Georgia Books

This is a hell of a good book. The person who wrote it knows something about people who race horses.

And he can write.

Most likely you've never heard of this author or his stories--he's been published in a lot of smaller, literary journals. (A fact proving that a lot of good authors slip through the cracks at the bigger, more important magazines.) And if you're not a gambler or someone who frequents horse tracks or OTB parlors, you probably don't know firsthand about the pain and dazzling success that come from winning and losing--experiences that happen sometimes all at once. But Plattner and his characters have seen all of this. And whether you're a horse person or not, the dignity and grace that his characters achieve in a lifestyle that's dying around them is compelling. And hopefully, Andy Plattner will be a name you here about later.

Plattner has a racer's eye for thorobreds and a Southerner's ear for good stories. Settle back in your easy chair with a good bottle of cheap bourbon and a few hours to spare, you'll need both.

I was hesitant to award five stars to this book---since it seems a common practice to heap inordinate praise on books that are usually undeserving---but I give Winter Money five stars because of its originality and freshness of voice. Ostensibly, the theme is horse-racing and the track, but really this is a loosely-linked collection of coming-of-age stories. Plattner's prose is lean and unpretentious, sometimes almost bare-boned, but he turns phrases of simple elegance, putting me in mind of Richard Ford's style in Rock Springs. And the characters and voice also somewhat resemble Richard Ford's collection; if I were Plattner's writing professor, I would ask him, "You've read and learned from this book, haven't you?" Not that this diminishes in any way the power of the collection. The characters, situations, and dialogue linger long in the mind after reading, and it's a book you'll find yourself drawn to again.

There is a wealth of good, solid information in this very creative and readable book on writing. Practical suggestions and concrete examples add to it's value. This is an important book for anyone who wants to write or has a story to tell. I truly enjoyed it.

In this book Georgia offers us a guide back to ourselves. The exercises not only help us to become better writers but help us to know ourselves better as well. Very practical and enlightening.

Some say write what you know. But how do you find out the things that will make you interesting? That will make a writer out of you? In Write What You Know author Georgia Jones takes you through the steps that she herself has taken along the path to better writing. Georgia, who has helped writers find their voices for over five years, and whose own books and articles have spanned a period of over 30 years, tells us how her own life affected her fiction, non-fiction, journalism, commentary, poetry, and plays. Patiently and with a wonderful prose, she assists you through a series of exercises. She entertains with story examples to demonstrate techniques. She describes complex ideas so simply that anyone who has the spark can continue to improve on the skill that must go along with the love of writing. Write What You Know is a book that can be used and enjoyed by the new writer looking for guidance, or is a book for the seasoned pro in search of a fresh outlook. And for $12.95, you get to meet an absolutely marvelous woman.

Don DeNevi

Georgia Jones has put together a writer's guide that mixes humor, guidelines, exercises and examples of real writing. This is all done in a way that gently draws the aspiring author into the process of writing. The book guides us through the elements of fiction including character, place, dialog and plot but each of these is brought to life in a way that makes one eager to start writing.

For example, as I read the section on development of a character for fiction, my first thought was that it is far more complicated than I expected. Yet, at the same time I felt that it would be truly fascinating to work with character in this way.

It's not so much that Georgia Jones makes writing look easy, but that it would be well worth the time and effort to build the skills that she guides us through. She shows us that writing is not so much a mystery as a challenge. She begins the book talking about how we write what we know. In the end we realize that we know far more than we ever imagined.

This was an awesome book--very nostalgic and melancholy. It made me remember my childhood. I even was fortunate to meet the author at my university so that made me enjoy the book even more!

Slow starting, but a great story, especially good for those that grew up in the south in the 40's. Good for men and women to read.

A must-read for anyone who grew up in Georgia during the 1940s or '50s, especially those of us who remember the day the REA (Rural Electrification Administration) hooked us up and turned us on. Life changed dramatically. If you're not old enough to remember those days, let Terry Kay show you what they were like. This book -- as usual in a Kay opus -- is hilarious at turns, tender and sad at others. Kay is a master chef at blending a bittersweet brew of young love, class consciousness and changing times. Don't deprive yourself of a look at this fine early work, which was first published in 1976 -- before Kay established himself as one of our great Southern writers with the novel, "To Dance with the White Dog."

There is a nice story here, of nice people. The writing moves without hitches, glitches nor bumps. It is very real, a terrific book for teenagers. Could and should be studied in college. Teaches without being overly preachy...actually teaches while being a very fun and funny book, too.

