What's new in the Sisterhood?

Sisterhood Publications is an independent publisher specializing in edgy fiction and nonfiction from the ‘hood. Their unique authors bring you riveting stories in both fiction and nonfiction. Their editors and production assistants offer ebooks and high-quality paperbacks to satisfy all readers’ expectations. Their titles have received nominations and awards from the Colorado Book Awards, North Texas Book Festival Awards, Louzelle Rose Barclay Awards, Deep South Writers Conference, and more, and many are among Amazon and indie bookstore bestsellers.

There’s a lot going on in the ‘hood!

In February, Suzanne Barr’s bestseller true crime story Fatal Kiss was featured on ID Channel’s Deadly Sins.

Joe O’Connell, author of award-winning Evacuation Plan: A Novel from the Hospice, is currently filming Love & Other Stunts, a documentary about Gary Kent (author of Shadows and Light: Journeys with Outlaws in Revolutionary Hollywood). Kent has worked on more than 100 films as a stuntman, actor, director, and writer.

Bestselling author Natalie R. Collins’ new Lost Innocent series follows FBI Agent Eden Rein on the search for a missing baby. Look for her upcoming young adult novel, Blood Run.

Coming soon! In Gem City Gypsy, Kristin Alexandre tells a fascinating story about her home town of Dayton, Ohio.

New in nonfiction for dog lovers!

Crazy Bitch: Living with Canine Compulsive Disorder by Peggy Tibbetts is the story of Venus and Zeus, two dogs whose lives were torn apart by mental illness.

“Crazy Bitch tells the story of the deep love that can exist between humans and dogs, as well as the intense - and sometimes very complicated - love that can exist between two dogs.”

“Crazy Bitch is one book dog lovers won't want to put down.”

Available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and wherever ebooks are sold

Find more books you can’t put down at Sisterhood Publications.

Writers who have gone to the dogs

Lord Byron & Boatswain

When it comes to wearing their hearts on their sleeves, writers have gone to the dogs. Lord Byron was enormously fond of his Newfoundland named Boatswain, whom he nursed until his death after he was infected with rabies. The poet inscribed Boatswain's headstone with one of his best-known texts, “Epitaph to a Dog.” Like Byron before him, American playwright Eugene O'Neill wrote a touching eulogy to his Dalmatian, Blemie. Sword and sorcery fiction writer Robert E. Howard’s dog Patches was named after the famous jester who disappointed the king and was sent outside to sleep with the dogs.

Reclusive poet Emily Dickinson had a Newfoundland named Carlo. Together they roamed the meadows and woods surrounding her home in Amherst, Massachusetts. Dickinson remarked that dogs are better than people because “they know – but do not tell.” New England novelist Edith Wharton’s husband suffered from acute depression so she found companionship in her six lapdogs, including Chihuahuas, Pekingese, and Poodles. Emily Brontë kept a ferocious canine brute named Keeper. It was she who tamed him of his aggression and it is widely believed he changed her life.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning & Flush

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Cocker Spaniel, Flush was her devoted friend while she was confined to her sickbed in London. Browning wrote about Flush’s adventures in letters to her friends. Her beloved dog was dognapped twice and ransomed. She eulogized Flush in a slushy poem, “To Flush, My Dog.” Virginia Woolf’s first published essay was an obituary of her dog. Years later, her tribute to Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her famous canine companion, Flush: A Biography was published. Though largely ignored in her bibliography Flush remains Woolf’s bestselling book to date.

Dog lover and psychologist Maureen Adams wrote about these wonderful women writers and their dogs in Shaggy Muses: The Dogs Who Inspired Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton, and Emily Brontë.

In the 21st century you will find the likes of Jon Katz, Ted Kerasote, Dean Koontz, Julie Klam, Merrill Markoe, Mark Doty, W. Bruce Cameron, Cynthia Rylant, Ann Martin, and Alexandra Day (to name a few) writing about dogs. One of my favorite books, The Quotable Dog Lover (edited by Patricia M. Sherwood) contains memorable dog quotes from dozens of writers.

