Surviving the Fatherland

Surviving the Fatherland

by Annette Oppenlander

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GENRE:   Historical Coming of age

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BLURB:

Spanning thirteen years from 1940 to 1953, SURVIVING THE FATHERLAND tells the true and heart-wrenching stories of Lilly and Günter struggling with the terror-filled reality of life in the Third Reich, each embarking on their own dangerous path toward survival, freedom, and ultimately each other. Based on the author’s own family and anchored in historical facts, this story celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the strength of war children.

SURVIVING THE FATHERLAND is a sweeping saga of family, love, and betrayal that illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the children's war.

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EXCERPT:

They were small changes at first, certain foods missing, fewer clothes available on ration cards, walking farther to find an open bakery…

Every day I caught myself listening for Vati’s footsteps. My breath would slow each time I heard the front door, a part of my soul rejoicing. Every day, he remained absent.

And something else changed. Fear moved into my life. Before Vati left, I hadn’t experienced dread other than a bit of uneasiness when going to the dark basement.

Now I had this shakiness in my legs that wouldn’t go away. In school we practiced climbing under the desk and lining up against inside walls or marching to the basement, teachers producing enthusiastic smiles as if we were playing a game. It was a vague feeling, a discomfort I couldn’t define except that it made my sleep restless and my daily routine tense.

Mutti grew increasingly nervous and her temper, no longer buffered by Vati, flared.

I took the brunt of it.

The thing is, I mostly accepted Mutti’s wrath as normal. I’d surely done something to deserve it. In the end, I didn’t know any better, and I accepted my new neighbor’s peculiar habits in the same way.

It was late that evening as I hurried downstairs. Cigarette smoke crept into the hallway through Huss’s door. I squeezed shut my nose with two fingers and rushed past, all the while wondering what he did for a living. All the men I knew worked or fought in the war like Vati.

My Review:

Surviving the Fatherland is, simply put, a really good read. I've read lots of books set in World War II that focused on the Allies and what they went through during the war, but you don't find as many books set in Germany. The book follows the story of two families who try their best to survive the hardships and chaos Hitler put his own people through. The hardships they endured were dreadful. The book also pointed out that not all of the people were Nazis. One of the characters in the book goes to extreme lengths to avoid being drafted in the army. What I especially liked about the story is that it's true. It happened to real people who eventually came to the US to live. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would give it 5 out of 5 stars.  

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

As a historical novelist Annette Oppenlander spends much of her time in archives and historic neighborhoods. When she isn’t studying the past, she shares her knowledge through writing workshops and indulges her old mutt, Mocha. In her spare time she travels around the U.S. and Europe to discover amazing histories. The mother of three ‘former’ teens, Annette lives with her husband in Bloomington, Ind.

“Nearly every place holds some kind of secret, something that makes history come alive. When we scrutinize people and places closely, history is no longer a date or number, it turns into a story.”

Website: http://www.annetteoppenlander.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annetteoppenlanderauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aoppenlander

Pinterest: annoppenlander

Blog: http://www.annetteoppenlander.com/blog/

Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Fatherland-Coming-age-Germany-ebook/dp/B06WD8GJ3P

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Annette Oppenlander will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Seven Days to Goodbye & Starting Over

Seven Days to Goodbye & Starting Over

by Sheri S Levy

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GENRE:   Young Adult- coming of age

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BLURB:

Thirteen year old, Trina has chosen to raise service dogs and have puppy after puppy. But during her seven day beach vacation, Trina struggles with having to return Sydney at the end of the week and worrying about her best friend changing into a stranger. To complicate the week, Sydney, meets a young boy with autism and the girls meet his two older brothers. Tension is raised over the guys, and Trina fears she’ll lose more than her service dog. Will Trina's lose her best friend, also?

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EXCERPT:

Sydney climbed on my lap and licked the corners of my eyes. I buried my face in his soft fur and scratched under his chin. He leaned into my hand as I whispered, “We’ll have fun with or without Sarah. We just have to.”

Staring through the side window, a deep-blue summer sky flickered between pine trees covered in kudzu. Sarah’s car passed on the right. I turned the other way.

