Give Yourself A Valentine's Day Present

Rosina Lippi has a novel coming out on Feb. 14th, The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square. I HAVE TO HAVE IT. Some of you who read this occasional blog know that I'm not one to buy every book I read. That's what the public libraries are for – to save me $$$. I buy by favorite authors. Rosina is one of those. Can I recommend Pajama Girls as a novel? Nope, I haven't read it yet. But I can recommend Rosina Lippi wholeheartedly.

Woman's Day has put it on its "10 New Must-Read Books." Here's the link (I can't make it clickable.):

http://www.womansday.com/home/12754/10-new-must-read-books.html

Rosina started with Homestead, a small, tightly-knit novel somewhat like James Michener's writing, or Edward Rutherfurd (Sarum, The Novel of England). It is much shorter, thankfully. Next, as Sara Donati, she wrote the Wilderness series. She started with a what if. What if Natty Bumppo (Hawkeye) and Cora Munro of The Last of the Mohicans married and had a child, Nathaniel. What if a woman that might come from Jane Austin's novels moved near them in upper New York. What if they, in their 30's, met and fell in love. That is the premise of Into the Wilderness. The opening scene of the novel is a tribute to James Fenimore Cooper's The Pioneers.

Rosina has written 4 more in the series, the last being Queen of Swords. I was privileged to lead a discussion of this one on her website forum. Rosina's clear writing actually explained the Battle of New Orleans of the War of 1812. I never understood it before, being one to tune out history teachers. She made it easy to understand. She's now writing the final novel in the Wilderness series.

In addition to these, as Rosina Lippi, her Tied to the Tracks came out in 2006. It's a romance in current Georgia. Her new one, Pajama Girls, seems to be a romance in current South Carolina.

Rosina usually has a romance in all of her novels, but the romance is just part of any of her novels. None of this Tab A into Slot B dominating the story in a traditional romance! Quite often there are one or more social issues. She doesn't beat you over the head with it, but deals with it nicely. I think the latest has to do with psychological issues.

So, you all go on now and order The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square for your low-cal St. Valentine's Day treat. And get your favorite chocolates to read along with it.