Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Teaser Tuesday: Light of the Northern Dancers by Robin F. Ganey



She tried to bury her fear with conversation, but panic had grown along with the mountains on the horizon. She hadn’t wanted Intah to know.

Light of the Northern Dancers by Robin F. Gainey. Set in the late 1800s in Wyoming ranch country, Ganey's new novel tells the romantic and exciting story of Eden Rose, a transplanted Scottish aristocrat. When her husband takes off for good and her brother disappears into the Bighorn mountains, Rose turns to help from Lakota holy man named Intah.

PORTLAND EVENTS:

February 27, 2018: Robin will appear on Afternoon Live on KATU-2 at 3:00 pm PST.

February 28, 2018: Robin will be reading and signing Light of the Northern Dancers at Annie Bloom's Books in Portland next Wednesday at 7:00 pm. Click here for details.




Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by The Purple Booker, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.


Monday, February 26, 2018

Mailbox Monday: Kingsley Amis Book Haul

I played hooky last Friday afternoon and slipped off to Powell's for a Kingsley Amis book binge. What books came into your house last week?



Take A Girl Like You



I Like It Here



Girl, 20



You Can't Do Both



Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday, a weekly "show & tell" blog event where participants share the books they acquired the week before. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught our Eye.

Mailbox Monday is graciously hosted by Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.


Saturday, February 24, 2018

Author Interview: Robin F. Gainey


Robin F. Gainey is a  winemaker, horse breeder, and author, whose new novel, Light of the Northern Dancers has been optioned for a miniseries. Robin will be in Portland this week, appearing on KATU-2 Afternoon Live on Tuesday and at a book party at Annie Bloom's Wednesday evening.



Robin recently answered questions for Rose City Reader about her new book, her career, and some of her own favorite authors.


How did you come to write Light of the Northern Dancers?

I made a solo road trip through Wyoming about a decade ago. One thing I enjoy doing is to stop in small towns along the way and check out their local independent bookstore. The selection of books on the front tables and in the windows gives one a great feel for the culture of population. In the Sheridan bookstore, a book in the window caught my eye that mentioned homesteading the West in the 1880s. A pioneer rounded up wild mustangs, trained them for the game of polo, sold some to the locals (Scots and Brits used to the game), and shipped the rest back to Britain for sale. I thought the premise was perfect for not only showing one of the unusual schemes that settled the West, but the harshness of the country and the challenges homesteaders faced. Having a strong background in horse-breeding gave me a good footing for writing “what I know,” and I used much of that knowledge.

The story takes place in Wyoming in the late 1800s. What drew you to this time and place for the setting of your novel?

I set the story in eastern Wyoming after researching the weather pattern history of the site and exploring the area in person. 1888 produced one of the worst droughts to date in recorded Wyoming history and was followed by one of the state’s hardest winters. The geography yields the windswept prairie, as well as the devastatingly beautiful Bighorn range, and the diversity of the setting was key to the story I wanted to tell.

How did you research the historical information and detail found in your book?

I read many historical novels set in the same approximate period and place, mountains of local period newspapers, wildlife guide books, poured over maps of the area, and made over a dozen trips to the setting at the juncture of the Powder River and Crazy Woman Creek over five years. Much of the trail that the two main characters take from that spot and up into the Bighorn can actually be driven. Personally, I love novels that follow an authentic route; one I can actually visit. The story comes to life every time certain scenes come into view.

What is your professional and personal background? How did it lead you to writing fiction?

My grandmother, who raised me, was a published author. I grew up a witness to the discipline needed to finish a novel. I’ve always loved writing stories and recently found a “book” I’d made from construction paper and staples, hand-colored and handwritten at age 6. I did some creative writing in college. After co-founding Gainey Vineyard in 1983 in Santa Barbara County, I wrote articles from time to time about the emerging California Wine Country. Not until I moved back to my hometown of Seattle in 1994, did I consider writing fiction. Encouraged by author friends of my grandmother, Don McQuinn and John Saul, I wrote a short story that won a Rupert Hughes Award for Fiction at the Maui Writer’s Conference in 2002. The publisher of the short suggested I expand the work into a novel, and that became my first project, Jack of Hearts, which released in 2012. A very long road of 10 years, but I was not yet writing full time at that point.

