Mailbox Monday #107

Happy Mailbox Monday everyone!  Hope you snagged some awesome goodies.  I’m still waiting on UPS to deliver my audio copy of Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel – they left a card for me saying they couldn’t deliver it because I moved – uhhh, no I didn’t!  Needless to say it was fun discussing this issue with them on Friday.

I did however snag two awesome books this week.  From a giveaway won over at Historical Tapestry I received Voyagers of the Titanic by Richard Davenport-Hines.  I can’t wait to get the chance to check this one out. 

Also for review I received a copy of An American Family by Peter Lefcourt from Meryl Moss Media Relations.  This sounds like an interesting one.  Here is the blurb:

The sprawling narrative of five siblings, born in the 1940’s, beginning on the day John Kennedy was shot and ending on 9/11. Between these two iconic dates, we follow the fortunes, love affairs, marriages, divorces, successes and failures of the Pearls, an immigrant Polish-Jewish family, from the Lower East Side of New York, to Long Island and beyond.

The oldest, Jackie — a charming, womanizing attorney — drifts into politics with help from the Nassau County mob. His younger brother, Michael, a gambler and entrepreneur, makes and loses fortunes riding the ebb and flow of high-risk business decisions. Their sister, Elaine, marries young and raises two children before realizing that she wants more from life than being merely a wife and mother and embarking on a new life in her forties. Their sensitive and brilliant half-brother, Stephen, deals with the growing consciousness that he is gay in an era that was not gay friendly. Stephen goes to Vietnam as a medic, comes home, becomes a writer, and survives the AIDS epidemic of the eighties. The baby of the family, Bobbie, high-strung and rebellious, gets pregnant at Woodstock, moves to San Francisco as a single mother during the “Summer of Love,” then winds up in Los Angeles as a highly-successful record producer.

In a larger sense this book is not merely the story of one family, but the story of most immigrant families – Jewish, Italian, Irish, African-American – as they enter the melting pot and emerge as a new generation, as well as the story of the tumultuous years of the second half of the twentieth century.

What came in your mailbox this week?

Mailbox Monday is on a monthly blog tour and for the month of May it is being hosted by Martha’s Bookshelf.

 

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Far Side of the Loch by Melissa Wiley

The Far Side of the Loch by Melissa Wiley
Little House: The Martha Years Book 2
Papeeback, 256 pages, Unabridged
HarperTrophy
May 31, 2000
★★★★☆

Genre: Historical Fiction, YA

Source: Personal collection

“In The Far Side of Loch seven-year-old Martha is lonely and restless. The Stone House was filled with people during the holidays, but now the cousins have gone home, Martha's father is traveling, her brothers are at school, and her older sister, Grisie, is too busy brooding over her embroidery to pay any attention to Martha. Her new pet hedgehog makes things a bit more fun, and then Father comes home with some thrilling news and suddenly Martha's house is bustling with excitement

The Far Side of Loch is the second book in The Martha Years, an ongoing series about another spirited girl from America's most beloved pioneer family.”

This volume on the life Laura Ingalls Wilder’s great grandmother takes place over the course of a 2 week period when Martha’s cousins come to stay for a visit. Martha and her cousin, Rachel, are foils of each other; while Martha is a free spirit and loves to have fun and get dirty, Rachel is the perfect little lady, shy, quite and ever so clean. As you might imagine, these differences cause a great amount of drama over the 2 weeks.

There are several great themes in this book that children can relate to. One of the major events is that the mothers of all the girls are over helping get a new house ready to be moved into and the girls are all left at home. So there is the feeling of freedom and fun at first but ultimately missing their mothers by the end. Martha feels left out in this novel because she is the only one of her family members to not have seen this new house and is not told what is going on. Both of these issues are resolved by the end of the book.

As in the first book, we are treated to more traditional Scottish poems, stories, and songs as well as history of the area. We also get a glimpse at the city of Edinburg when Father comes back from the city and tells stories. I think that my favorite parts of the book are the fairytales because I have never heard anything like them before.

I don’t think I mentioned it in my review of Little House in the Highlands, but there are beautiful hand drawings throughout the books. Usually they are at chapter beginnings but sometimes they are where something important begins. These images are very accurate to the descriptions of the happenings in the books, so I would imagine that this time the illustrator might have read from the book first.

This book is less of an introduction than Little House in the Highlands was and we get to spend more time learning about Martha and seeing her have fun and of course get into a little mischief. Children will have fun reading this book – and I think boys might too.

