Posted Monday, 15 December, 2014 by jorielov Cedar Fort Inc, Christi Silbaugh, Front Table Books, Gourmet Cooking for Two 3 Comments
Gourmet Cooking for Two by Christi Silbaugh
I previously hosted her for Front Table Books on the Gluten-Free Made Easy blog tour!
Published By: Front Table Books (@FrontTableBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook
Converse on Twitter via: #GourmetCookingForTwo & #ChristiSilbaugh
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 “Gourmet Cooking for Two” direct from the publisher Front Table Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Inspired to Read:
Ever since I was properly introduced to the budget friendly, wicked delish and beyond brilliant recipes within Silbaugh’s Gluten-Free Made Easy I have become a dedicated appreciator of her cookbooks! Everyone has a budget but what I appreciate with Silbaugh’s approach is that she matches my own family’s belief that wicked quality food doesn’t have to break your wallet! You can eat healthy yet keep mindful of using less ingredients or supplementing what you need with what you have on hand already and create a dish to savour! I love this the most about her cookbooks because I think at some point everyone is going to be touched by an economic crisis of one shape or another due to the changing environment of the economy (not just limited to those of us stateside!). Why not become a champion of the cookbook writers who are giving us tips, tricks, and wicked sweet insights on how to create smashingly delish recipes without the worriment over never having ‘enough ingredients’ to pull off a delightful meal?
Gourmet Cooking for Two
by Christi Silbaugh
Source: Direct from Publisher
Making gourmet meals for two is the perfect way to grow closer to your sweetheart, whether you are a new couple, empty nesters, or somewhere in between. With romantic tips to help you spice up your love life, and over 100 delicious, high quality recipes such as Brazilian Red Snapper and Tuscan Potato Soup, you’ll never want to go out to dinner again.
Genres: Cookery Places to find the book:
Also by this author: Gluten-Free Made Easy, NOURISH: The Beginner's Guide to eating healthy and staying fit
Published by Front Table Books
on 31st August, 2014
Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
About Christi Silbaugh
Christi Silbaugh started cooking gluten-free in 2009 when her daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease. Since then, she has created and posted over one thousand gluten-free recipes. Her cooking obsession and love for her family has turned a hobby into a full-time career of blogging and writing. She is the self-educated chef and author of three cooking blogs, including Mom, What’s For Dinner; Gourmet Cooking For Two; and Zero Calorie Life. She writes for foodie media giants Glam Media and Federated Media and works for Fast Forward Events, covering food and wine events in San Diego.
Be sure to check the author out on YouTube!
Website | Twitter | Facebook
A cookbook for every singleton who is a romantic at heart:
An insightful clue how I’m a Romantic at my core is the fact one of my favourite genres to devour are within the “Romance” section of any bookshoppe or literary realm of delightful joy! If you have dropped by on Twitter during one of my #ChocLitSaturdays chats OR have seen how many ChocLit books I’ve read in 2014, you might have gained a bit of a clue too! However, what truly perked my ears to read this particular cookbook is the fact it specifically encourages you to create wicked awesome gourmet meals for two foodies who want to dine well but keep within their food budgets! Ms. Silbaugh was inspired to create this one as an empty-nester but I found inspiration as a singleton who is optimistic about her future (read my thoughts on my review of The Language of Hoofbeats). I love discovering new recipes with full-on flavour profiles intermixed with ingredients which are easy to locate locally and do not require living in a specific geographic location! Sometimes what irks me about professional cooks (i.e. I am referring to celebrity chefs on the telly!) is they have the tendency to forget half of us who are home cooks do not live in an urban metropolis where every unique ingredient known to man is obtainable. Therefore, even though I love to cook Indian dishes alongside Italian, or intermix the two completely (hey! sometimes you have to work with what you have in your cupboards, fridge, and pantry!), I have a passionate preference for finding ways to cook gourmet with everyday resources which can inspire a savoury meal experience!
Interlocked with every recipe inside this tome of knowledge for herbivores, omnivores, and the dedicated carnivore (I should mention Pescetarians would be happy too!) you will find notes on how to spice up your Romance by giving key examples of how you can ignite a bit of passion and love into your dining. If that is not inspiring enough, you have a feast for the eyes with the larger than life photographs which showcase (and whet your palette!) the dishes themselves! Whomever does the photography for the Front Table Books line of cooking and baking books is rock solid on delivery! I am never disappointed as they have clarity of focus with the joy of feeling as though you could lift the food off the page itself! Yum, yum, yum!
