Tara Chevrestt's Blog, page 51

Meet the Heroine of Red, White, & Screwed. Does She Get Your Vote?

Please welcome author Holly Bush as she shares with us her new release and its heroine. Today she wants to chat just briefly about the down and dirty side of politics... Stick with us for a while and read the excerpt below. Tell us, do you think Glenda will get your "vote?"

Call me crazy, but I look forward to elections. I like hearing candidates talking about their vision for their state or for the country and I like to hear how political parties and news organizations spin what candidates have said. I don’t always like what they say, but I like the process. It seems as though politics has gotten sillier, more ruthless, and more polarizing than ever before. But I don’t think that’s necessarily true. I think we are immersed in the controversies and the petty feuds, however, courtesy of 24 hour news channels and the internet, and it feels worse than it felt in the past.

Politics has always been a dirty, unpleasant, albeit necessary business, from the day this country was founded. All you have to do is read some of the letters from men like John Adams or Thomas Jefferson to know that political life was not for sissies. I’m a fan of Doris Kearns Goodwin, and her biography that the movie Lincoln was based on, tells a tale of backroom deals and machinations as our 16th President barely maneuvered the 13th Amendment through Congress.

Our heroine in Red, White & Screwed, Glenda Nelson, works for a political party and sometimes feels she may be compromising her own principles while doing the best for her party. Like most women, she’s also raising children and sometimes caring for her parents, too, while juggling a demanding work schedule. Sound familiar to any of our readers today?
***
Blurb: Political strategist Glenda Nelson is having a meltdown. Her handpicked, very married Congressional candidate was just caught climbing out of the window of the Sleepytown Motel, and her philandering ex-husband seems to have the most to gain from the colossal scandal that follows. As Glenda attempts to salvage the campaign in a hotly contested race, conservative and liberal pundits pounce on the story to further their own agendas.

Glenda’s love life is nonexistent to say the least, that is, until she meets handsome artist Chris Goodrich. Chris’s easy-going, carefree outlook on life couldn’t be more different than the 90-mph crazy train that is Glenda’s, but the more time she spends with him, the more she craves his calming presence, his sexy smile, and his steamy embraces. Is Chris worth taking a chance on?

Between the pressure of full-blown spin control mode, rapidly declining job security, refereeing two teenagers, caring for aging parents, and spending hours on her therapist’s couch trying to get past her ex’s crushing betrayal, Glenda finds love and makes the long trek back to happy.
***
Nearly three hundred years after the first hardy German settlers arrived in my county, many things had not changed. My ten-mile trip to Lancaster City had taken forty minutes trailing an Amish buggy.

“Glenda! Where have you been?” my boss, Melvin Smith, shouted from the steps of the county courthouse.

“I got behind a buggy,” I said as I jumped curb stones and dodged opened car doors on my way across the parking lot to where Melvin waited for me.

“We don’t want to be late to see what our seventy-five thousand dollars bought us,” he said as he yanked open the ornate, wooden door.

Melvin and I worked for the Lancaster County Democratic Committee, and it was a stick in his craw that Deidre Dumas, the Republican Chairwoman, had strong-armed more donations than he to fund a mural to hang in our courthouse.

“Are you still pissed the Republican Committee raised more money? You’ve got to get over this, Melvin.” We hurried past the buffet table, weaving through the county big shots and up a rickety set of steps to take our place on the dais for the unveiling.

Deidre air-kissed Melvin, and Bill Frome, county Republican strategist and the yin to my yang, gave me a tight-lipped smile and shook my hand as he looked at his watch. Photographers from the local newspaper were taking pictures, and Melvin leaned close to me.

“They’re cutting us out of these photos, Glenda. You mark my words,” he whispered.

“They’re not cutting us out of the photos.” I took a quick peek down the line of smiling suits and black dresses. I could barely see past Deidre’s cemented bouffant, puffed up and combed away from her face ending with an artfully rigid curl just above her shoulder. She had acquired the style in the mid-sixties, copying either Jackie Onassis or George Mitchell’s wife, and rode it all the way into the new millennium.

“Who’s the guy?” I asked Melvin.

“Which guy?”

“The oddball.”

“I’m black,” Melvin replied. “I’m as odd as they get in Lancaster County.”

The cameras kept flashing as I smiled and talked through my teeth. “You’re not odd because you’re an African American, Melvin. In this county, we’re both odd because we’re Democrats. And, anyway, I’m talking about the guy in the middle of the line in the jeans and blazer.”

The flashes stopped abruptly, and the Chairman of the County Commissioners, Alan Snavely, walked up to the microphone. He proceeded to extol the generosity of county residents in giving their hard-earned dollars to fund the mural project for the courthouse. He gestured repeatedly to the black-draped wall behind us, introduced the oddball as the mural artist, and then wrapped it up with some hard facts.

“The Lancaster County Democratic Committee raised seventy-four thousand, eight-hundred and ninety dollars . . .”

“That’s seventy-five even, Alan,” Melvin interrupted. “We had a last minute contribution.”

All heads turned Melvin’s way, including mine.

“Seventy-five even, Melvin?” Alan repeated.

