Thursday, October 25, 2012

Ginger Asks...Ever Written A Difficult Review?

I'm not just an author, I've an avid reader, and although issues with my vision have slowed me down in both departments, when I find an author I love and discover that reading that person's work helps me to enhance my own novels, I can't pass up that opportunity.  Besides, I love to be entertained and this particular author has never disappointed me..

Don't be surprised that Rita Karnopp is that person, and one of the main reasons I asked her to join me on this blog.  She knows the importance of historical research, and even though we are fictional authors, one thing we both know is that facts pertinent to the era and people about which we write is vastly important and frequently scrutinized by historical buffs.  Besides, Rita is filled with wonderful ideas both for her novels and her blogs.  If I wasn't already a senior citizen, I'd want to be her when I grow up, but that doesn't mean I can't still admire her talent and aspire to reach the heights I feel she has.

Click to Visit Site
Recently, she had a new release and needed some peer reviews.  Believe it or not, we can be honest and forthcoming in what we write, and I have to admit I had some reservations about reading and reviewing a story written about an era and topic I've tried to avoid.  Gypsy Spirit is the first book in a new series from Books We Love Publishing, and in this case the topic is the holocaust.  My father, deceased now, was brought up Jewish and I suppose immigrated with his family to avoid the horrors and atrocities so aptly described in the novel.  I hated imagining the relatives I never met traveling in crowded railroad cards to unknown destinations only to be killed in the Nazi gas chambers of the prison and death camps.

I hated the realism shown through the persecution of a young Gypsy girl and her family, learning through a well-researched novel, that the Jewish people were far from the only ones who suffered at the hands of Hitler What I abhor the most if we still have these types of  people, but we call them bullies, politicians or terrorists.  Will history repeat itself?  I certainly hope not, but it's true there are those out there who hate us for our differences. This book is an eye-opener.

While I hated the subject matter of Gypsy Spirit, I have to salute my favorite author for taking on such a difficult topic and putting history into perspective through her story, research, and ability to create characters who grab your heart and work their way into your soul.  Kudos again to Rita Karnopp for delivering another winner.

7 comments:

  1. What a wonderful world this would be if these kinds of atrocities only happened in the fiction we write....but what kind of fiction wouold we write if we did not have REAL events to guide us in our creations. Even those who write outrageous science fiction are still basing their stories on who they are as humans and waht experiences they bring to their writing themes.

    Recently the last survivor of the Titanic died and I found myself wondering will what we the writers of today and tomorrow be able to incorporate the emotions that played out in thsoe fateful hours should we chose to write a fictional story with the Titanic as our backdrop. I came to the conclusion if we can't we have no business writing.

    Thankfully both of you have the ability to make the many levels of emotions resonate even when the topic is something as horrific as the Holocaust.

    Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Ginger,
    Great blog. Gipsy Spirit sounds fascinating. Terrible crimes were committed by Hitler and his evil thugs and no-one should ever forget it, so it is commendable that Rita is writing about it to make sure these dreadful deeds are never erased from our minds.

    Regards

    Margaret

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ginger - I am so humbled by your comments ... and thank you doesn't begin to express how you've touched me. I've wanted to write this series for over ten years . . . and my Gypsy girls are my way of sharing the truth of a time in history when a mad-man gripped the minds of a nation.

    Thank you for trusting I could tell a story that could touch you . . . even during a dark time. It means so much to me that you believe in me as an author - and a friend.

    I'm the one who is blessed to be invited to share this blog. I've met some very wonderful people here . . . and I enjoy being a part of Dishin' it Out with all of you. I truly am touched. Rita

    ReplyDelete
  4. Art can do a lot. I remember seeing Rod Steiger in The Pawnbroker as a YA and couldn't sleep for three nights after that. I simply cried. These stories have to be told and retold. Each generation has to be reminded. But there is the reality: A village in France stands as a memorial to the women, children and old people who were shot or burned to death by the Nazis one afternoon, while the men were working in the fields. It has been left exactly as it was that horrible day in the early forties. It is now a national destination for the French. Everywhere there are signs that say, "You! Never forget." And with people like Rita around, we won't.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I can see how that would be difficult. Kudos for finishing the book and being able to overcome your reluctance to look at a sensitive subject. Sometimes it is good for us to do that. It helps us process thoughts and feelings we tend to push aside.

    I agree with Heather about how important it is to keep reminding new generations of the horror of genocide.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is my favorite era and strangely enough the Holocaust a favorite topic to read or watch. Congratulations on your new book, Rita, and thank you for blogging it, Ginger! Now I'm off to buy it.:)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sometimes it's hard to do the right thing, but you did it anyway!

    Morgan Mandel
    http://www.morganmandel.com

    ReplyDelete

Romance Reviews

The Romance Reviews