Jorie is not always the best time planner : therefore this is a list of must cook specialties!
If you hadn’t noticed, I truly have the best of intentions, but my delivery is not always on par with my plans, as I simply had time whittle away from me! I wasn’t able to grab the ingredients I did not have on hand in time to prepare any of the lovelies which inspired me to write a list of ‘must cook specalities’ found inside Gourmet Cooking for Two! Alas, this simply means a lot of future blog posts sprinkled throughout 2015! If you hadn’t previously clicked over to my Story Vault, scrolling until you see the category “Cookery: Savoury & Baking (with a healthy bent of focus)” you’ll be plumb excited about the possibilities once you do! Per each review, I give a list of what I am planning on cooking and featuring on Jorie Loves A Story! If you start to follow me on Twitter (be sure to comment in the threads below or tweet me when you do!) you’ll start to notice the cookery & foodie tweets flying around like mad crazy! Laughs. Read More
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Posted Monday, 15 December, 2014 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Cookbook, Cookery, Indie Author, Non-Fiction, The Bookish Foodie
Posted Sunday, 14 December, 2014 by jorielov Baking with Natural Yeast series, Beyond Basics with Natural Yeast: Recipes for Whole Grain Health, Cedar Fort Inc, Front Table Books, Melissa Richardson 2 Comments
Beyond Basics with Natural Yeast : Recipes for Whole Grain Health
by Melissa Richardson
Published By: Front Table Books (@FrontTableBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook
Converse on Twitter via: #TheBreadGeek, #Baking, #naturalyeast & #Bread
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 “Beyond Basics with Natural Yeast” direct from the publisher Front Table Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Inspired to Read:
My inspiration to read and grow in my knowledge about yeast is twofold: I developed a fascinating addiction to bread from a very young age (I take after my Mum!) combining with the stories of my Uncle who was taught how to knead bread in order to reduce his stress levels (therein a curiosity to make homemade bread germinated in my mind) and through my research (in step with my Mum’s) into healthy living, eating, and the way in which foods affect us on a physiological level (and beyond) I have known for awhile there is a staunch different between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ yeast.
I wasn’t as sure if I had the resources I need to take on this particular project of mine, but I wanted to gain knowledge, as knowledge is the first step towards doing anything in our lives; including bettering ourselves in the kitchen! Therefore what surprised me (as you will soon see revealed) wasn’t a lack of an ingredient or a repertoire of baking items to use, no rather it was a more precise ‘issue’ I have no control over and thus, had to abandon my idea of creating my own natural yeast at this point in time. Meanwhile, the joy I had when I saw this book go on tour remains because I truly believe one way to change our lives is to effectively find better ways to nourish ourselves and broker an independence off what is quick and fast, for something that is more dynamically beneficial to our bodies, minds, and spirits.
As foresaid on my previous two blog tours for Front Table Books, my own journey towards living a healthier lifestyle is in a very unique stage at the moment — you can read my thoughts on where I am on either my review of Gluten-Free Made Easy OR The Secrets of Gluten-Free Baking wherein I speak openly and honestly about my quest for a healthier future. Part of my long-term goals are to provide more photo journals on my blog for each Front Table cookbook I am receiving from Cedar Fort. You will find my first foray into merging my joy of photography with my foodie heart’s quest to being a more well-rounded cook on my showcase for Gluten-Free Made Easy; if you are on Twitter you can easily favour or re-tweet the specific points of that post to your followers. It was the first time I hosted a live-as-you-bake sequence of photo journals on Twitter.
Beyond Basics with Natural Yeast
Subtitle: Recipes for Whole Grain Health
With allergies to commercial yeast on the rise, natural yeast is the easy and healthy solution to baking all the foods you love. Brush up on your techniques with Melissa Richardson’s newest book, Beyond Basics with Natural Yeast, with mouthwatering recipes like Soft Pretzel Rolls, Honey Whole Wheat Bread, and Lemon Chiffon Cake. Say goodbye to commercial yeast, and hello to a healthier body!