This is a great read, especially for history enthusiasts. It is a wonderful, insightful glimpse into the past. Abbeville, Farewell would be a great choice for high school students taking U.S. History. It has been painstakingly well researched and is entertaining.A good book for everybody!

I finished your book this morning and just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it. I cannot imagine the amount of research you must have done to provide such in depth information about the geography, technology, organization of the society and the political attitudes of the times. The characters you developed in your novel reacted to and evaluated the events that were happening, and in the process made this period of history come to life. Thank you!

What a great read! I picked up this book one Friday night and stayed mesmerize all weekend. Abbeville Farewell is an easy recommendation.

As the child of the old south, Estelle Ford-Williamson transported me back to my roots. I felt she was writing about my family and their early 19th century journey from South Carolina and Georgia. There is mystery in the uprooting of the young Morgan family from their home in Abbeville, the adventure of the overland migration to Marthasville (present-day Atlanta), the human and personal struggle of building a new life for the family in this raw frontier city and, once settled and successful, the need to move again. Time and the times play their part in the story as children grow and personal perspectives change. And as you turned the pages of Estelle's great story, you find the growing social issue of slavery festering. In many ways the message of the book mirrors a struggle of any age - personal morality versus accepted community standards.

There is a villain in the story, but he is more a prop than a player. The real story is family and family relationship. The Morgans are good people and, if you end up judging one right and another wrong, you miss the essence of plot. I closed the book with a smile and promise. I will re-read this book. Re-reading books is something I seldom do and only on those rare occasions when they have had the ability to touch me deeply.

Estelle's writing style is open and honest. I feel she is talking to me. Her words flow easily off the pages of her book. Her character development is strong and her ability to build emotion and create rich drama is superb.

If you've ever walked in the woods, loved a dog, lost a dog, lost a love, failed at school or been to camp, you will relish Amy Blackmarr's essays in Above the Fall Line. Blackmarr returns to her native Georgia from Kansas, where life dealt her some blows, to live in a tiny cabin in the mountains. There she reflects on her surroundings and everyday events, masterfully weaving irony and insight but avoiding sentimentality. Her topics range from romance gone bad to her dog's encounter with a bear, and her wry observations allow the reader to learn from her self-discovery.

Amy Blackmarr's third book of personal essays may be the best yet. Her sensitive descriptions of the environment, poetic musings, and characteristic flashes of humor make this book a joy to read. The epigraph is a quote from Ann Beattie--"What will happen can't be stopped: aim for grace." I believe that's what Blackmarr did with this book, and she has succeeded admirably.

I've been shacking up with Amy Blackmarr for several years now, first in a cabin in South Georgia, then a strange house with fifty-two steps out in Kansas. And, more recently, back to another Georgia cabin -- this one in the North Georgia mountains, where it, as Blackmarr writes, "sits alone near the crest of a solitary hill in the Yahoola Valley, gathered in among white pines and scarlet oaks, mosses and ferns, mountain laurel and rhododendron."

At first it was just the two of us, with Blackmarr vicariously taking me along as she lived like a hermit, forsaking all others, except for her ubiquitous dogs, in her first two books, "Going to Ground: Simple Life on a Georgia Pond," and "House of Steps: Finding the Path Home." But, when I began reading her third book in this series of essays, "Above the Fall Line: The Trail from White Pine Cabin," we became a threesome: a literary menage a trois. That's because when I read some of Blackmarr's eloquent words aloud to my wife, I then had to read the entire book to her -- chapter by chapter. Well, I guess it did seem more proper this time, with my wife along.

Reading Amy Blackmarr's trio of flights to temporary dwellings is like peeking inside someone's diaries, sharing not only the richness of her solitude and the glory of her nature hikes, but her intimate thoughts as well. She writes, "Three divorces before I turned thirty, not to mention all my other failed romances, had cinched the whole relationship thing for me." And yet she admits to "scanning crowds for the long-haired, blue-eyed blond hero who would recognize me the instant he saw me."

In each of her books, this modern-day Thoreau encounters creatures large and small, dangerous and otherwise, and in "Above the Fall Line," she comes upon scorpions in the shower, snakes in the woods, and even a black bear that seems interested in her spoiled pork roast. Even the simple act of taking out the trash turns into a hilarious episode. The author also deals with the loss of a treasured dog, a graduate school disappointment, and another failed relationship. Though a lot of the book is indeed about loss, Blackmarr is in a constant process of rebirth and reevaluation, where failures are realized simply as "trail trees" that point to happier hunting grounds, and a sundown is merely a passage to tomorrow's great adventures down pathways, hillsides and streambeds.

