I have never met a houseplant I couldn’t kill. Seriously. If you visit my home, you will see lovely yards, expertly cared for by my wonderful gardener who trims, fertilizes, transplants, and adjusts the timing of the automatic sprinkler system. Inside? There are no plants because I have the world’s brownest thumb. I prefer to live in a house with plenty of windows from I enjoy the beautiful flowers and trees in my yard.

So I wasn’t at all sure that I wanted to read, much less review Margot Berwin’s debut novel, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire, because I really don’t have any knowledge of or interest in horticulture. But after some urging by the folks at TLC Book Tours, I relented. And I’m glad I did!

Welcome to the TLC Book Tour for Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

Synopsis:

Lila Nova is a 32-year-old divorced, childless advertising executive. After four years of marriage, her alcoholic husband left her and, in short order, left the next woman with whom he became involved, as well, which gave her some degree of satisfaction. Her newly renovated New York City studio apartment has absolutely no character. It’s a box with white walls, parquet floor, and low ceilings. She decides that some foliage will “spruce the place up, no pun intended,” so she stops at the Union Square Green Market. There she encounters a vendor named David Exley who convinces her to purchase a bird of paradise plant because it can thrive in her new apartment with its ample light and southern exposure.

Shortly thereafter, Lila happens upon a laundromat with lush, moist moss on the floor, tropical plants hanging from the ceilings, and green grass atop the washers and dryers. Bees, butterflies, and other creatures abound. It is a most unusual establishment where patrons line up outside the door in order to experience the tropical wonderland the eccentric proprietor, Armand, has created right in the middle of Manhattan. They also seek Armand’s advice and counsel.

Hanging in the front window of the laundromat is a rare fire fern, from which Armand gives Lila a cutting. He instructs her to put it in water and keep it in a completely dark room — and let him know if she manages to get the clipping to take root. When she succeeds, Armand tells her about the myth of the nine plants of desire which, to Lila’s surprise, he has managed to collect and keeps in the back room of the laundromat. The nine exotic species are so powerful that when one person amasses one of each of them, he or she will have everything that he or she desires, and eternal luck and happiness. But Armand will not let Lila see the plants yet and warns her not to tell anyone else that he has them.

Naturally, Lila does not heed Armand’s warning … and the adventure begins. Before it is over, Lila will have braved the Mexican rain forest and learned the truth not only about Armand and the nine plants of desire, but also … about herself.

Review:

Margot Berwin

And then there’s the plant mythology, all made up by Berwin. Armand DiMele was her real-life psychotherapist from whom she sought advice and counsel following her 2005 divorce. “He turned me on to plants,” according to Berwin, a native New Yorker. “Whenever he would take this little scissor and start cutting them, I would get very focused on the plants and I was able to retain whatever he was telling me. The plants held my attention in a way nothing ever had.” Walking through Manhattan one day, Berwin happened upon a laundromat in which there were a lot of plants. The Columbian owner told her that they thrived because of the mist from the washers and dryers, and gave her a cutting from one. That’s how she got the idea for the character of Armand and the story of Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire.

From there, she began researching exotic plants and actually cared for a bird of paradise. “It got so big I used to sit underneath it when I was writing the book,” she said.

Berwin thought of the nine things she believes people want most, and then searched for a flower whose characteristics matched each desire, inventing the myth about finding true happiness and contentment upon acquiring all nine varieties. She selected the plants “by intuition, from dreams and gut feelings:”

There is one additional plant that figures prominently in the story, but to tell you what plant it is or how it figures into the tale would spoil part of the fun of reading the book.

And fun is the best way to describe Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire. It is pure escapism that will keep you guessing — and squirming as Lila encounters various creepy crawling creatures and even creepier humans, and gets herself into all sorts of awkward, terrifying situations and places.

Nonetheless, Lila’s journey is epic. She learns the importance of knowing whom you can trust and, above all else, learning to trust your own instincts in order to discover who you really are and what will make you truly happy.

The movie version of Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire is already in development with Julia Roberts scheduled to play Lila. And Berwin is planning to write a sequel to her dazzling, unusual, and thoroughly entertaining debut novel.

Enter to win a copy of Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

Fun is meant to be shared! So the author has graciously provided one (1) copy of the book for me to award to a lucky winner whose name will be selected at random!

NOTE: This giveaway is open only to readers who follow Colloquium on Google Friend Connect. In order to be entered in the giveaway, leave a comment, making sure to include both your Google Friend Connect name and your email address (for notification purposes)!

Bonus Entries:

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Entry Deadline:

Wednesday, September 15, 2010, at 11:59 p.m. (Pacific time)

The winner will be selected at random and announced on Thursday, September 16, 2010!

I read Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire in conjunction with the 2010 Read ‘n’ Review Challenge.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire free of charge from TLC Book Tours as part of the TLC Book Tours review and virtual book tour program. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own. This disclosure complies with 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

On the Same Topic:

• Book Review: Leaving Before It’s Over
• Book Review and Two Giveaways: Licensed for Trouble
• Book Review and Giveaway: This One is Mine
• Book Review: Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington
• Book Review: Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me

Technorati Tags: 2010 Read ‘n’ Review Challenge, Book Giveaways, Book Reviews, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire, Margot Berwin, TLC Book Tours

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• Book Review and Giveaway: Healing with Words — A Writer’s Cancer Journey
• Book Review and Giveaway: This One is Mine
• Book Review and Two Giveaways: Licensed for Trouble
• Book Review and Winner: Good-Bye to All That

It is a rare event, to be sure. Usually, my review of the book I am reading is already coming together in my mind as I read, because I react to certain passages in a particular manner and am obviously aware of whether my reading experience is an enjoyable one.

But there have been a couple of occasions when I’ve been unsure about what I wanted to express in my review, even after I’ve finished reading the book. The most stunning example of that phenomenon occurred recently as I finished reading The Devil in Pew Number Seven, a memoir by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo.

Click here to read the first chapter, watch the trailer, and learn more about the author.

Synopsis:

Becky’s father, Robert Nichols, was a divorced hell-raiser who, following a Navy stint, enjoyed drinking and brawling. In his mid-20’s, he had a conversion experience, during which he became a Christian and completely changed his lifestyle. As Alonzo describes it, he became obsessed with studying the Bible and, although he never attended seminary or received any formal theological education, began his career as a evangelist within six months. When he met Alonzo’s mother, Ramona, she was a church organist who had also been married once before. He was conducting a multi-night revival at the Church of God in Bogalusa, Louisiana, and Ramona was instantly attracted to Robert. She was relieved when he cautiously returned her affection. Six weeks later, they married and embarked upon a joint ministry of music and the Word.