“As of this morning.”

“OK then, it’s seventy-five even from the Democrats.” Snavely took a pen from his breast pocket to jot down the adjustment to his notes. “And the Lancaster County Republican Committee raised a whopping one-hundred thousand dollars.” The crowd clapped politely, and Alan continued, “And now the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Our artist, Christopher Goodwich, was commissioned nearly a year ago and has come here from his home state of Ohio for tonight’s unveiling. He has won multiple accolades for his work, and the Goodwich Family Foundation is well-known among philanthropists. Mr. Goodwich, would you do the honors?”

Christopher Goodwich moved from his place in line, yanked a gold pull rope, and the black curtain fell away. I looked up at the thirty-foot mural of a Lancaster County Revolutionary War battle as did everyone else. To my amazement this typically chattering crowd fell silent other than a smattering of appreciative oohs and aahs.

The painting was stunningly beautiful. I could see the hope and fear on the faces of the soldiers and practically hear the roar of the cannons and smell the smoke. Alan grabbed the microphone again and began discussing the mural as if he had the foggiest understanding of artwork. But it made me curious about the artist, and I took a second look at Christopher Goodwich.

He was a handsome man. Casually masculine with green eyes and a smile that made me think about George Clooney in a tuxedo. Get those hormones under control, I thought. At forty-six with a rather ugly divorce under my belt and two teenage children, I needed a man like the President needed another Cabinet nominee in tax trouble.

***

Holly Bush was born in western Pennsylvania to two avid readers. There was not a room in her home that did not hold a full bookcase. She worked in the hospitality industry, owning a restaurant for twenty years and recently worked as the sales and marketing director in the hospitality/tourism industry and is credited with building traffic to capacity for a local farm tour, bringing guests from twenty-two states, booked two years out. Holly has been a marketing consultant to start-up businesses and has done public speaking on the subject.

Holly has been writing all of her life and is a voracious reader of a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, particularly political and historical works. She has written four romance novels, all set in the U.S. West in the mid 1800’s. She frequently attends writing conferences, and has always been a member of a writer’s group. She is always a member of Romance Writers of America.

Holly is a gardener, a news junkie, and was the vice-president of her local library board for years. She loves to spend time near the ocean and is the proud mother of two daughters and the wife of a man more than a few years her junior.

Ten Questions From Tara: Interview and Blog Stop with Violetta Rand

Tara: Welcome. You’re here to promote Blind Redemption, Book 3 in the Blind Series, a historical romance. Tell me, please, what was the inspiration behind this story (or series)? How did it come to you?

Readers, here's the blurb for you:

The past is something he’d sooner forget…

Aaron McNally hates his past. Banished from his home for betrayal, he trades his tartan for a Norwegian title and sword to win back his honor.

She has a warrior’s heart…

It’s difficult for Kara Dalgaard to act like a lady, even when her father demands it. After the handsome Jarl Aaron McNally arrives at her home recruiting for the king’s army, she’s forced to participate in a cruel deception to humiliate him.

Drawn to his strength and passion, she quickly regrets what she’s done. But duty comes before happiness.

Aaron wants a second chance at life—and Kara is everything he’s dreamed of. But the past always has a way of catching up with you. Will Kara trust him or condemn him to a life of loneliness?

Violetta: Nothing fancy here—I woke up one day and decided to write a Viking series. My inspiration, maybe the Viking culture in general. Brave to a fault, Vikings are one of only three cultures I know of where the men preferred to die in battle and claim their glory in the afterlife.

Not very romantic, but it sets the tone for the incredible tension and passion my characters display. They live in the moment—never taking their lives for granted.

Tara: We focus a lot on heroines here on Book Babe. Tell me what makes your heroine(s) strong.

Violetta: My heroine, Kara Dalgaard, in fact, runs around with a sword—so this is one of my favorite aspects of her character. She’s no hardened warrior, but she’s uninhibited—desperate to show her family how skilled she is. And with a father like Jarl Erik the Bald, who blames her?

I’ll let a couple paragraphs from my story do the talking here…

She lifted her chin. She wore armor and carried a sword because her father demanded it. He’d never admit it in front of his distinguished guests. “I don’t gallivant around wearing braies and weapons every day,” she defended herself.

“Only because I forbid it,” he countered. “Seeing you now shows me what an injustice I’ve done you. I’ve poorly prepared you for your future. You lack the refinement and elegance most girls half your age possess.”

“Haven’t I proven time and again I can play the role of the jarl’s perfect daughter when it’s expected of me?”

His criticism stung. Ever obedient, she learned to read and write and fight alongside her brothers. Could he fault her for preferring climbing trees over dancing? Reading over embroidery? She enjoyed drying herbs; didn’t that count as cooking?

“Go upstairs and prepare to greet our guests properly,” her father instructed.

She needed a bath. Surely the stable smelled better than she did. “Yes, father.” She stood, then bowed.

Her father coughed. “Bowing as a man only proves my point.” The five men at the table laughed.

Humiliated, she huffed out an apology, curtsied, and ran out of the room.

Tara: Do you see any of yourself in her?

