Like the braiding of three strands of brioche, the lives of three women Sophie Zabel Sullivan, Marcelle Pourrette Zabel, and Kate Barrington become inextricably intertwined as each struggles to resolve issues from past wars that have profoundly impacted their lives.
Sophie believed her childhood nightmares were safely behind her once she married and moved to the U.S. from France until she is called to her mother, Marcelle’s, deathbed to honor one final request: Search for my father! Search for Pourrette!
Born on the last day of World War I, Marcelle, whose life epitomizes the human cost of war, never knew her father, yet carried the Pourrette name, along with the shame of illegitimacy, as did her two oldest sons born during World War II.
Enlisting the expertise of a friend and family therapist, Sophie encourages Kate to join her in France to help find her grandfather scour the stain of illegitimacy from her family s name.
Unbeknownst to Sophie, Kate s 34-year-old illegitimate daughter, given up for adoption during the Vietnam War, has recently reappeared. Kate, struggling with her own shame and guilt, pushes aside her feelings to join Sophie in France. Rising out of the collateral damage wrought by war,
My Thoughts:
As many of you, my dear readers know, I love historical fiction, especially that of WWI and II. So, when I was approach by the author to read her upcoming book (Oct. 27, 2014- She Writes Press), I was very excited! Was it worth my excitement, you ask? Yes, very much so!
Based on a true story, Sophie was raised under traumatic circumstances. Her parents were part of the French Resistance during WWII and married during that time. Her mother, Marcelle, already had two illegitimate children, Thierry and Gerard, earlier during WWII. Jules, Marchelle’s husband was violet towards the children, especially the oldest, Thierry.
Marcelle, herself was also born as an illegitimate child and never knew her father. Sophie, her daughter, was called back to France from the U.S., to Marcelle’s death bed. Marcelle’s dying with was for Sophie to find out who Marcelle’s father was.
After her mother’s death, Sophie’s friend, Kate, joined her in France to help research who Sophie’s grandfather was. On their odyssey, they discover many answers to family secrets. Meanwhile, Kate had secrets of her own.
I loved ‘A Cup of Redemption’, I couldn’t put it down and when I did, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It haunted me, especially at night, trying to fall asleep. Once I did fall asleep, I dreamed about it, almost non-stop. Seriously, I would wake up to relieve myself, have troubling falling back asleep thinking of the dream I just had and then, when I finally fell back asleep the dream picked up where it left off.
I have never experienced a book like I experience ‘A Cup of Redemption.’ This book and characters will stick with me for the rest of my life, of that, I am sure. This is a must read for historical fiction lovers!
5/5
I received this book for my honest review.
About Carole Bumpus:
As a retired family therapist, she began a second career as a freelance food/travel writer compiling vignettes from both French and Italian families regarding their favorite foods and family traditions. Her fiction and nonfiction, including travel and food essays, are published in the US and France. Her blog, savoring the Olde Ways is taken from her interviews in France and Italy about the tradition and cultures of food in the family. Her memoir stories have been published in three Fault Zone anthologies: Words from the Edge, Stepping Up to the Edge and Over the Edge. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. While researching her novel, Carole traveled with US WWII veterans returning to France on the 65th anniversary of the Allied landing on the southern beaches. Her daily reports chronicled the forty village receptions held to honor those who liberated these towns. Carole traveled again to France with veterans participating in ceremonies celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Southern D-Day, on August 15, 2014. Her blog coverage can be found at www.carolebumpus.com.
Today it is my immense pleasure to kick off the tour for ‘Crazy Is Normal’ by Lloyd Lofthouse. I have been a fan of his since he published his award winning ‘My Splendid Concubine’. Now with ‘Crazy Ins Normal’, he shares his experience as a high school teacher.
Publisher: Three Clover Press (June 14, 2014) ISBN: 978-0986032851 Category: Biographies and Memoirs, Educators Tour Date: October, 2014 Available in: Print & ebook, 386 Pages
Multi award winning author, Lloyd Lofthouse kept a daily journal for one-full school year and that journal became the primary source of this teacher’s memoir.
“Readers who envision eager students lapping up learning led by a Tiger Teacher will be disappointed. Lofthouse presents us with grungy classrooms, kids who don’t want to be in school, and the consequences of growing up in a hardscrabble world. While some parents support his efforts, many sabotage them—and isolated administrators make the work of Lofthouse and his peers even more difficult.
Throughout this memoir, though, Lofthouse seems able to keep the hope alive that there’s a future for each student that doesn’t include jail—thanks in large part to his sixth period journalism class and its incredible editor, Amanda.” – Bruce Reeves
Watch the Interview:
My Thoughts:
Lloyd Loftouse was a teacher in a Los Angeles inner city high school called, Nogales. This was one of the toughest neighbourhoods in LA with some children who didn’t know where there next meal will come from and street gangs.
