tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25270484550100432872024-03-05T09:16:22.784-08:00I used to thinkAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-20625365630893093102017-09-09T04:24:00.000-07:002017-09-09T07:21:46.613-07:00<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b>Mixing History and Imagination</b></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i>Only a few days ago, on August 20, 2017, the wreckage of the
USS Indianapolis, a cruiser sunk at
the end of World War Two, was located
on the floor of the North Pacific Ocean, 18,000 feet down. </i></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i>That piece of
history brings new attention to the story I wrote in my novel Too Much Left Unsaid.</i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">History has always fascinated me, but not the dates and wars
and memorization. I’m someone who wants to know about the real people whose
lives were changed by events of history. Often, they have no control over their
circumstances. Sometimes they do not even realize that events which will affect
them are taking place in the world. But I am a fiction writer, so as I research
the history, I make up the characters living the events.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I based the character of Mattie Connors in my first novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Too Much Left Unsaid,</i> on my husband’s
mother, Madge. Madge’s father really did die when she was six in the Spanish
influenza sweeping the world in 1918. Her widowed mother did take the younger
of two daughters to Texas and left Madge to be raised by an aunt and uncle. Madge
later eloped with her high school sweetheart, keeping the marriage secret until
graduation. Anything else you read about the characters in this novel I
imagined—fiction.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My other main character in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Too Much Left Unsaid</i>, Kathy Connors, is completely invented. But
the circumstances I used for her life story were historically based. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Women like Kathy’s mother did die in
childbirth in 1918, and often left large families to be cared for by the oldest
sibling.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 precipitated
numerous marriages, and often brides were taken to unfamiliar hometowns to live
with their husband’s family to wait out the war. This was the circumstance I
used in my novel to explain Kathy’s marriage to Josh and her subsequent life.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In the interest of my story, I chose to portray Kathy as
widowed at the end of WWII. I asked a retired Navy man how Josh might have died
and he told me about the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">USS Indianapolis</i>,
the last ship to be sunk by the Japanese at the close of the war. I did
research on the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">USS Indianapolis</i>,
reading several books, web pages, and articles. As part of my research, I found
the front page of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New York Times</i>
for August 15, 1945 declaring the end of the war. In the lower left corner of
that front page, the Times reported the sinking of the Indianapolis with 1196
service men aboard and the rescue of only 316 crewmen.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">As I researched, I learned that the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">USS Indianapolis</i> was being repaired at Mare Island, California, in
early 1945, after an earlier Japanese attack. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I wrote that Kathy made a cross-country trip
by train from Ohio to spend a few days with Josh. The visit was shortened when
Josh’s leave was cancelled and the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Indianapolis</i>
was dispatched on its secret mission, the transfer of atomic bomb components to
Guam. Kathy and Josh suspended an argument about what Kathy’s role in postwar
America would be. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Soon after the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Indianapolis
</i>delivered its precious cargo, the first atomic bomb was dropped on
Hiroshima, Japan, August 6, 1945. A second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki
three days later. WWII ended within six days of two atomic bombs being dropped.
</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But the fate of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">USS
Indianapolis</i> after it dropped off its cargo was tragic. The ship continued
across the Pacific and was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, the last Navel casualty
of the war. There was so much going on at that moment that the U.S. Navy lost
track of the ship and did not even know it was missing. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Consequently, the Navy was not looking for the
ship and the wreckage was only discovered by accident five days later. Some of
the crew died in the immediate impact of the torpedoes, but it has been
estimated that 800 sailors escaped into the ocean. 500 of them died during
those five days at sea, of dehydration, drowning or attack by sharks. Only 316
men survived.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I used the information I had found to imagine Josh Connors’
death, and his wife’s grief as she learned about it on the same day that
victory over Japan was declared. In this part of the story, Mattie Connors is
narrating. She was caring for Kathy’s son, Eddie, when she heard the news that
the war is over and hurried to find her sister-in-law.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">August
14, 1945</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">In
Parkersville, the police and fire sirens pierced the air. Church bells rang
from every steeple. The war was over. Everyone was screaming, squealing,
shouting, whooping. Cheering crowds filled the downtown, waving flags,
hollering, blowing horns and whistles. Factory steam whistles blew louder, then
softer, then louder, for attention. Aaron and Mark [Mattie’s two boys} and their
grade school friends grabbed pots, pans, lids, and wooden spoons and marched up
and down the streets. They loaded Eddie, soon to turn three, into their Red
Flyer wagon and handed him a flag to wave. Firecrackers and shotguns added to
the din. I couldn’t wait to celebrate with Kathy, so I grabbed Eddie and hurried
down the street. No use trying to drive over. The streets were crowded with
tractors, cars, and revelers.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">When
we arrived, Kathy was collapsed on her sofa, clutching a yellow envelope. Her
eyes were red with tears. Her always neat blonde hair was a complete mess. Her
breath came in gasps. I took one look and swallowed hard. ‘What does it say,
Kathy?’ I asked, not wanting to know. Kathy thrust the telegram in my hands
without a word. She sobbed and hugged her sides.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Navy Department deeply
regrets to inform you that your husband, Joshua Herman Connors is missing in
action in the South Pacific.</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The next day Kathy and Mattie see the front page of the New
York Times, the one I had read and copied. The main headlines are screaming
that the war is over, but in the lower right corner is the news of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Indianapolis:</i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Cruiser Sunk, 1196 Causalities</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Took Atom Bomb Cargo to Guam</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In a later chapter of my novel, I imagine that a buddy of
Josh’s who survived the disaster comes to visit Kathy in Ohio. As they talk,
more of the grim story of the torpedo strike and the stranded sailors is
revealed.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b>You can read the story of Kathy and Mattie in <i>Too Much Left Unsaid</i> available from B & N, Amazon, and other bookstores, in paperback or online editions.</b></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><b></b><i></i><i></i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-36643840829039601492017-03-29T13:56:00.002-07:002017-03-29T13:56:56.851-07:00<img alt="AnkenyAuthorsFair" src="https://www.ankenyiowa.gov/Home/ShowImage?id=1710&t=635913030937870000" /><span style="font-size: x-large;">What a wonderful </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"> opportunity</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"> for book lovers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #7f7f7f;">hosted by</span><br />
<h5>
Kirkendall Public Library will host 56 Iowa authors on </h5>
<h5>
<span style="font-size: large;">Saturday, April 8, 2007 </span>from 9 a.m. until Noon. <i> </i></h5>
<h5>
I will be there with <u>both</u> my books</h5>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">TOO MUCH LEFT UNSAID </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> and</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> WHO CARES ABOUT YOU? A NOVEL</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
