ENEMIES OF DOVES

 

by

 

Shanessa Gluhm

 

Genre: Historical Fiction / Mystery

Publisher: TouchPoint Press

Publication Date: March 20, 2020

Number of Pages: 324 pages

 

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Told in alternating timelines from World War II to 1992, debut author Shanessa Gluhm’s Enemies of Doves is a tale of family secrets, jealousy, and deception perfect for fans of Kate Morton and Katherine Webb.

On a summer night in 1932, twelve-year-old Joel Fitchett wanders into an East Texas diner badly beaten and carrying his unconscious brother, Clancy. Though both boys claim they have no memory of what happened, the horrific details are etched into their minds as deep as the scar left across Joel’s face.

Thirteen years later, both men still struggle with the aftershocks of that long-ago night and the pact they made to hide the truth. When they find themselves at the center of a murder investigation, they make a decision that will change everything. A second lie, a second pact, and, for a time, a second chance. In 1991 college student Garrison Stark travels to Texas chasing a rumor that Clancy Fitchett is his biological grandfather. Clancy has been missing since 1946, and Garrison hopes to find him and, in doing so, find a family. What he doesn’t expect to discover is a tangle of secrets spanning sixty years involving Clancy, Joel, and the woman they both loved, Lorraine.

 

 

 

Amazon ┃ Barnes and Noble ┃ IndieBound

 

 

Praise

 

“Enemies of Doves weaves a timeline of events that makes for compelling reading. It’s an ecological system of interlocking decisions, discoveries, and circumstances that spans some sixty years of love, danger, and revelations.” —D. Donovan, senior reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“I’ve read some amazing thriller and suspense stories this year, but Enemies of Doves takes the mid-year prize. I’m not one for dual timelines, but this one was perfection with the fifty-year time-span moving forward in tandem. Garrison’s search will cause time to collide, unlocking a lifetime of secrets, and THE PLOT TWIST OF 2020!” —author Felicia Denise

“Shanessa Gluhm is a brilliant writer. I very seldom read a book that I cannot figure out how it will end, but this one literally blew me away!” —Lori Thomas Harrington, author of The Point

 

 

 

 

 

While not officially on this tour, I wanted to share this amazing book with everyone.  This book held me captive from the beginning until the end.  I loved the span of 6 decades that covered the lives of Clancy, Joel, Lorraine, and Garrison, which gave me the opportunity to get to know each character and how they fit into each other’s lives.  I was also drawn into this book because of the location – East Texas, specifically Longview.  I lived for a time in this town and I could imagine this sleepy little town before it grew to the size it is now.

This book is about family, relationships, and has a bit of a mystery twist too.  Garrison is trying to find his grandfather Clancy based on something his grandmother said to him. This sets him on a trail in the early 1990s before technology and where research means looking at microfiche instead of the internet.  What he won’t know is that the truth will be right in front of him in more ways than one.  As secrets are revealed throughout the book, I was kept on the end of my seat wondering what could possibly be revealed next.

Joel and Clancy endured a lot as children including an event that they kept secret until near the end of the book. These twists are part of what kept me engaged in the story.  How did Joel get the scar on his face? What really happened that day? The answers are quite surprising and explain a little more about their fear of birds. There is also the question of how Joel ended up in prison.  Was he really guilty of killing his father? Again, another plot twist I didn’t see coming when all is revealed.

A good story is not without some romance or at least an inkling. Lorraine is loved by both Joel and Clancy, but Clancy is the one that captures her heart with their shared love of books. Their relationship is not smooth and while he is away fighting in the war, Joel and Lorraine become closer. It is hard when Clancy comes back because he was missing for many months and suffers from battle fatigue, or what we know today as PTSD. The scenes where Clancy gets lost in the past reflect what it feels like for those that have PTSD and the flashbacks they endure reliving horrific events over and over.  Will this end his relationship with Lorraine?

Garrison has a girlfriend, Amber, back home. While he is in Longview, he meets Molly who is just as intrigued by his potential family and believes that Joel doesn’t belong in prison.  Working together sparks something between the two.  Will he stay with Amber or move forward with Molly?  I enjoyed watching Garrison and Molly’s friendship bloom. There are some plots twists regarding Molly and her family that were unexpected.

This is a debut book and it is one that I highly recommend and give it 5 paws up.  I don’t know what the author might have in store for her next book but if it is anything like this one it will be a winner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shanessa Gluhm works as a librarian at an elementary school in New Mexico, where she lives with her husband and children. It was during her own elementary days when a teacher encouraged Shanessa to write and share stories with the class. She hasn’t stopped writing since. Enemies of Doves is her debut novel.

 

 

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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

 

TWO WINNERS!

 

1^st: Signed Copy + $20 Amazon Card

 

2^nd: eBook

 

JULY 28-August 7, 2020

 

(US ONLY)

 

 

 

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Visit The Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

For direct links to each post on this tour, updated daily,

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7/28/20	Playlist	The Page Unbound
7/28/20	BONUS Post	Hall Ways Blog
7/29/20	Top Ten List	Chapter Break Book Blog
7/30/20	Review	Max Knight
7/31/20	Review	Nerd Narration
8/1/20	Author Interview	All the Ups and Downs
8/2/20	Scrapbook Page	That’s What She’s Reading
8/3/20	Review	Jennifer Silverwood
8/4/20	Deleted Scene	Book Bustle
8/5/20	Review	The Clueless Gent
8/6/20	Review	Reading by Moonlight

 

 

 

 

 

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Synopsis

 

This is a story about reclaiming your life.

 

“Not that anyone stole mine. I just lost who I’d wanted to be.” — From Virtue

 

Virtue explores the vulnerability and randomness of human existence through the lives of Tom and Hannah Holder, each of whom are grappling with midlife crises.

