Hot on the heels of Andi Buchanan, Sheila Curran is swinging through on her GCC tour. Actually Sheila herself is unable to swing by, but I was able to cobble together a virtual tour stop from the information on her thorough and engaging website.

Sheila is currently promoting her first novel, Diana Lively is Falling Down:

A comedy-of-manners in the tradition of Le Divorce and The Jane Austen Book Club, this novel begins in Oxford, England. Diana, a talented British architect, builds dollhouses so she can tend to her three children and overbearing husband. Enter an Arizona ammunitions tycoon, visiting Oxford to dedicate a small library of Arthurian texts to the memory of his late wife, a fan of Camelot. After meeting Diana and her husband, one of the world’s leading scholars on Arthurian legend, Wally experiences a vision. As a tribute to his wife, he will construct The King Arthur Theme Park and Museum, in Lake Havasu, Arizona, next to the transplanted London Bridge. The next day, Wally makes the college an offer they can’t refuse, and the Livelys are dispatched to spend a year in Arizona. And so our story begins.

The book sounds like great fun; the Q and A section of the website touches upon some important issues, as well:

5. It was hard to tell from reading your book what you thought of the environmental movement out West. Are they flakes, blow-hards or saviors of the modern world?

All three. I’m a rabid environmentalist myself: at the same time, I loath camping, avoid the outdoors at all costs, and, if allowed, would bring an air-conditioner with me to a desert island. What I would like is for this country to get back to our roots in thrift and throw ourselves into preventing waste. Did you know that about half the water use in this country is due to leaks? Did you know that conservation technologies alone would be a win-win towards energy independence? Don’t get me started. Go to the NRDC website, or the Sierra Club or The Nature Conservancy. But remember, the people who react against environmental regulation almost always have a vested interest. As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said so eloquently, “You show me a polluter, I’ll show you a subsidy.” What he means by that is simple. If you don’t clean up after yourself, then the taxpayer has to. Which means we’re helping that business pay the cost of its enterprise. How could it be any more simple than that?

Sheila's website is full of all sorts of helpful, playful content, including the genesis of the novel, a Vile Husband contest, and recipes!

Have fun on your GCC tour, Sheila! Best of luck to you and the book!