Everyday War: The Conflict over Donbas, Ukraine by Greta Lynn Uehling Book Spotlight and Excerpt!

 

Publisher: Cornell University Press 

Publication Date: February 15, 2023 

Price: Hardcover $125.00 / Paperback $31.95 

ISBN-13: 978-1501768484 (210 pages) 

Everyday War provides an accessible lens through which to understand what noncombatant civilians go through in a country at war. 

What goes through the mind of a mother who must send her child to school across a minefield or the men who belong to groups of volunteer body collectors? In Ukraine, such questions have been part of the daily calculus of life. Greta Uehling engages with the lives of ordinary people living in and around the armed conflict over Donbas that began in 2014 and shows how conventional understandings of war are incomplete.

In Ukraine, landscapes filled with death and destruction prompted attentiveness to human vulnerabilities and the cultivation of everyday, interpersonal peace. Uehling explores a constellation of social practices where ethics of care were in operation. People were also drawn into the conflict in an everyday form of war that included provisioning fighters with military equipment they purchased themselves, smuggling insulin, and cutting ties to former friends. Each chapter considers a different site where care can produce interpersonal peace or its antipode, everyday war.

Bridging the fields of political geography, international relations, peace and conflict studies, and anthropology, Everyday War considers where peace can be cultivated at an everyday level.

"Greta Uehling sensitively, and with nuance, highlights the often-misunderstood early stages of the war in Ukraine and the toll it has taken on its people. In her exploration of the Ukrainian conflict and thoughtful consideration of contextually complex language and culture, she brings many universal struggles to light." -- Maureen P. Flaherty, University of Manitoba, author of Peacebuilding with Women in Ukraine 

Greta Uehling teaches for the Program in International and Comparative Studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan where she is affiliated with the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies.

Follow her on Twitter @uehlingumiched1

Alligator Creek by Lottie Guttry Book Spotlight and Q&A!

ALLIGATOR CREEK

FICTION/HISTORICAL |ISBN: 978-1-61254-241-6 HC $18.95 |

http://alligatorcreekbook.com/

Author Lottie Guttry brings to life what Americans faced during the Civil War, exploring the effects of war, a family’s story, and 19th Century lifestyles in Alligator Creek. Guttry combines the stories of her own ancestors, Sarah and Alex Browning, and years of research to enlighten readers about what life was like during that period of civil unrest when brother fought against brother.

“This compelling novel is the product of impressive research. It illuminates the everyday lives of Civil War soldiers as well as the families who were left at home. The plot unfolds with great realism. Guttry shows that wartime did not always produce clean narratives and happy endings. Instead, it was messy and unpredictable,” said Sean McMahon, Florida Gateway College professor of history.

Based on a true family story and documented history, Alligator Creek presents strong characters, who survived the unique and difficult period of the American Civil War. Sarah and Alex Browning lived in Lake City, Florida, during the 1860’s, and Alex’s recorded military service includes many of the most famous battles between the Generals Grant and Lee.

During her research for the book, Guttry discovered that the struggles and realities of war are timeless. She realized that even with modern advancements in weaponry and war strategy, the personal challenges faced by military and their spouses have not really changed much since that pivotal time.

“It is tragic and yet fascinating to learn that those who fought in the Civil War and the family members left behind share striking similarities in experiences, even though the time periods are more than 100 years apart,” said Guttry. “During the Civil War, soldiers faced post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet there was no formal name for it. The similarities also reached into extreme war conditions, guilt, loneliness, and families torn apart. Many soldiers who return home from the battlefield face personal battles to find comfort in their normal lives. Additionally, Guttry writes about the struggles of families left behind, making their way without their spouses and with the unending fear that their men may never return.

According to Guttry, the many adversities to overcome by those in the Civil War, and those who had family members in the war were a great inspiration to sharing her family’s story in conjunction with her research. “My dearest dream is that the readers will love my characters and find inspiration in their courage, faith, and hope during one of American’s most challenging times to thrive, fight a war, and raise a family” said Guttry.

Lottie Lipscomb Guttry grew up in the small town of Kilgore, Texas, the site of the famous East Texas Oil Field. She attended Sweet Briar College in Virginia and received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Arts from Stephen F. Austin College in Nacogdoches, Texas, and a doctorate from Texas A&M University at Commerce. She served as instructor of literature and composition at Kilgore College. She also taught advanced composition, literature, and advanced grammar at the University of Texas at Tyler. She owned and directed Sylvan Learning Center in Longview. During her studies at Stephen F. Austin State University, a professor assigned her class to find and write a family legend. A cousin introduced Lottie to Sarah and Alexander Browning and their story—the basis for her historical novel Alligator Creek. Other publications include a musical, Boom, based on the history of the East Texas Oil Field; a play for children, The Enchanted Swan; a critical article published in the Walt Whitman Review; two devotionals published in The Upper Room; and numerous feature articles for The Longview News and Journal.

Lottie and her husband John, a retired dentist, live in Longview, Texas, near Kilgore, where they both grew up. She participates in the music program at her church, serves as a hospital volunteer, plays duplicate bridge, and travels. She has three grown children and seven grandchildren.

Q&A

What inspired you to write this book?

I learned of a compelling family story about my ancestors, Sarah and Alexander Browning, who lived in Florida during the Civil War. I thought about this story for several years, especially Sarah’s inspiring strength and bravery. In 2004 I finally sat down at my computer and began to expand the story into the historical fiction novel, Alligator Creek.

How much research went into writing Alligator Creek?

I read numerous books before I even started writing. As I wrote, I constantly searched the Internet for information. Without research, a twenty-first century author could not write authentically about people who lived in the nineteenth century. Not only did I study battle plans and historical events in the Civil War Period, I discovered what they ate, what their houses looked like, what they wore, what their opinions were, what their customs were, what words they used then that we no longer use now, what words we do use now that they did not use then. I enjoy research, so it was a pleasant task. I found some wonderful out-of-print books at the UT Austin library.

What do you hope that readers walk away with by reading your book?

My dearest hope is that the readers will love my characters and find inspiration in their courage, faith, and hope during one of American’s most challenging times to thrive, fight a war, and raise a family.

What is the significance of the title Alligator Creek?

A creek plays a critical role in the original family story, and the word alligator suggests an element of danger and a connection with Florida. Also, Lake City, the town where Sarah and Alexander Browning lived, was originally called Alligator. The name was changed to Lake City only a few years before the Brownings moved there. I named the creek that runs through their farm Alligator Creek, which is also the name of their farm.

How much of this book is factual history, your personal family history, and why was it important to you to research this time period for the book?

I could write the family story in two or three pages. The story needed to be expanded and detailed to make the characters and the time period come to life. Through research I immersed myself in the period, so I could create dialogue for people who lived without technology, without electricity, and without automobiles. I came upon an interesting cross section of the actual family story and historical research when I discovered online scanned documents of Alexander Browning’s letters to the Florida Board of Pensions. I quoted frequently from those letters.
In the book, Alex Browning comes away from the war with post-traumatic stress disorder. Was PTSD a major issue during the Civil War?

The original family story relates that Alex did not come home after the war and never explained why. PTSD would be a logical reason and believable as a result of his horrendous experiences. When I’d almost finished the book, I discovered Eric T. Dean ‘s book. Shook Over Hell: Post Traumatic Stress, Vietnam and the Civil War, written in 1997. Dean studied cases of PTSD from the Vietnam War and records of former Civil War soldiers in several hospitals. In the nineteenth century it was called “soldier’s heart” or “irritated heart.” I am not sure how prevalent PTSD was in the Civil War, but logic tells us that if soldiers from Vietnam, World Wars 1 and 2 suffered from “shell-shock” or PTSD as a result of war experiences, that it would have occurred just as frequently during and after the brutal Civil War.

In the book, Sarah Browning deals with the stresses of having a husband at war. What can wives who have husbands overseas take away from Sarah’s experiences?

Sarah kept her days structured and busy, caring for her children and finding ways to make money— canning, sewing, and teaching. She also accepted help from family members and trained her children to help with chores. Each morning she read scriptures and poetry. She released her anxieties by writing letters and journals. Most of all, she depended on her strong Christian faith for courage and comfort.

