Category: Action & Adventure Fiction

Blog Book Tour | “The Land of Look Behind” by Aaron Blaylock

Posted Monday, 22 February, 2016 by jorielov Aaron Blaylock, Bonneville Books, Cedar Fort Inc, The Land of Look Behind 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “The Land of Look Behind” direct from the publisher Bonneville Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

*Note: This novel came with a happy small surprise: the Marketing Manager enclosed his card within the pages of the book and I thought – how clever! On two counts: to have a calling card for a publisher I appreciate reviewing for and hosting their authors, and secondly, it makes a curiously portable ‘bookmark’! I spy the bookmarks for the novels on author blogs and social media feeds but this is as good as that for me! Plus, all the imprints at Cedar Fort are listed and it’s a nice bit of memorabilia for a book blogger who appreciates the publisher.

Why I was curious to read this one:

Mr Blaylock pitched his novel to me before I caught sight of it myself, and through his initial contact with me, I learnt a few insights about how an author reads my Review Policy. In other words, he gave me a lot of lovely compliments and he genuinely understood my selection process as a book blogger! I was quite chuffed to have seen the ‘other side’ of my blog and how what I am leaving behind in this niche of mine is being translated to both readers and authors alike. It was the kind of note your thankful to receive as it introduced you to a new author and allowed you to receive feedback on your own ‘pitch’ to authors who may be seeking a book blogger.

Sharing a portion of my response where I began by explaining why I would be open to reading an LDS focused story-line:

As you might have inferred from my previous Cedar Fort reviews, I’m a non-LDS Protestant but this doesn’t affect how I approach reading LDS Fiction or Non-Fiction as I review both styles on my blog. Quite happily so, as I am finding some of the best fiction today is coming out of Cedar Fort, not just for the discernible adult reader but for young adults and children (as reflected in my Story Vault; you’ll find many CF authors spilt through the genres).

I’m happy to make your acquaintance and I was especially surprised you’ve pitched me your book by going through my Review Request page! That spoke volumes to me on how your approaching your career and your willingness to interact with book bloggers and reviewers. It’s a compliment to you, in other words! Well done.

What drew my eye to CF in the first place was knowing I would be seeking out a wide spectrum of fiction wherein I would find stories that were writ with a gentler voice than most contemporary releases. Herein I refer to my discourse in highlighting the unnecessary need to use vulgarity in telling stories for today’s audience. I never felt I was a ‘clean fiction’ reader until I started to see such a surge of overt instances of both vulgarity and explicit violence (another no-no in my opinion) in stories for young adults and adults alike. For YA I’m quite particular about what I will accept as far as visuals, tone, voice and expression of story even moreso than adult because I believe YA should spare certain inclusions that are rampant in Adult Lit.

I personally love adventure novels, one of the last ones I’ve read was Ian Quicksilver by a fellow CF author; it re-established my desire to read more of it’s kind, as who doesn’t want to jettison off on a quest? Previously it was Uncovering Cobbogoth that set my sails for seeking stimulating worlds where characters have to overcome an adventurous oft arduous journey.

At first glance, I love how the symbol or crest attached to your world is a watermark addition behind the overlay of text for your title. It’s a very cleverly pieced together book cover, which I will mention on my review.

Ooh! You’ve given me a time slip narrative where I can soak inside two timescapes at once? I love discovering parallel stories where there are two folds to the context of where we’re taken! Hence why I was so very appreciative of reading A Fall of Marigolds (review).

I was quite chuffed realising this novel is centered around your own personal experiences in Jamaica and how you were inspired by the country which hasn’t left your heart. I can relate to this, as I have a personal connection to Mexico and the Mayan ruins, of which I have blogged about on different reviews; giving out a bit of information about my adventures on each one. The latest was on the cookbook Daily Tortilla. (review)

It should be mentioned Uncovering Cobbogoth was my first blog tour with Cedar Fort and my entrance into wicked sweet adventure fiction for Young Adult Lit! It set the bar high and gave me a new standard of what I was personally seeking inasmuch as what I hoped to find in the genre as a whole. So much of what I loved about Cobbogoth has directly influenced me to understand what I’m looking for the most in other works by authors who are focusing on a young adult audience. Upcoming this year I will be a new contributor to a Steampunk blog wherein I will be reading a heap of Steampunk spilt between my new venture and Jorie Loves A Story. The ones I am hand selecting for the new blog will have a specific list of ‘must haves’ I will be disclosing at a later point in time. The rest I’ll populate on my blog but will save the majority for Sci Fi November and the Sci Fi Experience where I purposely showcase a heap of science fiction loveliness each year (since I started in 2013).

