It’s November 9th, and fall colors are finally out in full force. They were quite late this year, and not as vibrant as years past. Our peak leaf season was supposed to be the third week of October, and it was still very green then. I took a ride on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad with my friend Lyric, who was visiting, and her Mom, Dale. Although I live in a small tourist town, I don’t usually participate in the “touristy” things, but it’s nice to do that once in a while. We had a great time. We took the first class ride and were served lunch. We stopped in Dillsboro for some shopping and took in great scenes along the way.
**Picture of the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad in Bryson City, NC is from Shutterstock and was taken in 2023.
Below is a shot of a pretty fall evening at our house. The sun was setting, and the moon was out. I was standing on our porch at the time. I wanted a picture of the full moon, but my phone is just not up to it. It was so much more magnificent than that.
I was told there would be a cold snap starting tomorrow, but so far I see no sign of it. My weather app tells me we will be just above freezing for one day–not cold enough for snow–and then back to 50s and 60s, so we will see. Are you getting snow in your area? EDIT: I just got a Winter Storm Alert, but it seems to be for higher elevations.
LAST WEEK ON THE BLOG
It was all Indie last week. I love that because my heart is with Indie books and authors. I posted reviews of The Weight of Snow and Regret, Amanda in Ireland, and The Washashore. I get a lot of requests from Indie authors, and my list is long, but I try to read as many as I can. I am just one woman, so it can take a long time, but I will continue to do my best to support Indie books.
NEXT WEEK ON THE BLOG
Look for reviews of Books 2 and 3 of Beth Kanell’s Winds of Freedom series, and a review of Patricia Furstenberg’s When Secrets Bloom. I will also participate in Top Ten Tuesday if time permits.
Recently I did a review of HORSE SHOW for The Historical Novel Society. You can find my blog post containing the review, the author’s bio, and purchase links here.
Jess was kind enough to do a Q&A with me as well, and you can find it below.
Bonnie: Hi Jess and thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions.
Bonnie: Horse Show is a collection of short stories that include horses in some way. What inspired you to put this collection together?
Jess: Well, the title, Horse Show, is a bit of a pun—each story in the book includes an equine and a “show” or spectacle of some kind, whether that’s a movie, a 19th century stage show, or a woman having her horse tell fortunes in her backyard. That was really my inspiration—the many ways we put this species on display throughout American history.
Bonnie: One of my favorites, Two on a Horse, is set on the Steeplechase Ride at Coney Island. This was a highly dangerous and popular ride in the late 19th and early 20th Century. I became interested in this ride after reading about it in another novel. What inspired you to place the story here?
Jess: I first saw the Steeplechase in action while watching Ric Burns’ excellent American Experience documentary about Coney Island. Once I learned that there weren’t any seatbelts or brakes on the mechanical horses, and that a lot of early amusement park attractions were designed to create compromising situations between women and men, I thought about all the different kinds of women who would have ridden the Steeplechase, and all the ways that the ride could become a nexus for danger as well as empowerment.
Bonnie: Do you have a favorite story in the collection and why?
Jess: I’m fond of “Based on a True Story” because it really captures my sense of humor, in addition to pushing the boundaries of what a story featuring a horse can be, while questioning why there’s a horse in the story at all. Saying much more would spoil the surprise of reading it, though…!
Bonnie: Many of the stories highlight the abuse of horses in some way. I know I learned a lot more about this topic when reading your book. Has this always been a topic you wanted to share with the world? And have there been improvements in the treatment of horses in the present day?
Jess: As a lifelong equestrian and animal enthusiast, the anthropocentric way humans approach and exploit other beings, defining what it is to be “human” in opposition to other creatures, or claiming dominion over them and their habitats, has always bothered me deeply. Just as an anti-war book must contain war, Horse Show includes animal abuse to call attention to its inhumanity. While I do think strides have been made in terms of better understanding horses, institutionalized equine abuse continues, from Thoroughbred racing’s questionable breeding and training practices to less publicized situations such as the ongoing abuse of Tennessee Walking Horses for “big lick” competitions, where horses are cruelly mistreated to achieve a specific high-stepping walk, all in the name of “tradition.” Sadly, many humans still see horses as tools or machines or toys, rather than sentient beings who suffer and experience trauma just as we do.