What is the significance of the title? Does it have a personal meaning for you besides its connection to the story?

"Light of the Northern Dancers" is how certain Native American tribes describe the Aurora Borealis: the transitioning of the physical into non-physical. Transformation, in flesh and in spirit, is one of the themes of my novel and is well-represented by the title.

What did you learn from writing your book – either about the subject of the book or the writing process – that most surprised you?

The biggest thing I learned was how much research is necessary to give an authenticity to a novel, and how little is truly used. Akin to having a monumental ball of yarn, and only using a few threads to weave throughout the story to give it setting the correct feel and a true voice to each characters.

Did you know right away, or have an idea, how you were going to end the story? Or did it come to you as you were in the process of writing?

I always know how my stories will end before I start them. Beginning at the right moment is often a challenge. Not too much backstory, not too much (if ANY) flashbacks, and how to weave them together seamlessly. Still learning this! Caroline Leavitt does a remarkable job at both in her latest novel, Cruel Beautiful World. I’m using it as a primer for the third novel I’m working on now which involves the interweaving of two parallel stories and two time periods.

Who are your three (or four or five) favorite authors?

Ivan Doig, Larry McMurtry, Willa Cather, Anthony Doerr, Gene Stratton Porter, Colleen McCullough, Rosamunde Pilchur, Ann Patchett…did I mention Ivan Doig? ;-)

What kind of books do you like to read? What are you reading now?

Strong voices and well-arced stories (and characters) with meaning. Tales told around the campfire millennia ago were originally designed to convey life-messages to the tribe: did you hear the one about the man who went into the dark without a weapon? For me, a well-told story is only as good as the importance of its message. I’m reading Ann Patchett’s Commonwealth. Beautifully written.

What is the most valuable advice you’ve been given as an author?

1) When you begin a novel, write to the end before ever looking at that Page One again. Too many writers get stuck in editing and never finish their stories.

2) Play the part of each of your characters, and play it with heart. Get into their minds, listen to their self-speak, their fears, and their loves. Writers are actors playing multiple parts. Learn how method actors apply their trade and use it to create authentic dialogue and emotion on the page.

Do you have any events coming up to promote your book?

Tuesday, February 27, I’ll be appearing on KATU 2’s Afternoon Live at 3pm PST.

Wednesday, February 28, I’ll be signing books and making a presentation on "Taking a Novel to the Screen" at Annie Bloom’s Books in Portland at 7:00 pm. Come hear how Light of the Northern Dancers was optioned and developed for a limited TV series, and why film is often not as representative of the novel as we wish it were, and why.

Visit my webpage to check on events near you. I’m now scheduling bookclub appearances, which I love, either in-person or via Skype. Contact me at robinfgainey@aol.com

What’s next? Are you working on your next book?

I’ve been deeply involved with the development process for the limited series for the past year. The project is blessed to have great producers and a wonderful TV writer who has adapted it into a 10-episode series.

This spring I’ll revisit my third novel, nearly finished, and hope to have it buttoned up by fall, at which point I’ll begin a sequel to Light of the Northern Dancers.

I’m also working on a stand-alone screenplay that I plan to “shop” over the summer.

Many irons in the fire. Life is anything but dull, and I’ve had nothing but good fortune. Best of all, however, are the readers who make time in their busy schedules to spend with my characters. I love hearing from you. Thank you!


THANK YOU, ROBIN!

LIGHT OF THE NORTHERN DANCERS IS AVAILABLE ON LINE OR ASK YOUR LOCAL BOOK SELLER TO ORDER IT!

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Book Beginning: Light of the Northern Dancers



BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

MY BOOK BEGINNING



Minutes after noon, as Aiden McBride rummaged through saddlebags for a bite of grease-soaked biscuit to welcome midday, the big bay horse beneath him startled and froze.
Light of the Northern Dancers by Robin F. Gainey. This book of  historical fiction tells the exciting and romantic story of Eden Rose, a Scottish aristocrat struggling to survive on her Wyoming ranch. When her no-good husband abandons Rose and her brother disappears into the Bighorn mountains, Rose turns to help from her best friend, Maddie True, and a Lakota holy man.

PORTLAND EVENTS:

February 27, 2018: Robin will appear on Afternoon Live on KATU-2 at 3:00 pm PST.

February 28, 2018: Robin will be reading and signing Light of the Northern Dancers at Annie Bloom's Books in Portland next Wednesday at 7:00 pm. Click here for details.





Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Instagram, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING


Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Review: The Only Woman in the Room: The Norma Paulus Story


BOOK REVIEW


According to family history, Norma Paulus was born in 1933 on the kitchen table in their Nebraska farmhouse, and brought to Oregon as a toddler when her family lost everything in the Dust Bowl. Although she didn’t go to college, she worked as a legal secretary in Salem, Oregon’s state capital, and then went to law school where she graduated with honors.

Paulus had a wide-ranging career in state politics. When she was elected Secretary of State in 1976, she was the first women elected to statewide office in Oregon. As Secretary of State, she had to contend with the voting fraud crisis provoked by the Rajneeshee cult in the 1980s. Later, she was nationally lauded for her k-12 education reforms Superintendent of Public Instruction in the 1990s. Paulus showed boundless energy for new challenges, with both a vision for the big picture and a grasp of tiny details.

Her new biography, The Only Woman in the Room: The Norma Paulus Story is a collaborative effort among Pat McCord Amacher, Gail Wells, and Norma Paulus herself, mostly in the form of hours of oral history she recorded in 2010. Amacher and Wells interviewed friends, colleagues, and family members, and had access to the Paulus papers archived at Willamette University and the Oregon Historical Society. These included everything from notes passed by legislators on the floor of the House, to personal correspondence, election profiles, photographs, and Rajneesh court documents.

With sexual harassment and #metoo in the news so much these days, it is fascinating to read the story of a woman who launched her political career in 1969. Paulus said she never considered sexism an issue until she ran for office the first time and it smacked her square in the face. But what shows in her story is what a strong, unassailable sense of her own worth she always had. Paulus had a confidence in her ability to get things done on her own that seemed to keep her invulnerable to men in power.

Norma Paulus's story shows a woman making a real difference in a man’s world without compromising her ideals, passions, or goals. This is a history that should appeal to feminists in any era.



NOTES

The Norma Paulus Story is part of OSU Press's Women and Politics in the Pacific Northwest series. So far, the series also includes books on Betty Roberts, Barbara Roberts, and Avel Louise Gordly.


Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Teaser Tuesday: Dining and Driving with Cats: Alice Unplugged



I thought of the pharaohs of Egypt. Those ancient sovereigns were majestic rulers of all nations, builders of pyramids, masters of all, and yet still servants of cats.

Dining and Driving with Cats: Alice Unplugged by Pat Patterson. Patterson's dining and travel guide follows the course of his road trip from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, across the US South with his wife and their two cats, Munchie and Tuffy.


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by The Purple Booker, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Monday, February 19, 2018

Mailbox Holiday Monday

What books came into your house last week? I got a funny book for a birthday present and a couple for myself.



Henri, le Chat Noir: The Existential Musings of an Angst-Filled Cat by William Braden. I love Henri's videos, so the book has me laughing from page one.

I love the Friends of the Library store at the main Salt Lake City library and try to stop there whenever I am in town for work. I found these two books when I was there for depositions in one of my sex abuse cases.



May We Be Forgiven by A. M. Holmes. This won the 2013 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (formerly known as the Orange Prize for Fiction).



Bread and Chocolate: My Food Life In and Around San Francisco by Fran Gage. Published in 2002, some (not all) of the restaurants and vendors she writes about are gone, but I moved to San Francisco in 2002 so the book captures the city where I lived for five years. And the recipes are great, no matter if the restaurants that inspired them are gone.



Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday, a weekly "show & tell" blog event where participants share the books they acquired the week before. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught our Eye.

Mailbox Monday is graciously hosted by Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.


Thursday, February 15, 2018

Book Beginning: Dining and Driving with Cats

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

MY BOOK BEGINNING



This is, above all, a love story – about the love shared between my wife Alice and me, but also our shared love for travel and history, our love of food, and our love for our sweet and wily cats, Munchie and Tuffy.

