Teaser Tuesday: Her Sister's Tattoo by Ellen Meeropol

Her Sister's Tattoo, Ellen Meeropol's new novel, launches today from Red Hen Press! Here's a teaser:

Waiting for Jake or Esther to answer their doorbell the next afternoon, Allen admitted to himself that he probably shouldn’t have come. He could have telephoned with the news, or even asked Rosa’s lawyer to tell them.

There's no big bash for publication day when everyone is inside and socially distancing. But that means there are online events we can all watch on Ellen's author webpage, where you can also order the book in paperback or ebook.

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

In August 1968, Rosa and Esther Cohen march through downtown Detroit protesting the war in Vietnam. The march is peaceful, but when a bloodied teenager describes a battle with mounted police a few blocks away, the sisters hurry to offer assistance. Trying to stop the violence, they instead intensify it. An officer is seriously injured. Rosa and Esther are arrested and charged with conspiracy and attempted murder.

For Rosa, their arrest offers an opportunity to make a political statement, another way to protest an unacceptable war. Esther wants to avoid prison and stay home with her infant daughter, Molly; the only way to do that is to accept a plea bargain and testify against Rosa at trial. The consequences of these actions lead one sister underground and to prison, the other to leave town to bury her past in a new life. Molly grows up unaware of her family history until she meets Rosa's daughter, her cousin Emma, at summer camp.

Told from multiple points of view and through the sisters' never-mailed letters, and bracketed by the Vietnam and Iraq wars, HER SISTER'S TATTOO explores the thorny intersection of sibling loyalty and clashing political decisions.

Read my earlier interview with Ellen Meeropol here, about her novel Kinship of Clover.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by The Purple Booker. Participants share a two-sentence teaser from the book they are reading or featuring. Please remember to include the name of the book and the author. You can share your teaser in a comment below, or with a comment or link at the Teaser Tuesday site, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday: The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan

One new book came my way last week: The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan.



The Sweeney Sisters sounds terrific. It’s a family comedy about three sisters gathered for their father’s wake, only to discover that their dad had a secret daughter. Author Lian Dolan is one of the Satellite Sisters from the popular and long-running podcast. The book comes out April 28 and is available for pre-order.

FROM THE AUTHOR'S WEBSITE:

With the rise of at home DNA tests, we’ve all heard stories or had our own experiences uncovering family secrets – sometimes good, maybe a little sad, and occasionally secrets that should have remained just that. In her new novel THE SWEENEY SISTERS (On Sale April 28, 2020), Lian Dolan delivers a brilliant and entertaining story about books, love, sisterhood, and what makes up a family, tapping into the zeitgeist of 23 and Me, Ancestry.com and the surprises we can discover in our DNA.

Maggie, Liza, and Tricia Sweeney grew up as a happy threesome in the idyllic seaside town of Southport, Connecticut. But their mother’s death from cancer fifteen years ago tarnished their golden-hued memories, and the sisters drifted apart. Their one touchstone is their father, Bill Sweeney, an internationally famous literary lion and college professor universally adored by critics, publishers, and book lovers. When Bill dies unexpectedly one cool June night, his shell-shocked daughters return to their childhood home. They aren’t quite sure what the future holds without their larger-than-life father, but they do know how to throw an Irish wake to honor a man of his stature.

But as guests pay their respects and reminisce, one stranger, emboldened by whiskey, has crashed the party. It turns out that she too is a Sweeney sister.

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 Martha of Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf.

Author Interview: Thomas R. Cox, The Other Oregon

Historian and author Thomas R. Cox has written widely about environmental, social, and economic history. In his new book, The Other Oregon: People, Environment, and History East of the Cascades (OSU Press), he returns to his roots in Eastern Oregon to explore a diverse and under-appreciated region of the Pacific Northwest.

Tom recently talked with Rose City Reader about his book and Eastern Oregon, a part of the country he knows and loves:

Why did you call your book The Other Oregon? 

