Heidi Chiavaroli's Blog, page 7

Great Deals and Giveaways!

I remember the weeks before my first son's birth. The preparation. The excitement. The nervousness. Making sure the Winnie-the-Pooh mobile animals were positioned just right above the crib. Organizing "Goodnight Moon" and "Guess How Much I Love You" carefully on the top of the bookshelf. Reading all I could on the birthing process and what those first few weeks with our baby would be like.

Still, nothing quite prepared me for the actual, beautiful experience.

 

In some ways, releasing and launching a book into the world feels like giving birth again. The feelings of excitement and nervousness. The wondering. The anticipation.

As we prepare for the release of The Edge of Mercy in just FIVE DAYS, I am definitely in a sort of nesting routine as I think about those of you who will read this new novel in the coming weeks. Trying to make sure everything is just right, and yet knowing there will be surprises (I'm hoping good ones!) along the way.

 

And...speaking of surprises...here are a few special ones for you!

Do you like e-books? If so, check out this low price on The Hidden Side and this one on The Edge of Mercy!

Enter this BookSweeps giveaway to win 45 books AND a new e-reader (ending soon!).

And, enter here for a chance to win an autographed copy of The Edge of Mercy (ending very soon!).

Just click above, or on each image for more information. Until next week...happy reading!

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How A Hike Birthed A Story

The boys in my son's Tiger Cub den loved the rock. It was easy to see why. This was no ordinary rock. At least as tall as a three-story building, climbing it was not only an adventure, it could be dangerous. 

 

Those who didn't climb explored the cave on the western side of the rock, and soon I heard my older son telling them the haunting legend that belonged to this rock. Abram's Rock.

 

The boys were just as fascinated as I was about the story behind the massive boulder. The legend wouldn't leave my mind, and soon I was imagining the circumstances that could have surrounded such a story. Soon I was creating it, and not long after, I decided to write it.

 

This would become my first time-slip story, and although it wouldn't see the light of publication for years, it is still dear to my heart. 

 

It’s about a marriage on the brink of failure. A request given beyond the grave. And a centuries-old family story with the power to change everything.

 

If you’d like to read my latest novel, releasing next month, there’s a special ebook preorder price going on right now. I hope you can scoop it up if The Edge of Mercy is on your to-read list!

 

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A New Book To Share With You!

I can still remember clinging to my tiny cell phone, pacing around my college dorm room eighteen years ago. My mother's voice was on the other end. While I don't remember her exact words, I do remember the substance of what she said.

 

"I'm coming home. Your dad and I want to work things out."

 

I can still remember the hope those words stirred within me.

 

This summer, my parents will celebrate their thirty-ninth wedding anniversary. They didn't get there the easy way (if there is such a thing!) but they did get there through perseverance and belief--belief that their marriage was worth fighting for.

 

I give you this glimpse inside my life as a means of introducing you to my latest novel. It involves a troubled marriage and impossible-to-forgive circumstances. It is a story dear to my heart for many reasons, but one reason is because it demonstrates a glimpse of what I learned from watching my parents fight for their marriage.

 

The Edge of Mercy became the first time-slip story I ever wrote, and I am so excited to finally be able to share it with you, my precious readers! 

Now Available For Preorder!

 

Two women, three hundred years apart, must face the devastation of all they hold dear...

 

Suspecting her husband is having an affair, Sarah Rodrigues fights to appear unbroken while attempting to salvage her family. Though distracted by her own troubles, Sarah is summoned to an elderly friend’s deathbed for an unusual request—find a long-lost daughter and relay a centuries-old family story.

 

Determined not to fail her friend, Sarah pieces together the story of her neighbor’s ancestor, Elizabeth Baker, a young colonist forced into an unwanted betrothal but drawn to a man forbidden by society.

 

While Sarah’s family teeters on the edge of collapse, her world is further shaken by the interest of a caring doctor and a terrible accident that threatens a life more precious than her own.

 

Inspired by the unconditional love she uncovers in Elizabeth’s story, Sarah strives to forgive those who’ve wounded her soul. But when light shines on the dark secrets of her neighbor’s past and the full extent of her husband’s sins, will looking to a power greater than herself rekindle lost hope?