Scarred by an incident from his youth that broke up his family and left him estranged from his father, Tom has carried self-doubt, buried in a battered soul, his entire life. In the span of a few short months, Tom, now a philosophy professor, watches his adult life unravel as the college president tries to ruin his career, his wife Hannah threatens to leave him, his father is stricken with cancer, and he learns dark secrets about the past. Tom is forced to confront the person he’s become and now loathes, before having any chance to find a path back to his marriage, his academic integrity, and his estranged father.

Hannah feels the walls closing in on her. She is sick of being a stay-at-home mom marooned in a rural college town, her teenage daughter, Madison, is the subject of anti-LBGTQ bullying, and her teenage son, Dillon, is failing at school and having run-ins with the law. Hannah wants out of a life that has grown toxic to her family and to reclaim the person she once was—a confident professional woman. But her husband, seemingly unable to manage his myriad problems, now stands in the way.

As Tom and Hannah struggle to save their marriage, they test the limits of the power of redemption and cause us to question whether we can ever truly know ourselves, much less our loved ones.

 

 

 

Excerpt

 

This is a story about reclaiming your life.

Not that anyone stole mine. I just lost who I’d wanted to be. I became a cloistered, frustrated mom despite having little patience for those women. Do something with your life if you don’t like it, I’d think to myself, when I saw a miserable one.

And then I became that person.

It crept up on me somehow. I went to work right after college at a bank in Boston, in a management training program, and kept at it for five years while Tom was getting his doctorate. I was the breadwinner as he sunk deeper into debt. (His estranged father wouldn’t help with tuition.) We even bought a small condo.

Not bad. I wanted to be a professional—unlike my mother, who stayed at home and drove me crazy, hovering like a helicopter in an age before such a thing existed—but the job was just moving money around. Big deal.

So, when Tom got offered a tenure-track gig in Maine, I was on board with the move. I could take a break, focus on the children, raise them in a small, nurturing community, and he could launch his career.

I didn’t think far enough ahead though. I knew it would be a challenge later on to get back into the workforce, particularly in rural Maine, but the bricks and mortar model of employment was disappearing. It was the new millennium and people worked in their pajamas!

Not everyone though, it turns out. Moms with no current, marketable skills could just stay unemployed in their pajamas.

I began to rot inside. I resented Tom for his success, his network of colleagues, and the self-esteem that came with it. And I repeated history, becoming the helicopter mom I loathed as a kid. My mind was atrophying, and my soul was thinning.

Then Trump got elected. It shouldn’t have taken that to snap me out of my funk, but it did. Women started marching, getting involved, and getting elected. I couldn’t stay on the sidelines anymore, continue to let my mind and talent go to waste. Political activism wasn’t my thing—I’d been a lifelong Northeastern Republican until Trump, when I switched to Independent—but I wanted to do something that meant something.

Don’t laugh but I decided I wanted to take the LSAT. The law has power, and power can help people. Like using my motherly passion to help women keep custody of their kids and fight off abusers. I wasn’t out to save the world, but maybe my work could benefit the lives of a few people.

I nervously approached Tom in early 2017 about going back to school and moving back to Boston. I didn’t want him to think I was unhappy, even though I was, and I worried he’d resist, knowing that my idea would uproot our lives. He was supportive in words, but his distant, reticent eyes told a different story. He was confused, didn’t know what was happening. Probably thought he was losing the person he knew. Little did he know she was already gone.

But then he had an idea of his own—write a book—and we figured out how to meld the two. The book might give him a better chance to find a position back in Boston, and I could start planning the next phase of my life.

That’s where this story starts. I was cramming for the LSAT, which was in mid-September 2017, and was as excited as I was scared. I had no clue whether I had an aptitude for the law, whatever that meant. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself.

And then my plan slowly went off the rails.

 

 

 

About the Author

 

John Moot left his career in private law practice on the east coast in 2017 to join his sweetheart, Lara Skidmore, in Portland, Oregon. Tragically, shortly after their marriage, Lara was stricken with cancer and died, but her undying love and inspiration drove him to write Virtue and dedicate it to her. He lives on Lake Oswego with his two dogs and works as a pro bono lawyer handling domestic violence cases.

 

Website * Twitter * Instagram * Amazon

 

 

THE BLACK MIDNIGHT

 

by

 

Kathleen Y’Barbo

 

 

Genre: Fiction / Historical Mystery / True Crime

Publisher: Barbour Books

Publication Date: August 1, 2020

Number of Pages: 257

 

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Two killers, two detectives, and a menace called The Black Midnight may be the death of both of them.

Three years before Jack the Ripper began his murderous spree on the streets of London, a killer struck fear into the hearts of the citizens of Austin, Texas. Some believe one man is responsible for both, while others lay the blame at the feet of someone close to the queen herself. With suspicion falling on Her Majesty’s family and Scotland Yard at a loss as to who the Ripper might be, Queen Victoria summons her great-granddaughter, Alice Anne von Wettin, a former Pinkerton agent who worked the unsolved Austin murders case, and orders her to discreetly form a team to look into the London matter. One man is essential to her team, and she doesn’t want to consider taking on this challenge without his expertise. Unfortunately, he’s back in Texas, with a bad attitude and a new profession.

The prospect of a second chance at catching the man who terrorized Austin three years ago just might entice Isaiah Joplin out of his comfortable life as an Austin lawyer, even if it does mean working with the Queen’s great-granddaughter again. If his theories are right, they’ll find the Midnight Assassin and, by default, the Ripper. If they’re wrong, he and Annie are in a bigger mess than the one the lady detective left behind when she departed Austin under cover of darkness three years ago.

Can the unlikely pair find the truth of who is behind the murders before they are drawn into the killer’s deadly game? From Texas to London, the story navigates the fine line between truth and fiction as Annie and Isaiah ultimately find the hunters have become the hunted.

