Mocha with Linda: A Sky Without Stars - Win a Kindle Fire HDX!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

A Sky Without Stars - Win a Kindle Fire HDX!

A Sky Without Stars
(Quilts of Love)
Linda S. Clare
(Abingdon Press)
ISBN: 978-1426752797
February 2014/272 pages/$13.99

In 1951, Frankie Chasing Bear is a Lakota caught between cultures. She wants to raise her son Harold to revere his Lakota heritage, but she knows he will need to become as a white man to succeed. After his father’s killed in a barroom brawl, Harold and Frankie move to Arizona, where she begins a Lakota Star pattern quilt for Harold with tribal wisdom sung, sewn and prayed into it.

She distrusts Christians, as her own parents were forced to convert at an Indian School, until she meets BIA agent Nick Vandergriff, a half-Lakota who’s also caught between cultures. Nick must convince Frankie that white men and Christians aren’t all bad as he tries to win her heart in order to put the stars back into her sky.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Linda S. Clare is an award-winning coauthor of three books, including Lost Boys and the Moms Who Love Them (with Melody Carlson and Heather Kopp), Revealed: Spiritual Reality in a Makeover World, and Making Peace with a Dangerous God (with Kristen Johnson Ingram). She is also the author of The Fence My Father Built. She has taught college-level creative writing classes for seven years, and edits and mentors writers. She also is a frequent writing conference presenter and church retreat leader. She and her husband of thirty-one years have four grown children, including a set of twins. They live in Eugene, Oregon, with their five wayward cats: Oliver, Xena the Warrior Kitty, Paladine, Melchior, and Mamma Mia!

Find out more about Linda S. at http://www.lindasclare.com.

MY THOUGHTS

Like many Quilts of Love novelists before her, Linda S. Clare has woven a story around the making of a very special quilt. As a quilt is pieced together from very differing swatches, Linda S. Clare has woven a story that bridges two very different cultures, the Lakota and the white man's. The disparity, distrust, and disdain between the two groups are well-portrayed, as are the struggles of those who, like Frankie Chasing Bear and Nick Vandergriff find themselves straddling both environments. While not unexpected, it was still heart-wrenching to read of the difficulties and animosity they faced at times. I was captivated by this story. The ending did seem somewhat rushed and fall a bit flat for me, considering the depth of earlier parts of the book. Overall, however, this is an enjoyable novel.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book free from Abingdon Press and Litfuse Publicity as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Don't miss this month's Quilts of Love book, A Star Without Stars, by Linda S. Clare. Linda is celebrating the release with a Kindle HDX giveaway and joining her fellow Quilts of Love authors, Barbara Cameron and Joyce Magnin, for a Facebook "Spring Fling" party on April 1st.

One winner will receive:

A Kindle Fire HDX
Scraps of Evidence by Barbara Cameron
A Sky Without Stars by Linda S. Clare
Maybelle in Stitches by Joyce Magnin

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on April 1st. Winner will be announced at the "Spring Fling" Facebook Party on April 1st. RSVP today and connect with the authors from the Quilts of Love series, Barbara Cameron, Linda S. Clare, and Joyce Magnin, for an evening of book chat, quilt trivia, prizes, and an exclusive look at the next Quilts of Love book!

So grab your copies of Scraps of Evidence, A Sky Without Stars, and Maybelle in Stitches and join Barbara, Linda, and Joyce on the evening of April 1st for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the books, don't let that stop you from coming!)