Jencey's Writer's Corner

Thank you to Romi Carrell Wittman for sending this novel in exchange for an honest review.  This is Ms. Wittman’s debut novel.  So what is it like to become a mother?  Can you work?  Will your job change? Can family help? Synopsis:  Kate Martin is your typical thirty year old woman who works as an Editor of  U.S. Water Works . Her boss steps down from his position of Editor-In-Chief.  This is the job that Kate desperately wants. Unfortunately, he passes the torch to her rival, Alice.  When Alice begins her new position, and starts making changes by cutting back employees.  Then Kate finds out she is pregnant.  What will she do between work and her family once the baby arrives?  Kate’s friends and family are excited.  She experiences fear and worry about what role her husband Joe will play once the baby is born. How does work handle Kate having her baby?w My Thoughts: When I started reading  No Kidding , I quickly ...

I have read many books in my time, but none about World War I, or what happened after it was over.  I learned in school how it changed history in the United States and other countries.  Author Jennifer Robson shows us in  another country Great Britain.  We meet Charlotte Brown and learn what life was like for women. Synopsis:  Charlotte Brown has been in the service of Cumberland family for years.  She has become great friends with Lilly her charge also known as Elizabeth Cumberland.  Charlotte was the governess of Lilly in her childhood but is hired by her brother Edward.  He becomes Lord Cumberland after their father dies.  Will he be able to have what he wants in life?  Once Lilly reaches her eighteenth birthday what will happen to Charlotte?  How does life change when the Great War happens?  Once the war is over Charlotte takes a job in Liverpool.  She  still has contact with the Cumberlan...

Last summer, I was invited to take part in a summer bible study with Lifeway Women’s ministry.  The study was Seamless by Angie Smith.  The bible study is formatted in six weeks.  I enjoyed getting to know a new teacher.  I hope you will too! Synopsis:  The goal of this study is to get through the entire bible.  The weeks are broken down into daily homework sessions.  You will read the bible passages that relate to current topics of each week.  The beginning of each week begins with the session from the Lifeway website.  You have the option to include the video sessions from the actual study.  I found the sessions to be  affordable and they aren’t long videos.  Angie shares her heart and where she is going with this study and what she wants us to get out of it.   There are also review questions at the beginning of each week for group discussion.  My Thoughts:  I thought that Angie is ...

I had the honor of visiting this grand station in my teens.  It is a historical monument in Manhattan New York.  I took the train from Washington DC to this great station with my family. Let's visit this station again in the 1940s, but more specifically post World War II.  How could this war change the people who entered and exited Grand Central?  Synopsis:  These stories that are shared in Grand Central focus on men and women who served in some capacity in the military during World War II. It also includes those who served state side in their homes.   What could the outcome possibly be?  Each story begins with the reader seeing how the previous story ended. This anthology included authors Melanie Benjamin, Jenna Blum, Amanda Hodgkinson, Pam Jenoff, Sarah Jio, Sarah McCoy, Kristina McMorris, Alyson Richman, Erika Robuck, and Karen White.  How do these stories bring hope and a future for those that experienced the war? My Thoughts...

I joined an online critiquing group in 2011. In addition to having my work read and reviewed, I would do the same for others. I stumbled across a writer named  Melissa Mayberry . She was writing her first novel, a YA romance, with characters who had me screaming at the pages at their ignorance, feeling their pain at rejection, and cheering at their victories. I knew she was good by how much emotion she evoked from me. I was writing my first novel as well and we soon became writing partners exchanging ideas and offering feedback on each other's stories. One day Melissa asked if I'd like to write a book with her. I was flattered. No writer is going to jump into a metaphorical bed with another writer unless they feel the writing is good enough for their name to accompany their own on the cover. The first question was how does someone begin writing a novel with someone else? There was little question how we would do it in terms of POV (point of view). It would be in first ...

Claire Cook shares another reinvention story in another of her novels  Life’s A Beach .  This story is Marshbury Press publication.  How would you change your life?  This tale is a tale of two sisters and a movie shoot.  Synopsis:  Ginger lives in a garage apartment at her parent’s house.  Her mom has decided that it is time to retire and move on with her life.  Will her father agree?  The amount of trash bags in Ginger’s apartment might be hard to get around.  So one night she takes out her sister Geri’s children.  They  are auditioning to be extras for a movie filming in Marshbury.  The only one that gets in is Riley her nephew.  Ginger is then recruited to take him to the set each day and deal with the drama of set parents and their children.  This could be a life changing experience for her but can she let go of the past? My Thoughts:  I love that Claire promotes hope for all women at ...

For me, the month of February is synonymous with St Valentine's Day and everything that goes with love and romance. It's true that as soon as we get to this most romantic month of the year, shop windows fill with hearts and flowers, boxes of chocolate assume sparkly new packaging, cupids arrows are pointing at you from every angle and the radio will remind you, constantly, that love is in the air. I think it's a great time of year but I've been married for eighteen years. So is the whole idea of getting slushy and lovey-dovey a waste of time after so many years? Is St Valentine's Day for those who have just fallen in love? If you, like me, are in the camp that says that St Valentine's Day is for everyone with a sense of romance, no matter how long you've been with your partner, then go ahead and take a seat; you've probably got this wrapped up and you're all set for some dancing and romancing on the 14 th . If, on the other hand, you're in...