 

 

 

Amazon ┃B&N ┃Christianbook ┃ IndieBound ┃Bookshop

 

Praise

 

“Warning! Don’t read this historical romantic suspense at night!” —DiAnn Mills, Expect an Adventure

“Impeccably researched with sparkling dialogue and riveting history, Kathleen Y’Barbo’s The Black Midnight puts a pair of star-crossed Pinkerton detectives on the trail of a Texas killer who may also be the notorious Jack the Ripper. Very highly recommended and sure to keep you reading well past your bedtime!!” —Colleen Thompson, RITA-nominated author of Deadly Texas Summer

“You’re in for a wild ride as Kathleen Y’Barbo takes you on a story through some of America and Britain’s grisliest murders and somehow manages to weave in a delicious romance. From Texas to London, the ties that bind may be more linked than you previously believed. Settle in for a novel of suspense and romance—just be sure to look over your shoulder every now and then!” —Jaime Jo Wright, 2018 Christy Award-winning author of The House on Foster Hill and 2020 Inspy Award-nominated The Curse of Misty Wayfair

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bestselling author Kathleen Y’Barbo is a multiple Carol Award and RITA nominee and author of more than eighty books, with almost two million in print. A tenth-generation Texan and certified paralegal, she has been nominated for a Career Achievement Award as well as a Reader’s Choice Award and several Top Picks by Romantic Times magazine.

Kathleen celebrated her fifteenth year as a published author by receiving the Romantic Times Inspirational Romance Book of the Year Award for Sadie’s Secret, a Secret Lives of Will Tucker novel. Her novels celebrate life, love, and the Lord—and whenever she can manage it, her home state of Texas. Recent releases include The Pirate Bride, River of Life, and My Heart Belongs in Galveston, Texas.

 

 

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FIVE WINNERS! 

 

One Winner: Signed copy of The Black Midnight + $20 Amazon gift card 

 

Four Winners: Signed copy of The Black Midnight 

 

AUGUST 6-16, 2020 

 

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8/6/20	Notable Quotable	StoreyBook Reviews
8/6/20	BONUS Post	Hall Ways Blog
8/7/20	Author Interview	The Adventures of a Travelers Wife
8/8/20	Review	Missus Gonzo
8/9/20	Excerpt	The Page Unbound
8/10/20	Excerpt	Story Schmoozing Book Reviews
8/11/20	Review	Chapter Break Book Blog
8/12/20	Guest Post	Max Knight
8/13/20	Review	Book Bustle
8/14/20	Author Interview	KayBee’s Book Shelf
8/15/20	Review	That’s What She’s Reading

 

 

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Synopsis

 

A deep dive into the psyche of a young actress raised in the spotlight under the influence of a charming, manipulative film director and the moment when she decides his time is up.

At the height of her career and on the eve of her first Golden Globe nomination, teen star Grace Turner disappeared.

Now, tentatively sober and surprisingly numb, Grace is back in Los Angeles after her year of self-imposed exile. She knows the new private life she wants isn’t going to be easy as she tries to be a better person and reconnect with the people she left behind.

But when Grace is asked to present a lifetime achievement award to director Able Yorke—the man who controlled her every move for eight years—she realizes that she can’t run from the secret behind her spectacular crash and burn for much longer. And she’s the only one with nothing left to lose.

Alternating between past and present, The Comeback tackles power dynamics and the uncertainty of young adulthood, the types of secrets that become part of our sense of self, and the moments when we learn that though there are many ways to get hurt, we can still choose to fight back.

 

 

 

 

Praise

 

“With nuance, wit, and humor, Berman weaves a narrative that is light and exciting, even while addressing difficult topics. At its core, this book is about redemption, grace, and pain. It is the perfect summer read.”—Jenna Bush Hager

A most anticipated book of summer by Today.com ∙ Marie Claire ∙ New York Post ∙ Betches ∙ Better Homes & Gardens ∙ Popsugar ∙ Goodreads ∙ Bad on Paper podcast ∙ The Stripe

 

 

About the Author

 

Ella Berman grew up in both London and Los Angeles and worked at Sony Music before starting the clothing brand London Loves LA. She lives in London with her husband, James, and their dog, Rocky. The Comeback is her first novel.

 

Twitter * Goodreads

 

 

Synopsis

 

The Japanese word gaijin means “unwelcome foreigner.” It’s not profanity but is sometimes a slur directed at non-Japanese people in Japan. My novel is called Gaijin…

Lucy is a budding journalist at Northwestern University and she’s obsessed with an exotic new student, Owen Ota, who becomes her lover and her sensei. When he disappears without explanation, she’s devastated and sets out to find him. On her three-month quest across Japan, she finds only snippets of the elegant culture Owen had described. Instead, she faces anti-U.S. protests, menacing street thugs and sexist treatment, and she winds up at the base of Mt. Fuji, in the terrifying Suicide Forest. Will she ever find Owen? Will she be driven back to the U.S.? Gaijin is a coming-of-age story about a woman who solves a heartbreaking mystery that alters the trajectory of her life.

