Thursday, October 22, 2015

The Paragraph Ranch - Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56

     Reading The Paragraph Ranch felt like a trip back home to Texas! I loved all the Texas-isms used by the authors to add color and humor to the story -- fixin' to, which means I'm about to do something; and bob war, which is Texan for barbed wire, just to name two examples.
     I especially enjoyed getting to know Dee, the youngest of three siblings (divorced, with a college-age daughter) who has returned to rural West Texas to take charge of her mother's health care ... temporarily. The challenges she faces will resonate with so many women in the "sandwich" generation. Her mother Alice is a hoot!
     I'm looking forward to reading Book Two in the series: A Wedding at the Paragraph Ranch

Book Beginning (FYI: Alice is the mother)
PROLOGUE
Alice - Thursday, May 1, 2008
In fifty-five years on the home place we ain't never missed putting in a crop, and I don't intend to miss one now. No matter what them three say. Why, we planted cotton the week Wilton got back from Korea. And the year it snowed the first of May. And the time when Dee Anna was six months old and we carried her out here in a apple crate.

Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
The moon shone directly through the screened window, too bright for sleep. Far off a coyote called, and another answered. Dee stared at the water stain on the ceiling and dreaded how empty the farmhouse would seem with just her and Mama, even with Teresa's occasional presence. She wondered how Mama had borne those months of being all alone out here after Daddy passed away.

Genre: Contemporary Women's Fiction / Humor

Length: 268 Pages
Amazon Link: The Paragraph Ranch
Website: Kay Ellington & Barbara Brannon

Synopsis:

EVERY WRITER KNOWS YOU CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN. But that's just what is required of West Texas expatriate Dee Bennett-Kaufmann when her mother is badly injured in a mysterious car accident. Single-again “Dr. Dee” has never been on the “A-team” in her trendy East Coast MFA program. When a prestigious summer fellowship gives her the chance to finally finish her book, salvage her career, and spend some quality time with her college-age daughter—Dee's certain her luck is about to change. Returning to care for her irascible, widowed mother threatens all of that. With so much at stake, Dee engineers a series of unorthodox strategies and creative tradeoffs to keep her options in play—and despite herself finds friendship, love, and the power of words in the unlikeliest of places.
This is a new release of an edition originally published by Booktrope.

FYI: Although the books I feature on my blog are ones I've bought myself, checked out of the library, or have received from friends, I often contact authors to let them know I'm going to feature their book on the blog. That way, they can respond to comments and post the link on Facebook, etc., if they want. So don't be surprised if you occasionally see an author's name among the comments.

                 

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56.
Click HERE to connect to other Book Beginnings posts (sponsored by Rose City Reads) 
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Twitter: @SandyNachlinger
Facebook: sandy.nachlinger

23 comments:

  1. I like the sound of this book, thanks for sharing. :-)

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  2. I like the realism of this. Seems like so many people, just as they get to a point in their lives when things are on a roll, are brought back to the reality of dealing with aging parents!

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  3. I like the sound of this one. Alice's voice definitely feels authentic and it does make me curious to see how the book turns out. Hope you enjoy it!

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  4. I really love the title of this book!

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  5. I enjoy it when the book feels like going home too, Sandy. I just read one that felt so much like my home town, I could swear I recognized people. LOL This book sounds lovely:)

    Here's my 56 - http://fuonlyknew.com/2015/10/23/the-friday-56-83-guarded-a-silverton-chronicles-novel/

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  6. I really enjoy it when books set in a particular region actually pick up on the use of language there. It's also really fun to put different generations together because there are so many topics you can address there! Thanks for sharing :) I hope you have a great weekend!
    My Friday Post
    Juli @ Universe in Words

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  7. I love the sound of this one...and the title, too.

    The dialect is familiar to me, even though I have never lived in Texas. In my part of the Central Valley of California and further North, too, there are many "expatriates" of Texas and other Southern states. When I read the dialogue here, it feels like I'm sitting around my grandmother's table on a Sunday.

    Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

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  8. This sounds like something I would really like.

    Thanks for sharing, and thanks for stopping by my blog earlier.

    ENJOY your reading weekend.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Book Beginnings

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  9. This sounds like a really good read. I especially like the 56 quote!

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  10. It's hard to sleep when the moon is right in front of your window. Hope book two is as enjoyable as this one!

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  11. I love the sound of this book! Definitely adding this one to my tbr - thanks for sharing it! Here's my Book Beginnings & 56

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  12. The cover looks so pretty, but the written description of the property makes me think they could use a little help. I wonder if some will come along. :-)Thanks for stopping by my blog.
    sherry @ fundinmental

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  13. I'm not sure that this is a book for me, but I hope you'll love it. Thanks for sharing and for stopping by my blog.

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  14. Love the sound of this one. We hear the coyotes running around our ranch, too.

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  15. I love that beginning, even though I think this might just be a little too "close to home" for me. Thanks for sharing.

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  16. Hi,
    Sounds like a wonderful book. Thanks for stopping by my place. Have a great day!

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  17. I like the writing, I can hear and see everything being written. I will have to watch for this one. Happy Weekend!

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  18. Interesting book beginning! You can tell they're hard workers x

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  19. Sounds like a wonderful story, deep in family history. Love that cover too! Hope you had a great weekend!

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  20. I guess you have to read it in the accent, huh? :)

    Thanks for visiting my blog.

    Check out my Halloween Giveaway and Music Monday: Brick + Mortar.

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  21. That first teaser sounds deep! Thanks for sharing!

    And sorry for not coming here sooner >< I've been away on a school trip.

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