Ramblings-n-Writings

Archive for October, 2010

ABOUT THE BOOK

In an unassuming apartment building in Brooklyn, New York, three lives intersect as the reality of war invades each aspect of their lives. Young Esther is heartbroken when her father decides to enlist in the army shortly after the death of her mother.

Penny Goodrich has been in love with Eddie Shaffer for as long as she can remember; now that Eddie’s wife is dead, Penny feels she has been given a second chance and offers to care for his children in the hope that he will finally notice her and marry her after the war.

And elderly Mr. Mendel, the landlord, waits for the war to end to hear what has happened to his son trapped in war-torn Hungary. But during the long, endless wait for victory overseas, life on the home front will go from bad to worse.

Yet these characters find themselves growing and changing in ways they never expected–and ultimately discovering truths about God’s love…even when He is silent.

If you would like to read the first chapter of While We’re Far Apart, go HERE.

MY THOUGHTS

Another great book by Lynn Austin!

While this book is a World War novel, there are no battlefields or war torn areas – only the broken hearts left on the homefront. The story of Penny, Esther, and Peter is heart-wrenching as each copes with the changes life brings.

I admired the character of Penny as she rose above life’s circumstances and created a way for herself to succeed. While her parents told her she would never amount to anything (her mom often tells her that she doesn’t even have the sense God gave a green bean), she focuses on what she wants and tries her best to get it. (Honestly, I can’t imagine being a female bus driver in New York City!) She didn’t allow the negative influences of others to stand in her way, and she plodded forward putting one foot in front of the other and meeting the challenges head on. Of course, what she wants, especially in a husband, and what God sees as best for her aren’t always the same. I loved how she grew as a person throughout the story!

Esther and Peter, the children of Eddie, deal with so many emotions with their father leaving that I just wanted to reach through the pages and give them big hugs. I can’t imagine losing a mother and then being thrust, very unwilling, into the care of another woman who is almost a stranger. Just about everything that is familiar to them disappears, including a favorite dog.

So many lessons are scattered throughout this story. The book isn’t preachy at all although the biblical truths are numerous along with examples of how we are to interact with others on an every day basis.  The characters are evidence of how God gives grace to each of us to make it through life’s challenges.

My final words on While We’re Far Apart – I loved it!

ABOUT THE BOOK

The logging industry in eastern Texas is booming, and Deborah Vandermark plans to assist her family’s business now that she’s completed college. Unexpectedly, her best friend, Lizzie Decker, accompanies her back home–fleeing a wedding and groom she has no interest in.

Deborah, the determined matchmaker, puts her sights on uniting her brother and dear friend in a true love match. Deborah soon meets Dr. Christopher Clayton, a much-needed addition to the town. As their lives intersect, Deborah realizes that she has a much greater interest in medicine and science than the bookkeeping she was trained in.

But when typhoid begins to spread and Lizzie’s jilted fiance returns, Deborah wonders if true love can overcome such obstacles…for those dearest to her, and for herself.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Embers of Love, go HERE.

MY THOUGHTS

As I’ve said before, it’s no secret that Tracie Peterson is one of my favorite historical fiction authors. She creates memorable characters, tosses in some history, chooses not-so-normal settings, adds a little turmoil, and before you turn the last page, she has you wanting to read the next book. And, there’s almost always a next book that’s equally good.

Embers of Love is the start of Tracie’s new Striking a Match series. This book focuses on Deborah Vandermark, a young lady who always believed her obligation was to return to Perkinsville, Texas, and help maintain the accounting records for the family logging business. Unlike the overwhelming majority of the local townspeople who may have finished part of elementary school, Deborah is college educated. She struggles with the differences she sees between herself and the locals and wonders how she will find herself a suitable and intelligent husband.

Accompanying Deborah on her trip home is her best friend, Lizzie. Deborah convinced Lizzie to run away from her wedding just minutes before it started. Of course, the disgruntled groom shows up in Texas wanting his bride back. To make matters worse, he brings along Lizzie’s overbearing suffragette mother. While the conflict between Lizzie, her mother, and her disgruntled groom is almost comical at times, it shows how Lizzie grows as an individual and finds what she truly wants in life.

The spiritual lessons in Embers of Love are strong, and each character demonstrates a different phase of the Christian walk. Some learn about reliance on God for His best, while others lead by example rather than preaching.

Nothing stands out to me as a strong dislike or like in the book. As a longtime reader of Tracie’s books, Embers of Love met all of my expectations, so if you are a fan of Tracie Peterson or historical fiction, you will likely enjoy this book. It is also appropriate for teenage readers.

Since I have finally resettled into a daily routine, last week I decided to re-add Twitter as one of my daily habits. The last time I tweeted was about 4 months ago, and since then I noticed a definite correlation between my time on Twitter and the traffic on my websites. I recognize the value in Twitter and decided it was time to get back into tweeting.

I sat down last Thursday, and before typing my first tweet, decided to catch up with those that I follow. After scrolling through countless updates and wasting more time than I care to confess, I realized I needed a plan of attack. I had to decide what I was going to use Twitter for.

• Was it to follow as many people as possible?
• Was it to gain knowledge / ideas / links?
• Was it to generate relationships?

Everyone looks at Twitter differently. To me, I want to use it to build relationships and to learn.

In order to accomplish my purpose, I needed to purge the list of those that I was following. So, for about 2 hours, I sat engrossed in the my “following” list. What criteria did I use to decide if someone stayed or went?

• What was the date of the last tweet? Seriously, anyone who hasn’t tweeted since 2009 probably wasn’t going to tweet again anytime soon. I realize some people, like myself, have life circumstances that interfere and tweeting just isn’t feasible anymore. But more than a year makes me think they probably won’t be back.
• Did I remember the person from back when I tweeted regularly? I figured if I remembered them, I must have had some kind of interaction with them or they shared meaningful tweets. At some point, they had made an impression, and I liked that.
• Did I know them in real life?
• Did the person seem to be about self-promotion? If, out of the last 10 or so tweets, a large majority of the tweets were links to their personal site and the site content wasn’t something I felt would be of value to me, I purged.
• Would the person be a better match for @SkalaCreative, my business twitter? I also looked for those that I followed with both accounts.

So, did spending about 2 hours going through the 675+ on my “following” list help? After just a couple of days, I can honestly say that it did.

I paired my list down to about 170 followings, and it is very easy to spend 5 minutes scrolling through the morning tweets, replying/retweeting, and clicking on links of interest. Then I repeat the process at some point in the afternoon.

I no longer feel like I might miss something important. I can easily manage what’s there.

By the way, I also purged the list of blogs I follow in my Google Reader. Instead of over 100 blogs, I now follow have 27.

It’s all about simplicity and stewardship of time.