Off the freeway, we headed east and then south down a two lane road through sleepy little towns one after the other. Twenty minutes later, I leaned forward between the front seats, “Wow. Look.”

Branches from gigantic live oak trees slanted towards the middle of the street. The trees looked as though they were trying to touch each other and some did. They reminded me of my cozy canopy bed where Sarah and I had spent many nights, giggling and whispering. But this canopy was made of tree limbs in different shades of green, dripping with grayish, Spanish moss. The moss hung like ghostly long arms swinging in the wind.

“This is kind of spooky beautiful. It’s like being in a green tunnel.” I cracked my window.

A whiff of salty ocean filled the car. Sydney lifted his head as the trees whizzed by. His nose twitched. “We’re getting close, Syd.” He squeezed into the same space with me and gazed out the front window.

Suddenly, the trees disappeared. The cloudless sky stretched with no end in sight. Pelicans flew in an upside down, V formation. On both sides of the road, squiggly tidal creeks flowed through green marshlands. White birds with skinny legs stood statue-still in the shimmering water. This was a place I’d only seen in postcards.

Pelicans flew in an upside down, V formation. On both sides of the road, squiggly tidal creeks flowed through green marshlands. White birds with skinny legs stood statue-still in the shimmering water. This was a place I’d only seen in postcards.

A Word From the Author:

1.    Did you always want to be an author?

Growing up, I never thought about being an author. I wanted to be a forest ranger, a dress designer, a dancer, and a Special Ed. teacher. It wasn’t until I was close to retirement, the urge took over.

As a child, I wrote every day in my diary, and as an adult I kept a travel journal. Since my parents frequented the library, I filled my arms with books. At night, I’d hide under my covers with a flashlight and read until I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

It wasn’t until I started teaching, the desire to write blossomed. As I read to my students, they leaned forward in their chairs and soaked up each word. They spurred my writing interest. I began reading about writing, taking online classes, and then joined SCBWI.

2.    Tell us about the publication of your first book.

When I retired from teaching, I began my first novel. After seven years of writing and revising, I stashed it in a drawer and began Seven Days to Goodbye.

My love of Edisto Beach, dogs, and special needs children found its way to the pages. I used my experiences and memories and spent three years polishing the words. Soon, I received requests for full manuscripts from agents. On a friend’s Facebook page, I read Barking Rain Press was open to submissions until midnight. I hadn’t thought about querying to a publisher.

After researching their site, I wrote my very long submission and sent it one minute before midnight. A month later, I received a request from BRP for a full manuscript.  

While watching the morning show two months later, I scanned my phone messages. My eyes caught the Barking Rain Press email. “We would like to offer you a contract on your wonderful story.”

Shocked, I handed my phone to my hubbie and asked him to read the message. He smiled. “Yep! That’s what it says!”

What a thrill it was to be with a supportive team. My publisher had the book printed August, 2014. Just in time to enter, Seven Days to Goodbye, in the Dog Writers Association of America’s contest. It won in their Special Interest category, February, 2015. 

My first book launch, September 11^th, 2014, was like birthing another baby.

3.    Besides yourself, who is your favorite author in the genre in which you write?

  I tend to read stories with animal subjects that pull on my heart strings. If a story involves rescues, service dogs, horses, turtles or dolphins, I’m hooked.

Children’s authors from SCBWI who write delightful, young dog reads.

Kirby Larson: Hattie Big Sky, her World War II dog books, Two Bobbies, Nubs, Duke, and Dash.

Barbara O’Connor: How to Steal a Dog and Wish.

Adult favorites: too many to list!

Sarah Gruen’s, Riding Lessons and Flying Changes

Temple Grandin, Animals in Translation

Mary Alice Monroe, dramas with sea animals.

Neil Abramson, Unsaid

4.    What’s the best part of being an author? The worst?

Being an author is especially rewarding when a reader identifies with the characters and shares their delight.

 I spend a lot of time in isolation, day dreaming, pretending, and watching people. As the words spill out, I have fun adventures with my characters inside my mind.

