I have a fear of flying. I would rather walk, drive or sail the ocean on the tail end of a hurricane (which is another story in itself). It started in my late teens. I flew to the Azores in 1973 after the crash at Logan Airport. If it hadn’t been my airport, it would not have affected my thought process, though I mourned the loss of life. The time came. It ran over me when I my back was turned.

I remember praying in the night. The answer came in the form of the One who walked on the water. He came to me saying, “Take heart, it is me. Do not be afraid.” And so I purposed not to be. At least in theory.

I got there. I think I flew.

We are nearing the end of school vacation, depending on where you live. I have had my year and a half-year old Grandson for the past week while the rest of the family is on vacation in the Bahamas at Atlantis. It has been a lot of fun. I will be checking into a rest home at the end of the week.

Check out the update on the Book Club and Cafe. We are reading ‘The Fiddler’s Gun’ by A.S. Peterson. It is not to late to get in on it. Sign up. You will not disappointed.

Later,

Toni

What do you think stirred Bartimeus to play his fiddle for Fin?

Do you think that the town had a real sense that the British were a threat to them?

Do you think that Fin was expecting the answer that she got from Bartimeus about his past?

What do you think that the significance is of have a bell in the church tower?

How do you think that Fin’s first view of the sea affected her?

Week 1 Chapters 1-5

What is your first impression of Fin?  Of Sister Hilde?

Do you think that marrying Peter will satisfy Fin’s strong temperament?

Why do you think that Fin doubts that she would be ‘chosen’ by God?

Do you think that Bartimeaus will be a key influence in Fin’s life?

My apologies for the time-lapse for the update of the Book Club.

Hopefully, you have all started your reading of ‘The Fiddler’s Gun’, if you have not already finished it. I am posting discussion questions for the first two weeks and will post the questions for week three on Sunday night.  Since there are twenty-seven chapters , I am covering five chapters per week for the sake of time. I have already emailed the discussion questions provided by the author for you to have a look at and be thinking about for the end of the read. Let me know if you haven’t received them and I will email you a copy. February has been a crazy month for me so far, but I am looking toward Spring with enthusiasm. We have had a fairly mild winter for Maine. That is okay with me.

The other news that I have is that our local Library has accepted a donated copy ’The Fiddler’s Gun’ and the Librarian is quite impressed with it. How cool it that!

I am looking forward to your comments.

Toni

My intention was to kick off our reading of  ’The Fiddler’s Gun’ on the first Day of February, but here we are on Ground Hog Day instead; due to a small but time-consuming glitch between myself and the post that I so eloquently typed for you. I lost it somehow between Preview and Publishing. Lesson learned. Onward.

I am so excited to start this off today. If any of you are like me, you have probably already read the book as soon as you received it. If not, I want to start by saying you are in for a treat. Since this is also the first Book Club read for this site, I will be feeling my way along to what will work the  best for our interaction on a Chapter to Chapter basis, as well as an overall review at the end. Mr. Peterson has sent us his well wishes and will join in a response to our discussions at the end of our read. Don’t be afraid to be honest. He is that type of person. Though we all love the child that we have nurtured, this helps a  writer grow in his art. I feel that you will not disappointed.

I am emailing  you the discussion packet that Mr. Peterson has  kindly provided as well as the digital download of  The Fiddler’s Gun Letters’,   available only to Book Club members. It is a very limited edition in print, so this is a bonus gift. There will also be some signed bookmarks in the mail with the name of the Book Club on them coming  along soon. I will be posting the discussion Guide questions as well as providing a few Chapter to Chapter discussion opportunities as we go along. Jump in any time as some are able to read faster than others. I know that we all have different time constraints, but I will keep it moving along. At the end, I will also send out an evaluation email as I want to be fun yet efficient as possible. Enjoy!

So there mateys, lets fire off ’ The Fiddlers Gun.’

Toni Whitney

I just wanted to give the Book Club update for the reading of  A.S. Peterson’s “The Fiddler’s Gun.”

I have sent out the free books and they will arrive on the steps of the lucky recipients any day now.  The author has put together a great package for us (and any other Book Clubs out there) It will be a fun few weeks getting into the life of Fin Button and all the other characters of  “The Fiddler’s Gun.”

I want you all to know that it doesn’t matter if you have already read the book.  I would love to have everyone on board to join in the discussions, which will be fun and thought provoking. We will be hearing from the author at the end of our read, also.We may even sneak an interview in as well.  Our start date is February 1st. I will be posting the format that we will be using toward the end of this week. Please, come one, come all!

Note:  Mr. Peterson has a great website with some of his other writings, short stories, etc; at http://thefiddlersgun.com

Books are available for purchase at the Book Club rate at http://rabbitroom.com

Hope to hear from you!

Toni

“

I am looking forward to this adventure with all of you!

Toni

I am one of those people who has listened to literally thousands of hours of audio books. As anyone would agree, the way a reader presents a book will make it or break it, no matter how good the story is. The other thing that makes me crazy are abridged books. I won’t touch them, period.

This audio rendition of “The Edge” is delightful from the first line of the introduction.

Peterson’s choice to use a reader with a British accent  and a rather deep gravely voice just makes the story a rich gem! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love the complete simplicity. Hearing the British rendition of “Dang” makes me smile because that is just something that you hear in your mind with a Southern drawl.

I downloaded the book at http://iTunes.com yesterday. I listened to it today on a road trip, and I say again, that I am a happy camper. I am going to make sure that our public library gets copies of both of the books and the Audio version also.

Well done, AP and Oasis Audio, well done!

Join the Fun!

http://www.fiftytwofiftytwo.com/about/