Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Digging In
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://lorettanyhan.com/index.html
CITY: Chicago
STATE: IL
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; children: sons.
EDUCATION:College graduate.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and educator. Taught literature at DeVries University, Chicago, IL. Other positions include writing for trade journals.
AVOCATIONS:Knitting, baking.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Romance and young adult novelist Loretta Nyhan began as an avid reader at a young age, and her love of reading led her to become a writer. She wrote for her high school paper and, after graduating from college, wrote for national trade magazines. Nihau returned to college and focused on a teaching track, not creative writing. Mohan told Hypable website contributor Mihal Schick: “I was afraid that if I started writing fiction, it would mean I’d have to show people what I wrote, and what if they hated it? That kind of fear just kills any creative urges.” Nihau would not begin her first novel until many years later after her youngest child entered preschool.
Nyhan debuted with “The Witch Collector” young adult, paranormal romances. In The Witch Collector Part I and The Witch Collect Part II, Nyhan tells the story of Breeda, who attends her best friend’s funeral only to have her parents pack up the family the next day. They quickly leave Oregon and head off to Chicago. It turns out Breeda and her family are part of a coven and risk banishment because they did not consult the Coven Leader before leaving. “I’ve always loved witchy things, and writing The Witch Collector let me create spells, explore the tarot, and live temporarily in an alternative, magical Chicago” Nyhan told Schick for the Hypable website interview.
I'll Be Seeing You
Nyhan also began to collaborate with Suzanne Hayes, starting with I’ll Be Seeing You. The two writers met when Hayes visited Nyhan’s blog, leading the writers to start to communicating online. “The way this novel came together is a classic example of the ‘happy accident,’ which, of course, means it was meant to be,” Nyhan noted in an interview for the BookBrowse website, adding later: “This experience has been one lovely surprise after another.”
I’ll Be Seeing You is told through the letters of two women. It is the middle of World War II when Glory Whitehall and Rita Vincenzo began to correspond. The two were introduced via a 4-H address exchange for war wives. Rita is the sensible wife of university professor living in the U.S. heartland. Glory is much more impulsive with a youthful, free outlook on life. Rita has a son and a husband in the war. Glory was a debutante who now found herself a war bride as well.
The authors, via the letters, delve into life during the war, from sugar rationing to victory gardens. Letters from their family members in the war are also interspersed throughout. Referring to I’ll Be Seeing You an “entertaining epistolary novel,” Booklist contributor Whitney Scott went on to call the novel a “deeply satisfying tale.”
Empire Girls
Nyhan and Hayes also coauthored Empire Girls. This time the tale is set in New York City during the Roaring Twenties. After the death of their father, Ivy and Rose Adams turn their attention to the family estate only to discover that they are in financial ruin. It seems that their father designated an older brother whom they never knew about to be the sole heir. The novel revolves around Ivy and Rose and their efforts to find this mysterious brother in New York City.
Ivy and Rose have not always got along. Rose is the serious one who feels obligated to look over her younger sister’s impetuous ways, including her dreams of stardom in New York. Living in a room at the Empire House in New York City, the sisters get jobs while still searching for their elusive brother. In the process, they form an unspoken bond. Nyhan and Hayes each author the voice of one of the sisters.
“With historical details of Prohibition-era New York, romance, and some elements of mystery, this novel of sisterhood should have wide appeal,” wrote Christina Thurairatnam in Library Journal. Writing in Booklist, Aleksandra Walker commented: ‘Readers will be charmed by the Adams sisters and their adventure.”
Digging In
Nyhan is the sole author of Digging In, which tells the story of Paige Moresco as she copes with her husband’s death. Two years earlier, Paige’s husband was killed in a car crash. Despondent, Paige essentially let herself go, both emotionally and in appearance. She did try to be there for her son, Trey. However, their relationship is strained. Paige also faces other stresses, such as her job at a boutique ad agency. When neighbors keep complaining about her shabby yard, Paige begins digging at night in an attempt to overcome her frustrations. Although she starts out digging weeds, the release she feels is so great that Paige eventually decides to create a garden with the help of a friend.
“Emotional yet funny, the book will have readers rooting for Paige and her new tomato plants ,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. A Kirkus Reviews contributor commended Nyhan for her good characterizations of the people at Paige’s workplace and called Digging In “a charming if perhaps unrealistically upbeat story of recovery from grief.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, June 1, 2013, Whitney Scott, review of I’ll Be Seeing You, p. 43; May 1, 2014, Aleksandra Walker, review of Empire Girls, p. 82.
Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2018, review of Digging In.
Library Journal, May 15, 2014, Christina Thurairatnam and Leigh Wright, “Jazz Age Aisters,” review of Empire Girls, p. 76.
Publishers Weekly, February 12, 2018, review of Digging In, p. 53.
ONLINE
BookBrowse, https://www.bookbrowse.com/ (June 23, 2018), “An interview with Loretta Nyhan.”
Happy Ever After, https://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/ (April 6, 2018), Becky Condit, “Love and Lust Rec: Digging In by Loretta Nyhan.”
Hypable, https://www.hypable.com/ (March 25, 2013), Michal Schick, “Hypable Author Interview: Loretta Nyhan.”
Loretta Nyhan website, http://lorettanyhan.com (June 23, 2018).
Me
I was a reader before I was a writer, devouring everything I could get my hands on, including the backs of cereal boxes and the instructions booklet for building the Barbie dream house. Later, my obsession with reading evolved into an absolute need to write. After college, I wrote for national trade magazines, taught writing to college freshmen, and eventually found the guts to try fiction.
I'll Be Seeing You, my novel cowritten with Suzanne Hayes, debuted from Harlequin Mira in June 2013. Our second book, Empire Girls, releases on May 27, 2014.
My solo work includes The Witch Collector, Parts I & II, paranormal thrillers for HarperTeen. I love all things witchy--Stevie Nicks is my gal!
When I'm not writing, I'm knitting, baking, and doing all kinds of things my high school self would have found hilarious.
Photo: Alexa Frangos
Loretta Nyhan
share to Facebook
Share to Twitter
Share to Pinterest
Share to Google Plus
email
More Share Links
Loretta Nyhan Biography
An interview with Loretta Nyhan
Loretta Nyhan and Suzanne Hayes discuss their collaboration on I'll be Seeing You, and how they came to write the novel
Is it really true that, as of the date of this interview, you've never met each other in person? How did you connect initially, and how did you come to write a novel together? What has that experience been like for each of you?
Yes! It's true. We haven't met yet. Sometimes this surprises us. It feels like we have, but we only know each other through phone calls and email conversations.
Suzy: I was blogging and connecting with other writers online. I remember the day that Loretta launched her blog. It was announced over a set of other writer blogs. I clicked on over…and there she was! Writing about organic food and the Beatles. I commented on her posts, and she started commenting on mine. A friendship was born. I think it took us about a year to shift over to phone conversations, and it was during one of those conversations that we expressed our desire to write something completely for ourselves, for fun. I suggested letters back and forth via email. We agreed on setting the letters in WWII, and then I sent off the first email, in character, and hoped for the best. When I got the first email back, I was elated. Soon the letters were flying between us. A story was forming as a friendship was growing. It was a very exciting time.
Loretta: The way this novel came together is a classic example of the "happy accident," which, of course, means it was meant to be. When the first letter came it was like a shock to my system. I was consumed with the need to write back, and that feeling never changed throughout the whole process. This experience has been one lovely surprise after another.
What was your inspiration for I'll Be Seeing You? How, if at all, have your own personalities and experiences informed the characters of Glory and Rita?
With both of us trying to get writing careers off the ground, we were spending a lot of time thinking about what it means to wait. We were talking to each other almost daily. It was the support that we needed, someone else going through the same experience. It seemed only natural that we would write about two women who were in a stressful situation and leaning on each other for support. I don't really think we discussed that part of it, though…I think we stumbled into it. We both share a passion for similar historical eras, and we both like the research part of the writing.
Suzy: Glory is younger than I am, but she looks at life the same way. Her idealism, her sometimes selfish-without-knowing-it behavior is a lot like my own. The part of her character that is most related to me is the house and town where she lives. I grew up visiting Rockport, Massachusetts, every summer. It lives inside my heart. When I was thinking about where I wanted to spend my time in these letters, there simply was no other choice.
Loretta: Rita is bolder and more outwardly opinionated than I am; however, I do love to give advice (sometimes when I probably shouldn't). I also have a husband and two sons, and though it was disturbing, I forced myself to imagine what I would feel if I had to send them off to war. It certainly wasn't fun, but it helped give those letters a necessary emotional depth. There were tears, though, lots and lots of tears!
