Jencey's Writer's Corner

  The only way to grow is to train and move forward.  When someone trains to move forward in life, it often leaves others behind.  In Swimming Lessons , we pick up a few years after Beach House ended. Can Toy truly let go of the past to move forward with her life? Synopsis: “Toy Sooner kept her vow to her beloved mentor, the original turtle lady of the Isle of Palms. She left behind an abusive, dysfunctional lifestyle to become a strong single mother and an aquarist at the South Carolina Aquarium. But success has taken its toll, leaving Toy fearful of change and risks. It's only been through the enduring love of a close-knit group of women that she's finally started to find her footing. The turtle season begins the day Toy rescues a sick sea turtle on the beach. When Toy brings the loggerhead to the aquarium, she founds a turtle hospital and spends long nights working alongside her boss, Ethan. As the summer progresses and the sea turtles take their measured steps toward ...

  The Paris Orphan by Natasha Lester was her second book.  In this book, she explores the life of Leigh Miller through the fictional character of Jessica May.  Women making strides during this time were still treated differently from their male counterparts.  I saw a great presentation by Meg Waite Clayton on the same topic.   Synopsis:  “A "rich and riveting" New York Times bestseller based on the true story of a female journalist who defied all the rules while covering World War II (Publishers Weekly, starred review). New York City/Paris, 1942: When American model Jessica May arrives in Europe to cover the war as a photojournalist for Vogue, most of the soldiers are determined to make her life as difficult as possible. But three friendships change that. Journalist Martha Gellhorn encourages Jess to bend the rules. Captain Dan Hallworth keeps her safe in dangerous places so she can capture the stories that truly matter. And most important of all, the ...

Susan May Warren is fast becoming one of my new favorite authors.   The first two books in the Global Rescue series are great!  If you're in the mood for adventure, this is the book for you!  Have you ever had trust issues from a past relationship?   Synopsis  “Former Navy SEAL Hamilton Jones thought that the love of his life was dead. But when a girl claiming to be his daughter shows up with a dire message from his wife, Ham knows he will stop at nothing to find her and bring her home. Kidnapped by rebels while serving as an interpreter in Ukraine, Signe Kincaid has spent the past decade secreting out valuable information about Russian assets in the US to her CIA handler. Fearing for her daughter after being discovered as an operative, Signe sends her to Ham for safekeeping. She's ready to give her life for her country, and she can hardly expect Ham to rescue her after breaking his heart over and over. When Ham discovers the reason Signe has kept her dista...

  This book is a can’t miss read.  Dragonfly by Leila Meacham is about a team that goes undercover in occupied France during World War II.  Although Leila Meacham is no longer with us, her words live on.  This story is full of history, and is a thrilling mystery.   About the Book:   “At the height of World War II, a handful of idealistic young Americans receive a mysterious letter from the government, asking them if they are willing to fight for their country. The men and women from very different backgrounds -- a Texan athlete with German roots, an upper-crust son of a French mother and a wealthy businessman, a dirt-poor Midwestern fly fisherman, an orphaned fashion designer, and a ravishingly beautiful female fencer -- all answer the call of duty, but each for a secret reason of her or his own. They bond immediately, in a group code-named Dragonfly. Thus begins a dramatic cat-and-mouse game, as the group seeks to stay under the radar until a fat...

  What was your experience with chemistry like in high school?  Have you ever considered how life skills like cooking utilize chemistry?  These are qualities that I had never considered.  In the book Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus explores this through the character of Elizabeth Zott.  This is her story:  About the Book:  "Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at...

  Katherine Center released The Love Haters last May.  This is the book that you want to go on vacation with.  This story takes us to the Florida Keys.  What could be a better vacation spot even now?  Or a setting for a story?   About the Book:  “Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past—now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim—but pretends that she can. Plus, Cole and Hutch are brothers. And they don’t get along. Next stop: paradise! But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good-looking man she has ever seen . . . but maybe a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets t...