For your enjoyment here are photos of writers and their dogs:

Jill Krementz Photo Journal -- Top Dogs

Adorable Pictures of Famous Writers and Their Pets

********************

Love dog stories?

"Crazy Bitch tells the story of the deep love that can exist between humans and dogs, as well as the intense - and sometimes very complicated - love that can exist between two dogs."






Peggy Tibbetts

Crazy Bitch ~ a dogoir
Letters to Juniper ~ 2012 Colorado Book Award Finalist
PFC Liberty Stryker ~ “a wild ride like no other”

Become a Facebook fan
Love dogs? Like Zeus and Pepé -- the odd couple
 

Crazy Bitch -- now in ebook!

Most of you know me as a children's book writer. This time around I stretched my writing muscle and wrote a dogoir -- a dog memoir -- Crazy Bitch: Living with Canine Compulsive Disorder which was just released in Kindle edition by Sisterhood Publications. I'm always looking for reviewers. If you would like a review copy send an email to: peggyt@siltnet.net

Meet Venus, a beautiful white mixed breed. Part Akbash, part Lab, part lady, part tramp, part clown, part escape artist, part guard dog, part wild dog, part grizzly bear … she had more personalities than Sybil, the most famous psychiatric patient in the world. Meet Zeus, the kind and gentle Alaskan Malamute who was the love of her life. Venus and Zeus loved hiking and skijoring in the mountains. They enjoyed swimming and boating together. They shared a life most dogs dream of – until everything changed.

With a diagnosis of canine compulsive disorder as her singular clue, Peggy Tibbetts embarked on an investigation into every detail of Venus’s life as it unraveled. What began as a case study of her dog’s mental disease led to a hard lesson in the golden rule of dog behaviorists. There are no bad dogs, only bad people. Crazy Bitch is a complex love story between two big dogs. Venus and Zeus will make you laugh while they break your heart.

Crazy Bitch: Living with Canine Compulsive Disorder

Now available in ebook at Amazon.com

Peggy Tibbetts

Crazy Bitch ~ a dogoir
Letters to Juniper ~ 2012 Colorado Book Award Finalist
PFC Liberty Stryker ~ “a wild ride like no other”
Become a Facebook fan
Love dogs? Like Zeus and Pepé -- the odd couple
 

Anni's Attic is the American version of Downton Abbey

Over the holidays I caught up on the first two seasons of Downton Abbey. I’m now watching the third season on PBS. I am totally hooked. I adore historical fiction. What I love most about Downton is its depiction of the cultural shift caused by war. Out of something so horrific comes a miraculous evolution in the human condition.

I got to thinking there should be an American version of Downton Abbey. After all, the Civil War drastically altered American culture and society. Lo and behold, the book was in my Kindle the whole time awaiting my attention. I just finished reading and reviewing Anni’s Attic by Anne McGee. I have a feeling there are some Downton Abbey fans reading this and I have just the book for you.

Anni’s Attic
By Anne Loader McGee
Vendera Publishing
November 2012
326 pages

The last thing 11-year old Jennine Nicòle Parkington wanted to do was live on an old cotton plantation in Georgia, and share a bedroom with Annise Loréal Bouvoir, la cousine terrible. But that was exactly what happened. After her mother died, Jenn was perfectly happy living with Grandmère and Grandpère in their New Orleans mansion while her father Phillip Parkington, a businessman from England, went about his international affairs. But the Civil War had changed everything. Southerners were choosing sides and Mr. Parkington had chosen to fight in President Lincoln’s Army. He told Jenn, “Believe me, living with someone your own age will be the best thing for you, especially now I’m going –”

Be that as it may, the two cousins had nothing in common. Jenn spoke French and took pride in her impeccable manners. Anni made friends with the Negro slaves and didn’t know the meaning of the word “etiquette.” In spite of their animosity, friendship sprouted and bloomed through four brutal years of the Civil War. Together Jenn and Anni shared secrets and adventures like all young girls. Then, as the war dragged on and closed in around them, the secrets and adventures became much more terrifying and dangerous.

