Historical Biography of Love Against all Odds

Flowers and Stones

By Jan Sikes

Jan Sike’s debut historical romance is based on the true story of a turbulent year of her life in the early 70’s. The author’s talent in making a memoir read like a fiction novel is phenomenal. Author Sike’s has an innate talent as a storyteller, bringing the reader into her story and making one feel her emotions.

Nineteen year old Darlina Flowers leaves home to work in a factory in Texas by day and a go go dancer in a bar at night. This is where she meets the up and coming country western singer, Luke Stone, who is thirty-six. Her naivety and his cavalier worldly ways crackle like lightning in a fast moving summer storm. Luke comes with a lot of baggage; Darlina dreams of romance. Yet they are drawn to each other in a love that surpasses good sense and serious obstacles. Their love is made magical by their differences, like a modern day ‘Beauty and the Beast.’

While the story is action-packed and paces fast, it is also redundant at times, which could be avoided by using a bigger variety of adjectives and dialogue. Darlina and Luke live in a time of booze, pot, drugs and ménage a’ trios sex, which makes Luke seem jaded next to the more innocent and pristine Darlina. Love is the one constant throughout the book, withstanding all 

obstacles including jail time for Luke. In order to avoid spoilers, it is sufficient to note that this book is highly recommended and won’t disappoint. Those caught up in this amazing love story will want to read the next book in the series, ‘The Convict and the Rose,’ followed by ‘Home at last.’

 

Micki Peluso, author of . . . And the Whippoorwill Sang

PURE TRASH (Historical Fiction) by Bette A. Stevens #FREE eBook through July 1, 2017

A prequel to the idely acclaimed Dog Bone Soup. Both 5 star books!!

Bette A. Stevens, Maine Author

PURE TRASH (Historical Fiction) by Bette A. Stevens

#FREE eBook June 27 through July 1, 2017
Grab a copy of this must-read prequel to the author’s novel DOG BONE SOUP today at Your Amazonhttp://amzn.to/1T5tMAZ today!

From the Reviews

Pure Trash—A Nostalgic Gem!

“A nostalgic gem – I was swept away from the first paragraph and thoroughly enjoyed this skillfully written short story. This author knows how to paint mind-pictures and flavour them with taste, smell, and sound.” ~WJ Scott, Children’s Author, Fairy Dust.

A Compelling Story

“Having read Dog Bone Soup from which this short story was drawn, I figured it would be a review of what I already read. I must say it was, but to a greater degree, this short story caused me to focus on the message. Two boys, Shawn and Willie, were children of dirt-poor parents. The story covers the day that the boys are…

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DOG BONE SOUP (Historical Fiction/age 11-adult) by Bette A. Stevens– ONLY 99¢ thru June 30

Captivating piece of Americana

Bette A. Stevens, Maine Author

Book Promo – DOG BONE SOUP by Bette A. Stevens – ONLY 99¢ / 99p for a Limited Time

True-to-life Americana

“DOG BONE SOUP is a fascinating literary study of poverty and family dysfunction in the 1950s  & 1960s. It is written in a fast-flowing, entertaining style that kept my turning pages, one after another.

“Despite the odds stacked against them, two brothers—Shawn Daniels and Willie—manage to survive, escaping the rants of a drunken abusive father and the hardships of rural life, cutting out on daily adventures and misadventures to the likes of Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry. DOG BONE SOUP is about making the best of what you have. It’s a story about survival, struggle, and the human spirit—rising above it all. As with all great literature, it is underscored with life lessons particularly memorable to this generation…” –Frank Scozzari, author

Grab a copy today!

DOG BONE SOUP by…

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Help a robot girl out

What a great idea!!

Entertaining Stories

Lisa Burton Radio exists to help authors promote their books to a new audience. This spot has worked well for over a year now, but we need guests to keep it going. Here is a little data about how it works, and some past posts to browse to see what you’re getting into.

Tell your friends, maybe one of them needs a place to post.

Drop me a line at coldhand (dot) boyack (at) gmail (dot) com. Let Lisa promote your books for you.

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#RRBC, It’s Time to #Pay It Forward! @VashtiQV

Watch Nonnie Write!

Hello, all!  Today is PAY IT FORWARD Day at RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB (RRBC) and I’m supporting one of our newest members, Vashti Q!  (I just love that name, by the way).  Since Vashti is a new member here, we haven’t really gotten to know one another well enough for me to speak on her on my own, so, why don’t I let Vashti tell you about Vashti. I mean, she is the Vashti expert, wouldn’t you agree?  I think you’ll find that Vashti is more than just a pretty face.