Her "Above the Fall Line" ends in 2003 as, she writes, "The crows are calling, and the wind is up..." So I know she's out there right now, somewhere, living and writing down our next nature quest. You would do well to shack up with Amy Blackmarr -- even if your spouse does insist on tagging along.

I read this book for the first time over 20 years ago, and I must admit it shaped my life. When I have kids (twin boys preferably) I will see to it that Machiavelli's Prince, and Smollet's Fathom are mandatory reading.

As you are lead through the life and adventures of FCF, you realize just how villanous a handsone dandy can be. Whistling as he makes love to your daughter so as not to let on that he is picking the lock on your safe with a toothpick between his toes definately displays a sense of arrogance that one must admire!

The texts of many Eighteenth Century books are full of interpolations by printers and may contain thousands of edits by the author, too. What Dr. Brack has done is to identify and evaluate EVERY variant to assemble a DEFINITIVE TEXT. He's spent a lifetime tracking down what Smollett actually wrote. If you want to know what Smollet wrote, and not his printer, read an edition that Dr. Brack has collated. These volumes are triumphs of scholarship as well as a service to readers.

Osagie's book fills a lacunae in the Amsitad historiographic record, but not only for providing details of the Amistad survivors' African return. She provided us with some insights into historical recollections and how they really only exist for present day agendas. She describes the appropriation of the Amistad story by Sierra Leoneans today in order to provide some morale for a society that has lurched from colonial exploitation to home grown exploitation and finally vicious civil war. Quite correctly she has departed from the American-centric purview and focused on the ramifications for African Americans and especially Africans.

i would like to tell u that this is one of the best books ever wrote i wanted to thank you for this strong experence for me so i decide to write a poem i will get back to u on it because i have to get it copyrighted first thanks again

Osagie's book covers all the things that have been glossed over in the traditional telling of the Amistad story: the stories of the Amistad Africans once they returned home, the generalized context of revolt and resistance to slavery at the time, and what the story has meant in Sierra Leone. She also has excellent critiques of plays, novels, and monuments about the Amistad incident, including Steven Spielberg's movie. It is a timely look at a popular story that takes the point of view of the Africans and Africans-American involved with it, instead of focussing on the white abolitionists and the court batttles. I very much enjoyed reading it.

Mary Musgrove, known to the Creek Indians as Coosaponakeesa, was the daughter of a Creek princess and an English colonist. Raised in both cultures during the early 18th century, she assisted the English as a translator and ambassador to the Native Americans, living in what is now Savannah and coastal Georgia. Mary's childhood and young adulthood are vividly described, and Mueller provides an excellent description of tension between the Creek and English cultures. Young readers will particularly appreciate the first-person descriptions of Mary's education and her transformation from shy child to confident young woman. As Mary matures, she adapts to English ways, yet retains the faith and values of her native culture. Her life is characterized by the balance between native and colonial, and both cultures sustain her in different ways.
Life during colonial times, particularly in rural areas of the southeastern United States, was difficult; colonists faced a number of challenges, most notably disease and miscommunication with the native tribes living in the area. Mueller doesn't gloss over these challenges, and readers will be inspired by Mary's resilience in the face of personal and professional loss.
Later portions of the novel, which cover Mary's adulthood, have some problems--most notably, occasional shifts in point of view from first-person to third-person, which distracts from the narrative. Nonetheless, this is a quick, interesting read for junior high and high school-age students that covers an area of history that isn't commonly taught in school. -- Nanette Donohue

After losing myself thoroughly in this exciting adventure into Georgia's past, my only disappointment is in having to return to reality. The story of Mary Musgrove is one of strength and faith as we follow her amazing life. From her early youth with her mother's people, to her successful attempt to learn of and live within her English father's world. All who read this will, I'm sure join me in thanking Pamela Baur Mueller for saving such an important piece of history that was nearly lost to us all

Written by Pamela Bauer Mueller (2006 Georgia Author of the Year Winner for YA/Children's books), An Angry Drum Echoed: Mary Musgrove, Queen of the Creeks is a historical fiction novel written from the first-person perspective of a real-life legendary figure - Mary Musgrove, daughter of a Creek mother and an English father, who successfully bridged the two worlds of Indian heritage and the English way of life. A lynchpin figure of the burgeoning Georgia colony during the 1700s, Mary Musgrove applied her influence with Indian tribes to encourage the chiefs to meet with General Oglethorpe in the Savannah, leading to the peaceful establishment of an English colony in Indian territory. Yet despite being held in high regard by English settlers as surely as Native Americans, she became an antagonist of the newly formed colonial government. After ten years of serving as an unpaid diplomat and interpreter, she led her Creek tribesmen in a march through the streets of Savannah in search of justice. A fascinating dramatization of a truly remarkable and strong-willed woman's life, recommended for readers of all ages.