</h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pinnacle Club </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4100 NE Otter Creek Drive </span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ankeny, IA 50023</span><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-30614746257970796552017-02-23T12:46:00.000-08:002017-02-23T12:46:54.772-08:00<span style="font-size: large;">The family I grew up in. <span style="font-size: small;">February 23, 2017--</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vg_M8BQLkkVSZi2_9SDrmnmdFmeE32_5FXsECQ9pugnfDSlMnVW27HI_h6ZB8G2R_iNtcBH9w7VXfk8-Dmz5xFNFzOd-f1Q9TGmNQanoH2IL1skMdiJqMNNeGMnub8JlYFWYrX56AA/s1600/Leemom-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vg_M8BQLkkVSZi2_9SDrmnmdFmeE32_5FXsECQ9pugnfDSlMnVW27HI_h6ZB8G2R_iNtcBH9w7VXfk8-Dmz5xFNFzOd-f1Q9TGmNQanoH2IL1skMdiJqMNNeGMnub8JlYFWYrX56AA/s320/Leemom-1.JPG" width="263" /></a>This time of year always brings to my special attention my parents, Ben and Bert Marcus. <br />
<br />
Ben Coleman Marcus married Bertha Ida Pfeiffer on this date in 1929. The next day was Bert's birthday. As a child I was always amused by the fact that their wedding was <i>before</i> Mom's birth.<br />
<br />
Their first child, Bruce, is <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpK6LOuXn8ljmoyUcvPS0V6jmeU_jHL6fYBVihB8CdBG9bBK2L3HjhQrJof0ra2c5nTUZUPi3N9Bi-5XTD_6UDw0w2C8rnBAzz7gDWzYv5LerQRCyAnQ7HlCin8Pi_kbBY9n00HgioQ/s1600/img066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpK6LOuXn8ljmoyUcvPS0V6jmeU_jHL6fYBVihB8CdBG9bBK2L3HjhQrJof0ra2c5nTUZUPi3N9Bi-5XTD_6UDw0w2C8rnBAzz7gDWzYv5LerQRCyAnQ7HlCin8Pi_kbBY9n00HgioQ/s320/img066.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="298" /></a>shown with mom and with little Lee Joanne in this picture, taken sometime in 1934, I imagine. <br />
<br />
<br />
My little sister, Elizabeth Jane didn't come along until 1945. This is a picture of three-year old Janie.<br />
<br />
I have outlived both parents and my brother,<br />
Mother, Dad and Bruce are all gone now. I am the family matriarch, but I do miss them greatly.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vg_M8BQLkkVSZi2_9SDrmnmdFmeE32_5FXsECQ9pugnfDSlMnVW27HI_h6ZB8G2R_iNtcBH9w7VXfk8-Dmz5xFNFzOd-f1Q9TGmNQanoH2IL1skMdiJqMNNeGMnub8JlYFWYrX56AA/s1600/Leemom-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpK6LOuXn8ljmoyUcvPS0V6jmeU_jHL6fYBVihB8CdBG9bBK2L3HjhQrJof0ra2c5nTUZUPi3N9Bi-5XTD_6UDw0w2C8rnBAzz7gDWzYv5LerQRCyAnQ7HlCin8Pi_kbBY9n00HgioQ/s1600/img066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-59377788358695568772017-02-17T09:08:00.000-08:002017-02-17T09:08:24.233-08:00I post every year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdw_21JvSu1bA9pZi3t9CfNvuCqxA3IZhWpkvIsPQfADljAJKs-Ew2DhYIneGRXNDYP7BEdifnw86MbYZx4k6vnxrkXQsoag5on6R0HpYxK32DbVjDGJKLqpCn7eW7JTeLpNVGqe9Bgg/s1600/IMG_0924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
So here I am back. <br />
When you only post once a year it is hard to remember how to get access and make a new post.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdw_21JvSu1bA9pZi3t9CfNvuCqxA3IZhWpkvIsPQfADljAJKs-Ew2DhYIneGRXNDYP7BEdifnw86MbYZx4k6vnxrkXQsoag5on6R0HpYxK32DbVjDGJKLqpCn7eW7JTeLpNVGqe9Bgg/s1600/IMG_0924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdw_21JvSu1bA9pZi3t9CfNvuCqxA3IZhWpkvIsPQfADljAJKs-Ew2DhYIneGRXNDYP7BEdifnw86MbYZx4k6vnxrkXQsoag5on6R0HpYxK32DbVjDGJKLqpCn7eW7JTeLpNVGqe9Bgg/s320/IMG_0924.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="242" /></a>.
<br />
<br />
I am re-opening my blog so that I can tell everyone that my second novel<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><span style="font-size: large;">WHO CARES ABOUT YOU ?</span></i> <br />
<br />
is soon to be published by <i>The Write Place.</i><br />
<br />
Below is the first preview/review of the book,<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 5px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">“Lee Collins lays bare the painful complexities
of family relationships in her character-rich second novel, “Who Cares About
You?” Teen angst, adult discord and privileged ambition are juxtaposed with the
simple goodness and strength of a young, destitute mother and her two sons. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">As
secrets are revealed, we are drawn into a conflicted world where the actions of
well-meaning people result in unintended consequences. A must read.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 5px;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"> --</span></span><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px;">Robin Martin, former Iowa Center for the Book
Coordinator</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 5px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
</span>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe this year will be the year that I get serious.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 5px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-792963656682182872016-02-10T19:07:00.000-08:002016-02-10T19:07:35.012-08:00Review: The Yoga of Max's Discontent<em>I must admit, I haven't been a faithful blogger, but it is ASH Wednesday, 2016, and being more faithful to my loyal fans is part of my "repenting" this year.</em><br />
<br /><br />
I'm starting with a review of a wonderful book by Karen Bajaj called <br />
<br /><br />
THE YOGA OF MAX'S DISCONTENT.<br />
<br /><br />
When I finished reading this excellent book, <br />
I wanted to start reading it all over again.<br />
<br /><br />
Max's story, <br />
Karen's writing, <br />
my being caught up in the path that leads to fulfilment--<br />
all of these are reasons I both wanted and did not want the book to end.<br />
<br /><br />
Each setback, <br />
and each determined effort to continue seeking <br />
enlightenment,<br />
added to my involvement.<br />
<br /><br />
"How will this all end?" I asked myself as I read on and on.<br />
"Would I consider undertaking such a journey for myself?"<br />
<br /><br />
And as a writer, I tried to analyze how Ms. Bajaj wove such an engaging and realistic story.<br />
<br /><br />
Max, born and raised in the projects in the Bronx by a dedicated single mother, works his way out of the ghetto by studying hard and dedicating himself to success. At age 29, his mother dies of cancer and he is drawn to give up a promising career and seek the way of the yogi in India. Karen tells this story so well, I felt present in the cold and the heat, the fatigue and hunger, that Max endures. <br />
<br /><br />
I will reread this story and I anticipate I will learn more about Max, Karen, and myself as I do so.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-43480198508151349842015-03-12T17:22:00.000-07:002015-03-12T17:22:12.971-07:00How to help your friends' books succeed<div class="bdy">
<div>
<div>
<div style="border: 0px; outline: invert none 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">I have been thinking about reaching more people with my novel. Then it dawned on me that my question is more universal than I had thought. The information below is from Richard Ridley, an award-winning author and paid CreateSpace contributor who gave permission for authors to share this with our personal networks.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; outline: invert none 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; outline: invert none 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Call
this an open letter to friends and family members of indie authors (authors, you
can share this with your personal networks if you agree).</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; height: 8pt; min-height: 8pt; outline: invert none 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal" style="border: 0px; outline: invert none 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"This
is an answer to the question I hear most often from the people in my life who
want to support my career as an indie author: "What can I do to help you sell
more books?" The answer is simple, and believe it or not, it has nothing to do
with you buying a book from the indie author in your life. All that is required
is that you help spread the word. I don't mean in an organized manner or by
using some grand gesture full of fanfare and hype. I simply mean that you
mention the book in conversation or include a link to the book in a status
update on Facebook and/or Twitter. That's it. If you've read the book, you could
go that extra mile and share your review online, but that is your call. Your
real value is as a personal advocate, an active supporter of the indie author in
your life.<span style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal" style="border: 0px; height: 8pt; min-height: 8pt; outline: invert none 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal" style="border: 0px; outline: invert none 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"Your
word carries a lot of weight. Statistics show that the number-one reason people
choose to read a book is because of recommendations from a friend or family
member. Do you see the power you have? Now, it isn't your responsibility to
support an indie author's dream, and I don't want you to feel like it is an
obligation. I just want you to be aware of how easily your support can be
expressed.<span style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span><span style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal" style="border: 0px; height: 8pt; min-height: 8pt; outline: invert none 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal" style="border: 0px; outline: invert none 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"Thanks
for reading, and may you all find your way to achieving your own hopes and
dreams with a little help from family and friends.<span style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal" style="border: 0px; height: 8pt; min-height: 8pt; outline: invert none 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal" style="border: 0px; outline: invert none 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">-Richard"</span><br />
<span style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="x_jiveNoBorder" style="border-bottom: rgb(0,0,0) 0px solid; border-collapse: collapse; border-left: rgb(0,0,0) 0px solid; border-right: rgb(0,0,0) 0px solid; border-spacing: 0px; border-top: rgb(0,0,0) 0px solid; float: none; height: 95px; margin: 1px 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; width: 613px;">
<tbody style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px;">
<td style="border-bottom: rgb(0,0,0) 0px solid; border-collapse: collapse; border-left: rgb(0,0,0) 0px solid; border-right: rgb(0,0,0) 0px solid; border-top: rgb(0,0,0) 0px solid; margin: 1px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px;" valign="middle"><div style="border: 0px; outline: invert none 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="https://owa.central.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=GvgaHknvxkeHVNEKJ4Ba93Ef63lOLdEI0HkV0YuzZ7c0DeaVatinULP-Jw66l7Cvh3BLQl9wHJI.&URL=https%3a%2f%2fcreatespacecommunity.s3.amazonaws.com%2fResources%2520Contributors%2fRidleyHeadshot_blog.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" target="_blank"><img alt="https://createspacecommunity.s3.amazonaws.com/Resources Contributors/RidleyHeadshot_blog.jpg" border="1" height="77" src="https://owa.central.edu/owa/14.3.181.6/themes/resources/clear1x1.gif" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="88" /></a></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: rgb(0,0,0) 0px solid; border-collapse: collapse; border-left: rgb(0,0,0) 0px solid; border-right: rgb(0,0,0) 0px solid; border-top: rgb(0,0,0) 0px solid; margin: 1px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px;" valign="middle"><span style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><em style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Richard
Ridley is an award-winning author and paid CreateSpace contributor.</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
</div>
I certainly endorse what Richard has to say here. Some of you have told me that you read and enjoyed my book. Have you told your other friends?<br />
<br />
Peace, Lee<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
https://forums.createspace.com/en/community/community/resources/blog/2014/02/05/the-key-to-succeed-as-an-authorAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-3136519496752478692015-03-12T17:16:00.000-07:002015-03-12T17:16:11.135-07:00Hello, again.<br />
It has been quite a while since I posted on my blog, but I am here again.<br />
For about six months this past year I had a "job" writing history for the about.com.twentieth century blog that Jennifer Rosenberg publishes.<br />
When Jennifer asked if anyone wanted to write pieces for her, I applied and she accepted my application. From April through August, I researched famous men of the century and wrote up their lives for her to put on her blog.<br />
<br />
Now I am working on my second novel. It is tentatively called NOTHING CAN POSSIBLY GO WRONG, GO WRONG.<br />
<br />
I hope to visit you more often from now on.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-702510023817233172014-03-28T16:30:00.000-07:002014-03-28T16:30:04.736-07:00Visiting a Book Club Long DistanceHad a lovely adventure on Thursday morning, March 20, 2014 with the<i> Daytime Book Group of the Faculty and Spouse Club of Georgia Regents University</i> in Augusta, Georgia.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5M9ijau3Iqvbk0urzZFgLpZK0A-Ml02cgovSTjMrIIzv5yIdCA8q3d1EsWCPecIA8rVFTnxSmHP4a5vtsYmUresnwVWYPw-Z8tBQaGDxVs2eGocQfZhUAkpBF98t9srV6XzR6ffGtA/s1600/Skype+book+group.3.20.14.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5M9ijau3Iqvbk0urzZFgLpZK0A-Ml02cgovSTjMrIIzv5yIdCA8q3d1EsWCPecIA8rVFTnxSmHP4a5vtsYmUresnwVWYPw-Z8tBQaGDxVs2eGocQfZhUAkpBF98t9srV6XzR6ffGtA/s1600/Skype+book+group.3.20.14.png" height="248" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lee in Iowa and Becky in Georgia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And I didn't even have to leave home to do it.<br />
<br />
My daughter, Becky Delecuona has been active in the group for many years and when my novel <i>Too Much Left Unsaid </i> came out last summer she suggested that it would be fun to have me come down and meet with her book club. When the group scheduled my book for March (and especially this March when winter has just gone crazy all over the country) we considered whether a drive from Pella, Iowa, to August, Georgia would be a good idea. NOT.<br />
<br />
So we began making alternative plans. Jacqui Allison was scheduled to host the group and she was a most gracious hostess. I missed the treats, but enjoyed the company via Skype.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li> Jacqui set up a Skype connection and AppleTV so that pictures from her Mac computer could be shown on her TV screen. </li>
<li> Barb Ashton, my housemate and technology guru, got me set up on Skype in our dining room.</li>
<li>Jacqui and I checked out the connections a week in advance.</li>
<li>Tuesday morning, we had a lovely chat about writing, history, my book, and life in the mid-twentieth century.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Book Clubbers of the world. This is your opportunity to invite a not-quite-world-famous author (ME) to come to your meeting and chat about books. I even have a set of questions about my book that I would gladly send to you. You might even see me post a few questions on this blog. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-25952215352561822372014-03-22T17:50:00.000-07:002014-03-22T17:50:23.323-07:00Another History Lesson (Part 2)<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 200%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">A few days ago I blogged about
"Bloody Sunday," when civil rights advocates began an aborted march
from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to petition for voting rights that were
being denied to African American citizens.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">On that day, April 7, 1965, police and state troopers attacked the
marchers, and three days later three white ministers were beaten by mobs and
one, James Reeb of Boston died of his injuries.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> I used the events in my novel <i>Too Much Left Unsaid </i>when I told of fictional
minister Aaron Connors' decision to be part of the third attempt to
make the march on March 21.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Aaron told his congregation that he
would go down to Alabama to take part in the march and invited anyone
interested to accompany him. He went alone, but met there his nephew Eddie's
best friend, Dar Jones, a black law student from Howard Law School. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> <i>Below
is another section from my book:<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> "On Thursday, March 25, 25,000
people reached the State Capitol Building where Dr. King delivered an address.
He spoke of "a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with
its conscience...."He concluded by promising, "I know you are asking
today, How long will it take? I come to say to you this afternoon however
difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> Twenty-five thousand people do not
disperse in a hurry. Some marched back along the way they had come or away in
various directions satisfied with the outcome. Others hitched rides or rode in
cars provided by volunteers like Viola Liuzzo back to Selma. Dar and Aaron
returned to the campus at the St. Jude Educational Institute, a private Roman
Catholic high school on the outskirts of Montgomery where they had camped on
the final evening of the march. Aaron found a pay phone to call Joan [his wife]
reporting their elation, but also their bone-tired fatigue. He told her he
would start back in the morning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> Later on, while Aaron sat listening to
his portable radio, Dar called Parkersville to talk to his sister, Sophie.
"You should've been there, Soph! People were screaming and laughing and
dancing in the street. Dr. King speaks the hopes of our generation. Last night
Eddie's Uncle Aaron and I camped at this Catholic church and school and Harry
Belafonte and Sammy Davis Jr. sang for us. Peter, Paul and Mary, and Frankie
Laine, and Tony Bennett. Today we finished the march and listened to Dr. King
speak. After the beatings and arrests and strain, this actually did feel like
we shall overcome at last."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> Sophie was watching on television some
of the footage of the day's events as she talked to her brother. "Dar!
Wait! there's a news flash coming on now. Oh, my God! Listen! Here's what they
are saying: Viola Liuzzo, a Detroit mother of five who was assisting with the
march, was murdered by four members of the Ku Klux Klan. More news to come..."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> "Viola? Murdered? No-oo! That's
awful! I met her, Soph! She was at the hospitality desk in Brown Chapel. We
talked together. She was at the first aid station yesterday and today. She
drove back and forth taking people where they needed to be. Eddie's Uncle Aaron
knew her. Are you sure what you heard?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> "More news to come is all they are
saying now. Mama's frantic that you're down there. Do you think it was worth
the struggle?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> Dar left the question unanswered as he
turned around and looked at Aaron. Aaron sat with his head in his hand, having
just heard the same news from the radio.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> "Got to go, Soph. Tell Mama I'm
safe. I'll get back to school as soon as I can. I'll call from DC."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> Aaron looked up when Dar tapped his
shoulder. Tears streamed down his face. Dar scowled, too angry to be sad yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> "Is it worth it, Rev. Connors? No
one seemed to care when only black people died. Now we have people's attention,
what's next?" <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> Aaron drew a deep breath. "I can't
answer your question, Dar. I wish I could. What I would want is for the nation
to be upset when anybody is killed. If God is carrying his purpose out, it
seems too many lives are being wasted in the process."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<i>There is more to Dar and Aaron's story. I
wrote in my novel. But the historical background includes these facts:<o:p></o:p></i><br />
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Viola Liuzzo was a real person, a mother
from Detroit, who helped with the march and was murdered on that night.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Martin Luther King's words are quoted from the
speech he gave on March 25 at Montgomery.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Harry Belafonte, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter, Paul
and Mary, Frankie Laine, and Tony Bennett actually did perform at the
campground of the St. Jude Catholic
High School outside Montgomery on Wednesday night.</span><!--[if !supportLists]--><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">The events of that month in Alabama did catch the attention of people around the nation and a voting rights bill was passed by Congress in the summer of 1965.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-10598159611378588392014-03-08T13:33:00.000-08:002014-03-08T13:33:35.391-08:00Another history lesson: Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965 (Part 1)<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">On
March 7, 1965, forty-nine years ago yesterday, events came together in Selma,
Alabama, which passed into history as <a href="http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/al4.htm" target="_blank">"Bloody Sunday."</a> I wrote about this
event and the weeks that followed in my novel <i>Too Much Left Unsaid. </i>Here is the beginning of my chapter,
featuring the son of my protagonist, Mattie Connors.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Aaron Connors, pastor of White Grove
Presbyterian Church, believed in God and country, in equal rights for all
citizens, regardless of skin color, to vote and live and work where they
pleased. Aaron's congregation, on the other hand, didn't always appreciate his
challenging words from the pulpit. From time to time the Board of Elders,
ordained to oversee the spiritual life of the congregation, listened to
complaints about Aaron's activities in promoting Negro rights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Aaron
was aware of the unrest in his congregation, but he still felt it was his
responsibility to preach and act as he believed God wanted. He paid special
attention to what was happening in Selma, Alabama. On Sunday, March 7, 1965,
John Lewis, chairman of SNCC, and Hosea Williams from the Southern Christian
Leadership Council scheduled a peaceful march from Selma to the state capital
in Montgomery to petition for protection of blacks who were being attacked when
they tried to register to vote. Governor George Wallace vowed to halt the
marchers. He called out the state troopers to stop them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> The evening of the march, Aaron
and his wife Joan sat in their manse watching network television. What was
shown on television shocked them. The marchers moved peacefully until Alabama
state troopers assaulted them with flailing billy clubs, stampeding horses,
tear gas, and bull whips. People fell and were dragged along, turning the
peaceful protest bloody. By the end of the night sixteen marchers were
hospitalized.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Immediately after "Bloody Sunday," as
it became known, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., along with SNCC and the SCLC,
issued a call to action. They asked clergy and laypeople from across the
country to come to Selma for a second attempt to march to Montgomery on
Tuesday, March 9. Many hundreds of people accepted the call. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
Aaron did not answer that call,
though he participated in a supporting rally in Detroit. The 2,500 marchers who
did assemble were prevented by a court order from marching out of town, but Dr.
King and Rev. Lewis held a short prayer session and led the group as far as the
Edmund Pettus Bridge, They then turned the marchers back in obedience to the
restraining order. </div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Many of the younger marchers felt cheated at
not being able to complete the march. White racists, disturbed seeing the
northerners butting into their way of life, felt just as frustrated. Many
fights broke out. Later that evening three white ministers were beaten, and
one, James Reeb from Boston, died from his injuries two days later. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> When Aaron heard the news of a
fellow minister's death he wept. "It's unacceptable for me to watch from
this far away," he muttered. With repeated coverage of the violence on his
television screen, Aaron paced the floor, alternately angry and sorrowful.
"Next time," he vowed when the news reported Rev. Reeb's murder,
"I will be there."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="line-height: 200%;">In a follow-up blog this month I
will continue both the historical report and my imaginary take on how this
particular civil rights struggle affected my fictional characters. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-61277538452385057922014-02-11T09:46:00.001-08:002014-02-11T09:46:26.198-08:00A Love Letter from Dec. 6, 1942With Valentines Day so close, I want to share a short bit from my novel <i>Too Much Left Unsaid. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Kathy Hummel had met sailor Josh Connors only ten days before but at the end of their first date Josh sat down to write her a letter. Their second date, Sunday, Dacember 7, 1941, was interrupted by news of a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States into WWII.<br />
<br />
This is the letter and Kathy's reaction to it when she received it the next day:<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Monday,
December 8, Kathy received Josh’s letter in the afternoon mail. She laughed at
his review of every part of their Saturday date.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Light","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Browallia New";">Dear Kathy, my dear Katherina,</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Light","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Browallia New";">I love you.
