Black Mama Magic: TV Movies Where Black Motherhood Shines
Miss Virginia, the movie based on Virginia Walden Ford’s memoir School Choice: A Legacy to Keep, was featured in Ebony’s Mother’s Day article “Black Mama Magic: TV Movies Where Black Motherhood Shines.”
To read the article, click here.
To learn more about School Choice: A Legacy to Keep, click here.
To learn more about Virginia Walden Ford, click here.
Mrs. Doubtfire Star Lisa Jakub Expertly Answers What ‘Happened To Her’ Question
Lisa Jakub, an author and former child actor who memorably played Lydia in comedy Mrs. Doubtfire, had a perfect response to a headline questioning what “happened” to her since the movie’s 1993 release: a lot of stuff, duh.
On Friday, the author and mental wellness coach shared a screenshot of an article on entertainment site Nicki Swift, with a headline that read: “Whatever Happened To The Actor Who Plays Lydia in Mrs. Doubtfire?”
“Well, ummm, I mean, a lot of stuff has happened since 1993 so you’re gonna need to be more specific,” Jakub tweeted in response.
The author later tweeted a follow-up, sharing that one of her books, You Look Like That Girl: A Child Actor Stops Pretending and Finally Grows Up, tackles why she decided to quit acting after a career spanning 18 years.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
To learn more about You Look Like That Girl, click here.
To learn more about Lisa Jakub, click here.
Two Beaufort titles were named finalists in the 2020 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards
On March 12th, 2021, Foreword Reviews released the list of finalists for their 2020 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards. The School Choice Roadmap by Andrew Campanella was nominated in the Nonfiction/Education category, and A Small Earnest Question is one of 13 finalists in the General Fiction category.
More than 2,000 entries spread across 55 genres were submitted for consideration, and we’re thrilled that both of these wonderful titles were recognized. The finalists were determined by Foreword’s editorial team. The winners will be announced on June 17, 2021.
To view the complete list of finalists, click here.
To learn more about The School Choice Roadmap, click here.
To learn more about A Small Earnest Question, click here.
U.S. News: 20 Fun Things to Do in Your Free Time That Cost Nothing
Jeff Alt, author of Get Your Kids Hiking, A Walk for Sunshine, Four Boots One Journey, and the Adventures of Bubba Jones series, was quoted in the following excerpt from U.S. News.
Get out of your home and into the great outdoors. Although some nature parks have admission fees, it’s often free. AllTrails.com is a good website to check out to find trails near you. And if you’re a camper, this may be an excellent time to plot a route and pitch a tent.
“Putting one foot in front of the other on a hike is one of the least expensive and healthiest forms of recreation there is. You can find a recreation area just about anywhere, and after you acquire the essentials, the gear will last a long time,” says Jeff Alt, a Cincinnati-based author of numerous hiking books, including “A Walk for Sunshine” and “Get Your Kids Hiking.”
“Much research has emerged about the mental health benefits of walking and immersion in nature. A walk in the woods keeps my body fit, enhances my positive thoughts, inspires my creativity and helps to de-stress me from the daily grind,” Alt says.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Click here to learn more about Get Your Kids Hiking.
Click here to learn more about Jeff Alt.
The Midwest Book Review reviews J.F. Riordan’s A Small Earnest Question
Synopsis: It’s spring on Washington Island. Despite her concerns about Roger’s desire to bartend, Elisabeth is eager to plan a grand opening for their newly remodeled hotel, but she quickly realizes that she may also need to make accommodations for Roger’s proposed goat yoga classes. Bored and lonely, Oliver Robert joins bartender Eddie in forming a great books club at Nelsen’s, and Emily Martin, determined to make her mark on the community, forms a new Committee of the Concerned. When Emily decides that the Island needs a literary festival, complete with a famous author, she imprudently seeks out a notorious celebrity, hoping, as always, to enhance her own prestige. Real estate agent Marcie Landmeier confides that an unknown someone is buying up the Island’s shoreline, newly-appointed Fire Chief Jim Freeberg contends with a string of suspicious fires, and Pali and Ben have a spiritual encounter that will change them both. Meanwhile, drawn once more into local controversy, and awash in suspicion herself, Fiona Campbell must determine the answers to questions that will affect her future, and the future of the entire Island.
Critique: Set on a remote island in the Great Lakes, “A Small Earnest Question” is Book Four in the outstanding North of the Tension Line series from novelist J. F. Riordan. A deftly crafted and engagingly entertaining story from beginning to end, “A Small Earnest Question” will be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community library Contemporary American Literary Fiction collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of dedicated Riordan fans that “A Small Earnest Question” is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).
