Blog Tour and Giveaway: Immortal Abyss (Duology Book 2) by Katherine Briggs

About the Book

Book: Immortal Abyss (Duology Book 2)

Author: Katherine Briggs

Genre: YA Fantasy

Release date: September 17, 2024

Seize the throne. Seek the legend and conquer the Abyss.

Nations rise and fall in the aftermath of war over the Eternity Gate. The corrupted desert throne stands empty, and the Immortal Abyss awakens. Drought ravages the continent, and people long for the rebirth of a starpalm, who will rise from among mortals and end their judgment.

Orphaned at birth, Tol grew up hiding in the farthest corners of the desert, training under powerful rebel fire wielders. She now dedicates her life to the Rebellion’s cause to seize the throne and Abyss from the surviving dynasty and deliver both to the coming deity.

Chosen as the Rebellion’s messenger, she travels to reach sympathizers capable of identifying the starpalm. Familiar figures haunt her dreams, and her path twists with every step she takes. Can Tol fulfill her purpose and summon a legend? Or will her country perish under the judgment of the twin gates?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Katherine Briggs crafted her first monster story at age three. Since graduating from crayons to laptop, she continues to devour and weave fantasy tales while enjoying chai tea. She, her coadventurer husband, and rescue dog reside outside Houston, where she classically educates amazing middle school students, teaches ESL to adults, and enjoys studying other languages.

 

 

 

 

More from Katherine

Hello friend!

Have you ever felt like no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t overcome something difficult in your life? Maybe it was a bad habit you wanted to outgrow, a closed door you wished to open, or a choice you needed to make.

Within God’s will, Jesus in Matthew 19:26 says, “With God, all things are possible.” (ESV)

This is why I wrote The Immortal Abyss. Like you, I have felt stuck in my limitations and circumstances. My protagonist Tol, an orphan, strives to carve a new life for herself by joining a rebellion and bringing reform to her corrupted country. But how can she serve her cause if she can’t overcome her weakness in her fire gifting?

Like Tol, we can’t rise above challenges alone. So, what do we do?

• Ask God for help and thank Him for promising to never abandon us.
• Seek friends who will reciprocate spurring one another on to persevere.
• Remain focused on our purpose.

If you’re looking for an adventure fantasy that will encourage you to never give up on what is good, please enjoy The Immortal Abyss, sequel to The Eternity Gate and conclusion to The Threshold Duology.

Cheers to journeying across forbidden lands, meeting new friends, taming dragons, and overcoming the impossible!

~ Katherine Briggs

P.S. If this encouraged you, please join my story newsletter by visiting my website. As a welcome gift, you also will receive my science fiction and fantasy short story collection, Experiments and Enchantment.

Blog Stops

The Lofty Pages, September 28

Artistic Nobody, September 29 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, September 29

Locks, Hooks and Books, September 30

Inspired by Fiction, October 1

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 2

A Reader’s Brain, October 3 (Author Interview)

Simple Harvest Reads, October 4 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, October 5

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, October 6 (Author Interview)

Blossoms and Blessings, October 7 (Author Interview)

Min Reads and Reviews, October 7

Inklings and notions, October 8

Fiction Book Lover, October 9 (Author Interview)

Guild Master, October 10 (Author Interview)

Simple Harvest Reads, October 11 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Katherine is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon card and a hardcover copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf5451/

My Review

The Immortal Abyss continues The Threshold Duology by Katherine Briggs. I enjoyed the first book from the series, The Eternity Gate, and was looking forward to seeing what happens next. I found this tale offered readers hope with lots of action, twists and turns. As someone that is not a big fantasy fan, I was surprised at how quickly I was able to immerse myself in this one. I thought it was a pretty good book to read.

I am giving The Immortal Abyss four and a half stars. I recommend it for readers who enjoy reading clean fantasy fiction. I am interested in reading more books from Katherine Briggs and seeing what she has in store with her characters. 

I received a digital copy of Katherine Briggs’ The Immortal Abyss from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.

