book reviews |
book reviews |
Multi-volume author, Sara Allen Stewart, introduces us to her beautiful and heart-touching story Letters to Santa: Christmas is a time of happiness and celebrations for many people, but that's not the case for 9-year-old Kendall Knight. After losing his father in a car accident, at the age of seven, and struggling to adapt to his mother's new boyfriend, he is left feeling hopeless and lost. Can his best friends, James, Carlos, and Logan, help him believe in the magic of Christmas again before it's too late? Or will it take a higher power? This story really surprised me! The writing provoked such a depth of emotion in me that the last several chapters were hard to read, because I had so many tears flowing from my eyes. I went through several tissues. No spoilers from me. But I will say the writing is brilliant, Sara captured the essence of family dynamics from so many angles perfectly, positive and negative; as well as the different points of view, kids and adults. She avoided a lot of wordiness; the writing is succinct and to the point. There is an amazing amount of dialogue and possibly, the dialogue may well have crowded out some scene setting, but I loved what there was, and action was just enough. Sara did a marvelous job of keeping the story paced and focused on the interactions. I think it would have been easy for her to add a lot more material to make a bigger book, I am grateful she resisted that potential urge. The length of this book is very satisfying. Letters to Santa gets a score of 4.9 stars. This is Houdini. Sara was in a fire a few months ago and is still recovering. He is standing in for Sara photographically. You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Santa-Sara-Allen-Stewart-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/letters-to-santa https://www.amazon.co.uk/Letters-to-Santa-Sara-Allen-Stewart You can follow Sara: https://twitter.com/winterschild11 https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14567305.Sara_Allen_Stewart https://winterchild111dotcom.wordpress.com Note: there is no sex described, some violence is described and intense emotional issues. This is not kid-lit. Tags: family dynamics, relationships, widow, single parent, extended family, fiction, contemporary fiction Copyright © 2018 Mark L Schultz except for the author's introduction
72 Comments
Sara Stewart
12/1/2018 08:58:53 pm
Thank you, I am so happy I found you!
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Mark
12/1/2018 09:11:22 pm
I am very happy we have connected. I am so glad you asked me to promote your book. I loved it!
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Sara Stewart
12/1/2018 10:05:49 pm
I never know what to say about myself, so I'll start with Houdini. Houdini was in my life from the day he was born until the day I had to let him go thirteen years later. When he was eight weeks old he started having seizures and was diagnosed with epilepsy. It took a couple of years to get his medications regulated so that his seizures were few and far-between. Because of his medical conditions he and I were never apart a single day in his life, he even went to work with me. His condition also did not keep him from being mischievous. He was smart and could get into, and out of, every kennel/carrier I bought. He could climb a five-foot chain link fence and once climbed a six-foot bookcase to pull down the Christmas treats I had put there. I lost him in 2012 after his vet found a tumor on his heart. He was my best friend, my spirit animal, and I miss him.
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Mark
12/1/2018 10:29:31 pm
Houdini was a very important part of your life in so many ways. Losing him was very painful. That kind of loss leaves a very big hole in your heart. He sounds like he was so smart and talented. Climbing a chain link fence is amazing!
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Sara Stewart
12/1/2018 10:49:16 pm
It was very painful, we balanced each other out and I often feel very alone, even though I have other critters here. I gave you his picture because I don't have any photos of myself (I hate having my picture taken, I'm always the photographer) and in September there was a small fire where I ended up with second and third-degree burns on my hands and face. I lost a lot of my hair and my eyelashes.
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Mark
12/2/2018 10:30:24 am
That fire had to be one of the scariest things in your life. Burns are so painful. They take a long time to heal, I understand.
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Sara Stewart
12/2/2018 11:54:41 pm
It's definitely frightening, unfortunately not the first fire I've been through. This one was at least contained and no damage to my house. They are very painful, especially when the muscles and nerves are injured.
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Mark
12/3/2018 12:45:59 pm
Where ever you have people, politics are not far behind. It's a fact of life. Sometimes very difficult to deal with.
