Promise Me This...

PROMISE ME THIS, by Cathy Gohlke, took me somewhere. Having loved historical fiction ever since I can remember, I thought I knew pretty much where we were going with this. Especially since the entire world (generations, in fact) already knows the outcome of one of the main incidents the book is written around. That incredibly disturbing sinking of the Titanic. But there was something I wasn't expecting in it.

I didn't expect to meet Owen Allen.

I loved this character. He was the brother we all wish we had, the confidant, the one true friend who draws the very best out of you even when you're afraid you might not be able to give it. A true “apostle of love” who has the capacity to jump right off the pages and into your heart. At the end, I wanted to be like Owen. To touch people in the same meaningful way that he did in his life. To me, Owen Allen was very real.

PROMISE ME THIS, was a wonderful book. Well-researched, beautifully crafted, with a plot that did not disappoint. Having finished this book, I feel as if I have, somehow, lived through these times, myself, and learned something.

Which, in my opinion, is historical fiction at its best.

Read an Excerpt 

Cathy Gohlke is the two-time Christy Award-winning author of William Henry is a Fine Name and I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires, which also won the American Christian Fiction Writers' Book of the Year Award and was listed by Library Journal as one of the Best Books of 2008.

Cathy has worked as a school librarian, drama director, and director of children's and education ministries. When not traipsing the hills and dales of historic sites, she, her husband, and their dog, Reilly, make their home on the banks of the Laurel Run in Maryland. Visit her website at: www.cathygohlke.com.

Queen of the Waves: a review...

Janice Thompson is one of my new favorite authors. This because her stories always make me feel like I've spent some time with extended family for awhile and been refreshed by the visit. Her books are “feel good books.”

The very reason there has been so much anticipation to see whether, or not, she could do the same thing with a deeper, more serious book. Like QUEEN OF THE WAVES. Well, one cannot get any deeper or more serious than the sinking of the Titanic! So, how did she do it?

I'll tell you. She did it by taking her perspectives with her. It wasn't the catchy plot (even though she had one of those), or even the vivid look into that fateful voyage she gave. It wasn't a surprise ending, either, considering we all know what happened there. No. For me, it was the family thing, again.

Those familiar characters that could have been my own sister, brother, or friend, who grappled with the same personal issues we all face at one time, or another. More importantly, how they survived them. 

And even though I found it very interesting to “catch a glimpse” of the clothes, and the food, and the luxuriousness of that floating palace, I came away with the wonderfully familiar encouragement in the “art of coping” one always bumps up against in a Janice Thompson novel. Which I take very seriously, no matter what the venue is.

A thing that (in my opinion) makes Janice something of a “queen of the waves,” herself.

You can find out more about Janice and her books by visiting her web site: JaniceThompson.com.