There is a well-established image of Oregon: wet, green, timbered, and liberal. Yet this is an image that hardly fits in two-thirds of the state. The lands east of the Cascades, largely overlooked, are a very different place.

How did you come to write a book about Eastern Oregon? 

I was raised and long worked in Central and Eastern Oregon. I loved it then and it haunts me still. Disturbed by how little it is understood (and even dismissed as irrelevant) and thinking it had a story that can provide insights into areas and problems far beyond its borders, I felt compelled to present its many-sided story.

Your book is engaging as well as comprehensive. How did you research the history, geography, and environment of the region to give the details you include?

I have an unusually diverse background. In addition to graduate training as an historian, I did undergraduate field work in botany and anthropology. I have worked in sawmills, as a rural mail carrier, on forest fire crews, and on fire lookouts; and I have lived and worked in small towns in Central Oregon, the Blue Mountains, and Klamath Basin. Through all this I acquired a breadth of contacts well beyond what I gained in academia.

Who is the audience for your book? What does it offer for readers who don’t have a personal connection to Eastern Oregon?

Everyone has roots that shape his or her values and attitudes. More often than not, these roots spring from their home place—the land—rather than from built environments. The story of the interaction of people and the land east of the Cascades can aid in the self-understanding of people wanting to know who they are and from whence they have come regardless of their place of residence at the moment.

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

I knew before I started that I would be dealing with a complex, multi-faceted story, but I was unprepared for just how intertwined the elements of its story would prove to be—and by how much its story reflects on the experience of the wider West.

What is something you wish everyone knew about Eastern Oregon?

I wish more people realized that the people east of the Cascades have come to love and husband their land. They are hardly the exploitive rape-and-run villains that some urbanites and environmentalists paint them as being.

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

As indicated above, my varied early work experience gave me understandings (and contacts) that I would never have gained from a traditional academic program. My experience teaching a conservation course at Sisters High School even before Rachel Carson and others launched the environmental revolution provided additional preparation. And my academic studies of state parks, the lumber industry, and Native American land issues led me further along the path to this multi-faceted study.

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

I am an eclectic—and insatiable—reader. I love well-crafted mysteries set in unusual places: Peter May’s trilogy set in the Outer Hebrides, William Kent Krueger’s works in the Boundary Waters/Chippewa country of northern Minnesota, Martin Walker’s stories from the Dordogne in France. I also love the late Ivan Doig’s works, especially his Last Bus to Wisdom. But I read histories too; I recently read three biographies of U.S. Grant back to back (and came away convinced another is needed). And I just completed David Robert’s The Pueblo Revolt, a remarkable blending of history and personal experience.

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

Write about what you know—and don’t be in a hurry, the mark of a good historian (and no doubt of others) is the capacity to take infinite care.

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

Not really. Being 87 years old and living in Idaho hardly puts me in a position to do “events.”

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

I wish I knew. I am tempted to tackle a revisionist view of the Grant presidency. But more probably I will undertake a study of the history of the Wada-Tika (Burns Paiutes), a study that would draw on oral traditions, historical records, Indian Claims Commission reports, interviews, and more. Time will tell.

THANKS TOM!

THE OTHER OREGON IS AVAILABLE FROM ONLINE SELLERS AND DIRECTLY FROM OSU PRESS.

Gilbert ("Gil") George Geihs: August 8, 1939 – March 9, 2020

Yes, this is a departure from books. My dad passed away last month. He was a wonderful man and I want to post a tribute to him that will stay online. So here it is:

Gilbert ("Gil") George Geihs: August 8, 1939 – March 9, 2020

Gilbert George Geihs, native Nebraskan and long-time Oregonian, passed away on March 9, 2020 at the age of 80, after a short battle with AL amyloidosis.

Gil was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Fritz and Dorothy Geihs, the middle of five siblings. He graduated from Central High School in 1957 and was still friends with many of his classmates more than 60 years later. He enjoyed his youth and told many hilarious tales about his childhood and high school years.