Lofthouse kept a detailed journal of his time teaching their and is what his memoir ‘Crazy Is Normal’ is based on. He had a lot to deal with and tried to help studens learn, even the ones who didn’t want to. He encountered a lot of behavioural problems in students and the school’s protocol what to write them up and send the to BIC (Behavior Improvement Center), a in-house suspension center. He was also required to phone parents each time their child was sent to BIC.
When he called parents many were not home and didn’t call back. There were a few he was able to talk to. Yet, it seemed like only a few took an interest in their child’s education.
The same kids kept getting sent there for all kinds of infractions. It seemed like Lofthouse spent more time dealing with behavor problems than teaching. This really was unfair to the few kids who really wanted to learn, yet he had no choice. From reading his memoir I had no hope for most of those kids who made no attempt to learn and who spent most of their time in BIC.
Yet Lofthouse did give us hope for some of the kids. He was also the supervisor of the school newspaper, Scroll. The kids that worked on the paper were mostly the cream of the crop. Take the newspaper’s editor, Amanda. A senior who took her job seriously. Lofthouse was able to leave just about everything to her and knew that she would talk with him if their were any problems.
Working as a school teacher is hard work and long hours, especially in an inner city school setting. Lofthouse took a lot of work home, such as grading papers. He also volunteered with the school hiking club, taking kids on hikes. You could tell he was a teacher who really cared about the future of his students.
It is apparent the Lloyd Lofthouse has big opinions of what is wrong with today’s education and how to fix it. I encourage anyone interested in reading his opinions to follow his website: http://crazynormaltheclassroomexpose.com/and join the discussion.
‘Crazy Is Normal’ by Lloyd Lofthouse is a well written and engaging expose’ of a high school teacher. I highly recommend reading ‘Crazy Is Normal’ to get a real taste of what it is like to be a school teacher in an inner city school and all the bureaucracy that comes with it. I believe that knowing what a teacher is up against is a first step in solving the problem with education.
5/5
I received the ebook version for my honest review.
About Lloyd Lofthouse:
Little did Lloyd Lofthouse know in 1999, when he married Anchee Min, that he was beginning a journey of discovery. His first trip to The Middle Kingdom was on the honeymoon with his bride, who introduced him to China and Robert Hart (1835-1911), the main characters in Lloyd’s first two novels, My Splendid Concubine and Our Hart. The next decade was a journey of discovery. Lloyd now lives near San Francisco with his wife–with a second home in Shanghai, China.
Lloyd earned a BA in journalism in 1973 after fighting in Vietnam as a U.S. Marine. While working days as an English teacher, he enjoyed a second job as a maitre d’ in a multimillion-dollar nightclub. His short story, A Night at the ‘Well of Purity’ was named as a finalist for the 2007 Chicago Literary Awards.
Lloyd has won 15 awards for My Splendid Concubine and 5 awards for Running With the Enemy.
This book giveaway is open internationally however only the U.S. and Canada qualify for print. An international winner will receive ebook. This giveaway ends on November 12, 2014. Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
Today it is my immense pleasure to kick of the ‘A Death In Vegas’ Tour! The award winning author, Christopher Meeks has written several books and I have been a fan for several years now.
Description of ‘A Death In Vegas’:
Publisher: White Whisker Books (August 15, 2014) Category: Mystery ISBN: 9781499124551 Tour Date: October, 2014 Available in: Print & ebook, 176 Pages
In A Death in Vegas, the president of BenBugs, a company that specializes in beneficial bugs for organic gardening, discovers a young woman dead in his Las Vegas hotel suite. She had worked as a sexy lady bug at his convention booth—and he had nothing to do with her death. While that’s being investigated, the FBI raids his booth on a money-laundering scam that he knows nothing about, either. Soon, the coroner doesn’t have good news. The police and FBI are against him—and his wife cannot be found. He flees to find the answers.