Violetta: Out of all my heroines, Kara and I share many characteristics. Fiercely loyal, determined, a bit crafty, and overall, a smart ass.

Tara: What kind of research did you do when you penned this novel? Did anything surprising come up in your search?

Violetta: King Herald Hardrada (king of Norway) died in the Battle of Stamford Bridge, leaving his two sons as co-rulers of Norway. Magnus claimed the north, Olaf the south.

A few years later, King Magnus died of ergot poisoning, leaving his brother as sole ruler.

Olaf’s desire to bring peace to Norway impressed me. He made peace with the pope, built churches, unified his country, founded new cities, established the nobility, and apparently learned to read (believed to be the first Norwegian monarch to do so). No wonder he earned the nickname Olaf the Quiet.
Tara: What would you like readers to gain from reading your book? Is there a strong moral? Do you hope they will laugh, learn something, ponder a point?
Violetta: My stories are deeply rooted in important historical moments. In Blind Redemption, we catch glimpses of the aftermath of the Battle of Stamford Bridge (four years after). Norway is in political and religious turmoil, one of the two kings is dead. And now King Olaf is tasked with unifying the north and south.

Churches are being vandalized, Olaf is trying to convert the pagans, and the northern jarls are fanatical Odin worshippers. What a time to explore. And Jarl Aaron McNally is caught in the middle—expected to form a new regiment to stop anyone who threatens the construction of the great cathedral in Nidaros.

Learning something about the Viking Age is probably the most important message in my books. Secondly, I’m a great supporter of conflict resolution, Viking style of course.

And finally, the one thing all romance readers want—that happily ever after.

Tara: Now let’s talk about your hero. What draws the heroine to him? Is he based on a real man in your life by any chance?

Violetta: Aaron McNally, the antagonist from Blind Mercy (Book 2), seeks forgiveness for his past misdeeds in Blind Redemption. True redemption is earned, not given. Right? And unlike the other stories, there is no enemies to lovers trope. 
This time our hero must rely on his instincts, honor, kindness, humor, and passion to win the girl of his dreams.

Kara Dalgaard may be young, but she’s determined to find the man she loves instead of marrying out of duty. Sparks fly when she meets Aaron. She’s drawn to his virility and intelligence right away, and turned off by his arrogance. But there’s something about this guy that leaves her feeling unsure of herself. And after they kiss, well, now she really needs to find out what’s going on.

Aaron McNally is very similar to my husband—what parts exactly, I’ll never tell.

Tara: Your book takes place in Norway. If I were a tourist, what would you recommend I see in this country?
Nidaros Cathedral
Violetta: Let me start by saying everywhere your happy feet take you. But west central and northern Norway capture my heart the most. Perhaps it’s because it so closely resembles Alaska—coastal, mountains, fjords, glaciers, wildlife, wide open spaces, and just a bit rustic.

Places to see – the royal complex in Oslo and the Viking Ship Museum.

Tara: A more personal question. What’s the one thing you hope to accomplish before you die? Your main goal?

Violetta: The most important—making sure all the people I love and admire know exactly how I feel.

Second—I’m living it now—growing as a writer, sharing my stories, and mentoring other authors starting out in the business.

Tara: I’m a dog mom, so I always ask this. Do you have pets? If so, tell me about them and do provide pictures.
Violetta: Oh yes, the magic question. I’m happy to showcase my babies.Three wonderful dogs and two cats.
Simon and Gretchen my beloved mini-schnauzers and Mason, our loyal Brittany.

As for the damn cats (love saying that), Bella who is undoubtedly my soul mate and Ivan our stoic, yet sweet fellow.
  ***

Violetta Rand holds a bachelor's degree in Environmental Policy and a master's degree in Environmental Management. Serving as an environmental scientist in the state of Alaska for over seven years, she enjoys the privilege of traveling to remote places few people have the opportunity to see.

Violetta has been "in love" with writing since childhood. Struck with an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age, at five, she wrote short stories illustrated by her best friend and sold them in her neighborhood. The only thing she loves more than writing is her wonderful relationship with her husband, Jeff. She enjoys outdoor activities, reading whatever she can get her hands on, music, and losing herself in the worlds she enjoys bringing to life in the pages of her stories.

A Devious Dowager With Wicked Wit Steals the Show in Charming the Duke by Holly Bush

I broke my "no dukes, no rakes, no rogues" rule and read this novel the last few days. I was drawn in by the cover and the author's solid reputation for being talented.

Being a huge Downton Abbey fan, I was pleasantly delighted by the Dowager in this story. Every time she spoke or tapped away with her cane, I pictured the Dowager, a delicate, aged eyebrow arched, as she looks at whomever she's speaking to as if they're an imbecile...and in this case, they rather are.

The main story follows Matilda, the middle child of a well-to-do family with no interest in marrying. Instead, she wishes to open an orphanage and sets about doing just that... Meanwhile, a handsome duke seeking a wife falls (against his own wishes!) for her. They argue incessantly. There's scandal, scorching kisses, more arguing, rumors, more scandal...

Soon the entire family is involved in some way with the so-called scandal or with attempting to convince the Duke and Matilda to marry.

