Book Tour: The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault!

To mark my first Book Tour date with Pump Up Your Book Promotions it is with great pleasure that I bring you The Broken Teaglass a debut mystery novel of the most diverting kind by Emily Arsenault!

"Dear Ms. Fine,

We are flattered that you considered using our definition of love as a reading for your wedding. I'm sorry you were ultimately disappointed with our work.

It's important that I clarify one point, however. At Samuelson, we do not aim to define the limits of emotional experiences such as love,hate,faith,friendship,etc. We aim only to define what these words mean in standard English discourse. That is, what is generally meant by a speaker or writer when he utters or writes these words. If our definition is, as you say, "unromantic", it's because lexicography is, by nature, an unromantic exercise. Precise, clear, and thorough definition is the main objective--and the only objective. A definition could not possibly capture the sensations, the depth, or the variations of something like love as it is experienced by everyone lucky enough to encounter it. And isn't it best that even the most precise of words cannot capture such things?

Best wishes for your upcoming wedding.

Sincerely,

Dan Wood

Samuelson Editorial Department" (Arsenault 2009:22-23)

Perhaps even dictionary editors know, words often transcend meaning but they are the tools we employ to tell the tales of our lives, detail our experiences, define ourselves! When Billy Webb, a recent college grad, stumbles upon unusual citations in the dusty, stuffy files of the dictionary publishing company that employs him he realizes a hidden story lies buried protected within the stacks, disguised as excerpts from The Broken Teaglass--a non-existent source.

A crossword of a mystery,word by word, clue by clue, the pieces lead to the discovery of an untold personal story of tragedy. The Broken Teaglass is a well-crafted mystery and a stunningly intelligent and original debut novel for Emily Arsenault. Arsenault has followed the age old advice given to writers "Write what you know" by creating the uniquely "academic" setting of a dictionary publisher's office, a place she knew well from her past experience as a lexicographer. This quirky and atypical backdrop conjures up a refreshing twist to the traditional mystery genre and presents the perfect venue for unlocking a word puzzle which slowly reveals a secret truth. A truth Billy and his intriguing co-worker Mona Minot {if that is her name} discover is hidden within us all! They discover we all have a carefully hidden tale which defines us!

Witty, revealing, and unique The Broken Teaglass is an intelligent and fun novel of suspenseful puzzling and relentless clue gathering. As a mystery fan and a lover of conundrums, I thoroughly enjoyed this fresh take on mystery and as an aside was fascinated by the inside look at lexicography--something I was so unfamiliar with before I would have had to employ a dictionary to define!

Emily Arsenault has worked as a lexicographer, an English teacher, a children's librarian, and a Peace Corps volunteer. She wrote The Broken Teaglass while living in rural South Africa, to pass the long, quiet evenings i her mud brick house. She now lives in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, with her husband.