Good morning! COFFEE CUP is in my hand, and have masked my face (for no other occasion than I am home and going anywhere for a while so why not?)
Yesterday I had a wonderful evening with my friends Cindy, Heidi, and Sara. We went to St. Cloud which is about an hour away and shopped a little bit and then ate at Mongo’s before we came back home. YUM!!!
Today is the Dewey Read-A-Thon if you were totally unaware of it – it’s not too late to pop over to the site and add your name to the 300+ readers today. It’s pretty exciting! I have an assortment of partially read books that I hope to work my way through today as well as a couple I have been waiting a long time to start. I know I am planning big… but I can dream right?
I will put up a post shortly here that I will update throughout the day. I will let you know what I am reading – what I have finished, pages… and maybe a few other randoms that I will change out throughout the day.
Oops! 8 minutes to go time… I need a coffee refill and to prep my starting post 🙂
Have a wonderful day everyone – I hope you get in a bit of reading time too 🙂
It has been a crazy week around here but I have had so much fun with the discussion and the giveaway surrounding our Wordshakers current read, The Wife’s Tale. Author Lori Lansens has been incredibly generous with her time and her books (I have been drooling over that large box of books since it arrived!).
Today I am thrilled to have the opportunity to chat with Lori about her books, her life, and what may be coming up next. Please give a warm welcome to Lori Lansens.
Lori Lansens
Lori, I am so glad that you are taking the time to be here and chat with me and the readers of Book Journey. My first question is always how do you take your coffee?
Lori: So nice to be here, Sheila! Hello readers! I like my coffee hot and black.
Ahhh… you drink your coffee like I do. What do you like to do for fun?
Lori: I am mother to Max 10, and Natasha (Tashi) 8, so my life revolves around my family. Both children are involved in organized sports and we’re an active bunch. It’s fun for us to kick around the soccer ball in the backyard or shoot hoops in the driveway. Sometimes we take our bikes to the path at the beach in Santa Monica. My husband of nearly thirty years, Milan Cheylov, has a great sense of humor and we still enjoy one another’s company very much. When people ask him the secret to a long marriage he answers, “She makes me laugh.” He makes me laugh too.
You are so busy! You were a screen writer before you broke out into the literary world. How does that compare to what you do now?
Lori: When I was writing screenplays producers would sometimes remark that my scripts read like novels and I knew they didn’t mean that in a good way. The primary difference is that the work of the screenwriter is not meant to be read as a singular piece of art. Instead it must be interpreted by dozens of other artists from wardrobe and set designers to actors and editors before it reaches an audience. The work can be diluted or transformed (for better or worse) from the original vision of the creator. I feel satisfied and gratified by the intense and direct connection with the reader through my novels.
Lori Lansens Books
Lori, what is your earliest bookish memory?
Lori: My earliest ‘books are magical’ memory involves Hans Christian Andersen. I loved crawling into my mother’s lap (even if I did have to share her with two brothers) to hear her read The Little Mermaid and The Emperor’s New Clothes. We would discuss the messages contained in the stories and how they made us feel. My mother liked to ask, “What does it mean?”
I also remember the Chatham Public Library and how important it was to me when I was young. My friends and I would ride our bikes there and spend weekend afternoons reading and trading books then cart a half dozen borrowed books home in our bike carriages. In my second novel, The Girls, the conjoined twins have a job in their small town library – an homage to the Chatham Public Library. I love to hear from Librarians who loved The Girls and appreciated the character’s affection for the library.
Do you have an all time favorite book?
Lori: The Grapes of Wrath is my favorite book. Steinbeck’s writing mesmerizes me and the social conscience of the book is pure but not righteous. The characters are flawed heroes, and the final line is spare and stunning. I developed an even greater appreciation for the book when I read the journal (Writing Days) that chronicles his journey from Oklahoma to the Salinas Valley.
Would you believe I have never read that book? I must do that! In The Wife’s Tale, we read about an overweight woman named Mary who has lost all ambition beyond the walk to the refrigerator. How did “Mary” come to be this main character in your mind?
Lori: Writing is a mysterious process and the appearance of character part of the mystery. Mary is a character that in some way or other I’ve known all my life. She is culled from stories I’ve heard and people I know and things that I’ve read about but at her core she is me – or I am her – that gets confusing. My frail humanity may not manifest as a weight problem but I understand her deeply and feel her pain and maybe I wrote about her because I knew she needed to move on – from Gooch, the fridge, her stasis.