Blog Tour and Giveaway: A Season for Grace (Briar Creek Love Book 3) by Stacy T Simmons

About the Book

Book: A Season For Grace (Briar Creek Love Book 3)

Author: Stacy T. Simmons

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release date: August 20, 2024

How much love does it take to melt an icy heart?

Grace Fuller has dreamed of being a writer for as long as she can remember. As the deadline for submitting her first novel looms, she has six months to finish and won’t let anything stand in her way. Renting a cabin nestled in the mountains of Briar Creek, North Carolina, Grace plans to buckle down and get to work with no interruptions. Except the young man she once flirted with at her sister’s wedding lives just below her. And he’s distractingly handsome.

Logan Whitlock was captivated by Grace two years ago but let his pride and fear of rejection get in the way of their budding romance. Beneath his imperious façade, the former quarterback and homecoming king is riddled with doubt. How could this beautiful, confident woman love him for who he is, apart from the trappings of the Whitlock wealth and privilege?

Love can conquer many things, but a cold heart unmended and unmelted is harder to break open than even a diamond.

How will Grace chip away Logan’s icy exterior and melt his heart instead of just being another glossy page in the book of his life?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Stacy T. Simmons wrote uplifting fiction that delights the reader’s romantic sensibilities. Her thirty-four years of marital bliss was a great contributor. She was a mom of two grown children, and she loved her menagerie of pets she liked to call her “Noah’s Ark.” In October of 2022, Stacy was called home to be with the Lord.

 

 

 

 

More from Beth

A Promise for Stacy

My sister, Stacy T. Simmons, was incredibly proud to become a published author. The day her first book, A Promise for Faith, was released was one of the happiest of her life. Stacy didn’t start writing until she turned 50 but once she began pursuing her passion, she was unstoppable!

Her commitment to nurturing and promoting other authors while working full time and writing her novels was a testament to her strong faith and kind heart. Stacy was the sweetest, most thoughtful, loyal, and faithful person I have ever known, and her loss was heart-wrenching. It was only after she passed away that I learned about the tremendous impact this gentle soul had throughout the Christian fiction community.

As Stacy lay on her deathbed after experiencing surgical complications, I promised her two things. First, I would be a second mother to her daughters. Second, I would finish writing the final book in her Briar Creek Love trilogy, which was halfway complete.

What was I thinking? In that agonizing moment, knowing her time on earth was slipping away, I wanted my sister to know that I would look after her most precious loves – her girls and her “book babies.”

The months that followed were a haze and, in my sorrow, it was difficult to even read Stacy’s words, much less try to write in her style. But “fueled by faith and caffeine,” and with the Lord’s unwavering support, I was able to fulfill my promise to Stacy.

A Season for Grace is full of love and laughter and brings the stories of all three Fuller sisters to a close. I hope I’ve done Stacy’s memory justice, and that you enjoy your final visit to Briar Creek!

Blessings,

Beth Collins

Blog Stops

Stories By Gina, September 24 (Spotlight)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 25

Vicky Sluiter, September 26 (Spotlight)

Texas Book-aholic, September 27

Fiction Book Lover, September 28 (Spotlight)

Locks, Hooks and Books, September 29

For the Love of Literature, September 30 (Spotlight)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 1

Artistic Nobody, October 2 (Spotlight)

DevotedToHope, October 2

For Him and My Family, October 3

Guild Master, October 4 (Spotlight)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, October 5

Back Porch Reads, October 6 (Spotlight)

Holly’s Book Corner, October 6

Simple Harvest Reads, October 7 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Giveaway

To celebrate the tour, Beth is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf545 

My Review

A Season for Grace is the third installment from the late talented author, Stacy T Simmons' Briar Creek Love series. I enjoyed the first two books from the series and enjoyed this one so much more. Even though it is part of a series, it can be easily read as a stand alone. It was a pleasure getting to know the main characters, Grace and Logan. They had wonderful chemistry together and found the duo were relatable. A beautiful story of joy and laughter. 