Through the friendship of Jenn and Anni, the intertwining of the Parkington and Bouvoir families, and the politics of war, Anne McGee skillfully weaves Confederate and Yankee sympathies into this epic tale. McGee’s intricate details of Southern life during the Civil War Era transport the reader to another time and place. Anni’s Attic is the American version of Downton Abbey. Fans of the series will absolutely love this book.~ Copyright (c) 2013 by Peggy Tibbetts

Peggy Tibbetts
Coming soon! Crazy Bitch – a dogoir

Now available at Amazon
PFC Liberty Stryker -- "a wild ride like no other"
Letters to Juniper – 2012 Colorado Book Award Finalist

Become a Facebook fan
Love dogs? Like Zeus and Pepé -- the odd couple

Scarletta Press expands children's book titles in 2013

The new year brings a new market for children's book writers. Minneapolis publisher Scarletta Press is branching out with two new imprints. Scarletta Junior features fiction and nonfiction for middle grade readers, and Scarletta Kids publishes picture books and storybooks for children up to age eight.

Scarletta started publishing children’s books in 2011, with Lost in Lexicon, a novel by Pendred Noyce. A second children’s title, The Ice Castle, also by Noyce, followed a year later.

According to Scarletta’s publicity director Desiree Bussiere, “We rethought our structure: how to acquire books and what the future face of the company would be. We realized we really enjoyed producing and marketing children’s books. It prompted us to look for more children’s titles, and thus create our imprints.”

Of the 12 titles Scarletta will publish in 2013, six are Scarletta Kids titles, four are Scarletta Junior titles, and two are adult titles.

Be advised, their reading period is November 1 to March 1. Their Junior Readers and Kids imprints focus on literature and picture books with educational twists, exciting illustrations, and engaging plots.

Please query first with cover letter, synopsis, and one or two chapters (30 pages or less). Agented and unagented manuscripts are welcome. Send your query by mail or email to:

Editor
Scarletta Press
10 South 5th Street, Suite 1105
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Or email an attachment to: info@scarlettapress.com

For more information please read Scarletta Press Submission Guidelines

Peggy Tibbetts Now available at Amazon
PFC Liberty Stryker
Letters to Juniper – 2012 Colorado Book Award FinalistBecome a Facebook fan
Love dogs? Like Zeus and Pepé -- the odd couple
 

The best kept secret -- Amazon Children’s Publishing

I have been an Amazon Vine Reviewer since 2008. Every other week I receive an email featuring dozens of free products -- from books of every genre to iPhone covers to toys to dog treats. Amazing stuff – really! I get to pick two items shipped free. All I have to do is review them. The only downside of this Vine arrangement is supplies are limited. About half the time, the products I choose first are already gone. Even so, I feel lucky to be a Vine Reviewer. Last month my catalog choices were slim. The toys were all gone, only books left, and few of those. I chose these two new picture books -- 

When they arrived I discovered they are both published by Amazon Children’s Publishing. Firefighters! is a paperback (also in board book, and Kindle edition – of course). 1-2-3 Va-Va-Wroom! is a hardcover (also in Kindle edition). Rhyming text and action-packed, colorful illustrations make these books a hit with my almost 4-year old grandson. I read and review lots of picture books. My grandson enjoys these books every bit as much as he enjoys two books I recently reviewed, Boot and Shoe (Simon & Schuster) and Wumbers (Chronicle) -- if not more.

I knew Amazon had gotten into the publishing business in 2009. But I thought they were publishing nonfiction and adult genre fiction. I didn’t know Amazon had a children’s publishing division. Out of curiosity, I googled “amazon children’s publishing.” The first thing I learned is that Amazon Children’s Publishing publishes “Quality books for young readers of all ages, from toddlers to teens.” Click on the link to see the broad -- though somewhat still limited -- selection of books for young readers. Quite impressive.

