I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by Just Read. I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.
Source: Just Read
Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for A Southern Season: Four Stories From a Front Porch Swing by Eva Marie Everson, Claire Fullerton, Linda W. Yezak, and Ane Mulligan, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! Pull up a front porch swing and enjoy learning more about this collection from 4 great authors 🙂
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: A Southern Season: Four Stories From a Front Porch Swing
Authors: Eva Marie Everson, Claire Fullerton, Linda W. Yezak, Ane Mulligan
Publisher: Firefly Southern Fiction
Release Date: November 1, 2018
Genre: Inspirational Southern/Women’s Fiction
Four seasons. Four stories. Each one set in the enchanting world of the South. These are the kinds of stories your grandmother told you from a front porch swing.
Ice Melts in Spring by Linda W. Yezak
When Kerry Graham’s boss forces her to return to the Gulf of Mexico where her husband drowned years ago, she feels only spring’s chill and not the warmth of the Texas sun. Can the joy of a reclusive author and the compassion of a shrimp-boat preacher thaw Kerry’s frigid heart?
Lillie Beth in Summer by Eva Marie Everson
With the untimely death of his wife, Dr. James Gillespie believes God has abandoned him. He also believes he’s never met anyone like the young widow Lillie Beth, whose beloved Granny lies dying at home, and who sees a God who sweeps hope through a farmhouse window. Can a young woman whose husband died in Vietnam restore a faith that is all but dead.
Through an Autumn Window by Claire Fullerton
Because her larger than life mother Daphne Goodwyn is dead, forty-year-old Cate returns to Memphis with one thought in mind: something always goes wrong at a Southern funeral. But surrounded by the well-mannered society that raised her, the nostalgic rites of a three-day, autumn mourning bring the unexpected gift of the end of sibling rivalry.
A Magnolia Blooms in Winter by Ane Mulligan
With Broadway stardom within her reach, Morgan James returns home in winter to help an old friend. Maybe it s just nostalgia, but when she sees him again, an old flame rekindles. When she’s called back to NYC to take the lead in a new musical, will fame be worth losing the man she loves?
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Eva Marie Everson (Lillie Beth in Summer) is a multiple award-winning author and speaker. She is the president of Word Weavers International and the director of Florida Christian Writers Conference & North Georgia Christian Writers Conference.
CONNECT WITH EVA: website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
Claire Fullerton (Through an Autumn Window) is the author of Mourning Dove, Dancing to an Irish Reel, and A Portal in Time. She is a transplanted Southerner from Memphis now living in Malibu, California.
CONNECT WITH CLAIRE: website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
Ane Mulligan (A Magnolia Blooms in Winter) writes Southern-fried fiction served with a tall, sweet iced tea. She’s an award-winning, multi-published novelist and playwright, who believes chocolate and coffee are two of the four major food groups.
CONNECT WITH ANE: website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
Linda W. Yezak (Ice Melts in Spring) lives with her husband and PB, the original scaredy cat, in a forest in Deep East Texas, where tall tales abound and exaggeration is an art form. Author of several novels, novellas, and short stories, she is best known for her award-winning Circle Bar Ranch series.
CONNECT WITH LINDA: website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
Review
Ice Melts in Spring by Linda W. Yezak
Let me just start by saying that this collection is filled with new to me authors. Any time you branch out to new authors it’s a toss up. You love them or. . . This toe dip into the Linda W. Yezak was completely a win for me. I enjoyed her voice, though I did find the words a bit stilted, almost formal sounding. I feel just a tad like Elena Morino’s voice bled over into some of the other characters. Toss that aside for a moment with me. Yezak was able to blend a back story of pain into a novella with grace and simplicity while still maintaining the complexity of Kerry’s loss. Geez, now I’m starting to sound all wordy and formal. Here’s the deal, a simple trip to the beach in the opening scene oozed such depth of emotion and completely set up a full history with so few words. So much of this carried throughout the novella but then the ending felt too pat, too rushed, just too. Kerry’s withdrawal from her faith, he bitterness at her loss, and her isolation from the world was almost magically erased with just a few interactions and well placed interventions so to speak. It felt just entirely too easily. The message throughout, the fact that no matter the depth of our pain or the feeling that God has left us, God is always with us and waiting for us to connect was solid and really hit a few sore spots for me. The not so gentle reminder that our relationship with God is not based on a ‘feeling’ but based on his promises, truth, and fact. The solidness of that theme carried this novella through the rough spots for me and brought it all out as a winner.
