OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD: Saffire by Sigmund Brouwer

Daniel Brouwer's newest novel SAFFIRE

is a colorful, historical story of the Panama Canal 

during it's construction era in the early 1900's.

Technology was starting to rock right around then and the feats of new inventions were awe inspiring to all.  There were so many issues surrounding the construction of the Panama Canal and the story speaks to disease, race relations, customs of the time, as well as international intrigue.  The title character of Saffire is a little girl who is multi-racial.

 

The main character, James Holt, is a soldier turned rancher who knows the President of the United States from his military days. The President then sends him on a mission to Panama on behalf of America's concerns as well as the little girl Saffire.  There is danger for all involved as well as mystery for where the real danger is coming from.  Is the danger coming from people from Panama or the local government? Or is the danger from another country that wants to take over Panama in order to have control of the Canal for their country's benefit?

 

The story is full of colorful characters that could be played in a movie in a serious vein like Masterpiece Theater usually does or the characters could be flipped to a more comical version.  I would compare the style of writing Brouwer uses in this novel to Charles Dickens.  This book would also make a good movie because of the scenic background of Panama and the massive scope of work that had to be taken to build the canal.  It is a good steady read with nothing too objectionable in it.

 

 

 

PRACTICAL LIFE APPLICATIONS

 

1.  There are often things going on behind the scenes in the world that we don't know about.

2.  Do what good you can in the world but be sure and get back to take care of your own home and hearth.

3.  The success is in the details.

 

One thing the novel SAFFIRE made me wonder about was how different American lives might be today if America hadn't built the Panama Canal in order to have more control of ocean travel speeds for economical concerns and military reasons.  We will never know!

 

The novel SAFFIRE is published by Waterbrook which is a division of Crown Publishing Group.  Sigmund Brouwer is also the author of nineteen other novels which includes THIEF OF GLORY THAT won the Christy Award. 

 

 

*This book was given to me free for review from Blogging for Books. Book Cover provided by Blogging for Books and the publisher.

 

Rest Awhile!

 

Rest Awhile!

 

 

*picture credit Color Odyssey (adult coloring) by KAPPA Adult Coloring

Picture coloring and photo credit to ONWARD

Sunday Stealing: Shannon's Moment Meme, part two

We are back with Sunday Stealing and this week's meme is entitled Shannon's Moment Meme as Shannon from MOMENTS OF INTROSPECTION provided it but didn't mention where she "found" it. 

To participate in Sunday Stealing yourself or to see more blogs that do participate go to www.sundaystealing.blogspot.com

Have you ever gone to the "dark side"?  No I haven't watched GAME OF THRONES per se. If that is what is meant.

What shirt are you wearing right now? My pink striped one, Walmart Brand :)

What is something about you that would surprise us?  In middle school I used to ride a skate board everywhere like most people ride bikes instead. 

Have you been a pirate, Renaissance Fair, or
other costumed event?  No, but I would love to! A Renaissance Fair!

What songs do you sing in the shower?  Old songs
Favorite girl's name:  Genevieve
Favorite boy's name:  Xander, protector of the people.
What is in your pocket or purse right now? mmmhmm
Last thing that made you laugh? Grandbaby
Best toy as a child?  I had a doll that walked. I think her name was Chrissy.

Worst injury you ever had:  C-section!
Where would you love to live? Maybe some sabbaticals various type places, but that is all.
What type tv do you have.  It's not mine but the one here is a smart TV. Love it!
How many dogs do you have?  I have allergies instead...
Do most folks trust you?  I reckon so.
What book are you reading?

What is you favorite classic Tv show?  When I was small I remember watching all the different shows Lucille Ball had.

What is you favorite sports team?  I don't have one at the moment

What is important about a bed to you?  If it's sturdy.

 

Favorite month and why?  September!  It is when school used to start, and we would have new clothes, and there is usually a day you wake up and you can feel the summer heat has broken for the year. Sort of an unofficial New Year, lots of new starts.

 

That is it for this Sunday Stealing. If you need to make a new start.. well it is almost September ;) Tell us what you are doing.

 

 

 

*Sunday Stealing logo credit to sundaystealing.blogspot.com

*shirt picture credit to Onward

*Book cover image credit to Blogging for Books who gave me the book to review.

 

 

 









 

 

 

                                     

JUNE by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

The new novel JUNE, written by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, is a book that everyone can find something to relate to in it. The story is told in two very different periods of time in America, 1955 and 2015.  JUNE touches on American pop culture as well as evolving issues important to Americans such as race, sexuality,love and money.  The story also features a hint of the mystical, in the form of dreams, as well as some suspense and danger.  Indeed, Beverly-Whittemore has a writing style that can be compared to the great American writer Ray Bradbury.

Cassie Danvers is only twenty-five years old but she has reached a stopping point after her grandmother dies. She goes to stay in her family mansion that is literally crumbling around her ears.  Unsure of what to do next she is pulled out of her malingering by a movie star who wants to know if Cassie is related to her via the movie star's own famous father, movie icon Jack Montgomery. Cassie is then forced to confront her own families' history and if her grandmother, June, had secrets she had never told anyone. 

Lots of money and hidden secrets are involved as the story is told while shifting between the two periods of time. Cassie is looking for her future while examining her grandmother June's past.  Life suddenly gets very interesting as questions about her grandmother's relationship with the movie star Jack Montgomery come up as well as questions about all of her grandmother's past relationships with family and friends.  What and with whom will Cassie's future involve now?