Dining and Driving with Cats: Alice Unplugged by Pat Patterson. This is a true-life love story tells of a husband and wife road trip from Mexico, across the US South, with their two cats. The Kindle edition has links to the places they visit on their adventures.





Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Instagram, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING


Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Author Interview: Pat McCord Amacher


Pat McCord Amacher is a former journalist and writing teacher who was part of the collaborative project of writing Norma Paulus's recent "autobiography" for OSU Press.

I'm a big fan of Norma Paulus, an Oregon politician who was the first woman elected to a statewide office in Oregon when she won the election to become Secretary of State in 1976. Her story in an inspiration.

Pat recently took time to answer questions for Rose City Reader about this new book and its wider implications, among other things!



The Only Woman in the Room: The Norma Paulus Story by Norma Paulus with Gail Wells and Pat McCord Amacher, published by OSU Press.


Before we get to the book, can you introduce us briefly to Norma Paulus?

Norma Paulus was born in 1933 in Nebraska and brought to Oregon as a toddler by her family, who lost everything in the Dust Bowl. Her love of learning and her high intelligence eventually took her to Salem as a legal secretary where, without benefit of college, she was able to attend law school and graduate with honors, launching her on a wide-ranging career in state politics. From her early triumph in co-founding the Oregon Women’s Political Caucus and helping to pass the ERA in the 1970s, her brilliant management, as secretary of state, of the state’s voting fraud crisis fomented by the Rajneeshee cult in the 1980s, and her nationally-recognized work in k-12 education reforms of the 1990s as superintendent of public instruction, Norma has met every new challenge with singular focus and boundless energy. A visionary with a firm grasp of the big picture and a steady eye on the tiniest details, Norma was a public servant whose storied career bettered the lives of all Oregonians.

How did you come to be involved in the collaborative project of writing her autobiography, The Only Woman in the Room: The Norma Paulus Story?

I’ve had the extreme good fortune to work with Gail Wells, a far more published author than I of books such as The Little Lucky and The Tillamook: A Created Forest Comes of Age. She and I co-wrote a book about the Hallstrom family of Eugene, who founded the Zip-O Log Mill in the early 1940s and have kept it going strong. Soon after we finished the book in 2013, Gail was contacted by the Paulus family about their project. She called me to co-author, and we two leapt into the breach with alacrity! Gail and I enjoy working together; we have different strengths and weaknesses as writers that seem to complement each other well.

With sexual harassment and #metoo in the news so much these days, do you think Norma Paulus – who launched her political career in 1969 – has anything to teach women today?

I would love to speak to Norma about this. She said she never considered sexism an issue until she ran for office the first time and then it smacked her square in the face. But what I take away from her story is her strong, even unassailable, sense of her own worth. She recounted only one instance of a male colleague who tried to compromise her, and repeated it more as merely a funny story about a man who had an overly high opinion of himself and how women perceived him. Norma’s confidence in her ability to get things done on her own kept her from being vulnerable to men in power, I think. She was so fearless and determined that no predator could have taken her down. I think what she would want to teach us is just what is happening today: Tell the truth, don’t back down—Time’s up!

Do you think her story has appeal to an audience outside Oregon?

I believe that wherever feminists live, and I hope that’s everywhere, they would find Norma’s story quite appealing. Her history shows a woman making a real difference in a man’s world without compromising her ideals, passions or goals. As a native Midwesterner, I found Norma so familiar. Her youth spent in poverty that she escaped without becoming a victim, either of circumstance or bitterness, bore a strong resemblance to stories I heard as a child from my parents and their generation, who survived the Great Depression and seemed to do very little whining about it. I love that “can-do” attitude they had, that lack of cynicism, the whole “it’s not what happens to you but how you respond to it” thing. I believe it’s something we all like to read about.

Please tell us about the source materials you had available to write the book. It sounds like a biographer’s treasure trove.

