“The Fortunate Ones is a fathoms-deep exploration of love, loyalty, and the ties that bind, written masterfully from all angles. It’s a laser-sharp look at the underbelly of power and privilege’s repercussions as told through the power of story.”
A gorgeous, deep probing treatise on the myriad manifestations of love, envy, privilege, and longing, The Fortunate Ones by Ed Tarkington begins by holding a mirror to coming of age concerns in light of two young men from disparate backgrounds who overlap in a setting where all that glitters isn’t gold.
Ed Tarkington’s debut novel Only Love Can Break Your Heart was an ABA Indies Introduce selection, an Indie Next pick, a Book of the Month Club Main Selection, and a Southern Independent Booksellers Association bestseller. A regular contributor to Chapter16.org, his articles, essays, and stories have appeared in a variety of publications including the Nashville Scene, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Knoxville News-Sentinel, and Lit Hub. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
Praise for The Fortunate Ones
“Ed Tarkington’s wonderful second novel, The Fortunate Ones, feels like a fresh and remarkably sure-footed take on The Great Gatsby, examining the complex costs of attempting to transcend or exchange your given class for a more gilded one…As a novelist, he is the real deal. I can’t wait to see this story reach a wide audience, and to see what he does next. ”
— Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and Love and Ruin
“To the great literature of anointment, of the young person plucked from obscurity and given a place at the glittering table, we can now add Ed Tarkington’s lovely novel of a young man mystified by his good fortune until the reasons behind it are revealed and the cost is extracted. A beautiful read.“
— Ann Packer, author of The Dive from Clausen’s Pier
“Ed Tarkington perfectly captures the heady, conflicted emotions that come with proximity to privilege — both the irresistible longing and the heartbreaking disillusionment. I’m recommending The Fortunate Ones to every book club I know.”
— Mary Laura Philpott, author of I Miss You When I Blink
It has been my great honor and joy to align with author and book-blogger, Sally Cronin, who lives in County Wexford, Ireland and spearheads the wildly popular WordPress blog, Smorgasbord. If you’re unfamiliar with Smorgasbord, don’t miss out. Look into it here!
Blog magazine for lovers of health, food, books, music, humour and life in general
Recently, Sally released an E-Book that I want to tell you about:
Book Description: Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries: Sometimes Bitter, Sometimes Sweet is a collection of short stories with scattered poetry, reflecting the complexities of life, love and loss.
The stories in the collection dip into the lives of men and women who are faced with an ‘event’ that is challenging and in some cases life changing.
Even something as straightforward as grocery shopping online can be frustrating, and a DNA test produces surprise results, the past reaches out to embrace the present, and a gardening assistant is an unlikely grief counsellor. Romance is not always for the faint-hearted and you are never too old for love. Random acts of kindness have far reaching consequences and some people discover they are on a lucky streak. There are those watching over us who wish us well, and those in our lives who wish us harm.
I enjoyed this e-book immensely and left this review on Goodreads, Amazon, and Book Bub!
Author Sally Cronin wields heartwarming magic in this delightful collection of short stories, each written with a keen eye focused on the nuances of human nature. Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries: Sometimes Bitter, Sometimes Sweet is a series of lovely vignettes written with a clean hand as Cronin builds her common man, everyday stories. It’s the little things in life that matter, and Cronin depicts such topics as random acts of kindness, unforeseen good fortune, falling into and out of love, and the magic of animals in such an optimistic way that the reader is morally encouraged and given great hope. Each story lulls the reader with neat, simplistic beauty even as it takes an unexpected turn. In Cronin’s The Scratch Card, Elsie Thompson wins twenty pounds on a scratch card, which she puts to use in such a way that events are set in motion and change a young man’s life. In Friday Night, a young woman is taken for granted by her clueless boyfriend, until a stranger whispers a line that puts her life on another course, and in the satisfying The Gaffer, a duplicitous wife-abuser gets creative comeuppance. Interspersed throughout this e-book are poems and photographs that poignantly highlight the collective spirit of the book. The characters persevere, help each other, and come to their senses in a manner suggestive of hard-won insight, and written with all the impact of a parable. A pleasurable, enchanting read with a heart of gold, Sally Cronin’s latest release is nothing short of a charming assembly of uplifting stories.
Behold: the delightful Sally Cronin!
Here’s a little something about Sally you’ll want to know! She writes:
“I have been a storyteller most of my life (my mother called them fibs!). Poetry, song lyrics and short stories were left behind when work and life intruded, but that all changed in 1996.
