Ann Shorey's Blog, page 14

A HOPEFUL HEART, by Kim Vogel Sawyer

I've been out of town for a few weeks on a family matter, and am now resuming my "writing life," including blogs. It's with pleasure that I take up blogging again to review Kim Sawyer's A Hopeful Heart. A Hopeful Heart is a gentle story of healing and forgiveness. The protagonist, Tressa Neill, is sent west to Wyatt Herdsman School as a dowryless girl. Her guardians, an aunt and uncle, believe

THIRTEEN MOONS, by Charles Frazier

Thirteen Moons is, at its heart, Will Cooper's fictional autobiography. In the early years of the nineteenth century, when Will is twelve years old, he's given a horse, a key, and a map and sent out on his own as a bound boy. His destination will be a trading post in the Cherokee Nation. Frazier opens the story with Will as an old man. The voice he uses to communicate Will's heart to the

INTERVIEW WITH DEBORAH VOGTS

Deborah Vogts and her husband have three daughters and make their home in Southeast Kansas where they raise and train American Quarter Horses. As a student at Emporia State University studying English and journalism, Deborah developed a love for the Flint Hills that has never faded. In writing this series, she hopes to share her passion for one of the last tallgrass prairie regions in the world,

SEEDS OF SUMMER, by Deborah Vogts

Seeds of Summer is a true-to-life story about family bonds. Set on a cattle ranch in the Flint Hills area of Kansas, Seeds of Summer reflects Vogts' love for the area and her knowledge of ranch life. The story opens when the main character, Natalie Adams, is one of two finalists in the Miss Rodeo America competition. Natalie has spent years in preparation for this moment, and when she comes in

VANISH, by Tom Pawlik

I have to search for words to describe Vanish. It is such a gripping story that it defies description, at least by me. Vanish begins as an almost other-worldly experience. Lawyer Conner Hayden senses he's being watched while working in his Chicago office on a Friday afternoon. That night, a powerful storm rocks the city, and when he awakens the next day Chicago is deserted. Vanish concerns

SCATTERED PETALS, by Amanda Cabot

In Scattered Petals, author Amanda Cabot continues her series set in the Texas town of Ladreville. Priscilla Morton and her parents are traveling from Boston to attend the wedding of Clay and Sarah, the couple who were drawn together by the love letters Clay wrote (think Cyrano de Bergerac) in the first book of the Texas Dreams series, Paper Roses. The opening scenes in Scattered Petals are

SEEING THINGS, by Patti Hill

In Seeing Things, Patti Hill has crafted a memorable novel about multi-generational family issues. The plot centers around seventy-something Birdie Wainwright, an independent woman whose active life is curtailed by the onset of macular degeneration. When she breaks an ankle due to her faulty vision, Birdie is forced to stay with her son and his ever-so-uptight wife. The bright side to her

HUNTER'S MOON, by Don Hoesel

Hunter's Moon is a near-perfect story of a family hiding a dark past. Hoesel's hero, CJ Baxter, is a bestselling novelist, so as an author I especially enjoyed reading this book. CJ's ups and downs with his agent, critics, and sales numbers added an extra dimension to an already enjoyable plot. The story opens with CJ leaving his home in Tennessee to travel to New York state to visit his dying

LOVING FRANK, by Nancy Horan

Loving Frank had been out for a couple of years before I got around to reading it. The book is a novelized version of the scandalous affair between Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney. Knowing nothing about their history, I was more curious about the architect's early life than I was about Mamah Cheney. Having lived for several years in the San Francisco Bay Area, I regularly drove

SIXTEEN BRIDES, by Stephanie Grace Whitson

Sixteen Brides is a thoroughly engaging story of a group of Civil War widows who travel to Nebraska, lured by the prospect of free land. The premise for Sixteen Brides arose from an actual newspaper clipping in the Nebraska Historical Society archives, which made the plot even more fun for me. Once the women arrive in Plum Grove, the last stop before their final destination in Cayote, they