BOOK REVIEW: Don't Ever Get Old by Daniel Friedman

Warning: This is not a book for my usual Christian fiction readers. Not because it isn't an interesting book and not because it isn't as inspirational as the books I usually review. I loved it. But, it involves some pretty ugly murders and what I think may be typical police language, including the four-letter words not found in family fiction.

Okay. So if you're still reading you may wonder why I read the book in the first place. Actually, it was by mistake. I get most of my books free from several Christian publishers and when I received an email about this book, I assumed the message was from one of the regular publishers. Then, by the time I figured out it wasn't, it was too late. I had to read the rest of the book to find out what happens.

This story is about an eighty-seven year old Jewish retired policeman by the name of Baruch Schatz, who  goes by Buck Schatz. The advanced age and the Jewish angle are both important because Buck and his friend Jim Wallace were prisoners of war in World War II.

On his deathbed, Jim Wallace confesses to Buck that he had accepted a bribe from Heinrich Ziegler, the SS officer in charge of the POW camp where Buck and Jim where held. After the war, Buck searched for Ziegler to get revenge for the way he had been treated. Jim, while working as a guard, allowed Ziegler to pass through a road check for a gold brick. Before his death, Jim asks Buck for forgiveness.

The rest of the book is about Buck and his grandson Tequila tracking down Ziegler, who is now living in the United States. Tequila and Jim's son-in-law, Norris Feely, as well as Jim's pastor, Larry Kind, are mostly interested in what gold may still be in Ziegler's possession, but Buck would still like to find him for revengeful reasons. Buck, who has been retired from the police force in Memphis for more than thirty years, knows nothing about computers and the latest investigative techniques. But, he still has his instincts for finding criminals.

The gold worth millions is an incentive for all sorts of evil human behavior and this takes the story off in that direction. But, Buck is not distracted by the treasure.

As a story teller, I've worried about making my main character too old out of fear of limiting my readers to people of a certain age. But as I read this book I realized it didn't matter how old the person is. What matters is his or her character. Buck is a one you'll not soon forget.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from the publisher. 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. 

BOOK REVIEW: The Night Sky: A Journey from Dachau to Denver and Back By Maria Sutton

This is the true story of Maria Sutton's forty-three year search to find her ancestors, a search repeatedly hampered by her mother's reluctance to help, the loss of records during World War II, and the painfully slow government officials Maria had to deal with.

Maria came to the United States in 1952 when she was four years old with her mother Julia, her father Paul, and her sister Krystyna who was a couple of years older than Maria. The Catholic Charities helped them settle in the Denver area.

Julia Czeczerska had been born in the Eastern Europe town of Galicia which had been ruled by Russia, Austria, Ukraine, and Poland. Since she was Slavic, Hitler considered her inferior and she was placed in forced labor when Germany invaded.

At the age of thirteen, Maria overhears her mother and friend her mother had known from the German displaced persons camps talking and she subsequently learns that Paul is not her real father. This led to Maria's lifelong search for her father and her other ancestors.

Julia doesn't seem to want to help with Maria's search, but as the years go by, she offers more help. Eventually, she is more and more appreciative toward Maria for the information she learns.

The Night Sky is a true story, but it is written in a way that keeps you wanting to learn more. It is hard to put the book down. For that reason, I don't want to say too much so that you will enjoy reading the book as much as I did. Just keep in mind that there is much more to the book than Maria finding her father. This is an interesting look at history and gives insights into World War II and how it has affected people since. The author researched her material and added much more than a story about her own family.

I lived during the war, safely here in Texas, with only a few of my relatives serving in battles. I was aware of the treatment of Jews, but I learned from reading The Night Sky that the Slavic people were also murdered and persecuted by the Germans and the Russians. I recommend this book to all who want to read an interesting story while learning more about an important time in the history of the world.

Events for Authors

Last week I had the opportunity to speak at a fundraiser called Booked for Lunch which was sponsored by the Assistance League of Georgetown Area. The 250 or so attendees paid $20 for a box lunch and an opportunity to hear the authors speak. There were three other local authors there who I knew from the San Gabriel Writers' League. We were given tables at one end of the hall to exhibit and sell books. The doors opened at 11:30 so there was time for the attendees to view the books before lunch began.

After lunch, the authors spoke for 15-20 minutes each. After the first two did their presentation, there was a break which meant another opportunity to talk to the authors and purchase books. Finally, after all had talked, there was time to sell books once again.

I sold a few books before lunch, but most of my sales were after I told them about the book. Several people bought more than one because they knew someone who would like to have it. I didn't presume they wanted it autographed, but most asked me to sign the book. One came back with a book purchased earlier and got me to sign it.