 

 

 

 

Praise

 

“Against a backdrop of tea ceremonies, lotus blossoms, haikus, and the gritty reality of the difficult history of American and Japanese relationships, Sarah Sleeper weaves her deftly told story of a young woman’s memorable journey toward a greater understanding of the truths that inhabit our complex world. Written with a journalist’s eye for detail and a commitment to the truth, Gaijin is an expansive, meaningful debut.”  – Karen Osborn, author of The Music Book

“A nuanced, subtly written tale that reminds one of those Jamesian cultural clashes between ingenuous Americans and sophisticated foreigners, Sleeper’s novel shows us how we are all, at heart, gaijin.  A novel particularly relevant in today’s highly charged xenophobic era.” -Michael C. White, author of A Beautiful Assassin

“In her new life in Japan, Sarah Z. Sleeper’s protagonist, Lucy, is a fish out of water, and in over her head at the very same time. A candid, beautifully descriptive map of a young woman’s changing emotional landscape.”  – Sally J. Pla, award-winning author of The Someday Birds

“This story of the “unwelcome foreigner” is not an easy one, and it takes an award-winning journalist like Sarah Sleeper to give it the precision, sensitivity, and depth it deserves. The Far East and the Midwest are both on trial as Sleeper investigates the past and present of Japanese-American relations through a haunting, unforgettable story of love lost. Sleeper’s prose is full of natural poetry as she explores all the different shades of heartbreak where personal and political intersect.”  – Porochista Khakpour, author of Brown Album

“Told in lovely prose sprinkled with poetry, Gaijin is a story of love, heartbreak, and self-realization. After traveling halfway around the world in the hope of finding out what happened to her first love, Owen Ota, Lucy must embark on another, more personal quest. A journey of the heart set against the backdrop of a shifting and contradictory landscape.”  – Dare DeLano, award winning author, most recently of Two Cities

 

 

Excerpt – Prologue

 

Mono No Aware

 

Awareness of Impermanence

 

Love, tea and flowers. 

Impermanent, transcendent. 

Are you aware of beauty that flames up and out 

before it can root itself in the earth of truth?

Memory is truth, like brown dirt

smeared on a cherry-blossom pink canvas

—Inspired by antique Japanese porcelain gilded with makie

 

A person or a memory can sit inside you and you might have no choice about it. You don’t have to think about a person for him to be part of you. That’s what my best friend Rose told me years ago, in a moment when she saw me more clearly than I saw myself, a moment when I was restless and heartsick and about to board a plane to Japan.

“I can’t believe it,” she said. “You’re going to hunt down Owen.”

I scoffed and lied, said I never thought of him.

Now years later, I know Rose was right, that you don’t get to decide what sticks and what doesn’t, who gets in and who gets blocked. You like to think you control your destiny and choose your path, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes you’re propelled forward in the most unexpected way when something or someone takes hold of you and doesn’t let go.

That’s how it happened to me. My college love, Owen Ota, burrowed his way into me one tantalizing moment at a time, over the course of a sweltering Indian summer at Northwestern University. He etched himself into the side of my neck and he took root in the pit of my stomach. He changed the trajectory of my life, set me in motion, and then he disappeared, like a puff of smoke or a phantom I’d hallucinated. He gave no feasible explanation, stopped all communication, and fled back to Tokyo in the same startling way he’d arrived. He was gone but I couldn’t let go. I needed to find Owen, and to experience the Japan he described. I clung to the notion that my dreams of the person and the place would match the reality.

Nothing, not Rose, not the application of common sense, could have dissuaded me from leaving Chicago on that overheated afternoon at O’Hare, when car horns, screeching voices and jet engines drowned out our goodbyes. A jumble of images jostled around in my brain, crowding out logical thoughts. Delicate pink cherry blossoms on porcelain teacups, a thin ivory book of haiku, a red silk blouse on polished glass skin, steaming spicy cuttlefish served on a black lacquer tray; a dazzling collage of the things Owen had shown me.

I was naïve and grief hollowed out my heart; I was determined to solve the mystery of his disappearance, as if finding him could erase the pain I’d felt when he abandoned me. I didn’t put it together then, the folly of searching for someone who didn’t want to be found, moving to a country I didn’t understand. And so, I went, flying into the unknown with a single suitcase of clothes, clutching my computer and cell phone as if they were life preservers.

On the plane I read the latest news from Japan. There were stories about the failed economic policies of the prime minister, the scandal of the royal princess who wanted to marry a commoner, the looming threat of North Korean missiles. Of course, I’d studied Japan in college, but looking back on that day, I knew nothing of the true character of the country.

The flight took an eternity and I immersed myself in a book of Japanese art filled with photos of ancient pottery and porcelain, chipped and faded, but glowing and glorious at the same time. I was striving to be a poet back then, a person who dealt in beauty and art, not only a journalist who worked with black ink and cold data. The art book held a luminous photo of a powder blue teacup swirled with feathery gold patterns, captioned, “Makie.” I Googled and learned that it meant “sprinkled picture.” Makie was an art object sprinkled with gold or silver powder, so that it gleamed with warmth. Inspired, I wrote a little poem on the plane, which I still have today. I titled it “Mono No Aware,” Awareness of Impermanence, a Japanese term I would come to understand deeply over time.

On my way to my new life in Japan, memories of my moments with Owen colored my mind with a makie haze. The landing of the plane brought the crash of reality. I was confronted by a gritty, dangerous nation, so unlike the exotic islands he’d described to me. A place where coworkers gave me gifts wrapped in gold foil while darting disdainful glances at me. I found few of the glamorous, mannered people I’d expected, and instead found an angry schizophrenic culture, alluring and hostile by turns, that kept me constantly at bay and confounded. And as I ventured further, in my quest to discover Owen’s fate, I realized I might not be able to find him before Japan chased me out, like the gaijin I was, a foreigner, unwelcomed by my adopted country.

 

Excerpted from Gaijin. Copyright © 2020 by Sarah Z. Sleeper. All rights reserved. Published by Running Wild Press.

 

 

About the Author

 

Sarah Z. Sleeper is an ex-journalist with an MFA in creative writing. Gaijin is her first novel. Her short story, “A Few Innocuous Lines,” won an award from Writer’s Digest. Her non-fiction essay, “On Getting Vivian,” was published in The Shanghai Literary Review. Her poetry was published in A Year in Ink, San Diego Poetry Annual and Painters & Poets, and exhibited at the Bellarmine Museum. In the recent past she was an editor at New Rivers Press, and editor-in-chief of the literary journal Mason’s Road. She completed her MFA at Fairfield University in 2012. Prior to that she had a twenty-five-year career as a business writer and technology reporter and won three journalism awards and a fellowship at the National Press Foundation.