And as I said above, for me the Dowager just took the cake. She is by far the most delightful character in the story and kept me laughing. And I love a good laugh, even more so when I'm not expecting it.

Someone put together a YouTube video of Sh!t the Dowager Countess Says. It's not cc'd, but I have watched the show with captioning and can remember very well some of the things she has said. While I'll share that video below, I'll also share some "sh!t" this Dowager Countess says.

"That's what a good coupling will do for a dried-up old maid like Athena Wilcox."

"I see the way you and my son look at each other. Miracle the chandelier in the room under your bed hasn't fallen from its holding."

"High time you had this conversation with your other two daughters, Frances (about coupling). Juliet will undoubtedly tie a bow about her husband's rod the first time she's it." 


As you can see, I enjoyed this "charming" story. It's lighthearted, funny, and we all need a read like that every now and then. My only quibble? It keeps its distance from the characters. You always feel as though you are watching them, not living within in them. There's not a lot of emotion coming from the characters, even though we know they're arguing and whatnot.

I won this on Goodreads Firstreads.

From Modern-Day Horror to Historical World War II, The Sea Garden by Deborah Lawrenson Tells More Than One Story

An interesting book. Very interesting. And different. It begins in modern times, with this garden designer traveling to an island off the coast of France to restore a memorial garden. But things go wrong on the boat there, immediately giving the story a sinister feel and it certainly sucked me in and grabbed my attention. A man just...walks...overboard.

Yes, you read that right.

And then it gets better with things missing and a very strange old lady...and something about this old lady tells me there's something shocking to come.

The modern story felt almost like a horror, at least to me...then it suddenly goes back to the war, to a blind girl who has a way with perfume and uses her skills--both knowingly and unknowingly--to aid the French Resistance, Americans, and British.

I think she was my favorite. I really didn't want her part to end. She is so brave and handles her disability in an admirable way. I wish I'd handled my own so maturely so quickly.

And then it switches again, to a woman operative in England and the people she knows and the people she watches go to France on covert missions. And at 75% I still couldn't see how these three stories tied together. I only saw one common denominator: a radio operative. It was at this point that I began to get impatient. I like some clues, at least.

And then it concluded, leaving me confused on a few points, namely one, and I can't reveal what it is without spoiling the book, so... But I kept asking, "But why is she...." And though I loved the blind girl's story best of all, I am left wondering how exactly it ties into the other two. There's no connection beyond a brief scene at the end. The blind girl and the others were two ships barely passing in the night. Surely they could have been tied in better than that?

BUT I loved, absolutely loved, reading about the Radio Game. (I'm not going to spoil that either) How spine chilling! I am wondering if this is a piece of true history. *Edit. Author assures me this did indeed occur. How fascinating! Never ran into this in all the WWII books I've read.*

I received this digital galley via Edelweiss.

The Reading Radar 7/12/2014

Spotted on Passages to the Past, Grand Central: Original Stories of Postwar Love and Reunion has hit the wishlist. It sounds sweet and features one of my favorite authors: Sarah Jio.

A war bride awaits the arrival of her GI husband at the platform…

A Holocaust survivor works at the Oyster Bar, where a customer reminds him of his late mother…

A Hollywood hopeful anticipates her first screen test and a chance at stardom in the Kissing Room…

On any particular day, thousands upon thousands of people pass through New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, through the whispering gallery, beneath the ceiling of stars, and past the information booth and its beckoning four-faced clock, to whatever destination is calling them. It is a place where people come to say hello and good-bye. And each person has a story to tell.

Now, ten bestselling authors inspired by this iconic landmark have created their own stories, set just after the end of World War II, in a time of hope, uncertainty, change, and renewal….

***
Spotted on Librarything Member Giveaways and on my wishlist because of the aviatrix, Queens Never Make Bargains (like that title!) by Nancy Means Wright.

QUEENS NEVER MAKE BARGAINS is the engaging, evocative tale of three spirited Scottish-American women who carry on their lives through two world wars, a flu pandemic, and a Great Depression. The story opens with young Jessie Menzies who takes ship to America to live in a Vermont machine tool town as nanny to her pious Uncle Wallace's bereaved children. The action moves in and out of a boarding house filled with eccentrics like the feisty artist Llew Arthur, whose polio forces him to paint propped up against a shaky card table. It propels us into the 30's N.Y.C. theater world where a small-minded congressman succeeds in silencing the actors; and into war-time London where rebel-pilot Victoria ferries her beloved Spitfires, has a failed love affair, and mourns a lost child. The novel explores the role of immigrants and their conflicting cultures and religions. It shows us how external events can shape and alter our lives, and how we cope with and survive them.

***
Spotted on Edelweiss and on my wishlist. I love historicals of Spain and being Gypsy women, I bet they dance some flamenco! The Barefoot Queen by  Ildefonso Falcones.

A historical epic full of bravery and romance that follows two women as they make a life for themselves in 18th-century Spain.

It's January of 1748. Caridad is a recently freed Cuban slave wondering the streets of Seville. Her master is dead and she has nowhere to go. When her path crosses with Milagros Carmona's-a young, rebellious gypsy-the two women are instantly inseparable. Milagros introduces Caridad to the gypsy community, an exotic fringe society that will soon change her life forever.