Marry me.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Light","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Browallia New";"> Think about the fun we had today and
multiply that by a lifetime of joy we can have together. <i>I love you. Marry me.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Light","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Browallia New";">You are my angel and when we settle down to our lives together
it will be heaven. I know you think I have said “You’re my angel” to other
girls before you but you really are sent from Heaven and I know it! <i>I love you. Marry me.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">What a foolish man. Proposing
marriage after our first date, </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Kathy
thought.<i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Light","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Browallia New";">I’ve never been so happy as I am at this moment. I loved the
cold beach walk when we could see clear across Lake Michigan. I could see into
our future life together—life in Parkersville. <i>I love you. Marry me.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Light","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Browallia New";">I'm on leave starting December 28 and plan a trip home. You
must come with me and meet Ron and Mattie and the boys and my folks. We’ll tell
them we are engaged and making plans for our wedding. <i>I love you. Marry me.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Light","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Browallia New";">The world is dark now. Hitler’s Germany is itching for a
fight, but I don’t think we’ll be in it. <i>I
love you. Marry me.</i> I’ll take you to see the world when that conflict is
over. We will have a wonderful life together. <i>I love you. Marry me.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Light","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Browallia New";">Remember the "Our Town." Parkersville will be our
town if you only say yes and come there with me. <i>I love you. Marry me.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Light","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Browallia New";">I know we are older. That just means we are wiser and we have
to make up for the years we wasted not knowing each other. <i>I love you. Marry me.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">She began to cry as she read over
and over, "I love you. Marry me." <i>How
could he even think such a wild impossible thing. I know what my life will be
and it doesn't include marrying a sailor.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Light","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Browallia New";">I'll be seeing you in church tomorrow, though you won't have
this letter yet. We’ll go to church and then ride out to Oak Park. I’ve heard
that the Frank Lloyd Wright houses are everywhere there. We can dream of our
house—plan the family we will raise. <i>I
love you. Marry me.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Light","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Browallia New";">How about two boys and two girls? We can start as soon as we
tie the knot. <i>I love you. Marry me.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Light","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Browallia New";">And by the way, <i>I love
you. Marry me.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Light","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Browallia New";"> All,
all, all my love, Josh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Light","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Browallia New";"> P. S. <i>I love you. Marry me.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">As she finished Josh's letter,
her reserve faltered. <i>Marrying Josh would
never work for me; it is too crazy--yet, he was so considerate, and he so </i>wunderbar
<i>is.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Josh's words stirred the feelings
she had long kept under tight control. Could he be a Prince Charming coming
into her life--one she never expected to meet? To her great surprise,
unexpectedly, amazingly, Josh's letter sealed her fate. There was no way to
even respond to him until Mrs. Alcott called her to the phone. “It’s that
sailor again,” she said. “Should I be worried?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> “Not at all,” Kathy told her. “I’m
going to marry him.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><b>Romance is in the air in February. Hope your day is filled with love and joy</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Too Much Left Unsaid </i>can be purchased in eBook or paperback format from</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or through independent bookstores.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-24015031924625963742014-02-02T13:52:00.000-08:002014-02-02T13:52:48.796-08:00Hi, College of Wooster Grads from 1956<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO5-D9S-ZWi_3RyAQ6dHYHzMlPu1NGJUgg1DGnw0n1vjiq7X9iUSkn1CFsdA-viLTVqOjDCUMKqmna7kRYgl4T9aWyNsqgSzE2FsEUvaT6RnWi5Q7HRGoo6NvH7fQNMnOmAndLrY_JsQ/s1600/book+launch2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO5-D9S-ZWi_3RyAQ6dHYHzMlPu1NGJUgg1DGnw0n1vjiq7X9iUSkn1CFsdA-viLTVqOjDCUMKqmna7kRYgl4T9aWyNsqgSzE2FsEUvaT6RnWi5Q7HRGoo6NvH7fQNMnOmAndLrY_JsQ/s1600/book+launch2.jpg" height="181" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Book launch party for <i>Too Much Left Unsaid</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our class secretary Pat Young, from the <span style="font-size: large;"> College of Wooster </span>class of 1956, posted a nice comment about me and my new novel, <i><span style="font-size: large;">Too Much Left Unsaid</span></i>, in the <span style="font-size: large;">Winter 2014 <i>Wooster </i>Magazine.</span><br />
Thanks, Pat.<br />
Pat directed those interested in learning more about the book to come to this page, so I thought I would greet you here.<br />
<br />
My email is collinsl@central.edu if you want to send me a note.<br />
<br />
Some friends who have already read my book have told me they enjoyed it and asked how to spread the word. I have an author profile on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7191373.Lee_Collins">Goodreads</a> and on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Too-Much-Left-Unsaid-Collins-ebook/dp/B00DLC26A6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391377238&sr=1-1&keywords=too+much+left+unsaid">Amazon</a>, so you would be welcome to post there any kind things (or even critical things) you have to say about this fiction set in mid-twentieth century.<br />
<br />
You can download the eBook version on any of several platforms or you can order the paperback from Barnes and Noble or from Amazon. I'd even be glad to mail you a copy from Pella, Iowa, signed by me if you want to contact me. But don't stop there. Ask your library and your local bookstore to order a copy. Tell your friends that you "knew me when."<br />
<br />
I've enjoyed writing this book and am working on the next one. Hope the years since graduation have been fulfilling for you.<br />
<br />
Peace, Lee Joanne (Marcus) Collins.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-73000009543249780862014-01-29T17:16:00.000-08:002014-01-29T17:16:33.408-08:00Mindfully Unraveling: Body Awareness as I Slip Away--a review<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRcbate5rP4pvI1Mg3Qky4Xix_oZi2tEslZGZKclYhPhtzBLMAygia0IKYV9MtZqd1-fY2wL_zhRGXcxSIKP311UQ8UlFV410UzRyTq8Rnxv6PKP_Kj1hyeIFd4BXuN5ju3YMXUXJU5Q/s1600/Rhonda+Patzia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRcbate5rP4pvI1Mg3Qky4Xix_oZi2tEslZGZKclYhPhtzBLMAygia0IKYV9MtZqd1-fY2wL_zhRGXcxSIKP311UQ8UlFV410UzRyTq8Rnxv6PKP_Kj1hyeIFd4BXuN5ju3YMXUXJU5Q/s1600/Rhonda+Patzia.jpg" height="320" width="244" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rhonda Patzia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h4>
Sadly, <span style="font-size: large;">Rhonda Patzia</span>, author of<span style="font-size: large;"> <i>Mindfully Unraveling: Body Awareness as I Slip Away, </i></span>died the day her books became available. </h4>
<h4>
This fact makes the reading of the book more poignant, but does not take away from the brave, surreal, frank, open, sexual, aware narrative that she weaves as she tells her story. </h4>
<h4>
Born in February,1969, she speaks of growing up expecting equality with boys, ignoring the words, "Girls don't do that." She identified with the men in her family, knowing that somehow women were considered "the weaker sex." That understanding carried into her womanhood an alienation from her own body.</h4>
<br />
When she was diagnosed with <span style="background-color: blue;"><span style="color: white;">multiple sclerosis (MS)</span></span> in 1996 Rhonda became more aware of her own body that was failing her in an unpredictable manner. A photographer, she was legally blind for two years. When her sight partially recovered, she returned to her photography, earning a master's degree at Goddard College in Vermont. The central part of her book is photographs she took of over twenty women who were in her graduate cohort. The photographic exhibit was her master's thesis, and the frank and revealing pictures were also a major reason that she wrote this book.<br />
<br />
Told in journal snippets, dream reports, free-writing and reflections, Rhonda's story is frank and open. I recommend that you buy and read this book.<br />
<br />