 

Website * Twitter

 

 

Synopsis

 

Five friends. One dog. One river carrying a secret.

When one of their friends goes missing, everything comes crashing down for the small group of childhood friends in the small town of Greenfield. Ethan takes it hard. Then he loses his dog, his only consolation.

Hoping to start anew, Ethan leaves Greenfield and moves to New York City. Far from the ghosts of his childhood and the river that gives and takes life. There he finds his one true love and builds a career as a bestselling author.

But how long will Ethan’s happiness last as doubts creep back into him and shatter his reality? And will his reconciliation with the past come at too great a price?

All rivers carry their secrets, but not every river keeps its secret forever.

In this heartwarming coming-of-age literary fiction with episodes of mystery and romance cross-genre story, Bernard Jan, the author of Look for Me Under the Rainbow and A World Without Color, speaks of true friendship, first darlings, and real loves. With gentle words, he describes our connection with nature and love for our four-legged friends who quickly become honorable members of our families but also tells about the dark secrets we carry in our hearts.

 

 

 

Excerpt

 

Ethan McCoy lay in the grass, stretched out to his full length. He flung his head back and unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his neck and the pale skin of his chest to the sun. His rolled-up sleeves were already drenched in sweat. Perspiration ran off his forehead, dripping onto the jacket folded under his head in a faux pillow.

Ethan removed the light-sensitive glasses from his nose and wiped the sweat off with a handkerchief. Inhaling deeply, he stared at the sun through unprotected eyes. The scent of Greenfield invaded his nostrils, conquering his throat, lungs, and heart. Inside him the memories were waking up, ignited by familiar feelings from the past.

In the strong light he felt a pain in his eyes, forcing him to close them. So that he might suffer too, he didn’t move to escape into the protective shadows. Determined to stay exposed to heat that reached him from the vast distance with such strength, he willed the sun to cause him pain. Wanted it to numb his senses and make him oblivious to any and all experiences—both pleasant and unpleasant. Most of all, he wanted to let go of the internal pain that refused to leave him alone after all these years.

He wished one pain could soothe another. The physical could annul the emotional. Even as he thought it, he knew it was in vain. He also accepted there was no cure for that pain. At best, it might be blunted some day and become just a painful reminder of his past.

But it would never disappear.

Because if it did, Greenfield would no longer exist. The artificially created grove beside the river in which he now rested, would vanish too. The same for Willy, then Jason, Derrick, and Sarah. Riv and . . . Susan. Could they evaporate, all of them? Did he have the right to ask that?

Or, what if it were possible for all of them to remain in their reality where they belonged? While he—Ethan—disappeared? Both could be possible only by some supernatural phenomenon. Something that could never happen.

Eventually moving into the shadows, he took off his shirt, shoes and socks and continued with his fantasy. Recalling. Or gathering up the strength and determination to do what he intended. Well, that’s what he planned on saying if someone asked him why he was there. So far, nobody had. Nobody knew. He arrived less than an hour ago. He hadn’t gone to the town, but had come straight to the river. To the place where everything had begun. Therefore, it only seemed fitting that it be where the beginning of the end transpired. The place where he would insert a period at the end of a life story. If he got lucky, he’d tear out a blank page and start anew. No memories. No past.

Without the bad memories, he could live in peace.

However, if he were honest with himself, that would be equally impossible to achieve.

In the still air, the river flowed quietly. Steadily. Innocently. Nothing about it had changed as if nothing happened. Effortlessly and seemingly without concern, the river continued to give life to all around it. But also taking it. . . .

Ethan watched the river and felt as though the river also observed him. Two silent witnesses, side by side again after so much time. Ethan had often wondered what this moment would be like. Would he find the river repelling, disgusting even, carried by the ravages of time and pressured by anxiety heavy as storm clouds? Or would it be seductive like it had been long ago when he was still a child?

Removing the rest of his clothes, he stood on the sand along the riverbank. The sunbeams warmed his naked body—a body weakened and slimmed by an avalanche of past events. He walked into the cold water up to his knees and shuddered. Almost icy. Or was he too hot after basking in the sun?

He barely hesitated before plunging in. He knew he wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation. Love between the river and him could not dissipate that easily. As he swam, he wondered if this love would ever dissolve. Would another separation be even harder than the last?

Not far away, a dog gave up chasing a butterfly. Pricking up his ears and staring toward the woods, he searched the spot where his guardian had lain only a moment ago. Except for a heap of clothes tossed on the grass, the spot was empty. Sniffing the air, the dog moved toward the river—slowly at first and then breaking into a run.

Reaching the riverbank, he looked at the water. He gazed at the other bank. No sign of life on the river. Only the nature, butterflies, and the twittering of the birds. He wagged his tail and whined. Then he barked. Soon, he ran up and down the riverbank not knowing what to do. His barking became louder and uneasy. He decided to jump and was already in the air when Ethan surfaced, with no way to avoid the collision.

The sound of the dog’s whine mingled with a yell of surprise filled the air before it was swallowed and disappeared in the splash of water. The waves rippled its calm surface.

 

Review

 

January River is a coming of age story that focuses on Ethan and Will McCoy.  They are from a small town in Nebraska that is picturesque but not without its own share of tragedies.  Ethan and Will are thick as thieves and have a few friends that do what young men do, have adventures and try to avoid too much trouble.  As we watch them grow up, they leave the town and end up in New York City.  The story at this point really focuses on Ethan and his life, meeting his wife, his career, and watching him mature in life despite some issues that hold him back.

Ethan has many facets to his character and he holds guilt close to his heart when he should be moving past events that are dragging him down.  It takes the whole story for him to do that, but it is a journey he has to take to reach that conclusion.  Thankfully, he has the love of his wife and his dog, River.  He has his family too, especially his brother, but there are others that care about him and his well being.