Over time they each fall in love with men who are fiercely loyal and ready to fight to the death for their rights as a free people. When all gypsies are declared outlaws by royal mandate, life in their community becomes perilous. They soon find themselves in Madrid-a city of passion and dancing, but also a treacherous one full of smugglers and thieves. Caridad and Milagros must help in the gypsy's struggle against society and its laws in order to stay together; it's a dangerous battle that cannot, and will not, be easily won.

From the tumultuous bustle of Seville to the theatres of Madrid, The Barefoot Queen is a historical fresco filled with characters that live, love, suffer, and fight for what they believe.

***
Spotted on NG and on the wishlist. The Brewer's Tale by Karen Brooks. I love the idea of woman facing difficulties as she starts an ale-brewing legacy.

It had been Mother's secret and mine, one passed down through the de Winter women for generations. I would ensure it was kept that way, until I was ready to pass it on.

When Anneke Sheldrake is forced to find a way to support her family after her father is lost at sea, she turns to the business by which her mother’s family once prospered: brewing ale.

Armed with her Dutch mother’s recipes and a belief that anything would be better than the life her vindictive cousin has offered her, she makes a deal with her father’s aristocratic employer: Anneke has six months to succeed or not only will she lose the house but her family as well.

Through her enterprise and determination, she inadvertently earns herself a deadly enemy. Threatened and held in contempt by those she once called friends, Anneke nonetheless thrives. But on the tail of success, tragedy follows and those closest to her pay the greatest price for her daring.

Ashamed, grieving, and bearing a terrible secret, Anneke flees to London, determined to forge her own destiny. Will she be able to escape her past, and those whose only desire is to see her fail?

A compelling insight into the brewer’s craft, the strength of women, and the myriad forms love can take.

An unforgettable tale of love, treachery and ale in medieval England.

The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier: A Disquieted Quaker

Although The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier involves the Underground Railroad which helped runaway slaves to safety, the theme of the novel is not slavery nor is its central focus really the Underground Railroad.  I saw some disappointed reviews from people who expected to find out more about how the Underground Railroad functioned from this novel.  For them, I recommend The Runaway Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini in which a quilter learns about her ancestors' participation in the Underground Railroad and the role of quilts in assisting runaway slaves.  It was a really fascinating book, but that's not the type of book that Tracy Chevalier has written.

                                                   


 The protagonist Honor Bright is a very principled Quaker.  She is surrounded by other Quakers all of whom are opposed to slavery.  Yet not all of them are willing to act on their principles.   I feel that this is the central theme of The Last Runaway.  Why are so many people afraid or unwilling to take a stand?  Should they be judged for their inaction?  When it comes to an important issue such as slavery, there were consequences for both action and inaction which are fully illustrated in this book.

Quakers have a history of spiritual silence, but they also have a history of activism.  I have seen a book called Mothers of Feminism by Margaret Hope Bacon about prominent 19th century Quakers who were involved in the suffragist movement. Susan B. Anthony was one of them.  There are many modern Quaker activists for peace.  The readers of The Last Runaway might think of Honor Bright as a typical Quaker because of her activist tendency, but her stance causes trouble in her community.

I found this book compelling and provocative.  It gave me a more complex view of 19th century Quakers.  The interplay of silence and activism in the life of Honor Bright was unexpected, and the Quakers who were in conflict with her turned out to be worthy of respect.

I think I would like to read Slavery and the Meeting House: The Quakers and the Abolitionist Dilemma by Ryan P. Jordan which Chevalier mentions in her acknowledgements.  Chevalier did show us that it was a dilemma.  This caused me to reflect on issues in my life where activism and dissent could represent a dilemma.   I think this was the best book that I've read by Tracy Chevalier so far.

                              







                                        

The Rise of Zenobia: Only The Beginning of a Spectacular Life Story

I have a strong interest in Zenobia, the ancient Warrior Queen of Palmyra, Syria.  I'm not interested because she was a queen, and I don't care about her being a descendant of Cleopatra.  My main interest is that Zenobia rebelled against the Roman Empire.  That's why I entered a giveaway on the Historical Fictionistas group on Goodreads for The Rise of Zenobia by J.D. Smith.

                                                


I knew from the summary that the central character was not Zenobia.  He was a male relative of hers named Zabdas.  Zabdas was well portrayed, but the most dramatic event that had happened in his life occurred before the novel began.  I also noticed that he's a go with the flow kind of guy who lets others make decisions for him.  Maybe it's because he spent so many years as a slave.  He may resent those decisions, but he doesn't resist them. 

Zenobia refuses to just go along.  When the Kingdom of Palmyra is in jeopardy from a massive invasion  she does what she can to prevent it.  The trouble is that she seems to get whatever she wants.  I felt that this lessened the suspense to a very great degree.

The other problem is that this is book one, and it doesn't cover the aspect of Zenobia's life that really interests me.  So I liked it, but my enthusiasm was limited.  It seems likely that I will prefer the second book.

