A Stone's Throw
Two women who never meet, a motherless child and childless mother, are brought together to discover the real magic of creation.
by Alida Winternheimer
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Pub Date Jun 01 2024 | Archive Date Oct 29 2024
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Description
Simona Casale, a Minneapolis artist, learns she’s pregnant the same day she lands a major mural installation at a new women’s center. No problem; she can take on a surprise pregnancy and a monster commission. And with the father in London, that’s one less complication.
Gemma Ledbetter, a London homemaker, is grieving the babies she couldn’t have. When her husband returns from the States, she decides they’ll start fresh. But it doesn't take long for her plans to unravel.
Simona and Gemma live an ocean apart, yet their lives become forever entwined when the women Simona is painting come to life, stepping out of their portraits. They arrive with a purpose: to nurture a broken heart…or two. Simona and Gemma learn about art-making, love, grief, and motherhood when they are magically welcomed into a lineage of women who share their lives’ joys and sorrows during the most creative time of a woman's life.
A Note From the Publisher
Listen to author interview:
Lainey Cameron of the Best of Women's Fiction & Best of Book Marketing podcasts interviews Alida Winternheimer about A Stone's Throw. Link below in links section.
Advance Praise
PRAISE FOR A STONE'S THROW
A Stone’s Throw is a refined piece of writing that captures an insightful tale, exploring both the mixed emotions of being a new mother and the despair of trying to become one. It reminds us that we all need those special, often fleeting connections that carry us through uncertainty and provide light when we need it most. The unique bond between Simona and Gemma highlights the complex nature of relationships and the value and purpose of friends and acquaintances who weave in and out of our lives.
– Grishma Shah
Author, Anagram Destiny
This fascinating novel combines art, women’s issues, and a dash of magic to create a unique read. The author tackles a fantastical, complex concept in a credible way that kept me believing. Along the way, she hits on themes around the role of art in sustaining us through tough times.
A feast for artists or any reader who enjoys books with magical elements. A Stone’s Throw is a feat of imagination, truly engrossing and original.
– Lainey Cameron Author, The Exit Strategy & host of Best of Women's Fiction podcast
Go on an emotional journey with the characters of A Stone’s Throw. Simona, Gemma, and Peter find the lives they’ve built unraveling, each wanting something seemingly just beyond their reach. When spirits intervene, life turns in unexpected directions in this dramatic tale of longing and loss, self-discovery and creation, infused with a layer of magic.
– D. Liebhart
Author, House on Fire & Feral Creatures of Suburbia
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9780997871425 |
| PRICE | $5.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 296 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Kelly P, Reviewer
I loved the concept of this story. I thought it was a refreshing way to look at relationships and motherhood. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I think this book will make a good Book Club selection. There's a lot to unpack about pregnancy and becoming a mom within each chapter.
Kelsey V, Reviewer
I LOVED this story. Wow! I haven't read a story like this in a very long time. Alida, you did wonders with this story. I wish it wouldn't have ended. I loved the main character and her story.
Reviewer 1540961
This was such a touching book! It had a lot of emotion, and even though I cannot relate as I am not a mother/trying to become pregnant, I could still feel empathy and emotion for their characters. I love how this book dove into 2 opposite sides of motherhood/becoming a mother and how there are so many similarities as well as differences. It was very well written!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review!!
Tracy S, Librarian
Both characters Gemma and Simona made my heart soar and made me weep.
What an emotional read this and it is such well told tale I was completely lost in my reading. Nothing else mattered.
Motherhood and trying to become a mother will unite most readers but I also think that those who have never thought about it or never wanted it will find this book enjoyable.
I really do think the author has captured every nuance of the subject, and has told her story a the most beautiful and delicate style
fabulous
Anne Marie B, Reviewer
I thoroughly enjoyed this page-turner of a novel that combines literary fiction deftly with women's fiction and magical realism that feels quite believable. There is much here about the power of art for healing, as well as relationships, marriage, the grief that attends childlessness, and the excitement of new love and creating new life to bring into the world.
I especially loved the journey of transition that Gemma was on, and how her journey brought her to a new place of self-attunement and new people who lent her their wisdom as she let go of life's restraints and turned toward who she really wanted to be.
The writing is deft and comprehensive, with attention to sensual detail that brings the reader right into the story. I admire how this author wove the stories of these two women together, and also how the power of women (past, present, and future) became not just a sub-theme but contained the meaning of the book itself.
Highly recommend for book clubs and those who enjoy good art, womens' stories, and brilliant writing.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and publisher, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Sandy S, Reviewer
Alida Winternheimer’s magical realism in A Stone’s Throw bends the noted genre to involve this literary fiction itself, art which appears realistic but is truly magical, and a woman’s intuition that nods to a sense of magic. Her characters truly step off the page!
This was a beautiful story that approached themes of love and marriage not in a cliche way.
My full review with details will appear in mid November on Novelsalive.com
Sharon V, Reviewer
I loved this! Really different to anything else I've read and I loved the supernatural element that bonded the two main characters, Gemma and Simona.
Gemma lives in the UK and after several devastating miscarriages, her desperation to be a mother has had a detrimental affect on her marriage to Peter. Across the Atlantic, artist Simona is expecting her first baby, and having grown up without her mother in her life, she feels anxious about what is to come.
When the women in Simona's paintings come to life, their guidance becomes something she depends on, at this crucial point in her life. For Gemma, with her mental health at rock bottom, her job is all she has left and her supportive boss realises, when Gemma has a trance-like moment, that rather than her hand shaking, Gemma's hand is drawing, imitating Simona's art and connecting the two women spiritually.
A beautifully written and thought provoking novel, very enjoyable to read.
4.5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Alida Winternheimer and Wild Woman Typing for an ARC in return for an honest review.
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