This book spans several decades and it is interesting to see the world change around Ethan.  It was a simpler time then and I think that binds the story together and will take the reader back in time and remember what life was like before technology.

There are a few passages I would like to share with you from the book.  These are poignant and show the depth of the thought process of the author and his direction for the story.

“Life sometimes goes astray, into unusual streams, and then you must swim upstream if you don’t want to be dragged down the stream and fall over the waterfall.”

“He also knew he wasn’t ready for that yet, that he didn’t have courage. So he agreed to pay the price for it. The price of fear.”

“It is hard when we lose someone we loved. Very hard. We’ll all leave one day. Someone sooner, the other one later. but the end comes to all of us whether or not we like it.”

I enjoyed reading this book and watching the characters become more complex as they aged and coming to terms with events in their past. It doesn’t hurt that there are a couple of dogs in the book that help facilitate the story as they become a focal point for more than just the name of the river in their town, but for a location that has fond and tragic memories.  The story has a variety of characters, both good and bad, that make this book complete.  The story will also hit on a variety of emotions at various points and I found myself empathizing with different characters at different points.

This is a book worth reading and we give it 4 1/2 paws.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

“There is no greater joy than to share what you love with those who appreciate it.”—Bernard Jan

Bernard Jan is a novelist and a poet from Croatia, and he has released three books in English.

A World Without Color is a true story of the last three days he spent with his cat, while Look for Me Under the Rainbow in a unique and gentle way sheds light on the plight of harp seal pups in Canada. It warms the heart of all readers concerned about our planet and its treasures. January River is a heartwarming cross-genre novel about five friends, one dog, and one river carrying a secret.

His first two books were written at the beginning of the war in Croatia in 1991 amidst air alerts and illusory attempts when he wanted to believe and think that life is normal, that everything is all right with the world. He has published five novels, two novellas, and one book of poems in Croatian. Four of his books, including the book of poems, were translated into English.

His passion for music and entertainment resulted in his becoming a partner of Tom’s Music Place, which was established in 2009 by his friend Thomas Carley Jr., whose objective was to raise the respect of music.

His desire to help others came to the fore during his years advocating environmental protection and advocacy of animal rights. He did volunteering work for the refugees, because suffering does not know any borders. When it comes within your reach in your home, you simply have to do something. As part of his animal advocacy activities, it has been a great honor and pleasure to translate Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust by Charles Patterson into Croatian.

 

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Synopsis

 

Mitch Lovett, a recently divorced father of two, wasn’t looking for anything serious—but when he fooled around with an old friend, Dee Wynn, serious was what he got. Dee has decided that Mitch will be hers and nothing is going to stand in her way. But Gail, another member of their college group (and now their babysitting co-op), has had her eye on Mitch as well—nevermind the fact that she’s married to a jealous, abusive husband who just happens to have received a new gun for his birthday. When Mitch and Gail consummate their long-standing attraction—recklessly following their heart’s desires—they set into motion a series of events with ultimately tragic consequences for all involved.

Set in Takoma Park (a close-knit liberal community that borders Washington, D.C.) among a group of college friends now raising families together, Lady Killer explores spousal abuse and the ways that both long-standing friendships and marriages can unravel when put to the test. Ultimately, both Mitch and Gail will have to decide who they really are and what they really want—both for themselves and their children.

 

***

Set in Takoma Park, Maryland among a group of college friends now raising families together, domestic noir novel LADY KILLER explores spousal abuse and the ways that both long-standing friendships and marriages can unravel when put to the test. Mitch Lovett, a recently divorced father of two, is in love with Gail Strickland. Ed, Gail’s jealous, abusive husband just happens to have received a new gun for his birthday. Dee Wynn decides she loves Mitch as well, and that nothing is going to stand in her way. According to Matthew Norman (Domestic Violets), “this quick burst of a book” reminded him of “some of John Updike’s famous suburban romps.” An explosive novel that sets in motion a series of events with tragic consequences for all involved.

 

 

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Listen to an Excerpt

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

JEFF RICHARDS’ first book, Open Country: A Civil War Novel in Stories, was published by Paycock Press in 2015, and Lady Killer is his second novel. His fiction, essays, and cowboy poetry have appeared in over 27 publications including Prick of the Spindle, Pinch, New South, and Southern Humanities Review, and five anthologies including “Tales Out of School” (Beacon Press); “Letters to J.D. Salinger” (University of Wisconsin Press); and “Higher Education” (Pearson), a college composition reader. He lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with his wife and two dogs and travels often to Colorado where his kids live.

 

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Synopsis

 

Aurelia has always valued love and happiness over titles and power. Though her kind-hearted father has allowed her to turn away suitor after suitor in pursuit of a love she cannot yet define, when he dies her choices die with him. Knowing that marrying the elderly governor of a neighboring province can secure her mentally challenged brother’s safety, she gives up on her dream of finding love in return for his protection.

Cassius is the ill-fated captain of the governor’s guard tasked with escorting the Lady Aurelia and her unpleasant aunt to the governor’s estate. Since the soothsayer Tullia foretold an early death for him, Cassius wants nothing more than to keep his hands busy with labor and his heart free from any connections to the world he believes he will be leaving soon. As they work through a series of misfortunes on the road to the governor’s province, the words of the soothsayer start to make sense, and together they find the courage to allow their true destiny to unfold.

 

 

 

 

Excerpt

 

Aurelia watched as Cassius struck again, and again, each strike more forceful than the last. She could see from the way he brought down the sword with each try the mounting tension in his body. Finally, no more than two steps into the field of thorns, Cassius growled a barely audible curse, then turned to face Aurelia. He wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand, his chest visibly rising and falling as he tried to catch his breath.

She knew better than to say anything, and in any case the intensity of his eyes as he looked at her told her everything she needed to know.