The reason I remain transparent on my blog about my choices of what I read for review and the reasons behind what goes into my process to make a selection is to help my readers understand what first draws my attention first and foremost, but also, to a lesser extent to keep an open dialogue with my readers about what keeps us curious about the books we’re reading and the authors we continuously are discovering who are attempting to inspire us to such a level of an experience we will all but beg for more of the same to continue to enlighten us in their future releases.

As I move further into 2016 and beyond, you will find my selections growing more select as I enter into my Renaissance stage of Jorie Loves A Story. Hence why when an author takes the time to reach out to me via my blog’s Contact Form, by email or directly on Twitter (or through DMs) I take stock of how well they understand my reading life and the way in which I blog my literary adventures. If your an author following a book blogger, don’t shy away from talking to us. We’ll all bookishly geeky in our own ways, why not take the chance to open up a convo with us and see where that conversation might lead?

Notation on Cover Art and the symbolism of The Land of Look Behind:

On the cover and back cover copy is an embedded symbol which follows into the story itself as it’s on the Chapter Headers (whilst alternating with a second symbol just as important and pertinent to the story-line); the way in which the publisher had it as a textural raised (although subtle) symbol is what originally stood out to me about the cover, as it’s three in one: the image of the adventurer in the cave’s opening going into the light of; the typography of the title of the novel; and this symbol that nearly looked like a watermark from afar. In person it has more of a presence and isn’t flat. As it exists in it’s own dimensional space and draws your eye into being pensive of it’s significance.

It took a bit of digging around the internet but I learnt one important bit of trivia: ‘the land of look behind’ is a direct reference to Jamaica as soldiers used to keep their advantage whilst travelling through the country best by never yielding a look-out point in any one direction. They went so far as to ride horses where both riders were never facing forward as one looked forward as ‘one looked back’. This is gives a bit of new insight to the titling of the novel as I personally did not understand the title at first glance, second look or the third reading of it when I sat to read the story outright.

The Land of Look Behind
Subtitle: A Jamaican Treasure Worth Dying For

Jarvis tried to collect himself.
He needed a plan of action.
Captain Willard had given him strict orders -
but what weight should he give the orders of a dead man?

Three hundred years ago, a soldier named Jarvis journeyed deep into Jamaica and discovered a land of myth, treasure, and danger. Now Gideon, who served in Jamaica as a missionary, returns armed with Jarvis's journal to follow the enigmatic clues with his best friend. But they quickly discover there are forces who would kill to keep the treasure secret.

Travel into Jamaica's treacherous cockpit country in this spine-tingling thriller.

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781462117956

on 1st February, 2016

Pages: 320

Published By: Bonneville Books (@BonnevilleBooks),

an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Converse on Twitter via: #LandOfLookBehind

*NEWSFLASH*

Don’t forget to read my *special announcement*

at the end of this review! Read More

Posted Monday, 22 February, 2016 by jorielov in 17th Century, 21st Century, Action & Adventure Fiction, African-American Literature, Ancient Civilisation, Art, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Biblical History, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Christianity, Content Note, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Equality In Literature, Fly in the Ointment, Historical Fiction, Historical Perspectives, History, Illustrations for Stories, Indie Author, Indie Book Trade, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Jamaica, Lessons from Scripture, Literature for Boys, Men's Fiction, Military Fiction, Modern Day, Mormonism, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, Realistic Fiction, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Time Slip, Treasure Hunt, Warfare & Power Realignment, World Religions

