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Pocatello to hold Panel Discussion on Non-Discrimination Ordinance

jamestidmarsh — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 02:45:19 +0000

The Pocatello City Council is set to consider a nondiscrimination ordinance to prohibit discriminati

A Book and a Chat with Brenda Stanley

Storyheart — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 23:41:18 +0000

Brenda Stanley is my guest on today’s “A Book and a Chat” from being one of those quiet children she developed a career around communication. Be it as a news anchor and investigative reporter for NBC affiliate KPVI in Eastern Idaho to her latest novel “The Color of Snow”. Along the way she has won several rewards as well as bringing up five children including two sets of twins.
Her first dip into the published author pool was actually a cook books called “The Zucchini Houdini” originally written as a sort of “tongue in cheek recipe book after she overdid the Zucchini planting one year, but in the end became a well liked cook book for many readers. Brenda has another cook book coming out shortly.
This success was followed by a book she had written many years before but with the dust blown of it launched her as a novel writer of note, this book being “I Am Nuchu” a story of 17 year old half Ute Indian, it is a coming-of-age story about a teen wrestling with his identity as he finds himself caught between two drastically different worlds.
Brenda’s latest book “The Color of Snow” has already received many great reviews.
About “The Color of Snow”
When a beautiful 16-year-old girl named Sophie is found sequestered in a cage-like room in a rundown house in the desolate hills of Arbon Valley, Idaho, the entire community is shocked to learn she is the legendary Callidora–a baby girl who was kidnapped from her crib almost seventeen years ago and canonized in missing posters with portraits of what the fabled girl might resemble. Authorities soon learn that the cage was there to protect people from Sophie, because her biological father believes she is cursed.
Sophie is discovered after the man she knows as Papa, shoots and injures Damien, a young man who is trying to rescue her. Now, unsocialized and thrust into the world, and into a family she has never met, Sophie must decide whether she should accept her Papa’s claims that she is cursed and he was only trying to protect others, or trust the new people in her life who have their own agendas. Guided by a wise cousin, Sophie realizes that her most heartbreaking challenge is to decide if her love for Damien will destroy him like her Papa claims, or free her from past demons that haunt her mind.
It is a book that covers many themes from Mental illness, and teen pregnancy to religious intolerance and racism. Though classed as YA it is a story that has been enjoyed by people of all ages, just check her many reviews…
As one reviewer put it…
I want more! The tension begins on the first page. From the very beginning the author has created a scene that leaves so many questions. I would read and think I had answers to some of them only to find out that I didn’t quite have it right. In the beginning I wanted to really dislike the man she had always known as her father. As I read I realized that even he was not black and white. As I was read his past I really disliked Sophie’s grandfather. The fact that he really thought that his family was better than Luke’s family because they raised sheep and worked for him made me dislike him. There are so many things going on here. There are family secrets, issues with social class, as well as a difference in religious beliefs. Was there really a curse on Sophia’s family as she believed?
As well as “The Color of Snow” Brenda also has another novel “Like Ravens in Winter” just out, this time it’s about a television network reporter (hmm who could that be based on….) who is assigned to Iraq at the beginning of the Gulf War. Looks to me like another hit for this great author.
So listen now and share an interesting, and entertaining show as I chat with my special guest today on A Book and a Chat with Brenda Stanley
Barry
Direct link to the show A Book and a Chat with Brenda Stanley
or you can download the mp3 file of the show from “Brenda Stanley”
You can find out more about my guest at: “Brenda Stanley – The Color of Snow”
Barry Eva (Storyheart)
My Blogs:
Book Information and Things UK Including my Olympic Blog – Across the Pond
Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests – A Book and a Chat
Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World – Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry

The Color of Snow by Brenda Stanley

C. C. Gevry — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 06:59:40 +0000

An intriguing, heart wrenching story awaits you in The Color of Snow by Brenda Stanley.

Sixteen-year-old Sophie leads a sequestered life in the hills of Arbon Valley, Idaho. Brought up by her biological father to believe she is cursed, Sophie hides her secret friendship with Damien. When Papa learns of their friendship he tries to shoot Damien. Once her father is arrested, Sophie discovers she is Callidora–a baby girl who was kidnapped from her crib and canonized in missing posters. The entire community is shocked.

Unprepared for the world around her and forced to live with family members she has never met, Sophie must decide what she believes. Is she cursed? Did Papa hide her away to protect her? Can she trust her family? Will her love for Damien destroy him like her father claims or will it free her from the her haunting past?

