Review: When the Clouds Roll By

When the Clouds Roll By

by Myra Johnson

When the Clouds Roll By is a luminous story about a post-WWII love triangle. The delightful push and pull, twists and turns, keep the reader engaged and guessing how it will all turn out right up until the end.

When Gil returns from the war suffering from what we’d now call PTSD, Annemarie is shocked to discover her fiancée is not the same man she sent off to war. He returns with a friend in tow, an army chaplain barely hanging on to his faith after his own horrifying war experience.

The story takes place in Hot Springs, Arkansas, a location I had never heard of and certainly never visited. The small resort town plays a wonderful role in this story of love, healing, and life after war. The descriptions of this quaint town - especially the mountains and wildflowers - have placed it on my own map of places worth discovering.

I like that this book deals with the aftermath of the war because it seems like most WWII books work their way toward the happy ending which almost always is the end of the war. But there is much that happens after the treaties are signed. This story refreshingly addresses issues that crop up when soldiers return home.

Told from four perspectives, Johnson relates the stories of individuals striving to pick up the scattered pieces of their lives. Annemarie is a potter by trade and in one of the opening scenes, a piece she had just created is smashed irreparably. It’s a beautiful metaphor, which describes the internal strife of so many after war. But Johnson also crafts a beautiful tale of how faith and true love can piece together a life, which becomes more beautiful, having passed through testing fires.

What do you like best about "War Novels?" Leave us a comment!

The author of eight published novels, Myra Johnson is a two-time American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award finalist and winner of the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart. Although Myra is a native Texan, she and her husband now reside in North Carolina and share their home with two very spoiled lapdogs. The Johnsons are the proud parents of two beautiful daughters, and are also grandparents of four rambunctious grandsons and two precious granddaughters. Myra writes full-time and is currently serving as president of ACFW-Charlotte Chapter (Carolina Christian Writers). Find Myra online here:

www.MyraJohnson.com

www.Seekerville.net

www.facebook.com/MyraJohnsonAuthor

Tweeting as @MyraJohnson and @TheGrammarQueen

review by Jennifer Fromke

If You Don't At First Succeed, Try, Try Again...

Hi, I’m Patricia Bradley and I’m the black sheep of the group. Today’s blog is supposed to be about a stitching craft…and I am a knitter, but somehow when I signed up for Woven Wednesdays, I thought a blog about pottery would fit. Go figure. By the time I realized my mistake, I was one week from two deadlines. So, Crystal graciously gave me the go-head with my pottery blog. (THANK YOU)

I started doing pottery when I needed an occupation for a character. Working with clay was something I’d always wanted to do, and that gave me the excuse. I took a 3-day course, and my instructor…sighed. He did say I was the most determined student he ever had.

My first pot:

See what he meant. It wasn't even big enough for a Chihuahua.

So what do you do when your beginning is not very auspicious? Well, if you are a first-born child, a Type A personality, and an over-achiever...you Try, Try again. And when that doesn't work, you keep plugging away. 

And one day, whether it's a piece of clay or a painting, or putting words on paper, or well, anything you have a passion for, it will come together. It may not be high art, or fine china, or an award winning novel, but your diligence and hard work will pay off. You will have something you're proud of. 

This is a piece I made a couple of years later. I've made bigger and fancier pieces, but this pit-fired bowl is one I particularly like:

Besides, I sold all those bigger and fancier pieces. 

I guess all of this is say, if you have a passion, don't let someone like my pottery teacher discourage you. Sure, if you have a natural talent for something, it'll be easier, but I think if you have passion and you practice and learn correct technique, you can overcome most obstacles. Now, I play in the mud for the pure joy of throwing a piece of clay on a wheel and feeling it come alive under my hands.

One last photo:

 Has there ever been a time someone told you that you'd never be able to do something? What did you do about it?

Pat Trainum writing as Patricia Bradley
www.patriciabradleyauthor.com
http://mbtponderers.blogspot.com/
@PTBradley1

Shadows of the Past from Revell February 2014

I asked God to teach me patience and He gave me a book to write