Miranda Beverly-Whittemore has an interesting website about her works at http://mirandabw.com .  She is also the author of the New York Times bestseller BITTERSWEET. Her new novel JUNE was available for sale this year May 31st, 2016. It was published by Crown Publishing Group.

*I received this book for review from Blogging for Books who also provided the book jacket image.

Inspiration from Coloring

Sometimes you don't know what it is.....!!

Sunday Stealing & an Onward Meme

Today I am combining participation with Sunday Stealing where we steal memes with our very own ONWARD MEME.

The ONWARD MEME (You don't have to go straight, but you do need to try to move forward.)

1.  What are three things you could unclutter to help simplify things?

2.  What are three things you need to do this week that you have been putting off for the longest time but should just go ahead and get done.?

3.  What are three small steps you can make to start a journey to a bigger goal?

4.  What are three simple things you haven't done for awhile that could bring enjoyment to your day or your family?

5.  Share three things you do to help get yourself moving on days you feel sort of meh or blah.

6.  What are three things you should give up that are really not productive for your life or for your family?

7.  What two simple upgrades can you do in your home or for yourself or your family life that would make you feel like you had been upgraded?

8.  Do you have any thoughts on moving onward or forward?

p.s. Hang in there. You got this!
*there are no right or wrong answers, it is just whatever the question means to you...!

SUNDAY STEALING: THE JACKAL MEME
This week's Sunday Stealing is taken from a realty blog for a place called Downing-Frye. It is THE JACKAL MEME as it is reportedly shared between them there jackals...
If you wish to participate in SUNDAY STEALING go to www.sundaystealing.blogspot.com

1. Who is your favorite musical artist?  One of my favorites is James Taylor.

2.  What is your favorite album by what artist?  I don't have a favorite artist, but one reason I like James' Taylor's music is it is poetic and can be cheerful.  My favorite song of his is WHENEVER I SEE YOUR SMILING FACE. 

3.  Who is your favorite blogger?  I don't have a favorite blogger but I do like to page through and read blogs.
4.  If you could meet anyone, (dead or alive) who would it be and why would you want to meet them?  I'm not sure, and that is such a often repeated question. 
5. What did you want to be when you grew up?  A Mom and a journalist.

6.   What is the most interesting piece of Trivia that you know?  Well it's bible trivia, and it's that Jesus prayed for the future Christians that hadn't been born yet. 
7.  If you could live in any point in history when would it be and why?  I am grateful to live in the present when we have things like antibiotics, and air conditioning!

8.  What do you think of the election so far?  THREE WORDS.  MEDIA CIRCUS & NIGHTMARE.

9.  What is your favorite TV drama and why?  Lately I have watched various assorted things on TV, HBO'S  BIG LOVE, an English soap called CORINATION STREET, and the English and American versions of SHAMELESS.  I learn a lot about human nature from all of t hem.
10.  What is the most interesting job you ever had?  Oh well my jobs are mostly my "day jobs" but I felt privileged to sit with people in hospice before to comfort and help them.  I was able to sit with my own grandmother as well. 

Happy Sunday Stealing, and thanks for coming out ya'll!


* meme image credit to Sunday Stealing
* image from Onward Meme credit to Onward.

Thirteen Random Things About Me

Just a little assortment of oddities about me.

1.  When I was very small, in the summer, children would catch lightening bugs in Kentucky as soon as dusk hit every night.  We would run around the yard catching them, although back then the lightening bugs were so plentiful  you couldn't move without running into them.  Sometimes we would keep them in jars we had poked small holes in the lid of so they could have oxygen. We would stare at them in the jars as we fell asleep then released them the next morning. Now days we feel lucky to catch a glimpse of a lightening bug in the summer as they are no longer as plentiful as they once were.  This may be because towns often will spray for mosquitoes and do other crop dusting now days and that affects the lightening bug population as well.  The wonder of the lightening bugs is diminished but we haven't  had a mosquito bite in ages. But once as a child we did have the wonderment of lightening bugs. Simple and free: lightening bugs.

2.  In my late teens I was a member of Amnesty International.  At that time participation was mostly sending post cards around the world to try and help political prisoners be freed.

3.  My mom bought me a Shakespeare for children book when I was six years old. I learned about A TALE OF TWO CITIES early!
4.  I finished with the children's side of the library in the small town we went to and started reading adult literature when I was ten years old.
5.  Some of the adult books I read as a child were LOVE STORY, FOREVER AMBER, NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA, & many Reader's Digest condensed books. Those were some of the books in my house.
6.  As a child I would sit in church services and write poetry or short stories (quite often) instead of listening to the sermon.

7.  I have a rule that once I start reading a book I have to finish it.
8.  In high school I pretended to be a fan of the writer Edgar Allan Poe because it seemed like a cool thing to do.
9.  I actually was a fan of Maya Angelou and her book "I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS".
10.  In Middle school and early high school I would skip lunch all week at school and save my lunch money to spend at the skating rink on the weekend.
11.  When I was in early high school I also would leave the skating rink early sometimes and when parents came to pick us up at the end of the evening I would pretend I had been at the skating rink the entire time. 
12.  I am a fan of CORONATION STREET, which is a English soap that used to be available on Hulu. I like CORRIE, me.
13.  I will NEVER watch the television show on ABC called THE CHEW simply because they canceled ALL MY CHILDREN and put THE CHEW on  in it's place.  ABC can take that cooking show and shove it!
 So those are some things that make up me...
....and yourself?

image credit: Onward
posted I participation of newthursday13.blogspot.com