As the 24 people who signed on to read this with Wordshakers On Line book club shared their thoughts, many really struggled with Mary in the beginning of the book, finding themselves irritated with her lack of self-worth and inability to make good choices. Is that something you wrote intentionally that way to bring that out of the readers? Do you feel that made the readers appreciate Mary all the more in the end?
Lori: Some readers write to tell me that they were rooting for Mary from the first page on and understood her from the very beginning. Others are frustrated and don’t care for Mary until she ‘finds her fight.’ I suppose our understanding of, and affection for, characters comes out of our own experiences. Mary starts the story at rock bottom – people who’ve been there share her pain. The review post from a reader named Joy left me breathless. It’s a gorgeous and brave bit of writing, as much about her own journey as Mary Gooch’s. I’ve had many such responses from readers but none quite so detailed and poignant. Read it at http://joystory.blogspot.com/2010/10/wifes-tale-by-lori-lansens.html
Lori, I read Joy’s review yesterday morning and I agree with you, it was an amazing and deeply honest review. What do you hope people take away from this read?
Lori: See link above
When I was online I seen a variety of cover for The Wife’s Tale. Is there one that you prefer over the others and why?
Lori: So many different covers! I know! It’s fascinating to see how different publishers in different markets interpret the book for readers. My favorite is the American cover with the legs and the blue dress. The artwork really speaks to the story – a woman poised at the brink – ready to leap.
That is my favorite cover too! I think it shows that she is ready to conquer whatever comes next. Even though it is only her legs that we see, I felt it gave off a vibe of confidence. You currently have three books that you have written. Is there any character more than the others that you are drawn to out of these books? I guess I am asking who would you like to be friends with if you were popped into their world?
Lori: My husband recently reread The Girls and remarked that Rose and Ruby Darlen, the conjoined twin characters who narrate their ‘memoirs’ are equal parts of me. That would explain why my feelings are hurt when readers tell me they liked one twin more than the other. My husband also commented that Mary Gooch and I share similarities that few people (except those closest to me) would understand. I know Addy Shadd and Sharla Cody from Rush Home Road grew out of my personality too. For most authors, I think, characters are horrible and gorgeous little spawn and because I know and love them and understand them so well that there are none I would not befriend, and no one I’d chose over another.
Fantastic answer! I would never ask you to choose a favorite of your books. I mean really, they have to be like children! However, as I am a new reader of your writing which of your other two books would you suggest I read next and why?
Lori: Both (she laughs!) because oddly I see the books as a trilogy that represent something of a whole. The first book Rush Home Road is about going home, The Girls is about being home and The Wife’s Tale is about leaving home. They’re all set in the landscape of Baldoon County and there are recurring references and some recurring characters.
Oooh! Now I am ever more fascinated! I guess I will start at the beginning then. I am on the edge of my seat wondering if there is anything new in the works book wise. Please let us know what could be happening in the future for you as a writer.
Lori: I’m currently working on my fourth book – a family story – but I’ll say no more.
It is tradition that I ask each author I chat with to share one little known fact about themselves.
Lori: I can’t write unless I’m wearing shoes. I used to be an actor. My hands are my favorite physical characteristic even though, or because, they look ancient and always have.
Ahhh! You used to be an actor! You left me with another question! LOL Lori it has been a pleasure to have you here and share so deeply about your books and your writing! You have been incredibly generous to my readers and to me. I wish you all the best and I look forward into reading your other two books.
Lori: Sheila, it’s been my pleasure. Happy reading all!
Readers, please take time to read the Wordshaker group review of The Wife’s Tale as well as sign up to win one of Lori’s books that she so generously signed and sent my way.
You can read more about Lori Lansens at her website
Good morning! I had an awesome evening with my College Son and hubby. We had dinner and watched Survivor together. Then later last night I was doing a little reading and a little putting around on Twitter and seen that Sarah Ockler (author of Twenty Boy Summer) was asking what was that love ballad that we could pull out of our head from years ago and along with it the memories.
Oh my gosh! I instantly went to You Tube and punched up Chicago’s “You’re The Inspiration” and it was like I pulled a cork that released all of these memories of High School.
Basically did anyone order up a blubbering baby? Because that’s what you got.
So – as I leave you this morning for the gym that’s calling me…. then work… then a wonderful get together with some friends for a road trip to St Cloud and dinner…. I offer you up the song that still pulls me into the era of big hair, pants that zipped at the ankle, leg warmers, and words like, “He is sooooooo totally awesome!”
AND if that song doesn’t mess you up – or at least bring up memories of your own “song” that melted you into a pile of hearts, flowers and tears, stop over at Sarah Ockler’s Blog where she posted last night her songs and asks you to share yours as well.