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this novel, but the official synopsis fascinated me. Who would willingly lock their daughter away from the world and why? What is this curse and where did it come from? Is Papa good or evil?

All these questions and more were answered in this moving, beautifully told story. Told from two point of views, The Color of Snow captures the reader quickly and doesn’t let go until the last word. The present day story is told by Sophie, as she tries to come to terms with being separated from her father, wades through her confusion over what–if anything–she should believe about her new family, wonders what to do about her relationship with Damien, and copes with the difficulty of being a legend in her own community. The story of a romance from the past is told from Papa’s POV.

In addition to her well-drawn characters, Stanley manages to portray what I would say is an accurate picture of how Sophie’s peers react to her. Some are kind, some are cruel, and after years of isolation Sophie is ill-prepared to deal with the way they treat her. She’s also not sure what to make of her step-cousin, Stephanie. Not only does this girl have secrets of her own, she’s much wiser about how the world works. They form a great bond, but Sophie isn’t quite sure if she should act the way Stephanie suggests. I loved the friendship between these two young women.

The Color of Snow is a superb story. It captured me lock, stock, and barrel. I stayed up late reading it. I pushed the chores aside to read it. I wasn’t satisfied until I read the last word, and then I wanted to read it over again. If you like mysterious stories with engaging characters, you’ll want to read this one.

Highly recommended.

Rating:

eBook
ISBN: 9780983741893
ISBN: 9781476172309
Pages: 413
Release: June 1, 2012
Kindle buy link – $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00873ASTK?tag=tributebooks-20

Nook buy link – $4.95
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=dcSBhG3Rj8w&subid=&offerid=239662.1&type=10&tmpid=8432&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.barnesandnoble.com%252Fw%252Fthe-color-of-snow-brenda-stanley%252F1111297400%253Fean%253D2940014382007

iBookstore buy link – $4.99
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=dcSBhG3Rj8w&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fbook%252Fthe-color-of-snow%252Fid531375973%253Fmt%253D11%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30

Google buy link – $3.79
http://books.google.com/books?printsec=frontcover&id=u6m2hVzQxi4C#v=onepage&q&f=false

Smashwords buy link – $4.99
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/166734?ref=tributebooks

PDF buy link – $4.95
https://www.payloadz.com/go/sip?id=1600173

Brenda Stanley is the former news anchor at her NBC affiliate KPVI in Eastern Iadho. Her writing has been recognized by the Scripps Howard Foundation, the Hearst Journalism Awards, the Idaho Press Club and the Society for Professional Journalists. She is a graduate of Dixie College in St. George, Utah, and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Brenda lived for two years in Ballard, Utah, within the Fort Duchesne reservation where the novel is set. She and her husband live on a small ranch near the Snake River with their horses and dogs.

The Color of Snow web site:

http://the-color-of-snow.blogspot.com/
The Color of Snow Twitter hashtag:

#TheColorOfSnow

The Color of Snow GoodReads page:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13456512-the-color-of-snow

Brenda Stanley’s Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/brenda.baumgartnerstanley

Brenda Stanley’s Twitter:

http://twitter.com/#!/myauthorlife

Brenda Stanley’s Website:

http://www.brendastanleybooks.net/

Brenda Stanley’s GoodReads:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4086376.Brenda_Stanley

Tribute Books website:

http://www.tribute-books.com

Tribute Books Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Archbald-PA/Tribute-Books/171628704176

Tribute Books Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/TributeBooks

Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186

I received a free e-copy of this book from the publisher. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.

The Color of Snow Twitter Party and Giveaway

Simply Infatuated — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 14:55:22 +0000

Chat with The Color of Snow author Brenda Stanley on August 30th at noon (EST) as she wraps up the b

Book Blog Tour: The Color of Snow by Brenda Stanley (Review)

whoopeeyoo — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 13:06:07 +0000

This blog tour is brought to you by Tribute Books! I was so excited for this and I was afraid at the same time that my review won’t be able to show how amazing I think this book is. But I will try my best so let’s get to it!

About The Color of Snow

Can a troubled young girl reenter society after living in isolation?

When a beautiful 16-year-old girl named Sophie is found sequestered in a cage-like room in a rundown house in the desolate hills of Arbon Valley, Idaho, the entire community is shocked to learn she is the legendary Callidora–a baby girl who was kidnapped from her crib almost seventeen years ago and canonized in missing posters with portraits of what the fabled girl might resemble. Authorities soon learn that the cage was there to protect people from Sophie, because her biological father believes she is cursed.