Read the Book Synopsis for The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast, the companion to this release and the first of the series. I decided to name the series myself as it felt as though it was implied but I am unsure if there will be more in sequence past these two books thus released.
Places to find the book:
Borrow from a Public Library
Add to LibraryThing
Published by Front Table Books
on 31st September, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 200
About Melissa Richardson
Melissa Richardson is a mother of three who is addicted to researching, studying, and baking bread. As a college student Melissa taught herself to bake as a way to pinch pennies from the food budget and unleashed a passion that transformed her into The Bread Geek she is today. At any given time of day, flour can be found somewhere on her shoes, clothes, hands, or children. When not baking or writing, she enjoys collecting hobbies and spending time outdoors with her family.
Be sure to check out "The Bread Geek" on YouTube!
Website | Twitter | Facebook
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Posted Sunday, 14 December, 2014 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bread Making, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Cookbook, Cookery, Indie Author, Locavore, Non-Fiction, Social Change, Sustainability Practices inside the Publishing Industry, The Bookish Foodie, Vignettes of Real Life
Posted Saturday, 13 December, 2014 by jorielov A League of Her Own, Harlequin Books, Harlequin Heartwarming, HarperCollins Publishers, Karen Rock 2 Comments
A League of Her Own by Karen Rock
Published By: Harlequin Heartwarming (#HarlequinHeartwarming)
(an imprint of) Harlequin Books (@HarlequinBooks) which is now a part of HarperCollins!
Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook
Converse on Twitter via: #ALeagueOfHerOwn & #KarenRock
Acquired Book By: A few months ago, I was visiting the blogs I love to read via my Bloglovin feeds, as I have found Bloglovin to be the best way to keep track of all the beautiful bookish blogs and/or author blogs I regularly visit! Especially after I self-hosted my blog as I only kept a few linked to my landing page (jorielovesbookishblogs.com) and the rest are happily organised into folders on Bloglovin! Truly the best part of it! It was whilst I was visiting a fellow book blogger, I took notice of the badge “Lola’s Blog Tours”. I had three blog tours which perked an interest in me, two of which were science fiction and then there was this Contemporary Romance set around baseball! I had previously interviewed Ms. Alexander on behalf of her novel “Dare to Kiss”; one of my December reads for #IndieWriterMonth! Therefore, finding a second baseball themed romance was a bit happenstance, don’t you think?
I was selected to be a tour stop on the “A League of Her Own” virtual book tour through Lola’s BlogTours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the author Karen Rock, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Inspired to Read:
With all the mergers happening in the book publishing industry, I must confess as a reader who is now a book blogger it is becoming to be quite daunting to keep everything organised and in line! I like to show the imprints of publishers as much as give credit per book for each post I am inspired to share with my readers (irregardless if I am hosting a blog tour, a non-tour book review or borrowing a book from my library, etc). Part of my heart fell a bit when I realised my beloved novella INSPY series Heartsong Presents might be capsizing so to speak as it was almost not bought out in time until Harlequin took it over! Then, within a year of that merger I learnt Harlequin was merged into HarperCollins! Oy vie. I nearly feel there needs to be a ‘road map’ of a guide to which imprints fall under which ‘main publishing house’ and thereby a bit less of a puzzle to riddle out for those of us who do attempt to give proper acknowledgement when it’s due.
Having said this, I was always attracted to what I refer to as ‘non-traditional Harlequin’ stories, wherein I sought out the romances centered on the ‘relationship’ and had nothing to do with the ‘bodice’ at all! Laughs. I cannot remember all of the lovely imprints and special edition series I read or attempted to read over the years, but one of my favourite imprints happened to be Mira. Mira has published a lot of Contemporary Romance authors I have come to enjoy reading including Debbie MacComber and Sherryl Woods! If you seek out a particular type of story, you just might be surprised that even a publisher like Harlequin can give you exactly what you are looking to read!
Heartsong Presents I believe is ‘safe’ once more as it was meant to be an anchor and compliment to Harlequin’s own (former competitive imprint) Love Inspired. As 2015 marches into focus, I’ll be reading quite a heap of the beauties on my bookshelf whose patience for me to pick up their sleeves and dig into their stories has been remarkably kind! I have quite a nice selection of Mira authors, so this is only the first of many more Harlequin books to be spotlighted on Jorie Loves A Story! You’ll find each time as I highlight another story full of relationship-based romance that Harlequin isn’t quite what your expecting it to be!