Have a great day everyone! Later Lori Lansens is going to be here to chat books, and well…. I LOVE to chat books. 😀
Arnold Spirit (known as Junior at home) is a 14-year-old Spokane Indian. He was born with water on the brain, is regularly picked on by his peers, and loves to draw pictures. He refers to the world as a series of broken dams and floods and his pictures are tiny lifeboats. He loves basketball, and is fairly good on the Spokane Team. He decided if he stays in the reservation all his life he is never going to go anywhere just like his parents. They too had dreams once of being something more. He requests that they let him go to the rich white school in Reardan which is 20 minutes away. His parents agree. This destroys his friendship with his best friend Rowdy, who has always been this crazy Native American kid who will beat up anyone who looks at him twice. This once meant Rowdy was a source of protection to Junior, and now includes Junior in the beating category.
What happens when Arnold (known as Arnold when he switches schools) is that he once again finds himself the blunt of jokes and discrimination. He stays at his new school, determined to make it work, even sometimes having to walk the twenty minutes to and from when his dad does not have enough money for gas in the car. Eventually he makes a few friends along the way, and is able to find a happy medium between his life on the reservation and his school that is not.
Confession time. I picked this book up as part of Banned Books Week. It came to my library late but I still wanted to read it. After I brought it home with several others I looked up why it was banned. On line it said that is was banned for talk of masturbation, racism, and vulgar language. I almost returned it to the library unread. It was honestly, the first of all the banned books that I read this past couple of weeks that I can say I questioned if I wanted to read it or not. I don’t condone banning, not in the least, but I do believe in our rights to choose to read a book or not.
However, I listed this book on a post about the books I had received at my library and I started receiving comments from people who had read this book saying what an amazing read it was, some even calling it a favorite. A few others who hadn’t read it said that they had been wanting too. To all of these people, I say thank you. If not for you, I may have missed out on an incredible reading experience.
So I was cautiously optimistic when I opened up the book, still reserving the right to put it down at any time. (Oh the conversations I have with myself sometimes… :razz:)
I didn’t put it down.
The parts that I felt may have been unnecessary were so small. They did not take away from the book. I read this story told from a 14-year-old boys perspective and I have to say I really enjoyed the incredible insight he brought into race, stereo types, and color.
The pictures throughout the book are so important to the story line and really give Arnold’s story a life. The pictures add to what he is feeling, be it happiness, confusion, anger, or pain. You can see it all, and for me, I could feel it as well.
As Arnold shares his story I was reminded again how strong prejudices can be when people see through eyes of judgment. What I also seen was that the power of friendship and acceptance has a much stronger presence and hold.
While I would not say hand this book to your young child, I do think it is an important read for older YA and holds within its pages an amazing read that I will not soon forget.
Good morning fellow book worms, bookish types, and random dude who just wandered over thinking this was a site that talked about cheese puffs. I see you over there dude in the corner… just back away from the keyboard with your powdery cheesy fingers….
Ok… I am in an odd mood…. a good one… but I have no idea what the first paragraph is about.
So I am up and in need to take off soon here for work and beyond (voice echo’s “beyond, beyond, beyoooonnnnddddd”)
Has anyone seen any good movies coming up? I am interested in seeing that Facebook one. I think that looks interesting. The other one that I would really like to see that is out right now is You Again. It looks really funny and I like many of the actresses in it. (Are they actresses anymore? Or do we call them all actors?)
Anyway – I posted the trailer here for your viewing enjoyment and so you say see why I called today’s post what I did. Seriously Betty White cracks me up.
I need to find time to see that one!
College Son popped in the door yesterday afternoon as a surprise (I have kids popping up all over the place lately!) He had a couple of days off from work and school so headed into town from Mankato. He is only here for a little bit but it was cool to see him and tonight we are going to hang out a bit.
Ok… times a moving so I had better run…. run like the wind (good grief what is with me today?).
Lori Lansens is my feature Word Shakers On Line Book Club Author of the month. The Wordshakers read her book, The Wife’s Tale, over the past 5 weeks and discussed it through an online format. Now Lori has generously offered three copies of each of these books for a give away to Book Journey readers!
How To Enter
To enter please leave a comment here letting me know if you would prefer a chance to win #1) The Wife’s Tale, #2) The Girls, or #3) Rush Home Road. You may choose more than one in your comment, and if have no preference say so, and you will be eligible to win any one of the books. **You must answer this question to be eligible for any other entries.
Bonus Entries
If you subscribe to Book Journey (upper right hand side bar) please let me know in a separate comment here and I will add another entry for you.