 

Sarah Emma Edmonds's Story As a Civil War Soldier is Brought to Life by Author P.G. Nagle

First of all, I think the author did a good job in her portrayal of this real-life amazing woman. She also has a good "writing voice".

What I enjoyed the most about this story is the amazing heroine. She has so much courage, it blows my mind. She poses as a man two years before the Civil War, just to avoid an arranged and unwanted marriage and to enjoy the freedom that being the opposite sex brought during that time period.

When she becomes a soldier, she does a variety things for the war effort and even better, she fights on the right side --the Union. From soldier to "nurse" to stretcher barrier to mail carrier to spy...it's one adventure after another. She even paints herself black and poses as a Negro to break in the Confederate ranks, and that means exposing herself to whippings and beatings. That takes gumption!

She has conflicting emotions as the story unfolds. She loves a man. You can dress as a dude but you cannot turn off women's baser instincts.

An irritation for me, however, was that the story (and it doesn't appear to be marketed as Christian fiction) goes on and on about faith, scripture, the bible... I read Christian Fiction but today's Christian fiction authors--most of the ones I read--don't beat me over the head with religion every five seconds. This book went way overboard.

But when it really went downhill was the 65% point, when Jaimie enters the picture. If you don't like spoilers, read no further, but I have to say this in order to express just why this didn't set well with me...

The story went from featuring an overly pious, Bible-thumping woman to a woman who is having sexual relations with a married man. And you know what? I was actually okay with that. So she's a sinner. She regrets her actions, la de da. This is real life. It seems to me the folks who thump their Bibles the loudest are often the ones with the most secrets... BUT what I didn't like is that Emma falls for a man such as Jaimie and after all her piety, it's so....nonchalant and doesn't suit her character at all.

That she must share him, she accepted as fact and privately regretted on many levels. She wished no harm to the faceless Mary back in New York. She felt badly about wronging her, but she was certain that if she had not become Jaimie's lover, someone else would have.

How does that make it okay? As I said above, this attitude simply doesn't suit her or go along with the Emma we've come to know at that point. And since the author had to take this route and add a love interest, why did it have to be an A-hole? An A-hole who was willing to sodomize her, thinking she was his young male tentmate?

Liked some of it; disliked some of it.

I received this on LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Joint Review: What Is Visible by Kimberly Elkins

As we both acquired this book and had a strong interest in its subject: Laura Bridgman, the first blind and deaf woman in the United States to be educated , we decided to do a joint review. The novel is told in varying POVs, Laura's, Sarah's, Julia's, and also through letters amongst them and the doctor and others.

Tara: First of all, Shomeret, I must say, while I knew in advance from the blurb that it would be alternating POVs, the letters do not work for me. At times they make no sense or I don't much see their purpose, or they bring up issues I couldn't care less about, such as the doctor and Charles Sumner's possible romance. I fail to see what things like "I can't wait to touch your face" between the two of them have to do with the story itself, let alone Laura.

How do you feel about the execution of the alternating POVs?

Shomeret: I feel that the alternating POVs are meant to show us the historical context that Laura was living in. I prefer historical fiction that gives us a larger picture and expands our knowledge of the period as a whole.  We are told that Laura was well known, but without the other perspectives we wouldn't know exactly who was aware of her and what impact they had on her life.  I think that it was the famous people of the era being concerned about Laura's welfare that allowed her to survive as long as she did. Julia, the doctor's wife, was also very famous during the period.  If we only had Laura's viewpoint, we wouldn't know that.  I felt that the doctor treated his wife very similarly to the way he treated Laura and the blind girls in his institution.  This showed me that his patronizing and controlling attitude wasn't just directed at his female patients, but at all women.  I think that his wife, Julia Ward Howe, came to the same conclusion eventually.  I have to say that before I read this book I knew who wrote "Battle Hymn of the Republic", but I couldn't have told you the name of her husband.  He's the one who is now almost totally unknown.So for me this book also provides historical context for Julia Ward Howe. I should also note that Charles Sumner was a very important political figure which is why his opinions about Laura and Julia carried more weight and credibility for the doctor.  He thought that only people of power, wealth and influence counted.  Of course, he isn't the only one who ever thought that way.  It's a very common attitude for people to have. This is why more people who read historical fiction want to read about Kings and Queens than people like Laura Bridgman even if they live in democratic countries where people are expected to be treated as equals.  I thought it was interesting that Charles showed himself in letters to be touch oriented like Laura.  Dr. Howe, like many Victorians, must have been very ambivalent about touch.  His relationships exhibited this ambivalence, and I thought they explained why Laura both fascinated and repelled him. I feel that it's rather wonderful that  Elkins  couldn't resist the irony of showing us  prominent abolitionists like Dr. Howe, Julia and Charles who were very concerned about the liberty of African Americans, but had no concern at all for the liberty of the blind and deaf. The doctor wanted to use Laura to promote the abolitionist cause while totally restricting her life.  I appreciated this aspect of the novel because it displays their hypocrisy.

Laura Bridgman, from wiki commonsTara: Excellent point about Howe patronizing women in general. I have to agree. I'm disappointed that Laura is already hand-writing and quite educated when the book starts. I was hoping to see some of what occurred during her education process. I imagine it was not easy!