My first book Size Matters was a health and weight loss book based on my own experiences of losing 70kilo. I have written another twelve books since then on health and also fiction including three collections of short stories. My latest collection is Life’s Rich Tapestry : Woven in Words.. verse, micro fiction and short stories.
I am an indie author and proud to be one. My greatest pleasure comes from those readers who enjoy my take on health, characters and twisted endings… and of course come back for more.
As a writer I know how important it is to have help in marketing books.. as important as my own promotion is, I believe it is important to support others. I offer a number of FREE promotional opportunities on my blog and linked to my social media. If you are an author who would like to be promoted to a new audience of dedicated readers, please contact me via my blog. All it will cost you is a few minutes of your time. Look forward to hearing from you.”
I read and enjoyed Sally Cronin’s book, Tales from the Irish Garden!
Book Description: The queen of Magia and her court have fled their sun filled Spanish homeland and the palace beneath the magnolia tree.
Arriving on the backs of geese and swans, they seek sanctuary in the magic garden of The Storyteller who welcomes them to the Emerald Island, a place where rain is almost a daily feature.
Grateful for their safe haven and the generosity of their host, the queen and her courtiers embrace their new surroundings with delight. As the seasons change throughout the year, they come into contact with many of the human and animal inhabitants of the garden and the surrounding forest, all of whom have a story to tell.
This is a magical fairy story infused with fantasy and romance, as well as opportunities for mischief in the company of goblins, witches and Lerpersians.
My Review of Tales from an Irish Garden:
I was attracted to this book because of its title. Show me a title concerning Ireland, and you’ve got my attention! I had seen good reviews of this book and, as are legions of others, have been a devoted fan of author Sally Cronin’s blog Smorgasbord on WordPress for years. And so it was that I bought Tales From the Irish Garden, not fully knowing what to expect. To say I was roped in from the onset puts it mildly! I was immediately bowled over by the minute details in this highly creative story, one part fantasy, one part fairy story and all parts sheer, delightful suspension of belief. Only, and here’s the kicker, as I read this engaging story, lured along by its romantic, magical undercurrents, I began to intuit the deeply human parables! Sally Cronin is a writer gifted with insight, humor, whimsy, and unparalleled story pacing abilities. Tales From the Irish Garden invites the reader to enter a plausible, magical realm so real as to make the reader want to stay there
I also read and enjoyed Life’s Rich Tapestry:
Book Description: Life’s Rich Tapestry is a collection of verse, microfiction and short stories that explore many aspects of our human nature and the wonders of the natural world. Reflections on our earliest beginnings and what is yet to come, with characters as diverse as a French speaking elephant and a cyborg warrior.
Finding the right number of syllables for a Haiku, Tanka, Etheree or Cinquain focuses the mind; as does 99 word microfiction, bringing a different level of intensity to storytelling. You will find stories about the past, the present and the future told in 17 syllables to 2,000 words, all celebrating life.
This book is also recognition of the value to a writer, of being part of a generous and inspiring blogging community, where writing challenges encourage us to explore new styles and genres.
My Review of Life’s Rich Tapestry!
We come to know a person’s mind through the words they speak; their personality through what they create, and their heart through what they write. Put this all together and you’ve been gifted a glimpse into an artist’s soul. This is how Life’s Rich Tapestry Woven in Words impressed me. Author Sally Cronin’s precious gem of a book is nothing short of fluid insight into all that it means to be human in a round-robin way as to address the entire sphere in bits and pieces that leave a lasting impression. These are musings delivered artfully, the perfect melding of heart, mind, and soul. In sharing her personal views, the author invites us to examine our own impressions of the day-today by shining light on life’s rich nuance. There is something profound in these meditative pages, something joyous and real that takes nothing for granted by sheer virtue of the fact that Sally Cronin has called them by name. In addressing the natural world, celebrating pets, seasons of the year, and random thoughts, Cronin speaks to the reader conversationally in such a manner that told me I’d revisit the pages. Her flash fiction, speculative fiction, and short stories are vignettes to savor—all told, this book is a work of art at its finest. All praise to author Sally Cronin, who has earned a constant and significant place in the blogging world by selflessly serving as the fulcrum of focus for so very many. That she has stepped forth by assembling and publishing this collection of letters has gifted us all with the awe-striking opportunity to see a writer’s career shine at its brightest.