Bonnie: Horse Show is your first book, although some or all of the stories were published individually. For the new writers who read this blog, how would you describe your journey to get published and what advice do you have for them?
Jess: I knew that the stories were good, and if I could place them individually in reputable, well-respected literary magazines, it would strengthen the collection’s case once I was ready to approach presses. Lots of writers I admire constructed their debut story collections this way. Publishing is kind of like rolling a snowball downhill. Each story you place, each contest you’re a runner-up for packs more snow onto the ball you’ve got rolling, and eventually you create an avalanche. Be careful about where you send your work. Aim for the most prestigious publications you can—those are the bylines that make publishers and agents e-mail you asking to see more work. And enter contests! That’s how Santa Fe Writers Project acquired Horse Show, after it made the longlist for their annual contest. Lots of great small presses find books that way.
Bonnie: I have become a fan of your work after reading Horse Show. Are you working on another book?
Jess: I am! While researching Horse Show, I developed a folder of “strange animal happenings” that had nothing to do with horses but tickled my brain. So, my next book is throwing the barn doors open to welcome in all kinds of obscure creatures from history. So far, there’s a wombat, a snake, some dogs, and Nikola Tesla’s favorite pigeon.
Bonnie: Let’s go beyond the bio. Tell us something about yourself that we wouldn’t know just from reading your bio.
Jess: I really love swimming, so much so that I’m always the first one to kick my shoes off and jump into random bodies of water. No swimsuit? No problem. Cold? I don’t care! Pools, creeks, fountains, holding ponds…I’m like a badly behaved golden retriever whenever water is involved.
Bonnie: Thanks so much, Jess, for answering my questions today!
Remember to check out HORSE SHOW! It was an amazing read.
Switzerland, 1916. Seraphine spends her days taking care of her two half-brothers, who were born with a condition called cretinism, known today as congenital hypothyroidism. Their father is a hard man who wishes both boys were dead, and says so. Seraphine has never known her own father, who was not married to her mother. She dreams of a different life, where she can study, work, and make a difference, but it seems so out of reach. She also is developing a goiter on her throat, like so many of her fellow townspeople, and tries very hard to hide it. Then Bastian Favre comes to town. He is an assistant to Dr. Eggenberger, who is working on a cure for cretinism and goiters. Can it be as simple as salt?
This compelling novel explores the history of iodized salt and the pursuit of a cure for hypothyroidism in Switzerland by adding iodine to the diet. The author portrays the skepticism and superstitions of the people affected so well. Seraphine’s mother is used to express the doubt and fear, and to show the extreme effects of a lack of iodine on mothers and their babies. The refusal of some of the townspeople to accept such a simple cure is indicative of the time. The slow-burn romance is captivating, as Bastian’s instant attraction to Seraphine meets many challenges along the way. There is epistolary work in the form of letters and news articles. The news articles are an excellent way of following the story of how Switzerland’s Goiter Commission made the decision to recommend iodized salt to the people in 1922. Fans of romance and medical history will enjoy this book. Highly recommended.
My review is 4.5 stars, rounded up to five on sites with no half-star option.
I received a free copy via The Historical Novel Society and reviewed it for their quarterly magazine, The Historical Novels Review.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JJ Marsh is the author of The Beatrice Stubbs series, featured in The Guardian Readers’ Recommend and The Bookseller’s Editor’s Choice. Jill is a founder member of Triskele Books, an award-winning author collective founded in 2011. In addition, she is the Swiss Ambassador for The Alliance of Independent Authors, and Co-editor of The Woolf, Zürich’s literary ezine and writers’ workshop. She lives in Switzerland with her husband and three pugs, and in an attic overlooking a cemetery, she writes.