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Sara Stewart
12/3/2018 10:59:08 pm
Very true, but when it involves the care of innocents I can't in good conscience just stand by. My rule of thumb is, if I don't trust them with my pets, I can't recommend them to anyone else. I won't lie and say they are good at their job when they aren't or say that tests the vet wants to run are necessary when I know they're not. Life is hard enough and a lot of people can't afford a $150 blood test that is not truly diagnostic.
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Mark
12/3/2018 11:15:25 pm
I can appreciate what you are saying. Unnecessary testing and procedures are not just a drain on the wallet, but they put the patient at risk also.
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Sara Stewart
12/3/2018 11:35:57 pm
They do. Stressing out an animal for an unnecessary test is just wrong. It can put the animal in distress and the humans at risk of a serious bite or scratch.
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Mark
12/3/2018 11:55:14 pm
Your "Doc" is just a kitten and the cat will outgrow all the kittenish behavior.
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Sara Stewart
12/4/2018 12:51:24 am
I think part of his problem is he has visions issues. He has difficulty seeing when things are close to him so that would explain his clumsiness, just not his goofiness.
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Mark
12/4/2018 10:07:30 am
I have not had a pet with vision issues. So your experience goes beyond mine.
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Sara Stewart
12/4/2018 11:11:41 pm
I've had several with vision issues, including eye loss and one little pug who lost an eye and then went blind in the other.Never even slowed her down, though.
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Mark
12/4/2018 11:21:06 pm
You have had more than your share of fires, it sounds like.
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Sara Stewart
12/4/2018 11:46:17 pm
Definitely, two too many.
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Mark
12/4/2018 11:59:18 pm
I suppose you cannot help from putting a bit of yourself into every character. I think it would be necessary.
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Sara Stewart
12/5/2018 12:16:18 am
It really is necessary, at least for me. It does get a little scary when I realize I can relate to a bad guy on some level, but I think we all have a dark side.
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Mark
12/5/2018 10:28:05 am
You are right, every person is a mix of good and evil. Every person wants to be accepted for who they are, they will do the things they need to do for that acceptance. Sometimes it's hard to tell who their audience is but every bad character thinks they are the hero of their own story.
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Sara Stewart
12/5/2018 11:01:38 pm
Very true. If we don't accept that we have a dark side we aren't being honest with ourselves. We need to be balanced in order to learn and empathize with others and that includes understanding that we all feel anger and hatred. No one is perfect.
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Mark
12/5/2018 11:14:42 pm
You have had a lot of trouble with software. It's so easy for things to go wrong.
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Sara Stewart
12/5/2018 11:38:38 pm
It really is. When I changed the cover on TYT I needed to change the cover artist's name on the manuscript and I only had the pdf version. I had to find someone to do it for me and found that after changing that one thing, some of the formatting changed to the manuscript and I had to hire someone to fix it all. It was very frustrating.
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Mark
12/5/2018 11:51:38 pm
I know nothing about graphics. I can copy and paste a picture, I can use the basic editing tools in windows, but that's about it. I don't know how to make the nice looking cards with spiffy sayings on them. I want to learn when I grow up ;-)
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Sara Stewart
12/6/2018 12:07:30 am
Pizap and Fotor are good starting apps, you can do some fun things with them. I also like Photo Art Pro and Picsart for fun frames and morphing tools. I also use Gimp for cleaning up old photos.
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Mark
12/6/2018 12:20:51 am
Thanks for those tips.
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Sara Stewart
12/6/2018 12:27:01 am
I would, but I have social anxiety and have difficulty meeting new people. Connecting on the internet has been wonderful and I plan on meeting the friends I have made, some day, but I've known them for years now.
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Mark
12/6/2018 09:36:14 am
I understand how hard it is to meet new people. Even locals can be kept on the internet until the comfort level is there.
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Sara Stewart
12/7/2018 12:28:12 am
It can be very difficult. I'm shy and an introvert, so that doesn't help.