I am giving A Season for Grace five stars. I recommend it for readers who enjoy reading clean contemporary romance. I am sad to say goodbye to the Briar Creek Love series.

I received a digital copy of Stacy T Simmons’ A Season for Grace from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion. 

Review: Dear Hades by Hope Bolinger and Alyssa Roat

Book Details:

Book Title:  DEAR HERO by Alyssa Roat & Hope Bolinger
Category:  YA Fiction (Ages 13-17),  394 pages
Genre:  YA Romance, Greek Myths, Chat Fiction, Humor
Publisher:  Torchflame Books
Release date:  October, 2024
Tour dates: Oct 29 to Nov 19, 2024
Content Rating: PG-13 for MCU-level superhero violence; PG when it comes to language and sexual content (kissing).

Book Description:

There's an app for everything--even meeting a new nemesis.

Up-and-coming teen superhero Cortex is on top of the world—at least, until his villain dumps him. If he’s going to save his reputation, he needs a new villain to fight, and fast. Meanwhile, the villainous Vortex has once again gotten a little overeager and taken out a hero prematurely. Will any young hero be able to keep up with her? Maybe she should work on finding a steady relationship with an enemy she won’t kill in the first round.

Enter Meta-Match, a nemesis pairing site for heroes and villains. The two match right away, and after throwing punches at each other behind coffee shops, practicing their fight choreography, and hiring henchmen to do their bidding (mostly just getting them coffee), they realize they have a lot more in common than names that annoyingly rhyme. After all, they're still rising through the ranks in their respective circles, and their reputations need good press.

But not everything in the superhero world is as it seems. Can a hero really trust a villain to do the right thing? And can a villain trust a hero not to screw them over? As darkness from the past threatens them both, they may need each other for the fight to come—one with much higher stakes than their choreographed meet-ups on weekends.

Told entirely through texts, transcriptions, and direct messages, this darkly humorous chat fiction rom-com goes behind the scenes of the superworld.

BUY THE BOOK:
Torchflame
Amazon ~ B&N
​add to goodreads

Alyssa Roat

Meet the Authors:

Alyssa Roat lives in the cornfields of Indiana, but she hopes to soon discover a portal to a fantasy world where she will run a bookshop for magical creatures. For now, she is an award-winning multi-published author and has worked in a wide variety of roles within the publishing industry as an editor, agent, writer, and publicist. She and her partner have four black cats who allegedly have never been fed in their lives and occasionally help her write by walking across the keyboard. Her name is a pun, which means you can learn more about her at www.alyssawrote.com or on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook as @alyssawrote.

connect with the author: website ~ X/Twitter ~ instagram ~ facebook ~ goodreads

---

Hope Bolinger

Hope Bolinger is the author of more than 25 books, including the award-winning Blaze trilogy, and has contributed to many more. She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of 300+ authors. She has won awards for her essays, poetry, children’s books, novels, and plays. She’s a theater nerd and spends too much time hiking and petting her fat cats, Freya and Odin. She can be found online @hopebolinger and @hopekbolinger.

​

connect with the author: website ~ X/Twitter ~ instagram ~ facebook ~ goodreads

My Review

I have previously had the pleasure of reading Christian fiction and romance that the writing duo, Hope Bolinger and Alyssa Roat, have written. I was instantly curious to see what they young adult series, The Dear Series, was all about. I was not disappointed when I had the opportunity to read Dear Hades. The co authors' have written a fun and entertaining book to read. The format of text messages to tell the story was unique for me. There were a few times I found myself laughing out loud as to what was going on. It was definitely not one that was easy to predict as to what was going to happen next. I enjoyed the interactions between Medusa and Ty. I have to say those two were down right hilarious. I was really pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed their tale.

I am going to give Dear Hades a very well deserved five plus stars. I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy reading young adult fiction and romance novels, particularly those with lots of humor included. I would be interested to see what else occurs from The Dear Series. Alyssa Roat and Hope Bolinger have doubt shown me that they can tackle any genre as a team. I believe this one should not be missed.