As his breathing slowed and his temper cooled, he sheathed his sword and stepped closer to her. “These vines do not intend to be cut today, but perhaps we do not need them to be cut. My lady, please forgive the impropriety of this request, but if you will follow my instructions, I think we may be able to make some progress against this terrible field of thorns.”

Aurelia replied without hesitation. “Ask, and I will do as you say.”

Looking as though he had expected more of a fight, Cassius nodded. “Please, if you would come closer, my lady.”

Ignoring the lightness in her stomach at his request, Aurelia moved closer to him.

“If we cannot cut the stubborn vines, then perhaps we can move them away, far enough and for long enough a time that we may pass by.”

He took his shield in his left hand and held it in front of him. It was an oval piece of wood covered in leather that extended from his shoulders to his knees.

“I will hold my shield in position and move forward through the brambles, as though charging the enemy. If you will walk closely behind me—and I mean closer than my own shadow—then I can be your shield, and we can both get through to the other side. Do you understand?”

“I do,” she began, “but your shield is not big enough to protect you from the thorns.”

“It is true, I would give anything for my legionary’s shield at this moment, but this shield is what we have, and it will do.”

He took a breath and turned around to face the enemy thorns.

She stood a couple steps behind him and did not move.

He turned his head to look at her and motioned for her to come to him with his free hand. “My lady,” he said, almost shyly.

Aurelia felt a tingling in her chest, but took a step toward him.

“My lady, I cannot protect you unless you are right behind me. Please.”

She took another step, until her toes were nearly touching his heels.

“I sincerely apologize for the seeming impropriety of what I am about to suggest, but, if you would, please, have your feet touch mine, so that we may take each step as one. And I think it may be easier if you would—if you don’t mind, that is—put your arms about my chest and bury your head in my back. Just let me lead you. Trust me, my lady.”

“I trust you, Cassius,” she said, just loud enough for him to hear. She had not intended on saying his name.

Cassius nodded, then looked away from her and raised his arms. She appreciated the fact that he could not watch her tentative movements as she willed each arm to be raised to the level of her chest, her hands still gripping the edges of the cloak he had put on her. She slid her feet forward until her toes touched the heels of the soldier’s shoes, at the same time bringing her arms full circle around his broad chest.

She felt his right hand gently grip each of her wrists in turn through the cloak she still held tightly in her balled fists and pull her arms more closely against him, until she had no choice but to allow the fronts of her thighs, abdomen, and chest to be pressed against his body.

She swallowed hard and, closing her eyes, brought her forehead to rest against the soldier’s back. At her touch, she felt his strong body tense up, then gradually relax.

“Are you ready, my lady?”

She answered softly, speaking into his back. “Yes.”

 

About the Author

 

Kathryn Amurra is an intellectual property attorney by day and a writer of Romance novels by night. Some of her best writing takes place between the hours of 10PM and midnight (or later) when she has “logged off” from her day job and her hubby, three girls, and boxer are asleep. She currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she is working on the next book in her Soothsayer’s Path series set in Ancient Rome.

 

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Synopsis

 

At the dawn of the Renaissance, Alfred – the eponymous second son – must discover the special destiny foreseen for him by his grandfather. Now, the unthinkable has happened: Alfred’s brother is king. And it isn’t long before everyone’s worst fears are realized. Traditional allegiances are shattered under a style of rule unknown since the grand bargain that formed the kingdom was struck over two hundred years ago. These will be the most dangerous years of Alfred’s life, forcing him to re-examine his duty to personal honor and to the kingdom, while the threats posed by his brother constantly remind him of his father’s final words of advice. What choices will he have to make to try to protect the things he holds most dear?

 

 

 

 

Guest Post

 

Today we welcome author Pamela Taylor to StoreyBook Reviews and she shares with us what it is like to live with Corgis.  I’m a dog lover and know that dogs have a mind of their own sometimes but their love is unconditional.  Plus they play a role in Pamela’s new book.

 

Corgi Inspiration

“A dog walk, Mom. That’ll get your creative juices flowing. Definitely a dog walk. Like, maybe a dog walk right now?”

I’m pretty sure that’s what Maggi is saying when she comes into the office and contrives to knock my hand away from the mouse or the keyboard. Clearly, she’s thought about this, ’cause she’s pretty short and has to put her forefeet up on my leg to be able to nudge my arm. But she’s a Corgi, so she knows how to get much larger animals to do her bidding. And I have to admit, most of the time, she’s right 🙂

Once you know what to look for, you can see their herding behavior in a lot of the things they do. My other Corgi, Marlo, is really good at telling me where she wants us to go on that dog walk. She gets on the opposite side of me from the direction she wants to go and slowly moves me toward her desired path. If I don’t show signs of cooperating, she’ll circle around me and try again. It’s actually rather fun to watch her do her Corgi thing.

Without the breed being explicitly named, Corgis figure in the Second Son Chronicles. Not just their herding abilities, though that’s how they came to be the denizens of the Royal Kennel, and it’s the role they play in the broader society of the kingdom. Many of their other characteristics feature in the story as well.
They are very loving. They want nothing more than to be with their people – on a walk or sitting on the sofa or playing with a favorite toy or sharing their human’s bed. And they really do smile.

Like some Corgis, Maggi occasionally needs a good FRAP (Frantic Random Activity Period). For her, this means a mad dash around the house, out the back door, circle the yard, back through the house, and back out again, all at top speed. And you’d be astonished how fast a Corgi can run.

They all love belly rubs – and since they often sleep on their backs, there are plenty of opportunities for that. They do shed – they’re double-coated, so they do a major undercoat shed in spring and fall. Marlo says, “No, Mom, we do not shed. We emit magical fibers of joy and love.” They bark when they think something is wrong – lawn-mowing equipment is a frequent demon. But I know they would let me know if something was truly amiss.