While attending the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Gil met Peggy Jean Herman, who caught his eye as the “Sweater Girl” of his Theta Chi fraternity. The two married during the Spring Break of their senior year in 1961 and remained married until his death. In 2011, they celebrated their 50th anniversary with a family reunion trip to the Bavarian village where Gilbert’s father Fritz was born and his family still owned a mountain inn. Gilbert was as close with his relatives in Germany as he was with his family in America.

After college, Gil and his best friend joined the U.S. Coast Guard, which was a big adventure to two young men from Nebraska. They served six months active duty and Gil got a lifetime of funny stories out of the experience.

Gil had a long career in real estate. In 1975, he started Progress West Corp., a successful commercial real estate company in Omaha. In 1981, looking for a milder climate, Gil and Peggy moved with their family to Portland, Oregon. Gil managed the commercial real estate holdings of Willamette Savings & Loan until it was dissolved in 1990. His most unusual job as a realtor was overseeing the auction of all the artwork from the bank’s branches and offices. After Willamette closed, Gil worked in commercial property management at Norris & Stevens in Portland until he retired in 2005.

Gil’s two daughters Gilion and Tennison were born in 1966 and 1968. He also took into his home Sina Mansouri, a foster daughter from Afghanistan, who lived with the family from age 14 until college. No daughters could ask for a kinder or funnier dad. He built them a backyard playhouse, a lemonade “store,” and the world’s most dangerous go cart. He won over their friends when he built a dune buggy from a VW Bug. When they were in high school and college, he let the girls and their friends have parties in his house, which made him quite popular. Gil remained close with all three daughters throughout their lives and Gilion and Tennison were with him when he passed away.

With his love of story telling and for explaining things, Gil was always popular with kids and young adults, many who now consider him to have been a mentor or father figure to them. Whether opening his home for a place to stay, finding a job, or diagramming a plan on the back of a napkin, Gil always made an effort for the young people in his life.

Visiting and reminiscing with family and friends were Gil’s favorite pastimes. He was a consummate storyteller and made everyone laugh with his quick wit and jovial humor. It seems like he always had a smile on his face and a sparkle in his eye. Gil and Peggy enjoyed many trips with friends or often to visit Bavarian relatives. The best trips were the ones with their daughters, like a trip to Austria and Italy last summer to celebrate Gilbert and Peggy’s 80th birthdays.

Gilbert is survived by his wife Peggy, daughters Gilion Dumas (husband, James) and Tennison Geihs, first cousin once removed Georg Geiss whom he considered a son, second cousin once removed Friederike Baliamis whom he considered a daughter, brother Paul, sisters Judy Douglas and Dorothy Stevens, uncle David Getzschman whom he considered another brother, and many nephews, nieces, cousins, and other family members. He was predeceased by his father and mother, foster daughter Sina Mansouri, brother Fred, brother-in-law Robert Douglas, and his favorite little doggies Frances, Stella, and Minnie.

Memorial services will be held in Omaha and Portland at a future date.

Book Beginning: Calypso by David Sedaris

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS
THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

MY BOOK BEGINNING

Though there's an industry built on telling you otherwise, there are few real joys to middle age. The only perk I can see is that, with luck, you'll acquire a guest room.

-- Calypso by David Sedaris. I was in the mood for something funny this week, and this Calypso book is perfect. I'm reading it with my ears, as I do all David Sedaris books, because he reads the audiobooks himself, which makes them even more funny.

The essays in this book are more melancholy and reflective than his earlier books. There are several about middle age, the then recent death of his sister and the not recent death of his mom, his aging father, and human frailty. But while I'm stuck in my house, working from home, connecting online with family and old friends, and thinking about my dad who passed away just a few weeks ago, these darker but still hilarious essays hit the perfect note.

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.

SOCIAL MEDIA: If you are on Twitter, Instagram, 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. Please find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



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.

MY FRIDAY 56

It was interesting to see what we all did with our inheritance. . . . Gretchen moved south and sought to some bills while Amy and Paul essentially spent their money on candy.