Click here to view the review.
Click here to learn more about A Small Earnest Question.
Click here to learn more about J.F. Riordan.
A Small Earnest Question featured in Madison Magazine’s “2021 Reading List: Local books to add to your collection”
Every year we publish a list of books that have Wisconsin authors or connections. From “Wisconsin cocktails” to “Storied and Scandalous Wisconsin,” you might find an interesting read to add to your own 2021 reading list.
“A Small Earnest Question” by J.F. Riordan
Book No. 4 in the North of the Tension Line series, “A Small Earnest Question” opens a window into the imagined everyday life of Washington Island residents in Door County. With a year-round population of 708, Washington Island certainly makes a fun backdrop for a story involving many interconnected characters, including Elisabeth, who’s eager to open a remodeled hotel; Roger, an aspiring bartender; Marcie, a real estate agent; and Emily, who wants to start a literary festival. You might just have to take a trip to Door County and let this small-town story suck you in. J.F. Riordan, who has been called a modern-day Jane Austen, lives in Wisconsin with her husband and three dogs. –AB
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Click here to order A Small Earnest Question.
Click here to learn more about J.F. Riordan.
Jennifer Pharr Davis, author of Becoming Odyssa and Called Again, Appointed to President’s Council for Sports, Fitness and Nutrition
For Immediate Release:
Jennifer Pharr Davis has been appointed to the Presidential Council for Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. A noted hiker, speaker, and author, Pharr Davis has hiked more than 14,000 miles on six different continents. In 2011 she set the overall record on the Appalachian Trail by completing the 2,189 mile footpath in 46 days. As a mother she has backpacked 700 miles in her second and third trimesters of pregnancy, hiked in all 50 states with her daughter, and walked across the state of North Carolina while nursing her newborn son. According to the White House Press Release, Pharr Davis was appointed to the position alongside several notable figures and sports personalities, including New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick, former Ohio State Head Football Coach Urban Meyer, and TV host Dr. Oz. The co-chairs of the council are beach volleyball Olympian Misty May-Treanor, New York Yankees Hall of Fame pitcher Mariano Rivera, and noted NFL running back Herschel Walker.
According to its website, the Council for Sports, Fitness and Nutrition website’s objective is to “increase sports participation among youth of all backgrounds and abilities and to promote healthy and active lifestyles for all Americans.” Appointments are for two years and include annual meetings in Washington, DC.
Pharr Davis is no stranger to getting people outside and on trails. In 2008, she founded Asheville, North Carolina-based Blue Ridge Hiking Company, a guided service with retail shop and bunkhouse that strives to “make the trails accessible and enjoyable to everyone at every phase of life.” In regards to her appointment, Pharr Davis said, “I am looking forward to representing Outdoor Recreation and Public Lands on a council that has traditionally been focused on mainstream sports. It’s time to take a hike, America!”
Click here to learn more about Jennifer Pharr Davis.
Click here to learn more about Becoming Odyssa and click here to learn more about Called Again.
Rose City Reader: A Round-up of Reviews: Six Gift-Worthy Books Sure to Surprise
Who doesn’t like getting books for gifts? It’s my favorite part of holiday gift giving! I haven’t gotten as clever as Christie at Raising Whasians with her adorable Christmas Book Advent Tree, pictured above, but lots of books get unwrapped at my house Christmas morning.
One snaggle with choosing books for gifts is worrying if the person has already read the book! Here are some ideas for recently published books that have flown under the radar. There’s probably someone on your list who would enjoy one of these:
A Small Earnest Question by J. F. Riordan. This is the fourth book in Riordan’s North of the Tension Line series set on Washington Island, a remote island in the Great Lakes. Fiona Campbell is the main character at the center or an eclectic mix of locals, visitors, pets, and even goats for the goat yoga classes. This fourth book involves the grand opening of a remodeled hotel and the island’s first literary festival, but the point of the series is to wallow in the charm.
This one is perfect for all the pumpkin spice latte lovers on your list. Riordan brings readers up to speed enough to enjoy this as a stand-alone, or splurge on the set of four.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
To learn more about A Small Earnest Question, click here.
To learn more about J.F. Riordan, click here.
Six Bridges Book Festival: Virginia Walden Ford
Virginia Walden Ford is one of the few people who actually knows the answer to the question, “What actress would play you in the Hollywood version of your life?”