This a captivating biography that once you start reading it you can not put it down until you are done. It is a life of hope in spite of the life of hell being lived out. It gives hope to anyone caught in a bad or abusive relationship.

What a story! You gotta read it. It's spellbinding. As you follow Barbara's story and identify further with her, you'll find yourself saying 'What would I have done?' under her circumstances.
Once you're done reading it, you will feel uplifted, that there is hope even after enduring a hell-like nightmare.
Oprah need to spotlight this one.

Oh my gosh! How anyone could live through and even recover from what Barbara Clark endured leaves me speechless. This must have been such a difficult book to write, being a biography. Barbara Clark (the author Tahiera) is an amazing and beautiful woman. It is just so hard to believe that there are folks in our world as evil as "The Old Man". I could not put this book down once I began reading. Oprah needs to know about this!!

"The Beach House" was great, but "Another Summer" is even better! When I first began reading, I was a little disappointed because there are all new characters, and Eric and Julia are not a part of this novel. However, this book has exceeded all of my expectations!

The book opens three years later with Andrew, the man who owns the house that Eric had been staying in in "Beach House," who attends his 20 year high school reunion to meet up with his high school girlfriend, Cheryl. They attempt to rekindle their relationship.

June finds Kelly, a young lawyer, staying at the beach house to attend a class at the local university. Just getting off a bad relationship, she is drawn to Matt, the man teaching the class. She must come to a decision about whether her priority is her personal or professional life.

In July, a man and wife and their ten year old son stay at the beach house. The family has recently experienced the death of their infant daughter and befriend some special people who help them overcome this tragedy.

In August, Cheryl, who is a social worker, returns to the beach house with three teenage girls who she has brought in hopes that being outside of their urban lifestyles will be inspiring for them. She challenges Andrew to accept the girls; if he does, she knows a relationship between the two of them is possible.

This book is terrific because it ties up the loose ends left from the "Beach House". We learn what has transpired in the past three years between Julia and Eric, we meet up again with Chris Saddler- average teenaged boy turned Hollywood star, and we even hear again about Joe and Maggie.

"The Beach House" brought tears to my eyes, and "Another Summer" is equally touching. The characters are believable, with real-life problems. I hope that Bockoven will come out with another book to add to this series! I can't wait to read some of her other books!

If you like this book, I would suggest books by Nicholas Sparks, Kirk Martin, and Mary Alice Monroe.

THE BEACH HOUSE has always been a place for relationships with some ending in love while others in broken hearts. The current owners should sell the California place since they live across the continent, but Julia cannot bring herself to do so. Instead she and Eric rent the place from May through August to various people.

May. Back in high school twenty years ago, Andrew Wells broke Cheryl Cunningham's heart. Now he desperately wants a second chance with the woman he always has loved, but can Cheryl trust him not to break her heart again?

June. Marine biologist Matt Landy provides a talk attended by attorney Kelly Anderson, who looks for an edge in an upcoming court case involving the scientist. However, her attraction to Matt leaves Kelly wondering if her personal feelings might cause a professional conflict of interest?

July. The death of their child Angela destroyed the Davis family's joy in life. Craig and Ann and their other child Jeremy desperately need healing, but unless a miracle occurs, the Davis relationship seems near an end.

August. Cheryl brings three Oakland teenage girls with her when she returns to the house to join Andrew. If he accepts her charges and still wants the complete her after a month of inner city chaperones, Cheryl knows that she and Andrew can share both their lives.

ANOTHER SUMMER, the sequel to THE BEACH HOUSE, is a warm anthology that fans of contemporary romances starring strong characters will enjoy. Each story is fun to read, as the audience will appreciate Georgia Bockoven's fine work.

Harriet Klausner

If you haven't read a book by Georgia Bockoven, then you are missing out. Another Summer is truly another winner and a must read for fans of Bockoven's The Beach House. And for those of you who are new to Bockoven, I highly recommend searching for her backlist. She is a not-to-be-missed writer. Can't wait for her next book.