Many of us who follow Sally on Smorgasbord are familiar with the storied life of her collie, Sam, of whom Sally wrote ANOTHER book!
I’m sharing the effervescent D.G.Kaye’s review here of Sam: A Shaggy Dog Story! D.G. Kaye rated it it was amazing This book, a memoir from Sam, the Lassie-like Collie, will warm anyone’s heart. Cronin tells the story through Sam’s voice in this delightful read. If you’re not already a dog lover, you will be after reading Sam’s story.
If you want to know how a dog views his life, Sam shares his adventures as a dog, how he learned manners, how he learned to speak a few human words, and even he even shares his opinions on going to the vet.
Sam is truly a heart-warming read for everyone.Love this photograph!
Another of Sally Cronin’s 10 published books!
Whatever the name there is always a story behind it. In What’s in a Name? – Volume One, twenty men and women face danger, love, loss, romance, fear, revenge and rebirth as they move through their lives.
Book Reviewer Darlene Foster writes: An awesome collection of short stories based on the names of the main characters. We don’t normally choose our own names, but they tend to define us. Names like Jana, Zoe, Hector, Hannah, Emma, Lily, Isobel, Fionnuala and many more, each have a story to tell. Some happy, some sad, some bittersweet, and some heartbreaking. F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “Find your key emotion, this may be all you need know to find your short story.” Ms. Cronin has certainly found the key emotion in each story in this enjoyable book.
Sally has a grand total of 10 published books, which you can learn about on Goodreads:
“a heart-warming story full of charm and optimism; a wonderous journey that transcends the celebration of Christmas with breathtaking illustrations throughout.”
Stars of Wonder: A Children’s Christmas Adventure is delightfully representative of life’s sacred journey as seen through the eager hearts of four royal siblings who live in a land far, far away.
Respectful of their loving parents, princes Jonah, Nathan, and Jacob lie on a blanket beside their parents and sister Phoebe, gazing at the heavens and whispering because “the soft winds and the calls of the owls and the sound of the waves created such beautiful music.” When a bright new star is spotted, the family is intrigued, and when Phoebe overhears her father remark, “I think—no, I believe that this fine bright star is leading the way to a new King, the greatest king the world has ever known,” the royal children conspire to set out on a brave adventure to meet the new king. Enlisting their friend Sumar, who knows about the care and maintenance of camels, the royal siblings set out from their village on a three-day journey but make the tactical error of not telling their parents because they don’t want them to worry.
It is a journey fraught with teachable moments. While resting overnight in the desert, the party is ambushed by three mountain lions and “The princess and Sumar and the three princely brothers all jumped to their feet, filled with both fear and courage, because it is true that fear and courage often happen together.” The lurking mountain lion illustration interjected at this moment is both fearsome and beautiful, with jewel tones encased in rich texture that make the predator something worth petting.
While Jasmine the camel heals from a lion’s scratch, it is decided the three princes will journey on to the palace they spy on the hill to ask about the distance to the new king, while Phoebe and Sumar stay with the camel. When old and wrinkly Nana Anna appears to Phoebe and Sumar, she reveals that she, too, is on a journey to see the new king because “No matter a person’s age, or size, or personality, or where they were from, or what language they spoke, or food they liked, the bright star in the sky was important to everyone.” When Phoebe admires the bracelet on Nana Anna, the wise woman gifts it to her and describes the symbolic meaning of each colorful bead, all of which serve to remind that “life is grand and love is real and beauty is everywhere.”
Separated from Sumar and their sister, the three princes spend the night at the palace of grumpy and cranky King Herod, whom, they suspect, is not trustworthy, though he is hospitable. In describing the king, Prince Nathan says he is nefarious, and the conversation that ensues regarding the word leads to the merits of a good vocabulary. The brothers’ journey on until they come to their final destination, where “The man with the gentle eyes spoke very quietly. This is Mary, and I am Joseph, and this little one we call Jesus.” Mary, upon hearing of nefarious King Herod, counsels, “you definitely do not have to do what a nefarious person tells you to do. If you get that untrustworthy feeling about someone, you must trust your own feelings. They are called instincts.”
After visiting with Mary and Joseph and Jesus, the princes return to the place where they left Phoebe and Sumar to discover their parents, Sumar’s father, and Nana Anna are assembled. As the siblings recount their adventure, Phoebe quotes Nana Anna in saying, “Life is grand, and love is real, and beauty is everywhere!”
