Lorena Junco Margain grew up in Monterrey, Mexico, but was privileged to travel and study abroad. She married a Mexican national of similar status. Family (including extended family) and tradition were important in their lives. They lived in Austin, TX, with Lorena’s husband commuting to Mexico for work during the week. (By the end of the book she and her husband become American citizens.)
Lorena writes eloquently of the non-specific malaise that sent her to several doctors. The closest she got to a diagnosis was postpartum depression until she accompanied her sister on a follow-up visit for thyroid cancer surgery. Because of her sister’s medical history, the doctor suggested Lorena undergo testing as well. A tumor on her right adrenal gland was discovered. She went to the same surgeon who repaired a hernia after her youngest child was born.
After surgery, Lorena felt worse but everyone told her she just needed time to recover. Four weeks later, she collapsed in the Red Lobster parking lot and was rushed to the hospital. They discovered a tumor on her right adrenal gland. Lorena thought she was suffering a repeat of what she had just been treated for, only on the other side. It wasn’t until her doctor called her with the news that he had removed the wrong, healthy adrenal gland that she realized what was happening.
Lorena’s foundational belief system was an amalgamation of the Catholicism with which she was raised, new age philosophy, and a smattering of Eastern religion. First, she focused on getting out of the health crisis she had been plunged into, then she debated whether she should bring a malpractice suit against the surgeon.
It was the worst of circumstances, and the error could not be undone. In Lorena’s words, “…the surgeon made a catastrophic mistake, destroyed my health, and left me with a lifetime of medical issues that can never be fully resolved and will likely take years off my life.”
I’ll let you read her book to find out her decision on the lawsuit, but the bottom line is her choice to forgive the surgeon.
Lorena had a strong family support system and she was educated and wealthy. She will always suffer the effects of the surgeon’s mistake, but she is choosing to be positive about the situation. I wonder if a low-income and poorly educated woman without a strong support system were in the same situation, could they choose the positivity, choose to forgive?
Thanks for the arc, @NetGalley!

#paidlink #NetGalley #OntheWaytoCasaLotus #CucoPress #forgiveness #malpractice #adrenalgland @ljuncomargain

Florence Flamingo Visits Dinosaur Land

Characters from the first two books in this series, Adventures in Dinosaur Land and Florence the Fashionable Flamingo, come together to learn a lesson about diversity. Eddie Dinosaur sees that Florence Flamingo differs from dinosaurs or people and tells her he doesn’t want to play with her.

Key Concepts include diversity, feelings, being sorry, apologies, forgiveness, acceptance, make-believe, and aspirations.

There is an element of fantasy in this story with humans playing with a flamingo and a dinosaur; animals that think, talk, travel, and have feelings; and the characters pretending to have various occupations.

This book is appropriate for both boys and girls; and for children who are learning about diversity and the other above mentioned Key Concepts.

Key Vocabulary Words

(Does not include vocabulary from the previous two books in this series.)

Amazing

Astronaut

Backpack

Badge

Blue

Captain

Crying

Different

Feelings

Forgive/Forgave

Glasses

Gloves

Goodbye

Hats

Home

Horse

Human

Legs

Librarian

Masks

Mean

Microscope

Packed

Sad

School

Scientist

Sheriff

Ship

Shoes

Skinny

Sorry

Space Suit

Spots

Stout

Student

Test Tubes

Trip

Visit

Wonderful

BONUS: There’s a small butterfly on each page. Can you find it?

Discussion Topics

How did Florence feel when Eddie and Hudson said she was different from them?

Do you play with people who are different from you?

People who are different from us can show us new things. What did Florence bring to play with?

Have you ever asked someone to forgive you when you have been mean?

What do you imagine when you play make-believe?

What do you want to do when you grow up? You can do anything!

#paidlink #BethBirdBooks

A Character like Aunt Perdie by Ann H. Gabhart

In the process of writing and publishing thirty-seven novels, I’ve come up with a truckload of characters. A big truckload. Each book has two or three major characters, several secondary characters and who knows how many characters that walk on stage for a few scenes or perhaps only a brief mention.