Sarah
12/6/2018 07:02:48 pm
Hi there,
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Mark
12/6/2018 07:21:44 pm
Thank you for joining us Sarah. You have asked some interesting questions. I like them. Are you a writer also?
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Sarah
12/7/2018 05:44:10 pm
Hello and thank you.
Sara Stewart
12/7/2018 12:32:15 am
It's easiest to write dialogue, the characters usually tell me what to say. I love writing action scenes, though. they are fun and it's a challenge to write them so a reader can visualize what it is I'm seeing in my mind.
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Dani
12/6/2018 07:43:02 pm
Hey, I have a couple of questions to ask you.
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Sara Stewart
12/7/2018 12:37:57 am
I would add a character named, Dani and make her an elf who wanders away from the North Pole and gets lost :)
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Mark
12/7/2018 01:05:55 am
Hi Dani, Thanks for dropping by. Those are great questions. You must be a writer also. I might even borrow one, if that's okay with you.
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Dani
12/7/2018 01:12:02 am
Thank you! And yes, I am a writer. You can borrow one if you’d like, that’s fine with me. :)
Sara Stewart
12/7/2018 12:39:31 am
Here's a question for you. You've read Letters and what would you have done differently?
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Dani
12/7/2018 12:51:50 am
I think something I probably would have done differently is make Kendall’s mom a bit more understanding – have her actually listen to Kendall a bit more about how he was feeling and what he was going through. But that’s not something I would change from your story, because I feel like the way you wrote her character is realistic. Parents don’t always listen, and sometimes love can make people blind to what is truly going on around them. While I like to think that a parent would be more understanding towards her child, I know that that’s not always the case.
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Sarah
12/7/2018 05:55:46 pm
Thought I’d add my response for this question.
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Mark
12/7/2018 06:15:47 pm
I found LTS to be just like you say, well-written, emotional and succinct. The last several chapters were very hard to read through my tears. Sara has set a high bar!
Mark
12/7/2018 01:12:43 am
Getting it in writing is so hard for many of us to do. We want to trust the other person and their word. It's frequently not the wise choice.
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Sarah
12/7/2018 08:08:43 pm
For some reason I can’t reply up above so I’ll add it here.
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Mark
12/7/2018 08:23:28 pm
I have no doubt that university keeps you busy. That is their plan. What is your favorite genre to read? That might be a good place to start with your first novel.
Sara Stewart
12/7/2018 01:55:46 am
It's very important, even if it's someone you know.
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Mark
12/7/2018 12:31:18 pm
Balance in ego is important, indeed, balance is important in all areas of our lives. I suppose a narcissist is close to being as unbalanced as possible. The idea that not everyone is going to love your book is frightening. You are correct, everyone has different likes and dislikes. Just as every book has an audience, every book has a non-audience. Those people who won't like the book for individual reasons. You are definitely on the right track.
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Sara Stewart
12/7/2018 10:06:55 pm
Narcissists definitely need to be watched carefully. They often border on being sociopathic and can wreak a lot of havoc in your life.
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Mark
12/7/2018 10:25:02 pm
The best or the worst, both views are somewhat delusional, opposite ends of a swinging pendulum. Constructive feedback is so very important. Cue the beta readers and critique partners.
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Sara Stewart
12/7/2018 10:36:30 pm
Definitely, only I think narcissism is a choice. People can learn to be kind and stop being so self-absorbed.
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Mark
12/7/2018 10:47:08 pm
Our choices make a lot of difference. When someone complains about not having enough time after telling me about their 5 favorite shows on TV, I just smile and ask them what are they going to do to find more time. They don't usually see that cutting one show out might give them the time they seek.
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Sara Stewart
12/7/2018 10:57:09 pm
Very true! My work schedule will probably be slowing soon, so then I will have more time. Even if I'm not writing, I'm usually researching for something I am planning. I'm writing two stories based on the supernatural and I want them to be accurate.