Apart from our primary resources -- Norma’s two oral histories and a series of audio interviews she did in around 2010 -- Gail and I were blessed to be granted full access to the Paulus papers archived in the Mark O. Hatfield Library at Willamette University and the Paulus archive in the research library at the Oregon Historical Society. At Willamette, the librarians greeted us on each visit with carts loaded with large document boxes mainly arranged chronologically. We saw everything from notes passed around the floor of the House by legislators to personal communiques, cards and letters, reams of press clippings ranging from an interview with Norma just before she graduated from law school to pre-election profiles of her that grew ever more expansive with each new office she sought, along with scads of photographs taken at every stage of her life. Truly it was like discovering Aladdin’s cave!

At the OHS, the archives were arranged more thematically and were no less fascinating. For example, for the chapter I wrote about the Rajneeshees in Oregon, the pertinent boxes contained not only voluminous press clippings but numerous letters to Norma from voters who grew increasingly concerned about the growing crisis, court documents and transcripts, truly eye-opening issues of the Rajneesh newspaper, voter registration spreadsheets and more: it was as if a documentarian had boxed up everything needed to produce a feature on the episode (which OPB finally accomplished for Oregon Experience in 2012: “Rajneeshpuram”).

The Norma Paulus Story is part of OSU Press's Women and Politics in the Pacific Northwest series. Can you describe the series a little? Are there more books planned?

Three books have appeared so far, on Betty Roberts, Barbara Roberts, and Avel Louise Gordly. I’m unaware of others planned, although certainly the lack of book about Vera Katz is one profound lacuna.

What did you learn from writing this book – either about the subject of the book or the writing process – that most surprised you?

I think I was most surprised by the joy of research on this project. The hours we spent in the archives and researching online flew by, often uncovering patterns and threads of history we never expected.

What is your work background? How did it lead you to writing this book?

Apart from my years in undergrad and graduate study of the world’s greatest literature (and of course writing about it), I spent a decade-plus in teaching writing and literature at the university level. My other formative job experiences were in newspaper reporting and freelance writing. (This is not to say that my years spent as a pool lifeguard weren’t my favorite paid endeavor, but I can’t quite qualify the experience as “pre-writing” in any way.) I decided after leaving teaching and working briefly in marketing that I wanted to make “real writing” happen for me—one of those situations where I wrote that down somewhere in a notebook and gave myself a deadline. I don’t know why that seems to have worked, but, voila, here I am being interviewed by you!

What do you like to read? What books are on your nightstand right now?

I love both fiction and nonfiction. I’ve been on a tear lately, for a couple of years actually, through books about the Wars of the Roses, a period of British history I never studied in my academic years, but right now I’m reading A.N. Wilson’s The Victorians. Historical fiction is a favorite. I’m three books into the Matthew Shardlake Tudor mysteries by C. J. Sansom, and just finished Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. I also like what I’d call “comfort reading,” so over Christmas I reread Rosamund Pilcher’s Winter Solstice, which is by no means great literature, but it’s so darn cozy and Christmassy, and naturally I had to grab Ken Follett’s new Pillars of the Earth installment, A Column of Fire, when it came out last fall, again for the plot, not the writing. The best book I read last year was The Nix by Nathan Hill—great plotting and great writing, the jackpot. My tastes are eclectic to say the least, but I don’t read science, either fiction or nonfiction. My retirement plan is to live long enough to read all the books I have stacked in the wings, and of course, the complete Shakespeare canon, one more time.

What is the most valuable advice you’ve been given as an author? As a biographer?

The best advice I’ve found, for writing or life, is summed up by Anne Lamott in Bird by Bird. One step leads to the next; we need only keep our eyes on the ball. It’s really true, and it’s a truly Zen attitude, something I strive daily to achieve.

What’s next? What are you working on now?

I’m one of those writers who is superstitious about discussing her work before it’s progressed past a certain point, usually contractual, so I’m going to say only that I have a few ideas. I would like to write a book sometimes on weekdays. Writing this book on weekends and evenings, after working my day job, is not something I’d like to repeat. One thing I continue to work on daily, under contract or not, is becoming a better, more disciplined writer.


THANKS, PAT!

THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM IS AVAILABLE ON LINE, OR ASK YOUR LOCAL BOOK SELLER TO ORDER IT. 

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Teaser Tuesday: Bel, Book and Scandal



My brother was on to me; he knew I was lying to him but I wasn't ready to involve him just yet. His time would come: he would be valuable at some point.