“I saw that in our journey together,” said Prince Jonah.
“I saw it in our care for each other,” said Prince Nathan
“I see it now in our parents love and our friendship,” said Sumar.
“I see it everywhere I look!” said Phoebe.
Stars of Wonder: A Children’s Christmas Adventure teaches poignant lessons. Good decisions, perfect love, insecurity, challenging moments, care for animals, and disagreements are brought to the fore, and in perfectly placed prompts, the reader is asked what they’d do. It is a heart-warming story full of charm and optimism; a wonderous journey that transcends the celebration of Christmas with breathtaking illustrations throughout.
Claire Fullerton’s most recent novels are Little Tea and multiple award winner, Mourning Dove. Honors include the Independent Book Publishers Book Award Silver Medal for Regional Fiction, the Reader’s Favorite for Southern Fiction Bronze Medal and various other literary awards.
“entertaining, inspirational, and visceral; a moving narrative of typically missed breadcrumbs on the way to meaningful connections. A delightful, wandering story with profound, insightful resonance . . .”
What’s in a name? In this gem of a book, The Ancient Way: Discoveries on the Path of Celtic Christianity, author River Jordan beautifully illustrates that the answer makes all the difference in the world. A trip to Scotland becomes a journey, a journey becomes a pilgrimage, and a pilgrimage is defined by the power of intention.
In first-person, nonfiction narrative readers will think familiar for its intimate, accommodating style, River Jordan combines everything that makes both memoir and travelogue captivating. Her story begins with a nudge. “Sometimes I need to listen to the small voice that is the songline of my soul. To hear the whisper of, ‘This way, follow me.’ For some, it is the voice of God, for others their sixth sense. For me it is both; I see them as one and the same.”
Following the lure of coincidence, a series of prompts leads to the west coast of Scotland. The ringing lilt of the name Iona spawns research, and as her will to travel grows, Jordan weighs the difficult way against a busy writer’s schedule and challenging circumstances. “A way would have to reveal itself where there was no way at all,” she concludes. In the end, Jordan employs practicality to get her from her Nashville home to Scotland. “Flexibility and a certain no-frills, down-to-earth sensibility can come in handy on the road. And making a pilgrimage to Iona was going to require a certain cowgirl can-do attitude.”
For all the reasons we’re attracted to a hero’s journey, we follow Jordan as she sets her sights on exploration and personal transformation against uncanny odds that verge on comical. Because it is the frugal, off-season month of November, the weather is frigid, ferry schedules are unreliable, and tourist establishments are closed. Aided by a travelling companion she calls her “anam cara,” she’s encumbered by too heavy a backpack and accommodated by strangers she meets through an online travelers’ global community called Couchsurfing. And yet she persists with an eyeful of wonder, a heart full of gratitude, and a string of prayer beads in her pocket to remind us that all is in the attitude. A lesser wanderer would have conceded defeat in the nearest pub.
Without being heavy-handed, this book speaks to the spiritual seeker, denominational or otherwise. The odyssey aligns spirit with intellect, certainty with curiosity, this world with the next, and all that has come before. Jordan writes, “There are dreams and there are destinies, and sometimes they cross over to become one and the same thing. If so, journeying on pilgrimage to Iona was as much God’s plan as it was mine, which meant we were in this thing together.”
Artfully layering her journey’s steps and missteps with Celtic Christianity’s history, Jordan gifts the reader with perfectly placed fact to heighten her story. “Not all from the history volumes of Celtic Christianity was first kiss, first love, first light. The history of Celtic Christianity is filled with violence, Viking raids, murdered monks, and destroyed monasteries.”
Of the ancient Celts conversion to the Irish monk, Columba’s, novel idea of Christianity, she depicts a melding: “All that was best of their Celtic nature wasn’t lost in translation: they brought it to the table. Reading those histories, I think those monks of Columba’s took a good look at what the Celts had pulled out of their spiritual backpacks and said, ‘Hey, this is good. I think we can use this.’”
A narrative nonfiction book for travelers in search of The Divine, The Ancient Way: Discoveries on the Path of Celtic Christianity takes you from the hills of Tennessee to the hallowed ground of Scotland’s Iona Abbey, on a wing and a prayer, with help from the kindness of strangers. It’s entertaining, inspirational, and visceral; a moving narrative of typically missed breadcrumbs on the way to meaningful connections. A delightful, wandering story with profound, insightful resonance you’ll want to share with your friends, The Ancient Way: Discoveries on the Path of Celtic Christianity encourages you to keep an eye on the sacred along the road to self-discovery.