Blog Book Tour | “Becoming George Washington” by Stephen Yoch

Posted Friday, 1 January, 2016 by jorielov Becoming George Washington, Stephen Yoch, Wise Ink Creative Publishing 0 Comments

Acquired Book By:

I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Becoming George Washington” virtual book tour through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of “Becoming George Washington” direct from the author Stephen Yoch, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Interest in reading:

I garnished an appreciation for the Revolutionary War era from my Mum, who is a passionate researcher and reader about the Adams: John and Abigail along with Mr Adams friendship with Thomas Jefferson. They were a unique couple during those turbulent times, and as my Mum’s affection for them grew, so too did my own interest in the era as a whole. When I was younger, History was one of my most favourite subjects in school (shocking, eh? you were thinking I’d say ‘English’ but you would be grossly mistaken!) as I definitely loved watching ‘history’ come to life through the stories of the people who lived lives during historical eras of prime importance and of lesser known generations of whom impacted us just as deeply or gravely, depending on the circumstances.

If you were to credit me with a deep admiration for Science and the multitude of ‘ologies’ I fancy to explore in the scientific realms – you’d be equally cheerful to learn that I have a wicked heart for the historical past, and why it took me three decades of my life to unearth that ‘historical fiction and biographical historical fiction’ are my two primary interests to read is quite unnerving to say the least! Mind you, science fiction and fantasy are a close second before Romance takes up the final third quadrant. I digress.

One of my intentions this New Year of 2016 is to purposely find mindful ways of re-organising my focuses on what I am devouring as to entertain a bit more thought to seeking out wicked good non-fiction and historical fiction (in equal portions) that ascertain a working knowledge of the Revolutionary War era or even (Early) Colonial America inasmuch as entreating inside more biographies which are set to a pace where I find them both drinkable and enjoyable to consume. At hand, when I first caught sight of this novel about Washington, I was most keen to read it, as Washington held an appeal when I was in 4th Grade having spent a year on Presidential History (some of which spilt out as I reviewed The Residence in 2015). I even have a miniature statue of Washington and Martha – as they were the first couple I was focusing on learning more about at that age.

I even remember watching an interesting tv movie called: The Crossing (1999) starring Jeff Daniels as Washington, as pertaining to the crossing of the Delaware River in December 1776. Equally to this, I caught portions of 1776 (1972) the musical on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) a handful of years ago over Fourth of July weekend, to where I would very much like to see it in full as soon as time allows. It was curious to see all of the historical persons I’ve come to know through my school years and my own independent readings outside of it in such a way as to purport the era in time by which they lived.

This particular novel takes us back to the young man Washington was prior to marriage and I was curious to learn more about him during that scope of time. Every man has a beginning to their lives, but in Washington’s case, everything prior to when he became the ‘first President’ is even more curious as how did a man define himself prior to taking office for a new ‘country’ emerging out of independence from the British Crown and right his sails well enough to take on the courage he would need to lead a fragile new era of American life?

I was very grateful the author enclosed a small and compact bookmark for this novel, as I used it once before as I read ‘Soda Springs’ (review) prior to residing inside his own. I had originally intended to read them earlier in the weeks proceeding my tour stops in December, but illness took me away from books and left me with only my curiosity of what I would find inside them. The blessing for me, is to have such a handy bookmark and to have a note from the author wishing me godspeed in my readings. A nice surprise for a book blogger and a nice extension of the readings.

Becoming George Washington

George Washington, action hero . . .

Long before Washington was the old man on the dollar bill, he was a fatherless boy with few resources and even less education. So how did he become the most famous person in American history?

Becoming George Washington tells the story of a young man with boundless energy, bravery, and passion, who grew from a fatherless boy into a self-confident leader. At the same time, he struggled to suppress both an awful temper and his love for a married woman, Sally Fairfax. A courageous war hero, Washington rose to the pinnacle of Virginia politics. His experiences as a young man allowed him, decades later, to lead the Revolution.

This compelling historical novel reveals the person behind the famous face and how he grew to become America’s leading Founding Father.