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Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

 

 

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

 

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

My Thoughts: I almost don't know where to start when it comes to this book. It's been on my to-read list for a bit. I don't usually hang out in the Young Adult book arena, but when I do, I often enjoy it. I'd heard such great things about this book, and with nearly 3 million reviews on Goodreads, and a movie to its credit (one I haven't yet watched), I was really excited going in.

 

And I wonder if maybe that was part of the problem. I'm thinking some of what may have disappointed me about this book was in my high expectations of it pre-first page.

 

Don't get me wrong--John Green is an amazing writer. Amazing. He's honest and thought-provoking and real. These are all things I strive to be in my own writing. When I was trying to figure out why this book simply didn't satisfy me, I had to dig, and I'm still not sure if I know why.

 

My first thought was it's just such a heavy topic--two teenagers dying of cancer. But in all honesty, heavy doesn't bother me. In fact, I often gravitate toward it. Some of my favorite reads this year were VERY heavy (Susan Meissner's As Bright As Heaven and Kristin Hannah's Winter Garden and The Great Alone). My own latest novel, The Hidden Side, involves a family dealing with the aftermath of a young son who has brought a gun to school and used it on his own classmates.

 

So, while I'm definitely okay with heavy topics, I'm also adamant about hope. For me, there simply needs to be some form of hope to complete the story. And it doesn't even have to be a spiritual hope. But something. I suppose I could see a glimmer of it in The Fault in Our Stars, but not enough to give me that full, satisfying feeling that I look for in a book.

 

The other possible reason I wasn't crazy about the novel was my trouble connecting with the main character, Hazel. The girl has cancer. I should like her by default, but I just couldn't completely sympathize with her. Yes, I wanted her to get better and fall in love and have a happy ending, but something about her didn't ring true for me. (I could simply be completely out of touch with teenage girls, but I once was one, so I'm not really sure that's the case either.) In part, I wanted to see more of her, even on a deeper level. And while I truly believe great writers (writers like Green!) are capable of writing from point-of-views of the opposite sex, many times I felt it obvious that Hazel was being written by the pen of a man (maybe I've just read too much Kristin Hannah!).

 

Okay, all that being said, I want to once again state how I am in no way accusing John Green of not having talent. He absolutely does. And he absolutely doesn't need me to affirm that he does. Green has a unique way with words and getting to the heart of an issue that I admire. The quote below is one example. But while I appreciated his writing, I don't think it's going to be enough for me to come back for more. Not that it matters. With millions of copies sold, he can probably afford for me to take my reading time elsewhere.

Life Lessons From Walmart: How My Part-Time Job Helps Me Write Better

Many of you might not know this, but when I'm not writing I work part-time at Walmart. This used to embarrass me. Other authors are nurses or teachers or work in corporate marketing. Me? I throw on a super attractive blue smock and work retail. It's not glamorous, but it's been one of the things I've been especially grateful for of late.

 

I entered the Walmart workforce a few years ago as a Lawn and Garden associate. Two months after I was hired, I received a call from my agent that my dream publisher had offered me a contract.

 

Now, two books later and with more on the way, I have switched departments and work at Walmart Pharmacy. The extra cash is of course helpful, but do you want to know another reason I love my job at Walmart?

 

Every day, it teaches me something.

 

Like last Saturday morning. The store was packed, as usual, and I was bagging prescriptions behind the pharmacy counter. As I was waiting for the printer to roll out patient and medication information, I looked up at the many people passing.

 

Most who pass don't look toward the pharmacy, unless they have business with us. Most who pass are everyday shoppers and I get to glimpse but fifteen seconds of their day as they push their carriages toward the Personal Care or Check Out sections of the store.

 

Last Saturday, I caught a glimpse of a mother pushing her son in a shopping cart. It got my attention because the boy was old (probably about eleven) and he was sitting in the carriage. Then I realized the boy had Down syndrome.

 

My first unmonitored (and very honest) emotion was pity for the mother. Her son would always be more needy than those with 46 chromosomes. Would he ever be out on his own? Drive? Go off to college? Would she ever have grandchildren? Did she ever get breaks?

 

Then something happened.

