This week and next–from September 8 till September 16th–my friend and fellow author at Booktrope, Arleen Williams, will be on a blog tour. In other words, her novel, BIKING UPHILL (which is the second in The Alki Trilogy) is on a virtual road trip! I’ve recently started BIKING UPHILL and am really enjoying it. Here’s a brief synopsis of the story:

Biking home from the Los Arboles Sunday Market, a sunflower yellow teapot snug in her backpack, lonely college student Carolyn Bauer sees a young teenager huddling under a eucalyptus tree. Carolyn shares her food and water with Antonia as they struggle to communicate in a mix of languages. Realizing Antonia lives on the streets, Carolyn invites her home. They share a summer of friendship until the day the yellow teapot shatters and Antonia mysteriously disappears. Fifteen years later, only Antonia recognizes her old friend when she and Carolyn meet again in an ESL classroom, but she conceals her secret. Carolyn arranges a class project for Antonia—to job-shadow her friend and housemate, Gemi Kemmal. Gemi learns Antonia’s dangerous circumstances when Antonia arrives for work with bruises barely concealed by thick makeup and offers her sanctuary just as Carolyn had years earlier. Together the three women confront Antonia’s abuser and build a family of enduring friendship. Biking Uphill, the second book in the Alki Trilogy, invites the reader into a world of undocumented immigration, where parents are deported, and a young girl is abandoned to face life on her own.

On the blog tour, you’ll be able to catch reviews, excerpts and guest posts at a variety of sites. Arleen will also be posting the guest posts on her own blog at www.arleenwilliams.com.

Here’s hoping you like what you see enough to beg, borrow or steal a copy of BIKING UPHILL (or just ask for it at your public library). You can also purchase it here. Then, if you really want to make Arleen’s day, you’ll write a review on Amazon!

Here’s the tour schedule:

Monday, September 8            Reecapieces and Chick Lit Club Connect

Tuesday, September 9                        Book Reviews and More by Dee

Wednesday, September 10     Doorflower

Thursday, September 11        Ski-Wee’s Book Corner and Reading in Black and White

Friday, September 12             The Bookworm and Book Referees

Monday, September 15          Jersey Girl Book Reviews

Have fun on tour, Arleen! I look forward to hearing about your adventures!