Her book is available from <a href="http://www.thewriteplace.biz/">The Write Place</a> and also from Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Proceeds will go to a college fund for her son, Marco.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-38805619242198874922014-01-15T11:41:00.001-08:002014-01-15T11:41:29.132-08:00Writer’s Digest Self-Published e-Book Awards<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday I received an email from the Writer's Digest Self-Published e-book Award contest which I entered last summer. <i><span style="color: #660000;">Too Much Left Unsaid </span></i>was not chosen as a winner, but I was very encouraged by the commentary and ratings I received. I am quoting the full report here and will comment on parts of it in future blogs and on Facebook. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">"Books are evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “needs improvement” and 5 meaning “outstanding”. “0” indicates not applicable. This scale is strictly to provide a point of reference, it is not a cumulative score and does not reflect ranking. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimjk5bxXXNKkKhTaafAgFtjFIvLuynZUc52teKqFuQpJmZw-15v7oP_NA4jIrajJ0GHv2TbFCUpspClbyfRr3qtSHozjpuXF3topGU6tPbjT4NlHkMTMC1Ybu_xgZfgQB5BPQo25hGZw/s1600/WD+self+published+award+symbpl.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimjk5bxXXNKkKhTaafAgFtjFIvLuynZUc52teKqFuQpJmZw-15v7oP_NA4jIrajJ0GHv2TbFCUpspClbyfRr3qtSHozjpuXF3topGU6tPbjT4NlHkMTMC1Ybu_xgZfgQB5BPQo25hGZw/s320/WD+self+published+award+symbpl.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Structure and Organization: </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">5</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Grammar:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> 5</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Production Quality and Cover Design:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> 5</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Plot (if applicable):</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> 5</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Character Development (</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">if applicable):</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> 5</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-size: large;">Judges Commentary*:</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The cover is lovely. Great details, and the colors are soft and feminine, pretty shades. Nicely-designed.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Mattie opens with a warm and comforting voice, personable, good use of addressing the reader directly with kindly expressions. We like her instantly. Excellent characterization right from the start. Well done.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The author has a great talent with voices, from the young children’s dropping off of consonants to the gruff father. Perfect differentiations of characters’ voices that reveal their traits. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The contrast between the warm opening and the intensely cold scenes of Kathy’s younger years is jarring, but in a good way. We feel the iciness, the emptiness, the pain. In this section, though, we get a little too much </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">telling, not showing</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> which leaves out some sensory details that would have enlivened this part more. And the dialogue is not just harsh, but seems a bit too formal at times, a bit unnatural.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Would have liked more detail on Mattie’s simple wedding and Ruth’s more traditional wedding as a way to color up the novel’s wonderful experience, as sensory contrast and more insight into Ruth particularly.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Interesting to see that in the war era, love developed so intensely and so quickly between couples, which we know from stories of that era’s generations. The author does an excellent job of conveying this very real pace of connection that happened then, very authentic, very engaging. Well done. The letter proposal was done extremely well. That’s how the men of that era expressed themselves, with such unabashed romance. Loved that.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Kathy is so unlikeable, which creates a complex character we follow from initially disliking terribly to understanding later. When she </span>doesn't<span style="font-size: small;"> bring the baby to see her husband, denying him the chance to see his child after so many years away, that’s just soul-crunching. A slight improvement here would have been for Josh to have far more disappointment at the baby not being there, not just glide into “oh, well, I get romance now.” At this point, reader has a hard time caring about her, and then: </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">When she co-creates the inappropriate relationship with Ron, we dislike her even more, almost the point of no going back. We dislike Ron almost as much, via his saying that his relationship with Kathy is innocent and not hurting Mattie. How he wants to comfort both women. His self-delusion is palpable. We also see him as very real, a testament to the author’s talent at showing us the dark side of human selfishness, and then guiding the reader to forgiveness and empathy for Ron. Well done.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Great scene with the boys accepting the football team’s forfeit when the other team won’t let Dar play, nor suit up. The author painted that scene extremely well, especially when the one boy says he feels a case of rage coming on. That was wonderful.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The characters’ goals are good, and we follow along eagerly in this sprawling family tale that weaves so many realistic characters together. Other novels could have gotten bogged down in the historic goings-on and politics, but the author does a great job of using the political tension in society as creating a world for the characters to inhabit. Well done.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Satisfying ending, and reader is left happy that Mattie finds her sister. At first, reader may want a scene with the sisters reconnecting, but the author wisely leaves that open. Excellent read. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">*When quoting the judges commentary, please quote as: </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“Judge, Writer’s Digest Self-Published e-Book Awards”</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-9942810296421468762014-01-03T20:38:00.001-08:002014-01-03T20:38:50.376-08:00Fall of Giants- a Review of Ken Follett's NovelI have just finished reading the nearly thousand page novel Ken Follett wrote about the period one hundred years ago when the world fell into the conflict known as "The Great War." <br />
<br />
In my debut novel, <em>Too Much Left Unsaid</em>, my characters begin in that same period of history. They are ordinary Midwesterners <em>who are changed by events over which they have no control</em>. <br />
<br />
But in Follett's book, <em>Fall of Giants</em>, his fictional characters, from England, Wales, Germany, Austria, Russia, and the United States, are written so believably that the reader sees them <em><u>influencing</u> the decisions and events that unfold as history.</em> We see the forces of the rich and powerful pushing toward war and its glory. We see the slaughter on the battlefield where battalions of foot soldiers are mowed down by machine gun fire while being urged to advance. We see the unfolding of the Russian Revolution and the fear of the upper class that the sentiment might spread. We see the gradual, reluctant, extension of suffrage to women and laborers. We see lives of love, betrayal, strength.<br />
<br />
Follett is an exceptional writer, able to bring the reader into the lives of coal miners, foundry workers, aristocrats and their servants, earls and princesses, unwed mothers and the charitable women who seek to help them, military leaders and common soldiers. <br />
<br />
By the end of his book, I wanted to read more about these people. I am in luck for <em>Fall of Giants</em> is the first book of a trilogy that continues to tell the stories of these families in the twentieth century. I can hardly wait to read the next volume.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-367727556420243432013-12-25T17:19:00.001-08:002013-12-25T17:19:52.918-08:00How the Earth Must Look to God<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LLIgNQRlusOf8SZgb5M5DnCrwSfC1x9Q2DIMnozOSI7ibDFeJCJZ_Y2SlFWEchNUD84WOnlkdNk18rqsVGEWzuOx3pEqQMuZ7JcAoBcPp-ywOWouzWnAhsu5tHXFEsQfzcEK1XGldA/s1600/earthrisestill.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LLIgNQRlusOf8SZgb5M5DnCrwSfC1x9Q2DIMnozOSI7ibDFeJCJZ_Y2SlFWEchNUD84WOnlkdNk18rqsVGEWzuOx3pEqQMuZ7JcAoBcPp-ywOWouzWnAhsu5tHXFEsQfzcEK1XGldA/s1600/earthrisestill.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Earthrise. Dec. 24, 1948</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Forty-five years ago, on Christmas Eve, television viewers on earth were watching their small screens to catch the broadcast from Apollo 8 orbiting the moon. <br />
<br />
Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim
Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders were preparing a radio and TV
broadcast to earth on that holy night. One of every five inhabitants of the
earth would see or hear the words of that historic event in real time.<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But there was a bonus. Almost by
accident the astronauts had caught sight of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a small
blue ball partially shrouded by wispy white clouds, at the edge of the lunar
surface. Planet Earth was rising in the blackness. They quickly took images
that became known as "Earthrise."</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
That broadcast scene, in the words of one viewer,<br />
"<span style="font-size: large;">must be how earth
must look to God</span>."</div>
<br />
Lovell spoke to the people of earth. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and
it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth." <br />
<br />
They ended the broadcast with the crew taking turns reading from the book of
Genesis. <br />
<br />
"And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a
Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth."
