Book Review: Chaste by Jesse Teller

 

Inside the Book:

Title: Chaste
Author: Jesse Teller

Release Date: October 5, 2016

Publisher: CreateSpace

Genre: Dark Fantasy

Format: Ebook/Paperback

When her devout parents died, Cheryl turned her back on her god. Years of denial and self-loathing have defeated her. Her life consists of taking orders and succumbing to abuse. A group of strangers stops in Chaste for the night, but an unnamed threat is preying on the town. Tragic deaths have become more and more frequent. Cheryl wants to protect these travelers, expose the evil force, and save her fellow citizens, but she must find a way to believe in hope.

I will admit, this one was hard to read. But, not for the reasons you might think. Cheryl is one of the most well developed characters I have ever read, and that makes for a book that leaves you turning the pages quicker than you may want to. This book is not a happy one. Growing up in a small town I can relate to some of the angst a person can feel when everyone knows you. 

This book does have a lesson, but I certainly wouldn't say it has a happy ending, more like an ending that reveals an understanding. Knowing what I know about the author, this must have been an extremely hard book to write, which makes me love it even more. 

Meet the Author:

Jesse Teller fell in love with fantasy when he was five years old and played his first game of Dungeons & Dragons. The game gave him the ability to create stories and characters from a young age. He started consuming fantasy in every form and, by nine, was obsessed with the genre. As a young adult, he knew he wanted to make his life about fantasy. From exploring the relationship between man and woman, to studying the qualities of a leader or a tyrant, Jesse Teller uses his stories and settings to study real-world themes and issues.

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A Poisonous Journey Book Blast!

We’re so happy to be hosting Malia Zaidi’s A POISONOUS JOURNEY BOOK BLAST at The Writer's Life today!  Please leave a comment to let her know you stopped by!

Title: A Poisonous Journey
Author: Malia Zaidi
Publisher: Bookbaby
Pages: 385

The year is 1925, a time that hovers between two catastrophic wars, a time of jazz and sparkle, and a time of peace and reflection. For Lady Evelyn, struggling to outrun the ghosts of her tragic past, it is a time of transformation. Left orphaned after a fire when she was only four, Lady Evelyn Carlisle was raised in London by her stern aunt and uncle. Now, twenty years later she has grown restless and is keen to escape her chaperone's grasp. A letter from her cousin, Briony, living with her husband on Crete, comes at just the right time. Packing what she can, Lady Evelyn makes off for foreign shores. Welcoming her are not only Briony and her husband, Jeffrey, but also his handsome and mysterious friends, Caspar Ballantine and Daniel Harper. Though the latter carries with him tragic memories of the Great War, Evelyn is glad to be in their company. With the sun warming her back and the dazzling sea in her sights, this fresh start seems destined for happy days ahead. Little does she know . . . What starts off as a sunny holiday quickly turns into a sinister nightmare, when Evelyn stumbles across the corpse of one of her cousin's houseguests. Drawn into the mystery surrounding the murder, Evelyn embarks on a mission to discover the truth, forcing her to face her own past as well as a cold-hearted killer. With the help of her cousin, the handsome local police detective, and the mysterious Daniel Harper, will she uncover the truth, before another life is claimed?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Book Excerpt:

Prologue

Crete 1908

A chill ran down his spine and goose-bumps prickled his skin as the cold darkness enveloped him, swallowed him, the realm of Hades tormentingly near. He sucked in a breath of the damp air and blinked furiously, anxious to find his bearings, to discern hard rocky wall from empty space. It was his fault, he had dropped the torch and they had no choice but to save the reserve for later. For their destination. He would manage. He knew the way.

“Andros?” The nervous voice caught him almost unaware. Andros, Dros, Dros…the echo bounced off the walls around him and made him feel dizzy for a moment, as though the walls were moving closer and caging him in.  He exhaled, trying to steady himself. They just had to follow the plan. He was good at that. Good at being patient, good at doing what he was told, at following directions to the letter.

“It’s all right,” he tried to sound calm, quelling his fear as it mingled with the excitement that bubbled inside him, ready to explode. They were so close now. He could feel the rhythmic beat of his heart increasing, a nervous echo in his chest. “Stay where you are, your eyes will adjust. Have patience.” Listening for a moment, he became aware of the labored breathing of his brother close behind.