IN HER OWN WORDS:

Hello! My name is Vashti Quiroz-Vega. I know, my name is a mouthful, but if you can learn Arnold Schwarzenegger, Saoirse Ronan, Charlize Theron, M. Night Shyamalan, Jean Claude Van Damme, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau––mine will be a snap. ⇒JUST KIDDING!

I share quite a bit about myself on my blog (maybe too much?)…

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In An Attempt To Make Myself Relevant I Have Written An Essay

Great humorous essay

Tara Sparling writes

Overly Explanatory Introduction: I’ve been experimenting lately with the essay form, because hashtag millennial, zeitgeist, modernity, youth, the internet, etcetera ad infinitum lorem ipsum expelliarmus. 

All the young people are doing it, you see. I’ve long wondered about the trend for personal essays (except when it comes to David Sedaris, who makes all of the sense) so I thought I’d experiment by trying to write a short essay which was perhaps humorous, but not necessarily that personal. There are only so many tales I can stomach of crippling personal grief or embarrassment on the road to personal revelation (leading, most probably, to further crippling personal grief or embarrassment), so I have no wish to add to them.

Also, this summer I will be experimenting with not constantly giving out on this blog about things I possibly don’t really understand which might possibly create embarrassment in my future. And that’s about as personal as I’m going to get.

So…

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ANOTHER FATHER’S DAY—PLEASE–NO MORE TIES!

Origin of Father’s Day, past and present celebrations.

Dad’s Delight: Another Father’s Day,  not Another Tie

Fathers always seem to get second billing. Father’s Day follows Mother’s Day, and even Children’s Day, although no one takes Children’s Day seriously except the children. Mother’s Day usually means breakfast in bed (a dubious honor), flowers cards and gifts.

Fathers, on their designated day, get ties; hideous dated ties that store owners save up all year and then offer on sale to unsuspecting children. Wives are apt to acknowledge their husbands fulfillment of fatherhood by buying them tools to fix things around the house, then letting them foot the bill. 21th century fathers would much prefer a variety of I-gadgets.

If it weren’t for Mrs. John Bruce Dodd of Spokane, Washington fathers might still be a forgotten entity. Dodd suggested venerating fathers to Rev. Conrad Bluhm, president of the Spokane Ministerial Association as a suitable tribute to her own father, who, upon the death of his wife, successfully raised his children.

Her proposal was approved by the Association; the first celebration took place on June 19, 1910 in Spokane. Although the rose is recognized today as the official flower for Father’s Day it was originally a lowly dandelion because “the more it is trampled on, the more it grows.” This tongue-in-cheek suggestion reflected the inequality of parenting. Motherhood was revered next to godhood; fatherhood, in this respect, was compared to a common weed.

In 1911, the observance of Father’s Day in Chicago came as a novel idea. Jane Addams, the famous social worker, approved the concept, saying “Poor father has been left out in the cold . . . But regardless of his breadwinning proclivities it would be a good thing if he had a day that would mean recognition of him.” Pres. Calvin Coolidge, in 1924, expressed his approval of the idea as he wrote, “As I have indicated heretofore, the widespread observance of this occasion is calculated to establish more intimate relationships between fathers and their children, and also to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations.”

Fathers of the 21st century participate more in the daily care of their children. In some instances it is voluntary, in others it is necessitated by both parents working, causing the workload and pleasure of childrearing to be shared. Feminist pressure has helped to release the male from stereotyped thought and behavior, making nuclear families more a cooperative than a monarchy.

Before there was widespread observation of this holiday, different sectors of the country celebrated independently in different ways, even different years. The tradition eventually spread throughout most of the Americas and parts of Europe and Asia. A general agreement was settled upon on June 16, 1946, more than 30 years after Mrs. Dodds suggestion. Fathers finally got their day

Both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day have become “Hallmark Holidays’’ and while florists and confectioners flourish on the second Sunday in May, haberdasher’s profit on the third Sunday in June. Commercialism aside, it seems right and fitting that on at least one day of the year fathers receive recognition and tribute from the children who bear their names, their legacies and their love. And what father can’t use another tie?

“Father! To God himself we could not give a holier name”— William Wordsworth