PURCHASE LINK (Click on the cover to buy on Amazon)
**Kindle Unlimited Subscribers can read this for free.
This is my first Sunday Post in about a month I think. I’ve been slammed with work in Germany, so no time for posting and I’ve fallen behind on all my reviews. Retirement is coming up in less than three months, so plenty of time to catch up. Yesterday I took a tour to Prague to kick off our long holiday weekend. See below
The Prague Astronomical Clock or Prague Orloj at Prague Old Town Hall
This is one of the most crowd-fascinating historical features in Prague. There was always a crowd surrounding the clock, waiting for it to strike a new hour. Some of the features were not on the clock yesterday, as it was undergoing maintenance, so I didn’t get the full view. This clock will tell you how many hours it is until sunset. On one side you see the shiny sun and on the other side is the silver moon.
The clock was installed in 1410, and it is the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the only one still in operation. It was partially destroyed by the Nazis near the end of World War II.
This is from Wikipedia: “In 1552 it was repaired by Jan Táborský (1500–1572), master clockmaker of Klokotská Hora. The clock stopped working many times in the centuries after 1552, and was repaired many times. The legend was used as the main plot in the 2008 animated film Goat story – The Old Prague Legends.
In 1629 or 1659 wooden statues were added, and figures of the Apostles were added after a major repair in 1787–1791. During the next major repair in the years 1865–1866, the golden figure of a crowing rooster was added.
The Orloj suffered heavy damage on 7 and especially 8 May 1945, during the Prague uprising, when the Nazis fired on the south-west side of the Old Town Square from several armoured vehicles in an unsuccessful attempt to destroy one of the centers of the uprising. The hall and nearby buildings burned, along with the wooden sculptures on the clock and the calendar dial face made by Josef Mánes.[6] After significant effort, the machinery was repaired, the wooden Apostles restored by Vojtěch Sucharda, and the Orloj started working again in 1948.[7]
The Orloj was renovated in autumn 2005, when the statues and the lower calendar ring were restored. The wooden statues were covered with a net to keep pigeons away.
The last renovation of the astronomical clock was carried out from January to September 2018, following a reconstruction of the Old Town Tower. During the renovation, an electric clock mechanism that had been in operation since 1948 was replaced by an original mechanism from the 1860s.[8]
See below a Youtube video showing the clock strike a new hour. It is fascinating.
UPCOMING ON BONNIE READS AND WRITES
I will be posting two reviews I did for the May issue of Historical Novels Review, the magazine of The Historical Novel Society. They are THE CAPTIVE and THE GUARDIAN, Books 2 and 3 of THE MENDER SERIES by Jennifer Marchman. My review of Book One and Q&A with the author is here.
I am catching up on my Netgalley Shelf, so I’m reading MIND GAMES by Nora Roberts and then I will provide other reviews as well. I’m returning home on June 7th, and retiring August 16th.
I also want to direct you to a past Memorial Day tribute I’ve done for my Uncle, Wayne Jenkins, who died in Vietnam. We will never forget you, Uncle Wayne.
I’m still working in Germany until the first week of June. Yesterday was the first time I got to sightsee (sitesee?). I went on a tour, and the first stop was a difficult but important one–Dachau. Then we went to Munich and were given a few hours to wander around a shopping/food area. I will post a few Munich pictures first, and then the much more solemn Dachau pictures.
Munich:
The area of Munich they took us to had an open-air market and shopping area, and their version of “Rodeo Drive” with all the designer shops. Here are a few pictures:
I wish I had taken pictures of the open-air shopping area, which was much more European than most of the Munich pictures I have here. A Hofbrähaus is a brewery. I got Doug a Munich (Munchen) hat.
Dachau: If you wish to scroll by, do so now quickly
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This is just a portion of what I saw at Dachau, and there was a lot I didn’t see because they didn’t give us enough time.
The first two pictures are historical displays that I snapped photos of. There is a whole museum of displays. The next three pictures are the outside of the crematorium and the ovens inside the crematorium. The sixth picture is a convent that is on the grounds of Dachau. There are also religious memorials from several different religions. The bottom photo is an absolutely unforgettable piece of artwork at Dachau, a sculpture by a holocaust survivor, Nandor Glid.