He stood still for another moment, no other sounds dared to intrude, eerie silence, thick with mystery, with secrets to be uncovered swathed them in its heavy shroud.  The Sirens are calling, only you can hear. Run for safety, or plunge and fall prey to temptation. His eyes began to adjust, slowly deciphering the jagged outline of a rocky outcrop above him. It was close. He could feel it. His muscles tensed, stiff and solid, waves of energy pulsing through him, barely contained anticipation. Despite the cold, he felt beads of sweat dotting his brow and running down his temples.

“Andros? I think I see you. Yes.” A few unsure steps followed these words, and he saw the shadowy outline of his younger brother, warily moving toward him.

“Come, but beware your steps, a wrong move could be your last.”

Slowly, with his hands carefully outstretched, he felt his way forward. The air was growing stale, thick and cloying with dust and age. 

“Are we almost there?” 

“Close, very close.”

Breath was quickening, he shivered. So close now.  Everything would change. For a split, indulgent second, he allowed himself a fantasy of the glory that would come, of the life that awaited him. Yes, not much further now. His feet, clad only in his worn leather shoes felt every rock on the uneven ground, a sensation that gave him comfort, a feeling of awareness that had replaced his compromised eyesight and heightened his sense of touch. Hands extended, he reached into the blackness like a blind man. Suddenly they came up against something. Wall. Hard rock wall.  The tunnel had come to an abrupt end. 

“What is this?  Are we lost?” 

Andros frowned, small creases folding his forehead, his brother’s voice behind him a distracting intrusion. “No,” he answered carefully, unconsciously holding his breath. He ran his hands along the roughness of the stony wall, seemingly solid and impenetrable, until… Yes, a smooth oval protrusion in the rock face. Sucking in a nervous lungful of dusty air, he pushed.  The oval receded into the wall with neat precision.  A momentary silence. Then, as if by some miraculous force, the wall gave way, an ingenious mechanism.  A dense cloud of dust and debris rose up, sending both men staggering backward, coughing, and rubbing their stinging eyes.  Soon the dust settled and silence was again upon them. Neither spoke, fear and excitement taking hold of them. Andros swallowed. It was all coming together.  They were here, finally.

“The torch, now.” His voice was almost a whisper, thick with anticipation.  A hiss, and a flicker of orange light shot out of the darkness, illuminating his brother's dirty face.  Reluctantly the younger man handed it over. No words were exchanged as Andros took the first careful step, holding the glowing light before him.  He entered the chamber, eyes wide, barely breathing.  He had found it!  He wanted to shout out in joy, in relief. He had known all along, he had found it. 

“So, this is it.” 

Andros turned, sensing something strange in his brother's tone. The younger man's face was still cast in shadow, save for the glittering eyes, shining in the gloom like those of an animal.

“Yes, this is it,” he turned around again, taking it in, the glory. His glory. A sudden coldness at his neck startled him, a stab of pain.  And then the blackness returned.  Endless and unrelenting.

About the Author

Malia Zaidi is the author of A POISONOUS JOURNEY. She attended the University of Pittsburgh, and studied at English at Oxford University. Having grown up in Germany, she currently lives in Washington DC, though through her love of reading, she resides, vicariously in countries throughout the world. A POISONOUS JOURNEY is her first book in the Lady Evelyn mysteries series. The sequel, A DARKER SHORE will be available later this year.

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

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In the Spotlight: Your Body, Your Style: Simple Tips on Dressing to Flatter by Rani St. Pucchi

We're happy to host Rani St. Pucchi's YOUR BODY, YOUR STYLE: SIMPLE TIPS ON DRESSING TO FLATTER Virtual Book Tour today! Please leave a comment to let her know you stopped by!

Title: Your Body, Your Style
Author: Rani St. Pucchi
Publisher: Koehler Books
Pages: 150
Genre: Nonfiction

Rani St. Pucchi, a trend-setting designer whose designs have been recognized in Entertainment Tonight, Harper’s Bazaar, WWD, Town and Country, Bride’s, Cosmopolitan Bride, Martha Stewart Weddings and The Knot, can help define the style that flatters you most — no matter what age or stage of life you are in or what your body type is.

