Tuesday 5 March 2013

TELL ME PRESS Virtual Tour: Review: The Longing by Cornelia Warmenhoven



Hello Therians,

It's review day!!
 
For more details about the Tell Me Press virtual tour hop on over to the JKSCommunications website.


Tell Me Press is a publisher based in New Haven, Connecticut. The company was launched in 2006 with the goal of creating smart, thoughtful, and fun books with a focus on culture, music, health & well-being, and lifestyle.



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



CONTACT: JKSCommunications, Grace Wright, 615.715.8465, grace@jkscommunications.com




TELL ME PRESS ANNOUNCES 5 SPANKING NEW BOOKS FOR 2013


An expansive historical novel, an edgy fictional memoir, be cool & confident guides for teens, and a collection of short stories set in Hawaii - an eclectic set




NEW HAVEN, CT – January 2013 – Tell Me Press is proud to announce the first five titles of its 2013 collection that reinforces the Tell Me Press vision of providing whimsical, practical and groundbreaking stories.


The Longing, coming January 25, is a poignant tale of leaving one’s home for the dream of a better life. It’s 1904, and Dora Taten wants to leave an untenable situation in the Netherlands to forge a new life in the United States. This tightly knit Dutch family decides to take the risk and journey to America. They prepare as much as they can, but surprises and challenges, good and bad, await them. Author Cornelia Warmenhoven was a member of the Dutch Resistance against the Nazis in World War II. Later, with her husband and son, Cornelia traveled the globe and lived on four continents—often very far off the beaten path. Her storytelling in The Longing is as rich and full of color as her life experiences.


In February, Tell Me Press launches Born & Raised, the debut by author Chris Ross. Chris opens the door to his beloved Indiana like a gracious host who knows the skeletons have already tumbled out of the closet, but he's throwing the party anyway. Born & Raised is an edgy, insightful and big-hearted story. He illuminates the lives of his characters with a vision and voice guided by empathy and humor. He captures the poignant resiliency and spirit found in Indiana's small towns where the factories have closed, yet the people still play baseball in the industry league, though the industry no longer exists.


Later this spring, Tell Me Press delivers Be Cool & Confident, guidebooks for both girls and guys aimed at helping young people reach their greatest potential. Be Cool & Confident: A Guide for Girls and Be Cool & Confident: A Guide for Guys by Wynne Dalley, the agency director of Lucie Clayton Modeling School in London, share the grooming, manners and health secrets usually privileged only to the elite modeling community. The Be Cool & Confident Guides provide advice about taking care of your body and personal appearance in a modern and practical way through good nutrition, makeup, hairstyling, and fashion. The Guides also focus on etiquette and the importance of good manners.


Tell Me Press rounds out its first wave of books this year with The Girl With Heavenly Eyes: Hawaiian Tales, a collection of short stories as mesmerizing and complex as the islands on which they take place. The author is Lee Jacobus a name some may recognize from his commentaries on Faith Middleton’s NPR Radio show. “Readers will come for the storyline and stay for the wit and lyricism of the writing; they will fall in love with the characters and remember them long after they close the cover of this enchanting and original work.” writes Gina Barreca, author of It’s Not That I’m Bitter, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying About Visible Panty Lines and Conquered the World.



Visit Tell Me Press to learn more about this Independent Publishing House, as well as all of the titles they have to offer!



SPOTLIGHT

 
THE LONGING by CORNELIA WARMENHOVEN





SYNOPSIS

In the early 1900’s thousands of immigrants crossed under the shadow of the Statue of Liberty to find freedom and opportunity in America. In The Longing, history and culture provide the backdrop as the Taten family makes the difficult decision to immigrate to the United States from Holland. Like immigrants the world over, the Tatens discover that the longing for the comfort, traditions, and familiarity of one’s homeland never ends.

It’s 1904, and Dora Taten wants to leave an untenable situation in the Netherlands to forge a new life in the United States. Not everyone in her newly blended and extended family—not even her husband, Paul—is convinced that this is a good idea. But enough members of this tightly knit Dutch family decide to take the risk and journey to America. They prepare as much as they can, but many surprises and challenges, good and bad, await them.

Part family saga, part-coming-of-age story—this richly textured novel is drawn from author Cornelia Warmenhoven’s life experience and is colored with language, details, and illustrations that give a snapshot of life in another country and in another time. Step back in time and enjoy a simply good story, well told. It will delight and warm the heart.





REVIEW

This isn't the type of book I'd normally choose to read, but I was intrigued by the synopsis enough that I decided to give it a go.
 
The story started off at a slow pace. I was introduced to quite a few characters at the very beginning and I had to find my bearings before I was able to settle into the story. I think I only really started to enjoy it once the family was on their way to the United States.
 
I enjoyed how each character developed throughout this book. Especially Gertie, she was definitely the hero of this story. Strong, independent, always looking out for those around her, and she seemed to really embrace Dora, even when her siblings didn't. She showed a high level of maturity, even from a young age, and it was her coming-of-age story that gave this book a spark of excitement.
 
I loved to see how each of the Tatens took to life in the US and how this land, that offered them so much, shaped them as the years went by. There were subtle changes in in each character and it was fun to see how American colloquialism wormed its way into their speech as they learned to speak English, and to adapt to the American way.
 
The story was inspirational and filled with so much hope. Even though the characters faced many obstacles, they never allowed fear to keep them from realizing their dreams, and this is the most important message I drew from this book.
 
It gets...
 
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Grab a copy now!






ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Cornelia Warmenhoven has led a storied life traveling the globe - twice around the world by boat and by plane. Cornelia is 87 years old. She was born in 1925, in the Netherlands, in the town of Hoofddorp, 10 miles from Amsterdam. As a volunteer psychiatric nurse during WWII, Cornelia joined the Dutch Resistance against the Nazis. Soon after the war ended, Cornelia married Henri Warmenhoven, a Dutch national who had grown up in Indonesia and who had been interned in a Japanese prison camp during the war. While Henri earned his degrees as a political scientist and lawyer, Cornelia lived with him and their son, George, in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and Europe before the family settled permanently in the United States. Cornelia continued her nursing career, reported on local events, wrote travel stories for newspapers, and performed in the theater. Today, she makes her home in Virginia.


 

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