On Tour With....

Kathleen Shoop!!

Author Kathleen Shoop is married with two children and has been seriously writing for almost a decade, though she dabbled much earlier than that. She's had short stories published in four Chicken Soup for the Soul books, is a regular contributor to a local magazine, Pittsburgh Parent, and has had essays in local newspapers as well.

She has a PhD in Reading Education and currently works as a Language Arts Coach at a school in Pittsburgh. She works with teachers and their students in grades k-8 and feels she's lucky to learn something new from them every time she walks through their doors.

Her first novel, The Last Letter (2011 IPPY Gold Medal--Regional Fiction, Midwest, 2011 Indie Excellence Finalist Award for Historical Fiction and Regional Fiction, 2011 International Book Awards Finalist for Historical Fiction and Best New Fiction), was a fascinating trip through history, punctuated with fictional characters and events. The idea for the story grew from her great-great grandmother's letters (see My Dear Frank for the complete set of letters!) written during the year of her engagement to Frank Arthur. The beautiful letters are the inspiration for the novel, the seed from which The Last Letter's characters and their voices grew.

She's also written women's fiction (COMING SOON!) and has written another historical fiction novel (COMING A LITTLE LATER!) set in 1948 in a town not far from Oakmont, PA.
She's considering revisiting her characters and setting of The Last Letter for a future book, but hopes readers will enjoy the fact that she writes about varied eras and places and that they will love each book for it's unique setting and time.

Synopsis for her newest book, After The Fog:

The sins of the mother…
In the steel town of Donora, Pennsylvania, site of the infamous 1948 “killing smog,” headstrong nurse Rose Pavlesic tends to her family and neighbors. Controlling and demanding, she’s created a life that reflects everything she missed growing up as an orphan. She’s even managed to keep her painful secrets hidden from her loving husband, dutiful children, and large extended family.

When a stagnant weather pattern traps poisonous mill gasses in the valley, neighbors grow sicker and Rose’s nursing obligations thrust her into conflict she never could have fathomed. Consequences from her past collide with her present life, making her once clear decisions as gray as the suffocating smog. As pressure mounts, Rose finds she’s not the only one harboring lies. When the deadly fog finally clears, the loss of trust and faith leaves the Pavlesic family—and the whole town—splintered and shocked. With her new perspective, can Rose finally forgive herself and let her family’s healing begin?

After the Fog can be found on AMAZON and Barnes & Noble