My novels reflect this community spirit, and all have small groups of people – crossing class, age and gender – who are friends and work together through the roller coaster ride of life. Also, because the women I grew up with were, by necessity, tough and go-getting with a sense of humour, my heroines are gutsy and strong. Real women in real situations.
– from the website of author Christina Jones, Biography
I stumbled onto British novelist Christina Jones’s books a couple of years ago just as the Dean campaign came to a crashing halt and was instantly fascinated by her vision of community and go-to spirit. You see, my situation mirrored the emotional climate of her stories. Sad, forced to abandon hope and reconcile myself to a compromised future, I was uplifted by her stories of friends banding together to create a better world for themselves.
- Stealing the Show – Where a second generation carnival family struggles to agree on a vision for the future of their fair.
- Walking on Air – Small Business tenents of an Industrial Park struggle for economic survival.
- Nothing to Lose – My first Christina Jones novel. It’s the story of a girl who inherits her grandfather’s Greyhound racing book-business and another girl with a racing greyhound.
- Tickled Pink – How residents of a town devastated by layoffs (redundancies) develop and implement a plan to save their town.
- Hubble Bubble – After a forced early retirement, a woman discovers a community of local baby-boomers needing projects (with magic).
- Seeing Stars – A London girl moves to a rural star-struck town (with magic).
As you can tell by reading her more complete descriptions, she has a light, comic style and a good heart. Which is important to me. During the day I’m immersed in my frustration with our faux president and his relentless destruction of the small social gains we made in the later half of the twentieth century. I was thrilled to Find an author whose stories not only distracted me from that reality, but gave me some hope that regular people could do something to make a difference.
So I’m not exaggerating at all when I say that together they inspired this web site. I’ve been wanting to implement her vision of friends and family working together toward an ambitious goal (looking back on it, I think it was that spirit that drew me to the Dean campaign). And what is more ambitious than what we’re doing here?
Think of the range of health issues and concerns that we’ve covered in just these first two weeks. We’ve started from the common interest in nutrition – food & eating and branched out to the serious after effects of not taking those issues seriously enough. We’re building a community of friends who are leading each other to better health.
And I wanted to take a few minutes on this dreary Saturday afternoon to introduce you to the woman who gave me the idea – and confidence that a site like this could work. Stop by her website, her biography is amazing, she has a page devoted to her 17 (!) cats, and you’ll find charming descriptions of each of her books
You can find Christina Jones
Stealing the Show
I will check out the dimensions of her books and see if I have any covers that are the right size.
It would hardly help my image to be caught reading romance novels, but hers sound very entertaining.
Well, I happen to think that they are only assigned that category because they were written by a woman and have some romance in them. I totally understand your hesitation — I’m surrounded by people who feel as you do.
But, her books are part of a special British genre that sometimes gets wrongly grouped with Chic Lit. It’s this idea of community, frequently in small towns, and empowerment and triumph. Depending on how this article is received, I might highlight other authors of such novels.
Did you visit her website? I think it’s good introduction to her books.
I did visit her website, and I read an interview with her on somebody Semple or something’s website. I am glad that she no longer has to clean houses and spill things on people.
It is the cover design that says they are romance novels, no matter what they may contain. There are just certain typefaces and illustration styles that just cannot be seen in the hands of dangerous terrorists like myself.
I am not opposed to Chick Lit. In fact, I wrote reviews of several South Asian Chick Lit books for blogcritics some time ago.
Did you really? Are the links still available?
I don’t know if they are still available on blogcritics itself or not, they appear to have completely redone their site and don’t have a search function. I found links to a few by googling “ductapefatwa novel” Those are links to other papers that were picking up blogcritics reviews.
ok, here is a link to all of them if you are really bored
http://blogcritics.org/author.php?author=DuctapeFatwa
I’ve been working through the list on Google (I was just reading the Da Vinci Code review to mister katiebird), I’ve bookmarked your link so I can take it at a slower pace.
I am in awe of your writing skills — I have been since I first read your diaries and comments at Booman, then your rants here and at your own site (which needs at list one minor update, [cough]) — you are consistently enlightening and entertaining.
(and I always listen to your advice)
Well you are completely turning my head. Thank you for such wonderful compliments, and please convey my most cordial greetings to Mr. Katiebird.
You are correct that the blogroll is missing an update of the highest priority, I am behind on updating the whole thing, and I was thinking of doing it tonight, but a neighbor brought popusas and now I am afraid I am suffering from the post-prandial discomfort of the glutton, with props to Kansas. Although I only ate one. I think it is all those vegetables on top that are the problem.
katiebird, I wish she’d visit this site! Her novels sound wonderful, and I think she’s amazing for taking in and loving all those cats.
The cats. Well. (enough said there)
I was touched by what she said about her friend, Pat. I keep going back to her site to read that.
And I want to re-read Tickled Pink, but I lent it to a friend at work who swears she wants to read it. But she’s had it for a year. A Year!
So, I’ll probably have to buy another copy. Because I do want her to read it. It’s a great book (Stealing the Show is my other favorite).
This morning, when I woke up to one of my two cats stomping across my chest, and then back and forth, and then finally settling down and going to sleep on top of me, I thought about what it would be like to have l7 cats in my house. Yikes! I couldn’t do it, and I love cats. Christina must have a huge heart and a verrrry kind-hearted husband.
It’s hilarious to me that I have so many cat-obsessed friends. Very hilarious.
You’re not a cat person? (Draws back in horror.) I may have to rethink you! :0
I’m way too self-centered to live with anyone as self-centered as a cat!
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