richly fictionalized historical saga.

Read an excerpt:

Giving himself no further opportunity for remorse, he forced his fingers to the keys and broke into the hit song “After the Ball,” easily navigating the simple melody, augmenting it with rich chords and lush arpeggios. Following several rounds of verse and chorus, he seamlessly transitioned to a second popular tune, calling upon every musical device of the masters to transform the rather pedestrian refrain into something closer to grand opera. 

He picked up the pace. The music became a locomotive barreling down a straight track, the left hand pounding a steady bass, the right weaving intricate variations on a theme. In a moment of daring, he lifted his backside off the bench, half standing as his fingers scurried up and down the keys, faster than rats in a dark alley. He heard a cry of delight from someone in the crowd, and his excitement spiked. On and on he went, switching songs like he was switching hats, for each one inventing a new sound effect, a new gimmick. While he might dress up a melody any way he wanted, in the end it had to sound familiar enough to touch that special place in the listener’s heart where music works its most powerful magic. And that was precisely what he set about doing. He captured his audience like he was reeling in a giant fish. Slowly, painfully, with every ounce of strength he had. Afraid to stop. Afraid to let go of this brash new persona that it seemed must have always been lurking beneath the surface, beneath the façade of everything he thought he was or wanted to be.

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About Elizabeth Hutchison

Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard is an award-winning author of historical fiction.  Her debut novel The Beauty Doctor is an historical thriller that takes place in the early days of cosmetic surgery, when the world of medicine was a bit like the Wild West and “beauty doctors” were the newest breed of outlaw. The Beauty Doctor was a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book Award, National Indie Excellence Awards, AZ Literary Awards, and is a Medallion Honoree of the Book Readers Appreciation Group. Bernard’s second book, Temptation Rag: A Novel, immerses readers in the bawdy atmosphere of vaudeville and early 20th century African American musical theater. Publishers Weekly wrote “Bernard’s resonant novel . . . about the birth and demise of ragtime . . . is a lively tale in which romance and creative passions abound.” Temptation Rag is a Readers’ Favorite 5-star pick and a Medallion Honoree of the Book Readers Appreciation Group. For more about the author and her books, and to follow her fascinating historical fiction blog “Style and Substance,” visit www.EHBernard.com and https://www.facebook.com/EHBernardAuthor

Elizabeth will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 thoughts on “Temptation Rag by Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard with #Giveaway”

    1. Thank you so much, Mya! I have had some readers say that they wished they had read the Author’s Note, which appears at the end, before starting the book because it explains a lot about which characters are “real” and which are not. As a reader, I always like to be surprised about those things, which is why I put it at the end. But just something for you to think about . . . Hope you enjoy it!

  1. Thanks so much for featuring my novel TEMPTATION RAG! (The Kindle versions of TEMPTATION RAG and my historical thriller THE BEAUTY DOCTOR are on sale today for only 99 cents on Amazon!) I have been so happy with the response from readers who have enjoyed TEMPTATION RAG. Often they comment that, while they knew nothing about the Ragtime Era before reading my book, they found it fascinating getting to know some of the real-life stars who inhabited vaudeville and musical theater at the turn of the 2oth century. You may have read in the book description that the story is based, in part, on the life of my husband’s grandfather, Mike Bernard. But here’s a “secret”: The beautiful lady on the cover is actually my husband’s grandmother! Her photo (which I had colorized) is from the 1920s. Hope you’ll take advantage of the 99-cent sale, and GOOD LUCK with the gift card giveaway!

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