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Mark
12/7/2018 11:13:46 pm
Construction is like that, especially with a small company. Even big companies can feel the pinch whenever the economy has a little burp.
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Sara Stewart
12/7/2018 11:25:13 pm
Definitely, I am going to have to find a permanent job soon, although I absolutely love working with my boss.
Mark
12/8/2018 10:06:51 am
You achieved your goal, quite well. You had me wondering why Kendall was so upset. His protective actions of Katy made me think he was concerned for her safety. Brian was the only new element in the picture. All in all, you did a really good job of leading us to a conclusion.
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Sara Stewart
12/8/2018 11:25:47 pm
Thank you :)
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Mark
12/8/2018 11:40:43 pm
Congratulations on the book signing. Let me encourage you to do more of those.
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Sara Stewart
12/9/2018 12:08:06 am
I would, but Barnes and Noble doesn't really seem interested and the only other one we had here closed down a couple of years ago. Plus, it was kind of terrifying.
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Mark
12/9/2018 12:29:20 am
I am a little surprised about Barnes and Noble, I imagine it's at the managers discretion.
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Sara Stewart
12/9/2018 01:00:41 am
I was surprised they don't really seem to be interested in supporting local authors. The hoops you have to jump through just to get them to "possible carry" a book is crazy. You have to pay for shipping and returns, it's hardly worth it.
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Mark
12/9/2018 10:32:52 am
Most of the big bookstore chains are gone. Amazon has driven them out of business. I worry about what will happen when only Amazon is left. I would hope it might be easier to have a signing or reading in the store, most of the B&Ns in my area have those on a regular basis.
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Sara Stewart
12/9/2018 01:53:03 pm
They have run so many small businesses and older chain out of business, it's sad.There is one Indie store here, Auntie's, and they amazing! I could, and have, spent hours there.
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Mark
12/9/2018 04:04:24 pm
How about used book stores? Are there many of those in your area? A coffee shop is another possibility, a good size shop with a dozen or more tables could be a good venue for a reading, and you could easily sell some books there.
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Sara Stewart
12/10/2018 12:58:16 am
Auntie's is pretty much the only one around. I even stopped in at Barnes and Noble tonight, it's in the mall with the movie theatre, and they said I have to go through the online process.
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Mark
12/10/2018 12:22:59 pm
I love photography. My bio-dad was a professional photographer, he taught me a lot about composition and exposure. I learned how to process film and make prints in the darkroom.
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Sara Stewart
12/10/2018 01:30:05 pm
I would love to learn to develop film. A friend gave me his old film cameras and it's getting difficult to find anyone, locally, who develops film prints.
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Mark
12/10/2018 02:28:02 pm
Processing black and white film into a negative is very easy. Only a few chemicals are required, a light-safe tank and a light-proof bag can frequently be purchased in a kit. Color photography requires more chemicals and more time, but is a very similar process. Making prints requires a dark room, because photographic paper is very sensitive to light. An enlarger, running water, a big sink are all very helpful for that part of the process.
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Sara Stewart
12/10/2018 09:57:59 pm
I used to develop x-rays at the last clinic I worked at,, using a dip tank. I imagine they are quite similar. Photography has always been a strong interest of mine, I was considering of doing a book of abandoned farmhouses and buildings near the area my aunt lives.
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Mark
12/10/2018 10:12:05 pm
You have some good plans for the families in LTS. That is exciting to hear.
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Sara Stewart
12/10/2018 10:34:59 pm
I think the hardest part will be letting my characters go,they are all so much a part of me.
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Mark
12/10/2018 10:54:21 pm
Maybe you will keep finding stories to write, then you can stay with these characters you love so much. On the other hand, it might be very nice to make a whole new set of characters and do different things with them. You are in control.
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Sara Stewart
12/10/2018 11:02:19 pm
That is very true. I may have one or two more stories about the boys and their antics :)
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Who am I?An avid reader, typobuster, and the Hyper-Speller. I am a husband, father, and grandfather. Archives
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