Race relations and slavery obviously dominated the American political landscape in the nineteenth century, as is evidenced in the book. How are race relations today different from that time period? What should readers know?

Although many in the South insisted that the Civil War was an act of Yankee aggression, it was a war about slavery. Slave owners considered their slaves to be property. Many refused to see African Americans as human beings after the war. The reconstruction with its lynching’s and beatings kept black freedmen in terror of white people. During my lifetime I have observed growth of a more accepting attitude in society toward minorities. I am hopeful that the future will bring further improvement in race relations.

What was the biggest challenge you faced while writing Alligator Creek?

I think plotting and character development were my biggest challenges. The bigger-than-life events in the family story obviously required bigger-than life-characters. Making unbelievable events appear reasonable required a lot of thought and rewriting.

What can the reader learn from reading Alligator Creek?

Readers will learn what it was like to be a soldier or a mother during the 1860’s and many details of the time period. Alligator Creek’s heroine examines the prejudices and restrictive attitudes of her society and has the ability to see both sides of the controversy. I hope my readers may examine prejudices in our society through eyes of compassion.

Sisters at War by Clare Flynn Blog Tour!

Book Title: Sisters at War

Author: Clare Flynn

Publication Date: 1st May 2021

Publisher: Cranbrook Press

Page Length: 314 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Twitter Handle: @clarefly @maryanneyarde

Instagram Handless: @clarefly @coffeepotbookclub

Hashtags: #HistoricalFiction #WW2 #sistersatwar #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub

Sisters at War

By Clare Flynn

1940 Liverpool. The pressures of war threaten to tear apart two sisters traumatised by their father’s murder of their mother.

With her new husband, Will, a merchant seaman, deployed on dangerous Atlantic convoy missions, Hannah needs her younger sister Judith more than ever. But when Mussolini declares war on Britain, Judith's Italian sweetheart, Paolo is imprisoned as an enemy alien, and Judith's loyalties are divided.

Each sister wants only to be with the man she loves but, as the war progresses, tensions between them boil over, and they face an impossible decision.

A heart-wrenching page-turner about the everyday bravery of ordinary people during wartime. From heavily blitzed Liverpool to the terrors of the North Atlantic and the scorched plains of Australia, Sisters at War will bring tears to your eyes and joy to your heart.

Universal Link: 

https://books2read.com/sistersatwar 

Amazon UK: https://amazon.co.uk/dp/B08Z473XG2 

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Sisters-War-wartime-voyage-across-ebook/dp/B08Z473XG2/

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Sisters-War-wartime-voyage-across-ebook/dp/B08Z473XG2 

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Sisters-War-wartime-voyage-across-ebook/dp/B08Z473XG2/ 

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/sisters-at-war-1

                            

Clare Flynn is the author of thirteen historical novels and a collection of short stories. A former International Marketing Director and strategic management consultant, she is now a full-time writer. 

Having lived and worked in London, Paris, Brussels, Milan and Sydney, home is now on the coast, in Sussex, England, where she can watch the sea from her windows. An avid traveler, her books are often set in exotic locations.

Clare is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of The Society of Authors, ALLi, and the Romantic Novelists Association. When not writing, she loves to read, quilt, paint and play the piano. 

Website: https://clareflynn.co.uk/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/clarefly

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorclareflynn 

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Clare-Flynn/e/B008O4T2LC/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6486156.Clare_Flynn 

Instagram https://instagram.com/clarefly 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clareflynn/ 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/clarefly/ 

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/clare-flynn 

Elizabeth's War by D.L.Rogers Blog Tour and Giveaway! @hfvbt @DLRogersBooks

ELIZABETH’S WAR BY D.L. ROGERS

Publication Date: June 1, 2013
Paperback, AudioBook, & eBook

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Read the complete first chapter here.

 In a time when raiders, bushwhackers, and Redlegs rode the Cass County, Missouri, countryside bringing fear and destruction with them, Elizabeth Miers and her family barely survived into the next day. When the enemy, in the form of Elizabeth’s neighbors, comes a-calling more than once with mischief on their minds, Elizabeth fights back to keep her children safe against men she once called friends.

On August 25, 1863, following the issuance of General Order No. 11 by Union General Thomas Ewing, thousands of women, children, and the elderly were forced to vacate their homes in the brutal summer heat within fifteen days. With determination and a plan, Elizabeth sets out on a sixty-mile trek toward St. Clair County. Carrying enough prepared food and water on a rickety built sled to reach her aunt and uncle’s farm, she prays her kin are there to welcome them, not knowing whether they lived through the burning of Osceola two years prior—or not.

Facing more than just the lack of food and shelter and the unbearable heat, they’re set upon by raiders and foraging soldiers who try to take more than just their meager provisions. Much more. Left with little after their supplies are stolen and their property destroyed, Elizabeth and her fellow travelers continue south, facing more indignities before their journey is done.

Through Elizabeth and the thousands of other refugees that traveled ahead of and behind her, feel what they felt in the wake of General Order No. 11, an order that took everything and left them destitute and afraid they wouldn’t live to see one more day.

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDIEBOUND

CROSSFIRE IN THE STREET BY D.L. ROGERS

Publication Date: June 7, 2018
Paperback & eBook

Genre: Historical Fiction

Read the first two chapters here.

The Civil War yielded many bloody battles and the Battle at Lone Jack was among the worst. Fought across a sixty-foot strip of dusty road, brothers fought brothers, neighbors fought neighbors, cousins fought cousins, and the blood of horses and men ran together in the street under the blistering August sun.

The Green family tried to keep from being caught up in the war headed for their doorstep, but their efforts were lost—even before the Yankees came to town.

In their youthful exuberance and ignorance, sixteen and fifteen year old Hank and Jesse sneak into town to watch the battle—and find more trouble than they bargained for. Pete, the oldest brother, joins the Rebels and fights to save his life—and that of his brothers. Cora, the oldest daughter on the cusp of becoming a woman, loves a boy who runs off to fight with the Federals—and breaks her heart.

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDIEBOUND

About the Author

Although born in New Jersey of parents from New Jersey and Tennessee, it was just a matter of time before Diane’s “southern” blood revealed itself. And reveal itself it did, in a passion for all things western and related to the Civil War. Having learned a great deal in her research since her historical journey began, especially in the midwest, Diane has attempted to portray both the west and the war from numerous points-of-view, which is not always the same history as what has been previously portrayed–or taught.

As a kid, Diane played Cowboys and Indians more than she did Barbie, and as she got older, she and her cousin (whose parents were reversed) gave themselves the moniker of “Yebels.” The question of what it would have been like during the Civil War years, when friends and family fought on opposite sides of the war, festered inside Diane until she answered her own question in the form of the novels she writes of the west and Civil War, where everyday people, regardless of what “side” they were on, when faced with difficult situations, rose to the challenge, and survived.

Now living south of Kansas City, Missouri, on fourteen acres of property, when Diane’s not writing or marketing, she enjoys sitting on her front porch, reading when she can or just watching her horses in the pasture and multitude of cats in the yard. When she does venture into town, it’s to work at a lawfirm on the Plaza, or visit her two children and five grandchildren.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, November 5
Review at Pursuing Stacie (Elizabeth’s War)

Tuesday, November 6
Interview at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, November 7
Excerpt at T’s Stuff
Feature at Maiden of the Pages
Review & Excerpt at The Book Junkie Reads (Crossfire in the Street)

Thursday, November 8
Review at Locks, Hooks, and Books (Elizabeth’s War)

Friday, November 9
Review at Bri’s Book Nook (Elizabeth’s War)

Monday, November 12
Review at The Reading Woman (Elizabeth’s War)

Tuesday, November 13
Feature at Book Nerd

Wednesday, November 14
Excerpt at Passages to the Past

Thursday, November 15
Feature at CelticLady’s Reviews
Review at The Book Junkie Reads (Elizabeth’s War)

Friday, November 16
Review at Pursuing Stacie (Crossfire in the Street)

Monday, November 19
Review at Bri’s Book Nook (Crossfire in the Street)

Tuesday, November 20
Review at Locks, Hooks, and Books (Crossfire in the Street)

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour we will be giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on November 20th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US residents only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

D.L. Rogers
Direct Link: https://gleam.io/competitions/yeU0E-dl-rogers