As the author and creator of those characters, I get to bring them to life through their thoughts and actions. The major characters get the most author treatment since the success of a story depends on the reader wanting to know what happens next with those story people. But the secondary characters add much to the stories too, and I love it when some interesting folks show up to help my story along.

Getting to know those additional characters is sort of like getting to know one’s extended family or friend circle. The same as any of us, characters have those extra people in their lives too. In many of my books, especially those I’ve published in the inspirational market, an older character with plenty of commonsense wisdom shows up to help my characters navigate their story trails.

In my Heart of Hollyhill books, Scent of Lilacs, Orchard of Hope, and Summer of Joy, Wes is an uncle/grandfather figure to my young character, Jocie. Aunt Hattie and Graham serve that same purpose for Kate in the Rosey Corner stories, Angel Sister, Small Town Girl, and Love Comes Home. Aunt Lindy is the character who keeps things on track for my deputy sheriff, Michael, in my Hidden Springs mysteries. Granny Em shares mountain wisdom with Fran in These Healing Hills.

In my current release, Along a Storied Trail, Perdita Sweet is that older character with a lot to say. She’s a little different from the other characters I mentioned in that she gets her turn to grab the story reins and share what’s happening from her viewpoint as she interacts with my packhorse librarian, Tansy Calhoun, and other characters. I really enjoyed jumping into Perdita’s skin whenever it was her time to step up as the main character on the story stage. She came to life with the first word I typed from her viewpoint.

Perdita is a contrary old mountain woman but at the same time she believes in the Lord and has always been ever ready to send up prayers of praise or for help. One of her promises to the Lord is that she will try to be less contrary. Not an easy task for Perdita. Everybody calls her Aunt Perdie even though, as she crankily points out, she is not an actual aunt to any of them. And it is easy to believe that plenty of Aunt Perdie stories circulate among the mountain folks.

As one of my other characters, Caleb says, once you meet Aunt Perdie, you aren’t likely to forget her. I sort of hope that’s true with those who pick up my book, Along a Storied Trail, and share her story.

Here’s a little extra about Aunt Perdie’s Christmas (https://www.annhgabhart.com/2020/12/23/christmas-with-perdita-sweet-from-along-a-storied-trail/ before the story starts in January if you’d like to see more about her.

Do you think characters like Aunt Perdie are fun to get to know in stories?

ANN H. GABHART has been called a storyteller, She’s lived up to the title with thirty-seven books published and more stories on the way. Ann likes wrapping her stories around interesting historical times and events in her home state of Kentucky. Her Shakers books, The Refuge, The Outsider and others are popular with readers. She’s headed to the Appalachian Mountains for These Healing Hills, An Appalachian Summer, and now Along a Storied Trail. She’s mined her family history for Angel Sister and Scent of Lilacs, found a feel good story, River to Redemption, set during the 1833 cholera epidemic in Springfield, Kentucky, and more. Even her cozy mysteries under the author name A.H. Gabhart take place in the little town of Hidden Springs, Kentucky. Ann keeps her keyboard warm out on her farm where she likes walking with her dogs or discovering the wonders of nature with her nine grandchildren. To find out more about Ann and her books visit www.annhgabhart.com.

#AlongAStoriedTrail #christianfiction

@RevellBooks @AnnHGabhart

Coming in October – Pre-Order Now

Philip Yancey grew up in a religiously strict, fundamentalist home, raised by a single mother. Philip’s parents planned to be missionaries to Africa. While his parents prepared for the mission field, Philip and his brother Marshall were born. At age 23, Philip’s father developed polio and an iron lung took over his breathing. Not wanting a life of being paralyzed, Philip’s father checked himself out of the hospital against medical advice, and left the life-saving iron lung. Philip’s parents proclaimed God would heal him. He died two weeks later.

Comparing herself to Hannah, the mother of Samuel in the Bible, Philip’s mother dedicated her young sons to be missionaries to Africa, while prone upon her husband’s fresh grave.