As I stood in that crematorium and in the room next to the ovens where they stacked the bodies for burning, I felt such a heaviness to be standing in a place where absolute evil had occurred.
Please feel free to share your impressions of the photos, if you wish to do so.
NEXT WEEK: I’m just hoping to post some reviews. Last week I was just too busy working, but I’ll be back home in June and retired in August, and then the blogging will really flow! Meanwhile, it might be stop-and-go, but I’m determined to get some posts up. Please bear with me.
BOOK HAUL
While at Dachau, I picked up this memoir of one of the survivors, which I am reading.
Today I picked up the Audible of Jodi Taylor’s latest short story and I’ve already finished listening to it. Although she has two successful time travel series, she has another series called Frogmorton Farm that has nothing to do with time travel. It does have a magical golden horse, a dilapidated farm, and Patagonian attack chickens though. The first book in the series is called The Nothing Girl. I love it just as much as her other series. This book, Storm Christopher, is about second chances, even if you don’t deserve them.
Adam Livesey is a downhill skier, and a good one, but his life is about to take an unexpected turn. When he witnesses the death of his friend, a Russian ski jumper, Anatoly Vasiliev, a few whispered, nonsensical words put Adam in danger.
This is an exciting thriller set in the world of competitive skiing. I knew very little about this sport, but I learned a few things, and it was so interesting to follow the life of a competitive skier. I particularly enjoyed the way that skiing was combined with the Russian mafia and politics to create a compelling thriller. There’s even a bit of an enemies-to-lovers romance that fans of that genre will enjoy. This novel has many clever twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and at times when you think the story is over–it’s not. Skiers and fans of thrillers will love this one.
I received a free copy of this book via Zooloo’s Book Tours. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (In His Own Words)
I studied History of Art, and lectured at the Central School of Art and Design in London. However, marketing was my main occupation; and in this role I have worked for a number of German, American and British companies.
Latterly, I joined the family trade development company, working principally with government departments of foreign countries. To relieve the tedium of long-haul flights and the four walls of rooms in impersonal hotels, I turned to writing.
Over time, I amassed a number of manuscripts, which were stored in the metaphorical bottom drawer. The number grew until, in exasperation, my wife declared I should either attempt to get them published, or she would.
In fact, she did submit the first novel; and, to date, ten have been published.
I enjoyed this one from Danielle Steel. This is historical fiction set in 1958, mostly in France during the first “Le Bal des Debutantés,” a ball for American and French debutantes held in Versailles. We follow four girls from America who are invited to France as part of this ball. Caroline has little interest because she’s already in love, but her movie star parents think it will be fun. Brilliant Felicity is constantly battling her weight and her verbally abusive sister, so a night in the spotlight is not appealing to her at all. Amelia and her mother Jane once had money, but are now in dire financial straits. How can they afford to go? Samantha has problems with her balance due to an accident years ago, and she is a bit worried about falling during the ball. Her very protective father has the same concerns.
This is set in a time when women had fewer rights and some families still thought that their daughter’s best “career” would be finding a rich husband. The financial struggles of Amelia’s mother Jane are very real, as her late husband came back from the war a different person and had left her with little money when he died. Her career struggles are very true to the period, as women were passed over for promotions and paid much less than men. In some of Ms. Steel’s previous books, someone with money might come in and rescue her, but I was pleased to see that did not happen in this one.
I loved the setting in Versailles, the decadence of the ball, and the descriptions of France. Steel has a tendency to “tell” instead of “show,” but she’s sold a billion books that way, so who am I to judge? Sometimes her style works for me and sometimes it doesn’t. This time it worked. The character Felicity was my favorite. Even though she is a brilliant student at MIT, all her mother and sister can see is her weight. That’s very true even today, and I loved that one of the characters did not have a “perfect figure.” So few of us do.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys books set in France and in the 1950s.
My rating is 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 on sites with no half-star option.