You've created such a rich and memorable cast of characters in this novel—particularly Glory and Rita, but also Levi, Robert, Roylene and even the incomparable Mrs. K.! When you started the book, did you have all of the characters and their journeys mapped out in your heads, or did they reveal themselves to you as you wrote? In what ways did the characters surprise you along the way? What was the greatest character morph as you wrote and revised the novel?
Suzy: I didn't have anything planned. I wrote a letter (the first in the book) and sent it off. When I received Rita's first letter, and real characters were starting to emerge, I responded to her in character. Soon, my own cast of characters came through the keyboard. They surprised me as they showed up. They had so much to say! For me, the character that changed the most was Glory. She grew up during the revision process. It was an amazing experience, helping her grow from spoiled child to wise adult. (Well…maybe not always so wise…)
Loretta: When I got Suzy's wonderful first letter, Rita appeared and just started talking. I know how that sounds, but sometimes characters show up with fully formed lives. I knew Rita would have a crazy neighbor. I knew she would be overprotective of her only son. I knew her husband would be a real sweetie, and I knew what would happen to him. Her story was there; I just discovered more and more of it as time went on. The only real surprise for me was Roylene. Just like Rita, I didn't expect her to become so dear to me.
What can you tell us about your next novel?
We want to tell you EVERYTHING about our newest novel! It's so exciting to write about new characters. The historical era we chose was the progressive era: 1917-1920 America. It's about two sisters, Pasadena and India Adams, who find themselves cast out by family misfortune. They end up in Manhattan with two very different agendas: Pasadena is determined to earn enough money to buy back their family home, and India just wants to grab up everything the city has to offer.
The girls find themselves living on the top floor of a tenement in the overcrowded Lower East Side. They quickly learn that survival will be more difficult than they planned. Instead of finding solace in each other, the sisters search for their brother, Kingston, who disappeared into the chaotic city. As the girls' separate lives begin to intersect in ways they'd never imagined, it's Kingston who they hope will sort things out—if they can only find him.
WRITTEN BY MICHAL SCHICK | 9:00 AM EDT, MARCH 25, 2013
Hypable Author Interview: Loretta Nyhan
Loretta Nyhan is the author of The Witch Collector, a young adult paranormal romance-thriller coming in April. Loretta is a professor of literature at DeVry University, as well as a co-author of women’s fiction. She lives near Chicago with her husband and sons, and enjoy gardening, Halloween, and witches.
Could you tell us five random facts about yourself?
1. I am crazy-obsessed with the Beatles.
2. I’ve lived on both coasts, in New York City and Los Angeles, but I’m happiest in the Midwest.
3. I hate — really, really hate — the sound of flip-flops slapping against a tile floor. I hate flip-flops in general. Worst shoe ever.
4. I’m into herbal remedies and essential oils and other assorted hippie-girl stuff. I draw the line at dousing myself in patchouli, though.
5. I am shockingly bad at Scrabble and Words with Friends.
Tell us about your journey to becoming a writer.
In high school I found my niche writing for the school paper. I wrote nonfiction essays in college, and after graduation I wrote for a number of national trade magazines. When I went back to school for an advanced degree, however, I chose the teaching track instead of creative writing. I was afraid that if I started writing fiction, it would mean I’d have to show people what I wrote, and what if they hated it? That kind of fear just kills any creative urges. As a result, I didn’t write much of anything for years. Later, after my youngest started preschool, I decided it was silly to be scared of a blank page, and I began my first novel.
Loretta Nyhan The Witch Collector Part 1
What has surprised you about writing and publishing?
How nice everyone is. I’m not kidding. I’d heard my share of publishing horror stories, but every single person I’ve met on this journey to publication has been wonderful. I wasn’t expecting that.
Why do you feel drawn to the stories you write?
I’ve always loved witchy things, and writing The Witch Collector let me create spells, explore the tarot, and live temporarily in an alternative, magical Chicago. I also like the unending possibilities of the paranormal world.
What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
My first rejection from a publisher really stung. I don’t remember exactly what she said, but I interpreted it as, you have no talent whatsoever and should never write anything again. I let myself have a crisis of confidence for about five minutes. Then I got over it.
What has been the best compliment?
Someone once said I was the most observant person she’d ever known. I thought that was cool.
Where’s your favorite place to write?
At a desk in a small alcove attached to my bedroom. It’s not very interesting, which is a good thing. I need blank walls and silence.
