#GuestPost ‘I Now Live In A Book’ ~ Patricia Furstenberg @PatFurstenberg

Have you ever wanted to live in a book?

To just be able to jump into the pages and experience what it would really be like to live in a particular time, place or era?

Well today, author of children’s novel Joyful Trouble, Patricia Furstenberg does just that in this fantastic and extremely imaginative post entitled ‘Change of Address ~ I Now Live In a Book’

I do hope you enjoy this post as much as I did when I first read it…

Change of Addresss ~ I now live in a Book

by Patricia Furstenberg

You know that sinking feeling when you’ve just finished a book whose every page you loved, perhaps even read it for the third time?

You cradle it to your chest and you almost want to cry, feeling lost and out of place in the reality of everyday life.

Any passionate reader, I like to believe, has at least one book he would wish to step into, live inside its world, at least for a short while.

Here are mine.

The Great Gatsby and the care-free lifestyle of the roaring twenties.

Glam tubular dresses, long strings of pearls, chic hats, red lips and the women’s hair in soft waves. Lanvin was in fashion, men were elegant, yet they all danced like mad and, above all, there was jazz music everywhere.

There is something intriguing, yet sad, about the mystery surrounding Gatsby’s passion for Daisy.

Perhaps a little part of me wishes to put a stop to the misunderstanding and drama surrounding their story and, for once, make things right for them. *sigh*

Pride and Prejudice

Although women had fewer rights during the Georgian era, I would LOVE to attend a ball and get to see Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in flesh and blood, perhaps even listening to one of their conversations.

It is Jane Austen’s fault for portraying this era, when time ran at a different speed, in such a charming way. To have tea with the Bennets and wear a ‘fashionable dress’ in light colours and textures; to wear ribbons in my hair and be excited about it; to worry about nothing but what to read next and to spend an entire morning writing letters in longhand.

I’d even try to ride a horse, although I’d much rather go for long walks, especially at dawn. *wink*

Gone with The Wind

I can’t remember at what age I first read ‘Gone With the Wind’ or how many times I watched the movie. My mother loved them both.

I guess it is the melancholy of a by-gone era that pulls me towards this story.

The thought of visiting Tara is strongly connected with rekindling its charm and bringing so many loved characters back to life. I might not become best friends with Scarlett, but I would surely like to tell her, and don’t we all, that the best things in life are right under her nose; that having the love of someone who accepts you just the way you are is a gift not given to many and that ‘tomorrow may be another day’ but, just sometimes, that’s not the best way out if you messed up today. *smile*

Since I’ve become a wife and a mother my family life is my favourite book. The next two stories are what my children would have chosen.

Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone

What book-travel would this be without mentioning the impressive castle; the mysterious libraries; the long tables where food seems to be dropping out of sky; the wonderful, life-long friends and the enchanting, yet oh so powerful magic of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? I would love to sit in Sybil Trelawney’s class (where else? *smile*) and would probably try my best to please Minerva McGonagall – or at least not cross her.

Yes, I would love to be a student at Hogwarts; how else would I be able to walk its corridors at night and still have fun? My daughter dreams of studying there during the Marauder’s times because there is so little said about this particular era so she would like to find out for herself. And return to share with us, I hope, while my heart skips a beat.

So, Harry Potter, here we… ALL come! *holding thumbs*

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

A much younger member of our family would prefer ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’.

Excuse me, how can one compete with something like this? Better than the Fountain of Youth and, at least for some, even better than a Nespresso machine which, I hear, lately comes equipped with your very own George Clooney!

This is a book to fire anyone’s imagination and no matter how different our childhoods might have been, candy gardens and chocolate rivers? I’m trying hard not to think like a grown up right now and consider the chocolate’s density versus water density if actually having to swim in it…

Perhaps there’s a little bit of Charlie in me, for I too believe that the person I would very much like to bring along to visit the chocolate factory would be one of my grandparents – if only I could.

Which literary worlds would you like to visit?

If you’re smiling now, with “one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life” then I can firmly “declare: after all there is no enjoyment like reading!” Because the magic of books whispers to us, just like it did to Harry: “You’re a wizard, Harry” – you’re a wizard… Still, “don’t forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he wanted.” And remember, “after all, tomorrow is another day” for “happiness can be found even in the darkest of times” – and in most books – “if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

Because, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”

Patricia thank you so much for this fantastic post filled with such imagination and dreams. To find out more about Joyful Trouble and Patricia herself, please continue reading for lots of useful links and information.

I would just like to take this opportunity to wish Patricia all the very best with her entry into the 2017 UK Kindle Storyteller competition (further details below) and with her future writing.

Book Info:

Joyful Trouble is based on the true story of the only dog enlisted in the Royal Navy during World War II (here, in South Africa). It gently depicts how this gentle giant had found his true calling – and not the one you would expect from a dog. Joyful Trouble, a Great Dane, arrives in Simon’s Town where the Royal Navy headquarters are and before you know it he is friends with every seaman. The whole town loves this friendly and helpful giant except for the Railway Authorities because Joyful Trouble often rides the train without a ticket. You can chase a dog out of a train, but you can’t take the love of travel out of the dog – if help is not offered soon, the Railway Authorities will put the dog to sleep.

Told from a witness perspective, now a loving and much loved grandfather to girl and a boy, the story has a surprising ending. It is a story about the meaningful relationship between dogs and humans, but also between grandchildren and their grandfathers. It is a look at life through a child’s eyes, but also through those of a grandpa.

Purchase Link ~ Joyful Trouble

Bio:

Patricia Furstenberg came to writing though reading. After completing her Medical Degree in Romania she moved  to South Africa where she now lives with her husband, children and their dogs.

Patricia became taking writing seriously  after becoming one of the WYO Christie winners. She enjoys writing for children  because she can take abstract, grown-up concepts and package them it in attractive, child-friendly ways while adding sensitivity and lots of love.

Patricia speaks of her book as her ‘baby’ and is so excited to have entered Joyful Trouble in the 2017 UK Kindle Storyteller  , with the shortlist being released at the beginning of June.

To find out more about Patricia here are some links:

Author Website: http://alluringcreations.co.za/wp/

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Patricia-Furstenberg/e/B018QGC570/

AmazonUS: amazon.com/author/patriciafurstenberg 

Huffington Post SA http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/patricia-furstenberg/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Patricia_Furstenberg

Twitter: @PatFurstenberg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PatriciaFurstenbergAuthor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciafurstenberg