Oregon-Based Publisher Korza Books Will Release "The Last Grand Tour," The Debut Novel From Award-Winning Author and Educator Michael N. McGregor

PORTLAND, OREGON, UNITED STATES, January 9, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Korza Books, a Portland-based trade press, proudly announces the acquisition of "The Last Grand Tour," the debut novel by Pacific Northwest author and educator Michael N. McGregor. Sure to engage readers with its themes of international tourism, midlife angst and illicit romance, this acquisition emphasizes Korza Books’ commitment to publishing high-quality, diverse, and intriguing works for readers worldwide.

Korza Books is excited to welcome Michael N. McGregor, the award-winning author of the biography "Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax," into its family of writers. McGregor brings decades of experience as a working author, educator and literary stalwart to Korza Books’ roster.

"The Last Grand Tour" is literary fiction aimed at a cultivated audience, with a story that explores high-end European travel, temptation, regret and psychological trauma. Readers embark on a fascinating journey with newly separated tour guide and narrator Joe Newhouse as he leads one final tour through the Romantic lands of central Europe in the mid-1990s. His fellow travelers are an unforgettable cast of Americans linked in various ways to the wealthy, mysterious (and absent) Gerhard Gluck, the owner of a successful video game company. As he journeys with them from Munich to Venice, Joe must deal with the secrets his clients reveal while confronting his own past and reconciling his forbidden desires with the specter of mental illness.

Slated for release in Autumn of 2024, "The Last Grand Tour," will be available in paperback and ebook editions through major retailers and online platforms.

“I’m thrilled to have my first novel included on Korza Books’ already impressive and growing list. While exploring the depths and dangers of stifled longing and unfettered desire, 'The Last Grand Tour' will take readers inside the mind of a professional tour guide and the changing landscape of Romantic Europe in the days just after the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
–Michael N. McGregor

For Korza founder and publisher Michael Schepps, “it is an honor to publish this novel, with its firmly adult themes concerning mature characters confronting midlife ennui, temptation and desire amidst the cobblestones and covert graves of central Europe. Reading 'The Last Grand Tour' reminded me of the cramped yet elegant medieval center of Salzburg, where part of the action takes place. In those narrow lanes you’ll find a refined and sophisticated—but ultimately artificial—vision of the past as you struggle through jostling crowds of tourists towards a distant inkling of the sublime. Both the reader and the narrator will discover Dante’s truth that, in the middle of the journey of our life, one must sometimes confront a dark wood where the straight way is lost.”

About the Author:
Michael N. McGregor is an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction whose biography of the reclusive poet Robert Lax has been praised by readers and reviewers in both the US and Europe. His essays, articles and short stories have appeared in dozens of literary journals and magazines and he has received grants and fellowships from Oregon Literary Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, the Oregon Historical Society, and Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China. His literary offerings align beautifully with Korza Books’ mission to provide readers with entertaining and thought-provoking literature.

Follow Korza Books on Instagram or visit KorzaBooks.com for the latest updates on "The Last Grand Tour" and other exciting releases. For press inquiries, review copies, or interviews, please contact: Michael Schepps ℅ KorzaBooks[at]gmail.com

Korza Books has been publishing since 2021, with emphasis on writers from the Pacific Northwest, diverse genre offerings and exciting new voices. Our titles include the Broken Pencil Award winning zine "Is It Just Me or Are We Nailing This? Essays on BoJack Horseman," the noir-infused psychological allegory "Split Aces" from M.L. Schepps, the Eric Hoffer Award Finalist "How To Forget Almost Everything" from Joshua James Amberson and the collection "Poetry For People: Fifty Years of Writing" from Dixie Lubin, with an introduction by Kansas State Poet Laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg. In 2023 we released "Altogether Different: A Memoir About Identity, Inheritance and The Raid That Started The Civil War," from Willamette Week columnist Brianna Wheeler while, in 2024, we are set to release both "The Last Grand Tour" and "The Novel Killer" from debut author Kate Shelton.

Michael Schepps
Korza Books
KorzaBooks@gmail.com
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