What is one thing you wish you’d known when you sat down to write your novel?
Writing by the seat of my pants doesn’t work so well with a mystery. I had to write a detailed outline, but I didn’t realize this until I’d already floundered through a couple of chapters.
How do you approach writing villains or antagonists?
The same way I do protagonists. They have to feel real to me, with hopes and desires and struggles. Characters must have valid reasons for doing what they do, even villains —
actually, especially villains.
Loretta Nyhan
How do you construct the world and tonal environment of your story?
I usually start with a real place and then let my imagination take over. The inspiration for the setting of The Witch Collector is the Logan Square neighborhood in Chicago. I’d drive through it on my way to work and think, this is where the witches live.
Which is easier to write: The first line or the last line?
The first line, always. I can’t start a book unless I’m happy with the first line.
What is your favorite chapter or scene you’ve written recently?
There’s an alchemist in The Witch Collector — a leather-clad, heavily pierced Joan Jett lookalike. Every scene with her in it was so much fun to write.
Which one YA novel do you wish you had when you were a teen?
Looking for Alaska by John Green. Though I read it as an adult, I got that same feeling I did when I read The Catcher in the Rye at fifteen, the sense that I was understood.
Do you have things you need in order to write (i.e. coffee, cupcakes, music)?
Green tea, dark chocolate, yoga pants.
What are you working on now?
Another YA thriller, set in Chicago in 1881, ten years after The Great Fire. I also write women’s fiction with a partner, Suzanne Hayes. We’re finishing up our second book for Harlequin-Mira, called Finding Kingston.
Bonus question! Would you rather be a book, or a computer?
I’d like to be that unusual novel with dog-eared pages someone stumbles upon in a secondhand shop and simply can’t put down.
About ‘The Witch Collector’:
The day after her best friend’s funeral, Breeda’s parents pack her up, usher her into the car, and then drive out of Oregon without looking back. Breeda doesn’t know why they left so urgently or why they’re headed to Chicago — but she does know that it’s against the rules to leave without consulting your Coven Leader… It’s a crime punishable by banishment.
All her family has is each other now, in a city that feels strange, unfamiliar, and dark. But when Breeda comes home on her first night in Chicago to find their apartment ransacked and only a bloody handprint left behind, she realizes that you can’t outrun the craft.
For more about Loretta Nyhan:
You can visit Loretta on her blog and on Twitter as @LorettaNyhan. The Witch Collector will be published as a digital novel by HarperTeen Impulse, availible for purchase on digital readers from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Part one will be released on April 2 and Part two will follow on May 7.
Jazz age sisters
Christina Thurairatnam and Leigh Wright
Library Journal. 139.9 (May 15, 2014): p76.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
Hayes, Suzanne & Loretta Nyhan. Empire Girls. Mira: Harlequin. Jun. 2014.304p. ISBN 9780778316299. pap. $14.95; ebk. ISBN 9780778316299. F
Hayes and Nyhan team up once again (after 2013's I'll Be Seeing You) with this Jazz Age tale of two sisters close in age but otherwise far apart. Rose is more serious, and she considers it her duty to look after her wild younger sister and their father. Ivy is a dreamer who longs to go to New York and become a star. When their father suddenly dies, the siblings find out they have an older brother and that he is the rightful heir. The only clue to his whereabouts is a photograph taken in front of Empire House, a boardinghouse in New York City. The girls travel there, renting a room at Empire House, where the residents are welcoming but secretive. Ivy finds work at a speakeasy while Rose becomes a seamstress, and they try to figure out their future as their brother is still nowhere to be found. VERDICT Although the ending is too neatly wrapped up and some secondary characters could be more fully developed, the sisters' internal struggle to realign their dreams and heal the breach in their relationship adds pathos and makes for an ultimately satisfying read. With historical details of Prohibition-era New York, romance, and some elements of mystery, this novel of sisterhood should have wide appeal.--Christina Thurairatnam, Holmes Cty. Dist. P.L., Millersburg, OH
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Thurairatnam, Christina, and Leigh Wright. "Jazz age sisters." Library Journal, 15 May 2014, p. 76. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A367965148/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=6d06bbe9. Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A367965148
6/4/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1528155540329 1/4
Print Marked Items
Digging In
Publishers Weekly.