The family struggled financially, living near Atlanta well below the poverty line. Philip’s maternal grandparents will not help, and this provides a clue to Philip’s mother’s harshness. Philip’s mother is moody, and a rift opens between her and her sons. Marshall and his mother never overcome this divide.

Philip explores the racism taught to him in church and in school, racism endemic to the Bible Belt and white southern culture. I didn’t grow up as far south as Philip, but I can easily relate to the same inculcation of injustice and easy use of the n-word.

Both boys are bright, even exceptional. One after the other they go off to Bible College in South Carolina. The college has sixty-some rules, and the atmosphere there seems like an extension of their legalistic church and home life. Marshall responds by turning from God, endeavoring to break every rule the school has.

Philip has a similar crisis of faith, yet in his skepticism God meets him in a life-changing encounter. This is where the light fell. Philip’s description of that event is one of the book’s highlights for me.

Marshall and Philip’s paths continued to diverge. Philip becomes a writer, well-known in Christian circles, while Marshall indulges in the excesses of the world and eschews belief in God. Philip contemplates how brothers raised in the same environment can come to such different lives.

If you’ve read any of Philip’s books, you’ll enjoy getting to know the man behind them.

@philipyancey #memoir

I like to shoot and fish, so you may think I’m not very girly-girl, but I still like this pink Zebco Roam rod and spinning reel combo.

The 2-piece rod is sturdy and easy to assemble to comprise its 6’6″ length. This long rod means a longer reach and a potentially longer cast.

You won’t pay a lot for this combo, but you may have some blemishes. The finish on the fiberglass blanks is shiny and bright pink. The top section on my rod has a nick in the finish. It is also easy to see (and feel) the underlying ridges of the scrim.

The wraps on the guides are black, with no accent threads, and covered with epoxy. All the single-foot guides have what are probably ceramic inserts so the line can move unimpeded. These will last longer than simple wire guides.

The action is moderate/fast with medium power. This will allow you to put more “upmh” in your cast, but may not be quite as sensitive in transferring the feel of the strike.

The grip is comfortable and made of molded rubber and EVA foam. The foam butt is comfortable to rest on your midsection. The down-locking reel seat holds the reel securely.

The reel is pre-spooled with 10 lb line, and like several other Zebco spinning reels I’ve used, I had to discard a few yards of excess line to prevent snarls. The retrieve is easily changed from left to right.

The gears are all-metal, and the gear ratio is 5.2:1. The spinning reel operates smoothly.

If you are looking for a sturdy rod and reel combo with a girly finish, the Zebco Roam should meet your expectations.

@ZebcoFishing #WomenFishers #paidlink #gooutdoors

Summer of Joy is the third book in the Hollyhill Series trilogy by Ann Gabhart. The principal character of the series is Jocie Brooke, a young teen in 1964 small-town Kentucky. Her single dad is bi-vocational, working as a newspaper editor and a minister. But Jocie’s world includes lots of characters, as you would come to know in most small towns: a busy-body gossip, Jocie’s adopted grandfather who tells fanciful stories of being from Jupiter, a jealous and mentally unbalanced teacher, Jocie’s mother who abandoned her, Jocie’s sister who is the mother of a bi-racial child, a caring woman who could become Jocie’s stepmother, and the other people who become the mortar to the bricks of our existence.

Will Jocie’s dad get up the courage to propose to a younger woman? Will the busy-body’s interference drive away Jocie’s adopted grandfather? Will Jocie make peace with not being loved by her mother? Will the town accept her unwed sister’s half-black child? Will Jocie’s teacher fail her out of spite? Will God make a way of escape when Jocie’s life is endangered?

There’s plenty going on in Hollyhill, and Gabhart spins a story with comfortable familiarity told from a Christian perspective. The audiobook is a treat, with Gabhart as the narrator.

If you enjoy clean romance and drama, Summer of Joy will meet your expectations. I enjoyed it so much that I’m now looking forward to the first two books in the series, Scent of Lilacs and Orchard of Hope.