Claire Fullerton is a staff reviewer at New York Journal of Books.
I had the immense pleasure of reviewing this book for the New York Journal of Books!
Never Turn Back by Christopher Swann!
“A contemporary novel that tips its hat to multiple genres, Never Turn Back is intriguing, high-stakes fiction.”
A wonderfully unusual, utterly unpredictable twist of a puzzle with an edge, Never Turn Back warns you with its title that you’re in for something, and hints at the problem with a line on page two, when the narrator says, “The twin memories of my parents are like a pair of blades scissoring my heart.”
Brilliant, evocative, and written in a clear-sighted adolescent’s voice that verges on stream of consciousness and flows magically with the surrealism of this astounding story. Narrator Reuben Land tells this remarkable story of a motherless family’s journey through the winter flatlands of North Dakota, on the trail of his elder brother, Davy, who’s convicted of a crime done in defense of the family.
Reuben’s engaging, first person voice is a metaphor for the malady he was born with: his damaged lungs are commiserate with the breathless tone that lures the reader into siding whole heartedly with the brother he idolizes, while his precocious younger sister, Swede, pens a western based on an outlaw’s hero’s journey, and incrementally interprets the family’s quest to save Davy, who broke out of jail and is on the run.
Father Jeremiah Land has a humble essence that hints at sainthood. An intelligent and pious widower, he works a job beneath his station and is prone to covert, timely gestures that verge on the miraculous, each convenient, pivotal episode manifesting in such a way as to seem like coincidence. “The fact is, the miracles that sometimes flowed from my father’s fingertips had few witnesses but me,” Davy says, and throughout this multi-layered, faith in motion story, there are plenty. When Jeremiah is asked by a concerned friend how the family plans to track Davy, he answers: “I have the substance of things hoped for. I have the anticipation of things unseen.”
On the road to North Dakota, the family is trailed by Martin Andreeson, a federal employee tasked to find the escaped Davy, who suspects the family knows more than they let on. He birddogs the family like a shadow, yet changes from nemesis to friend as the story leads fatefully into the arms of Roxanna, who lives right outside the town where Davy was last seen. When Davy appears to Reuben, he asks Reuben to keep the secret of where he’s living and with whom, for what turns out to be good reason. Family dynamics tinged with the spiritual and questions of right versus wrong as seen through the eyes of young Reuben are at the heart of this unique story. The writing is so compelling, you’ll be riveted throughout a book you’ll never forget. 5 stars and high praise to author Leif Enger. Peace Like a River has made me Enger’s fan.
The Madwoman of Preachers Cove made such a splash, pre-release, by winning the Grand Prize in Paranormal Fiction at The Chanticleer Reviews Conference in Bellingham, Washington that I begged author Joy Ross Davis for an advance review copy! I read the book raptly, marveling at it’s unusual setting in a fictitious town named Preacher’s Cove in the mountain foothills of Alabama. This book has everything: a journalist with hidden ties to Preacher’s Cove comes to town on assignment to cover paranormal activity and oddly, incrementally, characters come to the fore and jog his memory! I knew I was in for something big when I met doll-maker, Lucy, who has method to her creative madness. Unsettling atmospheric activity, the lure of attraction, town secrets, quirky characters, and hidden connections comprise this page-turner that will top the list of favorites for paranormal readers!
Here is The Madwoman of Preacher’s Cove book description:
The Madwoman of Preacher’s Cove tells the story of Lucy Addams, a woman who was horribly disfigured in a fire that claimed the lives of her husband and children. After the tragic loss of her beauty, her voice, and her family, Lucy became an artistic genius, sculpting lifelike dolls—replicas of the children of Preacher’s Cove.
Lucy, and her workshop, are hidden in the back of the local resort—a hotel and restaurant complex owned and operated by her sister, Libby.
Following a series of deaths by lightning strike in Preacher’s Cove, a handsome investigative reporter arrives to solve the mystery of the coincidental accidents. Lucy and Libby find themselves facing yet another enemy. As keepers of an ancient treasure—a secret that binds them—they alone know why the deaths have occurred, and more importantly, how to stop them.
With the eventual help of Libby and Lucy, the reporter finds a sacred place in the woods called The Hallows—where Druids once roamed, and where his answers are deeply buried.