As it happens, I have three picture book manuscripts I think might be a good fit for Amazon Children’s Publishing. But I couldn’t find any submission guidelines at their website. I did find an email address and sent a request for submission guidelines. As of this writing I haven’t heard back. I will post an update here, if and when I do receive those guidelines.

I googled “amazon children’s publishing submission guidelines.” All I could find was a blog post from author/editor Deborah Halverson at DearEditor.com: Submitting to Amazon Children’s Publishing:

“Tim Ditlow, Associate Publisher of Amazon Children’s Publishing, spoke about his months-old program at the 2012 SCBWI Summer Conference last week. While official submission guidelines are still being created, he said ACP is indeed accepting unsolicited submissions. For now, send a query email to acp-submit@amazon.com. Attach your full picture book ms or the first 3 chapters of your MG/YA fiction as pdfs or Word documents. There’s no time frame for responses yet.”

Don’t get me wrong. I have no beef with Amazon. They sell my books and they give me free stuff. I own a Kindle and I buy lots more books and stuff at their website and partner sites. We have a symbiotic relationship. But Amazon is notorious for their lack of communication. It’s not always easy to get an answer to your question. In one way or another we have all experienced it. Everyone has an Amazon story. But in this case, with Amazon Publishing, one would think they might get hip to the whole communication thing – like, social networking. But there’s no “follow us on Twitter” or Facebook buttons on their website either. So apparently not. 

That’s unfortunate because I also googled onto this article:  Amazon Struggles to Crack Publishing. As it turns out Amazon is finding out something we “indies” have learned about the publishing business –– distribution is a bitch.

Here’s a picture book concept – this little author mouse has a suggestion for the giant Amazon king of the jungle: Fix this distribution mess! If anyone can do it, the mighty Amazon can. In the end, they will set us all free from the tangled Ingram-Walmart-Target-B&N-Baker & Taylor web that’s keeping thousands of books out of stores and libraries – yours and mine included. 

How about the rest of you “indies” out there? Do you have any advice for this struggling new indie publisher?

Peggy Tibbetts

Now available at Amazon
PFC Liberty Stryker
Letters to Juniper – 2012 Colorado Book Award Finalist

Become a Facebook fan
Love dogs? Like Zeus and Pepé -- the odd couple

New Silt Library – photo gallery

Silt Branch Library -- Silt, Colorado

Our tiny town in western Colorado has a new library. The Silt Branch Library opened its doors at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 6. This new library is over three times as spacious as the old library and features a large meeting room, two study rooms, unique children's and teen spaces, a cozy reading area with a fireplace, and a plaza for outdoor reading and events. The library also has two designated computer areas with a total of ten computers for public use. 

Join me on a photo tour of our new library –

Bright and spacious

Kids reading cubby

Teens reading nook

Cozy fireplace reading cove

Community meeting room
Garage-style door can be opened to library

Courtyard between library and Silt Town Hall
Features book titles etched in concrete

Outdoor plaza -- old Silt Library in the background

Peggy Tibbetts

Now available at Amazon
PFC Liberty Stryker
Letters to Juniper – 2012 Colorado Book Award Finalist

Become a Facebook fan

The Poisoned Pencil – new YA mystery imprint

 

Poisoned Pen Press is launching a new imprint The Poisoned Pencil, which will publish YA mysteries. Jessica Tribble was named publisher last year and said the press aims to publish YA mysteries that are "fast-paced and relevant to today's teens--books that adults will also want to read."

Ellen Larson will serve as editor of The Poisoned Pencil. She said she is "particularly keen" to receive submissions from young adult writers, adding, "Anything goes. As long as the protagonist is between the ages of 12 and 18, it's young adult. I'm excited to begin reviewing submissions, seeing what's out there, and building our list."

Now accepting submissions of YA mysteries between 45,000 and 90,000 words. The protagonist must be between the ages of 12 and 18.

