Published by: Guideposts
Pages: 301
Genre: Inspirational Fiction
Story Summary and Publication Review in a Nutshell:
Publishers Weekly ~
Prolific novelist and nonfiction author Goyer (All Things Hidden) pens a contemporary story rooted in World War II, where several of her historicals have been set. TV producer Ava Ellington is suffering from heartbreak and making professional mistakes. An unexpected opportunity to go to Europe with her grandfather Jack, a WWII vet, to visit battle sites promises emotional escape and a set of great stories about vets returning to Europe. In Paris, a complication materializes: Ava’s first love, Dennis, is accompanying his grandfather Paul, Jack’s wartime buddy and family friend, on the same trip. Jack has ghosts to face as Ava is reminded of her own past pain. Goyer does well with the Greatest Generation, showing that war is more than nostalgia. Some might well wish for more information about the historical battle sites that frame the present action, but this is a light fictional treatment of a heavy subject. This novel has a sweet way of describing family relationships and will particularly speak to those closely connected to WWII veterans, who are taking their stories with them to the grave.
She won the Historical Novel of the Year award in both 2005 and 2006 from American Christian Fiction Writers, and was honored with the Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference in 2003. Tricia's book Life Interrupted was a finalist for the Gold Medallion Book Award in 2005. Tricia's co-written novel, The Swiss Courier, was a nominee for the Christy Awards.
The Dame Happily Brings You An Interview with Tricia Goyer:
Hello, Ms Goyer. Welcome to A Bookish Libraria!I’m so delighted you’ve agreed to allow us to get to know you and your book better through an interview. I have several questions for you, since I'm dying to get to know you better.
1) First of all, please tell us a special something about what makes you "tick."
My family makes me tick. I love being with them. I center my day on serving God by serving them. Time spent with them is my favorite!
2) WWII is a favorite time frame for me as a reader and reviewer. What made it especially compelling to you other than your family connection to the era?
I love World War II because there was so much at stake. It was a fight against good and evil, light against darkness. During World War II ordinary people were taken out of their comfort zones. Farm boys ending up halfway around the world. There is so much internal and external conflict that comes when writing about World War II. All that fascinated me as a writer...but what connected with me as a person was being able to interview WWII veterans. I interviewed over 100 of them in the last ten years. I'll forever see WWII different because of those men. I got a glimpse of truth, and fears, and honor as I listened to their stories.
3) Please share with your readers where you like to write. Do you have a particular space or desk? What can you see from your desk? Do you have props you use to write from? What about special "charms?"
My favorite place to write is Panera Bread with a salad and a large tea. That doesn't happen too often. Where I usually write is at my dining room table. I don't have a designated office so I sit about ten feet from my family as they watch television or hang out. Since I mostly write after dinner I actually like being close to them. I don't feel as if I'm off in some other part of the house...and amazingly I'm also able to concentrate.
4) In your opinion, what makes a book a great one?
When you feel as if you're a part of the story, the characters are friends (or enemies) and there is a message that resonates with you.
5) What are your Top 5 all time favorite books?
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boon
Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby
A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers
The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers
The Forgiving Hour by Robin Lee Hatcher
"The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boon was probably the first Christian book I read as a young adult. It was the most inspiring non-fiction memoir I had ever read...still is today. I've found myself quoting from it many times over the years to comfort myself and my children in difficult times. What an inspiration she has been in my life. I'm glad you mentioned that book, Tricia.
6) Read any books in the past 6 months that you've loved?
I loved Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst. I also really enjoyed The Help.
7) Please share with us the underlying message of your book. What would you like your readers to take away after having read "Remembering You?"
I hope first they've been entertained and been swept away in its pages. I also hope that readers will be encouraged to listen to those God places in their lives. We don't truly understand until we listen, and we can't love completely until we understand.
8) Were you able to keep your original title? What was it, if not?
Yes, Remembering You was my original title. I tried to figure out something more artsy, but it just fit so well! I love it now!
9) Is there a song that you "heard" or might best represent your book as a theme song?
Steven Curtis Chapman actually has a new song, "Remembering You." It would make an EXCELLENT theme song for my novel!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDX6f39ZAqY
You're so right. That's a beautiful and perfect song for you.
10) What’s your favorite coffee? ...candy?
My favorite coffee is Leiva's coffee:
http://leivascoffee.com/
Geovanni actually goes to my church and hand delivers it to me. It's the best coffee I've every had.
As for candy … dark chocolate!
Tricia, thank you so much for bending to these busybody questions! It’s been a pleasure having you on my blog and a pleasure reading "Remembering You."
The Dame's Review:
WWII is a time frame that draws many of us back over and over. Love stories seem to haunt the years and never fade with the passage of time. Letters, journals and stories carried from grandparents to parents to grandchildren, keep fellow soldiers, doctors and nurses, war correspondents, European cities, freedom fighters and foreign lovers vivid in our minds. Pictures of Paris and London under siege, of children and other refugees, and of the survivors of death camps such as Dachau only serve to leave us playing the images over in our minds and wanting to know more stories about them.
Tricia Goyer has given us that new novel to salve the craving so many of us have for just one more story. It's a book about love stories. It's a book about Europe and the cities from different times and circumstances. It's a book about age and aging and learning how to accommodate that process. And, I think it's a book about learning to take some of those journeys through life with grace.
I recommend "Remembering You" to those who like reading a light and gentle story about the things I've mentioned above. While Tricia Goyer is a prolific writer, in this book she is more concerned with creating likable characters who learn to walk in faith and with love, than she is with in-depth analysis on any particular topic. This book is not weighty, rather it seems meant to give entertainment and joy in the reading.
Find out more about Ms Goyer at: http://www.triciagoyer.com/
4 stars
Deborah/TheBookishDame
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