Please be aware that this series is currently out of print, but can often be found on Ebay or Half.com - but you have to look often because they can be exorbitantly priced.  I would also advise trying to check your local libraries for these books. 

Reviews of this book by other bloggers: 

• My Domestic Church

Also in the Little House Series:

There are 5 series of books within the Little House Series each focusing on a different family member of Laura’s.  They are not all written by the same author.

Little House in the Highlands (Martha #1)
[My Review]

Down to the Bonny Glen (Martha #3)
[My Review]

Beyond the Heather Hills (Martha #4)

Little House by Boston Bay (Charlotte #1)

On Tide Mill Lane (Charlotte #2)

The Road from Roxbury (Charlotte #3)

Across the Puddingstone Dam (Charlotte #4)

Little House in Brookfield (Caroline #1)

Little Town at the Crossroads (Caroline #2)

Little Clearing in the Woods (Caroline #3)

On Top of Concord Hill (Caroline #4)

Across the Rolling River (Caroline #5)

Little City by the Lake (Caroline #6)

A Little House of Their Own (Caroline #7)

Little House in the Big Woods (Laura #1)

Little House on the Prairie (Laura #2)

Farmer Boy (Laura #3)

On the Banks of Plum Creek (Laura #4)

By the Shores of Silver Lake (Laura #5)

The Long Winter (Laura #6)

Little Town on the Prairie (Laura #7)

These Happy Golden Years (Laura #8)

The First Four Years (Laura #9)

On the Way Home (Laura #10)

West from Home (Laura #11)

Little House on Rocky Ridge (Rose #1)

Little Farm in the Ozarks (Rose #2)

In the Land of the Big Red Apple (Rose #3)

On the Other Side of the Hill (Rose #4)

Little Town in the Ozarks (Rose #5)

New Dawn on Rocky Ridge (Rose #6)

On the Banks of the Bayou (Rose #7)

Bachelor Girl (Rose #8)

Find Melissa Wiley: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Virtual Tour of the Oregon Trail

One of the things that I think would be fun to do if I had ample vacation time would be to visit spots along the Oregon Trail. While I know that this was quite the dangerous trip to embark on during its heyday, the Oregon Trail has a place in my heart thanks to the computer game during my formative years. I thought I would pull together some great tourist information for anyone who might want to have this experience as well. If you have ever been to any of these places or other stops along the way, please leave a comment below about your adventure.

I am posting a map of the Oregon Trail – however it is very small here. You can click on the image to go to the site and enlarge and search it. For driving directions you need to check each state, but the National Park Service has provided links for each.  The traditional kick off point for the trails westward was either Independence, Missouri or St. Joseph, Missouri. From here they would begin a nearly 2,000 mile trek west to Oregon or California. So it would be natural to visit either one of these towns first. In Independence there is a Frontier Trails Museum where you can brush up on your history before heading out.

After Missouri you will pass through a small section of Kansas (you can stop by the Blue River – but I wouldn’t recommend trying to ford it!) and then on to Nebraska. In Nebraska you will find many exciting Trail related things to do. Want to try your hand at what it would be really like to take to the Trail? Why not try a 24 hour Wagon Trek adventure at the base of Chimney Rock? The Oregon Trail Wagon Train Restaurant and Campground offers a real wagon trek by Conestoga wagon out on the prairie and Trail. I couldn’t find too much information on it but it calls it a living history trek and living as the pioneers would. They also offer tours of Chimney Rock. Sounds like fun to me! Also in Nebraska you can visit Ash Hollow and Windlass Hill – both with interpretive centers and you can visit the ruts made by the wagons.

Photo Credits

After passing though the corner of Colorado you have to trek across the state of Wyoming. There is a lot to see and do here. The National Park Service provides an interpretive brochure for auto driving the trail through Wyoming which provides a lot of information about the sites you will come across. Two must stops are Fort Laramie and Fort Bridger. At Fort Laramie you can take an audio tour as well as see interpretations. At Fort Bridger you will find 2 museums, a rebuilt trading post and an interpretive archaeological site. I would also want to visit Independence Rock to see all of the names carved in it by travelers. They named it Independence Rock because the goal was to reach this part of the trail by July 4^th, but travelers arrived here all the time.

Photo Credits

The second to last state before the terminus of the Trail is Idaho. One place that sounds like it would be interesting is Three Islands Crossing. Apparently this was a dangerous crossing on the Snake River and every 2^nd weekend in August there is a reenactment of what it was like to cross here. You can also visit the Fort Hall Replica which was another major stop on the trail.

