February 29, 2016

Like There's No Tomorrow, a Review from Reading Is My Super Power

Art Credit: Carrie Schmidt
This recent review of Like There's No Tomorrow by Carrie Schmidt at Reading Is My Super Power is not only gratifying to me as an author, it helps me nail down and name what kind of books I write. Leave it to a book lover to do that. ;) Carrie is so good at "mining the gold" in a story. I sure appreciate her thoughts and analysis.

Here are a few snippets of her review:

My Rating: 5 / Fantastic!
"In short, I fell in love. With the book. With the characters. With the settings.  And especially with the message of letting go – of fear, bitterness, and burdens we were never meant to carry."

On the precocious Maggie and Grace:

"These two elderly Scottish sisters were a handful! ... Between Grace’s precious confusion and Maggie’s rebellious determination to steal the keys and drive off into the sunset, there was never a dull moment on the page!"

On our hero:

"And now for Ian. Oh girls! You will LOVE Ian! That is, as long as you go for the brooding, tender, passionate guys with a sense of humor. Who also happen to be SCOTTISH. ...The thing I appreciated most about Ian is the change that goes on within his heart. Camille Eide does an exquisite job of capturing his completely-reasonable anger as well as the gradual healing that takes place over the course of the story. And watching that man fall in love was truly a pleasure."

So was writing it. :) I'm so pleased to hear that his anger and heart transformation comes across realistically, like it might feel for you or I. That's my aim in writing fiction.

"Like There’s No Tomorrow is so much more than a love story. I would almost say that the romance is only a small part in the overall story, but that’s not exactly true either.  The romance becomes the backdrop onto which Camille Eide paints a beautiful landscape of truth and hope and most especially courage."

That's it! I believe Carrie has answered the question I have long been trying to answer: exactly what genre is this stuff I write? On what shelf does it belong? Is it Romance? Not entirely. Is it inspirational, issue-driven Women's Fiction? Not solely. 

Is a blend of gripping romance and equally gripping spiritual themes acceptable?

I hope so. 

"Camille Eide has a way with characters. They get into your heart and set up camp, and you are all the better for having spent time with them. She also has a great talent for creating a scene that appears one way at face value but in fact can be immensely symbolic as well. Like There’s No Tomorrow will linger with me for many reasons – the characters, the setting, the romance.  But especially the message of courage – of living life in spite of your fears – and of cherishing each day as though it’s all we’re to be given."


Thank you, Carrie, for your time and thoughtful review. 

Friends, do yourself a favor and read Carrie's book reviews and have pencil and paper ready to add to your reading list. Happy Reading!

~Camille

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ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF. . . .

RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME:

I've published five novels and 2 novellas (more about those on my website.) I've been writing all my life, but decided in 2007 to get serious about being published.

I love action movies and Jane Austen. (she’s dead, I know. I found that out when I tried to get her to endorse my novel)

They let me play Bass guitar and sing in a worship band.

I can produce 4 dozen homemade cinnamon rolls in a flash for a crowd of drooling young adults. Or publishing house editors.

I used to have a Harley. Now we have seven grandkiddos. Decent trade, really.

I am a proud Grammy. Don't even think about taking candy from my babies.

I hate shopping (Yes, I'm aware that I'm a girl)

MY ROOTS:
I've lived in Oregon all my life, spent time in Eugene (Go DUCKS!), Springfield, Reedsport, and Smith River. Which is not really a town, but a river, about 70 miles long, a tributary of the Umpqua River in southwest Oregon.

Although it's not a town, it is a community with a strong sense of pioneer history. It's cool to say you've lived there, especially if you lived there during the days when you had to take a boat to school. No joke! The old farmhouse my grandfather and my mother grew up in still stands, nestled into a narrow, pasture carpeted valley, complete with a swimmin' hole and its own 'crick'. It may turn up in one of my novels.

There's a rumor that my ancestors had a connection with the Mafia back in Sicily. I used to fantasize as a kid about a big black limo with tinted windows pulling up and whisking me away from school. Ahhh. So THAT'S why I'm having so much trouble conjugating my dangling participles now.

NOT RANDOM: I am challenged by the truth and amazed by the grace of God. And it's either in spite of or because of that grace that I hold a PhD in Learning Stuff the Hard Way.