On Loving by Lili Naghdi
Please welcome Lili Naghdi author of On Loving
Lili Naghdi will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
On Loving
by Lili Naghdi
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GENRE: Romance
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BLURB:
In 1972, Dr. Rose Hemmings has just finished her general surgery residency when a haunted stranger is shot in front of her in a New York City bar, and their lives become forever intertwined. And when, having been given the blessing of her adoptive father on his deathbed, Rose travels to prerevolutionary Iran to discover the past her American family kept secret from her, she finds a true Pandora’s box. It is a world both foreign and familiar, in which her primary place is as the heiress to a great tribe. In Iran, Rose will find family she never dreamed of, her own people, and a man who loves her as passionately as he does the rare black roses of his garden. She will return to the United States carrying a new secret and torn between two men: the one she loves helplessly, and the one who loves her unconditionally.
Woven throughout with Persian poetry ancient and modern, On Loving is the story of one woman’s lifetime of love and loss, of societal change in a nomadic people, and of overcoming personal challenges, including mental and physical health, to find true contentment. Above all, it is a story of love: its physiology, psychology and philosophy; the many forms it takes; its myths and truths; its challenges, its joys and its gifts.
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EXCERPT:
It was a beautiful late spring afternoon in Paris, and I decided to stroll down the streets of this lovely city as much as I could, to calm my nerves after that emotional talk.
Walking at a slow pace, through the charming cobbled passages and tree-lined avenues of the mesmerizing City of Love, I easily found my way to the Café de la Rotonde, my favorite café to spend time in whenever I’m in Paris. I love being in bustling Montparnasse, where Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Picasso and many others took their coffee breaks many years ago. Sitting there, I always feel that I can hear their voices or even smell in the air the tobacco they smoked. Being a huge fan of literature and art since childhood, being in that environment for even a few minutes often led me to think how it might feel to create a masterwork or to write something as captivating as they once did.
I was about to sip my coffee when a young woman sitting at the table close to mine suddenly left in a rush, forgetting her newspaper and cellphone.
“Excusez-moi, madame?” I took the newspaper and phone and followed her, hoping to catch up before she completely disappeared in the crowd, but it was too late.
Back at my seat and handed the phone to the waiter while glancing at the newspaper’s front page:
Des millions de la Reine Soraya Esfandiari-Bakhtiari iront à la charité
“Queen Soraya Esfandiari-Bakhtiari’s millions go to charity”
I quickly asked the waiter to let me keep the paper.
I sat on my chair, staring at the title again. I felt as if I had stumbled on a familiar face, as if I knew her intimately. I touched her photo: her beautiful eyes, her lovely smile. Everything about her was unique, even thirteen years after her death in Paris in 2001.
Then, shaking inside, I read the report.
Princess Soraya Esfandiari-Bakhtiari, born in the city of Isfahan in 1932 to an Iranian father from the well-known Bakhtiari family and his German wife, had died childless back in 2001. But now a court in Germany had ruled that because her brother, who lived there, had died before settlement was finished, her entire $6 million estate should be divided among the three charities she’d chosen — the Red Cross, a group that worked for animal protection and a disabled rights group. The article talked about her time as queen, her beauty, her stunning emerald eyes and how she’d be known as the “Princess with the sad eyes” after the last king of Iran, Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi, divorced her in 1958 for not producing an heir. Yet much of her wealth had come from jewellery he had gifted her; he loved her deeply.
Wait a second!
I quickly wiped the tears that ran down my face, trying to stay calm. But it wasn’t the deceased former queen I was mourning. It was my own past, surging up from beneath the dust that had covered it for years, that made me so emotional. The former queen’s distinctive name and her story reminded me painfully of the love I had shared in my heart for many years, the love that had changed my destiny in so many ways.
Drenched in cold sweat, I rested my forehead on the newspaper, feeling the hard table beneath it.
Life is so mystifying. After all these years … The gracious Queen Soraya … my distant relative! We shared genes, ancestors … I know … I know well the very place she was born in, I’ve been there — Isfahan, the ancient city of Isfahan, City of Roses … city of my own beautiful black roses!