Called to the Free Welcome Holiness Church in the tiny community of Sellerstown, North Carolina, in late 1969, the Nichols were soon blessed with their first child, daughter Becky. The parsonage they settled into was across the street from the home of a “wealthy, well-connected, and respected businessman,” Horry James Watts, then age 65. Watts wielded power both in the congregation (even though he wasn’t a member) and community, and became increasingly incensed as the new pastor’s popularity and influence grew, while his power base diminished. A parish made up of a mere 12 members when Nichols arrived soon outgrew its physical facilities and the construction of a larger church was planned.

The small church had seven rows of pews on either side of the center aisle, and Watts took up residence during each worship service in the last row, number seven, from which he made faces and noises at Nichols as he preached in an attempt to disrupt the proceedings. Hence, the book’s title. On occasion, he walked out before the service concluded, slamming the door loudly as he left.

Watts also engaged in a systematic war of terror with the pastor and his family. Threatening telephone calls and letters were just the beginning of an eight-year calculated attack designed to send the Nichols family packing, “crawling or walking … dead or alive.” As Becky’s father became more determined to stay in Sellerstown, Watts’ attacks escalated in intensity. Telephone lines were cut and security lights shot out just before dynamite exploded near the parsonage and next-door church. Watts contracted with a local thug to run down Becky’s father with his vehicle and make it look like an accident. The Nichols family nearly escaped death more than once.

Review:

Rebecca Nichols Alonzo

Convinced he was called to minister to his Sellerstown flock at any cost, Becky’s father remained to model the kind of behavior Jesus exhibited toward his enemies. Remarkably, her mother stayed, as well, standing steadfast alongside her husband with Becky and, later, the Nichols’ second child, Daniel, as Watts menaced their family, even when armed guards were posted around their residence. Watts knew no moral, ethical or legal boundaries. His catalogue of despicable stunts included killing innocent family pets as part of his quest to regain the power he once wielded over Nichols’ congregants.

Alonzo has received exuberant praise for the book on several counts. It is exquisitely drafted, telling her family’s story with the same flair for dramatic tension that makes the best mysteries so much fun to read. Unfortunately, however, despite Alonzo’s expertly crafted prose, it is impossible to forget that the story unfolding page by page is completely true, especially when she recounts episode after torturous episode of mayhem, and chronicles its impact upon her entire family. Particularly gut-wrenching are her descriptions of the manner in which Watts’ conduct served to persecute her and her younger brother, who was born with nerve damage because of the incidents their mother endured while carrying him. One particularly virulent episode resulted in Daniel being found sleeping in his crib, surrounded by shards of glass and debris. Had he rolled over, he would have suffered severe injuries … or worse. Alonzo believes that he was spared because the hand of God was upon him that night as he slept, peacefully unaware of and too young to comprehend the violent attack upon his family.

Ironically, when the Nichols family finally left Sellerstown, it was not at the hands of their long-time tormentor, Watts. Rather, Becky’s mother was shot dead by Harris Williams, whose wife, Sue, was one of Ramona’s closest friends. Williams, a thirty-five-year-old alcoholic, had a criminal record of domestic abuse. Against the advice of friends and relatives alike, Becky’s mother was insistent that Sue take shelter from Williams in the parsonage with the Nichols family. “Momma said our home would be a temporary refuge until Sue could get things straightened out. I’d say that was ironic, considering how the parsonage had been the focal point of ten recent violent attacks,” Alonzo writes. Williams, angered because Sue sought a restraining order against him, barged into the Nichols home as they sat down to supper on Maundy Thursday, March 23, 1978. He shot Becky’s father twice.

Harris turned and pointed the weapon toward Momma. Standing by the kitchen table and in front of the washing machine, she was unarmed; she held no knife, no gun, not even a chair to throw in her defense.

She cried out, “Jesus! Jesus!”

The gunman stood seven feet from the woman who had given me life, who, for almost eight years, had clothed me, fed me, and nurtured me. The one who filled my life with laughter, love, and lessons on forgiving others just as we had been forgiven by Jesus. None of that history mattered to this man. Without hesitation, with a cold indifference to her precious life as our mother, he fired a single bullet to her chest.

Ramona and Robert Nichols

So leave Sellerstown the Nichols family finally did, with one of them — Ramona — in a casket. Becky’s father remained hospitalized for three weeks, recovering from his wounds, but he never really recovered at all. He was unable to attend his wife’s funeral service and five months later, he was well enough to preach a farewell sermon to his Sellerstown congregation, but his ministry was over. With his children, he moved to Mobile, Alabama, where family members cared for Becky and Daniel, and Robert spent his final years in and out of mental institutions. Prior to his wife’s murder, a health scare culminated in a diagnosis of permanent damage to his heart, the cumulative result of Watts’ torment of the gentle-spirited preacher. Becky and Daniel lost their surviving parent to a blood clot in his heart on October 5, 1984, when they were 14 and nine years old, respectively. At the time of his death, Robert Nichols was just 46 years old.

Williams was sentenced to life in prison for killing Ramona, but was released in 1999 and remained on parole a scant five years.

Eventually, sufficient evidence was gathered to also bring Watts and his accomplices to trial. He entered a plea of nolo contendere and was sentenced by a judge who should have recused himself. As he ordered Watts to spend 15 years in prison, with another five-year sentence to run concurrently, the judge practically nominated him for “citizen of the year,” acknowledging that he had engaged in business transactions with Watts and, based upon his familiarity with Watts, found the charges against him surprising.

The genesis of The Devil in Pew Number Seven was Alonzo’s receipt, when she was in her 20’s, of her mother’s diary. Begun in 1976, Ramona wrote: “To my darling daughter, Rebecca, I’m writing this book in hopes of answering some of the many questions you’ve asked, but at the tender age of 6, your little mind is not able to conceive. Your mom is talking to you down through the years … ” Ramona described the love she had for her husband, their meeting and brief courtship, and, in the last entry, how excited they were to begin their ministry in Sellerstown. She never penned a single word about the horrors that characterized the Nichols family’s days in Sellerstown.

Alonzo told her family’s story during a Bible study, after which a friend with connections in the publishing industry helped generate interest in a book. Believing Romans 8:28 (“God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”), Alonzo says that “in my own amateur way, I began writing, believing I had been given a mission by God to get this story of forgiveness out there, to honor my parents’ lives and to let people know that no matter what you go through in this life, God is there to help you through it.”

The theme of the book is forgiveness. Specifically, Alonzo’s ability to forgive both the man who murdered her mother before her seven-year-old eyes and the man who destroyed her childhood through his heinous and unrelenting harassment of her family.

Plainly, Alonzo sees her parents as martyrs. She writes:

I am so thankful that God gave me such amazing parents. Not many people these days can say that someone laid their lives down for their friends, but mine did and I’m so proud of them for standing in the line of fire for the sake of the gospel. I can’t even imagine what their rewards are in heaven for enduring the five years of terrorism at the hands of a tormented man.

