Falling Down the Research Hole APR 22, 2024 With all historical fiction and really most writing, you have to research. On my current manuscript, I’ve researched extensively. I had to find out much about World War II, life in the 1940’s, when transistor radios were invented and what ‘revenuers’ drove. It’s a good thing, because I want my reader to drop into that story and feel like they are living it. My short story in the upcoming anthology, Feisty Deeds: Historical Fictions of Daring Women, came about due to an article in my local paper about a military base on Topsail Island. I grew up in North Carolina and I’d never heard…
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Are you part of a book club? Do you like to read books? Can you commit to reading at least one book a month? Those are some of the things you need to consider before joining a book club. Although, most book clubs meet once a month, some meet less often. Some pick their books for the whole year at one time and some pick one month ahead. Some read only fiction, some read only non-fiction. What sounds good to you? That’s what you must decide. Size is important, too. Do you want an intimate small group, a medium size group with a chance for discussion, or a large group…
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by Harriet Cannon Lizbeth Gordon’s husband doesn’t come home one day. He dies in a one-car auto accident. That’s not the shocking part. He had a hidden gambling addiction and accumulated a large pile of debt. At least it was hidden from Lizbeth. She’s left with only answers and empty banking accounts, so she put the family home up for sell, helped her two sons return to college, and headed for the family cottage on Folly Island, SC. She needed a quiet place. This started Lizbeth’s search for healing and understanding that leads her along a winding road ending in the discovery of the long-lost branch of the Gordon family.…
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by Diane Chamberlain I’ve been trying to get to this book for a long time. I love to read Diane Chamberlain’s books. I love how she weaves her stories with details that reveal what’s coming, how she gives you the woman’s point of view, and how she solves her mysteries by the end of the book. I want an ending that satisfies the build-up and boy, does she know how to build a story. Anna Dale, a young artist, was chosen to paint a Post Office mural in 1940 for Edenton, NC. Being from New Jersey, was an obstacle right away for her in this insular Southern town. She didn’t…
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by Teri M. Brown Teri M. Brown has written a timely novel that started with a conversation between her and a family friend. That friend was Ukrainian and the rest is history, so to speak. As the story opens, you meet Ivanna and her husband, Lyaksandro. Turmoil is pulling their lives apart. Ukraine was a dangerous place to be in the 1970’s. It was under Soviet rule, but the rumblings of independence were growing. All Ivanna knows is that her husband is dead and now she and their young daughter, Yevtsye, are alone. Ivanna works hard to provide for the two of them. Yevtsye excels in school and is…
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This book opens the story in Bryson City, North Carolina. A town that’s always had it’s challenges. The train comes through on a regular schedule each day and shakes the trailer where we meet Barbara at a turning point in her life. She’s ready to escape her hometown and it’s lack of opportunity for her. One fateful night, in 1960 her life is changed forever. As the story weaves back-and-forth between 1960 and 1976 we meet her daughter, Carole Ann, and her mother, Pearlene. They are three women struggling just to survive. As their choices intersect, all the secrets that Barbara has been swallowing alone, come to the surface. The…
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Wow! 5 Stars! After I won an ARC on Instagram, I couldn’t wait to start this amazing book that published on March 3rd, 2021. The Lost Apothecary had me from the first chapter. As we follow Nella in the 1700’s and Caroline in present day, both ladies are struggling. Caroline finds a small blue vial on her first day in London on a “mud larking” outing. She’s alone on the trip after she found out her husband cheated on her. We follow along as her love of history pushes her to search for the bottle’s origin. All while she sorts out what she want her future to look like. Meanwhile,…