Photo Credits

The last major stop along the Oregon Trail was, of course, Oregon. The final destination was Oregon City but many families would jump off the trail and settle at any point once they reached Oregon. There are two interpretive centers in Oregon, one shortly after entering the state and one in Oregon City. Historic Oregon City has many events going on there.

Photo Credits

I would love to hear you stories if you have been to any of the places mentioned here or ones I skipped over, there were too many to catch them all. I plan on posting a virtual trip along the California Trail in the future – the southern route once it splits from the Oregon Trail and the one the Donner Party took. Hope you enjoyed this feature!

 

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Interview with Elizabeth Loupas

Good morning everyone!  It is my pleasure to have the opportunity to host author, Elizabeth Loupas today as part of the Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour for her second book, The Flower Reader.  She has graciously taken the time to answer a few questions for us and stay tuned at the end for a great giveaway.  Without further ado…

The main character in your newest novel, The Flower Reader, has the gift of floromancy.  Why did you decide to build your story around this gift?  How did you conduct research on the subject?

My decision to give Rinette the gift of floromancy was one of those middle-of-the-night epiphanies. She had always had a garden connection—the name of her castle, Granmuir, is based on the old Scots Gaelic garràdh-na-muir, meaning more or less “garden by the sea.” Another piece of the puzzle was her great-aunt (Gran’Auntie in the story), also named Rinette Leslie, who never married and had “the sight.” Those two elements just came together one night and I bolted wide awake thinking, “She can see the future in flowers!” I had to look it up the next day to find out that it was called “floromancy.”

I collected information on flowers and folklore from hundreds of different sources. I did limit myself to flowers that Rinette herself might actually have known in sixteenth-century Scotland and France. Most of the flower meanings are based on genuine folklore; a few of them I just made up, based on my own “feeling” for the flower. Fortunately, something like floromancy is never an exact science and individual practitioners will always have unique visions.

What was the most interesting thing that you learned while working on The Flower Reader?

There’s no way to choose just one thing. I researched volcanic rock and lava tubes for my (fictional, at least as far as anyone knows) tunnels in the rock under Edinburgh Castle. I read volumes about Dunnottar Castle, its own rock, its ruined chapel connected with Saint Ninian, and its iconic Green Lady, as background for my fictional Granmuir. I collected everything I could find on the real  Escadron Volant, the Flying Squadron of Catherine de Médicis, so as to develop my own (fictional) variation.

As I write this I see there’s a common thread here—taking a collection of research and using “What if...?” to extend it into something fictional, rich and strange. That has to be one of the most interesting things about writing historical fiction.

This is your second novel and therefore the second time through the process of writing, publishing, and promoting.  How would you say the second time was different than the first?  Easier or more difficult?

For me the second book was much more difficult. With my first book, of course, I had all the time in the world—I worked on it until I thought it was ready, and only then began the querying process. That, of course, took a long time and involved many more revisions (the book wasn’t as ready as I thought it was, but of course they never are). The key, though, is that the book wasn’t sold until it was finished, at least in its preliminary form.

The Flower Reader, on the other hand, was sold from what’s called a proposal, a few chapters and an outline. So I had a real-time deadline, virtually from the beginning, and a lot of empty pages to stare at. And there were many ups and downs and bumps and bruises and tears along the way. And there’s always that, “Was it all a fluke? Can I even write another book?” fear to contend with.

The whole world of publishing is changing so rapidly that one’s experience with a previous book isn’t always applicable. Do you remember a Tom Peters business/management book from the eighties called Thriving on Chaos? I had a copy of it then and I’ve been re-reading it, because there’s a lot of chaos out there and we each have to find our own path to thrive.

I always ask about book covers.  Did you have any influence in the cover choice?  I love the atmospheric background behind the woman.

I had the opportunity to suggest ideas, yes, although the publisher makes the final choice. With the cover for The Flower Reader, I was particularly hopeful that they would use the heart-shaped headdress which was such a favorite of Queen Mary’s, and became so closely associated with her through its presence in many of her portraits. I was delighted when I saw that the cover model did indeed have the right headdress. She’s a bit dark and sultry for my young, sea-eyed Rinette, but she’s certainly very lovely and striking.

I also love the background—it’s perfect, with the castle on the rock, the sea, and the masses of storm clouds.

Are you working on a new project at this time?  Can you tell us anything about it?

I am, and I can! I’m working on a new novel of the 16th century, featuring the alchemy-obsessed Prince Francesco de Medici, his proud and fragile young wife Giovanna of Austria, and his dazzlingly beautiful, ambitious mistress Bianca Cappello. Giovanna is the younger sister of Barbara of Austria, the heroine of The Second Duchess, so there is a connection there. I suspect the connection will at some point include beagle puppies.

The working title is The Alchemist Prince. Here’s how I like to describe the story:

“From the palaces of Florence to the sun-drenched Tuscan countryside to the brutal chaos of the Palio, from secret laboratories to magnificent entertainments to gardens with poisoned mazes, the story plays out through the eyes of Chiara Nerini, a troubled (and fictional) Florentine girl unwillingly initiated as Prince Francesco's alchemical soror mystica, and Ruan Pencarrow, an enigmatic (and also fictional) Cornishman who may be a master metallurgist, may be a spy, or may be the greatest alchemist of them all.”

Elizabeth Loupas lives near the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. She is presently a novelist, freelance writer and amateur historian. In other times and other places she has been a radio network vice president, a reference librarian, a business-to-business magazine editor, and a tutor in English literature.

One of her passions is the art and poetry of the Pre-Raphaelites. This led her to the Rossettis and the Brownings, and the project nearest and dearest to her heart--her novel The Second Duchess, based on Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess."

She hates housework, cold weather, and wearing shoes. She loves animals, gardens, and popcorn. Not surprisingly she lives in a state of happy barefoot chaos with her delightful and faintly bemused husband (the Broadcasting Legend), her herb garden, her popcorn popper, and two beagles.

For more information on Elizabeth Loupas and her novels, please visit her WEBSITE. 

You can follow the rest of the tour at the Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour website or on Twitter using #FlowerReaderVirtualTour

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Now for the giveaway…I have one copy of The Flower Reader and a handmade flower bookmark up for grabs to one winner.  The giveaway is open to the USA only.  To enter, simply fill out the form below.  Giveaway closes May 19th, 2012.  Good luck!

 

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Mailbox Monday #106

This is my first mailbox in quite awhile.  With finals weeks approaching rapidly, a crazy work schedule, and looking forward to vacation I’m really not getting much reading done.

As an Ebook for my Kindle from the publisher I received a copy of Shakespeare’s Lady by Alexa Schnee.  This sounds like a promising novel and the author is even younger than me!  Here’s the blurb:

In Shakespeare’s Lady, Emilia Bassano is one of the most dazzling ladies at court when she meets the little-known playwright William Shakespeare. Shakespeare sees the world like no one ever has before, and despite everything — his wife in Stratford-Avon, Emilia’s husband and young son, and the will of the fiery and unpredictable queen — they fall in love. But the course of true love never did run smooth, and the Virgin Queen does not take lightly to her ladies straying. These star-crossed lovers must fight for their love — and, eventually, their lives. Meanwhile, William, courting the queen’s favor for his new theater, pens some of the most memorable stories ever written, and encourages Emilia to write; he helps her compose, and eventually steals, a little bedtime story she calls A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

In the tradition of Jane Austen Ruined My Life and The Other Boleyn Girl, this is a breathtaking, emotionally rich story spun out of historical fact. From the plague-ridden streets of London to the throne room of Greenwich Court to the stage of The Globe Theater, this is a meticulously researched and gorgeously written story about grace, forgiveness, and the forbidden love between the greatest poet the world has ever known and the woman who inspired him.

I also received a prize that I had won from a giveaway hosted at the Owl Bookmark Blog – a cute little vintage tapestry purse filled with some little goodies such as bookmarks etc from author Deanna Cameron.  Very cute and I can’t wait to take it on vacation with me!

So what came in your mailbox this past week?

Mailbox Monday is on a monthly blog tour and for the month of May is being hosted by Martha’s Bookshelf.

 

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Winner of The Sumerton Woman

Good morning!  I just finished selecting the winner of The Sumerton Woman by D.L. Bogdan and wanted to share the winner with all of you.  Thanks to everyone that entered.

The winner is...Catherine!!!  Congrats!

I will be sending out an email shortly, please be sure to send me your mailing information within the next 7 days or I will select a new winner.


For those of you that didn't win but still want to try for this book, check out the other tour stops on the HFVBT  page for other blogs hosting the author.

I also have a giveaway for The Deathly Portent by Elizabeth Bailey still running until May 19th.




Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court