In combination for my previous love of a particular ‘Harlequin’ story and my forementioned love of baseball, “A League of Her Own” felt like a good fit to me! Not withstanding the fact “A League of Their Own” is one of my top favourite motion pictures and that had a lot to do with Rosie O’ Donnell and Geena Davis!
A League of Her Own
by Karen Rock
Source: Author via Lola's Blog Tours
He was attractive, talented…and way off limits.
Heather Gadway may have been a world-class college pitcher and a top university coach, but she's a rank amateur when it comes to managing the Falcons, her father's struggling minor league team. And when it comes to managing her aggravating attraction to Garrett Wolf, their talented new pitcher. It's going to be difficult enough to make it as the first female manager in the league and prove to her overly critical father she's worthy. No distractions. No missteps. And certainly no romances with players. Everything stands between them—including their troubled pasts—even as Heather's world falls apart and Garrett's the one who's there to catch her…
I read the Large Print edition yet it felt quite regular to me!
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance Fiction Places to find the book:
Also by this author: Author Interview (Christmas at Cade Ranch) Karen Rock, A Cowboy's Pride (Spotlight w/ Notes), A Cowboy's Pride, Christmas at Cade Ranch, Winning the Cowboy's Heart, A Rancher to Remember
Published by Harlequin Heartwarming
on 1st December, 2014
Format: Paperback
Pages: 312
Read More
Posted Saturday, 13 December, 2014 by jorielov in 21st Century, Baseball, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Bookmark slipped inside a Review Book, California, Contemporary Romance, Dating & Humour Therein, Family Life, Fathers and Daughters, Foster Care, Lola's Blog Tours, Modern Day, Postal Mail | Letters & Correspondence, Romance Fiction, Singletons & Commitment, Small Towne USA, Softball, Sports
Posted Friday, 12 December, 2014 by jorielov Arthur A. Levine Books, Ash Mistry and the Savage Fortress, Ash Mistry series, Sarwat Chadda, Scholastic 0 Comments
The Ash Mistry series by Sarwat Chadda:
Ash Mistry and the Savage Fortress (Book 1)
Ash Mistry and the City of Death (Book 2)
Ash Mistry and the World of Darkness (Book 3)
Published by: Arthur A. Levine Books an imprint of Scholastic (@Scholastic)
Available Formats: Paperback, Audiobook, and Ebook
Converse via Twitter: #AshMistry, #sarwatchadda, & #TheSavageFortress
Acquired Book By: I was originally going to make my debut hosting for Diverse Book Tours with the Pig Park Blog Tour, however due to a complication my tour stop was cancelled. I am still going to be reading “Pig Park” and am hopeful I can still share the interview I had given with the author. However, this particular blog tour caught my attention immediately due to the fact it was rooted in mythology and the culture of India! I was selected to be on the tour and what was special about this blog tour is how the tour coordinators gifted seven hosts with a complimentary copy of the book “The Savage Fortress”. We were not obligated to post a review on the blog tour itself but were asked to express what drew our attention to the novel. I did not realise this initially which is why when I agreed to host the tour I accepted the book in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Happily this marks my first blog tour as a hostess for Diverse Book Tours, a feat in of itself which is my continuing celebration of diversity and equality in literature. I joined the national campaign for #WeNeedDiverseBooks since it’s inception six months ago, and I have continued to show my support with tweeting about the diversity and/or equality I find in the stories I am reading. One step further is I secured permission to keep the badge in my sidebar before it became popular to do so, as much as I happily placed the Twibbon on my Twitter Profile. It is a cause knitted dear to my heart and if you click on the category “Equality in Lit” in my cloud or below this book review, you will be lead through all the posts which parallel on the topic.
In the New Year or shortly before I am looking forward to seeing the announcement of an idea Janet Ursel (@JanetUrsel) put together for all of us to participate in as it celebrates our passion for reading literature which not only gives us empathy for differences but a passion for reading a diverse array of stories. As 2015 comes into focus, you will be finding me blogging more about stories which champion the reason we have the national campaign as I have always been drawn to these stories myself! I simply have a lot to share and quite happily have a growing community of bookish souls who agree with me!