Women from all over the world have clamored to have a private consultation with Rani so they may benefit from her expertise and regain their self-confidence and shine.

In Your Body, Your Style, Rani shares with you her knowledge of the female form and guides you to find simple solutions to your most pressing body concerns. The focus is on you — and how you can make yourself more confident and appealing in almost every situation — simply by making a few changes and different choices in planning your wardrobe.  

Once you embrace your unique attributes and dissolve your bad relationship with your body, you’ll be amazed to find how irresistible you are to others!

This simple and friendly guide reveals:

* What clothes and silhouettes are best for your specific body type

* Simple techniques to determine which colors flatter you most

* Solutions to common lingerie issues and the importance of fit

* The one dress that is a chameleon, and how to transform it into different looks

* How to travel stress free by planning your wardrobe well

* 101 styling secrets, professional tricks and fashion tips

RANI ST. PUCCHI  is an award-winning fashion designer, an author and relationship expert. She is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post.

PURCHASING LINKS:

AMAZON   *   B&N

Book Excerpt:

When choosing your clothes remember that clothes are meant to flatter your body, not your body to flatter your clothes. Work with your body instead of critiquing and judging it.

Now that you’ve assessed your body type, let’s delve into what would look most flattering and what you would be smart to avoid.

Hourglass

DO: Focus on your waist when choosing your wardrobe. Dress to flatter your beautiful curves by wearing clothes and accessories that emphasize the thinnest part of your waist. Draw attention to your waistline by wearing belts that cinch the waist. V-neck dresses and tops are typically quite flattering.

DON’T: Avoid ‘boxy’ clothes and those that are shapeless or drape-y since they tend to add bulk and make you look heavy. Don’t go braless when wearing a V-neck dress or top. Wear a supportive bra instead so that your chest is lifted and perky instead of droopy and sagging. You have admirable curves so embrace them and show them off.

Apple

DO: Direct attention away from your waist by wearing clothes that accentuate your bust and hips instead. Shirts, blouses and dresses with slight V-necks are flattering. Long sleeves or dresses with sleeves help draw attention from your waist, shoulders and arms. V-necks draw attention to your neck and bust. Tops that drape over any curves work well. Wear bottoms just below your hipbone to help draw attention away from your mid-riff. Dark colors help camouflage the heavy areas.

DON’T: Avoid dresses and belts that cinch the waist. Stay away from skinny and straight leg pants as they emphasize the hips. Choose slightly flared pants instead. These help balance wide shoulders and a heavy upper body.

Pear

DO: Wear clothes that emphasize the upper body, that add to your shoulder and bust area and that make your hips and butt look slimmer. Tops that accentuate shoulders such as the current trendy off-shoulder blouses are perfect. Wear straight-leg pants with heels. Wearing a bra that adds to or enhances your bust is recommended.

DON’T: To minimize the lower half avoid pants or tights that narrow your legs. Flared pants can make your legs look thick, even bow-legged.

Ruler

DO: Wear clothes that create curves, by focusing on the upper and lower part of your body. Cinch your waist to exaggerate curves by wearing belts, flared skirts with fitted belted waistbands. Dresses or tops with embellishment at the bust, or with frills and ruffles at the top, will add some volume to make your chest look bigger. Skinny jeans, mini skirts and bright tights that show off your great legs and add more shape to a straight body are recommended. A bra that adds a cup size will help balance your angular feature as well.

DON’T: Avoid boyish/manly clothes. Baggy jeans, flared pants and track clothes will make you look like ‘one of the boys’. For working out, wear feminine track clothes that accentuate your waist but are not too snug on the top and bottom halves.

Inverted Triangle

DO: Keep your attention on the waist and hip area by wearing clothes that are flared on the bottom but snug on the top. Strapless tops and dresses with sleeves are perfect. Flared pants and pleated skirts are flattering.

DON’T: Avoid skinny pants and too tight skirts. Dresses or tops with ruffles and flounces, or that are off-the-shoulder, will make you look top heavy.

Many women are a mix of two body types and don't necessarily fall into one category or another. In which case try incorporating tips for each body type and see what looks best on you. When you fall between two types, compare the type you seem closest to and pick styles that lean towards that. Ultimately you will know what feels good and what flatters you the most. After all, there is no right or wrong way to dress. Your comfort and your confidence is what matters most.

Self-confidence is the best outfit, rock it and own it.

 

About the Author

Thirty years ago, Rani St. Pucchi took the bridal world by storm, despite having no formal training in fashion. She is an award winning couture fashion designer and founder of the world-renowned bridal house St. Pucchi. A passionate and dynamic entrepreneur who launched her global empire in the United States in 1985, Rani’s vision was to create an avant-garde bridal and evening couture line with modern styling and classic details. That vision has been realized today.

Renowned for infusing her creations with touches of magnificently colored jewels, exquisite hand embroidery, delicate beading and sparkling crystals on the finest silks and laces, these inspired designs with innovative draping evoke the timeless elegance every woman desires. As one of the foremost designers to introduce exotic silk fabrics and hand embroidery, Rani is applauded for being a pioneer in bringing color to the United States bridal scene, having learned that white does not flatter everyone.

Rani has been recognized and nominated on multiple occasions for her design talent and won numerous awards as a Style Innovator. In addition, she has been honored with the Best Bridal Designer Award at the prestigious Chicago Apparel Center’s DEBI Awards (Distinctive Excellence in Bridal Industry).

Rani is famous for designing the wedding dress worn by “Phoebe” as she captured the hearts of millions when she said “I Do” in a unique St. Pucchi Lilac corset bodice A-line gown on the finale of the hit television show Friends. 

Her range of avant-garde designs are worn by the world’s most discerning brides, including celebrities and style icons such as New York Giants’ player Aaron Ross’ wife, Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards; Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo’s wife Candice Crawford; Actress Tara Reid; Jason Priestley’s wife Naomi Lowde; actress Candice Cameron and Grammy Award winning country music singer Alison Krauss, who donned a specially designed Chantilly lace and silk gown at the Country Music Awards.

Rani has enjoyed much media attention. Her signature designs have been recognized in high profile media such as Entertainment Tonight, Harper’s Bazaar, WWD, Town and Country, Bride’s, Cosmopolitan Brides, Inside Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings and The Knot.

Rani’s real passion other than the world of design is to help women who have suffered abuse and those who are struggling to find themselves. On her quest to empower women to be their best selves, she is passionate about helping them find their voice through building their self-confidence. She believes that confidence must start with a woman’s love and acceptance of her body.

Renowned for her savvy knowledge of a woman’s form and fit, Rani is eager to share her knowledge of more than three decades with all women so they can make better styling choices. In addition to the book you are reading now, Rani is the author of four upcoming books: The SoulMate Checklist: Key Questions To help You Choose Your Perfect Partner; Seven Types of Men To Avoid: Recognizing Relationship Red Flags; Designing with Heart: A to Z Guide to Bridal Designing; and Unveiling: A Celebrity Fashion Designer’s Story, a Memoir of her Life Journey.

Born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand, Rani now happily lives in Los Angeles, California.

Her latest book is Your Body, Your Style: Simple Tips on Dressing to Flatter.

WEB & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

 

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In the Spotlight: I, Angus (Book 4 The Eternity Series) by Mike Hartner

We're happy to host Mike Hartner's I, ANGUS (THE ETERNITY SERIES BOOK 4) virtual book tour today! Please leave a comment to let him know you stopped by!

Title: I, Angus
Author: Mike Hartner
Publisher: Eternity 4 Popsicle Publishing
Pages: 260
Genre: Historical Fiction

During a time of civil strife and purging the North has lost more men to Wars then it ever did to Nature.

Angus has grown up learning that his life is better off with only him and a family. But is that really in the Grand Plan.

The North needs someone to build community.

But first, Angus needs to be forged... beaten, shaped, bolded and trained.

Watch as Angus hits both lows and highs across the lands of England, Scotland and France, before meeting a challenge of new land.