I received a digital copy of Roat and Bolinger’s Dear Hades from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion. 

Blog Tour and Giveaway: Ronnie by Jennifer Lynn Cary

About the Book

 

Book: Ronnie

Author: Jennifer Lynn Cary

Genre: Sweet Romcom

Release Date: June 12, 2024

She’s literally stuck in her engagement…

…He’s trying to keep her there.

But when you take the couple out of Texas, is the romance lost too?

Ronnie Webb has broken her engagement to the love of her life, Carlos (Cal) Garcia, or would have if the stupid ring would come off her finger.

To find the space to get over him and the rest of what is going wrong in her life, she leaves her dad’s Texas ranch to visit her aunt and family in Kokomo, Indiana.

But hanging out with the Weather Girls, especially with their cardinal in the sycamore legend sending out strong vibes, Ronnie’s love life may not be as dead as she thinks.

Carlitos can’t believe the letter Ronnie left him right before Christmas—his last one at home before his enlistment starts. However, his broken wrist might just be the break he needs to get Ronnie back before it’s too late.

But what does this native Texan know about mid-western Hoosier romance?

And can he learn, or is this the end?

Ronnie: A Sweet, Quirky Romantic Yarn is book five in the Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue series. Inspired by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’ 1960’s song of the name, this charming tale with a bit of western influence finishes off 1972 and brings you into the New Year in Kokomo, Indiana.

You will enjoy this sweet and wholesome romcom with a touch of western flavor because everyone dreams of their own cowboy romance.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Historical Christian Romance author, Jennifer Lynn Cary, likes to say you can take the girl out of Indiana, but you can’t take the Hoosier out of the girl. Now transplanted to the Arizona desert, this direct descendant of Davy Crockett and her husband of forty plus years enjoy time with family where she shares tales of her small-town heritage and family legacies with their grandchildren. She is the author of The Crockett Chronicles series, The Relentless series, and The Weather Girls trilogy as well as the stand-alone novel, Cheryl’s Going Home, her novella Tales of the Hob Nob Annex Café, and her split-time novels The Traveling Prayer Shawl and The Forgotten Gratitude Journal. Her current spin-off series, The Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue, contains standalones with a common thread.

More from Jennifer

In the first chapter of Ronnie, Carlitos comes home to his mom making his favorite, Pozole. It is a Mexican soup, and the first time I had it was at my neighbor’s house. She has given me her recipe and permission to share it with you all. Two things to keep in mind: first, she and I had to work to translate this from Spanish to English. We did our best, but if you don’t understand something, just give it your best shot—or ask me. I might be able to figure it out. Maybe. 😉 Two, she usually makes big batches of this, and she cut it back for a “normal” size. So feel free to adjust as needed.

Most of all, though, enjoy!

Pozole Recipe by Araceli Estrada (my amazing neighbor and friend)

Ingredients:

For meat pot-

4 lbs. of bone-in pork loin

½ white onion–diced

1 head of garlic—clean off the paper

2 bay leaves

1 T oregano

1 T ground cumin

1 T powdered chicken bouillon

1 large can of hominy

For chili sauce-

10 chili pods

10 Ancho chilis

10-15 black pepper corns

4 cloves of garlic

For garnish—

Shredded cabbage

Diced onion

Sliced radishes

Chopped cilantro

Chunked avocado

Lime wedges—to squeeze over

Directions:

Place in a Dutch oven, the pork loin, the half onion, the head of garlic, the bay leaves, the oregano, and cumin. Add enough water to cover up to ¾ of pot. Bring to a boil and then heat. Simmer for 2 hours stirring often and skimming off the foam.

Slice open chilis and remove seeds and membranes. In a second pot, add chili pods and Ancho chilis. Cover with water and bring to a boil. After two minutes, turn off heat and allow chilis to rest in hot water for at least ten minutes. The chilis should feel soft and pliable.

Remove from water and put into blender with black peppercorns, 4 cloves of garlic, and a cup of water. Add water a little at a time, careful to not add too much. Puree until smooth. Then pour through a strainer into the meat pot.