Inspired to Read:
It might not be widely known amongst my friends, but I have a particular interest in The Mummy films as I happen to adore mythological story arcs which curate an adventure for the characters! The films deal with Ancient Egypt and are a great example of how you can combine live-action with CGI effects and never feel as if the two were used too much or too little! I love the balance but I also loved how the series of three films pushed my envelope of what I consider ‘adventure’ and what technically the rest of the world considers ‘horror’! Laughs. For me, they were a brilliant psychological suspense motion picture trilogy with the key advantage of giving me just enough suspense and wicked adventure!
My reading life runs concurrent to my film life on the level that I am always quite open to seeking out stories which implore me to read them; even if I believe at the jumpstart of finding them they very well could be ‘a challenge’! When I devoured the information about the Ash Mistry series on the author’s website and then re-read the book synopsis for The Savage Fortress for a third time, my gut instinct told me I was going to be ‘okay’ reading this because how seriously intense could it get for a Middle Grade novel? Right? Says the book blogger who was afraid of the spiders in the Harry Potter films! Laughs.
The Cooper Kids Adventure series is one of the best bookish joys of my childhood because I was able to tag-along with an archaeologist (yes, I positively considered becoming one in real-life!) and go on these epic adventures with him! I loved the historical aspects of the series, and who even knew they continued it past the initial books I originally had read? It is on my long term list of bookish goals to find copies of the missing books I do not have as I would very much like to find out what happens! This is a clue that I am a booklover through and through, as I do not oft let go of a book even if I cannot read it as quickly as I would prefer! I am the same person who spent a decade chasing down used copies of a favourite YA series (the Cassandra mysteries – if you know what this refers too, do leave me a comment!) and last year I finally sorted out the missing two novels in sequence past The Purple Door!
I had a good feeling about The Savage Fortress – even if part of me was telling my head how much I can get freaked out about certain things, my heart was telling me ‘you can read this! your going to love it!’ – thus started my bookish journey towards soaking inside the first novel of the Ash Mistry series! And, yet I have only disclosed half of my reason to read it! You see, I have had a dearly beloved appreciation and passion for the art, culture, and food of India! I spoke about this interest of mine whilst I blogged my ruminations on Losing Touch. I have mentioned at times I enjoy reading about World Religions but I am unsure if I mentioned this includes Hinduism and Buddhism? For all of these reasons I was wicked happy seeing this blog tour pop up as it truly felt like an unexpected gift of joy had alighted in my life! Read More
Posted Friday, 12 December, 2014 by jorielov in Action & Adventure Fiction, Ancient Civilisation, Animals in Fiction & Non-Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Book Trailer, Bookish Films, Brothers and Sisters, Children's Literature, Content Note, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Diverse Book Tours, Equality In Literature, Excessive Violence in Literature, Fantasy Fiction, Fly in the Ointment, Folklore and Mythology, India, Inspiring Video Related to Content, Juvenile Fiction, Literature for Boys, Literature of India, Middle Grade Novel, Siblings
Posted Thursday, 11 December, 2014 by jorielov Cedar Pocket Publishing, Seldom Come By, Sherryl Caulfield, the Iceberg Trilogy 1 Comment
Seldom Come By by Sherryl Caulfield
Published By: Cedar Pocket Publishing
Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook
Converse on Twitter via: #SeldomComeby & #SeldomComeByBlogTour
Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Seldom Come By” virtual book tour through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the author Sherryl Caulfield, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Inspired to Read:
I remember catching a glimpse of this novel, whilst checking my feeds on Twitter, and thinking to myself how incredible visceral this novel sounded! I immediately tweeted the author & Ms. Bruno concurrently; I had the happiness of finding there was a spot on the blog tour and I was tucked inside the list of book bloggers! My visit to the author’s website for the first time revealed such a bevy of delight: from the behind-the-scenes extras to the depth of layers the author knitted into her author’s site to give any reader a heap of joy on their returning visits! I love websites you cannot simply devour in seconds, but rather have to linger over and absorb one page at a time! Caulfield has given us all something hearty to read whilst engaging our hearts into the stories flowing out of her pen!