The Poisoned Pencil Submission Guidelines

The Poisoned Pencil uses an online submissions manager to review materials from both authors and agents. Please do not query or submit your MS by email or snail mail. No simultaneous submissions; one submission per author at a time. You will be able to check the status of your MS using the submissions manager. Response time is currently 4-6 weeks.

For more news and updates follow Editor Ellen Larson: @poisonedpencil

Peggy Tibbetts

Now available at Amazon
PFC Liberty Stryker
Letters to Juniper – 2012 Colorado Book Award Finalist

Become a Facebook fan

Thank You, Peggy!

Thank God for Peggy Tibbetts. Those of us on this blog know who she is, and I was lucky enough to get her to review Saving Jake for me. Then I got even luckier when she read my next manuscript. She actually liked it, even though it needed all kinds of work, and offered to publish it at Sisterhood Publications, her current literary home. I was astonished. At the time I was in the depths of the I-have-no-talent and writing-is-just-a-pipe-dream nightmare I seem to subject myself to on a fairly routine basis. I don't know why, but this particular bout was the worst I've suffered in years. Enter Peggy.

She took the time to do an in-depth critique of my manuscript. (I admit it: I didn't look at it for weeks because I was terrified to find out what she really thought of it. I'm a coward!) And when I finally got past all of my own angst, I took her words to heart and made all sorts of corrections and revisions to get a final draft.

And then I flew in the face of all logic and decided to try self-publishing this thing myself on Amazon. Insane, or what? I had a legitimate offer from a fellow writer and here I was turning it down. One reason is that my fiction and Peggy's are not exactly cut from the same bolt of cloth. We both write YA and that's about it. I went onto the Sisterhood Publications website and was awed by the subject matter they house. They call it "edgy" fiction and it certainly is. Anyone who has read Pvt. Liberty Striker will know exactly what I mean.

Like Peggy, I will glean subject matter from current headlines, but then I go away and fabricate a ghost story out of it. My work reflects the way I see the world. I like to think it's scary when I need it to be, but it is not edgy. Not like the work I saw at Sisterhood. So I decided to give e-books a try independently. And Peggy, being the very gracious lady she is, gave me a huge hug by e-mail and wished me the best. (Talk about your class acts.)

So I hope to launch my newest novel very soon. The title is Haunted, it is a ghost story/murder mystery, and I hope people who read it will like it. I followed a lot of Peggy's suggestions and stubbornly left other areas untouched, but the book is all the stronger for her input, that's for sure. My goal is to upload it some time next week, just in time for the Halloween season, but life has gotten in the way yet again and I might be a bit delayed. But I learned something else from Peggy: don't give up (ya big wimp). Yes, the little aside is mine, but it was probably on her mind, too!

So thank you, Peggy. Let's see what happens next.

Glowinski’s Library

As a part-time book reviewer I receive more books than I can possibly read and review. Let me take this opportunity to remind authors and publishers: always contact a reviewer first and ask for permission to send your book, otherwise it won’t get reviewed. With all these books stacked on shelves, every now and then I need to clean house. Our local library can’t accept donations of books marked as ARCs, galleys, or “review copy not for sale.” Believe me it’s not always easy to find places to donate your extra books.

Years ago I was contacted by a Polish librarian, Tadeusz “Teddy” Glowinski. He lives in Olesnica, Poland. He was looking for authors who would be willing to donate a copy, or copies, of their book(s) to his library, Glowinski's Library. Perhaps some of you have been contacted by Teddy. The slight catch of course is the cost of postage to Poland. I sent him copies of my books, Rumors of War and The Road to Weird. At the time I think the postage amounted to $8. I liked the idea of having my books in his little library in Poland so I was happy to oblige.

Tadeusz “Teddy” Glowinski

The idea for his own library came to Teddy while working as a librarian at the town’s old, underfunded library. Also a book collector, Teddy wanted to donate books from his own collection to the library but they weren’t interested. However when he finally opened Glowinski’s Library, police officers showed up and confiscated the books. Find out what happened in Krzys Wasilewski’s article, The Librarian Who Loved Books.