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781940014524

on 1st September, 2015

Pages: 382

Published By: Wise Ink Creative Publishing (@Wiseink)
Available Formats: Paperback & Ebook

About Stephen Yoch

Steve doesn’t golf or fish and is a below average hunter, but his love of history and writing compelled him to pick up his pen and tell the little-known stories behind the men that made American history. After years of extensive research, Steve wrote his first book on young George Washington.

Steve lives in a suburb north of St. Paul, Minnesota with his supportive wife and two fantastic teenage sons. He graduated with honors from Boston College and the University of Minnesota Law School. He has enjoyed over two decades of practicing law in the Twin Cities, helping individuals and businesses solve complex problems.

Website | Facebook

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2016 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Friday, 1 January, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 18th Century, Action & Adventure Fiction, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bookmark slipped inside a Review Book, Coming-Of Age, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Early Colonial America, Equality In Literature, Fly in the Ointment, George Washington, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, History, Indie Author, Literature for Boys, Military Fiction, Mother-Son Relationships, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, Passionate Researcher, Presidential Life & History, Revolutionary War Era, Revolutionary War era, Siblings, Vulgarity in Literature, War Drama, Wilderness Adventures

Blog Book Tour | “Race to Tibet” by Sophie Schiller

Posted Saturday, 28 November, 2015 by jorielov Race to Tibet, Self Published, Sophie Schiller, Tradewinds Publishing 0 Comments

Acquired Book By:

I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Race to Tibet” virtual book tour through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of “Race to Tibet” direct from the author Sophie Schiller, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Interest in reading:

I have held an appreciation for World Religions since I was quite young – one of my favourite World Religions to research and read about is Buddhism which led me to readings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Anyone who becomes familiar with his texts, will start to see the traditions of Tibet emerge and a cultural heritage that was nearly taken out. Tibet has been the centerpiece of novels, motion pictures and non-fiction releases for quite a long time now. The expeditions to Tibet are legendary and they were fraught with difficulties – both to the people on the expedition and to the conditions the expediters found themselves inside.

I appreciate seeking out novelists and writers who hold a like-minded appreciation for Tibet and honour the legacy of Tibet through positive and well-researched stories; when I saw this book coming back round the blog tour circuit, I felt perhaps I should re-consider my original instinct to fear it was too much for me to consume and take a chance on reading it now. This novel previously toured with France Book Tours, and I had turned it down in the Spring (of 2015) to review but decided perhaps, I had been a bit too quick in that assessment. Thus, I am re-approaching it in the Autumn by having the chance to participate on the HFVBTs blog tour instead.

Race to Tibet

By 1889 Tibet is the last unexplored country in the world. Gabriel Bonvalot is determined to be the first Westerner to reach Lhasa but lacks a sponsor. When the Duke of Chartres promises to pay his expenses Bonvalot agrees, even after he learns he must bring along the Duke's wayward son, Prince Henri d'Orléans. Along the way Bonvalot meets Camille Dancourt, the wife of a missing surveyor, who attaches herself to the expedition in order to find her missing husband. During the journey the intrepid explorers are besieged by freezing temperatures, volatile winds, mountain sickness, hostile Tibetans, and duplicitous Chinese Mandarins. Nearing collapse, Bonvalot realizes they will have to resort to force if they ever wish to escape Tibet alive.

RACE TO TIBET is an adventure thriller that will take you on a suspenseful journey to the Roof of the World.

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780692254097

on 26th January, 2015

Pages: 342

Self-Published By: Tradewinds Publishing
Available Formats: Paperback & Ebook

About Sophie Schiller

Sophie Schiller was born in Paterson, NJ and grew up in the West Indies amid aging pirates and retired German spies. Among other oddities her family tree contains a Nobel prize-winning physicist and a French pop singer. She loves stories that carry the reader back in time to exotic and far-flung locations. She was educated at American University, Washington, DC and lives in Brooklyn, NY. She is currently working on a new historical thriller set in the Caribbean.