Strain the hominy and add it plus the chicken bouillon to the meat pot. Salt to taste. Allow to simmer while preparing the garnishes.

Set garnishes out so guests can choose. Serve with warm tortillas.

(From Jenny: Not sure home much this will serve, but it is so good!)

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, September 18

Blossoms and Blessings, September 19 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, September 19

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, September 20

Artistic Nobody, September 21 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 22

Guild Master, September 23 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, September 24

A Reader’s Brain, September 25 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, September 26

Back Porch Reads, September 27 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, September 28

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, September 29 (Author Interview)

Pause for Tales, September 29

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, September 30

Tell Tale Book Reviews, October 1 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Jennifer is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf5444

My Review

Ronnie is the fifth book from Jennifer Lynn Cary's The Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue series. I have loved the previous books of this series and this one is by far my favorite. I was entertained with Ronnie's story that made me giggle from time to time. I love that it was inspired by a song from the 1960s. It was an honor to take this journey to Indiana and see how it would all conclude.

I am giving Ronnie five plus stars. I recommend it for readers who love to read clean and quirky romances. I would love to continue reading more books from The Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue series by Jennifer Lynn Cary. 

I received a paperback copy of Jennifer Lynn Cary's Ronnie from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.

Blog Tour and Giveaway: That Day and What Came After: Finding and Losing the Love of My Life in Six Short Years by Rebecca Daniels

That Day and What Came After:
 Finding and Losing the Love of My Life in Six Short Years

by Rebecca Daniels

 Publisher: Sunbury Press (June 4, 2024)

Category: Non Fiction, Memoir, Death, Grief, Bereavement , Life Stages

Tour dates: September 9-October 8, 2024

ISBN: 979-8888192047

Available in Print and ebook,

182 pages

Description That Day and What Came After by Rebecca Daniels

What if you came home one day and found your husband dead in his favorite chair? This grief memoir explores the author’s experience of the unexpected death of her husband from sudden cardiac arrest a mere three months after his doctors had pronounced him hale and healthy. The author shares her experiences in the immediate aftermath of the abrupt shock of discovery, reminisces about the details of the couple’s late-in-life courtship and marriage, and imparts other experiences she has had along the grieving road in the years since becoming a widow. In our society, we often don’t want to talk or even think about death, so stereotypes about widows exist. However, each person’s grief journey is unique, and sharing tales of those experiences can be helpful and useful for those who find themselves in a similar situation. Though not a self-help book, this memoir is the story of a widow who defied the stereotype that widows are expected to “get over it” and move on with their quiet lives. Instead, this widow “got through it” and is now sharing her journey in hopes of helping others in comparable circumstances.

Praise That Day and What Came After by Rebecca Daniels

“Author Rebecca Daniels and I have a lot in common, We both found and married our husbands a bit later in life. We both had our marriage stories cut short in an instant by death, and we were both widowed by cardiac arrest. I needed the soothing and validating words that Daniels provides as she gently and lovingly walks us through what it’s like to be suddenly widowed. In addition to her grief story, Rebecca gives us a beautiful glimpse into the love story between her and Skip, and as readers, we almost feel as if we are losing him too. As a writer, Rebecca has a way of making the words flow, so that reading them feels less like an effort and more like floating or being guided along.”- Kelley Lynn, Certified Grief Counselor, viral TED talk speaker, and author of My Husband Is Not a Rainbow: the brutally awful, hilarious truth about Life, Love, Grief, and Loss. “That Day And What Came After is a moving story of a love found later in life and lost too soon. In this memoir, Rebecca contemplates deeper questions and chronicles navigating the minutiae of day-to-day life after losing her beloved partner. Heartbreak and loneliness are tempered by found family and precious memories. By turns sorrowful, hopeful, and reflective.”- Natalie Pinter, author of The Fragile Keepers

Praise Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels

“I was intrigued how the author was able to use DNA and other investigative measures to find what she could about her biological family. I admired her courage and persistence in continuing her search. It was fascinating to see what she discovered, who she met along the way, and how she was able to deal with the information. I enjoyed reading how it all unfolded. I loved it.”-Amy, Locks, Hooks, and Books 