I felt like I was choking and struggled to breathe. I needed fresh air. I put money on the table and rushed out of the café.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Lili Naghdi is an Iranian Canadian physician who was born and raised in Tehran. She continued her education and research after moving to Canada with her husband and daughter in 1996. Today she practices family medicine in Vaughan, Ontario, with particular interests in women’s and mental health. Being a family physician gives her the privilege of connecting with patients and participating in their care with a deeper understanding of the physical, emotional and social adversities they face. Interacting with people of many different backgrounds has also provided Dr. Naghdi with the opportunity to grow as a person, a physician and an author.
Growing up in pre- and post-revolutionary Iran, Lili became fascinated by the magical realm of literature, poetry and history. She began collecting prized quotations at the young age of eight. Dr. Naghdi has written poetry and short stories in both Farsi and English, but she eventually followed William Wordsworth’s advice to “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart,” and turned to fiction.
On Loving is her first novel. Inspired by both the ordinary people she has the honor to support and by the great literature of Persia and the world — from Hafez to Forugh Farrokhzad and from John Steinbeck to Margaret Mitchell — Dr. Naghdi passionately agrees with Boris Pasternak, whose Yuri Zhivago is a physician and patriotic poet, when he writes: “Literature is the art of discovering something extraordinary about ordinary people and saying with ordinary words something extraordinary.”
Website: www.lilinaghdi.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44310723-on-loving?from_search=true
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/lilinaghdiauthor/posts/?ref=page_internal
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naghdil/
Amazon author page URL:
https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/profile
Barnes and Noble Author URL:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/reviews/books/1130591456?ean=9781999497002
Videos of her book launch:
Buy Links: On Loving is on sale during the tour for $0.99
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/on-loving-lili-naghdi/1130591456
https://www.amazon.com/Loving-Lili-Naghdi-ebook/dp/B07NSJLJLZ
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Lili Naghdi will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3026
26 responses to “On Loving by Lili Naghdi”
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Thanks for hosting!
Hello everyone,
It is so exciting to join you today through Christine’s blog. I would like to take this opportunity first to thank our talented, accomplished host, Christine Young and also, to thank “Goddess Fish Promotions” for arranging this virtual tour and finally, to thank you all for participating today.
“On Loving”, my debut novel, is not only a love story but in fact, is a story about love itself, its physiology and philosophy, the many forms it takes, its myths and truths, its challenges, its joys and its gifts. It is the story of one woman’s lifetime of love and loss, and of the true meaning of love, and this “true meaning” could be different for different people.
I’d like to ask everyone the following question (on each and every stop of the tour), and I’d really appreciate everyone’s participation:
“How do you define “LOVE” in your own words and based on your own experiences?”
So … let me know what’s in your mind!
Best,
Lili Naghdi
What types of books do you like to read?
Hi Bernard,
Thanks for joining us today. “Historic Fiction” has always been my favorite genre, since I was a young girl. “Historic Romance” also has been appealing to me, and I think I’ve learned lots of facts from reading these stories without getting tired or bored. You always want to follow the story and the characters and in the interim you’ll get to learn things that you may otherwise not be interested to research or know about! For instance, As a teenager growing up in another country, I came to know more about French culture and The French Revolution through reading Alexander Dumas’ books, or about the Civil War from Gone with The Wind or Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or about Russian history and The Russian Revolution from War and Peace or even about Australia by reading The Thorn Birds. Interestingly, I still love to read them again and again, since I feel now that I am older and know more about the world in general, my view to the author’s style of writing and etc. would be different.
Thank you so much for taking time to bring to our attention another great read. I appreciate it and thank you also for the giveaway.
Hi James,
Thank you for the kind note. I sincerely hope my readers like Rose’s story. I tried to refer to the fact that even as professionals and accomplished people, we may still not feel complete and continue searching for more meanings in life. In order to do so and to feel fulfilled, we need to get in touch with our emotions and relate to them by trying to know ourselves first. Hope you find time to give me your feedback if you had a chance to read “On Loving”. Good Luck with the draw!