And therein lies my problem with The Devil in Pew Number Seven. I understand why Alonzo needed to forgive those who persecuted her family, including the judge who violated his ethical duties and a correctional system that allowed Williams to be released far sooner than he should have been, for the sake of her own sanity, and in order to achieve a sense of peace and closure about the events she lived through as a very young child.

But for me, what’s missing from Alonzo’s narrative is an acknowledgment and discussion of her need to also forgive her parents, who are portrayed as utterly blameless saints who remained in Sellerstown in order to stand up to Watts, and serve as examples of faithfulness and resilience. Reading Alonzo’s descriptions of the horrific incidents of violence directed at her family, I became increasingly angry not only at Watts, but at her parents. They — naively, in my opinion — believed that they were called to remain in Sellerstown, even as repeated unimaginable acts of violence nearly killed them and their children. Given the terror that Alonzo endured — the promotional material for her book begins with the sentence “Becky Alonzo never felt safe as a child” — I find it incomprehensible that she was not angry, as well.

Frankly, the message I took away from reading The Devil in Pew Number Seven was not related to forgiveness as much as judgment of others. It was a struggle for me not to judge Alonzo’s parents — and quite harshly, at that. As a mother, I simply cannot fathom how Ramona could allow her young daughter’s life to be devoid of safety, security, and freedom from fear. I don’t understand why Ramona did not stand up to her husband, telling him to put his pride and stubbornness aside for the sake of his family and, if he refused, gather up her children and retreat to safety. And I do not relate to a woman who chose to continue living in perpetual terror to the point that it caused her second child to be born damaged. I found it appalling that she welcomed her friend, Sue, into the home where she was raising her own children, knowing that Sue’s husband was violent and could easily locate his wife and child. There can be no argument that Ramona did not realize the danger, since she was urged by several of her own family members not to provide refuge to her friend because to do so risked her own safety and that of her family.

I was raised in a Christian home as a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (and its predecessor American Lutheran Church). The God with whom I became acquainted as I grew up would never ask a believer to take foolish chances or behave recklessly with regard to one’s own children and their well-being. For that reason, I struggled while reading The Devil in Pew Number Seven with the fact that Alonzo’s parents, in a very tangible sense, put the interests of their parishioners ahead not only of their own well-being, but, far more importantly, the needs of their own children. And from my perspective, that wasn’t brave or deserving of martyrdom. It was, from my Lutheran theological perspective, quite foolhardy.

The sermons I heard growing up impressed upon me that the followers of Jesus Christ are blessed with the gift of the ability to think rationally, to reason. So while reading The Devil in Pew Number Seven, I was sickened by the Nichols’ failure to protect their children, as well as preserve their own health and well-being so that they could raise those children themselves, providing them guidance and wisdom until they became adults. Watts succeeded in driving her father to a state of complete mental and physical breakdown that not only terminated his service as pastor of the Sellerstown congregation, despite his refusal to escape, but took his life a few years after his wife’s murder. Alonzo and her brother were orphaned.

Perhaps it is a matter of Biblical interpretation. My Lutheran pastors never interpreted the Bible literally, so I do not believe that a shepherd is called to lay down his/her life for his/her flock under any and all circumstances, especially when the shepherd could take proactive measures that would make that ultimate sacrifice entirely unnecessary. Perhaps my viewpoint is also influenced by other factors beyond church doctrine including locale, the time period during which the events related by Alonzo occurred, and the manner in which women’s roles, as well as the role of a pastor’s spouse, have evolved and changed in the years since Ramona Nichols died.

One thing is certain: Alonzo’s compelling recitation of the events of her childhood is fascinating, thought-provoking, and would make an excellent selection for a Christian Bible study group or book club. It certainly provides a basis for discussions from which much can be learned by listening to others’ reactions to the story. And maybe the real legacy of Alonzo’s parents is the opportunity their story provides to explore the myriad questions raised in the minds and hearts of other believers about the reasonableness of their reactions to the situation they were thrust into, how improvements in law enforcement investigative techniques might result in swifter action being taken not only to protect victims of violent crime, but also bring perpetrators of such heinous acts to justice, and the various other agencies and organizations that would intercede to support and assist the Nichols, including but not limited to groups that provide education about and shelter to victims of domestic violence. For those reasons, I recommend The Devil in Pew Number Seven.

I read The Devil in Pew Number Seven in conjunction with the 2010 Read ‘n’ Review Challenge.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of The Devil in Pew Number Seven free of charge from Christy Wong of Tyndale House Publishers as part of the First Wild Card Tours book review program. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own. This disclosure complies with 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Technorati Tags: Book Reviews, FIRST Wild Card Tours, Rebecca Nichols Alonzo, Sunday Salon, The Devil In Pew Number Seven

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In her latest book, Leaving Before It’s Over, Jean Reynolds Page explores the true meaning of “family.”

Is a family defined by genetic components and shared DNA? Or is a family about community? Can a family be forged from love by people who share a common, painful background and, at least on the surface, absolutely nothing else in common? And just because your DNA is substantially similar to someone else’s, does that mean that you are alike in the ways that matter most? And that you must behave as though you are part of a family? Or is our true family comprised of the people we should to surround ourselves with?

Welcome to the TLC Book Tour for Leaving Before It’s Over

Synopsis:

The Vines family is struggling. Rosalind is ill and, because business has been slow at her husband, Roy’s, auto repair shop, he let their health insurance coverage lapse. Now Rosaline needs to see specialists who will determine a treatment regimen, all of which, even in 1976, will cost far more money than Roy can possibly scrape together.

Roy has no choice but to return to his home and the family of origin he hasn’t even spoken to in eleven years, including his identical twin brother, Mont, in the hope that they will help pay for Rosalind’s care. Roy chose Rosalind over his family and inheritance, and told his two daughters, Lola, 16, and little Janie Ray, 4, that his parents were dead, because he figured that would be less painful for them than the truth. He and Rosalind moved to Linton Springs, North Carolina where they have happily raised their girls, even though their small home is “half of a half-empty duplex” and they have never been financially well-off.

Roy is reunited with his father, Taylor, and mother, Lydia, for the first time in well over a decade. He also meets Luke, the seventeen-year-old who looks just like him. He learns that Luke has been living with his parents since Luke’s mother, Sherry — who was also Roy’s ex-wife — died unexpectedly eight years ago.

When Luke gets into trouble, Mont and his father devise a plan. Mont will give Roy the money he needs, if he takes Luke home to live with Roy and his family for the summer. Luke is scheduled to graduate from high school in two weeks, but Mont has even bigger plans. He is running for office and can’t afford a scandal. Roy reluctantly agrees because Luke believes Roy is his biological father — and that he abandoned him years ago. Now Roy has to convince Rosalind to let Luke stay with them and their girls in a house that is so small Roy has to convert the porch into a sleeping room for Luke. And Luke has to adjust to living with a family he never knew he had — and isn’t sure he wants to get to know.