Icebergs and glaciers have captured my attention from a young age — the Goliath of marvel within the natural world has a splendidness about it which is truly unique! I’d love to visit certain regions of North America where you can see icebergs as much as you can kiss the cold breath of their gracefulness! Awe-inspiring yet a ticking reminder of how fragile the balance is within the natural environment for which they are residing. Everything has a natural rhythm and balance — although I also grew up with the realisation of how destructive an iceberg can be to a ship (Titanic always drew my eye, my heart, and part of my soul) there is a measure of acceptance of tinkerature of chaos of which none of us can control.
What truly drew me into this enchanting premise of a novel is simply how it was sparked an experience in a Eastern Canadian Maritime Province I was already curious about (Newfoundland) and how the author herself, drew you into this slice of time breathing in an awareness of known truths out of the tanglements of war, life, and love.
(originally shared on my interview with Ms. Caulfield)
Seldom Come By
Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, fifteen year-old Rebecca Crowe’s fascination with icebergs leads her to save a shipwrecked survivor, Samuel Dalton, the nineteen-year old son of a Toronto medical family.
Love sparks in the crystal cave of an iceberg but is thwarted by an unreasonable father and the Great War that drags Samuel and his brother, Matthew, to the Western Front as medical officers. Knowing Rebecca is home and safe in Newfoundland brings Samuel great comfort. But as the war moves towards its final harrowing days, they both discover that tragedy and terror can strike anywhere, setting their love on an unforeseen path.
Only when Samuel and Rebecca can fully come to terms with such devastating loss and their impossible choices can their love soar. With an emotional intensity reminiscent of The Bronze Horseman, Seldom Come By, named after an actual place in Newfoundland, is an unforgettable journey across waves and time and the full spectrum of human emotions.
Places to find the book:
Series: The Iceberg Trilogy, No.1
Also in this series: Intangible, Beneath Creek Waters
on 10th October, 2013
Format: Paperback
Pages: 490
About Sherryl Caulfield
Australian-born Sherryl Caulfield is a marketer, writer and traveller. After twenty years working for some of the world’s leading technology brands and a stint with Outward Bound, she longed to write about the human experience and the redemptive qualities of nature.
In 2006, haunted by an encounter with a woman she met in Canada, Sherryl started what has now become known as The Iceberg Trilogy. From her home in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand, she distilled the lives of three generations of women – Rebecca, Evangeline and Lindsay – over the course of a century. In the telling of their stories she crafted a series rich in landscapes – of sea, land and the human soul.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Newfoundland | frozen beauty:
I originally came to find Newfoundland by a Newfie who is an actor in television movies and series; my interest was further perked when I had learnt of the story behind Gander’s influence on the travellers who landed at their airport on 11th of September, 2001. Previously I had stumbled across the non-fiction book at my local library, but during the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, the special documentary which went back to Gander was soul-inspiring. This was the Newfoundland I had uncovered whilst researching the Province, the people, and the land which encompasses it as a whole. I even sent for travel pamphlets wherein I received so much more from the tourism bureau, including a bookmark! The bookmark was one small clue to the fact Newfies love the art of story-telling and the craft behind how the stories evolve over the time they are first told aloud. The stories they tell are natural bourne, fused directly into their veins as the common celebration of alighting together in a pub or a friend’s house over supper; the stories linger onward into the night as conversation cascade the joy through the moment.
Moreso than even the depth of their connection to each other, is the connection they share with the land and sea. Like their American North Atlantic neighbours (in Northern New England; especially in regards to Maine), they rely on a living by what the sea and the land can yield as much as the dependency on what the weather will bring. There was always an undercurrent of Newfoundlanders as a whole, as a particular type of person you’d meet if you were to visit in everything I listened to or read. What I found amazing when I started to tuck inside Seldom Come By is how inherently precise Caulfield curated this awareness inside her story! It is something you have to feel as your senses gather an instinct of insight through your intuition as it is not tangible nor is it able to be seen outright. A bit more of a thread of how life can be lived whilst united with the people who stand behind you and of a place both untamed and preserved. Read More
Posted Thursday, 11 December, 2014 by jorielov in #IndieWriterMonth, 20th Century, Australian Literature, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Canada, Canadian Literature, Debut Author, Debut Novel, During WWI, Family Drama, Family Life, Geographically Specific, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Life Shift, Light vs Dark, Military Fiction, Newfoundland, the Edwardian era, War Drama, War-time Romance, Warfare & Power Realignment