Sophie is discovered after the man she knows as Papa, shoots and injures Damien, a young man who is trying to rescue her. Now, unsocialized and thrust into the world, and into a family she has never met, Sophie must decide whether she should accept her Papa’s claims that she is cursed and he was only trying to protect others, or trust the new people in her life who have their own agendas. Guided by a wise cousin, Sophie realizes that her most heartbreaking challenge is to decide if her love for Damien will destroy him like her Papa claims, or free her from past demons that haunt her mind.

My Review

If you’re looking for a light, zippy read, this is not it. This is dark YA fiction. It’s categorized as contemporary romance YA but I’m telling you, it’s YA because of the age of the heroine and the romance part because there is SOME romance. The romance actually takes the backseat with all the issues this book dealt with. I delved into the book thinking it will tackle some issues but I was still surprised at how realistic and heartbreaking this novel got. I love me some surprises but I sure was not ready for the rollercoaster I went through.

So first things first, I really liked the book. So even if my review is not as happy and giddy as my other reviews, I do recommend this book. Do understand since this novel is more on the serious side of YA and not my usual fare. I pretty much deal with teenage angst in novels but not really with kidnapping, isolation, curses, religion and mental illness. So you must get why I am not spazzing here because it wasn’t a happy ride I went through. I felt a lot of things while reading this, sympathy, pity and hurt. Yeah, my heart muscles were severely exercised. So let’s get on with the review.

The plot. Ooohh, the plot. It was unique and that’s why I signed up for this tour. Little did I know that I will get plunged to a whirlwind of events. The story is told in different POVs, mostly by Sophie and her Papa. Sophie gives us what’s happening in the present while Luke tells us what happened in the past, which lead to this scenario. Brenda Stanley has done a wonderful job on teasing us with what actually happened in the past. She gives us tidbits every time which will make us yearn and crave for more, leading us to read faster to get to the good stuff. Yeap, mysteries always make for great pacing. However, some people might find it boring or slow but I guess to each his own.

Sophie, oh Sophie. How I wish no one will be in your position. Imagine having no human contact except for your Papa and then thrust into a world you don’t know, with people you don’t know. Every thought, every idea, every ideology you had before comes crashing down as walls crumble and new walls are established. Sophie is very naive and innocent but not in the annoying sense because it isn’t her fault that she’s like that. She never knew life outside her yard! She makes for a sympathetic character and you just root for her. I do not but, however, her love story with Damien but I guess a lot of people felt that way given the other reviews I’ve read.

Until the end, you wouldn’t know what is true and what is not and I commend Brenda Stanley for achieving that. Usually, you always had a stance or a side you support when you read a novel but here, I always second guess and think and think and think again. It was thought-provoking, to say the least.

So to all fans of dark YA or “realistic fiction” as they call it, grab yourselves a copy of The Color of Snow and dive into Sophie’s world (pun intended). Hope my review helped!

About Brenda Stanley

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Tribute Books: Website | Twitter | Facebook

Follow the Tour!

Click on the tour banner at the top of this post to get to the tour schedule. Enjoy hopping! :D

The Color of Snow by: Brenda Stanley

Paula — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 10:58:55 +0000

Title: The Color of Snow
Author: Brenda Stanley
Publisher: Tribute Books
Format: ebook
Source: Tribute Books Book Tour

Description:

My Thoughts:

What a gripping story. This one grabs you from the first page. When Sophie is found living with her father in a cage of a bedroom it’s up to the police to rescue her from her father. Everything Sophie has known has been turned upside down. She has been taught to not get close with anyone due to a curse, what she doesn’t know is that tragedy strikes everyone. You also learn about a relationship between Luke and Vee who ultimately are Sophie’s parents you also learn about mistakes everyone made in life. Sophie finds solace with her cousin Stephanie. Stephanie shows Sophie that the world is hers and she needs to make herself free of her crazy upbringing.

Sophie learns alot about the people around her who have left the world at different times. She learns that simple explanations were not given would have made Sophie feel not so freakish. She also ends up falling in love with the boy her father shot Damien whom she had been friends with for a long time. About how he never gave up on her even when she pushes him aside.

This was a great journey for Sophie and I felt like I was right next to her. It was a great book full of mystery and parts left made you wonder how crazy some people can be. Definitely a book for those ya junkies! Loved it!

The Color of Snow by Brenda Stanley

Simply Infatuated — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Can a troubled young girl reenter society after living in isolation? When a beautiful 16-year-old gi

Pretty Covers for New Books

Simply Infatuated — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:09:10 +0000