Shomeret:  Yes, we see in the accounts that Annie Sullivan wrote about Helen Keller's education that it wasn't easy.  I'm not sure why Elkins didn't start her story earlier.  Maybe she thought she would be duplicating the story of Helen Keller's childhood. 

Tara: True, but Anne Sullivan and Howe probably had varying methods. And Helen Keller was like a rabid animal before Sullivan came on the scene. Laura had the benefit of having once spoken, heard, smelled, seen...so I imagine the training was different too.

I noticed some reviewers had trouble with Laura as a character, namely in the beginning. Strangely enough, I did not see a bratty girl. Rather, I saw a young girl frustrated with living in darkness and silence. She simply wants people to pay attention to her. She can't just say, "Hey, guess what?" She has to get their attention, grab their hands to communicate with them, find them at times. When I think of sitting there waiting for people to notice me and give me their hands in order for me to ask questions or find out what's going on around me, I completely "get" what others may consider brattiness. I also felt she was very lonely, thus the crawling into others' beds at night. And I grew even sadder when others spoke about her as if she wasn't even in the room. I know what that feels like very well. My hairstylist and others just gossip over my head once a month. It's irritating, but at least I know they are chatting. Laura didn't even have that.

And I realize I'm going on and on here, but despite my dislike of this book's execution, I feel a connection with Laura and feel frustration on her behalf. This particular passage really resonated with me:

She'd mostly broken her student of playing with her food by constantly reminding her of her age--seventeen!--but this often led to a discussion of what other girls her age were up to: walking out with a beaux, going to balls in carriages, and Laura usually ended up weeping at the bleakness of her own life. It was on thing to admonish her to act like an adult, and then another to refuse her any adult activities.

That really sums up Laura's situation and life. :(

How did you feel about Laura? About how she was treated? Did anything in particular resonate or touch a chord with you?

Shomeret:  I think that Laura really was pretty self-absorbed for a good part of her life.  On the other hand, if you don't have four of the five senses, it's very hard to perceive other people as real.  You can fall into solipsism very easily.  Solipsism is the belief that only you exist.  Laura only had touch. When touch was forbidden to her as not ladylike she was completely cut off from the world. Yet her universe eventually expanded beyond herself despite the doctor's efforts to isolate her.

Tara: I imagine it would be hard to focus on things/people you can never smell, hear, see... I don't suppose it helps that so many people worshipped her.

I felt like the doctor was attempting to brainwash Laura in regards to religion. He was also a control freak. I can't say I cared for him, not the way he cast her aside for Julia so quickly. Do you feel the doctor was overly familiar with his student, in housing her, holding her, caring for her like a father, in light of the fact he so quickly set her aside and I would think, broke her heart?

Shomeret:  I consider Dr. Howe an evil man who didn't care about his patients. His only interest in Laura was that she promoted him and his theories.  He cast her aside when she became independent minded and stopped doing what he expected of her.  She was like a carnival "freak" who was no longer favored by management and therefore wasn't receiving top billing.

Julia Ward Howe, Wiki Commons Laura's religious evolution was very interesting to me.  She seemed to have Catholic leanings at one point which would have been very shocking to the Protestants who surrounded her.  The Protestant majority tended to be extremely anti-Catholic at the time, and any Catholic tendencies would have been widely condemned.  Regardless of how she defined herself spiritually, I feel that Laura was a mystic.  One of my favorite quotes from this book was Laura's comment "God is a strange and mysterious master, and I am no doubt a strange and mysterious servant."

Tara: Another quibble I have, though minor compared to the ones I mention above: If they are finger-spelling, how do the people around them know what they are saying? Is someone translating? The book doesn't say.

Such as this scene here:

"Dinner," Sarah rapped into Laura's palm and the girl shook her head vehemently. "Doctor wants you to eat," she tried again.

"Doctor eat with me?"

"No, but I will."

Laura smoothed the front of her dress, considering. "Feed me?"

Sarah cast a despairing glance at Jeannette, who laughed. (How did Jeannette know what Laura said? All the stuff in quotation marks is being finger-spelled between Sarah and Laura.) I think, perhaps, also, that quotation marks was the wrong way to go with the finger-spelled parts.

Shomeret:  It's hard to handle dialogue that isn't spoken, but I agree that quotes wasn't a good solution.  This caused Elkins to deceive herself into thinking of Laura as having an oral conversation that could be heard when she actually wasn't.  That's why she made errors like the scene you mention here. Perhaps the finger spelled dialogue should have been italicized. Deaf people, CODA's (Children of Deaf Adults), sign interpreters and other people who deal with deaf communication on a daily basis always think about this type of communication and its implications.  The non-deaf who have no contact with deaf people aren't conscious of  the issues involved.  An author in this category has a special burden of responsibility when they write about the deaf.  They need to do their research and take care to portray their communication realistically.    

Tara: I'm so glad you "get" it. You are right. The hearing world may not be so bothered by that, but I sure am. LOL Speaking of Sarah, while I did not care for the doctor's or Julia's stories, Sarah's took a surprising twist that both appalled and entertained me. Any deep thoughts on her?