@AnnHGabhart @RevellBooks #SummerofJoy #paidlink #Christianfiction

Until a few years ago the consensus among rod builders and rod handlers was that ferrules, the connections where the sections of a rod slide together, produced a dead spot in the transference of energy during the cast.

Then lighter and more durable materials, along with improved tapers, virtually eliminated this problem. This is especially true in fly-fishing, where the cast is elevated to an art form.

The better materials and more powerful tapers, along with the ease of transporting a telescoping or multi-sectioned rod, made these the rods of choice for most fishers across the board.

Still, anglers who sought larger game, and those who relied less on the cast itself in fishing, often preferred the single-piece rod for its toughness. For this reason you can find a one-piece rod when that is your choice.

Zebco offers a Quantum RNGC561MB.PB2 Rhino one-piece rod in 5’6”, 6’, and 6’6”.

I recently paired this six and a half foot rod with the iconic Zebco 33 spincast reel. The Zebco 33 features all-metal gears, a 4.1:1 gear ratio, thumb-dial adjustment drag, “Quickset anti-reverse”, and a bite alert. I had high hopes the bite alert would let me know a big catfish had taken my bait. The Zebco 33 comes pre-spooled with 120 yards of 10 pound line.

While stringing my rod for the first time, I noticed some slight imperfections or perhaps damage to the blank between the second and third guides from the top. (See picture.) If this were a high dollar rod, I would not tolerate any defects. A blemish on a $30 rod didn’t upset me. The copy on the product page says: Zebco Rhino rods are warranted for a period of ten (10) years from date of original retail purchase against defects in workmanship and/or materials.

Red wraps with silver accents compliment the dark gray matte finish of the blank.

The baffling description calls the rod a glow tip. It does not glow.

The down-locking ring on the reel seat held my reel securely.

The EVA handle has no butt cap, just more EVA foam. I expect this will become dirty and ragged as I rest my rod on the butt.

I was pleased with the casting performance of the rod and reel. My dough ball bait sailed far out to the deep water. Unfortunately, this fishing trip only yielded a couple bumps to my bait, and they weren’t strong enough for me to set the hook. I wasn’t able to test the strength of the rod by reeling in a heavy cat this time, but I’m sure my Zebco Rhino will see plenty of action in the future.

I have an affiliate association with Amazon and may benefit from purchases made through outbound links.

https://amzn.to/2P5n7wj

#ZebcoRhino #Zebco33 #onepiecerod #zebcofishing @ZebcoFishing

Vesper is defined as an evening prayer, and I find it fitting that the MoonShine Rod Company named one of their newer (2020) rod offerings the Vesper Series. How many times have I whispered a prayer in the fading light, asking for a strike as I make just one more cast?

I ordered the 9 foot 10 wt. “High Modulus, Nano Matrix Carbon Fiber” graphite Vesper because until now, my arsenal of fly rods topped out at 9 wt. I live on a land-locked lake where striped bass swim. Most folks don’t stalk these stripers with fly rods, but now I believe I have the gear for the challenge.

One of the first things you notice about this rod is the extra tip. Often rod damage occurs on the tip section, and MoonShine includes a second tip with new rods at no additional charge, in the five-slot rod sock. MoonShine’s Lifetime Warranty involves a fee, which is $55 for the Vesper. This compares favorably with rod repair fees across the industry.

Aesthetically, the Vesper gives off a formidable vibe with a matte finish of deep dark blue-gray, bright copper-colored accents on the wraps, and small orange alignment dots. Vesper rods 6 wt. and below have a tiger wood reel seat insert, while the 7-10 wt. rods have a “salt ready” aluminum reel seat. My reel remained securely in place, tightened with two up-locking rings.

The 10 wt. Vesper has a white lightning bolt opposite the reel seat, appropriate for a company named MoonShine. (I also appreciate their tagline, “Small Batch Fly Rods”.) The AAAA grade cork is two-toned, darker at each end of the grip and on the end of the fighting butt. Imprinted on the bottom of the butt is a lightning bolt between an M and an R.