BUYING LINKS:

Amazon      Barnes & Noble

Book Excerpt:

Using my hunting knife, I clean the fur away from the meat. Then I cut the rabbit meat into strips and put it into the smaller pot of water. I add some carrots Alice had stashed away, and a few turnips that I have found on my own, and an onion. While everything is cooking, I take a large pail of hot water to where Angela is sitting on a bench in the kitchen and help her clean her legs and knees. Yes, I’m more than a little curious.

She startles me when she asks, “Why are you doing this?” I say nothing and she asks again, “Why are you doing this?”

All I can say is, “What do you mean?”

“What I mean is, why are you helping me? Why are you tending to my scrapes and my hurt ankle? Why are you cooking food for me? Why are you the first man who hasn’t tried to beat me? Or worse?”

“Is there a problem with my taking care of you, lass?”

She hesitates. “I don’t know. Nobody has ever taken any notice of me like this. Not even Da’. He’s been too busy grieving Mother to pay attention to me except to take out his anger. If my own da’ won’t pay attention to me, then why should you?”

This strikes me to my core, and I stand up in shock. The blow of those words is akin to being kicked in the gut by a horse. How can anyone so young be so wrong about life? The look of discomfort and disbelief on her face is just as hard to understand. I search for the necessary words but they escape me.

About the Author

Mike Hartner was born in Miami in 1965. He’s traveled much of the continental United States. He has several years post secondary education, and experience teaching and tutoring young adults. Hartner has owned and run a computer firm for more than twenty-five years. He now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with his wife and child. They share the neighborhood and their son with his maternal grandparents.

Mike’s latest book is I, Angus (The Eternity Series Book 4).

For More Information

• Visit Mike Hartner’s website.
• Connect with Mike on Facebook and Twitter.

 

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Interview with Ian Douglas, author of Altered Starscape

 

 

Inside the Book:

Title: Altered Starscape
Author: Ian Douglas

Release Date: October 25, 2016

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy

Format: Ebook

Galaxies collide in a thrilling new series from bestselling author Ian Douglas, as the last humans in the universe face off against a new threat 2162.

Thirty-eight years after first contact, Lord Commander Grayson St. Clair leads theTellus Ad Astra on an unprecedented expedition to the Galactic Core, carrying more than a million scientists, diplomats, soldiers, and AIs. Despite his reservations about their alien hosts, St. Clair is deeply committed to his people—especially after they're sucked into a black hole and spat out four billion years in the future.Civilizations have risen and fallen. The Andromeda Galaxy is drifting into the Milky Way. And Earth is most certainly a distant memory. All that matters now is survival. But as the ship's Marines search for allies amid ancient ruins and strange new planetary structures, St. Clair must wrap his mind around an enemy capable of harnessing a weapon of incomprehensible power: space itself.

 

How has your upbringing influenced your writing?

·         I have loved science and history from very young age. In my youth I was a Navy hospital corpsman (Marine medic) and a laboratory technician, and I employ my Navy experience in all my military writing. I was aided and abetted by growing up with a writer as a father.

When and why did you begin writing?

·         I began writing in grade school.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

·         My imagination caught fire with Ben Bova's first novel, The Star Conquerors, followed by E.E. Smith's Lensman series.

When did you first know you could be a writer? 

·         My first trilogy was pounded out on a portable typewriter at age 12; it was a very bad imitation of E.E. Smith.

What inspires you to write and why?

·         Just about everything is an inspiration.

What genre are you most comfortable writing?

·         Military science fiction

What inspired you to write your first book?

·         As a professional writer? I learned that I could earn more money writing about space ships that by painting them. (I was working as an illustrator in the gaming industry, and then I was asked to write about the illustrations.)

Who or what influenced your writing once you began?

·         The Holy Trinity of Science Fiction: Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Robert Heinlein.

What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general?

·         Since I write science fiction and political technothrillers, the biggest challenge is the short-term future compared with publication lead time. It takes about a year to write and publish a book. Which pronouns should I use when referring to the President, when I'm writing a book that won't be released until next year? What happens if I write about a newly discovered exoplanet, turn in the manuscript, and then another new discovery negates the information I've already written (and makes me look like a fool)?

Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it?

