Donna Baier Stein

Scenes from the Heartland Review
From the Publisher: “When a contemporary writer turns her imagination loose inside the images of an iconic artist of the past, the result is storytelling magic at its best…Then as now, Americans have struggled with poverty, illness and betrayal. These fictions reveal our fellow countrymen and women living with grace and strong leanings toward virtue, despite the troubles that face them”
Before I received a copy of Scenes from the Heartland, I was familiar with the lithographs of Thomas Hart Benton. The stories Benton tells in his art are vivid depictions of rural life in the early 20th century. I felt his lithographs absolutely come alive in the 9 short stories Donna Baier-Stein has written.

It is so hard to mention a favorite story, the stories of life in America’s heartland are all wonderful, but I would choose The Sweet Perfume of Somewhere Else and Under the Weight of his Mothers Body. All 9 stories are well written and capture a time and a place in a way that I know you’ll enjoy reading as I did.

Thank you Donna Baier Stein for the complimentary copy, I enjoyed every minute… (lisätietoja)

Based on "Scenes From the Heartland: Stories Based on Lithographs" by Thomas Hart Benton, written by Donna Baier Stein, readers get the combination or marriage of Artistic Achievement plus a Literary Interpretation and Storytelling. Donna Baier Stein vividly describes the lithographs she views with her amazing storytelling skills. There are about nine stories to match the number of lithographs.

Thomas Hart Benton describes through his paintings, and art, times of American History in the 1930's and 1940's. We get to see the importance of music, and dance, and the political climate of the time.

Donna Baier Stein depicts her writing skills to create each scene with a story. I found many of the stories intriguing and captivating. Donna Baier Stein, writes about slavery, poverty, inequality and many other important topics of the time. There are problems, and the author depicts the courage and faith that people have to adapt. I would recommend this unique book of stories, for readers who enjoy history.… (lisätietoja)

The Silver Baron's Wife is the last of the CIPA EVVY award winners I have chosen to read. Like the others, it is excellent. The Silver Baron's Wife won second place in the 2017 CIPA Evvy awards in historical fiction. (As I mentioned in the other reviews, my book, Hopatcong Vision Quest, won a merit award in the same competition, which is why I decided to read the other winners.)

This is the story of Baby Doe Tabor (Elizabeth McCourt Tabor) who lived from 1854 to 1935. She was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, then moved to Colorado after her first marriage. Her father-in-law gave her and her husband, Harvey Doe, a quarter share of a Colorado mine named the Fourth of July. When she first saw the mine, Lizzy fell in love with mining - “Dropping down into the Fourth of July had, like tasting the communion wafer on my tongue, opened me to a new understanding. If I'd felt betrayed after my confirmation, when Jesus let the fire take everything my family and I owned, a new confidence came over me after my descent into the mine. I was more than ready to believe there were treasures we couldn't see that were ready to be shared.”

Baby Doe was not a popular woman in the area where she lived, because she made some life decisions that were not acceptable at that time. However, Donna Baier Stein decided to write this novel from Baby Doe's point of view and the woman comes off as a strong and sympathetic character. I don't want to include any spoilers in here, yet I do have to say this is a rags to riches story, but doesn't stop there. Stein has created a wonderful character in Baby Doe, someone I will think about for a long time. She also created a wonderful picture of life in a mid-west mining town during the late nineteenth century.

Steve Lindahl – author of Hopatcong Vision Quest, White Horse Regressions, and Motherless Soul… (lisätietoja)

Lizzie really was the whole star of this story. I just loved the way the author writes. I felt like I really could picture the cabin that Lizzie and Harvey, her first husband moved into when they first came out to Colorado. Big kudos to Lizzie for being a strong, independent woman. This is what I loved the most about her. At first she started out like the type that was afraid to get her hands dirty but by the end of the story, she was a woman in charge who's spirit could not be broken. I have not read many mining stories; especially ones in Colorado, my home state. If more stories both fiction and nonfiction read like this book, I would read more of them. Lizzie's second husband, Horace was like night and day from Lizzie's first, Harvey. I am glad that Lizzie found true love in Horace. I could not stop reading this book. I have become a fan of author, Donna Baier Stein and gladly look forward to reading more books from this author. The Silver's Baron's Wife strikes gold! A treasure of a read.… (lisätietoja)