Review:

Jean Reynolds Page

In the case of Roy Vines and his identical twin brother, Mont, they look more alike than any other twins that folks around Gray’s Hollow have ever seen. Even as grown men, they can still fool their parents into believing that they are having a conversation with the other brother. As a boy, Roy wanted to feel close to and a connection with Mont, but before the two boys reached puberty, Roy knew that, despite their physical similarities, they were very different. He was saddened even then by the fact that they lived completely separate, detached lives. Matters did not improve when Roy married his first wife, Sherry, and Mont married Della.

Roy knows just how lucky he was to subsequently meet and marry Rosalind, even though their relationship cost him not just his family members, but his inheritance, family legacy, and home. Still, he has never regretted leaving Gray’s Hollow and establishing a simple, but happy home with Rosalind and their two daughters. And Roy cannot bear the thought of not being able to properly care for her now that she has been diagnosed with a serious blood disorder. As the story opens, Roy has swallowed his pride and done the one thing that Rosalind knows he would only do in the case of absolute desperation. He has returned to Gray’s Hollow to ask his family for money to pay for the medical care she needs to survive. Roy is a principled, ethical, hard-working man for whom nothing is more important than his wife and children, including his dignity. A man of few words who generally thinks before he speaks, Page’s descriptions of Roy conjure up images of Gary Cooper or Gregory Peck.

“I’ve often experienced the feeling of escape when reading a novel, but fiction can also serve as a way to engage, as well – to connect the dots from past realities to present ones.”
~~ Jean Reynolds Page

Page deftly showcases the distinctions between the family from which Roy came with the family he and Rosalind have created. And indeed there are a few villains in this story. Mont’s character flaws are gradually revealed as the story progresses and more details about his history are revealed. Page does an excellent job of keeping her readers guessing about Mont’s motivations until the very last few pages of the book. Things are not always as they seem, and Roy is forced to come to terms with the fact that Mont has kept many secrets over the years, some of which were always known to folks Roy thought had no idea about the truth. In fact, Roy eventually learns that the fundamental assumptions upon which he has shaped his life were erroneous as Mont’s true nature simultaneously becomes apparent to Roy and the reader.

But it is Lola who is the heart, soul, and spirit of this story. At 16, Lola is wise beyond her years — an elderly neighbor woman calls her an “old soul.” She is opinionated, as well, and wants answers from her parents about what is happening to her family. She frequently speaks up, to the delight of her mother, Rosalind, who loves her husband deeply, but also has her own voice — something not all married American women, particularly in the South, had yet developed in 1976. After all, the Women’s Movement was ongoing, and Betty Ford had recently shocked Americans by declaring that she slept in the same bed as her husband in the White House. At first leery of her new-found older brother, Lola cannot deny the kinship that she feels with Luke and finds herself wondering if their deep connection has always existed, even though they have only just met and are in the process of getting to know each other.

And what if they aren’t really brother and sister, after all? Lola has to determine whether a genetic connection is what binds her to Luke or if it is actually something deeper. Does it matter, anyway? Either way, in her eyes, he is still family.

Luke is nearly a man, but, as Rosalind discovers, still very much a little boy, too. One who has never felt unconditional love and acceptance from his father’s family, and is trying to hold onto and honor his memories of his mother, even though they are slipping further away with time. He finds himself drawn to his new family, especially when his father treats him as an individual worthy of respect and acknowledges Luke’s kind and helpful spirit. Luke begins to see Roy as the father he always wished he had, even though he feels loyalty to his grandfather and grandmother who provided him with a home after his mother’s death. In their home, though, he perceived himself to be a burden or obligation. With Roy and his new-found family, he senses that he is valued and loved, but Mont threatens to destroy Luke’s new-found security and his chance to be happy. When Roy insists that Luke must make his own decisions, he, like Lola, must decide what matters most to him: Familiarity and his life-long connection to his paternal grandparents and Uncle Mont or the relationships he is forging with the father and siblings he thought he would never get to know?

Mysteries abound and as the end of the book is near, the action picks up speed and clues begin to take on meaning. Shocking revelations place the various characters at crossroads, making decisions about their futures and, in some instances, devising mechanisms to protect other characters’ futures.

Page expertly sets the scene with salient references to life in 1976 that will make readers old enough to remember oil embargoes, bell bottom pants, and Chevy Novas wax nostalgic. I had the urge to pop in a few eight-track tapes of my favorite ’70’s tunes while reading, and when the character of Duncan, the somewhat troubled young man to whom Lola is drawn, describes how he spent two years restoring a classic Ford Mustang, I found myself wishing I could still take my 1968 Mercury Cougar for a spin.

Leaving Before It’s Over is the first work by Jean Reynolds Page that I have read, but it won’t be the last. Although in many ways, life seemed to be much simpler back in 1976, before we forgot how to live without the internet, iPads, iPods, iPhones, and Wii’s, that wasn’t always the case. Family dynamics and relationships have always been complicated — and always will be — which is what makes reading about them so thought-provoking and enjoyable, especially when an author as skilled as Jean Reynolds Page crafts an absorbing tale like Leaving Before It’s Over.

I read Leaving Before It’s Over in conjunction with the 2010 Read ‘n’ Review Challenge.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of Leaving Before It’s Over free of charge from TLC Book Tours as part of the TLC Book Tours review and virtual book tour program. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own. This disclosure complies with 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

On the Same Topic:

• Book Review and Giveaway: Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire
• Book Review: Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington
• Book Review and Two Giveaways: Licensed for Trouble
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Technorati Tags: 2010 Read ‘n’ Review Challenge, Book Reviews, Jean Reynolds Page, Leaving Before It’s Over, TLC Book Tours

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• Book Review and Two Giveaways: Licensed for Trouble
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DarcyO

Thank you to all who participated in the contest!

On the Same Topic:

• Book Review and Two Giveaways: Licensed for Trouble
• Book Review and Giveaway: Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire
• Winner: Healing with Words – A Writer’s Cancer Journey
• Book Review and Giveaway: Healing with Words — A Writer’s Cancer Journey
• Book Review and Winner: Good-Bye to All That

Technorati Tags: Book Giveaways, Licensed for Trouble, Susan May Warren

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• Book Review and Winner: Good-Bye to All That

During World War II, women played an integral role in the fight for freedom, not on the battlefields where their fathers, brothers, husbands, sweethearts, et al. were fighting, but back at home. Women left their roles as wives and homemakers, and took jobs that directly supported the war effort.