·         I'm always learning. My science fiction is based on real science, and I love doing the research for each book.

Do you intend to make writing a career?

·         It's been my full-time career for the past 35 years.

Have you developed a specific writing style?

·         God, I hope so. After 35 years, I'd better sound like me.

What is your greatest strength as a writer? 

·         Sheer bloody-minded persistence. Actually, I’m known for my extremely alien aliens; I try very hard to get into their cultures, psychologies, motivations, and minds, and keep them from being humans in rubber suits.

What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why?

·         "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Arthur C. Clarke. Much of my writing lately focuses on the technological singularity and what technology is going to mean as humankind moves into post-humanity. Sheer magic!

Meet the Author:

Ian Douglas is one of the pseudonyms for William H. Keith, New York Times bestselling author of the popular military science fiction series The Heritage Trilogy, The Legacy Trilogy, The Inheritance Trilogy, Star Corpsman, and Star Carrier. A former naval corpsman, he lives in Pennsylvania.

 

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First Chapter Reveal: Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson by William Hazelgrove

Title: Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson
Author: William Hazelgrove
Publisher: Regnery
Pages: 352
Genre: Narrative Nonfiction

After President Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralyzing stroke in the fall of 1919, his wife, First Lady Edith Wilson, began to handle the day-to-day responsibilities of the Executive Office. Mrs. Wilson had had little formal education and had only been married to President Wilson for four years; yet, in the tenuous peace following the end of World War I, Mrs. Wilson dedicated herself to managing the office of the President, reading all correspondence intended for her bedridden husband. Though her Oval Office authority was acknowledged in Washington, D.C. circles at the time--one senator called her "the Presidentress who had fulfilled the dream of suffragettes by changing her title from First Lady to Acting First Man"--her legacy as "First Woman President" is now largely forgotten.

William Hazelgrove's Madam President is a vivid, engaging portrait of the woman who became the acting President of the United States in 1919, months before women officially won the right to vote. Movie Rights Optioned by Storyline Entertainment.

For More Information

• Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson is available at Amazon.
• Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
• Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

First Chapter

President Woodrow Wilson lay with his mouth drooping, unconscious, having suffered a thrombosis on October 2^nd 1919 that left him paralyzed on his left side and barely able to speak. The doctors believed the President’s best chance to survive was in the only known remedy for a stroke at the time; a rest cure consisting of total isolation from the world.  

   His second wife of four years, Edith Bolling Wilson, asked how a country could function with no Chief Executive. Dr. Dercum, the attending physician leaned over and gave Edith her charge.

“Madam, it is a grave situation, but I think you can solve it. Have everything come to you; weigh the importance of each matter: and see if it is possible by consultation with the respective heads of the Departments to solve them without the guidance of your husband.”  

From here on Edith Wilson would run the White House and by proxy the country by controlling access to the President, signing documents, pushing bills through, issuing vetoes, isolating advisors, crafting State of the Union addresses, disposing or censoring correspondence, filling positions, analyzing every problem and deciding what to give to the President and what to solve by her own devices; all the while keeping the fact the country was  no longer being run by President Woodrow Wilson a guarded secret. 

  A few guessed at the real situation. A frustrated Senator Falls from New Mexico pounded the Senatorial table when he demanded a response from the White House. “We have a petticoat government! Wilson is not acting! Mrs. Wilson is President!”  Clearly some would see a power grab Edith Wilson ensured by keeping Vice President Marshall from seeing the President and preventing the Constitutional transfer of power.  But Edith believed the doctors admonishment that any stress would kill her husband. From here on she would shield Woodrow Wilson from the world with one simple guiding principle in running the country; keep her husband alive.

  Edith participated in the Wilson Administration in an extraordinary way. They were more like a couple today where both people are more of a team than was found in 1919. President Wilson made sure they were together constantly and valued his wife’s input and made Edith part of many of his decisions prior to his stroke. In this way he gave her hands on training for her “stewardship.”

 “I tried to arrange my appointments to correspond with those of the President, so we might be free at the same times,” she would later write. Woodrow Wilson gave Edith presidential access to all his work and many times she was with him all day.  As she later wrote, “Breakfast was at eight o’clock sharp. Then we both went to the study to look in “the drawer” and  if nothing had blown up overnight, there was time to put signatures on papers or other official papers. These I always placed before my husband and botted and removed them as fast as possible.”