An extra perk is doing school visits and writing workshops. This allows me to be with students and encourage them to dream big, and to go after their goals.

The hardest part of being a published writer is the online marketing. It is very time consuming and it takes away from my writing time. 

5.    What projects are you working on now?

 I am marketing, my young adult series: Trina Ryan’s Dogs in Training. I present, Seven Days to Goodbye, to schools and teach writing skills. I also attend book festivals, and fund raisers for PAALs.org., a service dog organization. They have helped me with my research, and I support them with proceeds from my book.

We have begun promotions for the sequel, Starting Over. The illustrator, Stephanie Flint, is designing the cover, and Barking Rain Press is beginning the book layout.  Pre-orders will be announced. July 18^th is our print date. And I will celebrate with another exciting launch for Starting Over.

While these things are in the works, I am busy writing the third book, For Keeps.

   

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Sheri, originally from California, moved to South Carolina with her husband, two children and a Siamese cat. Soon they adopted their first rescue dog who influenced their need to continue living with dogs. Sheri taught a multi-handicapped Special Ed class, and then a GED-parenting class, which included home visits. Because of her love of reading, Sheri found unusual ways to encourage children to read. After her rescue of a difficult dog, Sheri enrolled in dog classes to change his behavior. Her dream of writing, Seven Days to Goodbye, came from the culmination of her beach experiences, her understanding of behaviors, and from research with PAALS, a service dog organization.

Links:

ISBN: 978-1-935460-74-9   EBook- 978-1-935460-75-6

Facebook.com/Sherislevyauthor342003522553368

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Sheri-S.-Levy/e/B00NSGMS0S

Twitter: @SheriSLevy

Website: www.sherislevy.com

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Sheri S Levy will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fallen Star Review

Fallen Star

by Allison Morse

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GENRE:  Pschological Mystery with Strong Gothic Elements

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BLURB:

Who killed 1940s screen goddess Gloria Reardon? Her unsolved murder hypnotized the public with its scandalous details and shocked two generations. 

In this coming of age gothic tale, avid feminist and aspiring filmmaker Kate Bloom discovers long lost footage that holds the key to who murdered her grandmother. Legendary movie star, Gloria Reardon, may be dead, but friends and lovers from the Golden Age of Hollywood’s heyday are still very much on the scene, and it seems everyone has something to gain or lose from Kate’s discovery. Enlisting the youthful and brash film restorer Dylan Nichols as her closest ally, Kate becomes haunted by Gloria’s glittering past. Caught between glamorous Old Hollywood and the gritty, exciting New Hollywood of the 1970s, Kate is determined to find out what really happened to her grandmother and in the process, becomes the killer’s new target.

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EXCERPT:

Two hours later, she sat in Dylan’s rumbling Mustang, heading toward her childhood home. The companionable silence of the drive was made all the more soothing by the summer sun dappling through the shade of the elm trees lining blocks of Claremont Village. That was, until he parked in front of her house.

She felt the now familiar lap of moist heat brushing her skin.

She gritted her teeth. Weren’t ghosts supposed to be cold! This feeling was too warm, too seductive to be ethereal.

Ghosts? No. That’s crazy talk.

Yet, maybe gothic castles and windswept moors weren’t the only places where spirits lingered. Here, at her celery green home with its single car attached garage, small lawn, and one lonely palm tree, she sensed her mother’s anger at a world that had taken so much from her. And she felt Gloria as if she sat right beside her.

With a sense of panic, Kate double checked what she was wearing. No swan pin, no revealing bathing attire, only her wonderfully large tee shirt, scuffed jeans and boots.

Yeah! She was still herself!

My Review

Ms. Morse can write. I found myself thinking of the book when I wasn't reading it, and I was in a hurry to find out how it all ended. The gothic elements are very well done. They give you a creepy feeling without going overboard which is so easy to do in that genre. Her characters were all flawed which was fantastic. It made them seem like real people and not cardboard representations of what someone decided was the perfect human being. The plot moved along well, and I loved trying to solve the mystery of the star's death. And I do love that cover. I can recommend this one with no trouble at all. 5 stars.   