In Seattle, the Boeing Plant 2 was large enough for eight football fields to fit inside it. The plant was camouflaged by a residential neighborhood constructed on its roof, designed to fool any Japanese bombers who might navigate into the airspace over Seattle. During the War, as many as sixteen B-17 Flying Fortress bombers were produced there daily — around 7,000 total — largely due to the efforts of the “Rosie the Riveters” who worked on the assembly line for $.65 per hour.

Ironically, the old plant is set to be demoished this year, given that no planes have been manufactured there for over 40 years. But history will never forget Boeing Plant 2 or the “Rosie the Riveters” who toiled there with the hope that their contribution would help bring America’s soldiers home safely. Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss have memorialized that time, place, and some of the actual events that transpired there in a charming new work of Christian historical fiction.

Welcome to Litfuse Publicity’s Blog Tour for Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington.

Synopsis:

Ocieanna Fleiss & Tricia Goyer

The year is 1943 and America is at war. Rosalie Madison was engaged to her childhood sweetheart, Vic, but did not marry him before he was called into battle. Now she feels extremely guilty about having hesitated, especially since the chance to marry him has been forever lost to her. She is determined to assuage her guilt and honor Vic’s memory by working at the Boeing Plant 2 in Seattle as a riveter.

En route to work at the plant, Rosalie stops at Victory Square and literally runs into an ambitious local newspaper reporter who has been dispatched to get candid photos of movie star Lana Turner as she takes the stage during a personal appearance there. Rosalie has a very low opinion of journalists — that was her estranged father’s profession. Her father’s habit of abandoning his family to chase after the next big story, leaving broken hearts and promises in his wake, has left Rosalie determined never to trust a reporter.

Real “Rosie the Riveters” at work in Seattle Boeing Plant 2 riveting skin onto the tail section of a B-17 bomber.

Meanwhile, Rosalie and some of her fellow riveters face homelessness. The apartment building in which they live is about to be torn down and they have 30 days to find a new home. Miss Tilly, proprietor of The Golden Nugget coffee shop, owns a dilapidated old house in Victory Heights. If Rosalie and her fellow riveters can build B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, Miss Tilly figures they should be able to tackle dry rot, peeling paint, broken windows, and the house’s other problems in order to save it from condemnation. If the women can fix the house up, she will let them make it their new home. But money is tight and supplies are being rationed. Can they save the old house where Kenny spent so much time as a young man, including during his college years when he stayed there with the woman he calls Aunt Tilly?

Can Rosalie learn to trust Kenny, despite his profession, and give in to her feelings for him? Can Kenny understand what it means to engage in work that will make both one’s family and oneself proud and fulfilled?

Review:

Rosie the Riveter

Some historians refer to those days as a “simpler time” in U.S. history because, unlike during subsequent conflicts, there was no anti-war sentiment, and demonstrations against America’s war efforts were completely unheard of. But as members of my generation — children of the men and women who lived through and fought during World War II — know from the stories we heard growing up, those days were anything but simple. My own father — Kenny Hickok — was drafted in 1942 and served in Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines while my mother waited for his return on her family’s farm in South Dakota. My father spoke little and infrequently of his days in the U.S. Army Air Corps, but my mother told many stories about what it was like for her, waiting for his letters to arrive as she heard news reports about the various battles, wondering where he was and if he was safe.

President Roosevelt toured the plant in September 1942, an event that is discussed in the book.

Kenny, meanwhile, is dealing with his own share of guilt. His father, a chaplain, has been injured while serving and his family knows only that he survived, but is not yet aware of the magnitude of his injuries. Kenny promised this father that, rather than enlisting, he would get a job in a big city where he would have an opportunity to write important newspaper stories that “make a difference.” Instead, he has been reduced by his editor, Mr. Bixby, to writing fluff pieces. He is driven by his desire to write a story that will expose the need for contractors to be accorded the same benefits and assistant as veterans, but it looks like the story might be assigned to his arch rival at the newspaper unless he can convince Rosalie to be the subject of articles focused upon “Seattle’s Own Rosie the Riveter.”

My parents, Kenny & Ethel, in Lodi during WWII.

The story is mesmerizing because the characters are intriguing and relatable, whether or not the reader shares their religious outlook. Kenny and Rosalie are earnest, well-intentioned people confronting obstacles and challenges that are peculiar to the extraordinary time in which they live.

Goyer and Fleiss have exquisitely captured the culture and mood of the period by injecting details pertaining to actual events, such as Rosalie’s first meeting with Kenny in Victory Square: Lana Turner did, in fact, appear there in support of the war effort. The characters discuss the fact that President Roosevelt toured the plant and Rosalie proudly tells Kenny that, although she did not actually see the President, she worked on the plane that the President viewed. And there is a very poignant moment when Rosalie looks at the poster of Rosie the Riveter and ponders her own status as Seattle’s local version of that icon. Goyer and Fleiss also set the tone by describing the characters’ jaunts to a couple of the actual nightclubs that were popular in those days and the way they dance to some of the most recognizable music of that era.

Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington is a delightful look at the young lives of fictional representatives of what Tom Brokaw termed “the greatest generation.” It is not only an entertaining tale of how two people overcome past hurts and regrets and, through grace, forge a life together, it is also an informative glimpse into how the residents of one region of this country contributed their time and talent in support of U.S. troops who were fighting on various battlefields around the world. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading historical fiction written from a Christian perspective.

I read Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington in conjunction with the 2010 Read ‘n’ Review Challenge.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington free of charge from the authors as part of the Litfuse Publicity review and virtual book tour program. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own. This disclosure complies with 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

On the Same Topic:

• Book Review and Two Giveaways: Licensed for Trouble
• Book Review and Giveaway: Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire
• Book Review: Leaving Before It’s Over
• Book Review: Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me
• Book Review: Paula Deen’s Savannah Style

Technorati Tags: 2010 Read ‘n’ Review Challenge, Book Reviews, Litfuse Publicity Group, Love Finds You in Victory Heights Washington, Ocieanna Fleiss, Tricia Goyer

On the same topic:

• Book Review and Giveaway: Healing with Words — A Writer’s Cancer Journey
• Book Review and Giveaway: This One is Mine
• Book Review and Two Giveaways: Licensed for Trouble
• Book Review and Winner: Good-Bye to All That
• Book Review: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief biography of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non-fiction, for young, or for old … or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

About the Author

Rebecca Nichols Alonzo

Product Details:

List Price: $14.99
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (July 2, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1414326599
ISBN-13: 978–1414326597

And now … the first chapter:

Review:

Click here to read my comprehensive review of this chilling true story.