265.7 (Feb. 12, 2018): p53+.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Digging In
Loretta Nyhan. Lake Union, $14.95 trade paper
(227p) ISBN 978-1-5420-4729-6
Nyhan (All the Good Parts) transforms nervous energy into healing, productive work in this endearingly
quirky novel about a woman grappling with the loss of her husband and trying to keep her life together for
the sake of her son, Trey. Once taking great pride in her appearance, career, and home, Paige Moresco let
herself go after her husband died in a car accident two years earlier. Now her wardrobe, her position at the
boutique ad agency where she works, her relationship with Trey, and, especially, her shabby yard are all in
need of desperate repair. Frustrated with the neighbors' complaints about her yard, she takes a shovel and
begins digging up the weeds. Discovering how good it feels to work out her frustration in the dirt, she digs
each night until she has dug up her entire yard--to the chagrin of the entire neighborhood. With the help of
new friends, Paige decides to turn her yard into a garden and, in the process, begins to heal herself as well.
Emotional yet funny, the book will have readers rooting for Paige and her new tomato plants the whole way.
Confronting grief, change, and a new way of being, Nyhan's lovely story captures the rejuvenating power of
hard work that can start right in the backyard. (Apr.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Digging In." Publishers Weekly, 12 Feb. 2018, p. 53+. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A528615469/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=11f1c44d.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A528615469
6/4/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1528155540329 2/4
Nyhan, Loretta: DIGGING IN
Kirkus Reviews.
(Feb. 1, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Nyhan, Loretta DIGGING IN Lake Union Publishing (Adult Fiction) $14.95 4, 1 ISBN: 978-1-5420-4729-6
A suburban Chicago woman whose husband died two years ago, and who's spent 17 years working at a now
faltering advertising agency, digs herself out of her grief by tearing up her backyard--to the horror of her
neighbors--and planting it with an odd assortment of wilting tomatoes, herbs, and blackberries.
Paige Moresco, who narrates this semiromantic novel with sly wit, is dealing with a teenage son at least as
torn by grief as she is and with the recent death of her old-school boss, "Big Frank." Big Frank has been
replaced by his upwardly mobile son, Frankie Jr., who has not only renamed himself Lukas, but has
christened Giacomo Advertising and Design "G"--pronounced, he insists, "Guh." Nyhan (All the Good
Parts, 2016, etc.) has fun with a bubbly satire of business culture. Lukas wholeheartedly adopts the unusual
philosophy espoused by the winsome British author of The Petra Principles for the New, New Creative
Workplace and insists that his increasingly reluctant employees read and reread key passages from the
(fictional) tome, which Nyhan quotes with delight. Nyhan nicely differentiates the six employees, including
Paige's longtime co-worker Jackie, whose fashion sense is firmly stuck in the 1990s. Outside the office,
Paige expands her social circle to include a dental school dropout who runs a booth at a local farmers
market, a crotchety neighbor with some hidden redeeming qualities, and a new love interest, a sensitive cop
with a welcome sense of humor and a talent for canning tomatoes. With a plot which revolves largely
around Lukas' desire to get rid of at least two employees, Nyhan keeps the wheels spinning and eventually
finds the best in each of her characters.
A charming if perhaps unrealistically upbeat story of recovery from grief.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Nyhan, Loretta: DIGGING IN." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2018. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A525461673/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=62f75faa.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A525461673
6/4/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1528155540329 3/4
Empire Girls
Aleksandra Walker
Booklist.
110.17 (May 1, 2014): p82.
COPYRIGHT 2014 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
Empire Girls. By Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan. June 2014. 304p. Harlequin/MIRA, paper, $14.95
(9780778316299).
Hayes and Nyhan, coauthors of I'll Be Seeing You (2013), collaborate again on this novel set in 1920s New
York. Sisters Rose's and Ivy's differences have kept them at odds. Reserved Rose embraced a domestic role
after their mother died, while would-be actress Ivy dreamed of leaving small-town life behind. After their
father's death, they learn that his estate has been left to a half brother, Asher, whom they had never met.
With only a few clues to start their search, the sisters head to New York City to find him. They secure a
room at the Empire, a boardinghouse for women, and get jobs working for an enigmatic boutique owner,
Cat, who also runs a speakeasy. As they search for their brother, they finally develop a sisterly relationship.