Bel, Book and Scandal by Maggie McConnon. This is the third Bel McGrath mystery, set in the Hudson Valley of New York State, featuring an Irish-American wedding chef who solves mysteries on the side.

McConnon is the pen name of Maggie Barbieri, author of the cozy Murder 101 series about a college professor and amateur sleuth named Alison Bergeron, and the edgier Once Upon a Lie series, featuring Maeve Conlon, a professional baker and divorced mother with a dark secret.




Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by The Purple Booker, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Monday, February 12, 2018

Mailbox Monday: Graham Greene

I got books for my birthday last week! What books came into your house?


I spotted this nifty boxed set of Graham Greene novels at Powell's Books a couple of months ago and Hubby remembered it for my birthday. Sweet guy!





Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday, a weekly "show & tell" blog event where participants share the books they acquired the week before. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught our Eye.

Mailbox Monday is graciously hosted by Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.


Thursday, February 8, 2018

Book Beginning: Sam's Theory by Sarah Mendivel

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

MY BOOK BEGINNING



Run!
Faster, Sam, faster!

-- Sam's Theory by Sarah Mendivel. Mendivel is a therapist who wrote this YA fantasy novel to use as a creative way to help young people heal from trauma.

Sam's Theory is a fantasy adventure story about a 15-year-old girl named Same who runs away after she is abused. Hiding in the forest, Sam meets an old woman named Theory who helps her with some magic and sage advice. Scared for her little sister, Nova, and with the help of her friend, Dodger, and two other kids, Sam sets up a hidden camp in the wilderness and forms “The Orphan’s Collective.”

The book offers creative advice on how to cope in the face of trauma. It acknowledges the problems young people face, including depression, suicide, abuse, neglect, and loneliness, and provides positive tools and applied examples of healthy behavior changes.



Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Instagram, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Teaser Tuesday: Absalom, Absalom!



That was the French architect. Years later the town learned that he had come all the way from Martinique on Sutpen's bare promise and lived for two years on venison cooked over a campfire, in an unfloored tent made of the wagon hood, before he so much as saw any color or shape of pay.

-- Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner. This one is dense, but not stream-of-conscious like The Sound and the Fury, so I like it better.


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by The Purple Booker, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Monday, February 5, 2018

Mailbox Monday

Three nifty books came my way last week. What about you?



Light of the Northern Dancers by Robin F. Gainey. This historical tale finds Scottish aristocrat, Eden Rose, struggling to survive on her Wyoming ranch, abandoned by her ne'er-do-well husband, searching in the Bighorn mountains for her missing brother, and turning to help from her best friend, Maddie True, and a Lakota holy man.



Smugglers & Scones by Morgan C. Talbot. This is the first in Talbot's Moorehaven Mysteries series, featuring Pippa Winterbourne, amateur sleuth and owner of a bed-and-breakfast/writers' retreat on the Oregon coast.



Dining and Driving with Cats: Alice Unplugged by Pat Patterson. This is a true-life story of a husband and wife road trip from Mexico, across the US South -- with cats. It is, as the title suggests, mostly about the food and restaurants along the way, and the Kindle edition has links to the places mentioned in the book.



Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday, a weekly "show & tell" blog event where participants share the books they acquired the week before. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught our Eye.

Mailbox Monday is graciously hosted by Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.


Thursday, February 1, 2018

Book Beginning: From a View to a Death by Anthony Powell

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

MY BOOK BEGINNING


They drove uncertainly along the avenue that led to the house, through the bars of light that fell between the tree trunks and made shadows of the lime-trees strike obliquely across the gravel. The nave-blue car was built high off the ground and the name on its bonnet recalled a bankrupt, forgotten firm of motor-makers.

-- From a View to a Death by Anthony Powell.

Good thing I don’t read with a highlighter because I’d be tempted to mark up every page, this book is so funny. Droll is a better word. I actually snorted on the plane the other day when something caught me so by surprise.

I’m a huge Anthony Powell fan, as his opus Dance to the Music of Time is my “desert island” book. Kind of a cheat, I know, since it is really 12 books.

The title for this book comes from a song and is a fox hunting reference. Princess Margaret said the same line in an episode of The Crown in season two, "From a view to a death in the morning."




Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Instagram, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING