Like a River: A Civil War Novel -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“Anyone who wishes to become a good writer should endeavour,

before he allows himself to be tempted by the more showy qualities,

to be direct, simple, brief, vigorous, and lucid.”

~ H.W. Fowler, lexicographer ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Working on non-fiction or historical fiction? Kathy Temean has a great post by Erika Wassall HERE on research tips. 

Wonderful article HERE by Toni Morrison called Write, Erase, Do It Over: On Failure, Risk and Writing Outside Yourself.

We all have times when the well seems to be dry. My friend and fellow writer Jennie Hansen sent me the link to a good article HERE, 14 Surprising Ways to Boost Creativity.

Last week, I promised a copy of Augusta Scattergood's latest novel, The Way to Stay in Destiny, to one of you. Our winner this week is Sue Heavenrich, a science writer and photographer. Congratulations, Sue! I will be sending your book out this week. If you don't know Sue, check out her THREE blogs. I can hardly keep one going, but Sue has three. Wow. You can check them out by clicking on their titles: Sally's Bookshelf, Archimedes Notebook, and The Marcellus Effect. She has book reviews and sometimes giveaways on the first two, so don't miss those. I have another great giveaway this week, so keep on reading.

Another of the people I've met through the Highlights Workshops is Kathy Wiechman who writes historical fiction. Kathy and I had known each other for some years via the internet before we actually met at the Whole Novel Historical Fiction workshop. She had a manuscript that was pretty close to being acquired and we were all thrilled to hear that it happened for her not long after the workshop. That book, Like A River: A Civil War Novel, is coming out on April 7. That is the book I want to tell you about. It's terrific. Here is the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review.

Leander is fifteen and lives in his older brother’s shadow. Nate, eighteen, is everything Leander wants to be. When Nate announces he is joining the Union Army with his friend, Given, Leander sees the decision drive a wedge between his parents. Days later, Nate is badly injured and will never walk again. Leander signs up in Nate’s place. He and Given are in a fierce battle and Leander loses his arm. While recuperating in a field hospital, Leander meets Paul. Paul has a big secret. When Paul’s injured father dies, Paul joins a fighting unit, ending up in Andersonville Prison where he meets Given, and they help each other survive.

“He wondered what her real name was, and was she making up those stories about hunting possum, rabbits, and deer? Those didn’t sound like things a girl would do.”

Kathy Cannon Wiechman has written a compelling story of loyalty, survival,

Kathy Cannon Wiechman

friendship, and love for young people caught up in the most terrible of times and places during the Civil War. It is clear Wiechman did a great deal of good research to bring such a level of realism to this excellent story. The characters are rich and well-rounded, the settings nearly palpable, and the writing is beautiful and powerful. This should have a much wider readership than the middle-grade and teen audience for which it is intended.

You can read a more extensive review of this book and a wonderful interview with Kathy HERE on Jennifer Sommer's blog. It has lots of good information for writers and readers. Do check it out. 

I have a gently read ARC of this terrific book for one of you. To win, all you need do is have a US address, be a subscriber or follower and tell me that in a comment you leave on this post. If you are reading this in your email, click HERE to go to the blog so you can leave a comment. If you would like extra chances, please spread the word by posting the link on a Tweet, blog post, Facebook, or any other way you like. Let me know what you have done in your comment, and I will put in extra chances for you for each that you do.

Don't forget to check out Shannon Messenger's wonderful blog HERE for many more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews and giveaways.

The Way to Stay in Destiny -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.”

~ Vladimir Nabokov ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Fiction University is always worth a look, but some posts are absolutely not to be missed. Janice Hardy is running a series of posts on revision. One of the best HERE is Clean Up the Description and Stage Direction.

HERE is another one from Ms. Hardy. One of the best on revision she has had, and that’s saying something. 

Every wonder how much time your story should cover? Wonder no more. K. M. Weiland explains it all HERE in her post called The Crucial Way to Figure Out How Much Time Your Story Should Take. 

Last time we met, I offered a copy of Scar Boys by Len Vlahos to one of you. This week's winner is Helen! Congratulations, Helen. I will get the book out to you this week. I have another great giveaway this week, so stay tuned.

A year and a half ago, I was lucky enough to attend the Highlight's Whole Novel Historical Fiction workshop. It was a great experience. One of the things that made it great was the wonderful faculty. One member of the faculty was Augusta Scattergood. Her first book, Glory Be, hadn't been out too long, but it certainly had received a great deal of acclaim. It is a wonderful book. If you haven't read it yet, you should. But this week I am going to tell you about her second novel, The Way to Stay in Destiny. When she told me it was about, among other things, a relationship that had love of baseball at it core, she had me. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Here is the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review. 

It is the 1970s and young Theo, who lost his parents when he was four, must now leave his grandparents’s Kentucky farm with his uncle, a stranger to Theo, to move to Florida. Uncle Raymond is an angry Vietnam veteran who has very strict rules for Theo as they settle into Miss Sister Grandersole’s Rest Easy Rooming House and Dance Academy in the tiny town of Destiny, Florida. Miss Sister is a kind woman who takes a shine to Theo and encourages his talent for playing piano, something Uncle Raymond has forbidden. Theo is befriended by a girl his age named Anabel who shares his interest in baseball. Anabel’s pushy mother thinks Theo is a bad influence. As soon as Theo begins to feel at home, his uncle threatens to move and disrupt Theo’s life again.

“The only answer is creaking bedsprings, then snoring. Before long, my uncle’s yelling about jungles and guns and spit. Under the sheet, I

cover my ears and listen for musical beats inside

my head.”

Augusta Scattergood has written a middle-grade novel that presents her young

Augusta Scattergood

readers with a picture of small-town America in the 1970s, shortly after the Vietnam War has fractured society. This is a period seldom written about for this age group. The book has excellent writing, compelling characters, strong conflicts, and a solid story that should bring wide readership in the target audience.

I have a gently read hardback copy of this terrific book for one of you. To win, all you need do is have a US address, be a subscriber or follower and tell me that in a comment you leave on this post. If you are reading this in your email, click HERE to go to the blog so you can leave a comment. If you would like extra chances, please spread the word by posting the link on a Tweet, blog post, Facebook, or any other way you like. Let me know what you have done in your comment, and I will put in extra chances for you for each that you do.

Don't forget to check out Shannon Messenger's wonderful blog HERE for many more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews and giveaways.