“Finding your roots can be a tricky subject, but for the author, Rebecca Daniels, it became a life mission of finding her roots. Her entire journey is neatly documented, giving others who have the same desire to follow through on their journey. Every detail blends well with her story, which gave me a genuine appreciation of her experiences.”-Lynelle, Inspire To Read “

Finding Sisters is an excellent example of what it takes to solve a family mystery. Yet it’s also a captivating story of human relationships in the age of secrecy-revealing DNA databases. As Rebecca Daniels so skillfully illustrates. By sharing her thoughts and insights throughout this journey, Rebecca makes the story refreshingly honest and personal. Like no other DNA success story, Finding Sisters uses footnotes and family tree diagrams to show exactly how the search unfolds. This makes the book a clever hybrid of a memoir and a case study.”-Richard Hill, Author of "Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA"

“In Rebecca Daniels’ memoir Finding Sisters, she takes us on her personal journey for answers surrounding her adoption, birth family, and ancestral heritage and introduces us to genealogy research and the increasingly popular genealogy websites that make familial matches from DNA databases. Of all the encounters and relationships, she chronicles during her search. This book is not just ideal for those interested in genealogy research and ancestry websites, but also those wanting to uncover more of what makes them who they are. And isn’t that all of us to some degree?”-Maia Williamson, author of Where the Tree Frogs Took Me

Excerpt:

Excerpt From Chapter Eleven – Early Milestones (the first few years)

After I stopped writing regularly in my grief journal, I kept on writing, and what I wrote had a new, different format. By then, I knew I would write this grief memoir. Each of the shorter pieces were about experiences I had during my ongoing mourning, but they didn’t fit the format of the overarching narrative I had been crafting for the story of Skip and Rebecca. They were shorter and more focused on specific emotional memories and challenges. These experiences or thoughts that grief delivered to me over time didn’t hang together in a traditional narrative way, and they were not designed to be self-help advice for others. They were simply important milestones in my grief journey—intimate elements of my widow story—and I decided to share them. The result is the next two chapters, where these short essays are shared in a more or less chronological order. . . . 

MUSINGS ON MUSCLE MEMORY AND MARRIAGE

January 10, 2013 (Three years and three months after)

Muscle memory, which the dictionary defines as “the ability to reproduce a particular movement without conscious thought, acquired as a result of frequent repetition of that movement,” is a pretty amazing thing. Just when my mind thinks that I’m adjusting to being a widow, my body betrays me with a memory so visceral I can’t ignore it. Last night in the middle of the night, I got up to pee. This is not an uncommon occurrence for women, especially of my age. When I climbed back into bed half asleep, I slid backward under the covers with my body curled up, expecting to be spooned by the other warm body in the bed, a body that would always curl around me and hold me, regardless of how sound asleep its owner had been mere moments before. But he wasn’t there. My mind already knew it, but my body forgot, and as a result I came fully awake suddenly, sobbing with the renewed shock of absence and loss.

I’m not one to go find myself a new warm body, any body, to replace the one I lost. This is why I spent almost twenty years living alone and mostly celibate after my divorce, with only a couple of affairs, both of them before I turned forty. Then Skip came along when I was in my menopausal mid-fifties and transformed my world. It would have to be a special person to jolt me out of the memory of the remarkable marriage we had. Because I found a way to negotiate a two-year paid research leave from my teaching work as a university professor, and because we were able to orchestrate those two years so that we could be together much of every single day, we had more time in each other’s immediate presence than many working couples who’ve been together for a decade or more.