 

He held out his hand to her, the sweetest smile upon his face, expectation in his eyes. And she took it, returning his smile, their fingers entwined as she continued to push the carriage out of my view.

 

I knew I had witnessed something incredibly special. Private, even. Just a snapshot of a moment in the routine of their life, and yet it brought tears to my eyes.

 

Because it was in that moment that I realized she was the blessed one. I had glimpsed and assumed and been proven wrong. For just a moment, the layers of what makes a worthy life were peeled back for me to see, and you want to know what I saw?

 

Love. Hope. Grace, and joy.

 

This is what life is about. This is why I write. And this is why I don't have any plans of quitting my Walmart job even if I hit the NY Times Bestseller List one day.

Book Review: Saving Amelie by Cathy Gohlke

Increasingly wary of her father’s genetic research, Rachel Kramer has determined that this trip with him to Germany―in the summer of 1939―will be her last. But a cryptic letter from her estranged friend, begging Rachel for help, changes everything. Married to SS officer Gerhardt Schlick, Kristine sees the dark tides turning and fears her husband views their daughter, Amelie, deaf since birth, as a blight on his Aryan bloodline.

 

Once courted by Schlick, Rachel knows he’s as dangerous as the swastikas that hang like ebony spiders from every government building in Berlin. She fears her father’s files may hold answers about Hitler’s plans for others, like Amelie, whom the regime deems “unworthy of life.” She risks searching his classified documents only to uncover shocking secrets about her own history and a family she’s never known.

Now hunted by the SS, Rachel turns to Jason Young―a driven, disarming American journalist and unlikely ally―who connects her to the resistance and to controversial theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Forced into hiding, Rachel’s every ideal is challenged as she and Jason walk a knife’s edge, risking their lives―and asking others to do the same―for those they barely know but come to love.

 

 

My Thoughts: Saving Amelie has been on my radar for quite some time. I love Cathy Gohlke's books and I think this one just might be my favorite. 

 

This novel reveals some of the lesser known yet still very horrific actions behind the Nazi party in WWII. The heroine's own father is involved in genetic research and as she peels back the layers of her own history, she discovers just how deep the quest for a perfect "superhuman race" can go.

 

Amidst her discovery is Amelie, a little deaf girl whose own father (an officer in the SS) is ready to go to extremes in order to eliminate the imperfection of his progeny.

 

I absolutely loved how the author wove together many point-of-views throughout the novel, creating a rich, multi-layered read, complete with the thread of a love story. Much like she did in Secrets She Kept with Corrie Ten Boom, Gohlke brilliantly and seamlessly ties in the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in this novel. I just love how she does that! I found myself turning the pages quickly, wanting to find out the fate of each character.

 

A powerful novel that challenged my faith. I highly recommend this book for fans of inspirational historical fiction.

 

Favorite Quote: “Sometimes taking up our cross is doing the thing in front of us, not the glamorous, high-risk thing afar off.”

 

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Book Review: The Solace of Water by Elizabeth Byler Younts

 

In a time of grief and heartache, an unlikely friendship provides strength and solace.

 

After leaving her son’s grave behind in Montgomery, Alabama, Delilah Evans has little faith that moving to her husband’s hometown in Pennsylvania will bring a fresh start. Enveloped by grief and doubt, the last thing Delilah imagines is becoming friends with her reclusive Amish neighbor, Emma Mullet—yet the secrets that keep Emma isolated from her own community bond her to Delilah in delicate and unexpected ways.

 

Delilah’s eldest daughter, Sparrow, bears the brunt of her mother’s pain, never allowed for a moment to forget she is responsible for her brother’s death. When tensions at home become unbearable for her, she seeks peace at Emma’s house and becomes the daughter Emma has always wanted. Sparrow, however, is hiding secrets of her own—secrets that could devastate them all.

With the white, black, and Amish communities of Sinking Creek at their most divided, there seems to be little hope for reconciliation. But long-buried hurts have their way of surfacing, and Delilah and Emma find themselves facing their own self-deceptions. Together they must learn how to face the future through the healing power of forgiveness.

