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In his book, The Smile at the Heart of Things, Brian H. Peterson decided to write about his soul and how creativity takes hold of the life of an artist. Listen in to this personal, poignat, and somewhat humorous conversation accounting the ups and downs of his life. Click below: Brian H. Peterson featured on NPR's This I Believe

Meet Barbara Bonfigli, author of Café Tempest: Adventures on a Small Greek Island at the New York Times Travel Show - Greek National Tourism Booth - Friday-Sunday February 26th - 28th. Ms. Bonfigli will present her book, screen Greek travel tip videos, and introduce the Tempestini - the world’s first retsina cocktail. Click below for more info.

Brian Peterson, author of The Smile at the Heart of Things published by Tell Me Press featured in the December 30, 2009 edition of  USA Today. Click here to read the article.

Tell Me Press steps back in time: simply good stories, well told and pleasantly illustrated.

In The Big Move, history and culture provide the backdrop as the Taten family makes the difficult decision to immigrate to the United States from Holland.

It’s 1904, and Dora Taten wants to leave an untenable situation in the Netherlands to forge a new life in the United States. Not everyone in her newly blended and extended family—not even her husband, Paul—is convinced that this is a good idea. But enough members of this tightly knit Dutch family decide to take the risk and journey to America. They prepare as much as they can, but many surprises and challenges, good and bad, await them.

In subsequent books, the Tatens put down solid new roots, and with each year they become more deeply enmeshed in the multicultural fabric of America. Yet their Dutch heritage remains strong. With all their successes, they—like immigrants the world over—find that their longing for the comfort, traditions, and familiarity of their homeland never ends.

Part family saga, part-coming-of-age story, this richly textured novel—solid enough to be enjoyed on its own merits, as well as a part of The Longing Trilogy—is layered with language, details, and illustrations that give snapshots of life in another country and in another time. Step back in time and enjoy a simply good story, well told. It will delight and warm the heart.

In The Big Move, the first book in The Longing Trilogy, history and culture provided the backdrop as the Taten family made the difficult decision to immigrate to the United States from Holland.

Settling Into America, this second book in the trilogy, tells the story of the fabled immigrants’ journey to America through the Tatens’ eyes: the hardships aboard ship, the crowds and chaos of Ellis Island, the first glimpses of a new land and a new life.

Once they have navigated the immigration maze in New York, the Tatens travel on to their final destination: Wisconsin. There, each family member must find a place. Paul, Dora, and their children all react a little differently to the overwhelming change. The Tatens gradually adapt and settle in, finding new friends, new loves, and new respect for one another—while always aching for the world they left behind in the Netherlands.

In the subsequent, third book of The Longing Trilogy, American Lives, Dutch Hearts, the Tatens have put down solid roots in Wisconsin and have become part of the multicultural fabric of America. Yet their Dutch heritage remains strong. With all their successes, they—like immigrants the world over—find that their longing for the comfort, traditions, and familiarity of their homeland never ends.

Part family saga, part coming-of-age story, Settling Into America—solid enough to be enjoyed on its own merits, as well as a part of The Longing Trilogy—is a richly textured novel that takes us to another time and place. Step back in time and enjoy a simply good story, well told. It will delight and warm the heart.

In The Big Move, the first book in The Longing Trilogy, history and culture provided the backdrop as the Taten family made the difficult decision in 1904 to immigrate to the United States from Holland. The second book in the series, Settling Into America, recounted the struggles and triumphs as the Tatens made their place in the United States.

The third book in the trilogy, American Lives, Dutch Hearts, picks up the story as the branches of the Tatens’ family tree have spread wide and strong in their adopted homeland. The original immigrant parents, Paul and Dora, have watched as their children married and had children of their own—though thoughts of their Dutch homeland and heritage are never far from their minds.

Now the family faces a deep loss. Young Fred Taten is killed in World War I, leaving two small children behind. Together the extended Taten family must revisit a generation-old sorrow and re-invent their lives and relationships again. There are no simple answers for the Tatens—but love and courage bring them peace against many odds.

Part family saga, part coming-of-age story, American Lives, Dutch Hearts, is a richly textured novel—solid enough to be enjoyed on its own merits, as well as a part of The Longing Trilogy—that takes us to another place and era. Step back in time and enjoy a simply good story, well told. It will delight and warm the heart.

 

meet the author

Cornelia Warmenhoven

Cornelia Warmenhoven has led a storied life traveling the globe. As a young nurse in the Netherlands in the 1940s, Cornelia joined the Dutch Resistance against the Nazis. Soon after World War II ended, Cornelia married Henri Warmenhoven, a Dutch national who had grown up in Indonesia and who had been interned in a Japanese prison camp during the war. While Henri earned his degrees as a political scientist and lawyer, Cornelia lived with him and their son, George, in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and Europe before the family settled for good in the United States. She lives in Richmond and Georgetown, Virginia.

New Haven Eats

by J. Scott

A friendly jaunt through this food-loving town’s dining scene sheds light on the area’s history and current social trends.

Little Lord Shiva and the Mob: Adventures with Lipbone Redding

by Lawrence “Lipbone” Redding

Travel essays, wacky memoirs, and musings from a most curious and charismatic musician.

Love, Ben

by Kelly Flint and Benjamin Eyrich

Through quotes and anecdotes, this charming gift book chronicles the extraordinary outlook, wisdom, and cheer of Benjamin Eyrich, who was diagnosed at age two with high-functioning autism.

Curiosity with a
Capital S

by Tonya Trimble

Tracy recalls her family’s move to a beautiful South Carolina island during World War II. She was always trying to keep her insatiably curious and adventurous big brother, Stan, from getting into trouble.