Can you believe it! Nearly a decade in the making, two title and book cover switches, tons of editing and proofing, a boatload of early reader reviews, a podcast interview recorded, a book tour cobbled together, and finally, at long last, my dream of publishing When Things Go Missing is only eight days away.

BOOK BLOG TOUR

But first, I’m excited to share the list of bloggers, authors, and book reviewers who have graciously offered to participate in this tour promoting When Things Go Missing. Participants will either be spotlighting the book, posting reviews, or interviewing me. I was especially pleased that this tour straddles three continents, with participants from Australia and UK as well as the US. Books are something that bind all of us together.

GIVEAWAY

Please bookmark this and join us on the tour! Those who leave the most likes and comments at the participating sites will have a chance to win a free E-book PLUS extra chapters of the novel, which I reluctantly had to cut.

BOOK BLOG PARTICIPANTS

• Sep. 15 – Sally Cronin, Smorgasbord Blog Magazine / SPOTLIGHT

I just met Sally recently, having learned how she’s been a longtime, stanch supporters of authors, being an author herself, having published 17 fiction and non-fiction books, including a number of short story collections. A world traveler, she now lives in Ireland. I was delighted when this champion of writers agreed to participate in promoting my book.

• Sep. 16 – Valorie Hallinan, Books Can Save a Life / INTERVIEW / GUEST POST

I discovered Valorie’s blog where she publishes book reviews years ago and became a big fan. She introduced me to so many great books, including some of my favorites, like The Snow Child and Station Eleven. While she took a hiatus from writing a while back, I was thrilled and humbled to have her choose When Things Go Missing as her first review as she returned to book blogging. You can read the the review here.

• Sep. 18 – Laura Bruno Lilly, classical guitarist/composer/poet – BOOK REVIEW

Although I’ve never met Laura, I feel like she’s an old friend. We began blogging around the same time. When we discovered each other, we realized how much we have in common, including a shared birthday and being “flower sisters” (a quiz going around at the time found that the snapdragon flower fit us best). Laura is an amazing classical guitarist and composer. Her CD Swimming with Swans: the Goat Suite (Saga) was released in 2021. I eagerly grabbed up a copy and play it often.

• Sept. 20 – Margaret Moon, Book Chat—A Newsletter for Readers & Eaters – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Margaret hales from Australia, one of my favorite places, having lived there for six months when we were sailing. I recently met her through a common friend and learned about her Book Chat, which comes out every two weeks and contains great reading recommendations as well as the occasional delicious recipe. Readers have said that “Marg’s newsletter is like a warm hug in my inbox.” After reading it, I would have to agree.

• Sept. 21 – Luanne Castle: Poetry and Other Words (an Cats!) – BOOK REVIEW

Luanne is another old blogger buddy who I’ve never met but feels like a close friend. I fell in love with her writing (and her cats!) long ago. She is an accomplished author, having published four award-winning poetry collections and several non-fiction works. Her hybrid memoir-in-flash will be published by ELJ Editions in 2026. I was delighted when she agreed to be an early reader of my novel.

• Sep. 23 – Dr. Vicki Atkinson, Therapist/Author – BOOK REVIEW

Vicki is one of my newest blogger friends. We met when I was looking for early reader-reviewers of my novel and she graciously volunteered. I was especially eager to have her read it since she is a licensed therapist who works with troubled families like those I was writing about. I wanted a professional perspective of my characters. She too is a writer, having published a memoir Surviving Sue about her own troubled family. Since then she’s introduced me to so many people who write about and publish books.

• Sep. 24 – Jacqui Murray, Worddreams – Author, Book Reviewer – BOOK REVIEW

Jacqui is a new acquaintance, a prolific writer of both fiction and non-fiction, and an avid book reviewer. I was especially interested her fiction series about pre-historic people, having been such a fan of The Clan of the Cave Bear series long ago, and never finding another like it till now. She also writes thrillers which I love, so I asked if she’d be an early reader-reviewer of my novel and was so pleased when she agreed.

• Sep. 25 – Liz Gauffreau, Poet/Author – SPOTLIGHT

Liz was another cold call. I discovered her through some of the other bookish friends Vicki introduced me to and was delighted to learn she has a new book coming out in October, The Weight of Snow and Regret. I eagerly pre-ordered a copy and then wondered if she would be interested in supporting a fellow author by participating in this blog tour. Happily, she agreed to do so.

• Sep. 26 – Wynne Leon, The Heart of the Matter Podcast, PODCAST INTERVIEW

Can you imagine how thrilled I was when Wynne asked me to be interviewed for her podcast? And nervous? I hadn’t done any public speaking in a long time and always have felt more comfortable writing about books than speaking about them. But Wynne and Vicki (yes, that Vicki, the one who has so generously introduced me to so many book buddies) made me feel so comfortable on our zoom visit that we breezed through it. I’m holding my breath, hoping it came out as well as it seemed at the time.

• Sep. 27 – Liz Dexter, Editor/Book Reviewer – BOOK REVIEW

Liz is another participant who lives across the pond in UK. Also, another cold call. I came across her book blog Adventures in Reading, Running, and Working from Home and liked what she was doing. And because she was an editor as well as a writer and reviewer, and literary fiction was on her wish list, I thought she might be interested in reading my novel. She was. And I’m delighted she agreed to be part of this tour.

EDITORIAL REVIEW FROM READERS’ FAVORITE

I’ll leave you with this review I received a few days ago that does excellent job summarizing the novel–a difficult task I’ve discovered from experience. Readers’ Favorite is one of the leading platforms for reviews of new books from Indie authors. So I was pleased to get this 5-star review that came with a fancy badge.

Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers’ Favorite

In When Things Go Missing by Deborah J Brasket, Fran leaves home and travels to the farthest reaches of South America, leaving her family to manage life in her absence. Kay, an archaeology student, remains devoted to her mother but finds it difficult to trust men, including her father and brother. Cal, living with addiction, contends with strain at home and uncertainty about his future. Walter, a devoted yet emotionally distant husband and father, tracks Fran’s journey on a map with pins.

Fran communicates through messages to Kay she never receives in person, photographs that Cal examines for hidden meaning, and bills that allow Walter to continue supporting her. Each family member responds in their own way, facing the void she leaves and seeking ways to make sense of it all.

“My Franny. That’s how [Walter] thinks of her, affectionately, this way. My Franny, like she belongs to him, even while knowing she doesn’t—like a cat, a pet you never quite own because it’s so independent and unpredictable.”

When Things Go Missing by Deborah J Brasket is a really unique story in that the person we believe to be the main character is only there when she is invoked by something she sends, spends, or is in the memory and trauma of the people she completely abandoned.

There’s a sad humor in the way Walter careful tracks Franny’s credit card to see where she is, and uses the transactions almost as a proof of life. Alaska is gorgeously portrayed with photorealistic sensory details, from granite-knuckled bluffs to the scent of pine and salt-laden air. I like how we see Fran’s leaving impacting ancillary characters, like Dawn, who, in a perfect world, would be viewed as more than a stand-in.

The metaphors are amazing. Kay’s archaeological work of uncovering artifacts mirrors the human effort to piece together meaning from absence and memory, and Cal’s attachment to the rocks symbolizes control and identity.

The thing that goes missing is not just Fran, and once you start reading to figure out what exactly that is, there’s no setting the book down. Very highly recommended.

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You can read more reviews as well as an excerpt from the novel here.

When Things Go Missing is now available for pre-order at Amazon, Bookshop, and Barnes & Noble.