Welcome to my blog. I hope you have a great tour.
Thank you for your hospitality and hosting my virtual tour today! It is so lovely to interact with your avid readers through your great blog.
Dear Lili
Hi with a lot thanks for creating such a wonderful love story. Why thanks? because it is not only a simple love story, but loyalty is more powerful than passion and tells us about “real” love. Why thanks? because it is an encyclopedia about an old culture which make you familiar with a different tradition, family relation, poet and poetry, architecture and all corners of a human heritage in an old civilization.
I advise to book lovers to read this book, enjoy of a love story and same time let the mind to fly to other land with different culture.
Hi Dear Lili,
I’m speechless! You’re so kind and attentive and I’m grateful to my readers like you, who looked into the whole picture and related to the facts that I intended to reflect on while writing the plot. I certainly tried to reflect upon Rose’s background as an adopted child who is trying to discover her unknown past and travel to Iran, to find her roots. But it is not only her roots she will discover! She discovers her weakness, strengths and learn how to connect to her inner self in the process. Something that can be years for any of us even to come to understand and pursue. I think I should thank you instead for being so thorough and precise, exploring the facts hidden between lines and highlighting them for all of us. Good Luck with the draw!
Sounds like a good book.
Hi Rita,
Thanks for your participation. Hope you find time to read the story and let me know what you think. Good Luck with the draw!
Love is beautiful!!!!
Hi Miriam,
Yes! Love is certainly beautiful and I totally agree with you, but indeed, it needs to be nourished and cared for, like lots of other things in our lives. Thanks for joining us today. Good Luck with the draw!
To me Love is kind and always forgiving , love is acceptance of the the other, love is my family and friends …
Hi Marsha,
What a beautiful comment you left for us today. Thank you for your participation. You described love beautifully and I’m so happy that you’re one of the people who was lucky enough to experience it in your life. Hope your life will always be filled with the rewards of the love you’ve experienced. Good Luck with the draw!
Great post – thanks for sharing!
Hi Victoria,
Thank you for your attention and participation. Good Luck with the draw!
Great story! This book was a real page turner full of love and emotions. Thank you for sharing such a lovely story with us. Rose is a woman that many of us can relate to very easily. You showed the difference between conditional and unconditional love in the best way possible. I love to read more from you! Thanks for the giveaway.
Hi Nili,
Thank you for logging in and letting us know about your thoughts. It made me so glad to see that you liked the plot and could relate to Rose and the story. There is no limit for someone who offers you unconditional love … absolutely no limit! We are the ones who set boundaries and limits for everything even our pure emotions! Good luck with the draw!
It was a great love story. I connected closely with your main characters. All three were special. I fell in love with Siyavash and appreciated the way he loved Rose. The cover looks lovely too. I think you nailed it! To me “love” is something special, just the way Rose came to know it. Can’t live without love! Thanks for the giveaway.
Hi Gloria,
Thank you for your comment and for taking time elaborating on it. I’m very happy to see you liked the story and could connect with the characters closely. Yes, indeed, Siyavash is one of my favorites too! A brave man offering Rose unconditional love. The love that make her grow to become who she really meant to be. I appreciate your attention toward my work. Good luck with the draw!
I loved your book and a trailer too. I am in love with main character “Rose”. Thank you Dr Naghdi for sharing such a beautiful story with us. I am looking forward to read more and more books written by you.
Hi Dhruti,
Thank you for joining us today. I really appreciate you sharing your feelings with us regarding “On Loving”. Rose’s story is the story of many of us hoping for survival, trying to pass through hardships and discovering the powers within and I’m so content that you could relate to her love-driven life story. Good luck with the draw!
It was a great pleasure interacting with you avid readers today. I’d like to thank our host once more for this opportunity. and thank all of you for your comments, notes and thoughtful messages. Have a wonderful night!
When we open our hearts to others it allows us a life filled with gratitude, happiness and peace. Love gives meaning to our lives in all its different forms .