On the Same Topic:

• Book Review: The Devil in Pew Number Seven
• Book Review and Giveaway: Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire
• Book Review: Leaving Before It’s Over
• Book Review: Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington
• Book Review and Two Giveaways: Licensed for Trouble

Technorati Tags: Book Reviews, FIRST Wild Card Tours, Rebecca Nichols Alonzo, The Devil In Pew Number Seven, Virtual Book Tours

On the same topic:

• Book Review and Giveaway: This One is Mine
• Book Review and Two Giveaways: Licensed for Trouble
• Book Review: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
• Book Review: Keeping Faith
• Book Review: Beachcombers

Susan May Warren’s third and final installment in her series about wanna-be private investigator P.J. Sugar, Licensed for Trouble, stands on its own. Even if you have not read the first two volumes, Nothing But Trouble and Double Trouble, you will find it hard to put down once you start reading. But die-hard P.J. Sugar and Warren fans will tell you that if you don’t read the first two books, you will be missing out on a very special reading experience.

Synopsis:

P.J. Sugar wants to be a private investigator. But a series of prior mishaps endangered, among others, P.J.‘s nephew, Davey. So P.J.‘s sister, Connie, an attorney with whom P.J. had been living, threw P.J. out of her house.

So private investigator Jeremy Kane, P.J.‘s boss, is allowing her to sleep, temporarily at least, on the couch in his office. Jeremy has a unique “horizontal” filing system which translates to … Jeremy keeps files on his clients all over the floor and furniture. Tjus, P.J. knows two fundamental truths: She may end up sleeping in the Crown Victoria she has borrowed from her brother-in-law, Sergei, if Jeremy’s business picks up and his filing system finally overtakes the couch. And she really needs to get on with her life now that her relationship with Boone, a local detective, has ended, even though she still has strong feelings for him — not to mention that tattoo of his name on her arm.

P.J. has always been fascinated with the old Kellogg mansion on the lake. As a child, she would imagine what it might be like to live in such a grand house. Shockingly, she learns that the family matriarch, Aggie Kellogg, has died and left the mansion to her!

P.J. embarks on a quest to learn the Kellogg family history and figure out why Aggie would choose her to inherit the now-dilapidated home that P.J. cannot afford to renovate. Electrical, plumbing, and structural problems are just the proverbial tip of the Kellogg mystery iceberg. There is also the matter of an unsolved Kellogg murder: Years ago, Joy Kellogg Barton was found floating in the near-by lagoon.

At her church, Connie meets a handyman in need of work. Max Smith was pulled from the lake by Murph, the local hobo who lives beside the water, with no fingerprints or memories. For reasons he doesn’t recall, Max understands Arabic, knows how to pick locks, and has an intriguing red tattoo of a phoenix. Max wants to know who he is and where he comes from, so he strikes a deal with P.J. He will undertake renovating and restoring the Kellogg mansion in exchange for P.J.‘s efforts to “find” him.

In the midst of all of those complications, P.J. and Connie’s mother, Elizabeth, seems to have gone missing.

So begins P.J.‘s journey to piece together the murky clues about Max’s past, her own future, and, perhaps, love that lasts a lifetime and beyond, if only she and Jeremy can each come to terms with and leave their pasts behind.

Review:

Susan May Warren

And then there is Jeremy, her handsome, secretive employer. He obviously returns P.J.‘s feelings, but he is afraid to let go and love another woman because of the devastating losses he previously suffered. Ever so slowly, he begins to trust his feelings for P.J. and believe her when she reminds him, yet again, that her relationship with Boone is really in the past. Jeremy struggles, though, with the fact that Boone, like him, constantly appears on scene, ready to rescue P.J. from whatever pickle she has gotten herself into. The two men’s testosterone-filled fight for supremacy in P.J.‘s heart and life is realistic and nearly as much fun as watching Stephanie Plum try to decide between Morelli and Ranger.

Warren expertly reveals small clues to the multiple mysteries that P.J. must solve at perfectly timed intervals. She provides just enough information to make it impossible to put the book down with reading just a few more pages to see if your hunch was right. And in the tradition of the best mystery writers, she teases her readers with details that may — or may not — ultimately be relevant to the mystery’s resolution.

And Warren surrounds P.J. with a host of colorful characters who, again, may or may not be one of the pieces to the puzzle. Whether they are or not, they are vibrantly drawn so that their likeness is easily visualized.

But P.J. is the star of Warren’s story and her misadventures will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page. From the outset, when P.J. tries to her best to nail raccoon costume-wearing bail-jumper while she is dressed as a hot dog through a couple of near-death catastrophes, the predicaments in which Warren places P.J. make for unpredictable, but enjoying reading.

Interspersed amid the action are a few conversations between P.J. and Jeremy about faith. There are references to P.J. owning and reading a Bible, although not often enough by her own standards. But the few references to God are subtle and serve only to further define and shape the characters, providing a foundation that allows the reader to understand and appreciate their value systems and beliefs. Unlike Evanovich’s characters. P.J., Boone, and Jeremy are chaste. But their voices are never preachy or overtly bent on proselytizing, so Warren’s trilogy will appeal to readers from all or no faith backgrounds.

Nothing But Trouble is, at its core, about starting over — moving forward by learning about and from the past, but not allowing the past to weigh one down to the point that the future becomes infinitely elusive. Warren is clearly sending her readers a message when Max becomes disheartened, wondering aloud, “Why did I ever decide to track down my past?”

“Because … it matters.” Jeremy glanced away, the edges of his mouth tight as if his words had leaked out beyond his control. “Because knowing who you are gives every choice you make relevance.” He stared at P.J., tenderness in his eyes. “Because if you know what you’ve been through — th things you’ve done, both good and bad — the choices you make today have merit. Resonance.” He touched her face, ran a thumb down her cheek. “Not knowing your past steals meaning from your future.”

The action bogs down just a bit with a few too many “will they or won’t they” moments, and it seems that P.J. and Jeremy have the same conversation about faith a couple of times more than is necessary, but those are minor criticisms. When all of the clues begin to make sense and the answers to all of the reader’s questions are about to be revealed, the pace picks up, leading to a climactic resolution, with some rip-roaringly surprising details revealed.

Susan May Warren, a Christian, says that she just tries to “to write the best story I can.… Writing is work, but in the end, it should give the author a deep satisfaction that she/he is working out the gift God has given them.” With Licensed for Trouble, as well the two previous P.J. Sugar adventures, Warren has put her gift to very good use and should be deriving great satisfaction from that fact. I highly recommend all three volumes, but especially Licensed for Trouble.

Enter to win a copy of Licensed for Trouble

The author has graciously provided me with a copy of the book to give to one lucky Colloquium reader who will be selected at random.

NOTE: This giveaway is open only to readers who follow Colloquium on Google Friend Connect. In order to be entered in the giveaway, leave a comment, making sure to include both your Google Friend Connect name and your email address (for notification purposes)!