After months of investigating, the death toll rising, a bit of romance, and otherwordly harbingers of Lucy’s dolls, the mystery of Preacher’s Cove begins to unravel.
“Joy Ross Davis proves with The Madwoman of Preacher’s Cove that she’s one of the South’s most creative minds. This novel is fantastic—in every sense of that term!”Allen Mendenhall, Editor, Southern Literary Review
Book Reviewer Carla Suto writes this:
THE MADWOMAN OF PREACHER’S COVE by Joy Ross Davis is an atmospheric and intriguing story of deeply held secrets and an ancient mystery set in Preachers’ Cove, Alabama where Druids once worshipped. Lucy Addams lost everything when a tragic fire killed her husband and children and left her terribly disfigured and unable to speak. She lives as a recluse with her sister, Libby who runs a local resort in Preacher’s Cove. Lucy spends her days in a secluded workroom crafting beautiful and haunting dolls called the Firelight Angels that are detailed replicas of the children of Preacher’s Cove. When a seemingly coincidental series of deadly lightning strikes hits Preacher’s Cove, investigative reporter, Hap returns to Preacher’s Cove to look into the mysterious deaths. As Hap delves deeper into the unusual occurrences, long-buried secrets come to light and the mystery of The Hallows is gradually revealed. Filled with history, suspense and even a little romance, this enchanting book held me captive from beginning to end. I always enjoy Joy Ross Davis’ stories and this one was no exception. I highly recommend it.
Congratulations to Joy Ross Davis on the release of The Madwoman of Preacher’s Cove!
I just finished Wendell Berry’s 6th novel, Hannah Coulter, as recommended by Sara Steger, whom I met on the Goodreads group, On the Southern Literary Trail, which is a dedicated, enthusiastic reading group in tune with those great Southern writers worth knowing about.
If you’re unfamiliar with American author, Wendell Berry, here’s an introduction:
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Hannah Coulter and am sharing my book review:
Hannah Coulter is a lyrical study in nostalgia, meandering, at times, just as life itself meanders in seeming slipshod episodes that seem incohesive until viewed in hindsight. But the telling of a life can bring it into focus, and the voice of Hannah Coulter, as she explains her life is the voice of gratitude as she builds linear connections with the full awareness that it is the seeming inconsequential, day to day gestures that make up a life.
I loved this book for its intimate introspection. The story is judicious in dialogue, preferring, instead, to gift the reader with the hidden heartbeat of Hannah Coulter, whom we meet as a callow girl and accompany as she grows wise and world-weary, deepens in self-possession, and all this without traveling far afield from the small rural farming community of Port William, Kentucky, whose sphere of activity is an agrarian culture with a network of neighbors who work together in perpetuating a salt-of-the earth livelihood.
The characters in Hannah Coulter are simply dignified. They are subtle souls, reverent of life’s small purposes. They are commonplace characters with depth and an eye to future generations. They are accepting people, tolerant of changing times even as they hold true to maintaining a less convenient way of life in the name of what they know and treat with the sanctity of tradition.
Hannah Coulter lives beneath the layers of plot and resides in the realm of character study. It is a slow growth story of the life of one woman the reader will come to know and cherish, for all her hard-won wisdom.
I read this book on Kindle in two days and defy any reader of any genre not to read it as nonstop as time permits! Nashville by Heart is joyous, entertaining, and uplifting. A young woman from a small town, in the prime of life sees her dream come to fruition in the musical mecca of Nashville, Tennessee; what could be better? Perfectly delightful escapism deftly penned in an action-packed narrative with characters so vividly drawn you can feel them in the room. I loved every single line of Nashville by Heart. It soars from the opening paragraph and holds you tight. It will thrill romance readers, those who love contemporary fiction, and everyone who loves a good story with a wonderful ending!
#1 Amazon best-selling and award-winning author Tina Ann Forkner “delivers a fairytale” (Publisher’s Weekly) in this sweet romance.
A happily ever after romance, Nashville style… Small-town girl Gillian Heart moved to Nashville to get a record deal, not end up on some playboy’s arm. She knows she shouldn’t get too personal with charming music agent Will Adams, who has broken plenty of hearts in this city. But Will is different around her, and neither of them can deny the spark.
As the spark turns to love and Gillian’s career starts to take off, she believes her Nashville dream is finally coming true. Until Will makes a move that brings back memories of the father who abandoned her and puts all she’s built in jeopardy.