  Edith’s participation in the Wilson White House allowed a woman, who just four years before was a widower living alone in Washington, the ability to deal with the demands of the United States while nursing her husband. The essential death of the President was felt from the failure of The League of Nations to get approved to the virtual standstill of foreign policy and domestic concerns. At a point, the White House simply began to cease to function

  Edith Wilson had to step in and power followed. Literally we have a woman with only two years formal education making it up as she went along; approving appointments, making foreign policy and domestic policy decisions, orchestrating the cover up, and restricting access to her husband who at times was totally “gone.” When looking through the Papers of Woodrow Wilson, one is struck by how much correspondence from 1919 to 1921 was directed toward Edith. From America’s entry into the League of Nations to winding down the war to the recognition of diplomats, Edith was on the front lines.

  Instead of My dear Mr. President in the Wilson Papers we now see My dear Mrs. Wilson. And these letters cover all matters of state.  The correspondence of the Edith Wilson Years would fill four volumes.  As she wrote to Colonel House the Presidents unofficial advisor, “My hands are so full that I neglect many things. But I feel equal to everything that comes now that I see steady progress going on.”

  Americans wouldn’t see their President for five months. Appointments remained filled and correspondence piled up. Years later essential Presidential communications never opened in the White House were found in the National Archives. Like someone who can’t get to their bills, Edith had simply thrown them in a pile.

  The cover up would last until our present day with historians and Edith Wilson herself taking part; her memoir written in1939 continued the cover up by calling her Presidency a “stewardship” and downplaying any significance to her role. Historians would seal the deal with many conceding  Edith Wilson was almost the President but that Woodrow Wilson was still in charge. Some would say she might have been the President for six weeks, but that was all.

   It is still shocking to the majority of Americans to learn that President Wilson had a massive stroke in office. But to tell people that his wife, Edith Wilson, was the acting President for almost two years is unbelievable. The motivations among historians and the people at the time is simple. If you say Edith Wilson was President from 1919 to 1921,then you diminish the impact Woodrow Wilson had on the country and his legacy.

  Power is given to those who can act upon it, and President Wilson, who remained in bed only to be wheeled out for movies and some fresh air, could not act upon anything. The question then is; who was Edith Bolling Wilson? Was she a woman singularly gifted enough to run the country and nurse her husband back to health; or was she a woman doing the best she could in a world of men who saw women as little more than second citizens?  Now almost a hundred years later, we ponder the very relevant impact of our First Woman President again.

  But we have to go back to a train car outside of Pueblo Colorado in the Indian summer of 1919. It is here in the heat and dust on September 25^th, that Edith Wilson’s Presidency began.

 

About the Author

William Elliott Hazelgrove is the best-selling author of thirteen novels, Ripples, Tobacco Sticks, Mica Highways, Rocket Man, The Pitcher, Real Santa, Jackpine and The Pitcher 2. His books have received starred reviews in Publisher Weekly and Booklist, Book of the Month Selections, Junior Library Guild Selections, ALA Editors Choice Awards and optioned for the movies. He was the Ernest Hemingway Writer in Residence where he wrote in the attic of Ernest Hemingway's birthplace. He has written articles and reviews for USA Today and other publications. He has been the subject of interviews in NPR's All Things Considered along with features in The New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, Richmond Times Dispatch, USA Today, People, Channel 11, NBC, WBEZ, WGN. The Pitcher is a Junior Library Guild Selection and was chosen Book of the Year by Books and Authors. net. His next book Jackpine will be out Spring 2014 with Koehler Books. A follow up novel Real Santa will be out fall of 2014. Madam President The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson will be out Fall 2016. Storyline optioned the movie rights. Forging a President How the West Created Teddy Roosevelt will be out May 2017.

He runs a political cultural blog, The View From Hemingway's Attic.

For More Information

• Visit William Hazelgrove’s website.
• Connect with William on Facebook and Twitter.
• Find out more about William at Goodreads.

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