A Photograph and A Vineyard

Several bloggers have opined on how they spent New Year’s Eve and/or New Year’s Day. I can’t imagine that you seriously want to read about my 3 mile walk in the county park with my husband or the panini we shared at our favorite diner after waking up late on January 1^st. I will tell you about the book I read, though. Mary Coin by Marissa Silver.

 I spent a good part of the afternoon engrossed in Silver's evocative novel inspired by the iconic photograph from the depression, Migrant Mother, taken by photographer Dorothea Lange and highly recommend the book. The author's multiple point of view story centers around three characters: 1. Mary Coin, the fictitious name of the migrant mother herself, a woman with courage and nerve 2. Vera Dare, the fictitious photographer who wrestles with creative ambition and leaves her children to pursue her work and 3. Walker Dodge, a present-day professor who discovers a family mystery embedded in the photograph.  The extraordinary tale taken from a brief moment in history will keep you turning pages.

Just as Silver’s book was inspired by a real-life story, my novel-in-progress was as well. FLOURISH is based on the unique team of the first woman winery owner with a woman winemaker in the state of Pennsylvania. A photograph gave impetus to Mary Coin; a vineyard in the Lehigh Valley did the same for FLOURISH. Both Mary and Liz, the protagonist in my novel, are strong, determined women though Liz is more fortunate than Mary. For starters, Liz lives in a different era and she has a sisterhood who rallies around her. With their support she overcomes adversities and succeeds in ways she never expected.

You can read the entirely new first chapter of FLOURISH on my website www.linda-rosen.com.