Shomeret:  I felt that Sarah inappropriately idolized Laura.  This fed Laura's ego and encouraged her to be inconsiderate.   On the other hand,  she was the only one who respected Laura at all.  Yet there needed to be someone in Laura's life who cared about her, but also had a healthy ego of  her own.  Laura saw Sarah as an extension of herself who existed only to meet her needs. Sarah was unable to show her that she was a separate person because she had boundary problems herself.  Sarah didn't know how to exist on her own.  That's how I interpret what happened to her. 

Tara:  As for Laura's romance, I am wondering why the author felt it necessary to add. Why does nearly every famous woman who existed and never married made into a lesbian? Why cannot a woman's sexuality be left alone?

Sarah and Laura, Wiki CommonsShomeret:  I don't think Laura was being portrayed as a lesbian.  Consider that Laura was essentially imprisoned in an institution for blind girls.   Aside from Dr. Howe and rare visitors, Laura had no contact with men.  She evidently wanted to marry and have children, but she wasn't allowed the opportunity to do so. The other factor that needs to be considered in discussing Laura's sexuality, is that her only sense was touch.  This means that her sense of touch was extremely developed.  The need to touch and be touched is a very important component of sexuality, and Laura's need for touch was exponentially much greater than it would be for people who possess all five senses.  So I don't think that it could be possible that Laura would have been asexual.  I don't think she saw it as being sexual, nor do I think that she really had a sexual preference or a sexual identity.  These concepts weren't available to her.   In the Victorian era, a woman's sex education would usually have been limited to a talk with her mother before she got married.  Since Dr. Howe didn't intend for Laura to get married, he didn't think she needed to know about sex.  A great deal of his control was centered on trying to keep his patients asexual based on the beliefs that Victorians had at the time.  He probably thought that reproduction was the only reason for sex.  He also seemed to think that all his patients were genetically inferior and shouldn't be allowed to reproduce.   Phrenology was one of the means that he used to express these prejudices.  Laura perceived that he interpreted phrenology in a way that confirmed his prejudices.  This means that phrenology was not a science, but a religion which was allied with the ideology of eugenicism that categorized people as having superior genes or inferior ones.  Since he thought Laura was genetically inferior,  he attempted to make Laura into a "female eunuch" to borrow a phrase from Germaine Greer, but was unsuccessful.  It seems to me that portraying Laura as asexual given how touch oriented she was, wouldn't have been believable.

I thought that this novel was a flawed, but interesting attempt to portray someone who only had one sense.  I also felt that this book showed me aspects of 19th century America that I knew, but I hadn't given much thought to them.

Tara: That's true. I'm sure at that point she welcomed sexual touch, regardless of where it came from. She didn't seem to have much sense of what was "acceptable" and what was "not acceptable." She even thought she could marry her brother there for a while. Good point you made. I guess the twist just didn't do much for me or took me too aback.

Tara received this via Goodreads Firstreads. Shomeret acquired it via her library.

Tara's Rating:
Shomeret's Rating:

For Each and Every Gripe, Try to Come Up with Something Right

I know that's a cheesy title, but it actually nicely sums up what I'm about to say. A recent shopping experience with my stepmother led me to think on this.

We went to a store in Kansas City called Re-Runs, where I scored myself some amazing true vintage clothes. I shan't bore you with the details. Long story short, there was a sales associate/store manager/I don't know what his official title is, and he was wonderful. Getting good sales assistance nowadays is hard. It's usually nonexistent. Sales people today tend to just follow you around and watch you from the corner of their eye, like you're going to shoplift or something. This is after a polite/fake-sounding "Can I help you find anything?" and after the frown when you reply, "I'm just looking right now, thanks."

This man didn't do that. He asked what he could help with, answered our questions in regards to what we were searching for, and sat back and let us shop. But when we had a question, he answered the best he could. He even had helpful suggestions about certain items; he took down clothes up high without any mega sighing or eye-rolling. He worked with me on prices. He gave his opinion when asked.

The man was simply fabulous. It's been a long time since I received such superb service and help while shopping. I thanked the man as I left, and later, I said to my stepmother, "I wish I knew his name. You know, people are quick to bitch and demand to see the manager when they aren't happy with something, but when they are happy, they do nothing. It's like it's simply their due."

My stepmom suggested I email the people or leave them a good review. I have.

But this little shopping trip and the subsequent food for thought has me attempting to turn a new leaf. From now on, every time I have a gripe (and I have a ton of them, so this will be quite a challenge!) I'm also going to come up with something good and RIGHT. When I'm unhappy with service, I'll say so, but when I'm happy with service, I need to let them know that too.

I think this is something we should all practice. I'm sure many of you already do. But everyone slips up every now and then and forgets to commend others. Perhaps we're in a rush, too many things on our mind, whatever. But let's make an effort.

The next time you get great service somewhere, anywhere, try to take the time to let that person and their superiors know how much you appreciate it.

And if you're in the Kansas City area in the future, be sure to check out Re-Runs. (I stole the picture from their website.)