Glowinski's Library

Through the years we’ve kept in touch. I recently sent him a large box of books, including my own Letters to Juniper and PFC Liberty Stryker. I admire Teddy’s determination and love of books. The world needs more people like him.

Would you like to spread your books around the world? Consider donating your book(s) to Teddy.

GLOWINSKIS'  LIBRARY
ul. Waly Jagiellonskie 20
56-400 Olesnica
Poland - Polska

Peggy Tibbetts

Now available at Amazon
PFC Liberty Stryker
Letters to Juniper – 2012 Colorado Book Award Finalist

Become a Facebook fan

2012 Colorado Book Awards

Doerr-Hosier Center - photo courtesy The Aspen Institute

Let me end the suspense right away. The winner of the 2012 Colorado Book Award in the Juvenile Fiction category is – City of Orphans by Avi.

Even though Letters to Juniper didn’t win, the folks at Colorado Humanities and Center for the Book went out their way to make all the finalists feel like winners. The awards event was held on Friday, June 22, at the Doerr-Hosier Center at Aspen Meadows. A few hundred people gathered for an afternoon of celebrating books in a gorgeous mountain setting. What a party! A fabulous time was had by all. 

2012 Colorado Book Awards winners and finalists

My editor/publisher Natalie Collins (Sisterhood Publications) arrived in Aspen Wednesday night. We have known each other for twelve years but this was the first time we met face-to-face. We managed to combine planning sessions with plenty of partying. Natalie and I were honored to win a seat at the table at such a prestigious awards event. We felt so fortunate to be able to share in this achievement. 

Peggy and Natalie enjoying the celebration

I met several authors for the first time, re-connected with a few I had lost touch with, and have a whole new list of books to read. What could be better than that?

Congratulations to all the Winners of the 2012 Colorado Book Awards!

Anthology/Collections:  Monumental Majesty: 100 Years of Colorado National Monument, edited by Laurena Mayne Davis, The Daily Sentinel

Biography:  The Man Who Never Died by William Adler, Bloomsbury

Children's Literature:  Light Up the Night by Jean Reidy, Disney Hyperion

Creative Nonfiction:  Dances in Two Worlds: A Writer-Artist's Backstory by Thordis Simonsen, The Fundamental Note

General Nonfiction:  Math for Life by Jeffrey Bennett, Roberts and Company

Genre Fiction:  The Soul Mirror by Carol Berg, Penguin Group USA

History:  From Jars to the Stars by Todd Neff, Earthview Media

Literary Fiction:  The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown, Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam

Pictorial:  Thomas W. Benton: Artist/Activist by Daniel Joseph Watkins, People's Press

Poetry:  Circle's Apprentice by Dan Beachy-Quick, Tupelo Press

Young Adult Literature:  Lucy Dakota: Adventures of a Modern Explorer Book 1 - Rocky Mountain Beginnings by Carol Sue Shride, My Piece of the Puzzle



Peggy Tibbetts

Now available at Amazon
PFC Liberty Stryker
Letters to Juniper – 2012 Colorado Book Award Finalist

Become a Facebook fan

I'm hooked on Rupert Starbright

I hope you are enjoying the Memorial Day weekend!

This month I’m posting my review for The Secret of My-Myst by Mike DiCerto (another YAAYNHO blogger). This is the second book in the Rupert Starbright series which I love because it’s all about the magic of imagination, which is such an empowering message to young readers. And the cover is totally cool. I hope you will join me in introducing this fun new series to all the kids you know and love.

The Secret of My-Myst
The Adventures of Rupert Starbright (Volume 2)
By Mike DiCerto
Zumaya Publications 
April 2012
240 pages

The Secret of My-Myst is Book 2 in the Adventures of Rupert Starbright series. And Mike DiCerto does not disappoint. We jump back into the thick of it with our hero, Rupert and his companion Dream Weaver. The evil Murkus still enslaves the children of Far-Myst while his darkness spreads across the land. He is more terrifying and powerful than ever before as a flame-throwing, winged Dragon Lord. Rupert is still trying to make his way home to Graysland. On a quick trip to the outhouse, Rupert crosses paths with Quix and Xerks, Murkus’s boy soldiers. They lure him into the Wildness with the promise of finding the treatmentia bush to cure his grandmother’s coffus. After all, the only reason he even came to this bizarre-o-land was to help his grandmother, who happens to be a very wise woman. But now he’s stuck here.

As much as I would like to go on and on about this captivating tale, you really must enter the mysterious land of My-Myst with Rupert and meet the shape-shifting Truseens for yourself. Be prepared to lose all contact with the outside world while immersed in this mesmerizing adventure. Once again imagination plays a major role – which I love. Amazing things are learned about the Weaver kids. And the path to victory does not necessarily mean destroying the enemy.

The Adventures of Rupert Starbright is a top-notch, original fantasy series. For all the questions The Door to Far-Myst (Book 1) asked,  The Secret of My-Myst answers – then asks some more. Along his journey this time, Rupert discovers a connection between Graysland and the strange lands of Far-Myst and My-Myst. See if you can figure it out. I’m pretty sure the answer will come in Book 3. I confess, I’m hooked on Rupert Starbright.

Peggy Tibbetts

Now available at Amazon
PFC Liberty Stryker
Letters to Juniper

Become a Facebook fan

Way, Way Overdue

Some time ago, Peggy Tibbetts and I exchanged books so that we could review each others' works. Peggy, being the gracious, thoughtful, and courteous type, posted her review of Saving Jake on this blog. Me, being somewhat scatter-brained and a bit, well, out of it, a great deal of the time, did not post my review of PFC Liberty Stryker. Until now. Apologies, Peggy.

Peggy Tibbetts’ PFC Liberty Stryker is an important story that is almost too grim to look at and too well written to look away. Set in the midst of war, Operation Iraqi Freedom, to be precise, the reader is invited into an intimate look at the life of a female army private. Be prepared. There is no gloss of any kind over this woman’s experience in a profession that is still overwhelmingly male. Pvt. Stryker’s life is based on survival: surviving boot camp and the inherent sexual abuse that is a part of that experience; surviving life in the harshness of the desert with bombs and bullets exploding all around; surviving the loss of friends and comrades that is war by definition; and finally, surviving the loss of her father and then the last of her innocence in one fell blow.

The adage “war is hell” is written in as a joke one soldier makes to another, but the author makes it clear that this is no joking matter. The hell of war in these pages is as inescapable for the reader as it is for Pvt. Stryker as the story is written in agonizing first person. The sentences are short and terse, fast-moving arcs that zip across the page like bullets themselves. Any sane person caught up in this mad and violent situation is going to become ill and Pvt. Stryker’s personal illness spills over into her physical condition, a condition that ultimately leads to her losing nearly everything in order to regain her own soul.

Tibbetts brings up the slogan of “shock and awe” as it applies to this horrendous conflict, then proceeds to apply it to her own story. Reading this book and not feeling shocked, not feeling awe at the writer’s ability to pluck you from the safety of your living room and into the field of battle, is an impossibility. PFC Liberty Stryker is the kind of book that will shift the way you look at war, at the military, and at our country’s place in the world. This book is necessary. 

I hope everyone who reads this will read the book. Peggy is one amazing writer, and it's well worth the journey.

Vote for Letters to Juniper

The folks at Underground Book Reviews are compiling their 2012 Summer Reading List and they want your opinion! Of all the amazing novels they have reviewed, they want to know your favorite. This is your chance to support Letters to Juniper.

Underground Book Review for Letters to Juniper

Click here and vote for Letters to Juniper

Voting will close on Monday, May 28
Winners will be announced Friday, June 1