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Allison is the author of two novels: The Sweetheart Deal and Fallen Star. She lives with her husband in a house in the hills that’s filled with books.

For book club resources and to learn more about Allison and her new fiction, please visit her Website at http://www.allisonmorseauthor.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allison.morse.16

Twitter ID:  AllisonMorseLA

Buy links:

Amazon - http://amzn.to/2aHLICj

Barnes & Noble - http://bit.ly/2bnsv8Q

KOBO - http://bit.ly/2bntdDm

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Allison Morse will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Use the link below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Faith

If you love chocolate, scroll on down to today's Beyond the Book Post, but why not enjoy this post first?

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes will be awarded via Rafflecopter as follows:

GRAND PRIZE: Kindle Fire pre-loaded with all Liz Tri-Desitny titles
FIRST PRIZE: $50 Amazon Gift Card
SECOND PRIZE: $25 Amazon Gift Card
THIRD PRIZE: full ebook set of STEWART REALTY SERIES up to Good Faith (8 books in all including the prequel House Rules)

Strong personalities—volatile marriages—stressful careers—conflicting goals—difficult children.

Contemporary challenges facing close-knit families form the crucible that forges a new generation.

Brandis, Gabriel, Blair and Lillian emerge from the entanglement of their parents’ longstanding emotional connections, but one’s star will burn brighter – and hotter – than the others.

With a personality that consumes everyone and everything in its path, Brandis Gordon struggles to maintain control as he ricochets between wild success and miserable failure. His life proves how even the strongest relationships can be strangled by the ties that bind.

Brandis and Gabe Frietag are as close as any brothers, bound by both loyalty and fierce rivalry. The strength of their ultimate alliance is tested time and again by Brandis’ choices.

Companions from birth, Blair Frietag and Lillian Robinson share loner tendencies, but come to rely on each other through adolescence. As they mature, both are forced to confront their feelings for the men they knew as boys.

Somewhere between the tangle of good memories and bad, independence and addiction, optimism and despair, the intertwined destinies of the new generation finally collide, leaving some stronger, others broken, but none unscathed.

As a chronicle of three families navigating the minefields of teen years into the turbulence of young adulthood, Good Faith holds up a literary mirror to contemporary life with joys and temptations unflinchingly reflected. Its fresh, real-life voice portrays the sheer volatility of human nature, complete with the hopes, dreams, and unexpected setbacks of marriage, parenthood and “coming of age.”

Enjoy an excerpt:

That morning his father had roused him from a sound sleep. He’d blinked, confused, by the angle of the sunlight. He rarely slept much past eight since he usually had some sort of training or the other.

“Let’s go son. Time for lunch.”

Brandis had dragged himself up, his limbs feeling like they weighed a thousand pounds each. His brain buzzed with a strange sort of energy, his typical state, and not at all welcome considering it normally didn’t hit him until later in the day. The conversation his father began as soon as they were seated at their usual diner did not help.

“So, listen, Brandis. These girls…Katie’s friends from college….”

Brandis sipped his ice water, waiting for his father to finish the thought. His heart pounded, and his face flushed hot with embarrassment.

Jack sighed, as if exasperated that Brandis didn’t pick up the thread on his own, leaving him to carry on with the awkwardness about to ensue. Then he leveled his gaze, his face open, not angry or judgmental. “I think that you may be in for some…I mean, they’re…shit.”

“If you are gonna tell me where babies come from again,” Brandis said, after deciding to ease his father’s obvious distress. He cocked an eyebrow and half a smile. Jack seemed to relax somewhat as Brandis continued. “Don’t bother. I already know.”

He flashed his brightest smile up at the middle-aged woman who stood at their table, coffee pot in hand. She blinked rapidly at him, and at that precise moment, Brandis got his first flash of…something…about his power. Up until now he’d merely been “Brandis the trouble maker, the causer of strife.” Suddenly, he felt strong, amazingly so, stronger than even the man sitting across from him, a taller, older version of himself. His body tingled all over, as he tested the smile out again on the woman, making her slop some coffee out onto the table. His father frowned, but then chuckled as the woman walked away after they gave their orders.