Bonus Entries:

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Books can only be shipped to United States addresses (no P.O. boxes).

Entry Deadline:

Sunday, August 29, 2010, at 11:59 p.m. (Pacific time)

The winner will be selected at random and announced on Monday, August 30, 2010!

Enter P.J. Sugar’s “Sweet” Giveaway

One grand prize winner will be announced on September 2, 2010! The lucky winner will receive a A SWEET Kindle prize package that includes:

• A brand new Kindle (Free 3G, 6”, Latest Generation)
• The entire PJ Sugar series by Susan May Warren

To enter, simply click on the icons below to fill out the entry form, then tell 5 or more friends about the contest.

I read Licensed for Trouble in conjunction with the 2010 Read ‘n’ Review Challenge.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of Licensed for Trouble free of charge from the author in conjunction with the Litfuse Publicity Group review and virtual book tour program. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own. This disclosure complies with 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

On the Same Topic:

• Book Review and Giveaway: Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire
• Winner: Licensed for Trouble
• Book Review: Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington
• Book Review and Giveaway: This One is Mine
• Book Review: Leaving Before It’s Over

Technorati Tags: 2010 Read ‘n’ Review Challenge, Book Giveaways, Book Reviews, Licensed for Trouble, Litfuse Publicity Group, Susan May Warren

On the same topic:

• Author Interview: Margo Candela
• Book Review and Giveaway: Healing with Words — A Writer’s Cancer Journey
• Book Review and Giveaway: This One is Mine
• Book Review and Winner: Good-Bye to All That
• Book Review: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

It takes a really funny book to get me to laugh out loud — actually guffaw and even snort a couple of times — when I’m sitting on my patio, enjoying a cool evening breeze wafting in from the Delta through my oak trees, sipping a glass of fine Lodi wine as I read.

But that’s exactly the kind of evening I was in the mood for … and precisely the kind of relaxing, thoroughly enjoyable evening I savored as I read the first novel from Maya Jax, a self-described “author, aspiring super hero, closet ninja,” Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me!

Welcome to Pump Up Your Book’s Virtual Book Tour for Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me

Synopsis:

Lelaina Zane does not want to be a lawyer. Her parents, both attorneys, want her to take over the firm that they built and nurtured just for her.

But for the past three years since she graduated from law school, Lelaina has been living in Los Angeles and attempting to launch her career as a screen writer. So far, all she has amassed is one completed script … and piles of rejection notices. As one agent reminds her, “Ninjas and spies are out. Vampires are in.” Others, like Tom Edwards, are less kind: “I read your screenplay. If I could only get those three hours back.”

Her first love, Conner, lives in their hometown, practicing medicine. He’s the last person she wants to see. So naturally, she runs into him as soon as she is called home when her father suffers a heart attack.

The Bar Examination is four weeks away, and her parents are determined to see her pass it, join their firm, and settle into a responsible, respectable life. But there may be one last hope for her burgeoning career as a writer, if she can just get back to Los Angeles long enough to meet with a potential agent.

And if the meeting goes well, what will she tell her parents? Will her feelings for Conner compel her to give up on her dreams?

Review:

Maya Jax

Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me is a perfect summer book. Jax’s crisp writing is fresh, witty, and fast-paced. From the first page, Lelaina’s self-deprecating frustration plays out as she finds herself in one hilariously inappropriate, expertly paced situation after another. Along the way, she manages to encounter a varied and intriguing cast of supporting characters ranging from her caring but needy parents to her roommate, Travis, who supports her unconditionally while encouraging her not to abandon her dream.

“I love Lelaina because I feel her pain. Many of my friends became doctors and lawyers, and you start to question your sanity as a struggling writer when your friends are buying homes, designer clothes and luxury cars, while you’re still eating peanut butter sandwiches for every meal.”

~~ Maya Jax

Of course, there’s Conner, the impossibly charming first love who broke her heart three years earlier. He does not appear to have changed much, even as he swears that he never stopped loving Lelaina. Their mutual friend, Joe, does not want to be placed in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between his two best friends, and offers Lelaina unique and surprising insights into the dynamics of her relationship with Conner. But the lure of that first big love, even years later, is powerful. Lelaina has to decide whether she wants to or can resist Conner’s charm. Settling down with Conner in their hometown could offer comfort and predictability, but where Conner is concerned, that’s precisely the problem.

Amid the fast-paced action, Jax sagely injects moments of tenderness and irony, as when Lelaina finds it impossible to heed the direction given her by the director of the preschool where she has returned to work while studying for the Bar Examination. She morphs into an amateur sleuth in order to aid one of her students and his family, even though she risks losing her job by doing so. Her compassion and determination reveal that, if she focused her efforts, she could be a very effective attorney because Lelaina can also be resourceful, resilient, and stubbornly zealous.

Jax has deftly crafted a subtly complex and nuanced character with whom women readers can readily identify, regardless of their age, because Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me is ultimately about a woman faced with critical choices about her life and how she will live it. Lelaina must decide whether to compromise in order to make the people she loves happy or focus on her own goals — in her own manner, in her own time, and in Los Angeles, the city she has adopted.

In her first published novel, Jax has delivered a clever, entertaining examination of a classic literary dilemma that never seems to grow stale or boring: Can — or should — Lelaina go home again? Summer doesn’t officially end until September 21, so you still have time to find out before autumn sets in.

I read Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me in conjunction with the 2010 Read ‘n’ Review Challenge.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me free of charge from the author in conjunction with the Pump Up Your Book review and virtual book tour program. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own. This disclosure complies with 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Included in:

On the Same Topic:

• Book Review: Paula Deen’s Savannah Style
• Book Review: The Perfect Family
• Book Review: Beachcombers
• Book Review: Seven Year Switch
• Book Review: Think for Yourself

Technorati Tags: 2010 Read ‘n’ Review Challenge, Book Reviews, Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me, Maya Jax, Pump Up Your Book

On the same topic:

• Book Review and Giveaway: Healing with Words — A Writer’s Cancer Journey
• Book Review and Giveaway: This One is Mine
• Book Review and Two Giveaways: Licensed for Trouble
• Book Review and Winner: Good-Bye to All That
• Book Review: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Aik

Friends and Family

Thank you to all who participated in the contest!

