Sunday, May 22, 2016

VBT: The Last Great Race by Mark Morey


Congratulations to Sherri F., winner of the tour prize and to Liz Gavin's Blog, the host winner.

Goddess Fish Promotions is organizing a Virtual Book Tour for The Last Great Race by Mark Morey, a Historical Fiction available June 1. The tour will run June 20 - July 15, and Mark Morey is available for guest post and interviews. A PDF, mobi or epub copy of the book is available for review in conjunction with a guest post or interview.

Mark Morey will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn host.
This story is based around the life of one of the most fascinating and enigmatic sportsmen of his era, Achille Varzi: multiple race winner, twice Racing Champion of Italy and a hero to his many followers.  Told partly through the eyes of Varzi and partly by fictional Italian-Australian racing journalist Paul Bassi, we follow the many triumphs and tragedies of Varzi's life: his passionate love affair with Ilse, his tragic morphine addiction, his recovery from his addictions, his marriage to Norma and his re-signing to race for Alfa Romeo.

Only war intervenes, and Paul and his wife Pia leave Achille to spy for the British at the naval base in Naples.  Paul and Pia endure hundreds of Allied air-raids, they join the partisans who fought off the German army until the Allies could rescue them, and then they survive in a near-ruined city as best they can.

By 1946 Italy is still shattered but life is returning to normal, and no more normal is Achille Varzi winning the Grand Prix of Italy that year.  Over the next two seasons Achille Varzi scores more successes, until he makes his only ever driving mistake and is killed in Switzerland in 1948.  Even though he died too young, Paul and Pia know that Achille Varzi would never have lived in his life in any other way.
June 20: Sharing Links and Wisdom
June 21: Rogue's Angels
June 22: Room With Books
June 23: Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews
June 24: Liz Gavin's Blog - review
June 24: fundinmental
June 27: HarmonyKent
June 28: BooksChatter
June 29: LibriAmoriMiei - review
June 30: The Avid Reader
July 1: Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews
July 11: Long and Short Reviews
July 12: Readeropolis
July 13: T's Stuff
July 14: Deal Sharing Aunt
July 15: It's Raining Books