Category: Jorie Loves A Story

+Blog Book Tour+ Sweet Water by Christina Baker Kline

Posted Tuesday, 5 August, 2014 by jorielov , , , , 7 Comments

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Sweet Water by Christina Baker Kline

Sweet Water

Published By: William Morrow (@WmMorrowBks),
7 July 2014 (reprint – paperback edition)
an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers (@HarperCollins)
Official Author Websites: Site@bakerkline | Facebook
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook Page Count: 320

Converse via: #ChristinaBakerKline

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Acquired Book By:

I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Sweet Water” virtual book tour through TLC Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the publisher William Morrow, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

The reason I wanted to be on the tour:

There are moments in our lives where our paths cross with a novel that we have a near-sixth sense about how we will enjoy reading it. This is exactly what happened to me whilst I won a copy of Orphan Train from a contest from Shelf Awareness and received the novel from the author herself. The bits and pieces of my life from that moment in April 2013 to a full score year later were one of the most consuming experiences thus far along on my lifepath. I always had the intention of reading Orphan Train close to when I had received it. Yet. Life ebbed away and took my focus off the novel that I felt I was meant to read. It was one of those books I knew I would acquire even if I had not been able to receive one from the author. I never had the proper chance to follow-up with Ms. Kline; nor explain my absence but to attempt to explain why I had not yet read the story that captured my attention front line and center.

When I learnt of two novels by Kline going on tour with TLC, I knew I had found my way of redeeming myself and of a way back to Orphan Train! Part of the reason I had ended up holding off reading the novel is because I knew it was going to be an emotional read for me as I’m a Prospective Adoptive Mum. The fate of orphans is very near and dear to my maternal heart, and the plight of those children who were sent out on orphan trains always tugs at the core of my soul.

I had felt a connection to not only the story within the sleeper bestseller but I had felt one with the writer who penned the story, which is why I had written her a heartfelt personal note at the time. This entire year I’ve been a book blogger I have learnt how to yield to stress and how to read stories which are emotionally gutting yet intellectually satisfying whilst going through incredible circumstances that otherwise might only lend themselves to beach reads and uplifting romances. I found that I have the ability to write with a clarity that I had not had in previous years whilst juggling through intense personal stress and I found that the best grace in the world as a writer and reader is the direct focus of stories and the writers who create them.

Christina Baker Kline is one writer who crossed my path at a time I could not devout my heart to read her stories, nor approach them with a mindfulness they deserved. It is only one full year later, but this is my way of not only thanking her for the work she has put forward and into the hands of all of us, but a small gesture of acknowledgement from a reader who was captivated by her sincerity, creativity, and immersive research she conducts to breathe life into her characters and stories. I am the blessed one this year, as this is my second chance at discovering what is inside Kline’s body of work.

Note: There are a total of four novels by Christina Baker Kline on tour with TLC Book Tours, however, Orphan Train is not amongst them. I am going to read Orphan Train in September for my own edification and pleasure. I want to take my time to absorb into it and soak through the emotions I know I shall greet when I open the pages of a story I have not stopped thinking about since it arrived.

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Book Synopsis:

Christina Baker KlineFrom the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train comes a novel about buried secrets and the redemptive power of forgiveness

Cassie Simon is a struggling artist living in New York City. When she receives a call from a magistrate telling her she has inherited sixty acres of land in Sweetwater, Tennessee, from her grandfather, whom she never knew, she takes it as a sign: it’s time for a change. She moves to the small Southern town where her mother, Ellen, grew up—and where she died tragically when Cassie was three.

From the moment she arrives in Sweetwater, Cassie is overwhelmed by the indelible mark her mother’s memory left behind. As she delves into the thicket of mystery that surrounds her mother’s death, Cassie begins to discover the desperate measures of which the human heart is capable.

Author Biography:

Christina Baker Kline was born in England and raised in Maine. The author of five novels, including the runaway bestseller Orphan Train, Kline has taught literature and creative writing at Yale, New York University, and Fordham. She lives outside of New York City.

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A novel which shifts both forward & backward through time:

Quite cleverly ahead of each new chapter featuring Cassie’s current life and affairs, there is a flashback sequence to a darker moment in the past; of a time where a woman lived inside of a marriage that was not quite as loving and centered in joy as Cassie’s own life was lived. A woman whose voice is not entirely quiet nor passive, but illuminating a darker truth about herself, her situation, and where her path led her. Her life spills out in small passages of emotional angst and an intuitive glimmer of introspection. This ‘other woman’ who is living a radically different existence to Cassie is connected to Cassie’s world and time-line, even if we are not entirely certain how this could be, as we first begin to delve between the chapters and the context.

Further in, we realise that we are reading a sequence of memories being shared with us by Cassie’s grandmother, Constance (later known as Clyde) who raised her mother Ellen. Ellen was one of three children Constance had with her husband Amory, and it is within their story that part of Cassie’s past I felt would intervene on her future; as families tend to have threads of time stretching between generations, as much as they have secrets that have a tendency of bubbling back to the surface. Constance has her own way of speaking and expressing her grief whilst dealing with her in-affectionate husband and the oddities of having to deal with life when you felt you were living within a love centered romance.

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Posted Tuesday, 5 August, 2014 by jorielov in A Father's Heart, Adoption, Adulterous Affair, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Bookish Discussions, Brothers and Sisters, Death of a Sibling, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Novel, Disillusionment in Marriage, Domestic Violence, Family Drama, Family Life, Father-Daughter Relationships, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Grief & Anguish of Guilt, LGBTTQPlus Fiction | Non-Fiction, Life Shift, Literary Fiction, Mother-Daughter Relationships, New York City, Pottery, Psychological Suspense, Scribd, Sculpture, Single Fathers, Small Towne USA, Taboo Relationships & Romance, Throwing Pots, TLC Book Tours, Unexpected Inheritance, Vulgarity in Literature, Widows & Widowers, Working with Clay

+Book Review+ Lemongrass Hope by Amy Impellizzeri #IndieNovel #MagicalRealism

Posted Sunday, 3 August, 2014 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

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Lemongrass Hope by Amy Impellizzeri

Lemongrass Hope by Amy Impellizzeri

Published By: Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing (@wymac), 8 October, 2014
Official Author Websites:
Site | @AmyImpellizzeri | Blog | Facebook | Author Page on WMP
Available Formats: Trade Paperback Page Count: 304

Genre(s): Fiction | Romance | Magical Realism | Time Travel | Literary Fiction

Converse via: #LemongrassHope

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Acquired Book By: I crossed paths with the author of “Lemongrass Hope” on Twitter, as she contacted me in regards to receiving an ARC copy of her debut novel which publishes this Autumn. This was in late May and I was hoping to review the book in mid to late June. However, due to different personal reasons I had to extend my post until July. I received a complimentary ARC copy of the book direct from the author Amy Impellizzeri, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read:  

What originally captivated me by Lemongrass Hope was the premise of the story itself – a mirror into a life which would have a unique style of delivery. At least I murmured a hope that this novel would carry with it a unique craft of story and one that not only could be a mirth of joy to read but would encourage me to draw a pensive eye once the story concluded. I love stories which engage my mind as readily as my heart — stories which drive me to think about the dimensions of the story as it slowly tumbles through and out of my memory. To carry with me a bit further than the reading itself and impart a lasting impression of what was conveyed through the pen of the author. I felt such a strong pull to reading Lemongrass Hope; I was over the moon in gratitude for the author to have expressed an interest in giving it to me to read.

I have had a building interest in reading this novel as due to various personal reasons, I have wanted to read a story that has a central theme of ‘hope’ building inside its central heart of narrative. I wanted to read something inspiring and something a bit magical at the same time — a story to take me outside the realm of the everyday and transition into this beautiful place that exists between this world and the next. I love reading Magical Realism stories and watching them on television as I mentioned on my review for The Silent Touch of Shadows for this very reason. I was meant to start reading Lemongrass Hope on Tuesday, the 22nd of July — however a severe allergic reaction cut my plans short! Thankfully, due to homeopathic medicine I was able to come down from the fog of my initial medicine and soak into the story! A day where disappearing from the angst of allergies and reactions therein, this particular story alighted itself into the forefront of my mind and heart. Stories are like that,… they tend to arrive in our lives of a timing that cannot be measured by conventional means but felt by our hearts.

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Book Synopsis:

Set in the past, and present, Lemongrass Hope is a captivating and unpredictable love story, with a dose of magical realism and time travel, that fans of authors such as Audrey Niffenegger, Alice Hoffman, and Toni Morrison will appreciate and embrace. Like Liane Moriarty’s The Husband’s Secret, Lemongrass Hope weaves together ordinary lives and events to tell an extraordinary tale of connection, loss, renewal, and of course, hope. As Kate Sutton’s decade-long marriage to Rob erodes and unravels, Kate fears that the secrets she guards from the world, including Rob’s emergency room proposal, and a whirlwind love affair from her past, have always doomed her fate.

When she unwittingly receives a glimpse at what her life could have been like had she made different choices all those years ago, it is indeed all she could have ever wanted. A confirmation of her greatest hope, and her greatest fears.

Lemongrass Hope will draw you in with characters so relatable and real, you will cheer for them one moment and flinch the next. A tale that invites you to suspend disbelief—or perhaps decide to believe once and for all— in the potent power of love and connection over time and choice.

Oh, and the dress. There’s this lemongrass dress . . .

Author Biography:

Amy ImpellizzeriA reformed corporate litigator with a background of survival and renewal, Amy Impellizzeri has been writing since childhood, but ended a long hiatus from personal writing after a plane crashed in her residential neighborhood in 2001, killing everyone on board and five of her neighbors, as she started on a journey of guilt and healing, detailed in her essay, Unscathed. After 13 years in the cutthroat world of corporate law, including a decade at a top Manhattan law firm, Impellizzeri left to write and advocate for entrepreneurial women, eventually landing at the investor-backed start-up company, Hybrid Her, named by ForbesWoman as a Top Website for Women in 2010 and 2011 (and recently rebranded as ShopFunder, LLC) while working on her first novel, Lemongrass Hope, and her first non-fiction book, Lawyer Interrupted, scheduled to be published by the American Bar Association in 2015.

Her essays and articles have appeared in The Huffington Post, The Glass Hammer, Divine Caroline, and ABA’s Law Practice Today, among more.

 

Time as a vortex of transportation:

Time is in the background of Lemongrass Hope, as Kate has a propensity for shifting time forward and backwards with the ease of her mind’s ability to draw forth the memories she both wants to forget and hope she’s overcome. Her path is to seek a bit of redemptive hope out of going back over her choices and of recollecting where those choices led her on her lifepath. Time for all its measurements is both elusive and transcending as the chapters drift between your fingers, as you lose yourself in the timescape of where Kate is leading the story to go forward. She tempts you with a rhythm that is of her choosing and a realisation that time cannot always be undone.

My Review of Lemongrass Hope:

Stories alight in our hands at a timing of their own reckoning, and this particular story has a rhythmic tone as individual as the author’s path who penned the tale. Lemongrass Hope has a unique narrative voice which curls inside your mind’s eye as you soak in the grace of the writer’s prose. Etched into the gracefulness of her turns of phrase and of placing us inside Botswana as we enter into the story’s setting, is a subtle nudge towards nibbling into the human condition and the emotional arc of how healing involves an acknowledge of thought, feeling, and evoking ruminations. The stage is set quite nicely for a complex story filled with characters who are already in-progress on a journey – towards an enlightenment driven out of their choice of purpose and the textural landscape of where their path will lead them.

The story starts off in segmented pieces of scenes depicting certain moments within the lives of the characters which is imperative and important to take stock of, yet their meaning and definitions come into meaning lateron. The Prologue presents a thesis of direction, of a willingness to rewind time and of accepting our destiny as a walkway which can be walked and followed, yet given the murmurings of free will is not always a visible line. The first three chapters are time shifts between 1997, 2011, and 2009 — little seedlings of where Kate and Ian were at distinctive snapshots of ‘time’ within the sphere of their living hours. Their innermost thoughts are woven into the fabric of the narrative which gives us an intrapersonal connection to them rather instinctively.

The mind is a curious portal: emotions, memories, the elasticity of hope, and a renewing sense of place & time. Impellizzeri’s unique style of telling this story is not jolting but encouraging, the transitions of the years which might appear to be disjointed are actually a telling sense of reason behind the fury of emotional anguish in Kate. The pattern of the novel is one that I found pleasing because it encourages a new sense of how a story can be set, told, and presented. Kate is in desperate need of a respite from her life, to take a step back from motherhood and marriage; both of which have consumed her with a vacuuming effect of loss of self. The internal struggle for order and any sense of logic to have arrived at a point of place in her marriage where infidelity and an absence of love had shattered the tethering of her spirit. Her mind was a minefield of emotional turmoil plaguing her with ruminative flashbacks and haunting memories of each decisive choice she made to arrive where she was on her path. To be the Mum of Michael and David, wedded to Ian and wistfully hopeful there was a way ‘out’ of where she currently was living to a life that made a heap more sense.

The story is a mind map of the central character’s life; etched out of emotions & the curious speculative heart for a confluence of logical explanation for why her life took the course it had. Benton is the unexpected best friend who inadvertently introduced Kate to Rob and Ian; the two blokes who are central to the distress of Kate’s fevered mind. Rob is the bloke who drifted past Kate’s orb, whilst Ian settled into her heart and therefore stole her passion. Ian enraptured a sense of adventure bolstered by a theory of time travel through a drink native to Botswana; a country where he worked inside as a journalist. Rob had the unfortunate timing of being just a shy step short of entering her life at a moment in which she was ready for falling in love.

I need to sort out how to properly make homemade curry, as this novel and others in its wake have encouraged me to the pursuit! I fear my favourite Indian restaurant closed shoppe without another to take its place. Curry is the meal that speaks to the soul, and the heart is always mindful of the warmth this cosy-comfort food encourages you to savour whilst the naan you consume adds the nosh to become a heightened joy of culinary delight! I admit, I felt a bit envious of Kate & Ian! Their entire relationship was centered around curry and the serendipitous nature of two souls crossing paths within the hours one does not expect to find romance and the mirth of soul-connected relationship. 

Ian’s path took him forward into a lively professional traveller position as a writer whereas Kate staid true to her course as a college Professor. She opted for the original bloke she was set-up to date on a blind lark suggestion by Benton. The friend Kate abandons out of the truth her heart is acknowledging about which bloke her soul feels mated and of which bloke she is merely sharing space and time. To dissolve a friendship out of the ashes of a lost love and relationship is not logical but then again, neither is love. Love is a leap of trust as much as faith. You have to jump with a measure of belief that you’re following where your heart leads and the path will ring true for you.

The ending will leave you lost in your thoughts about hope, life, love, and the daring reality of changing your stars on your own accord of how your living truth can set you free. Kate’s story has a pace and rhythm uniquely it’s own; a bit how it would be to tell a stranger in a confluence of conversations your own’s life story. It would come out a bit out of order, a bit out of focus from time of the original events, but the beauty would be in the telling of the story itself. In how the lessons you learnt along the corridor of your life not only strengthened you but graced your life with a bounty of blessings you had not fully seen or understood until the day arrived where the last piece of your tapestry’s puzzle fit together quite perfectly. 

Fair warning: You will forsake sleep to finish this novel, as the story attaches to your spirit and the heart of your soul. And, once it it is put down, you will wish for ‘another chapter’, another moment within this world. I had such a personal reaction to this novel, I can only hope the words I’ve left upon concluding it will honour the legacy it will give to the next reader who consumes it’s message. My throat was emotionally choked, tears not yet having left my eyes, and a gratitude I felt as deep as a well for being given the blessing of reading this story,… right here, and ‘now’.

Marriage, Relationships, and the In-Between Moments of Reconciliation:

Impellizzeri has a rather eloquent approach to the craft of story-telling, as she draws you further into her narrative voice with each paragraph you read, as her choices of how a story is told is quite receptively keen on the introspection of her characters;  allowing you the full advantage of listening, hearing, and sensing their emotional state of being. She captures the bits and bobbles of a life in the staging bits of transition and the anxiety of finding yourself in a relationship that is either about to dissolve or repair itself through a bridge in communication. She cleverly has Kate referencing the appeal of reading Eat Pray Love in an effort to connect another women’s marital plight to her own. As I read those passages I thought back on two motion pictures of equal merit and value: Must Love Dogs and Under the Tuscan Sun.

As an aside, being a singleton myself I appear to have an kinetic attraction to stories of divorce as more oft than naught, I am nestled inside either a motion picture or a story in fiction that evolves through the catalyst of relationships. I believe this has to do with my attraction and appreciation of a sociological viewing on humanity, as the lens in which these stories reside is an intimate voicing of the human heart and soul. To expand on the fragility of our personal experiences as much as the process of how we think and access what we are going through as we live our lives. I like the internal analysis these particular stories provide as much as the forethought of the writers to temper what we might conventionally surmise; as found inside the passages which eclipse clarity and distinctive individualism as well.

*note to self: must read the other novels in order to offer further insight on my reflections

*note to readers and visitors: ironically or not, I was not aware the films were based on books whilst seeing them

Marriages of convenience hold within them hidden evidences of romance built around indecision and fear of loneliness. The heart tugs the truth into our minds but truth, like faith is not always something we want to swallow nor accept. To be humble enough to recognise the wrong choice before we take the course we’re walking along would be a beautiful experience in foresight but humans are oft blinded and muddled by our emotional hearts and our souls are bled dry from wrestling with our logical whispers of the unknown. We walk boldly onto the path we choose, even if the future proves to lead to a deep felt sea of remorse.

Impellizzeri found a footing for yielding a story through the myriad labyrinth of a woman’s mind, especially in the manner in which Lemongrass Hope spilts out onto the page. Her words encourage a pensive awareness whilst you read her novel and carry yourself along the emotional memories of Kate as a sense of one soul’s journey towards acceptance and understanding.

On the unique writing style of Amy Impellizzeri:

I appreciated Impellizzeri knitting into her story the elements of what a thirty-something would contemplate, especially from a strong point-of-view of both lead characters. Memories of Baby Boom floated to mind, even though the circumstances towards motherhood differed, Kate had found in Rob the same indifference as Diane Keaton had found inside the character Harold Ramis had portrayed. Professional women who never viewed themselves outside the professional track of their trade, yet observant of other women and the choices they made within their own lives all the same. It is curious timing my reading of Lemongrass Hope to the reading of Love’s Promises (although I oft speak of the serendipitous nature of my reading life and how I oft realise that books alight in my hand to read at a timing that is right in the moment for me to greet them): two separate novelists writing about a thematic I have always appreciated seeing explored. (you’ll also denote my appreciation for stories set in ‘motion’ or in ‘written’ mediums are equally favoured; hence my cross-references for motion pictures and books in print tend to blur into each other) Outside the scope of motherhood, yet focused on marriage both of these novels I’ve recently had the pleasure of reading paint a portrait of honestly real women exploring their personal stances on faith, love, children, marriage, and the singleton life they always felt deeply attached too. Working Girl always left a strong impression (and oh so very quotatable!) next to Baby Boom, and lest I forget to mention Three Men & a Baby which opens the door from a completely turn of face point-of-view! And, who did not rally for Steve Martin’s character in A Simple Twist of Fate?!

One author I want to encourage myself to read next is Jane Porter, who writes Contemporary Romances of equal thought-provoking narratives, where the vein of questioning one’s path and deciding on what is one’s true path to follow is as unique as the characters who bring those lifepaths to life. It is such a strong appeal to read about characters experiencing an arc of a life shift and in full choice of where their futures lie if they are willing to wrestle out their emotional heart and allow themselves the ability to lead a truer life forward on a path that will enrich as much as it will stabilise their needs. I recently crossed paths with Mari Passananti and her novel ‘The Hazards of Hunting While Heartbroken’ spoke to me at ‘hallo’ as well. How lovely then, that August is the ‘Read A Romance Month? (#ReadARomanceMonth – perhaps you saw the badge in my lower sidebar winking at you?) My forthcoming thoughts intertwined into this online bookish event are forthcoming next on Jorie Loves A Story!

On a singular personal level:

full gratitude for this not being a traditional story with a heart-wrecking cancer sideline.

Instead, it was inspiring and full of hope. 

Hope is a big part of this story.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • Go Indie
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Posted Sunday, 3 August, 2014 by jorielov in 21st Century, Agnostic (Questioning & Searching or Unsure), ARC | Galley Copy, Author Found me On Twitter, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Book Review (non-blog tour), Book Trailer, Bookish Discussions, Botswana, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Divorce & Martial Strife, Family Drama, Fantasy Fiction, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Genre-bender, Grief & Anguish of Guilt, Historical Fiction, Indie Author, Life Shift, Literary Fiction, Magical Realism, Modern Day, New York City, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love, Sociological Behavior, The Bermuda Triangle, Time Shift, Time Travel, Time Travel Romance

+Book Review+ Tempesta’s Dream: A story of Love, Friendship, & Opera by Vincent B. “Chip” LoCoco

Posted Monday, 21 July, 2014 by jorielov , , , , 2 Comments

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Tempesta’s Dream: A Story of Love, Friendship, & Opera by Vincent B. “Chip” LoCoco

Tempesta's Dream Virtual Blog Tour with HFVBT

Published By: Cefalutana Press,26 September, 2013
Official Author Websites: Site | @VincentBLoCoco| Blog
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook Page Count: 264

Converse via: , , & #HFVBTBlogTour

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Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Tempesta’s Dream” virtual book tour through HFVBT: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the author Vincent B. “Chip” LoCoco, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Tempesta's Dream by Vincent B. LoCoco Book Synopsis:

Tempesta’s Dream is the story of an aspiring opera singer coming of age in Milan; a tender and moving love story; a testament to the bonds of friendship; and, at its core, a tribute to the beauty, majesty and miracle of opera.

Giovanni Tempesta always dreamed of becoming an opera tenor and one day singing from the stage of the La Scala Opera House in his hometown of Milan, Italy. But with no real training, his dream has little chance for fulfillment . . . One day, he meets and immediately falls in love with Isabella Monterone, a dark-haired beauty, whose father, a very rich and powerful Milanese Judge, refuses to allow his daughter to date a penniless musician . . . At the lowest part of his life, Giovanni comes upon the Casa di Riposo, a rest home for musicians established by the great opera composer, Giuseppe Verdi . . . It is at the Casa Verdi that Giovanni meets Alfredo del Monte, a blind, retired opera singer with a secretive past who gradually becomes his mentor . . . Could Alfredo be the one person who could assist Giovanni in finding the break he needs? Or is Giovanni destined to be on the cusp of reaching his life long dream, only to find failure? . . . Tempesta’s Dream, at its core, is an Italian opera love story. The author tells the story simply and swiftly with an ending that is both an emotional and poignant moment of both “amicizia e amore” (friendship and love.)

Author Biography:

Vincent B. "Chip" LoCoco

Chip LoCoco was born and raised in New Orleans. He is an attorney, with an emphasis on estate planning. A lifelong lover of music, Chip’s passion for opera dates back many years now. He has seen operas all over the world at some of the greatest opera houses. Chip has been asked to give talks on opera as well as the Sicilian-American culture of New Orleans.

Chip’s second novel, Bellafortuna, has been named a Short List Finalist in the William Faulkner Writing Competition. A date for publication has not been set yet for his second novel.

Chip is married to his wife of 15 years, Wendy. They have two children, Matthew and Ellie and a beagle, named Scout. They reside in their beloved city of New Orleans, where if you try to find them on a Sunday in the Fall, they will be somewhere rooting on their Saints.

 

On the Revelations within the Author’s Note:

The author and I share a mutual thread of heritage and passion for music — as I was raised in a very artistic minded home, where art, culture, and music flourished. My grandparents had a particular interest in Japanese art and music, whereas my parents introduced me to Native American culture, religion, and art, as much as a definitive zest for classical music and compositions. On this level, my favourite ‘music’ as a child were actual motion picture soundtracks, specifically not the ‘pop’ track versions, the ‘scores’, by such conductors as John Williams. The 1812 overture was an especially keen favourite but that goes to the root of my patriotic birthright. I listened to a heap of ‘singles’ on vinyl editions, which gave me the propensity as an adult to seek out traditional record shoppes and restore my fever of excitement over collecting not only ‘new’ limited releases but the older classics from the early 20th Century straight through to classical opera.

Attending symphonies and orchestra performances is what lent my ear to listening to opera – in the traditional sense, the modern band versions, and of course rock opera from the theatrical stage! I love how music can evoke such an emotional connection and stir our souls into an elevated experience of heart, mind, and spirit. Music reaches us on a different level than vocalised speech, as it speaks directly to who we are past our humanity. Reading about the author’s own past growing up in a creative and spirited environment which celebrated the arts, most specifically the focus on music in its most classical forms, gave me a renewed belief that there are others out there who lived a similar life to my own. I had to nod in agreement with him about how there are differences between our childhoods and this modern world we are living in which tends to eradicate the traditional arts, cultural experiences, and musical traditions that have sustained the world for millennia. Yet I have started to seen a renewed interest in not only re-attributing the old world arts and crafts, but to give a new appreciation for the classical arts as a whole. This positive step forward renews my own heart and soul on the matter, as life without music (or any of the classical arts & crafts) is a life without a creative lifeblood cast onto the wings of our spirits.

I appreciated hearing about the conversations and visitations he had with Mrs. Cellini as it gave a personal glimpse into his writing life that not every writer shares with his readership. I like hearing snippets of where research takes writers on their discovery and journey as they research their novels. This gave an added dimension to the spirit he wove into the text and for that he had my appreciation!

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • Go Indie
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Posted Monday, 21 July, 2014 by jorielov in 20th Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Trailer, Composer, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Fly in the Ointment, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Italy, Life in Another Country, Life Shift, Lyrical Quotations, Mental Health, Musical Fiction | Non-Fiction, New Orleans, Opera History, Opera Singers, Star-Crossed Lovers

+Book Review+ Go Away Home by Carol Bodensteiner : A #histfic coming-of age story!

Posted Friday, 18 July, 2014 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , 7 Comments

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 Go Away Home by Carol Bodensteiner

Go Away Home Virtual Tour with HFVBT

Published By: Rising Sun Press, 1 July, 2014
Official Author Websites:
Site | @CABodensteiner| Facebook | GoodReads | LinkedIn

Available Formats: Paperback Page Count: 382

Converse on Twitter: #GoAwayHome, #GoAwayHomeBlogTour, & #HFVBTBlogTour

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Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Go Away Home” virtual book tour through HFVBT: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the publisher Rising Sun Press, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Go Away Home by Carol Bodensteiner Book Synopsis:

Liddie Treadway grew up on a family farm where options for her future were marriage or teaching. Encouraged by suffragette rhetoric and her maiden aunt, Liddie is determined to avoid both and pursue a career. Her goal is within her grasp when her older sister’s abrupt departure threatens to keep her on the farm forever.

Once she is able to experience the world she’s dreamed of, Liddie is enthralled with her independence, a new-found passion for photography, and the man who teaches her. Yet, the family, friends, and life of her youth tug at her heart, and she must face the reality that life is not as simple, or the choices as clear-cut, as she once imagined.

GO AWAY HOME is a coming-of-age novel that explores the enduring themes of family, friendship, and love, as well as death and grief. This novel will resonate with anyone who’s confronted the conflict between dreams and reality and come to recognize that getting what you want can be a two-edged sword.

Author Biography:Carol Bodensteiner

Carol Bodensteiner grew up in the heartland of the United States, and she continues to draw writing inspiration from the people, places, culture, and history of the area. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society. She is the author of Growing Up Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl, a memoir. Her essays have been published in several anthologies. Go Away Home is her first novel.

 

Mid-West America : Americana as a setting:

I grew up reading a heap of Children’s Literature and Classical Literature for Young Readers which dealt with the Heartland of America, as much as the life on the frontier whilst America was just starting to sprout wings as settlers moved further West from the East. I also was fortunate to settle into stories which developed a positive outlook and relationship of the Native American tribes between Canada and America; not always focusing on the war between the settlers and the Indians, but rather stories which enriched the notion that oft-times a truce of peace and an alliance in trade was able to be transacted. What always fascinated me by the hearty life of ranching and farming, is the ordinary joys that whispered into the hearts and minds of those who lived aplenty off the land they worked, harvested, and grew families upon. Even in Native American cultures and societies there was a pure sense of honour and pride knowing that what you could either hunt or grow could not only sustain your own family but your neighbours and community.

My own ancestral roots include farmers and workers for civil rights and liberties, which is why I was thankful to see Aunt Kate and her suffrage movement work included in this particular story. The quality of food from farm to fork (or plate; there are two ready phrases in use nowadays) cannot be compared to industrial methods, and I am happily a locavore and have been for most of my days. The convenience of purchasing locally grown foods in places outside larger cities is still a means to an end to achieve, but the idea of lowering our footprint and supporting local farmers is at the core of my being. The best way to impact the economy is in direct support of local producers of food, commerce, and supplies. I also appreciate settling into stories where there is an ‘other age’ quality to the story-telling, where life was not bent against the wheel towards working one’s soul into an early grave, but rather, the work which was done was in effort to create a better living for yourself and those you took care of. To give industry to the hours of daylight and mirth to the hours that waxed into the moon.

