Book Beginnings: The Roots of the Olive Tree

Welcome to Book Beginnings on Friday, where participating bloggers share the openings of books they're reading. Today I'm featuring The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santo. Here is the opening paragraph:  

"Anna Davison Keller wanted to be the oldest person in the world. She felt she was owed this distinction, due to the particular care she'd taken with the vessel God had given her. In her morning prayers, she made a show, in case God himself was watching, of getting out of bed and onto her knees. She spoke to God in his language--asking for a length of days to be added to the one hundred and twelve years she'd already lived and pleading for health in her navel and marrow in her bones. She didn't say outright that God ought to strike dead the jo-fired man in China who was keeping her from the title, but after all these years, surely, God knew her heart."

SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS: Set in a house on an olive grove in northern California, The Roots of the Olive Tree is a beautiful, touching story that brings to life five generations of women--including an unforgettable 112 year-old matriarch determined to break all Guinness longevity records--the secrets and lies that divide them and the love that ultimately ties them together.

Amazon Link

MY THOUGHTS: I have finished reading this book and I enjoyed it. It was well written and the women were interesting and believable, and each one had her own compelling story. But I'll admit that I kept getting the characters confused--who was whose grandmother? Only after I'd finished it did I discover there was a genealogy chart at the beginning.  

- Sandy Nachlinger

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader (Gilion Dumas). Here are instructions for how to participate:
Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

TWITTER: If you are on Twitter, please tweet a link to your post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. My Twitter handle is @GilionDumas.

Teaser Tuesday - Lies That Bind

For Teaser Tuesday, I'm posting the opening sentences from Lies That Bind by Delinda McCann.

When I was a little girl I never ever said, "When I grow up I want to be the mistress of a world leader." It never entered my head.

Amazon Link

Amazon Reviews (mine included!)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

~ Sandy Nachlinger

Book Beginnings: Memories

This is my first time to participate in Book Beginnings, and I'm looking forward to discovering a bunch of new stories and new authors. My beginning is from MEMORIES by Deanna Lynn Sletten.

Prologue / Today

Danielle Westerly-DeCara stood stoically, clutching the folded American flag to her chest as the minister said his final words over the casket. She neither saw the minister nor heard his words; her mind only registered the fact that she had to get through this painful day, one moment at a time.

I've finished reading this book and enjoyed it. Although the third person omniscient point of view bothered me at first, I became accustomed to it after a while. The book tells a lovely story.

Now I'm off to look at everybody else's posts! Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings. Here are the instructions from Rose City Reader:

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

Leave a link to your post on the Rose City Reader page (here). If you are on Twitter, please tweet a link to your post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings.

Happy reading!

Teaser Tuesday - Vengeance is Sacred

This week's Teaser is from VENGEANCE IS SACRED, historical fiction from Peter Healy. 

Teaser:
Paolo reached the stairs, but took one last look back before he ascended. He watched in shock as the girls on the ledge began to jump...sometimes alone, sometimes with companions, sometimes with their clothes or hair on fire, and sometimes with prayers on their lips. He bowed in respect then bound up the smoky stairs with the screams following after him and the horrors he witnessed etched in his memory forever.
[69% on my Kindle]

Synopsis from Amazon:
    From the mountain farms of Italy to the distant shores of L'America young Paolo forges an unforgettable journey of fortitude, intrigue, and love as he eludes the retribution of the Camorra crime syndicate. But much more is at stake than just Paolo's humble life . . . for he has been bestowed with a mysterious family legacy that is now in danger to end. 
   Fleeing to the New World in 1909, Paolo struggles on his own until he meets the beautiful Maria, a bold, fiery, labor activist. The dauntless couple become involved in the dangerous garment workers' strike in New York City, but it is the ensuing fire at the Triangle Waist Company that proves to be the ultimate challenge of Paolo's psychic abilities . . . and a true test of his courage as a man! 
   However, through it all, a perilous debt still remains from Paolo's troubled past and those who lie in wait seek to honor their sacred code of vengeance. Can Paolo overcome the blind forces of reprisal and is the future as predetermined as one may think?

See my review here: Sandy's Review of VENGEANCE IS SACRED

FYI: The fire at the Triangle Waist Company really happened. On that day in March 1911, 146 people died, 123 of them women. For photos and more information: 
http://www.osha.gov/oas/trianglefactoryfire.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf9GVbzf7Q4  (video essay)

To read more Teaser Tuesday posts, click here.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

Teaser Tuesday - Leaving Serenity

I've just barely started reading Leaving Serenity, but so far I'm enjoying it. The synopsis on Goodreads says: 
"Based on the life of Annette Bevels, Leaving Serenity takes the reader back to the quaint atmosphere of main street America in the 1960’s where everyone speaks the same language and success is measured by conformity. At sixteen, she falls in love with Jack Harris, a romantic hippie with an unsavory past. Leaving Serenity, Annette creates a new identity and becomes the master of her own destiny. Her journey to success is inspiring and empowering." 