I received a free copy of this book from Random House via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own
Self-Published Saturday (SPS) is my effort to help self-published and indie authors with the heavy task of marketing their books. Self-published authors have to do it all, from cover design to marketing and more. This is my effort to take a bit of that load and help promote their books. This week, we’re taking a look at a book of short stories by Tyrel Nelson based on his life and travels. Check out the review below. This will be my only SPS post today as I’m off to watch the grandbabies.
BOOK REVIEW
Travels and Tribulations is a collection of short stories by Tyrel Nelson about his life and travels. The stories are very well done and he has a way of pulling the reader into the adventure or emotion with him.
One of my favorites in the collection is “Coming Around to Carnival.” We learn about the traditions in Ecuador of throwing water balloons or using squirt guns or other means to pelt each other with water during Carnival. Tired of getting wet, Tyrel travels to Ambata, Ecuador with a friend. In Ambata, water bombs are banned, but they spray each other with colored foam. The author’s description of celebrating in the streets and engaging in friendly foam fights is so descriptive you feel as if you are there.
There is a wonderful mix of funny and sad in this book. The Old Man and the GMC is a hilarious tale of several encounters with a very bad driver, and another one of my favorite stories in this book. Just when you think you are safe, here comes the old man in the GMC again. The author also gives many sad but heartfelt tributes to his late parents. February 14, Lake Reflections, and My Takeaway are beautiful tributes to the author’s father. A Comfortable Silence, Time on the Line, and Memories of Mom and Mexico are among the tributes to his mother.
Each story is touching, fascinating, or amusing in its own way. The author either takes the reader on an adventure to an amazing place or stirs the emotions with heartfelt stories of his life and family.
Overall this is an extremely well written collection, and the author’s descriptive ability is amazing. The reader can see the places Ty has been and they can feel his deepest emotions in these stories.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in well-told travel, adventure, and family stories.
4.5 stars. Rounded up to 5 on sites with no half-star option.
I received a free copy of this book from the author. I also purchased one on Amazon because I love to celebrate great writing.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tyrel Nelson
Tyrel Nelson grew up in the southern part of the Twin Cities. He studied in Venezuela and Spain as an undergrad at the University of Minnesota. After earning a B.A. in Journalism and Spanish Studies, he received his School for International Training TESOL Certificate from the Experiment in International Living in Quito, Ecuador. Over the past fifteen years, Nelson has led many volunteer trips to Latin America and written a few nonfiction books, including his latest collection of stories, Travels and Tribulations. He lives in Minneapolis with his lively wife, bright-eyed daughter, and troublesome turtle.
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Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady is the 8th book in the Amanda Travels series by Darlene Foster. It can be read as a standalone. In this adventure, Amanda gets a postcard from her best friend Leah, and is surprised to learn Leah is visiting her aunt in Malta. Amanda gets the feeling that something is not quite right, so she travels to Malta with her friend Caleb and his parents, determined to find out if Leah is okay.
This is a delightful book that shares the customs, culture, geography, and history of Malta with Middle Grade readers. At the same time, mysteries are provided for them to solve. Amanda, Leah, and Caleb are on the case, trying to determine who is killing protected birds and what has happened to the famous statue of The Sleeping Lady. Amanda visits many popular sites in Malta, such as Popeye Village, museums, and a falconry. The book is engaging, well written, and full of interesting information. Children and adults will be captivated by the travel adventures of Amanda and her friends. I would recommend the whole series to middle graders and above, as this is a fun way for everyone to learn about different locations in the world.
I received a free copy of this book from the publishers. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Darlene Foster dreamt of writing, travelling the world, and meeting interesting people. She also believed in making her dreams come true. It’s no surprise she’s now the award-winning author of Amanda Travels, a children’s adventure series about a spunky twelve-year-old who loves to travel to unique places. Readers from seven to seventy enjoy travelling with Amanda as she unravels one mystery after another. A world traveller herself, Darlene spends her time in Vancouver, Canada and the Costa Blanca, in Spain.
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