Communication was limited (for the most part) to postal mail – letters and the correspondences exchanged between family and friends alike was not only a convenience but a lifeline built between everyone. In my own childhood, I came to appreciate the joy of sending and receiving letters quite readily; a tradition that I carry forward today. My eyes always glisten with a bit of eager happiness when a writer includes samples or full passages of the ‘letters’ being sent back and forth between their characters. In Go Away Home, the letters are warm reminders of how special a connection is to be kept and how dear the conversation is to those who send and receive postal mail.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted Friday, 18 July, 2014 by jorielov in 20th Century, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, Bread Making, Child out of Wedlock, Children's Classics, Children's Literature, Coming-Of Age, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Family Life, Father-Daughter Relationships, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Indie Author, Iowa, Locavore, Mid-West America, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Postal Mail | Letters & Correspondence, Prior to WWI, Sewing & Stitchery, Siblings, Story knitted out of Ancestral Data, The House of Elliott, the Nineteen Hundreds, The World Wars, Unexpected Pregnancy, Women's Suffrage

+Author Guest Post+ Writer of “Go Away Home”, Carol Bodensteiner talks about where she found her inspiration for creating the story!

Posted Thursday, 17 July, 2014 by jorielov , 0 Comments

Guest Post by Parajunkee

Carol Bodensteiner

Proposed Topic: The underscore of the novel is relating directly to the life choices each individual makes as we grow-up, and yet, not always an easy topic to write about as sometimes people have to make a harder choice which leads them back to family, their childhood home, or a place they weren’t expecting to find themselves. How did you originate the idea behind Liddie Treadway!? Was it partly inspired by a real person, either known in your own family’s history or one you came across whilst conducting research? What drew you into Liddie’s story to impart her onto readers?

One of the blessings I have always appreciated as a book blogger is having the opportunity to host authors as Special Guests on my blog! They give me such keen insight into their novels, a bit of their writer’s process, and the light of joy in their inspiring paths they take towards having their stories in printed form, that I am always fascinated and thrilled to feature a new author I have been enjoying the pleasure of knowing a bit better. In this particular case, what happily surprised me about having learnt the back-story on “Go Away Home” is that the author herself, quite literally ‘went back home” and found the inspiration of her story! I have oft mentioned my delight and joy in researching my own ancestral past, and like Ms. Bodensteiner I am generally left a bit bereft in having lost the true details of how my grandfathers and grandmothers stories truly knit together and occupied their living days.

Let me now present Ms. Bodensteiner and

give you the lovely insight into this historical novel

I was so happy to read about myself:

Go Away Home by Carol Bodensteiner Book Synopsis:

Liddie Treadway grew up on a family farm where options for her future were marriage or teaching. Encouraged by suffragette rhetoric and her maiden aunt, Liddie is determined to avoid both and pursue a career. Her goal is within her grasp when her older sister’s abrupt departure threatens to keep her on the farm forever.

Once she is able to experience the world she’s dreamed of, Liddie is enthralled with her independence, a new-found passion for photography, and the man who teaches her. Yet, the family, friends, and life of her youth tug at her heart, and she must face the reality that life is not as simple, or the choices as clear-cut, as she once imagined.

GO AWAY HOME is a coming-of-age novel that explores the enduring themes of family, friendship, and love, as well as death and grief. This novel will resonate with anyone who’s confronted the conflict between dreams and reality and come to recognize that getting what you want can be a two-edged sword.

 

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

}: The story behind her novel,

& how her grandfather inspired her to create it :{

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Is that a good choice?

“What if you choose wrong?” Liddie looked to her father.

“Then you make a new decision.” G.W. tapped the pipe bowl against the ashtray. “Every choice we make becomes part of who we are. That’s why you must take care.”

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Posted Thursday, 17 July, 2014 by jorielov in 20th Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Coming-Of Age, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author, The World Wars