Marilu Norden’s New Novel
The Ghost Painter
Eccentric, world-famous Santa Fe artist Adelaide Moran, recently arrived in heaven, is obsessed with not having finished painting the masterpiece that she feels will be so different from all others that it will forever ensure her legacy in the history of art. Invading the dreams of her earthly assistant, Ramon Herrera, she elicits his help—and that of a Taos shaman and a psychic—to steal the soul of talented young New York painter Angelina Bonelli.
Whisked to New Mexico and held prisoner as she is guided by Moran’s ghostly hand painting on the masterpiece, Angelina struggles against dark, seemingly immovable forces to find her way back to the reclamation of her soul as an artist and woman. Her best friend, jazz singer Gabriella Burke, and a handsome Santa Fe photographer, Troy Lundberg, join forces in a race against time to rescue Angelina.
Bonelli counts Moran as one of her favorite artists, but aches to honor her own artistic expression. Meanwhile, even in death, the spirit of Moran will stop at nothing to become as famous as Georgia O’Keeffe. Two painters, but only one set of hands … and an art world that may be forever changed.
Excerpt:
Adelaide smiled, approving of Angelina’s brush strokes delineating the contours of Taos Mountain, thrilled with the thought that she and this young woman were creating a dynamic work of art, different from anything seen before, a magnificent landscape, but with figures that would come alive as they interacted with birds flying and clouds changing. Then all would become stationary again with the figures in their original position. How exciting it would be when curators of major museums all over the world would be bidding for this new Moran masterpiece!
Thunder rattled the windows, followed by a brilliant flash of lightning as the studio lights suddenly went out. No matter, thought Adelaide, for I can guide Angelina telepathically, a gift I seem to have increasingly since I passed. Besides, Angelina and I are now two souls who see as one.
She felt an energy she hadn’t enjoyed in years as she guided Angelina’s hand and brush.
Marilu Norden’s Award-Winning First Novel
UNBRIDLED: A Tale of a Divorce Ranch
Gorgeously written with a strong cast of complex and believable characters, UNBRIDLED: A TALE OF A DIVORCE RANCH captures a less-known time in history and brings it out into the light. Partly based on her own experiences, Norden’s novel chronicles the story of Lara Treadwell, whose marriage breaks up just as she’s given birth to her second child. When her husband insists on a quickie divorce, the only place Lara can go to is one of Reno’s “divorce ranches,” then popular in the early 1950s. At first reluctant, Lara finds the camaraderie of other women inspiring, and the love of a handsome rancher at a nearby ranch makes her forget the wounds she suffered from her husband. Soon her self-esteem rises and she discovers what she really wants out of life, and what she can do to get it.
Whether readers are contemplating separation or newly divorced, Norden’s brave, bold new novel proves that even the worst of times can help uncover hidden sources of strength.
- AWARD-WINNER: Fiction and Literature: Chick Lit/Women’s Lit category of the International Book Awards 2010
- AWARD-WINNER: Fiction and Literature: Chick Lit/Women’s Lit category of the National Best Books 2009 Awards sponsored by USA Book News
- MAINSTREAM FICTION WINNER: 17th Annual Writer’s Digest International Self-Published Book Awards 2010
Marilu Featured in TUCSON WEEKLY! Click here to learn more.