And then there’s food. “All kinds of food, Mom. Any kind of food, Mom. We like to eat.” My girls enjoy their kibble, but they also love things like pumpkin, bananas, butternut squash, spinach, cauliflower, cheese, sweet potatoes . . . and, of course, peanut butter. I have to watch their calories or they’d look like little barrels on four legs.

But, best of all, they are just incredibly cute and sweet. Big dog personality in a package you can pick up and cuddle. I love my Corgis.

 

About the Author

 

Pamela Taylor brings her love of history to the art of storytelling in the Second Son Chronicles. An avid reader of historical fact and fiction, she finds the past offers rich sources for character, ambiance, and plot that allow readers to escape into a world totally unlike their daily lives. She shares her home with two Corgis who frequently reminder her that a dog walk is the best way to find inspiration for that next chapter.

 

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Click on the image below to read more from Pamela and

enter the Giveaway that ends 6/28

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

 

In Victoria’s War, Hamilton gives voice to the courageous Polish women who were kidnapped into the real-life Nazi slave labor operation during WWII. Inspired by true stories, this lost chapter of history won’t soon be forgotten.

 

POLAND, 1939: Nineteen-year-old Victoria Darski is eager to move away to college: her bags are packed and her train ticket is in hand. But instead of boarding a train to the University of Warsaw, she finds her world turned upside down when World War II breaks out. Victoria’s father is sent to a raging battlefront, and the Darski women must face the cruelty of the invaders alone. When Victoria decides to go to a resistance meeting with her best friend, Sylvia, they are captured by human traffickers targeting Polish teenagers. Sylvia is sent to work in a brothel, and Victoria is transported by cattle car to Berlin, where she is auctioned off as a slave.

 

GERMANY, 1941: Twenty-year-old Etta Tod is at Mercy Hospital about to undergo involuntary sterilization because of the Fuhrer’s mandate to eliminate hereditary deafness. Etta, an artist, silently critiques the propaganda poster on the waiting room wall while her mother tries to convince her she should be glad to get rid of her monthlies. Etta is the daughter of the German shopkeepers who buy Victoria at auction in Berlin.

 

The stories of Victoria and Etta intertwine in the bakery’s attic where Victoria is held—the same place where Etta has hidden her anti-Nazi paintings. The two women form a quick and enduring bond. But when they’re caught stealing bread from the bakery and smuggling it to a nearby work camp, everything changes.

 

 

 

 

 

Praise

 

“Victoria’s War is a compelling story of a young Polish woman caught in the vise of the German invasion of Poland at the opening salvo of World War II. Written in an engaging literary style that captures the textures of Polish life, Catherine Hamilton’s gripping novel is a must read!”  — Dr. Richard C. Lukas, author of Did the Children Cry? and The Forgotten Holocaust

 

“Some stories that need to be told are never told. They languish in a limbo of forgotten stories that should never have been forgotten. Catherine Hamilton’s novel Victoria’s War resurrects one of these stories. In language intimate and natural and yet touched by the poetry of truth, Hamilton tells the story of a young girl who is the victim of war. Too often, we think only of the men who go to war, do heroic things. We forget the other victims and heroes of war, the women like Victoria in this brilliant novel.”  — John Guzlowski, author of the award-winning Echoes of Tattered Tongues

 

 

 

Review

 

What an intriguing read!  In the past, I did not delve into history and what happened during various wars or what influenced people and countries.  This book focuses on the Polish women that were enslaved by Germany and forced to work in camps, factories, or as prostitutes for the Germans.  We know a lot about what happened to the Jewish population, but not much is made known about others that were enslaved and killed just because one man did not like them.

The book focuses primarily on two young women and their relationship with each other.  Victoria was all set to attend college when her plans were dashed by the war and German soldiers.  Etta is a deaf-mute in Germany that is a talented artist but is scorned by her mother because of her disabilities.  These two women come together when Victoria is purchased by an SS officer for his parent’s bakery to assist in cleaning and whatever else they want her to do in order to stay alive.

Leading up to her life in the bakery, we follow Victoria and other women through a train ride to Berlin in cramped quarters, living in a shed at the mercy of the German officers, and other events that shape their hopes and dreams for the future.  All of this because they were Catholic, Polish, Gypsies, or Serbian.  Men took what they wanted and did not care about these women or their lives.

Once at the bakery, Etta seems something in Victoria and reaches out to her in friendship, but in secret.  Had either of Etta’s parents known what she was doing they would have probably beaten Etta and killed Victoria.  Etta’s mother, Frau Tod, is fully brainwashed by the Nazi party and believes that her daughter is less because she cannot hear or speak.  Her father and brother are not the same way, but they have their own issues.  Despite everything, Etta feels a kinship with Victoria especially since Etta does not hold the same beliefs as the Nazi Party.  In fact, I think you could call her a sympathizer.  They work together to assist those being held in camps to hopefully survive.

This story, while fiction, is based on facts and I challenge anyone reading this book to walk away from it without heartache for what these people endured during the war.  Their will to survive and do whatever they had to do to stay alive and perhaps even work against the Germans to regain their freedom.  There are several heart-stopping moments and this book tore at my beliefs and my soul.  There is so much I could tell you about this book but do not want to spoil it for any reader.

We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

CATHERINE A. HAMILTON is a freelance writer of Polish descent whose articles and poems have appeared in magazines and newspapers including the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, The Oregonian, the Catholic Sentinel, the Dziennik Związkowy (the oldest Polish newspaper in America), and the Polish American Journal. She is the author of the chapter about Katherine Graczyk in Forgotten Survivors: Polish Christians Remember the Nazi Occupation, edited by Richard C. Lukas. Victoria’s War, her first novel, will be published in 2020 by Plain View Press. She actively publishes and blogs on her website.  Hamilton lives in the Northwest with her husband.

 

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