If you link to this giveaway on twitter, on your blog, or on Facebook, let me know here and I will add another entry for you.
If you left a comment on The Wife’s Tale Review and let me know in a separate comment here I will add another entry.
** For those of you who linked your review of the book The Wife’s Tale to the review post I have here, or if you were a part of the WordShaker book group and discussed the book using the discussion form, let me know here in a separate comment and you will be given another entry.
USA entrants only this time (sorry but all the books were sent to me and the shipping costs are all mine) If you live outside the USA but have a USA address you could send the book to if you win that would be fine.
This giveaway will end October 20th
Good luck everyone!!!
A special thank you to the generosity of Lori Lansens who provided three signed copies of each of her books for a giveaway.
Mary Gooch’s universe has shrunk to the trail she has worn from her bedroom to the refrigerator. Disappointment and worry have worn Mary down to not leaving the house, hiding from the world behind food.
On the eve of their silver anniversary Jimmy, Mary’s very attractive athletic husband does not come home. She is forced for the first time in years to action and she boards a plane alone to search for her husband. So begins Mary’s to self discovery as she opens her eyes to a world she no longer believed in… only to find herself along the way.
This was our Wordshaker On Line Book Club pick and 24 people (both bloggers and non bloggers) who read Book Journey joined in on this read-a-long. This was my first experience with Lori Lansen’s writing and I was really impressed with the style in which the book flows.
Of course, the main character Mary gave me mixed feelings. On one hand you cant help but feel bad for this woman who let her eating go too far. Yet on the other hand I wanted to shake her out of her slump and get her motivated to make positive changes. Thanks goodness I was not a character in the book! I would have been an annoying neighbor that would have asked her to come rollerblading or biking. 😛
Yet, author Lori Lansens knew what she was doing when she developed the character of Mary. As Mary learns to make positive choices for herself – we can’t help but cheer her on. And yes, Mary throughout the book becomes more and more likable, leaving you at the end a little sad that your time with her is over.
I have not had the opportunity (yet) to read any of Lori Lansen’s other books. I have heard The Girls is a wonderful read and I look forward to having a chance to enjoy that one soon!
But this is just my thoughts…. here’s is what the Wordshakers thought of the book:
We had a good discussion on how people look and judge those who are obese. The judgment and labels that are pinned on those who struggle with their weight is maddening. Degrading. And you can see why Mary would have chose to stay inside rather than venture into the world any more than she had to.
The discussion over how we felt about Jimmy was intense. Some understood Jimmy’s reason for going away but others found this to be a cowards way out. Over all, it did get Mary out of a lifelong slump and if Jimmy had not left, more than likely nothing would have changed.
The majority of the group felt that they would recommend this book to others. On a scale of 1 – 10, 10 being the best out of the 24 who read it, 7 was the average rating.
Please watch for my upcoming Author Chat with Lori Lansen!
So – if you have read and reviewed this book please add your review to the LINKY below. I have a very generous giveaway coming up with 9 (yes NINE) signed copies of books by Lori Lansens. Anyone that shares their review here through linky will automatically get an entry into this giveaway.
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Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links…
Good Morning! *pause for more COFFEE* After yesterday morning of “opportunities” I have updates!
My fine for parking in Itaska State Park has been reduced to $5. YES. Five dollars. Apparently that was the original amount that it would have been had I purchased a day pass – had I known that I needed a day pass.
What a relief!
Then I had a meeting yesterday that was scary and exciting at the same time…. it was something I had been praying about for a while now and after yesterday’s meeting I am still scared and excited – but I finally have a yes…. and I am moving forward on my book. You may not have known there was a book. Or even the inkling of a book. I was really nervous (and still am) to share about it in case it wouldn’t be. Now however it looks like it will be and I still have a lot of work to do, and don’t want to say much more about it at this time other than a tired “SSQQQUUUEEE!!!”
Finally… and this is random… I signed up for Netflix again. As I am reading all these wonderful books that I heard are also movies (especially some of the older titles), I can not find them at our forever closing video rental stores. All we have in town are Red Boxes which carry a frightening low selection and they are so hit and miss, unless I have reserved one on-line – it’s not worth browsing.
I guess that’s all I have for news. I guess that’s enough for today! 😀 I am still a bit shell-shocked with all the news of yesterday. However. I can leave you with this.
Feel free to turn up your speakers and dance around the room.
It is time to have some winners. I am just in that kind of “winning” mood. 😛
Here are the latest winners over here at Book Journey.
A Signed copy of Summer at Tiffany coming straight from the author goes to:
Julie H
Entrants were asked to share a favorite summer memory. Here is Julie’s:
One of my favorite summers was the year we went on a trip out East, to see Boston and nearby historical attractions. We made a side trip to Concord and took the time to visit Orchard House, made famous because of Louisa May Alcott. It’s still one of the best house tours I’ve ever been on.
Entrants were asked to share a book or audio that is a must read for me yet this year
3 Copies Of The Island (audio) by Elin Hilderbrand go to:
Karen K
who suggested I read anything by Dorthea Benton Frank
Cindi
Suggested the audiobook called Dimanche and Other Storiesby Irene Nemirovsky!
Kelly B
Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand
Entrants were asked to come up with a character and story line for a James Patterson novel
3 Copies Of The Island (audio) by Elin Hilderbrand go to:
Cindi
Cindi’s answer was: Callie went missing over 15 years ago and now she has been spotted in Paris France ~
Sarah G
Sarah’s answer was: Sunny Disposition – lifeguard and FBI informant, married to a mob hitman who is named Stormy Disposition
Nancye Davis
My new character would be Cindy Malone, retired school-teacher turned librarian/ undercover private investigator/ bank robber extraordinaire! Cool!
Monthly Winners for September
Each month I draw two random comment winners to win a book out of my prize box and I announce my top commenter who wins a $20 gift card from Amazon. Here are the August winners:
I read this book many years ago, pre blogging. It had touched me very deeply. This past weekend a friend of mine who I went to school with had the opportunity to meet Gracia Burnham and this triggered this post, and a little information from my good friend Barb.
Sheila
Gracia and Martin Burnham had been Missionaries in the Philippines for 17 years, starting in 1986. They lived among the people and were well-known.
Then tragedy struck. They were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group with ties to Osama bin Laden. The Burnham’s were snatched away from friends and family and thrust into a life on the run in the Philippine jungle. Others that were captured with them were either eventually released for ransom or beheaded. The Burnham’s would remain in captivity for over a year, they faced near starvation, constant exhaustion, frequent gun battles, cold-hearted murder—and intense soul-searching about a God who sometimes seemed to have forgotten them.
The kidnappers demanded $1,000,000 for their release. A ransom of $330,000 was paid, yet the kidnappers refused to release them. During the eventual rescue attempt by the Philippine Army on June 7, 2002, Martin was killed by three gunshots in the chest and Gracia was wounded in her right leg.
This is their story as told by Gracia Burnham.
This book touched me deeply. I could not imagine such a terrifying experience as what Gracia and Martin had gone through, day-to-day not knowing if this would be the day that they died.
Here is what Barb emailed me about her time with Gracia Bunham this past weekend:
Gracia was wonderful sharing her story of faith and forgiveness ….sometimes teary but mostly, surprisingly made us laugh. After a brief video explaining her terrifying time in the jungle, she talked about the time spent there and what has happened in her life since. She showed us the clothing she wore in the jungle, one was her (don’t remember what it was called) but it was a giant piece of fabric sorta like a sarong but sewing in a circle. They had thrown it to her on the boat to cover herself since she was only in shorts and a t-shirt. Besides for clothing, she used it as a blanket, her bathroom (by pulling it up around herself and holding it with her teeth), and in the same way her changing room WHEN she had clothes to change into after bathing in the river (since her captors never let her out of their sight of course), a tear wiper, and a giant kleenex, and also the other captors used theirs with a large branch as a sling to haul off their injured. Many of her captors are now in prison for life and a few actually WRITE her from time to time! One letter she had to have translated was very “nice” sounding: “Dear Gracia…..Do you remember our time in the jungle?” (at this she said something funny, like how could she forget?) and the bad guys actually sent her a bright orange prison t-shirt that said “DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS” across the front and they WROTE MESSAGES to her on it! She said, “What am I suppose to do with this? It’s not something I could wear to the mall!” But amazingly, three of her captors have given their lives to Jesus Christ! Her two oldest kids are married to kids of New Tribes Missionaires and her son is now flying planes the same as his dad ……. I wish I had brought a notebook and took notes. I had her sign my book In the Presence of my Enemies, and then went and bought her other book. I thought, Darn I should have bought this first so I could have had her sign this too. I decided on the hard cover version. When I opened it last night, it was already signed!
Barb (back left), her daughter Lexie, and Gracia Burnham
I still own this book and if you are interested in a read that is emotionally charged, and a brilliant example of strong faith under the worst of circumstances, I highly recommend you read In The Presence Of My Enemies.
The Burnham’s capture and captivity were the subject of a July 2008 episode of the TV series, Locked Up Abroad.
Book Journey 