Debbie Harpham
Our in-house book reviewer, Dorothy Caldwell Minor, aka The Book Whisperer, is a keeper!
A little about Dorothy:
“I am an avid reader and also enjoy Indie and foreign movies. I retired from teaching English at Tulsa Community College after teaching as an adjunct first and then twenty-four years as a full-time faculty member. I was also involved in faculty development, planning and facilitating workshops for colleagues. I like technology and using technology to enhance learning. As an adjunct, I started a book club on campus, and it is still going strong thirty-one years later! I also belong to two other book clubs.I’ve included a picture from a Chautauqua Tea at TCC, complete with hat and brooch! I enjoy collecting vintage rhinestone brooches.”
Dorothy’s book club, Circle of Readers:
“We meet twice monthly. The first of the month, we all read a book and discuss it; the second time we meet, we discuss other books we’ve read. We enjoy inviting authors to join us! We have 20 members, and we are located in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. We are currently reading When Time Stopped by Ariana Neumann and enjoy reading fiction, historical fiction, memoir, nonfiction, YA.”
Dorothy recently enjoyed her second novel by NovelNetwork author Nicola Harrison. Read on:
In 2019, I read Montauk by Nicola Harrison. It is the story of Beatrice Bordeaux, a young woman living in Montauk, Long Island, in 1938. I enjoyed the story. Recently, I discovered Harrison has a new novel: The Show Girl, a much different story from her debut novel.
The Show Girl features Olive McCormick who leaves her home in Minneapolis in 1927 to move to NYC so she can become a star in the Ziegfeld Follies. Olive is quite talented; readers will understand, though, how difficult it is to break into show business. Once in NYC, Olive meets a number of other talented would-be dancers. She does persevere, and she succeeds!
Olive loves being on stage. When she meets Archie Carmichael, Olive falls in love because Archie treats her differently than other men. He understands her desire to have a career. But will that trait remain the same once they are engaged?
Harrison takes readers on the journey with Olive. We can feel the strength of her desire to succeed as a dancer and we recognize the sacrifices she must make. Readers can’t help but root for Olive, especially when she becomes frustrated that Mr. Ziegfeld does not remember meeting her in CA. When he tells her she must return for an audition, Olive replies, “Oh, Mr. Ziegfeld, I can’t simply wait around for you. I’m sure I’ll be cast in another show by then. Hopefully, we’ll meet again sometime.”
Olive also reveals secrets that she would often like to forget. Will those secrets come back to haunt her? Or will they pave the way to an even happier future? Readers will discover the answers to these questions and more in The Show Girl.
Harrison evokes the period of the late 1920s and the glamour of the Ziegfeld Follies. Book clubs will enjoy the story and find much to discuss about a Midwestern girl who makes it big as part of the Ziegfeld Follies.
Nicola Harrison is available to visit with book clubs via NovelNetwork.com.
Be sure to visit Dorothy’s website, Parkdalear’s Blog, and watch for her reviews of our NovelNetwork authors featured there, and shared right here at NovelNetwork.com.