“Son,” he said, leaning back and cradling the coffee mug to his chest. “Your adventure has only just begun.”

“Huh?” Brandis picked up his cup but didn’t drink any. He hated coffee, but had ordered it in a burst of need to be more like Jack. As he sipped the bitter stuff, he was transported back years before when he and his dad would spend every single Saturday morning together, eating breakfast at this very diner. He had adored the man, he remembered distinctly. His chest hurt at the simplicity of their relationship then. He looked away from Jack’s deep blue, knowing gaze.

The subject changed of its own accord, and Brandis let it. Although part of him wanted to ask for advice, a much bigger part would not allow the words past his lips.

They ate, discussing the upcoming football season and Brandis’ part in it. The recruiting company Jack had contracted last year to video his every move would start up with the first game. He’d made varsity again, technically as backup quarterback to a senior boy. Brandis didn’t see this as a setback and had every intention of starting under center by the second or third game.

Finally, when they pushed their empty plates back and sat looking at each other, Brandis felt more comfortable in his father’s presence than he had been in a long time. Jack said, “I am pretty sure at least one of those girls sleeping in the basement is determined to change the status of your virginity for you probably as soon as tonight.”

Brandis choked on the last sip of lukewarm coffee. His face burned, and his body tingled again. “I’m…it’s…uh….” He clutched the napkin in his lap unable to meet his father’s eyes.

“No need to say anything. Let’s just say your mother is an astute reader of female intent. While I was busy admiring your sister’s friend’s ass, she apparently read the girl’s mind or something.” Brandis’ face flushed even hotter.

He resisted the urge to protest, to proclaim his innocence of such things. Because he wanted it back—those mornings between them, father and son, man and boy, not this awkward, man and almost-man bullshit. Because while the thought of one of his sister’s college friends popping his cherry remained a pleasant fantasy, it also made him feel older than he wanted to be right then.

“So, I bought a box of condoms this morning,” Jack went on. “Put some downstairs in the side table drawer and the rest in your room. Use them please.” He sipped the last of his coffee, looked as if he were about to get up, then leaned forward, touching Brandis’ wrist. “Have fun. Don’t be an asshole to women. Let every experience teach you…something. Because you are nothing as a man if you don’t learn from every woman you…love.” Jack looked out the window onto the nearly empty parking lot. Then he turned back, tightened his grip on his son’s arm. “God, you are so…young.” His face fell a moment, then he perked up again, his eyes twinkling. “Okay, so, your mother told me to tell you not to let them corrupt you. But all I’m gonna say is this: always wear protection, no matter what, no matter how much you don’t want to. And don’t let your mom catch you in the act. I’ll handle her otherwise.”

Then he let go, stood and smiled, draping a friendly arm around Brandis’ shoulders as they exited the restaurant.

“You really didn’t tell me you were admiring Katie’s friend’s ass, did you, Dad?”

“No, son. I most certainly did not. You obviously misheard me.” Jack winked as he stood by the passenger’s side of his classic Corvette convertible and tossed the keys to Brandis. “Remember what I told you. Don’t ride my clutch.”

About the Author:

Amazon best-selling author, beer blogger and beer marketing expert, mom of three, and soccer fan, Liz Crowe lives Ann Arbor. She has decades of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as a three-continent, ex-pat trailing spouse.

Her early forays into the publishing world led to a groundbreaking fiction subgenre, “Romance for Real Life,” which has gained thousands of fans and followers interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”). More recently she is garnering even more fans across genres with her latest novels, which are more character-driven fiction, while remaining very much “real life.”

With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, in successful real estate offices and at times in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are unique and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, frustrate and linger in the imagination long after the book is finished.

www.lizcrowe.com
www.brewingpasssion.com
www.facebook.com/lizcroweauthor
www.facebook.com/groups/lizcrowefans
www.twitter.com/beerwencha2
www.a2beerwench.com
www.amazon.com/Liz-Crowe/e/B00573TC7M

Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes

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