On the Same Topic:

• Book Review and Giveaway: Healing with Words — A Writer’s Cancer Journey
• Book Review and Giveaway: Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire
• Winner: Licensed for Trouble
• Book Review and Two Giveaways: Licensed for Trouble
• Book Review: Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me

Technorati Tags: Book Giveaways, Diana M. Raab, Healing With Words — A Writer’s Cancer Journey, Pump Up Your Book

On the same topic:

• Author Interview: Margo Candela
• Book Review and Giveaway: Healing with Words — A Writer’s Cancer Journey
• Book Review and Giveaway: This One is Mine
• Book Review and Two Giveaways: Licensed for Trouble
• Book Review and Winner: Good-Bye to All That

Paula Deen’s life story is a classic American tale of unprecedented success earned after years of struggling against adversity. A Georgia native, in just over twenty years she has parlayed a $200 investment and a few modest dreams into a multi-national empire that produces hit television shows (she has four running on the Food Network concurrently), cookbooks, food, cookware, bakeware, kitchen tools and accessories. Paula Deen is an iconic and beloved ambassador for American values: Home, family, and a lot of laughter and good food shared around the kitchen table.

Her latest venture is Paul Deen’s Savannah Style, an illustrated guide to gracious decorating and living, Southern style, throughout the year. Deen reports that some members of her organization were skeptical when she announced plans to broaden her brand. But she was of the opinion that Paula Deen belongs in every room of American homes — not just in the kitchen. Paula Deen’s Savannah Style proves her right.

Welcome to Pump Up Your Book’s Virtual Book Tour for Paula Deen’s Savannah Style

Paula Deen is the common person’s Martha Stewart. Don’t you just want to pull up a chair and have some coffee with her?

Deen moved to Savannah in 1987, opened her restaurant, The Lady and Sons, there in 1991, and refers to it as her “forever home” because she and the city have a lot in common: “Savannah embraces quirky characters (thank the Lord!), likes things with a little bit of age to them, and loves its Southern traditions.”

It is a “coffee table book” — the kind you give a friend or relative for a special occasion or splurge on for yourself because you simply cannot leave the book store without it. It is not the kind of tome that is generally read cover to cover. In my case, though, that was easy to do after I got comfortable on my patio one recent evening. As a gentle, comforting breeze blew softly through my oak trees, I lingered over the book with a glass of wine, savoring the beautiful photography, and dreaming about one day incorporating some of the decorating tips and advice into my own home’s decor.

Porch Livin’

Brandon Branch, Deen’s co-author, is her personal assistant and creative director. He also authors a column, “Style Secrets with Brandon,” in her monthly magazine. Throughout the volume, “Brandon’s Style Secrets” are highlighted. For instance, he suggests that, in order to dress up old porch furniture, slip covers are an attractive alternative to restoration, especially since they can be pulled off and laundered, as necessary. In the photo above, Deen’s own dinnerware, the design inspired by marsh grasses visible from that porch, is featured and she notes that the large water goblets “hold water and fragrant lemons.”

The narratives and photos are full of details, making the book a delight to return to time after time. For instance, I just loved the section about porches. In California, we spend our time in our back yards, focusing our energy on the landscaping, gardens, and patio areas so that we can relax there on cool evenings. But in Savannah, many of the homes in the historic district feature porches on the front or side of the house that serve as gathering places. More and more, porches are being included in new homes, as well, keeping that Southern tradition alive, much to Deen’s delight.

Deen says that when spring arrives, she “pull[s] a couple of blankets out onto the porch to air out and soon find[s] that a porch swing, a book, and a blanket are my new best friends.” In the photo on the left, the greenery is lush and the chairs inviting. Deen recalls how “my granddaddy loved his sleeping porch” where he tried to escape Savannah’s sometimes suffocating summer heat. The first couple of times I looked at the picture, I think I was enamored with the adorable dogs because it wasn’t until I read Deen’s description that I realized the look is “pulled together” by the outdoor rug featuring a fern and flower pattern.

It is, of course, Deen’s natural, easy Southern charm that has endeared her to millions. And it is that uncomplicated, pragmatic approach that sets this book apart from the rest. You will find yourself laughing out loud frequently when Deen answers the questions she must have known you would find yourself asking as you gaze at the photographs, pondering the practically of some of the decorating choices. For instance, just as I found myself questioning the feasibility of keeping a rug on a front porch clean, Deen notes, with her typical candor, that she loves “these outdoor rugs because they are so pretty and yet they can be scrubbed and scoured without hurting them at all. Great for dogs and kids!” In fact, she even claims that she “takes a hose to” them!

Of course, you can’t create Southern ambience without wicker furniture, as in this enclosed porch at Lebanon Plantation.

These days, Deen lives about ten minutes outside Savannah on Wilmington Island. The region is characterized by homes with decks and docks “because Savannah is full of a whole bunch of creeks, streams, and marshes that empty into the ocean.” Deen’s home features a covered deck behind the house, complete with a fully-appointed outdoor kitchen, where her family gathers. And, as the photo to the right shows, an outdoor fireplace can increase the number of evenings each year that the deck can be utilized — and make for a warm and cozy area to have an intimate conversation with friends or family.

As these photos illustrate, the book is replete with observations and tips, some of which are placed right on the photographs for emphasis. This tiny breakfast nook was transformed into a comfortable, inviting corner — “the family’s favorite place for everything,” including visiting with the chef while she prepares a meal.

The Autumn and Winter chapters feature discussions and photographs about comfort and music rooms, book nooks, collecting, pantries, flea market treasures, and, of course, holiday decorating and tables. The book concludes with a section on — what else? — “Southern Hospitality,” including pictures of Deen’s own 650 square foot guest house where her friends and family stay when they come to visit her. Few of us are fortunate enough to be able to afford a guest house, but the ideas can be implemented in your own guest room or even the room you convert (such as your office, den, or one of your children’s rooms) when company arrives.

None of Deen’s commentary feels forced or phony. Rather, as I noted at the outset, reading Paula Deen’s Savannah Style feels more like having a conversation with a personable old friend. Despite all of her accomplishments and fame, Deen has frequently stated in interviews that she never forgets her more humble beginnings or the obstacles she has overcome, including a decades-long battle with agoraphobia. Thus, it is not surprising that she sums her her approach to decorating this way:

The best advice I can give you about how to decorate a home is to create one that feels family-focused, comfortable, and fun. Find the sort of furniture that you feel comfortable living with — things that don’t look new and shiny but have the loving patina of age. Look for one-of-a-kind pieces that you can mix and match with a lot of different styles.

In other words, find your own unique style, embrace, and celebrate it! Paula Deen’s Savannah Style could very well help you do that.

Summer is waning. The busy autumn months will soon be followed by the holiday season. Reasonably priced and full of 200 pages of exquisite photographs, Deen’s latest book might make your shopping easy this year. Pick up a few copies for family and friends, and then spend some time in Deen’s favorite room, the kitchen, with a pot of coffee, considering which aspects of Deen’s Savannah style might best be incorporated into your style. After all, it never hurts to dream! Paula Deen is living proof of that.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of Paula Deen’s Savannah Style free of charge from the author in conjunction with the Pump Up Your Book review and virtual book tour program. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own. This disclosure complies with 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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