No guides are on the butt section, but in what may be an anomaly among saltwater rods, the 10 wt. Vesper has a hook-keeper. The stripping guides are titanium frames with what appear to be ceramic inserts. The snake guides are wire with a single foot.

As you might expect, the 10 wt. Vesper is a fast action rod. That means it is stiff, and can potentially develop a higher line speed. This is helpful when you need to cast farther, punch through the wind, and throw bigger flies.

So how does it perform? The rod feels lightweight and powerful. I paired it with a 9 wt. front-tapered line and laid down a 50-foot cast with ease. I’m quite pleased to find a rod of this caliber at the $450 price point.

I was a little disappointed to learn the Vesper is made in Korea. I was under the mistaken impression that MoonShine’s high-end rods are assembled in the US (right in my home state of Virginia) using mostly outsourced materials. MoonShine’s website makes the case that regardless of where the rod is assembled they keep a close eye on quality control, and their motivating factor is offering a quality rod at an affordable price.

I don’t think you can go wrong with the Vesper if you are looking for a fly rod that performs like a more expensive rod from the long-established rod companies, has a lifetime no-fault warranty, and comes in under $500.

As for my striper hunt, I’ll use my Vesper and whisper a little prayer.

@moonshinerods @moonshineUSA

#moonshinerodcompany #whitelightning #moonshinevesper #flyfishing #striperfishing #rodreview #flyrod

I have an affiliate relationship with Amazon and may benefit from outbound links. https://amzn.to/3uPe3w8

In Star Rising, Janet W. Ferguson writes about a young woman making the hard, correct choices which are exemplary of living the Christian life. Temptations aren’t discounted. Hurts aren’t glossed over. Romantic tension courses through the pages.
Just about anyone can relate to the characters in this Christian romance. Have you gotten mad at God because you think life’s circumstances turned on you? Or are you coming out of a rough time or place and clinging to God just to make it? Perhaps you are feeling the effects of age or disease, but you still have a lot to offer?
In Star Rising, Janet W. Ferguson shows God doing what he does best: mending the hearts and lives of broken people. This book has a decidedly hopeful tone, but it isn’t a fairy tale. The characters encounter real-life problems, and things don’t always work out the way we might expect.
If you like a good clean romance with a flair of Irish, Star Rising fits the bill.

#IrishRomance #ChristianRomance #cleanromance #CostalHearts #bookreview #paidlink @JanetwFerguson

Author Judy Batalion grew up in Canada and was educated in northeastern United States, but it wasn’t until she was living and working in London that she felt a pervasive rejection of her Jewish-ness. Her ethnicity and religion seemed offensive to those around her.

This set Batalion on a research quest to discover strong Jewish female role models. She stumbled across a book in Yiddish about Jewish women resistance workers in Poland during World War II. Some of the women actually fought alongside their male counterparts with guns, knives, and any other weapon they could obtain or make. They helped to organize and carry out the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Some of these brave women naturally ascended to strategic and leadership positions in these underground cells, but the majority worked as curriers. This was possible especially if their looks did not betray their ethnicity. The women were better suited for this role than men, who were often challenged to prove they weren’t Jewish by revealing a lack of circumcision.

Jewish males were frequently given the costly traditional Hebrew education, while girls were publicly schooled with Catholic and Christian girls. This helped the Jewish girls more easily assimilate into society as a non-Jew, having already experienced the culture and customs of non-Jews.

Even so it was dangerous work, and many died when their true identity was discovered. Some were shot or hung. Others perished in work camps or extermination camps. Torture of political prisoners was especially brutal.

This can be a hard book to read – emotionally – especially with the backdrop of America’s current upheaval. It isn’t easy to read about murder, starvation, betrayal, rape, brutality, torture, and the unabashed evil that perpetuated it. Sometimes hard truths have to be taken in smaller bites. I consumed this book in three-days-time and it has affected me powerfully.

Thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC of The Light of Days for review.

#TheLightofDays #NetGalley #ResistanceMovement #JewishWomen #paidlink @JudyBatalion

I have an affiliate relationship with Amazon and may benefit from sales from outbound links.