Ford made national news in the 1990s as leader of a grassroots effort to broaden school choice for public school students in Washington DC. That struggle has now been featured in the film Miss Virginia, which was released in October 2019 and stars Uzo Aduba in the title role.
For those who want to know the full story with all the details and complexity that won’t fit in the two-hour film version, Ford has now released her memoir, School Choice: A Legacy to Keep. Most fascinating, especially for Arkansans, is the major role that Ford’s youth in Little Rock played in the formation of this strong woman’s character
Born in 1951 as Virginia Fowler, the real “Miss Virginia” grew up in the thick of the intense civil rights struggle that followed the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School. A cross burned on her family’s lawn in 1967 when her father, William Harry Fowler, was selected as the first black administrator for the Little Rock School District. Both Fowler and his wife, Marion Johnson Fowler, had graduated from Philander Smith College and earned masters’ degrees from the University of Arkansas. The Fowler family was deeply invested in education and in the Little Rock community, frequently hosting many of the people whose names have now gone down in history for civil rights activism such as Thurgood Marshall and Daisy Gatson Bates. But most importantly, as Ford now testifies, growing up in her family taught her to raise her voice on behalf of others.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Click here to learn more about Virginia Walden Ford.
Click here to learn more about School Choice: A Legacy to Keep.
Madison Magazine: Fall reading recommendations from three local bookstores
As the leaves begin to turn and aggressive marketing campaigns for pumpkin spice-everything crop up around Madison, it’s once again time to find that new fall companion: a good book. This autumn, let local novels be your guide to the wonderful worlds created by Wisconsin writers, many of whom have new and recently released reads just in time for the fall season.
Here are the latest recommendations from experts at the three local bookstores: A Room of One’s Own in downtown Madison, It’s More Than Mystery to Me on Monroe Street and Arcadia Books in Spring Green. Whether you’re looking for a collection of poems, essays, a new children’s book or a relaxed novel — these three stores have something to offer for every reading level. While looking for that new literary adventure, Charlotte Colaluca of Mystery to Me reminds readers to not just read local, but to shop local, too.
“When you spend money at any local business, that money goes right back into your community and that money starts to work for you,” Colaluca says. “I think it’s an act of humanitarianism at this point if you shop local instead of shopping from Amazon, because when you send money that goes to the richest man on earth, that money doesn’t come back to you. It goes into his pocket.”
For the reader looking for something a little less intense than grandiose questions on living and dying, “A Small Earnest Question” offers a wry tale full of vivid characters living on Door County’s own Washington Island. Author J. F. Riordan, who resides on the island, has been called a “modern day Jane Austin” for her book, and visited Mystery to Me for a virtual event this month. Colaluca says this book is perfect for anyone looking for a relaxing read.
“[Riordan is] so excellent as far as writing about that place, and it’s not a very high-stakes drama … It‘s like a nice break from the world we currently live in.”
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Click here to learn more about A Small Earnest Question.
Click here to learn more about J.F. Riordan.
NORTH OF THE TENSION LINE: AN INTERVIEW WITH J. F. RIORDAN
We’ll hazard a guess that, at least once in your life, you’ve fantasized about packing up your life and moving to (what feels like) a different world—an idyllic small town, a bustling metropolis, a remote windswept isle… In J. F. Riordan’s sparkling North of the Tension line series, a writer does just that, moving from Chicago to a sparsely populated island in Door County, Wisconsin. Her ensuing small-town adventures are presented with enormous heart throughout this delightful series. Today in the Bluestocking Salon, Bas Bleu sat down (virtually, no masks required!) with novelist J. F. Riordan to learn more about why she chose Door County as her setting, how opera helped shape her novelist’s voice, and what effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on her writing.
Bas Bleu: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey to becoming a writer.
J. F. Riordan: In one way or another I have always been a writer. I can remember at the age of seven or so, walking home on a summer evening, keeping myself company by making up a story. But my writing self has always been entwined with a musical self, and it confused me for quite a while. I spent my young life studying music, and had a career as an opera singer. It was an unhappy time, but it seems to have resolved itself: rhythm, the sound and feeling of words, and the movement of phrases are a very big part of my writing.
I didn’t start writing seriously for myself until quite late. I had a stressful day job, and writing was something that was personal and private, and helped me preserve a sense of purpose—not to mention a little sanity. The first novel took about seven years to write, partly because of the job, and partly because there was no pressure to finish. I had no idea whether anyone would want it. Since North of the Tension Line came out in 2014, I have published five books: four novels, and a book of essays, Reflections on a Life in Exile. It has all come as a bit of a surprise.
BB: Door County, and especially Washington Island, makes such an interesting and atmospheric setting for your series. What is your relationship to the area, and why did you decide to set the books there?
JFR: I have been going to Door County for decades, and it was probably thirty years ago when I decided to take the ferry to Washington Island just to see what was there. From the first moment I set foot on the ferry it was if a spell was cast on me. I can remember standing at the railing, looking out at the water and thinking what it would be like to come there every summer, with all the days spread out before you like a blank sheet of paper. There’s a magic in the island: as if you have fallen off the edge of the earth, and all that’s left is the essence of what matters. In my books I try to capture that mystical, almost magical reality.
I have always wanted to live there, in that sense of deep authenticity, but it wasn’t practical, so writing about being on the island was the next best thing.
Click here to read the rest of the interview.
Click here to learn more about North of the Tension Line.
Click here to read more about J.F. Riordan.
Motherhood Moment Book Review: The Adventures of Bubba Jones – Time Traveling Through Grand Canyon National Park
I recently had a chance to review The Adventures of Bubba Jones – Time Traveling Through Grand Canyon National Park. It is an award-winning book series that crisscrosses the country, taking kids on an educational, time-traveling adventure through America’s beloved National Parks, and the fourth book in the series.
Each book in the series, written for middle grades, combines education with entertainment in a thrill-packed journey through time loaded with fun facts about history, ecology, and science about the park and its inhabitants. The time travel adds an imaginative aspect to the story, helping kids engage more than they would in just a history book. It includes history, science, and mystery, and kids who love travel, suspense, or nature will enjoy the book.
The Adventures of Bubba Jones is jam-packed with fun family activities that can serve as your “insiders guide” for your own Grand Canyon adventure. As Jeff Alt wrote this book, he explored Grand Canyon National Park and collaborated with park officials and experts in order to include accurate park facts and the most highly recommended family-friendly Grand Canyon activities; and yes, you can go back in time by taking a stroll on the Trail of Time Walk on the south rim. Everything the Jones family does on their Grand Canyon adventure is highlighted on the map in the back of this book to help you plan your trip. The Curriculum Guide & Discussion Questions are a bonus for educators.
Click here to read the rest of the review.
Click here to learn more about The Adventures of Bubba Jones #4.
Click here to learn more about Jeff Alt.
Families encouraged to get out and explore the outdoors, with COVID-19 precautions
With the stress and pressures of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, one teacher and author is encouraging families to get out and enjoy the outdoors.
Jeff Alt is the author of ‘Get Your Kids Hiking’ and the young adult national park time travel series, ‘The Adventures of Bubba Jones.’
Alt says, “Due to the pandemic, students, parents, and teachers are having to study and work remotely indoors this fall and maybe into the winter. But excessive screen time is being associated with increased childhood obesity, mental health issues, and even social skill problems.”
Researchers agree that the risk of COVID-19 transmission is lower with outdoor recreation activities.
This all points to the importance and the advantages of walking, hiking, and camping, “as a great way to stay healthy physically and mentally.”
To stay safe from COVID-19 exposure while camping and hiking, Alt reminds families to stay local, be prepared, keep your distance, and be extra cautious in public washrooms.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Click here to learn more about Get Your Kids Hiking.
Click here to learn more about Jeff Alt.
Hidden Falls Featured in Juneau Empire: ‘Goodfellas’ Meets ‘Good Will Hunting’
He’s written movie reviews, news releases, jokes, screenplays — and even helped shape the Capital City Weekly. And now, Kevin Myers has written a published novel.
“Hidden Falls” was released July 15, and Myers said in a video interview that he had initially hoped to travel back to Juneau to promote his new book.
“The initial plan was I’d be up in Juneau about now for a book tour,” Myers said. But COVID-19 altered those plans.
Myers said in some ways it’s strange how much has changed since he completed “Hidden Falls” a couple of years ago, and some of those changes color certain passages now.
“You do go back because everything has changed,” Myers said. “You read passages where they’re going to bars and hanging out. You feel, like, a sense of angst. I think the other surreal part is I finished writing this sometime in 2018 and signed the deal in 2019, and then it came out two weeks ago. So really, you’re two years removed from having written it. You have to get back into it. I’ve written another novel since putting that one to bed.”
However, Myers said there is at least one advantage to releasing a book amid a pandemic —people tend to have a lot more time on their hands to read.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Click here to learn more about Hidden Falls.
Click here to learn more about Kevin T. Myers.