New Novel Takes Readers From Chicago World's Fair to Southwest With Harvey Girls

Mountains of Love is the latest novel from the prolific pen of Great Lakes Romances author Donna Winters. It also represents a new departure for Winters, who has previously set her novels along the Great Lakes where she has lived for many years. A few years ago, Winters moved to the Southwest and that has influenced her latest novel. Twenty-three-year-old Cedena Rossier, the book's heroine, is from Fayette, Michigan, where Winters previously set a trilogy, but Cedena journeys to the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and then to Kansas City and Las Vegas, New Mexico.

And Cedena's journey is quite the ride. Like the Ferris wheel Cedena rides on at the World's Fair, this novel is full of wonderful views of the United States at the end of the nineteenth century as well as some gasps over the excitement that runs throughout its pages.

The story begins when Cedena accompanies her mother, aunt, and uncle to the Chicago World's Fair. Cedena and her mother have fallen on hard times. Her father and brother were involved in the iron industry in Fayette, Michigan, until the Jackson Iron Company pulled out of town. They then took to fishing to support the family, but two years ago, they were lost in a storm on Lake Michigan. Since then, Cedena and her mother have struggled to make ends meet and Cedena's Uncle James has had to send them money just so they could survive. Now Cedena's aunt and uncle have invited her to attend the World Fair's in Chicago with them, where Uncle James has a booth for Paxton's Pharmaceuticals, his own company based in Kansas City. Running the booth for him is a young man named Matthew who immediately takes a liking to Cedena.

Cedena, however, is more interested in seeing the sights at the fair than being involved with Matthew. She finds him somewhat overbearing, and when she meets handsome Orin Young and his sister Alice, who seems to like Matthew, Cedena hopes Matthew will fall for Alice while she gets to spend time with Orin.

One of the splendors of this novel is the Chicago World's Fair. It was the spectacle of the decade, and Winters takes us on a tour of it, showing us everything from the camel races to the hot air balloon ride, the Fourth of July fireworks, and the Chinese Village. We feel drawn in, seeing it all through Cedena's eyes, and only wish we could go back in time to see it for ourselves.

But eventually, Cedena's visit to the fair draws to an end and she has to make some hard decisions. She realizes there is nothing in Fayette for her to return to, and she is also tired of her mother's controlling ways. She has also met some people at the fair who make her want to remain in Chicago. When she takes her uncle up on his offer to stay and help him, she comes into immediate conflict with her mother, resulting in her mother disowning her. Worse, the Depression of 1893 is just beginning, and by the time the fair is over and Cedena returns to Kansas City with her aunt and uncle, her uncle's business is in such decline that Cedena must learn to fend for herself. Then she has the brilliant idea to have the adventure of a lifetime by becoming a Harvey Girl.

To say more would be to spoil all the fun, but Cedena's experiences in the Southwest are anything but dull as she meets new and unsavory characters, tries to be self-supporting, and struggles with the feelings of her heart and making the best decisions for her future.

Donna Winters has written many other novels and I have read many of them, from Mackinac to her Fayette Trilogy and her more recent Saving Mossy Point. After writing so many historical and Christian romances, one would think the books would become formulaic, but that is not at all the case. Winters writes about real people facing real-life struggles in historical settings that make you feel you are right there with the characters. I could feel Cedena's excitement at the fair, her exhaustion after working long shifts as a Harvey Girl, her frustrations dealing with difficult people from family members to fellow employees, and ultimately, her courage in making the best decisions for herself. She and her fellow characters will remain with you a long time.

Anyone who loves historical fiction and romance will find Mountains of Love a wonderful saga to get lost in and wish there were mountains more of it.

Book Review: Vikram Seth's Novel ÄN Equal Music"

The British ruled India for close to 200 years. One of the spinoffs of British rule was the English language that is spoken and understood by millions of Indians today. It will not be out of place to mention that the English knowing population in India is more than the population of the UK and Canada combined. It's almost equal the population of the United States. This had its effect and a string of writers from Mulkraj Anand, Kushwant Singh, Manohar Malgonkar, Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy and Vikram Seth has appeared on the scene. Indian writers in English are well known and have carved a niche for themselves in the world of English literature.

Vikram Seth

Out of these famous names Vikram Seth has carved a niche for himself in the field of English Literature. Seth was born in Calcutta in 1952 and now alternates between England and New Delhi. He has written a number of books and novels that have won critical acclaim. Vikram has bought the house of the Anglican poet George Herbert in 1996. He got it renovated. In India he lives at Delhi with his parents.

An Equal Music

One of his novels 'An Equal Music' was published in 1999. This book published after the success of 'A Suitable Boy' in 1993 has been greatly appreciated by critics. One aspect of Vikram Seth's books stands out. The writer has himself acknowledged that most of the fictional characters depicted in his books are drawn from his personal life. His mother Justice Leila Seth in her autobiography has mentioned that the character Haresh in 'A Suitable Boy' is based on her husband. In 'An Equal Music', Seth has himself hinted that the idea of the novel was inspired by his live in partner at that time the French musician Philippe Honoré.

Vikram Seth is an inspired writer who can integrate real life characters in his fictional book.

