Category: short stories

Indie Weekend is my effort to help Indie Authors with marketing. Indie authors have to do it all, and if I can help spread the word even a little bit, I’m happy to do it. You can help too by sharing this book far and wide. Below see a book review and Q&A with Darlene Foster.

BOOK DESCRIPTION (FROM AMAZON)

A collection of short stories inspired by growing up on a prairie farm in the fifties and sixties. Some of the stories are humorous and others sad, but all heartfelt. Stories about family life, cowboy wisdom, immigrant grandmothers, an inspiring teacher, and the arrival of a new sibling are part of this collection of tales from another time and another place. Proof that you can take the girl from the prairie but you can’t take the prairie from the girl.

BOOK REVIEW

This is a wonderful collection of stories from Darlene Foster about growing up on the Canadian Prairie in the 1950s and 1960s. Every story is a well-written look at the past and the hard-working life of farmers. There is also a bit of history of emigration to the Canadian prairie.

My favorite story is probably Bambi at Home, about an antelope who was adopted by Darlene’s family as a baby, and the bond they all shared. Darlene’s tributes to the life and character of her parents and grandparents are heartfelt and touching. Each story lays out the life of a hard-working family, but underscores their devotion to each other. Good Hands, a loving tribute to Foster’s father, is another favorite because it shows the hard daily tasks of a farmer while also underscoring her father’s happy and loving personality. Every story chronicles life on the prairie and the enduring bond of a family.

This is a quick read, but a memorable one, and the love and care with which it is written shines through. Highly recommend.

Q&A WITH DARLENE FOSTER

I’m happy to do another Q&A with Darlene Foster, this time about her book “You Can Take The Girl From the Prairie,” about growing up on the Canadian prairie.  Welcome back, Darlene!

Bonnie: In these Q&As, I always ask the author to go beyond the bio and tell us something we might not know about you from reading your bio.  You have answered this question before in a previous Q&A.  Is there anything else about you that we might not know from reading your bio?

Darlene: I’m quite good at eavesdropping and often use that skill to collect material for stories. As a result of growing up within a large extended family where everyone spoke at once, I can listen to a number of conversations at one time, which comes in handy. I’m also quite observant and notice little things like what people are wearing, their mannerisms etc. This is useful as a writer. I’m also good at making up things, which is great as a writer but can also get me in trouble at times.

Bonnie: It was interesting to read about your German Canadian heritage and see a recipe. Do you have any other German traditions you still follow or recipes you still use? Did any of your family speak German?

Darlene: My parents spoke German at home and I could speak German as a little girl, before I learned English. I still use some German words occasionally but I’m not fluent. We ate a lot of German and Eastern European food growing up. Mom’s perogies were delicious and I often crave them. I can make them, but they are never as good as hers. I have some of my great-grandmothers’ recipes that were passed down to my grandmother and mother. I also have an old Bible written in German that was most likely brought over to Canada when they immigrated.

Bonnie: The winter weather sounds particularly cold and snowy.  What about the spring and summer weather?  What was your summer weather challenge growing up on the Canadian prairie?

Darlene: Winters were often severe with temperatures as low as -40 degrees (Celsius) but the summers could get very hot and dry reaching +40 degrees (Celsius). Dad was always worried about prairie fires and he lost his crops to drought on more than one occasion. The hot summers brought out the grasshoppers which were annoying.

Bonnie: In one story, you refused to speak to your mother when you were a teen because she was going to have another baby.  Did you ever look back on that and laugh when you became a Mom?

Darlene: Years later mom and I often laughed about that. When I became a mom, I soon realized how difficult teenagers could be. But like my mom and I were, my daughter and I are now best friends.

Bonnie: My favorite story was probably of Bambi, the adopted antelope, and her life that was split between the farm and the wild.  I was wondering how long Bambi lived?

Darlene: I’m not sure, but she would have lived for at least six years, possibly more.

Bonnie: I looked up immigration to Canada in the early 20^th Century, and there was a huge wave of settlers immigrating to the Canadian prairies between 1897 and 1929.  Was there a land act similar to the Homestead Act in the United States in the 19^th Century?

Darlene: Yes there was. In Canada it was called the Dominon Lands Act and was similar to the Homestead Act in the US. The Act gave a claimant 160 acres of land for free, the only cost to being a $10 administration fee. Any farmer who was at least 21 years of age and agreed to cultivate at least 40 acres of the land and build a permanent dwelling on it (within three years) qualified. This act helped to populate the Prairie Provinces.

Bonnie: What was your favorite story in the book?

Darlene: Probably the story about when mom brought my second brother, baby Timothy, home. It is such a special memory.

Bonnie: Thanks again, Darlene for answering my questions!  I really enjoyed the book.

Darlene: I am so pleased you enjoyed these stories, Bonnie. Thanks for having me as a guest on your wonderful blogsite once again.

BUY LINKS

AMAZON | AMAZON CANADA | AMAZON UK

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