Blog | Facebook | Goodreads

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Saturday, 28 November, 2015 by jorielov in 19th Century, Action & Adventure Fiction, Ancient Civilisation, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Equality In Literature, Fly in the Ointment, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Indie Author, Mental Health, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, Self-Published Author, Vulgarity in Literature

ChocLit Spotlight | “Search for the Truth” by Kathryn Freeman a ChocLit author I’ve been curious about reading!

Posted Friday, 27 November, 2015 by jorielov ChocLitUK, Kathryn Freeman, Search for the Truth, Too Charming 0 Comments

I have come to appreciate finding new ways to help spread the word about the novelists and stories I personally enjoy reading via ChocLitUK. When Brook Cottage Book Tours first started to announce upcoming blog tours featuring the authors I’ve come to know as a book reviewer, I couldn’t wait to jump on board the tours! For you see, as a ChocLit reviewer, I haven’t had the pleasure of reading each ChocLit novelist as of yet – although my ChocLit Next Reads List on Riffle is a good indication of my earnest intention of reading their collective works!

Imagine my happy surprise finding in the batch of Autumn tours, one featuring a novel by Ms Harris (who is an auto-read author of mine!) and one novel by Ms Freeman of whom I have not yet had the pleasure of reading. Similar to my curiosities broached on a Cover Reveal by Ms Browne, I wanted to highlight what inspires me to read Ms Freeman; as I had happily shared my joy of finding a new adoption story during my spotlight for The Lost Girl.

I vaguely remember chattering about this novel on Twitter, yet when I went to find the tweets I shared about the story, I came up a bit empty! I am unsure why, as I tried to remember the wordings I had used to describe the exchanges, but for whichever reason, those tweets are lost somewhere in my feeds! The main reason I wanted to share them is because I believe I had mentioned the reason why this particular story leapt out at me to read initially? It’s hard to tell – that’s the irony of Twitter, you can share all these lovely convos, but trying to find where those tweets go weeks and months lateron is a bit of a mystery!

One thing I can say for certainty: I am finding myself drawn into heart-stirring contemporary fiction whose layers of intrigue and relationships are keenly becoming of interest to read.

Sometimes the truth hurts …

When journalist Tess Johnson takes a job at Helix pharmaceuticals, she has a very specific motive. Tess has reason to believe the company are knowingly producing a potentially harmful drug and, if her suspicions are confirmed, she will stop at nothing to make sure the truth comes out.

Jim Knight is the president of research and development at Helix and is a force to be reckoned with. After a disastrous office affair he’s determined that nothing else will distract him from his vision for the company. Failure is simply not an option. As Tess and Jim start working together, both have their reasons for wanting to ignore the sexual chemistry that fires between them. But chemistry, like most things in the world of science, isn’t always easy to control.

Places to find the book:

Add to Riffle

Published by: ChocLitUK (@ChocLitUK)

RELEASE DATE: 13th August, 2015 – ebook version

Formats Available: this is a Digital First release! print and audio should follow next!

Genre(s): Contemporary | BigPharma | Suspense | Espionage Fiction

A former pharmacist, I’m now a medical writer who also writes romance. Some days a racing heart is a medical condition, others it’s the reaction to a hunky hero.

With two teenage boys and a husband who asks every Valentine’s Day whether he has to buy a card (yes, he does), any romance is all in my head. Then again, his unstinting support of my career change proves love isn’t always about hearts and flowers – and heroes come in many disguises.

Author Connections:

Personal Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Converse via: #ChocLit

My best friend from high school went into the Pharmacy Industry, and coincidentally we reconnected after a long search to find each other again whilst she was at the latter stage of graduating as a pharmacist. I still remember our long conversations on the phone about the particulars of what was involved with her studies and how her impression of pharmacy had changed since before she started her studies; as the industry wasn’t quite what she imagined it was to be. I could sympathise as sometimes our initial impressions about something does not match or hold up against further enquiries and research. I oft think about her as she has a demanding schedule of hours and responsibilities, I had hoped might have calmed down after her last promotion. Read More

Posted Friday, 27 November, 2015 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 21st Century, Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Book Spotlight of E-Book (ahead of POD/print edition), British Literature, Brook Cottage Book Tours, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Contemporary Romance, Espionage, Indie Author, Modern British Author, Modern British Literature, Modern Day, Realistic Fiction, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense

Blog Book Tour | “The Tulip Resistance” by Lynne Leatham Allen

Posted Wednesday, 4 November, 2015 by jorielov Bonneville Books, Cedar Fort Inc, Lynne Leatham Allen, The Tulip Resistance 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “The Tulip Resistance” direct from the publisher Bonneville Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Interested in Reading:

I have been consistently reading war dramas during the first two World Wars, dipping a bit into the Civil War and Revolutionary War respectively. It isn’t often that I find a story that is written from a different perspective for one of the World Wars, as I had not realised the implications and the merit of what the Dutch Resistance had to go through during WWII. Too often I think war dramas take us down familiar corridors and do not oft explore new points of view to a war era we are already reading in earnest.

As far as Resistance fighters, my first introduction to this chapter of war history was by Mosse who wrote Citadel; a novel which truly took me to the edge of what I could handle inside a war drama. Reviewing her story was quite difficult as my heart was in full breach of my pummeling emotions as her words were so guttingly honest about what was happening during that time.

What inspired me to read this novel was the empathsis on ‘hope’ on the front cover, as truly the best part of reading war dramas is finding the hope which remained alive for everyone who was affected by the conflict itself. Without hope, it is hard to find a way to transition yourself forward through the tides of adversity life will bring to you. I think when we sit down to read stories about the war eras, we have to remember to find the stories underwritten by light and hope; if only to give the past a kindness it might not have had when the events were happening originally. To remember is to honour those lives which were lost and those lives which survived unthinkable odds.

The Tulip Resistance

Marieka parked her bike next to the fence as Miss Remi opened the door, holding a cloth to her cheek.

"Miss Remi, what happened? Where are your chickens and pig?" Miss Remi pulled Marieka inside and shut the door. "The Germans came. They said they had a right to confiscate the pig and chickens to feed their army. I protested, but one of them struck me."

Caught up in a war she doesn't understand, sixteen-year-old Marieka Coevorden has been living peacefully in the Dutch countryside. With her friends and family at risk, Marieka wouldn't dream of resisting the Germans. But everything changes when a wounded German soldier - a defector - needs her help.

This tense historical drama delves into the intricacies of the Dutch resistance during World War II. Join Marieka as she summons the grit to defy orders and hatches a plan to do what's right.

This is a book you cannot stop reading - a perfect mix of drama, romance, and adventure.

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

on 12th May, 2015

Format: Paperback

Pages: 248

Published By: Bonneville Books (@BonnevilleBooks),

an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Converse via: #TheTulipResistance

About Lynn Leatham Allen

Lynn Leatham Allen grew up in Orthello, Washington. After thirty years as a professional cake decorator, she retired. She attended Ricks College and married her husband, Ross, in the Idaho Falls Temple in 1970. They have six children and now are empty nesters and live in Wellsville, Utah.

She loves writing and sewing. She's an artist of charcoal, pastel, colour pencil portraits; oil landscapes; and acrylic tole painting. She is a self-taught artist and seamstress and has many hobbies including cross-stitch, hardanger, crochet, knitting, candy making, cooking, gardening, and reading.

Her writing career began with jingles and then graduated to humourous poems. Three years ago she wrote her first children's book The Sugarplum Fairy's Little Sister , which was awarded an honourable mention at the LUW writing contest in 2012.

Frogo and Turnip also received honourable mention at that time, and The Courtship of the Ice Queen received first place. She joined the LUW and has been writing ever since. The Tulip Resistance is her first novel. She is working on the sequel, with the tentative title Operation Tulip .

Website | Facebook

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Wednesday, 4 November, 2015 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 20th Century, Action & Adventure Fiction, Aftermath of World War II, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, Bullies and the Bullied, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Childhood Friendship, Coming-Of Age, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Dutch Resistance (WWII), Equality In Literature, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Historical Fiction, Indie Author, Life Shift, Prejudicial Bullying & Non-Tolerance, Teenage Relationships & Friendships, The Netherlands, The World Wars, Trauma | Abuse & Recovery, War Drama