Lillie Beth in Summer by Eva Marie Everson
Another dip into a new author and another success. So far this collection is wining on several levels for me. The story of Lille Beth, while there are a few pet peeves for me, reminds me a lot of my Granny and Pa – my dad’s parents. Granny was a ‘foreigner’ so to speak, born in Indian Territory that would come to be Oklahoma not long after she was born. They hadn’t known each other very long when they hopped the train from Hurley to Galena to get married. Five kids, three states, and almost 58 years later they were separated by the passing of Granny and a little of a year later Pa joined her after grieving himself to the grave. They are the reason that I pet peeve instalove but am slow to swing the axe at it. They are proof that instalove can work. But. . . I just don’t like it m’kay. Statistically instalove fails, but then there are nuggets like Granny and Pa. But really, falling in love in a day? I don’t think so. . . just sayin’. This novella touches on several sensitive topics, specifically alcoholism and domestic violence. It may be upsetting to some readers but it’s handled sensitively and not overtly. It has a folksy charm in the development of the characters and the dialogue they share. Back to pet peeves for a moment, I mean I harped on instalove enough but there’s also the everything falls back into place to easily. Jim, specifically, struggles with his relationship with God (much like Kerry in ‘Ice Melts in Spring’) due to the loose of his wife. He has separated himself from a lifelong relationship. Somehow, magically, with a little bit of time (and I mean little bit!) with Elma (granny) and Lillie Beth he’s back in the fold. It’s just a bit hard to rationalize ya know? While I loved this snapshot of these lives I feel like this novella tried a bit too hard to be something bigger than it was. No disappointment, just a bit of pet peeving.
Through an Autumn Window by Claire Fullerton
I struggled a little bit with this story, it felt too much like Chinquapin Parrish and they Yaya’s got together. I loved that it was exactly what a good novella should be, a snapshot, a moment in time without the need to be overarching or take on too much. Yes, there was a bit of back story with Lincoln and Cate that I never quite worked out but that doesn’t matter because in the snapshot of the moment I had exactly what I needed to understand their convoluted relationship. I feel like my struggle came in when I just didn’t feel connected to any of these characters. I mean we are at a southern funeral for Pete’s sake, I got more emotion for an unnamed drunk person than I did the family. The story felt too formal and didn’t draw me into their emotion. Lincoln and Cate’s reconciliation had me a bit out of sorts as well. I feel like it was just too easy. A lifetime of resentment and alienation and one scene and all is gravy. Really? Is that really how it works? Perhaps for some but I can’t relate to it. The story is solid, the characters fit their role, but I just didn’t feel. I love words that make me feel, even when I don’t want to feel ya know?
A Magnolia Blooms in Winter by Ane Mulligan
I’ve been so blessed to read four well written novellas. Stories that found their moment and shared it with with grace. Morgan and Andy weave a classic tale of young loved that followed separate dreams and finds each other again, accidentally on purpose. I felt like I didn’t quite connect with them but I truly cared about them, if that makes sense. Their story felt rushed, it was filled with faith and hope and sweet romance but rushed. I mean who gets a flight cancellation on Christmas Eve when there’s standby waiting?!? Sweet and romantic and obviously meant to be but really? Christmas Eve? Perhaps I’m just jaded. The underlying theme though really brought this home for me. Realizing that sometimes the dream you thought you had was really the dream that prepared you for the real dream. ‘Yes, dreams have a way of doing that. Sometimes, we get to keep them only for a season.’ Follow your dreams, just reevaluate periodically to make sure you are following the right dream and not the prep dream.
TOUR GIVEAWAY
One (1) winner will receive a print copy of A Southern Season, signed by all 4 authors! (US only)
Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight October 30, 2018 and last through 11:59pm November 5, 2018. US only. Winners will be notified within a week of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
Follow along at JustRead for a full list of stops!
Thank you for your wonderful review on the stories in “A Southern Season” as well as for being part of the blog tour.
After reading your reviews, I am definite that I’d love to read this book. It’s on my TBR list.
I felt a lot of what you did reading these novellas. Thanks for the review.