TEASER: 
Changing my image gave my self-confidence a boost and elevated my career. No matter how many times they call me Annette, I've come too far to go back now. I am Nicky.
(5% on my Kindle)

Here's the link to the book on Amazon: Leaving Serenity

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

- Sandy Nachlinger 

A follow-up to my latest Teaser Tuesday post: Here's a guest post by author Sandra McLeod Humphrey with parental tips for combating bullying. 

Sandra Humphrey Guest Post

Sandra says:
"... my book Hot Issues, Cool Choices: Facing Bullies, Peer Pressure, Popularity, and Put-Downs offers specific bullying scenarios which encourage readers to talk about the choices they would make in those situations."

This is important.

Hot Issues, Cool Choices (on Amazon)

Sweet Saturday Samples - Aug 11

I’ve missed the past couple of Saturdays, but now I’m back with more from my WIP, Elly and the Geriatrics. To bring you up to date: Elly wrecked her grandmother’s golf cart, Derek came to her rescue, and now they’re chilling at the local Sonic Drive-In, evading Mrs. Bagley’s snooping eyes. (I skipped ahead a little.) You’ll find my previous Sweet Saturday Samples post here.

     Moments later Derek found a spot in the Sonic parking lot, asked Elly what she wanted, and placed their orders.

     Then he turned and faced Elly. “Are you ready to tell me what went on back there?”

      Elly bit her lip.

      Can I trust this man.

      I don't know him well … but he’s always been kind to Granny.

      Besides, he’s an employee of the retirement village, not a member of the Geriatric Government.

      She looked up and saw Derek’s dark eyes full of concern.

      Oh, who cares what old Bagley said about his history with women?

      She stared into Derek’s eyes, watching for the reaction she hoped she’d find. “If you have to turn me in, I’ll understand, but I hope you won't.”

      Derek reached across the seat and took Elly’s hand. “Good grief. What is it? Did you run over Mrs. Bagley’s petunias? Did you steal a bottle of water from the rec center refrigerator? You didn’t go skinny dipping in the neighborhood pool, did you?” His lips twitched.

      Elly squeezed his hand, took a deep breath, and looked down at their fingers twined together. “I’ve been living with my grandmother for almost two months.” She looked up at Derek, wondering what she’d see in his face. All she found were raised eyebrows and a smile. He squeezed her hand.

      “I see. And?”

      “Derek, I know I’m not supposed to stay in the park for more than a month, but Granny needs me, and I need her too.”

      Elly told him about the postponement of her career plans while he nodded as if he understood. He slipped his arm across the back of the bench seat and pulled her to his side. As she shared her worries about her grandmother, he gave her a hug. Feeling safe and protected, tears fell when she told him a little about Rick. “He lied to me. And now I’ve destroyed Granny’s surrey. And Mrs. Bagley is going to cause trouble. And I don’t know how I’m going to—”

      Derek put his hand under Elly’s chin, tilted it up, and gently kissed her lips. With his thumbs he wiped the tears from her cheeks.

      "Things will get better,” he whispered.

      Without pausing to think, Elly raised her hands to rest on his chest and kissed him back.

There's nothing like that delicious first kiss, is there?

What's Sweet Saturday Samples?

Each week, writers post brief samples of their work on their own blogs and then link them to the main site, so readers can conveniently “hop” from blog to blog, meet new authors and become better acquainted with ones they already know. All samples are rated PG-13 (or milder), though the books from which they're taken may be spicier. 
For more SWEET SATURDAY SAMPLES, click HERE.

Photo of lips: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32135406@N00/2843391506/
The candy photo is mine.

Senior Moments

Do you sometimes forget things? Read my lighthearted take on the subject on the Boomers & Books blog. It'll make you feel better. Here's the link:

Senior Moments

PS: I've also included a link to a fantastic Peach Cake recipe from America's Test Kitchen. One slice will definitely improve your attitude.

Teaser Tuesday - Hot Issues, Cool Choices

In her book Hot Issues, Cool Choices, Sandra McLeod Humphrey tackles the issue of bullying. Here's the opening sentence from Chapter 1:

My name is Erica, and my life is like totally wrecked. Maybe Angelina didn't mean to wreck it, and then again maybe she did.

Click here to see Sandra's Book Trailer.

You'll find her book here: Amazon

                               And here's Sandra's website.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

Winner of I.O.U. SEX

We're delighted to announce that Terri Rochenski has won a free ebook copy of I.O.U. SEX, in connection with our recent guest post on Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews blog.

In case anyone missed our guest post, telling what's real and what isn't in I.O.U. SEX, here's the link: How did they come up with that?

Thank you, Terri, for entering. We hope you enjoy the book. And thanks again to Laurie for hosting us on her blog.

PS: Terri has a blog too: Scribbler's Sojourn

Photo By Niels Noordhoek (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons