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A LITERARY
BLOG ABOUT BOOKS How they affect us. How they shape our lives.
Note: Postings
made when muses strike. Watch for blog alert notices via email, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. "We read to know we are not alone." C.S. Lewis Copyright 2011-2018
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12 Reading Recommendations Please click a book image to purchase it on Amazon.
Novels, books, and musicals June has written and published: Click a book image to purchase it on www.amazon.com
"Meditations
for New Members is a beautifully written little book...a gem. The thoughts are striking and orginal--a
few are quite profound." --Fiona Hodgkin, author of The Tennis Player from Bermuda
Sponsored in part by Dani's Pantry Fine authentic Italian food. Cucina con Amore! https://amzn.to/2HdlA
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Services Proofreading, Editing, Rewites, Assistance with Self-publishing. "It's the write thing to do."
"I like what you've done with my
book. Makes me fall in love with it all over again." --Olajuwon Dare, author of Eleven Eleven
Contact
June at JuneJ@JuneJMcInerney.com on Facebook.com, or at www.BSetiPupPublising.com
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Friday, September 22, 2017
Moscow Nights The Cold War was at its peak
when the USSR launched Sputnik I into orbit, propelling the USSR into the leading role of technology and further
plummeting the USA into the downside of the tenuous, escalating arms race. Six months later, in April of 1958, with both sides
still seeking – but failing – to reach a semblance of compromise, a tall, lanky twenty-three-year old heretofore
unknown Texan with a shock of reddish-blond curls transformed the impending hostilities by winning the First International
Tchaikovsky Competition held in Moscow. With his vibrantly brilliant, soul-searching piano playing, and love
of “all things Russian”, Van Cliburn charmed not only the Soviet citizens, but their bombastic leader, Nikita
Khrushchev, as well. The Soviet Premier instantly became one of, if not Cliburn’s biggest fan. Who, because of Cliburn,
began to soften his pompous, self-righteous stance. According to Nigel Cliff in Moscow Nights: The Van Cliburn Story--How One Man and His Piano Transformed the Cold War, Cliburn’s triumph, coupled with his warm embrace of Russian music and culture, kindled a spark of hope that,
perhaps, the two factious, most powered nations of the world had finally found a pathway to peaceful coexistence. Moscow Nights unexpectantly arrived on my doorstop three weeks ago with a request from Harper Collins for a review. Thinking it was
a novel, I began reading the book that night and was surprised that it, starting with a ticker tape parade followed by two
short stories about Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninoff, was not. It appeared to be a treatise about Van Cliburn’s
llife and his rise to prominence and international fame. Yet, as I continued to read Cliff’s fourth work of literary
non-fiction, I discovered, however scholarly, that Moscow Nights reads like a well-written novel. Slowing my pace
down to “history mode”, I settled in to absorb fascinating aspects and nuances of 1950s/1960s world events. This author, whose writing style and composition is just as vibrant and as brilliant as Cliburn’s piano playing,
covers just about everything; leaving nothing unturned. Music history and theory; Van Cliburn’s life, including training
at age four learning to play the piano while sitting on his mother’s lap [a piano teacher classically trained by Russian
pianist and composer Arthur Friedheim]; causes and effects of the Cold War; cultural similarities and differences between
the USA and the USSR; FBI, CIA, and KGB intrigues [there were several surrounding the competition and Cliburn]; insights into
Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy as well as Khrushchev [including his insidiously strategic rise to power
via deceit and betrayal]. Not to mention his famous show-pounding appearance in the United Nationals General Assembly. Shall
I go on? Most intriguing is the author’s in-depth look into Van Cliburn’s personal as well as his
public lives – how they intertwined, opposed, and yet complemented each other. His inner turmoil and outwardly sunny,
optimistic, gregarious disposition. It was almost as if the talented pianist came back to life and was sitting right next
to me, unravelling his story. Through Cliff’s eyes and words he, in fact, was… The attention to painstakingly
researched detail of all aspects of Cliburn’s life – even down to the flapping loose sole of his left shoe as
he came up on stage for one of his myriad concerts – was, for lack of a better word, phenomenal. Rarely featured in
works of non-fiction and seldom so artistically interfaced in historical novels, Cliff captures the very heart and essence
of both literary worlds. In this tumultuous, age – the parallels between 1958 and 2017 are astoundingly
scary – Moscow Nights is a most timely, maturely sober reminder of how threatening – and frightening – the facetious follies
of foolish leaders can be. And how they can – and must – be assuaged and appeased not by the escalation of school-yard
taunts backed by nuclear armaments, but by the coming together and sharing of common cultural interests and mutual concern
and humane understanding. Nigel Cliff’s brilliantly written Moscow Nights is definitely the best
non-fiction book of this century. And a must for those of us who do not wish to ever again see the darkest side of history
repeat itself. Enjoy the read!
2:33 pm edt
Monday, September 11, 2017
The Girl
with Kaleidoscope Eyes Stewart “Hoagy” Hoag, the taller dashing half of the protagonist
team of Hoagy and Lulu, claims at one point in The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes “Never argue with a stubborn basset hound. You will always lose.” Now, being owned by a doggedly determined
basset hound myself, I know this statement to be true. I have the bruised left knee and deflated ego to prove it. But that
is another story to be told at another time. What is the story here is David Handler’s exquisitely fluid
writing style, the subtle sense of humor he imbues in his two main characters, and the seemingly simplistic plot lines that
twist and turn into spirals of complex shockers. Handler, in my humble estimation, is our modern-day Dashiell Hammett and,
like Hammett, should not be overlooked as a very talented writer of semi-contemporary mystery. And that should come as no
surprise, considering he has written 24 novels prior to tackling The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes, the ninth in his Stewart Hoag mystery series. Handler, as explained in the publicity notes
that accompanied the complimentary copy sent by the William Morrow publicist, had taken a hiatus from the series that features
a celebrity ghost writer and his somewhat faithful companion, Lulu, a basset who has unusual dietary habits. Begun in 1992,
Hoagy and Lulu enjoyed a merry romp through the more literary side of the mystery genre until their suspension in 1997. Fast
forward 20 years to Handler’s agent meeting with the publisher who, by chance, mentioned how much he enjoyed reading
about the two semi-super sleuths and would the author consider writing another? The result, of course, was The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes and, as it turns out, a whole new following, including myself. Set in 1992, the world of Hoagy and
Lulu is on the cusp of the internet age; cell-phones are bigger than bread boxes, and William Clinton has set his sights for
the White House. Reluctantly, Steward Stafford Hoag [I love that his initials are “SSH”.] takes on helping an
international media mogul write a memoir about her long-lost father, Richard Aintree, a once-famous novelist and former husband
of an equally popular poet, now deceased. It should be an open-and-shut arrangement, except that Hoagy was once in love with
the younger sister and, after a subsequent failed marriage with a movie star, is loathed, for whatever reasons, to revisit
his former life. It seems that everywhere Hoagy and Luly go – they are never apart – they are beset
by shady characters; unethical businessmen; beautiful, but deceiving women; and, of all things, murder. Not one, but two.
Possible three. Hence what could have easily been a ho-hum-drim novel about Hollywood literati becomes a more than plausible,
fast-paced, crisp dialogue-spitting, pop-pop-popping plot lines, that keep the wide-eyed reader guessing whodunit until the
very last page. Hoagy has been called a “slapstick” sleuth. I am not sure what that means. Hoagy
takes no pratfalls nor fake cream pies in the face. Although, at times, he does find himself with the figurative egg all over
it. What the ghost writer who just happens to solve crimes is, however, a loveable, true-to-life “regular kind of guy”
whose quirky basset is just as loveable and just as charming. Yes, that’s the operative word here. Simply
charming. Stewart Hoagy and Lulu put on the charm from the very first paragraph. Lulu, even with her bad breath
and slobbery drools, is humorously charming as she rides sidecar down the streets of suburban Los Angeles next to her beloved
companion. Together, they charm truth out of the most dishonest and, in the end, charmingly and most appealingly reveal a
long-kept secret that has mysteriously rocked the literary world for years. What’s here not to like and love? The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes is charmed – and charming – writing at its best. Enjoy the read!
2:24 pm edt
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Miss Kopp’s
Midnight Confessions In my midnight confessions, When I tell the world that I love you… After reading three of her Kopp Sisters series,
I am warmly convinced that Amy Stewart has a delightfully playful sense of humor. Even though she approaches her subject-matter
with a high degree of gravitas. Whether she intentionally decided to pun on The Grass Roots popular song lyrics for the title
of her ninth book and third novel, is irrelevant. It still brought a smile to my face, singing the chorus as I spent the most
enjoyable early summer days reading Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions (A Kopp Sisters Novel). Fighting crime and corruption was not an easy feat back in 1916, especially with a war going on
overseas that would soon affect America. But in the capable hands of the well-seasoned Stewart, it comes relatively easy to
Constance A. Kopp, the first lady Deputy Sheriff in New Jersey [Bergen Country, to be exact]. But, then again, she has had
two previous adventures – two novels chock full of experience under her belt. Why shouldn’t it be second nature?
Why not, indeed… We first met Constance and her two quirky sisters in Girl Waits with Gun, a
dynamic portrayal of a real-life character who stuns the law-enforcement world with her innate skills and forceful determination.
In Lady Copy Makes Trouble [publish exactly one year ago to the date. Please see my blog post.], she comes up against
hardened female prisoners and learns to care for them. In this third enjoyable, yet elucidating exposé, our intrepid
Constance delves into the backstories of women incarcerated in jail – stories often shared in the dead of night. Set
against the backdrop of World War I, Deputy Sheriff Kopp fights her own battles against the injustices of the Mann Act which
allows young girls to be charged and locked up on alleged “morality charges”. Even if unscrupulous men coerce
them. Just released today, Miss Kopp’s Midnight Confessions focuses on two cases. That
of a young girl who runs away from home seeking work and is arrested on her mother’s false complaint that she was “wayward”.
The second concerns a teenager who runs off with a man she meets on a Hudson River steamboat. Constance Kopp pulls out all
stops to prevent both young women from being put behind bars for, perhaps, many years on trumped-up charges.
With
her usual flair for justice and her passionate loathing for injustice, our heroine fights a never-ending battle against misogyny,
misunderstanding, mistreatment, and the malignancy of malfeasance by a local prosecutor. How she does this by overcoming most
odds is the quick-paced, intriguing nuts and bolts of yet again a Stewart tour-de-force literary accomplishment. For fans of Orange is the New Black, the Maisie Dobbs series of mysteries, as well the Hoagey and
Lulu series, this novel is sure to be on the top of their crime/mystery genre list. It is on mine. Will it be on yours?
Enjoy the read!
2:16 pm edt
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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.
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