Can Gillian learn to trust Will—and herself—and let her country music dream take flight? Or will the comfort of life in her hometown pull her back?
Award-Winning Author Tina Ann Forkner’s women’s fiction includes THE REAL THING, WAKING UP JOY, ROSE HOUSE, and RUBY AMONG US. She lives in Wyoming with her husband and has three adult children.
Tina teaches at workshops, presents at conferences, and is happy to appear on panels. She has spoken or taught at conferences including the Colorado Gold Conference – Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Northern Colorado Writers Conference, Crested Butte Writers Conference, as well as taught or presented at libraries including the Laramie County Library, at elementary and high schools, and for various women’s organizations and groups.
Tina is a proud member of Tall Poppy Writers and works as a freelance editor, writing instructor, and substitute teacher. She enjoys traveling, hiking, and fishing.
As I count the days to the release of Little Tea, lo and behold, this review of my last novel, Mourning Dove was just sent to me by the Chanticleer Reviews. Thought I’d share it here.
Chanticleer Book Reviews & Media
Camille Crossan appears to be living an idyllic life in Claire Fullerton poignant, evocative novel, MOURNING DOVE. Living in a superbly appointed mansion in “magnolia-lined and manicured” Memphis during the 1960s and 1970s, Camille’s family life shimmers with Southern charm. Beautifully penned #SouthernNovels with all the trimmings. One of our favorites. Highly recommended. #SouthernLiterature #PulpwoodQueens #CIBAs
Review:
Camille Crossan appears to be living an idyllic life in Claire Fullerton’s poignant, evocative novel, Mourning Dove. Living in a superbly appointed mansion in “magnolia-lined and manicured” Memphis during the 1960s and 1970s, Camille’s family life shimmers with Southern charm. Her mother, Posey, usually outfitted in a Lily Pulitzer shift, Pappagallo shoes, and a signature shade of pink lipstick, is a beauty with the wryest sense of humor and steel determination.
As a young girl, Camille, known as Millie, sees how those in her mother’s social orbit are captivated by her aura, how men are easily seduced by her flirtatious charm. Society is a game played by those who know its rules, and Posey means to win. Every time. She, however, isn’t even the charismatic one in the family – that’s Finley, Millie’s older brother, who brims with intelligence, startling good looks, and messianic magnetism. A peek beneath the shiny surface of gracious Southern living, however, reveals enormous cracks in the foundation of the Crossan family. One of the first things the adult Millie tells us about her brother is that he is dead. She takes the reader back, though, to their childhood and coming of age, a tumultuous journey that both binds and separates the siblings.
During her first decade, Millie’s family was living in Minneapolis with her tender-hearted, intellectual father who succumbed to alcoholism. Loss of money and, worse, the accompanying loss of social status, motivates Posey to uproot her children and move them to her childhood home in Memphis, a palatial mansion filled with antiques and portraits of forebears. It’s a volatile time, inside and outside the house, as centuries-old Southern traditions clash with the youth counterculture.
Millie watches as her mother holds court during daily cocktail hours, a prospective second husband soon on the reel, and Finley, a gifted guitarist, plunges into the local music scene. But what role will she play? It’s difficult for her to see herself entirely separate from her brother for whom she has, “…a love devoid of envy, tied up in shared survival and my inability to see myself as anything more than the larger-than-life Finley’s little sister.” Millie will grapple with her identity and question her destiny, whether she’ll be a bride in the Southern belle mode of her mother or if she’ll be the blossom that falls far from the magnolia tree. Meanwhile, Finley’s charisma both explodes and implodes in shocking and dangerous ways as he becomes revered by a group of people with no connection to the gentrified life. Like Millie, the reader is transfixed and apprehensive about where this less-traveled road will take Finley. Although the reader knows his grim fate from the outset of the book, his storyline is so engrossing that no drama is lost.
Author, Claire Fullerton, is an enchantress with prose. The writing in this novel will cause you to stop, reread sentences, savor them, and note their architecture. Scenes sparkle as she masterfully summons moods and atmosphere. The reader can see Millie’s lovely but haunting home, and smell the rich fragrance of dogwood on a soft spring day. Fullerton has a keen ear for witty, authentic dialogue, and she deftly reveals much about personalities via conversation. It’s difficult to take leave of such a vivid, fully realized world. Fortunately for readers, Fullerton has written several books, opportunities to spend more time in her richly crafted worlds.
Claire Fullerton Author 