The other authors had multiple books for sale. I only had one. One of the others sold out and took orders for more books than I sold altogether. The book in demand was A War of Her Own, by Sylvia Dickey Smith, a novel about a woman in World War II. This author also took credit cards while I could only take cash and checks.

In addition to the poster I have of the book cover, Celeste suggested I take the framed awards the book has won. I think this helped. I also handed out bookmarks. I made a special sign showing the price of the book and the sales tax. The resulting price was $10 to make it easier to make change.

One person said she would love to read the book, but she prefers Kindle books. I told her it was available on Kindle and for only $5.99. I gave her a bookmark to remind her of the book's name, and she asked me to autograph it. The next day, Kindle reported a sale. For future events, I should include a sign or poster announcing the book is available on Kindle and iPad as well as other eBooks.

I wasn't sure about what to say when it came my turn to speak. Of course I had planned for it for weeks, so I don't mean I was not prepared. At other events, I vary my presentation to match the audience. This time I decided to talk about why I wrote Where Love Once Lived and how I studied novel writing to make it happen. I then read to passages from the book. I read the beginning of the book up to the point where Karen leaves the classroom to go to the book mobile, and the section from Brian's viewpoint where he and Liz leave the school. I thought this audience might enjoy meeting Liz, but the comments I got later indicate they also liked what I said about writing.

Find the Perfect Name for a Fictional Character Part 3

Those of you who write historical novels know it is important to pick a name that fits the time period of your novel. In fact, you must make sure everything you mention fits the time period. In Shawna K. Williams' No Other, a novel set in the United States at the end of World War II, she mentions cloth diapers. Since we only had cloth diapers at that time, adding the word "cloth" was unnecessary and caused me, as the reader, to wonder why it was there.

Speaking of names, though, there are some names that are used in every generation while others tend to be faddish. The best source for the names being used is the Social Security Administration's Popular Baby Names website: http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/. You'll find the most popular male and female names by year going all the way back to 1880. You can specify the top 20, 50, 100, 500, or 1000. You can also look up the statistics for a particular name and see how it's popularity has changed over the years.

My name, Sidney, for example has changed in popularity over the years. When I was born it was fairly popular, but today it is way down on the list. However, it is not a good name for a fictional character because it is used for both males and females. Don't make it hard on your readers by making them have to remember if the character is a man or woman. 

My fictional character's name Brian, on the other hand, has a popularity in the top 100 every year since the mid-1940s. Karen, the female protagonist, was born in the mid-1950s and according to the Social Security Administration, the name Karen was in the top ten every year between 1951 and 1968.

Another way to analyze your character names is to look at the meaning of the name. Whether we like it or not readers have preconceived feelings about certain names. Some of those feelings could be personal and there's nothing we can do about that. But, there are names that more often than not have a special meaning to most people. In the next posting we'll identify sources of information you can use to learn the meaning and history of a name.

Have you used the Social Security Administration's Popular Baby Names website? If so, let me hear about your experiences.

BOOK REVIEW: No Other by Shawna K. Williams

No Other, set in post World War II time, is the story of Jakob, the son of Americans of German ancestry who were detained in Port Delamar, a fictional town based on Baytown, just east of Houston, and Meri, the daughter of the mayor.
Meri had been brought up by a mother and father who were more interested in outer appearances than true beliefs. They joined the church only because it would look good and get the mayor more votes, not because they believed in God.
Jakob, on the other hand, had reason to be bitter since his parents had lost their home and been imprisoned during the war because of their German heritage. Still, Jakob's strong spirituality gave him strength. Even so, it took time for him to forgive.
I love this book, but to be honest, I'm not sure why. Is it because it is about real people who, even though they strive to live wholesome lives, still fall short like so many of us do?
Probably. But then there's the setting. At first I couldn't see why the author decided to put the characters in post World War II time. But it was fascinating. What got my attention was that the internment of German Americans took place so close to where I live. This wasn't taught in my history classes.
By the time I finished reading the book, I knew No Other wouldn't have worked in a different time period. Still, I wondered why the author, Shawna K. Williams, decided to write it this way. Here is her response:
Sidney, it was because of a dream. I know that sounds weird, but the whole premise of the story started with a dream. I hadn't even wanted to be a writer, but the parts that I knew from the dream were likes parts to a puzzle and I had to figure out how it all fit together. In the dream, I knew the general era, but the year got pinpointed to 1947 as my research pegged other details. I knew Jakob was a little younger, and that Meri was somehow his teacher, but they were both adults. The details of that were settled through research too. I also knew his family had faced discrimination, but it was a documentary on Japanese internment that prompted me to research whether this had happened to other ethnic groups.
This book is unlike any Christian fiction I've read, and I'm sure you'll agree, it is worth the read.