The Plot

The novel is set in Europe with Venice and Vienna forming a magnificent backdrop. The plot concerns Michael, a professional violinist, who loved a pianist, named Julia a decade back. However Julia remains in his thoughts and he just cannot forget her. In fact he really loved her. Seth writes a tale of romance and love as Julia re-enters the life of Michael after 10 years.

The situation has changed as Julia is married and has a child. Romance blossoms between the two and the lovers confront the truth about themselves. Seth brings out the intense love between the two as they meet in secret. The secret trysts are a beauty of the novel and shows the forte of Vikram Seth as a creative writer. There is a twist to the tale as the musical careers of the lovers is affected and there is a deep pathos as the knowledge dawns on Michael that Julia is lowly going deaf. This also affects the reader as he gets to grips with the book.

Vikram's Forte

Vikram Seth writes brilliantly and portrays the international music scene vividly. The accuracy of Seth's descriptions of music in particular enthused musical fans. No less than Paolo Isotta a renowned music critic in Il Corriere della Sera has stated that no European writer or any novel before had been able to convey the full gamut and potential of a person who practiced music for a living. This is a matter of great credit for Vikram Seth and a feather in his cap.

Awards

Vikram Seth has been honoured by the government of India with a Padma Shri. He has also won the WH Smith Literary Award and Crossword Book Award. Vikram Seth remains one of India's finest writers. Seth claims he is bisexual and in 2006 he led the campaign in India which called for deletion of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which concerns homosexuality.

Personal Life

Vikram Seth never formally married though he had close liaison with women. He is bisexual and lived for years with French musician Philippe Honoré. Seth has no children and lives with his parents. He was earlier educated at the prestigious Doon School and went to Oxford. Seth deserves credit for writing in a language which is not his mother tongue. One can look forward to further books from him. Vikram Seth is a Punjabi and has punctured the fallacious concept that Punjabi are not for intellectual pursuits.

New Book Offers Five-Step Dating Process for Finding Your Lifetime Partner

Anyone who is tired of attracting Mr. or Mrs. Wrong and still wants to find Mr. or Mrs. Right need look no further. Renée Michelle Gordon has the answer for you in the five-step process she developed to find her own soulmate, and now she shares that process so others can do the same in her new book Finding Your Love at Last.

If anyone is experienced at finding love, it is Renée. She has actually been engaged nine times, but each time, she ended up breaking off the engagement before she went to the altar because she realized the man was not her perfect soulmate. She learned how to make herself appealing to men through online dating websites, but she also learned how to be discerning about which men she dated. When she began online dating, she was hoping to find six or seven potential suitors, one of whom would become her "love at last." Instead, she was overwhelmed with men who wanted to date her. Using just one dating website, she received no less than 2,874 invitations to connect. With such overwhelming numbers, how could anyone pick the right man?

Well, Renée did it through a very careful five-step process. And since then, she has become a dating coach and shared her process with over 500 couples who have found lasting love, proof that her process definitely works. But she can't help everyone who wants to find true love, so now she's sharing her process in this book to bring it to a wider audience.

Renée walks readers through the entire process from how to create a winning online profile that will attract the right man or woman-and she reminds the reader that you're only looking for one; it's not a popularity contest-to how to weed out people from being your potential suitor, the questions to ask people on a date, how to interview prospective soulmates without making them feel like they are being interviewed, and definite things to avoid, such as dating in the workplace. She also warns us about potential red flags to watch for, what not to do on a date (such as go to a movie), and why you should have your first meeting with someone at a place like a coffee shop where you only need to commit to half an hour rather than agreeing to a two- or three-hour dinner commitment.

Renée's process is easy to follow, and the discussion is enjoyable and entertaining as well. Most of the book is set up in an interview format in which Renée is interviewed by Peter Lisoskie, whose talk show host background helped make the questions engaging. Peter is also a human behavior expert who added to the conversation by discussing his own dating experiences and sharing his knowledge of neuroscience to explain how our brains act when we are looking for love. The result is a book that makes readers feel like they are listening in on two friends having a conversation in a coffee shop.

In addition, there's a foreword by Jim Connelly, Renée's husband of nearly fifteen years and counting. Throughout the book, Renée describes her and Jim's relationship and how they determined that they were each other's love at last and the process they went through to make sure that love would last.

While a lot of the book concerns Internet dating, Renée also gives tips on other places you can find love as well as how to connect with potential soulmates in social settings. The back of the book includes three special reports on How to Bring Back Your Mojo, How to Write a Winning Profile, and the Top 21 Dating Websites. These special reports alone are invaluable and filled with good advice. I especially loved the mojo one, which can help you feel sexier and more attractive so you are sending out the right vibe to attract Mr. or Mrs. Right.

Renée's sparkling personality shines throughout the book and the discussion is filled with humor, but Renée will be the first to tell you that dating is a very serious process. She advocates for removing emotion from the equation at least in the initial stages so you go about choosing Mr. Right in a logical manner-otherwise he might turn out to be Mr. Wrong later. Nor is dating solely about sexual chemistry; it's about finding long-term compatibility. Renée does not hold back any punches in telling it like it is so readers will be cautious and constantly keep their own best interests in mind rather than settling for the first person who comes along.

After reading this book and hearing the many stories Renée shares in it, I'm convinced that Renée's five-step process will work if you use it properly. Reading this book will definitely be time well spent if you want to find your love at last.