My first marriage, when I was in my late twenties and early thirties, lasted nearly eight years before our divorce was final, but we were living apart for almost three of those years. Even in the early years of the marriage, I was at work for many hours every day, especially after I founded and started to run a small theatre company and evening rehearsals started to become a regular part of my job. My second marriage was different from the first. It had all the wonderful aspects of a long marriage without having to go through all the ups and downs of growing up together that I believe happened to couples like my parents and others who married young and perhaps even raised a family together. When you meet and marry in your fifties, it’s easier to bypass some of the growing pains younger folks might experience. The only regret Skip ever voiced to me in our time as a couple was that because of our age we weren’t able to have children of our own, though we did have a treasured young friend who was like a son to us. And we had two grandchildren, which was and is a blessing that I had never expected to experience, and one that sustains me as I continue my life without him. Another blessing is that in our blended families, no one has ever thought to differentiate between the step-grandparents and the biological ones.

This second marriage—the one I can’t let go of yet—lasted just over six years from first meeting to sudden unexpected parting, but that relationship was a true marriage in all the best senses of the word. Even as my mind gets used to the identity of “widow” and learns to get through most days without emotional backsliding, my body continues to struggle. And it isn’t always big moments, either. Another surprising place where muscle memory plays a part in an occasional grief eruption has been the changing of sheets on the bed. It’s much different doing it alone, because it was something we always did together, and my body often forgets about that, too.

I used to joke with Skip that I had two women to thank for the success—and even the circumstances that created the possibility—of our marriage: Shirley, his deceased first wife, who trained him well in the ways of the household and from whom he learned (or with whom he practiced—this could have been his own innate nature as well) extraordinary love and loyalty; and Marcia, the woman he dated after Shirley’s death, who first brought him to the north country and then kicked him to the curb several months before he and I first met. I used to tease that if I were to die suddenly, he would have been married again within two years. He denied it, but I know there are some who need to be partnered to survive, some who are compelled to live single, and others who can go either way, depending on the circumstances. He was of the first category; I am of the latter. I’ve experienced the marriage of my dreams, and I feel no urgent need to look for a replacement, even though my body still aches in memory of what I have lost. My muscles will never let me forget.

©Rebecca Daniels

About Rebecca Daniels

Award winning Author, Rebecca Daniels (MFA, PhD) taught performance, writing, and speaking in liberal arts universities for over 25 years, including St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, from 1992-2015. She was the founding producing director of Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, OR, directed with many professional Portland theatre companies in the 1980s, and is the author of the groundbreaking Women Stage Directors Speak: Exploring the Effects of Gender on Their Work (McFarland, 1996, 2000) and has been published in multiple professional theatre journals. After her retirement from teaching, she turned her focus to creative non-fiction and began her association with Sunbury Press with Keeping the Lights on for Ike: Daily Life of a Utilities Engineer at AFHQ in Europe During WWII; or, What to Say in Letters Home When You're Not Allowed to Write about the War (Sunbury Press, 2019), a book based on her father’s letter home from Europe during WWII. Her second book with Sunbury, Finding Sisters: How One Adoptee Used DNA Testing and Determination to Uncover Family Secrets and Find Her Birth Family explores how DNA testing, combined with traditional genealogical research, helped her find her genetic parents, two half-sisters, and other relatives in spite of being given up for a closed adoption at birth. Her newest book with Sunbury (2024) is a memoir about her late-in-life second marriage and sudden widowhood called That Day and What Came After: Finding and Losing the Love of My Life in Six Short Years. Website: https://rebecca-daniels.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.daniels.9

Buy That Day and What Came After by Rebecca Daniels

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Giveaway That Day and What Came After by Rebecca Daniels

This giveaway is for 1 print copy or 2 pdf copies. Print is open to the U.S. only. eBook is open worldwide. This giveaway ends on October 8, 2024 midnight, pacific time. Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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My Review

I wish I That Day and What Came After: Finding and Losing the Love of My Life in Six Short Years was available for me to read nearly four years ago when I lost the love of my life. I admired Rebecca Daniels ability to tell her story. Even though the situations between her and myself, I was able to relate with and understand many experiences she described. 

That Day and What Came After: Finding and Losing the Love of My Life in Six Short Years is getting five stars from me. I recommend it for readers who have unfortunately found themselves in the widowed club. It is definitely worth reading and I believe they will feel like someone actually understands them.

