A GOOD GIRL by JOHNNIE BERNHARD, *Review* Lone Star Book Blogger Tour
by
JOHNNIE BERNHARD
Genre: Southern Historical Fiction
Publisher: Texas Review Press
Date of Publication: March 7, 2017
Number of Pages: 288
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A Bible’s family tree and an embroidered handkerchief hold the key to understanding the past as six generation Texan, Gracey Reiter, prepares to say goodbye to her dying father, the last surviving member of the Walsh-Mueller family. The present holds the answer and the last opportunity for Gracey to understand her father’s anger, her mother’s guilt, and her siblings’ version of the truth.
The Walsh-Mueller family begins in Texas when Patricia Walsh leaves the famine of nineteenth century Ireland, losing her parents and siblings along the way. She finds a home, love, and security with Emil Mueller in a German settlement near Indianola on the Texas Gulf Coast. They begin their lives on a small cotton farm, raising six sons. From the coastal plains of Texas, five generations survive hurricanes, wars, The Great Depression, and life, itself.
An all-encompassing novel that penetrates the core being of all who read it, A Good Girl pulls back the skin to reveal the raw actualities of life, love and relationships. It is the ageless story of family.
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PRAISE FOR A GOOD GIRL:
*2017 Kindle Book Award Finalist*
*Over 50 5 Star Reviews*
One of 2017’s best will surely be A Good Girl by author Johnnie Bernhard, who as much as any writer since Flannery O’Connor and Walker Percy, offers a breathtaking tour of the human heart in conflict with itself, desperately searching for grace and redemption in the face of unremitting loss. Bernhard’s sentences are filled with the stuff of what blues and country music singers refer to as “soul” and “high lonesome.”
--Jim Fraiser, The Sun Herald Newspaper
Relatable and real, A Good Girl speaks to the heart of what it means to be human and that generations come and go, but love binds us together.
--Kathleen M. Rodgers, author of The Final Salute, Johnnie Come Lately, & Seven Wings to Glory
A Good Girl is a raw, real, and relatable gift to the soul on every level. Ms. Bernhard’s writing is so descriptive, reading this book is truly a visceral experience. One cannot help but reflect on their own family legacy and life journey. Prepare to be riveted by this heartbreaking, yet healing story about family, self-discovery and learning how to love.
--Eva Steortz, SVP, Brand Development, 20th Century Fox
-Kathryn Brown Ramsperger, Author of The Shores of Our Souls and Moments on the Edge.
I have found Johnnie Bernhard's book to touch a powerful chord in my heart. Masterfully written with deep insight into the journey of family and forgiveness, I'm a better person for having read this book.
-Cynthia Garrett, The London Sessions & The Mini Sessions (airing regularly on TBN Network), Author of The Prodigal Daughter
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Sales benefit Port Lavaca, Texas! Much of the setting of A Good Girl, a six generation Texas saga, is set in Port Lavaca, Calhoun County. During the Lone Star Book Blog Tour, all author's royalties will be donated to the Calhoun County Museum of Port Lavaca in its recovery effort after Hurricane Harvey. Texas Proud! Port Lavaca Strong!
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Johnnie Bernhard's "A Good Girl" spoke directly to me. What woman who has lived any life at all hasn't felt the pressure of family, of still being a good girl, of holding it together even in crises after crises? (And isn't it just a truth that they always happen on top of each other?). How did Johnnie Bernhard write a book that was in itself a world of its own, and yet so much a part of my world, too? How does a book speak to the middle child, while acknowledging the trials of the baby and oldest child, and parent guilt, all at the same time, but without wasting a word?
A book cannot do this without an accomplished writer. Johnnie Bernhard is exactly that; I can see why this book has garnered so many awards and accolades. "A Good Girl" masterfully comes full circle, leaving me delightfully surprised. In the telling of the story of five generations, Gracey Rieter's life is imaginatively evoked, making me want to know more about her and what would happen to her, and how Gracey and her husband Mark would live out their oncoming golden years. I was also very interested in her ancestors, whose stories were far different from those of my ancestors. I wish more stories like this were given flight.
I would love to see this book receive the attention of book clubs around the state and nation; I believe it would give many a person the ability to put her own feelings and experiences into words. That's the best kind of book: the one that gives other's a voice. Thank you, Johnnie Bernhard for sending me a book in exchange for an honest review. I hope I find more of your works to read.
Johnnie Bernhard, a former AP English teacher and journalist, is passionate about reading and writing. Her works have appeared in the following publications: University of Michigan Graduate Studies Publications, Heart of Ann Arbor Magazine, Houston Style Magazine, World Oil Magazine, The Suburban Reporter of Houston, The Mississippi Press, University of South Florida Area Health Education Magazine, the international Word Among Us, Southern Writers Magazine, Gulf Coast Writers Association Anthologies, The Texas Review, and the Cowbird-NPR production on small town America. Her entry, “The Last Mayberry,” received over 7,500 views, nationally and internationally.
A Good Girl received top ten finalist recognition in the 2015 William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition, as well as featured novel for panel discussion at the 2017 Mississippi and Louisiana Book Festivals. It is a finalist in the 2017 national Kindle Book Award for literary fiction and a nominee for the 2018 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize.
Her second novel, How We Came to Be, is set for publication in spring 2018. It is a finalist in the 2017 Faulkner-Wisdom Competition.
Johnnie is the owner of Bernhard Editorial Services, LLC, where she writes book reviews for Southern Literary Review, as well as assists writers in honing their craft. Johnnie and her husband reside in a nineteenth century cottage surrounded by ancient oak trees and a salt water marsh near the Mississippi Sound. They share that delightful space with their dog, Lily, and cat, Poncho.
October 26 Southern Bound Book Store, Biloxi, MS, 5 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., http://southernboundblog.net/index.html
October 27-28 Louisiana Book Festival, Baton Rouge, LA, state capitol, http://www.louisianabookfestival.org/
November 4 Peter Anderson Festival, Ocean Springs, MS, Poppy's on Porter, Washington Avenue, http://www.peterandersonfestival.com/
November 13 Live on KSHU Radio 1430 AM, Houston, Texas, 8 a.m.
November 16 Calhoun County Historical Museum, Port Lavaca, Texas, 5 p.m. http://calhouncountymuseum.org/
December 10 Barnes & Noble, New Orleans, noon - 2 p.m.
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One lucky winner gets a signed copy!
October 26-November 4, 2017
(U.S. Only)
26-Oct
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Excerpt 1
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27-Oct
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Review
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28-Oct
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Author Interview
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29-Oct
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Guest Post
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30-Oct
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Review
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31-Oct
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Notable Quotable
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1-Nov
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Review
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2-Nov
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Scrapbook Page
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3-Nov
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Excerpt 2
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4-Nov
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Review
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