 

Eminently relevant to the beauty and struggle in America today, The Solace of Water offers a glimpse into the turbulent 1950s and reminds us that friendship rises above religion, race, and custom—and has the power to transform a broken heart.

My Thoughts: I'm not going to lie--I was completely drawn to The Solace of Water by the beautiful cover. To me, it conveyed a deep, more literary read and after I read the blurb and the first page, I was hooked.

 

This novel is about three women who are being told how they are divided. How they are different. How they do not belong. And yet their circumstances thrust them together and they are faced with the challenge of tearing down the lies they've been entrenched in their entire lives.

 

This book tackles some heavy issues and yet Younts treats them tactfully and with grace. Nothing is tied up in a neat bow, which this reader very much appreciates. The author grounds the reader so completely in each character that I felt their pain, their heartache, and their victories.

 

A brilliantly-told book with many layers, The Solace of Water is beautiful and authentic. 

 

 

Favorite Quote: “I think friends are supposed to keep each other honest.”

 

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Book Review: Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

 

Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn't know her mother?

From the author of the smash-hit bestseller Firefly Lane and True Colors comes Kristin Hannah's powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past.

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time—and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya's life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother's life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.

My Thoughts: Ever since I read The Nightingale, I've been making my way through all of Hannah's books. She is fast becoming one of my go-to authors, though some of her books hit me more powerfully than others. Winter Garden was one such book.

 

Breaking the boundaries of a more standard parallel story structure, Hannah uses the power of story (by means of a Russian fairytale) to bring her readers to war-torn Leningrad in 1941. I was drawn to both the modern-day characters and the historical characters. The seamlessness of the two stories held me spellbound. 

 

This is a story of mothers and daughters and sisters and the strength of love. I'll admit, I'd had several friends recommend this book to me and for the first part of the book I wasn't truly certain why it was so talked about. That completely changed by the end. Last night, I stayed up late, wiping tears from my eyes, imagining myself in the place of these characters in such impossible circumstances, wondering if I could have lived through what they did. Even into my dreams, it haunted me. 

 

A thought-provoking book that celebrates the strength and resilience of the human spirit. A beautiful, stunning ending will certainly satisfy readers of both contemporary and historical fiction.

 

Other Kristin Hannah books I highly recommend: The Nightingale, Firefly Lane, The Great Alone, and Night Road.

 

Favorite Quote: “If there was one thing she'd learned in all of this, it was that life--and love--can be gone any second. When you had it, you needed to hang on with all your strength and savor every second.”

 

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Book Review: As Bright As Heaven by Susan Meissner

A family is reborn through loss and love during the 1918 pandemic.

 

In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters–Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa–a chance at a better life.

 

But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city, they find their lives left with a world that looks nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live without–and what they are willing to do about it.

 

As Bright as Heaven is the compelling story of a mother and her daughters who find themselves in a harsh world not of their making, which will either crush their resolve to survive or purify it.

My Thoughts: Susan Meissner’s stories are what inspired me to write time-slip fiction, so I have to admit I’m a little bias when it comes to anything she writes—I tend to love it all! Seriously though, this book was amazing. It falls in my top three favorite books by her (the other two being A Fall of Marigolds and The Shape of Mercy). 

 

As Bright As Heaven is not a light read, but it was real and challenging and full of hope. The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic is explored through the eyes of one family's heartbreaking and beautiful journey. Meissner’s unique look into the role of an undertaker gave me new compassion and respect for those who work in this area. 

 

I loved the multiple point-of-views employed and the intricate weaving of characters and story. That being said, there was one plot thread I was a tad disappointed with and am still mulling over. It certainly made me think, and that’s what great fiction is meant to do!

 

This is one of my favorite books I’ve read this year. I highly recommend for those who love challenging historical fiction with hope-filled endings.

 

Favorite Quote: “We only see a little bit of our stories at a time, and the hard parts remind us too harshly that we’re fragile and flawed. But it isn’t all hard. Your story isn’t all hard parts. Some of it is incredibly beautiful.”

 

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We Have A Winner!

Thank you to all of you who stopped by these past couple of weeks to visit with us on the Tyndale Scavenger Hunt! 

 

Congratulations to Danna Kistler who won my blog giveaway! 

 

Happy reading!

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