Picking Favourites—Not Fair!

Shepherd, an online database of books connecting readers, authors, and their books by theme asked contributors to select their favourite books of the year. Not fair! Almost every book I read is a true treasure and I appreciate and respect the writer and their need to tell a story. 

That said, much of my reading these past few years, has focused on the history of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and Second World War history.  Violence involving the former USSR continues to create headline news as the ‘special military operation’ grinds on into a second year with no end in sight. War and death dominate our news and Canada is flooded with  21st century war refugees. 

The authors of my three book choices include:  Erin Litteken, an American novelist writing for adults. Marsha Skrypuch, a Canadian novelist writing for middle grade, and Mateusz Swietlicki, a Polish academic, specializing in East European studies.  To find out about the books I chose, visit Shepherd. https://shepherd.com/bboy/2023/f/gabriele-goldstone.

It’s empowering to know that the experiences of our families, hidden for decades because of war, immigration and even shame, are being explored via the power of literature. These are excellent books, targeted at a variety of readers,  about a history that still matters. 

Thank you to the folks at Shepherd for making it so much easier to follow topics of interest. I recommend them to fellow authors, readers and teachers. A great resource!

Check out their website for favourite reads of almost 1000 authors. And if you're an author, you might want to join their growing list. 

Broken but not gone

Broken Stone, out of print, but still getting noticed! I'm grateful to Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (her most recent book, Winterkill is about the Holodomor) who has been so generous with her support to me over the years. Not only does she write thrilling books set during the war that have received world-wide acclaim, but she's always there for bumblers like me who just can't get their writing career out of low gear.

Thanks also to the good folks at Shepherd.com ...an amazing database of books organized by themes and trying hard to compete with the Goodreads/Amazon giants in our lives. Thanks to them for dreaming big, for reaching out, and for their brave tenacity. To all my fellow readers and writers ... check out Shepherd.com and get lost exploring your passions. 

Here's the link to Broken Stone on Shepherd.

A few copies of Broken Stone are still available online and directly from me.  Both Red Stone (the prequel, focused on kulak collectivization and Siberian exile and Broken Stone (about the consequences of that exile) were published by independent (now defunct) publishers with small print runs and limited availability. All rights have returned to me and with the recent interest in Russia and Ukraine I'm considering ways to re-release them. Any ideas? I'm listening. 

Connecting

Thrilled to see that my web  page at Shepherd for Authors is live.

Marketing is such a tough area for me (I would rather hide somewhere with a book near my nose than try and actually sell a book). Therefore, I'm grateful to connect with others interested in 20th century history under Stalin and Hitler. 

I appreciate the great idea behind this resource which is to connect with readers and recommend my favourite books on my areas of interest. 

Check it out!  Here is the URL:

https://shepherd.com/best-books/stalin-and-hitler-era-for-young-people-and-adults