I received a paperback copy of Rebecca Daniels' That Day and What Came After: Finding and Losing the Love of My Life in Six Short Years from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion. 

Review: First Violin by Richard Tomlinson

Book Details:

Book Title: FIRST VIOLIN by Richard Tomlinson
Category: Adult Fiction 18+, 268 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Richard Tomlinson
Release date: February 21, 2024
Tour dates: Sep 3 to Sep 30, 2024
Content Rating: PG-13 +M: The book is centered around two romantic relationships in Vienna from the annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938 to the division of Vienna into four occupation zones (USA, UK, France, Soviet) late in 1945. The main character, a virtuoso violinist who played for Vienna Philharmonic, endures a concentration camp where he suffers physical and mental abuse, and after the war busks for a living. Close attention is paid to the history of the period.​

Book Description:

The year is 1938 and Austria has been annexed by Nazi Germany.

Klaus Lehner plays first violin for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and when the concertmaster is amongst other Jews expelled from Philharmonic, he sees the opportunity for a position he covets He is bitterly disappointed when he is passed over.

In the wake of his disappointment, Klaus’s lover Eva, a virtuoso cellist, urges him to become a soloist. To determine whether he is merely brilliant or can truly move an audience she tasks him with mastering difficult pieces by Bach and Paganini, and with fathering her baby – both of which he does.

Meanwhile, at home, Klaus’s wife Helga gives birth to their firstborn.

When Eva’s Nazi husband finds out about the love affair, he has Klaus arrested and sent to a Mauthausen subcamp to supervise Ukrainian laborers. Amidst the suffering, Klaus composes a tone poem, Silence Interrupted, translating his nightmares into sound.

After the camp is liberated, Klaus returns to a war-torn Vienna devastated by American bombers and occupied by the Soviet army. He makes a living busking in front of the Soviet Vienna City Kommandatura. Klaus faces a choice between the two women he left behind.

Buy the Book: 

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Meet the Author:

Richard Tomlinson’s working life has been divided between being an academic and an urban policy consultant.

As an academic, either in full-time or visiting capacity, he has been located in Australia at the University of Melbourne (Chair of the Urban Planning Program); in South Africa at the University of the Witwatersrand; and in the USA at Columbia and New School Universities and MIT, and in think tanks at the Brookings Institution and the Wilson Center; and at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Italy. A Fulbright Scholar, he did his PhD at Rutgers University.

As a post-1990 consultant based in Johannesburg, Richard’s clients in Southern Africa included the post-apartheid South African government, various local and international NGOs, the World Bank, USAID and the private sector, during which time he also facilitated multi-party negotiations. He has also worked with community organizations.

Richard’s current activities depend on the weather: kayaking, swimming, hiking and mountain climbing and writing. Surfing has given way to age.
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First Violin, set in a wonderful city, Vienna, is his debut novel.

connect with the author: website ~instagram ~ facebook ~ X/Twitter ~ linkedin

Enter the Giveaway:

FIRST VIOLIN by Richard Tomlinson Book Tour Giveaway

My Review: 

I am a huge fan of historical fiction and have been on a kick of reading those during World War II. I was instantly intrigued with the book description of First Violin by Richard Tomlinson and was excited to have the opportunity to read it. I was far from being disappointed. I enjoyed back in time to 1938 Austria and meeting violinist, Klaus Lehner. I admired his determination to continue to survive the camp he was sent to and how he was able to cope. The author's use of historical details were so vivid that made me feel as thought I was right there living with Klaus. I could almost feel is fears and anguish all throughout. It was not hard to keep reading his story and seeing how it would all end for him , as well as, the choices he would make for his future. A fabulous and thought provoking to read. 

First Violin will be getting a very well deserved five plus stars from me. I highly recommend it for readers who to read historical fiction, particularly those set during the second World War. I would be interested in reading more books like this one from the talented Richard Tomlinson in the near future. I would love to see where else he would take his characters and fans.

I received a Richard Tomlinson's First Violin from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.