June J. McInerney

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Friday, June 21, 2013

Downton Abbey Redox

Okay, so if you're like me, right about now you're suffering from DAWS--Downton Abbey Withdrawal Syndrome. It's a very common ailment, you know, and is now a wide-spread epidemic across the United States. But not in the United Kingdom, I am told, where DA Series 4 is already being aired on BBC. NOT FAIR! Why should we have to wait until NEXT January to see it, when other diehard fans in other countries can see it now?

And, I hear, there are only six, count them, six episodes in this next season. I cry FOUL! to Julian Fellowes who could have easily written a few more to carry us starving fans through yet another long winter, not just through the month of January.

Or maybe, as he claimed a few months ago trying to explain away the demise of...er, um...(If you haven't seen DA S3 yet, I won't spoil it for you), "It's too hard to write happy, good stuff." Well, that's a lot of puppy p**p.

Anyway, be that as it may, with PBS lacking DA this summer, I've found a few palliatives to squelch my serious case of DAWS: two 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles, one of Lady Mary and The Dowager Lady Crawley chatting in the library and the other of the whole cast in front of the Abbey; occasional visits to the Downton Abbey web site (www.DowntonAbbey.com); savoring those sporadic DA posts on Facebook, which only serve to whet my appetite even more; and reading novels with similar characters and plotlines.

One book in particular is The Woman from Paris: A Novel by Santa Montefiore. It's her fourth literary offering as and is just as well-written as, I suspect, her first three (I''ll let you know—I just received The French Gardner as a birthday (tomorrow!) present from a dear friend). Set in the English countryside on a large manor very much like Downton, it is replete with a Lady, a Dowager, three adult heirs—Lords instead of Ladies—and a soap opera storyline that is just as satisfying as DA's. Now, except for the fact that the storyline is in 2012 instead of 1912 (if you take out the references to email and cell phones, it could just as easily be in the early 1900s), it went a long way last week to assuage my anticipatory "just-can't-wait" DAWS symptoms.

As Julian said in the blurb on the front of its dust-jacket, “I just couldn’t put this novel down.”
Surf over to www.authorexposure.com and read my review, then come back here, click on the book-jacket in the left pane, order a copy, and relax with this charming and engrossing tale about family loyalties and reconciliation.

1:54 pm edt Comments

Monday, June 17, 2013

Fruit Loops
There was a picture in the local paper this past Saturday of five immigrants from various countries saluting The Stars and Stripes during a Flag Day ceremony in which they had just been made citizens of The United States. If you think about it, all of us and/or our ancestors--except for Native Americans--where once immigrants. Well, maybe the Indians were, too, since they originally migrated across from Asian and up from South America.

I am always fascinated by stories of how and why people came to this country and how they made their way to be acclimated into our culture. Some, like Beverly Obejas, an immigrant from the Philipines in the novel, The Mango Bride by Marivi Soliven, did not fare as well as she dreamt she would, while Amparo Guerrero manages to do quite well for herself. When and how their paths cross in San Francisco and their secrets are revealed is a fascinating story.

I read this first novel by Soliven, a professor of creative writing, a few weeks ago and its plotline and characters are still "stuck" in my mind. Please follow the link to www.authorexposure.com to read my review. I am sure you will want to put this interesting and intriguing novel on your summer reading list.

11:10 am edt Comments

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June J. McInerney, the host of this Literary Blog, is an author, poet, and librettist. Her currently published works include a novel, a book of spiritual inspirations, two volumes of poetry, stories for children (of all ages) and a variety of children's musicals. Her titles include:

Miss Elmira's Secret Treasure: A Novel of Phoenixville during the Early 1900s

Colonial Theatre: A Novel of Phoenixville during the Roarin' 20s

Phoenix Hose, Hook & Ladder: A Novel of Phoenixville during World War I

Columbia Hotel: A Novel of Phoenixville during the Early 1900s

the Schuylkill Monster: A Novel of Phoenixville in 1978

The Prisoner's Portrait: A Novel of Phoenxville during World War II

Forty-Thirty

Rainbow in the Sky

Meditations for New Members

Adventures of Oreigh Ogglefont

The Basset Chronicles.

Cats of Nine Tales

Spinach Water: A Collection of Poems

Exodus Ending: A Collection of More Spiritual Poems

We Three Kings

Beauty and the Beast

Bethlehem

Noah's Rainbow

Peter, Wolf, and Red Riding Hood

Originally from the New York metropolitan area, June currently lives near Valley Forge Park in Pennsylvania with her constant and loving companions, FrankieBernard and Sebastian Cat. She is currently working on her sixth novel.

June's novels can be purchased at amazon.com, through Barnes and Noble,
at the Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area,
and the Gateway Pharmacy in Phoenixvile, PA.

For more information about her musicals, which are also available on amazon.com,

please access www.stagedoormusicals.com.