Each coauthor narrates in the voice of a sister, and the alternating perspectives work well as Hayes and
Nyhan depict the changing mores of the flapper era. Though the plot includes a mystery, the romantic
elements are stronger. Readers will be charmed by the Adams sisters and their adventures.--Aleksandra
Walker
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Walker, Aleksandra. "Empire Girls." Booklist, 1 May 2014, p. 82. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A368379083/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=57ee6f5e.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A368379083
6/4/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1528155540329 4/4
I'll Be Seeing You
Whitney Scott
Booklist.
109.19-20 (June 1, 2013): p43.
COPYRIGHT 2013 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
I'll Be Seeing You. By Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan. June 2013.336p. Harlequin/MIRA, paper, $ i5.95
(9780778314950).
Readers of Hayes and Nyhan's entertaining epistolary novel will be transported to 1940s America, when
people on the home front watched, waited, and worried about loved ones fighting overseas* Two women,
separated by age, circumstances, and geography, find each other through a 4-H address exchange for war
wives* Their correspondence reveals that Glory, from well-off New England society, is a young morn who
"went from debutante to war bride," while the more practical Rita is a professor's wife who lives in the
heartland and has both a husband and a grown son in the armed forces. Authentic touches bring the era
alive. Allusions to sharing an easy recipe that "doesn't touch the sugar ration," recycling tinfoil, antiGerman
bigotry, blacked-out portions of censored V-mail, and victory gardens all provide a specific,
everyday context for such timeless and universal passages and struggles as birth, death, grief, wartime
temptations, divided loyalties, and hope. Interspersed is correspondence with the men in service, adding
layers to Hayes and Nyhan's deeply satisfying tale.--Whitney Scott
Scott, Whitney
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Scott, Whitney. "I'll Be Seeing You." Booklist, 1 June 2013, p. 43. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A335921608/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=468cdbd1.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A335921608
Love and Lust rec: ‘Digging In’ by Loretta Nyhan
12
SHARES
SHARE
TWEET
EMAIL
By: Becky Condit | April 6, 2018 12:00 am
Digging In by Loretta Nyhan
What it’s about (courtesy of Lake Union Publishing):
In author Loretta Nyhan’s warm, witty, and wonderful novel, a widow discovers an unexpected chance to start over—right in her own backyard.
Paige Moresco found her true love in eighth grade—and lost him two years ago. Since his death, she’s been sleepwalking through life, barely holding on for the sake of her teenage son. Her house is a wreck, the grass is overrun with weeds, and she’s at risk of losing her job. As Paige stares at her neglected lawn, she knows she’s hit rock bottom. So she does something entirely unexpected: she begins to dig.
As the hole gets bigger, Paige decides to turn her entire yard into a vegetable garden. The neighbors in her tidy gated community are more than a little alarmed. Paige knows nothing about gardening, and she’s boldly flouting neighborhood-association bylaws. But with the help of new friends, a charming local cop, and the transformative power of the soil, Paige starts to see potential in the chaos of her life. Something big is beginning to take root—both in her garden and in herself.
Why you should read it: Digging In is what I would call almost-a-romance book. The HFN ending tells the reader that a romance may be just beginning and hopefully will turn into a story with an HEA. In order to love someone else, you have to love yourself, and that’s what our heroine needs to learn and act upon. Fear is blocking her path, fear of loss of many things.
Paige has lost her husband in an accident, she lost the boss she cherished when he died suddenly, she’s afraid of losing her job now that her former boss’ son is running the company in a completely different way. And she’s afraid of losing her son, who wants to pursue something other than what she thinks is best for him. She’s also afraid to move forward and learn to love someone else. She’s afraid of her quirky neighbor, who constantly threatens her when she pursues gardening in her own backyard.
Paige finds the bridge that will connect her with her new boss in an idiosyncratic author. She finds the bridge that will connect her with a new hobby in a farmer’s market. She finds a bridge that will connect her with her son in a sheriff’s deputy. And she finds a bridge that will lead her to a healthy future by digging up her backyard. The bridge to her strange next-door neighbor lies buried underground.
So this is a story about learning to love oneself and from there building bridges to others and a happier future. This is a vision of love, hope and pressing onward even when it doesn’t seem possible. I loved this story so much and will probably reread it more than once. Highly recommended.
Becky Condit is a widow, mother of three and grandmother of 10 who reads all kinds of books, but her go-to comfort books are romances. She reads and reviews more than 250 books a year, so you won’t often find her without her iPad in hand, but when you do, she’ll probably be gardening or spending time with her family.
MORE ON HEA: See other romance recs by Becky