View the Trailer:
Praise for Blood Drama by Christopher Meeks:
“What sets this novel apart from other thriller is the development of the characters. Not only is Medina more complex than the stereotypical FBI agent found in many suspense novels, but Nash is a new type of victim. His theater and academic background give him an interesting perspective. This is definitely a suspenseful, can’t-put-it-down thriller. Clear your calendar in order to have time to read this from start to finish!“-Tammy, The Self-Taught Cook
“Blood Drama was highly entertaining and extremely enjoyable. It is a combination black comedy and crime novel. The characters of Ian and Aleece are memorable, quirky, and unique. I reveled in Ian’s quoting David Mamet (or some other playwright or work of literature) to deduce and interpret the information he had to ascertain where the clues were leading them. Meeks is a gifted writer. He has a pleasing way of propelling the action forward while developing his plot and characters. I enjoyed Meeks Love at Absolute Zero quite a bit, but I liked Blood Drama even more. I’m hopeful that Meeks will bring back Ian and Aleece to solve another crime.”- Lori, She Treads Softly
“This is one action packed thriller that you don’t want to put down. The author doesn’t waste time with the trivial, he gets right to the action and stays there. Just when you think things are as bad as they possible could get…wrong! This was different from most thrillers I read in that it also has a little humor, I absolutely loved that aspect of the book. The characters are well written, they seem like real people, flaws and all. There’s also romance in this book, which gives you a little relief from the gripping adventures. I liked this book very much and so I will be checking to see what other books this author has written.“- Vicky, I’d Rather Be At the Beach
“This story had me hooked just out of pity for the poor guy, but when things turned from bad to worse I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what was going to happen next. This was far from the typical suspense/thriller. Yes, it does follow the MOs you expect in some areas but the characters make it so unique. I loved these characters. They were so unique that I could see them as real. They had their quirks and secrets that revealed their flaws and their vulnerabilities Nothing is really too farfetched. Yes, there is one character you might argue is but I live in a huge city. Trust me, it is not farfetched. Can’t say more or I let a big secret slip which is a no-no in reviews. If you love suspense/thrillers that have some humor, you’ll love this book. Yes, it kept me riveted. You have to read this book. You’ll enjoy it and want more. Plus you’ll learn to appreciate your own days a little bit better.”– Rebecca Graf, A Book Lover’s Library
“Having read and reviewed every book and play written by the gifted Christopher Meeks it was with some trepidation to pick up a novel with a title BLOOD DRAMA packaged by a cover that suggested he’d joined the au courant genre of spy and murder and intrigue army of writers, forsaking his own quirky and deliciously entertaining usual topics of onstage interpersonal relationship scenarios of his previous books. Had he sold out to the bigger market of bestseller yet rapidly transient airport books? Happily, after getting attached to his satisfyingly rather strange hero in the first chapter and the fear that he had abandoned his signature warmth and tasteful dissection of ordinary people, the pages practically turned themselves. Meeks has the gift to mold characters with such extensive backstories that after only a few pages as each new character is introduced they become part of the surround-sound family into whose story we have wandered. The book is so rich in feisty humor, in theatrically enacted derring-do as the pursuit of the quartet of bank robbers ensues, some fine psychological insights into these strange but likeable folk from the Southern California setting Meeks knows and lives so well – well, so rich, period, that it begs to be read. Meeks may have daringly (for him) stepped into new territory, but the fact that he continues to remain in the rarefied atmosphere of fine contemporary authors is secure.”Grady Harp, Amazon Hall of Fame Reviewer
My Review:
I was so excited to hear that Christopher Meeks wrote another book! I leaped at the chance to review it. As a fan of his work, I am thankful that he is able to publish new works in a timely fashion!
Meeks is a prolific writer across genres of short stories, literary fiction, and more recently, crime mysteries. This time he is back with his second crime mystery. Is it as good as the first, ‘Blood Drama’?
It is no secret that I have not been a big fan of mystery books however, with ‘Blood Drama’, Christopher Meeks won me over. With his writing, I discovered that mysteries can also be literary and with his brand of quirky characters and pop culture throughout all of his books, there is much to love!
In ‘A Death In Vegas’ the president of Ben Bugs, Patton Burch is in Las Vegas at a convention promoting beneficial bugs for organic gardening. He has a young woman there dressed up as a lady bug. Her name is Chatterley and is a model hired by Patton’s wife Tess.
How does Chatterley end up in Patton’s hotel room, butt naked and dead? Who killed her? Patton certainly didn’t.
With Christopher Meeks trademark tongue in cheek humor and quirky characters we find out the answers by following the on the run antics of Patton.
Just to say I enjoyed ‘A Death In Vegas’ is an understatement, I loved it! I can’t recommend this book enough. ‘A Death In Vegas’ would make an excellent gift to any mystery lover, male or female! Christopher Meeks hit a home run again!
5/5
I received this in ebook form for my honest review.
About Christopher Meeks:
Christopher Meeks has four novels and two collections of short fiction published. His most recent novel before this was the acclaimed thriller, “Blood Drama.” His novel “The Brightest Moon of the Century” made the list of three book critics’ Ten Best Book of 2009. “Love at Absolute Zero” also made three Best Books lists of 2011, as well as earning a ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Finalist award.
He has had stories published in several literary journals, and they have been included in the collections “Months and Seasons” and “The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea.” Mr. Meeks has had three full-length plays mounted in Los Angeles, and one, “Who Lives?” had been nominated for five Ovation Awards, Los Angeles’ top theatre prize.
Mr. Meeks teaches English and fiction writing at Santa Monica College, and Children’s Literature at the Art Center College of Design. To read more of his books visit his website at: www.chrismeeks.com.
Thanks to Christopher Meeks, I am giving away one print or ebook copy of ‘A Death In Vegas’. This giveaway is open internationally however, print is only available to the U.S. and Canada. This giveaway ends on October 31, 2014. Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
Book Description:
