LETTERS FROM HOME: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
LETTERS FROM HOME

BY KRISTINA MCMORRIS

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In the midst of World War II, a Midwestern infantryman falls deeply in love through a year long letter exchange, unaware that the girl he's writing to is not the one replying. Woven around this main thread are three female friends whose journeys toward independence take unexpected turns as a result of romance, tragedy, and deception, their repercussions heightened by an era of the unknown. Beautifully rendered and deeply moving, LETTERS FROM HOME is a story of hope and connection, of sacrifices made in love and war – and the chance encounters that change us forever. 

Inspired by Kristina McMorris's grandparents' courtship, LETTERS FROM HOME is a love story/women’s fiction novel aptly described as The Notebook meets Saving Private Ryan. The book is set for release in trade paperback on February 22, 2011 from Kensington Books (U.S) and Avon/HarperCollins (U.K.), and as a condensed book club feature from Reader's Digest. 

SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTS AND PRAISE FOR LETTERS FROM HOME:

- Reading Group Guide and 1940s recipes featured in book

- Recipient of a dozen national literary awards

- Film rights represented by CAA

-"A tough book to put down!...Sprinkled with fabulous historical detail and true-to-life characters, Letters from Home is a beautifully told story."
...RT BOOK REVIEWS, 4-star rating

"Interspersing unflinching images of combat with more intimate, emotional scenes personalizes this historical period and will touch your heart....I enjoyed this book from beginning to end."
...FRESH FICTION, Lenore Howard

"An absolutely lovely debut novel."
...KRISTIN HANNAH, New York Times bestselling author of Firefly Lane

"An evocative and compelling storyteller, Kristina McMorris gives us a novel to savor and remember."
...BEN SHERWOOD, president of ABC News and bestselling author of The Death & Life of Charlie St. Cloud

"Skillfully written...sweeps the readers away. The research and attention to detail commendably honor veterans of World War II."
...LYNN "BUCK" COMPTON, famed WWII "Band of Brothers" veteran

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kristina McMorris is an award-winning author and graduate of Pepperdine University. A host of weekly television shows since age nine, including an Emmy-award winning program, Kristina lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two young sons who enjoy turning any cylindrical household object into a superhero weapon. For more, visit Kristina's website bio HERE!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

1.  Welcome, Kristina! Thank you for this interview. Can you first tell us where did you get the inspiration or idea for this wonderful book?

Several years ago, I was creating a Christmas present for the family, a self-published cookbook featuring recipes my grandmother had collected and created over decades. While interviewing her for the biographical section, she began to talk about her courtship with my late grandfather. That's when I discovered, much to my amazement, that they had dated only twice before tying the knot, as their relationship had developed almost entirely through an exchange of letters during World War II. Grandma Jean then retrieved from her closet a gorgeous stack of letters, each page full of the love and hope that had helped carry them through such an uncertain time.

After leaving her house, I continued to think about those letters, and wondered how different their relationship might have been if their correspondence had been anything less than truthful. This thought soon became the core idea behind LETTERS FROM HOME.

2. Do you see yourself in your characters? Which characters are easiest or more difficult to write?

I've definitely sprinkled aspects of my personality into several of the characters in the story, but not any one character in particular. Strangely, I find the men much easier to write than the women. I'm not quite sure why, but when it comes to the scenes featuring GIs chatting, bantering, or even arguing, the words just flow across my computer screen. I often joke that it must be a reflection of a past life.

3. What books would you say have made the biggest impression on you, especially starting out?

When I first started writing LETTERS FROM HOME, I was barely a fiction reader, sadly enough. So I had a lot of catching up to do. I soon discovered works by Jodi Picoult, and since I'm such a fan of analogies and metaphors, she was a wonderful influence. After completing several versions of my book, I contemplated moving on to contemporary settings, mainly because the historical research was often both grueling and overwhelming. But then I read WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen and THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak, and I realized that no novel sweeps me away like a historical one. There's just something magical about stepping back in time and experiencing a sense of life during a very different era.

4. What is the next or current book/project you are working on?

I'm happy to share that I just turned in my second novel, BRIDGE OF SCARLET LEAVES, to my publisher. Essentially, it's about a Caucasian violinist who secretly elopes with her Japanese-American boyfriend—against societal molds and families' wishes—the night before Pearl Harbor is bombed.

I'll leave it at that for now, as I don't want to give too much away. But I will say that I'm extremely proud of this book, in which I was able to infuse a unique perspective of living between two cultures, since I myself am half-Japanese though was born and raised in America.

5. What is something about you that you would want people to know about you that we probably don’t know?

I only need two hours of sleep a night. Okay, not really. But I wish that were the case, since I always feel like I need about a hundred more hours in the day to get through my perpetually scary to-do list.

6. What is your best advice to anyone, including young people, who want to be writers?

Strive for your goal, develop your craft, and don't give up. Let your passion, not others' opinions, guide your stories. And most all, stay true to your voice, the way you see the world. You can improve upon everything else in your manuscript, but don't let anyone edit out what is uniquely yours.

7. I understand you're donating a portion of the proceeds from Letters from Home to a charitable cause. Can you share more about that?

I'm very excited to be supporting United Through Reading®, which is a nonprofit organization that video records deployed U.S. military personnel reading bedtime stories for their children. With the way the program promotes literacy while bringing together loved ones separated by tours of duty, I felt they were a perfect fit, and I can't say enough about their amazing work. More information is available at www.unitedthroughreading.org/military

MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:

Set during World War II, from Chicago to the battles waging in Europe, from a USO club to a military field hospital, Kristina McMorris has created a moving story in LETTERS FROM HOME. This narrative was inspired by the true love story of her own grandparents’ romance and how their correspondence during the war resulted in their eventual loving union. Revolving around three female characters, LETTERS FROM HOME will grab you from the first page and not let you go until you have finished by looking at the wonderful “war time” recipes McMorris has included in the back of the book.

Liz Stephens, Betty Cordell, and Julia Renard were roommates in Chicago back in 1944. Each with a different goal in mind, the story follows these women as their lives entwine and they strive to reach those goals. Along the way, they find that no matter what they planned, life happens and some of their journeys end in a much different place than originally intended. Liz starts out fully expecting to marry Dalton Harris, a friend since they were children who is now a young, local politician.  Betty is set on marrying a man of means, unlike her mother, while Julia’s dream is heading in the right direction now with a chance to intern for a very famous fashion design team. However, Julia is also engaged to Christian Downing, who is already overseas and while she waits for his return, knowing decisions will need to be made, his brother Ian returns from war, a changed man. Julia feels sorry for him but before she realizes it, those feelings begin to change to something more intense.

Enter the rest of the male characters with Morgan McClain, who with his brother Charlie, is enjoying a last hurrah at the Chicago USO Club before shipping out. Although Morgan would have been quite happy to continue his life at home, he thought it best he sign up to watch over his brother Charlie as he had done for most of his life given that Charlie could be rather impetuous. When Morgan and Liz meet at the USO, there is immediate chemistry, but when Morgan, always the good guy, goes to help Betty, Liz leaves thinking she had probably imagined it. What could she be thinking anyway when she is destined to be with Dalton?

One thing leads to another and Betty begins to write to Morgan overseas but feels she is inadequate in her writing skills and asks Liz for help. With Betty’s persuasive personality, Liz agrees and soon Morgan and Liz are writing meaningful, deep letters with Morgan picturing Betty while it is Liz he is really falling for. Betty makes a sudden patriotic, but possibly dangerous decision to join the Woman’s Army Corp and in doing so, finds a real romance of her own.

As LETTERS FROM HOME goes on, switching from battle fields to the home front, from the men to the women, McMorris writes with a personal touch that really keeps the reader “in the moment” and waiting to see which direction each character will go next. When the war ends, each of the women now has to come to terms with decisions they have made. What will happen when the men come home? Will Julia follow her dream or continue along the path she has started on? Will Liz be married safely to her childhood friend or take a chance on someone she thinks she has feelings for as a result of those letters? What will become of Betty and who will she finally wind up with, if any? And what IF all the men don’t come home? The ending stayed with me as it is one that left me thinking about each character and the choices they made for quite a while. Was I surprised, you might ask? I will say this, war can change people and sometimes we have to ask if we really knew that person to begin with. The fact that Kristina McMorris has written with such depth and emotion, reflected in her characters, the ending, and the story overall. I think you will only know what I mean by reading LETTERS FROM HOME by Kristina McMorris and make your own judgment. 

GIVEAWAY

 THANKS TO KRISTINA, I HAVE ONE

NEW COPY OF LETTERS FROM HOME

TO GIVE TO A LUCKY WINNER!

--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY

--NO P. O. BOXES

---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

IN CASE YOU WIN!

--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO

COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT READ ABOUT THE BOOK, MY REVIEW,  AND THE VIDEO THAT MADE YOU WANT TO WIN LETTERS FROM HOME

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK AND LEAVE A LINK THAT I CAN FOLLOW

+1 (or MORE) ENTRIES: ENTER SOME OF MY GIVEAWAYS THAT HAVE LOW ENTRIES (BETTER CHANCES FOR YOU TO WIN) AND GAIN EXTRA ENTRIES FOR THIS BOOK. ENTER HIS OTHER WIFE AND/OR BETWEEN THE PLUMS AUDIO BOOK AND/OR PROMISE CANYON. THEN COME BACK AND COMMENT WITH JUST THE NAME OF THE BOOK AND YOUR EMAIL AND YOU GET EXTRA ENTRIES HERE FOR EACH! (IF YOU ALREADY ENTERED THEM, JUST SAY SO AND YOU STILL GET THE ENTRY)

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING WHEN VISITING KRISTINA McMORRIS' WEBSITE HERE

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, MARCH 15!

GOOD LUCK!