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-79727277664319861422013-12-07T04:29:00.000-08:002013-12-07T04:29:06.955-08:00December 7, 1941
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><em>In my novel TOO MUCH LEFT UNSAID Kathy and Josh had met at Kathy's church in Chicago only a few weeks before their first date on Saturday, December 6, 1941. Josh was in the Navy and had a weekend leave. After spending a lovely day together, they agreed to spend Sunday together as well. Then:</em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="color: #444444;">They
did meet in church that Sunday morning, December 7. Kathy agreed to spend the rest
of the day together, riding the “el” to Oak Park, strolling the neighborhood
where Frank Lloyd Wright homes were plentiful. As the train reached Oak Park
Avenue people were rushing in all directions, some running, some crying, some
lining up to use the pay phones, many shouting. Newsboys were yelling "The
Japs have attacked Pearl Harbor." "U.S. surprised. Many killed in
Hawaii."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Josh stopped in his tracks, grabbing
Kathy's arm.“NO! I was at Pearl. Some of my buddies are still stationed there. I
can picture the place." He grabbed for a copy of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tribune</i> and shook as he scanned the news. “Kathy, I need to get
back to the naval station to see if there's anything I ought to be doing now.” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He wheeled her around and they ran
for the train headed downtown. On the trip back Josh's mind jumped from present
to past to future. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>"Now you must marry me! Right
now before I'm sent overseas,” Josh declared as they parted downtown.</span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><em>War was about to change life for Kathy and Josh and many, many others. Do you remember it? Do you have stories to share about it? </em></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-80233289970054479632013-12-03T19:04:00.000-08:002013-12-03T19:04:28.720-08:00Legacy of Light--A Review of the PlayOn November 22, I went to see Karen Zacarias's play LEGACY OF LIGHT directed by Ann Wilkinson at Central College. This extraordinary script of "magical realism" combines historical and fictional characters. On a single stage, with a minimum of furniture moved flawlessly about by silent crewmembers, a 1749 French drawing room is transformed to a modern New Jersey apartment, a family home on the brink of foreclosure, a lecture hall, and a heavenly setting of the afterworld. It is all done so seamlessly that the audience is caught up in the spell.<br />
<br />
The two major actors, Jacob Anderson and Emma Simmons, portray writer and philosopher Francois-Marie Arouet (Voltaire) and Emilie du Chatelet, Voltaire's mistress and intellectual partner. Costumed in 18th century splendor, they bring the audience into the past and present with grace. Emilie is a mathematician, physicist, and author during an age when women were not permitted to follow such pursuits. Pregnant at age forty-two, she accepts that her death will likely come in childbirth. She works to finish her translations and prepare her young daughter for a life without a mother.<br />
<br />
The other actors each play two different roles, one from the 18th century story, and one from the present day. Dionne Riley plays Olivia, a twenty-first century astronomer who with her husband Peter (Griffin Hammel) wants to start a family despite being a barren cancer survivor. They hire Millie (Brandie Heims) to be the surrogate mother of the baby they desire. Millie's brother Lewis (Clifton Antoine) does not want her to do this, but they are in debt and need the money.<br />
<br />
Babies are born. Emilie survives childbirth only to die within a few days from infection. Yet she is present in today's world to allay the fears of the modern family.<br />
<br />
The playwright, the director, and the excellent cast and crew made this play going experience extraordinary. A treatise on light and love, Emilie's lesson for us all is most appropriate.<br />
<br />
“Everything changes, but nothing is lost- ever.” <br />
<br />
Congratulations to Theater Central for an unforgettable evening.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-22923917616032050882013-11-19T17:11:00.000-08:002013-11-19T17:11:24.844-08:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4BOSE2BwepNozUffC3Zh0bqHnYhW8dyiWrFFMkVLJbc403fsgcbAiJKDLhBZQXSLDCqAqS2KUCGa1greFjoEk2sxrFjZ9NoNbcJ58VWKpO5X0luTcsFzjIY6n-q4tt2EXAhj9dUXiA/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4BOSE2BwepNozUffC3Zh0bqHnYhW8dyiWrFFMkVLJbc403fsgcbAiJKDLhBZQXSLDCqAqS2KUCGa1greFjoEk2sxrFjZ9NoNbcJ58VWKpO5X0luTcsFzjIY6n-q4tt2EXAhj9dUXiA/s200/untitled.png" width="200" /></a>Many thanks to <a href="http://beaverdalebooks.com/" target="_blank">Beaverdale Books</a> in Des Moines and to Julie and Alice for making Kathy Daugherty and me so welcome last Sunday afternoon. <br />
<br />
We had a delightful afternoon with friends and family, talking about and reading from our books and signing a few. <br />
<br />
Those of you in Des Moines can stop in to Beaverdale Books and purchase our books or many others. They have an entire wall of books from Iowa authors. <br />
<br />
You will enjoy your visit there, as we certainly did.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEeTwHyNLilkO3nI5VMKexk4yzQno_e9nNjV7FTaPgEfI7dgMgd8EKpd7PGN2netuD26Y5OXtK-jyO-nf7vM50JmHYmP7p9RYZZ-azs2Yag5AF051YT08rtuTc0aLUh73PImCEy6x1xg/s1600/Kathy+and+me.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEeTwHyNLilkO3nI5VMKexk4yzQno_e9nNjV7FTaPgEfI7dgMgd8EKpd7PGN2netuD26Y5OXtK-jyO-nf7vM50JmHYmP7p9RYZZ-azs2Yag5AF051YT08rtuTc0aLUh73PImCEy6x1xg/s320/Kathy+and+me.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-18987320209946964452013-11-02T08:36:00.000-07:002013-11-02T08:36:57.691-07:00Daniel Varnum CollinsNovember 3, 1996<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVinh6RDvT6_VdcmyT32KfPcOUldhMusfNckSwPxELCqM9ng3yw-DvG4BfF_Jxzsz7e7FDKgHwbEXwOgy_6WKKJGkOLK8s9YavZqINqULkpIIzvbZmi9CN-8j9MF1t5EDan8wXy9NuQ/s1600/Dan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVinh6RDvT6_VdcmyT32KfPcOUldhMusfNckSwPxELCqM9ng3yw-DvG4BfF_Jxzsz7e7FDKgHwbEXwOgy_6WKKJGkOLK8s9YavZqINqULkpIIzvbZmi9CN-8j9MF1t5EDan8wXy9NuQ/s200/Dan.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WE MISS YOU</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With the presidential election only a few days away, Dan Collins, retired professor, retired Presbyterian minister, active Democratic Party volunteer, was concentrating on what needed to be done to assure the reelection of President Bill Clinton. In his wheelchair by the phone he was preparing lists of people to call to remind them of their roles on Tuesday. Some would be poll watchers; some would provide transportation for people who could not otherwise get to the polls; others would make phone calls reminding supporters who hadn't yet voted to do so.<br />
<br />
Dan and Barb and I had already voted early: for President Clinton, of course. Dan was on peritoneal dialysis for his kidneys, had lost his leg to a diabetic infection nearly ten years before. He had heart complications diagnosed just the summer before. That Sunday morning, November 3, 1996, his heart was bothering him. Barb and I drove him to the local emergency room where the doctors decided he should go by ambulance to Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. We reassured my son, Russ, that Dad would probably be back in a day or so. Such trips to the hospital were part of our life in those days.<br />
<br />
Dan and I talked, before they took him in for some surgery to relieve the heart congestion, about who to call to be sure the Tuesday Election Day responsibilities were covered, in case he had to remain in the hospital. It was the last thing we talked about.<br />
<br />
Barb and I waited that evening in the empty waiting room at Methodist. Close to midnight the chaplain came out to tell us Dan had died on the operating table. <br />
<br />
So unexpected, yet not a surprise with all the health problems he had suffered over the years.<br />
<br />
Norm Schouten led a beautiful memorial service the next Saturday. We scattered Dan's ashes at Isle Royale National Park the next summer, Barb and I, my daughter Becky, and my son Ben.<br />
<br />
Bill Clinton was reelected.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-36459769955629899682013-10-29T13:39:00.001-07:002013-10-29T13:39:49.938-07:00Book Signing at Beaverdale Books in Des Moines coming up<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Come to <a href="http://beaverdalebooks.com/" target="_blank">Beaverdale Books</a> in Des Moines </h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
on Sunday, November 17 from 2:00 to 4:00</h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
for a joint book signing </h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLNq16ELzwzU3EFFWYH22H-7H3QeEAb0AEDRP5YvFKKl8hfHoL5yJdMTlY0IWPH_3hRVbl_syQ1E6_lLWP0d-jbwIgPBua8swzqhD7__8IHLGR8cCiRAkkSRpB32584wg6zJD_GKqTag/s1600/cover-cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLNq16ELzwzU3EFFWYH22H-7H3QeEAb0AEDRP5YvFKKl8hfHoL5yJdMTlY0IWPH_3hRVbl_syQ1E6_lLWP0d-jbwIgPBua8swzqhD7__8IHLGR8cCiRAkkSRpB32584wg6zJD_GKqTag/s200/cover-cropped.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/A-Case-Hearts-Kathryn-Daugherty-ebook/dp/B00F354SSW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383076064&sr=8-1&keywords=a+case+of+hearts"><img alt="Product Details" class="productImage" height="200" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zeggfWdqL._AA160_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Kathryn Daugherty and I will both be there to read and sign our novels.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We'd love to see you.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-11729578904389714082013-10-08T15:05:00.001-07:002013-10-08T15:05:53.520-07:00Belated Happy Forty-ninth Birthday, Ben These two cuties were born exactly 3 1/2 years apart--April 5, 1961 and October 5, 1964. Last Saturday Ben Collins celebrated his forty-ninth birthday. One of his friends asked for some insights into the child-Ben. I thought of this picture to share. I think Ben was about a year old, and Russ would have been four-and-a-half. <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">A very happy birthday to Benjamin Varnum Clifford Collins. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTSggPx0Nd9OSeoH1pyEjHEq9oSq8ou0Nga30pihy__iUQrSSqh7pmT_f0LKXGQ8oRVlGzdKtPCl2Lr0xSIMuoTScVI7e_scZ72a86ORTGF057rv3rTZ6scNYWneO3Soa78JCz8lX37w/s1600/RUSS+Ben+Sepia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTSggPx0Nd9OSeoH1pyEjHEq9oSq8ou0Nga30pihy__iUQrSSqh7pmT_f0LKXGQ8oRVlGzdKtPCl2Lr0xSIMuoTScVI7e_scZ72a86ORTGF057rv3rTZ6scNYWneO3Soa78JCz8lX37w/s640/RUSS+Ben+Sepia.jpg" title="" width="473" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Russell Grant Collins and Benjamin Varnum Clifford Collins<br />
Love from your Mom</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-81270127166663275622013-09-21T20:16:00.000-07:002013-09-21T20:16:03.695-07:002013 Montezuma All-Iowa Writers' Conference<h4>
Thanks a million to J.O. and Debbie Parker and Our Front Porch Books for once again today hosting an outstanding conference for writers. </h4>
<h4>
They put in so much effort to present an awe inspiring program of writers and editors from a wide range of experience. </h4>
<h4>
Always more to learn, but by the end of a day listening to success stories and aspirations, we all went home filled with new determination to persevere.</h4>
<br />
<h4>
Children's picture book author Maribeth Boelts shared the inspiration for her stories.</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Kevin Hansen's popular blog <a href="http://www.secretregrets.com/">www.SecretRegrets.com</a> has morphed into two books he called a sort of Chicken Soup for the Troubled Soul. His persistence and PR resulted in astounding success in bringing interest in his project from Dr. Phil and numerous other national media.</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
And these were only the first two hours of a day-long event. Watch my blog for more to come.</h4>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-81024374306278186172013-09-13T05:32:00.001-07:002013-09-13T13:02:13.530-07:00This is your lucky day<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Friday the thirteenth.</span> </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
When I was a teen, our wonderful youth leaders at Edgewater Presbyterian Church in Chicago taught us a lesson to live by. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: purple;">Something that others might consider "unlucky" can just as easily be "lucky."</span> </div>
<br />
Gene and Francis Blackwell taught senior high Sunday School and led our Sunday evening fellowship group. Once a month we would have a "social", a party, with games and food and lots of fun. <br />
<ul>
<li>It became a tradition that whenever the second Friday fell on the thirteenth the party was themed "This is Your Lucky Night." </li>
<li>One of our favorite games was quick drawing of mystery phrases, a game that was later marketed as Pictionary. </li>
</ul>
<br />
Over the years, Friday the thirteenth became one of my favorite days of the month. Pogo and other characters from the comic strip by Walt Kelly would often make a point of telling each other what day the thirteenth fell on: "Friday the thirteenth fell on a Tuesday this month," they would point out, or words to this effect.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
But today, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Friday the thirteenth falls on A FRIDAY, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and for that reason, I will tell you,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"This is your lucky day."</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
By the way: seventeen month ago, on Friday the thirteenth of April, 2012, I posted a similar post. Goes to show you that I really do like to celebrate this day.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Any superstitions you like to "celebrate"? Any that you carefully follow? </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527048455010043287.post-65173730622824610542013-09-09T17:17:00.000-07:002013-09-09T17:17:41.005-07:00Rising From the Shadow of the Sun--a review<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ronnyhermandejong.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Rising_200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rising_200" border="0" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-107" height="200" scale="0" src="http://ronnyhermandejong.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Rising_200.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World War Two</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I finished Ronny Herman de Jong's book RISING FROM THE SHADOW OF THE SUN. I recommend it to readers who want to know more about the Second World War. As someone who recognizes that we need to understand our history is order to avoid repeating it, I was intrigued with Ms. de Jong's book. <br />
The first half is her translation and edit of her mother's diary and recollections written during World War Two in the Dutch East Indies. Netty was raising two small daughters as part of the Dutch colonial community of the Indies. Her daily routines were described in letters back to the Netherlands. When Hitler's army occupied the Netherlands, it was impossible to contact them, so she wrote her letters in a diary. Soon the life in Java deteriorated under Japanese rule as the men left or were imprisoned and the women and children were moved into smaller and more crowded housing. Before the war ended, Netty and her two daughters were interned in conditions that almost ended in their death. Others around them were dying daily, and Netty's one consolation was that each day's passing might bring them closer to release.<br />
The second part of the book describes Ronny's life after the war, becoming an American citizen and a writer. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562078165750575924noreply@blogger.com1