Two young women struggle to survive the daunting Great Depression; one uses ambition, guile, and the occasional white lie, while the other holds on with grit and imagination.
The grueling economy of the 1930’s has snaked its way into families, farms, and the small town of Green Tree, Iowa. Forging separate paths, Mariah and Nanette both suffer economically but use quite different tactics to find their way .
A young Mariah yearns to leave her family’s farm, and dreams of taking on a bustling career in New York. Instead, she’s sidetracked by love, and at nineteen finds herself married to her high school sweetheart, the mother of twin daughters, and living only a few miles from the crowded home she grew up in.
Nanette is certain she’s destined for a bigger life than what she sees in Green Tree. And she’s not above using her looks and deceit to get ahead. The confident Nanette feels her future lies in the spotlight of Hollywood. Initially, the closest she gets to the movie industry is selling popcorn in the lobby of a Minnesota theater, but she is undaunted by challenges.
As the economy worsens, both women encounter devastating tragedies, forcing changes to their earlier lofty goals. Mariah is pushed to make gut-wrenching decisions to care for her family, while Nanette finds herself locked in a bad relationship of her own making. After Mariah and Nanette meet, one makes a generous offer to the other, but later exacts a frightening price.
Yes! My latest novel, Falling From the Nest, is now out. It reads as a stand alone novel but also serves as a sequel to The Lost and Found of Green Tree. It's been so much fun breathing life into the characters of Sarah and Jo-Jo Anderson as they fall into adulthood.
It’s 1946 and a sense of optimism is spreading across America. Falling From The Nest is a coming of age story about twins, Jo-Jo and Sarah. Jo-Jo pounds the pavement of Midtown Manhattan hoping to make her way in the entertainment business, while her twin, Sarah, struggles as a misfit at the University of Iowa. For readers who enjoyed the Lost and Found of Green Tree, you’ll be happy to know that Mariah and Nanette make a few pivotal appearances in this novel as well.
If you haven't read it yet, please check out my historical fiction novel, The Lost and Found of Green Tree which jumps into the drama and adventures of Mariah and Nanette, two compelling, determined, and ambitious young women, navigating the challenging economic times of the Great Depression. Although both are from the same small town of Green Tree, Iowa, their paths diverge quickly as life takes them on very different journeys.
In the mood for a contemporary dramedy? Try Welcome to Wonderland--a novel about the acceptance, growth, and love unexpectedly discovered by three complicated and diverse characters, Violet, Turner, and Rosario. I hope you'll fall in love with these three people like I have. The novel is set in Dallas, Texas and covers some difficult issues but it's also filled with humor and a few tears as well.
Ready to dive into some romance littered with life's complications? Take a look at Imperfect Timing, a mature romance about second chances, bad husbands, and the complications of the real estate business.
If you’re ready for adventure and romance, try Luck, Love, and a Lifeline. It features a recently graduated fashion designer’s struggles with her career and love life as she winds her way through the design district of NYC to the Caribbean islands, with a lot of headwinds along the way.
I'd love to hear your feedback and welcome your honest reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.
A little about me:
I'm a Texas girl: Grew up in San Antonio, went to school at UT in Austin and earned my degree in Journalism. I eventually settled in Dallas where I raised a husband, a few cats, and two kids. My husband and the cats will probably disagree on who raised who, but I'm always a sucker for a robust discussion. For years I was involved in retail management, but I have untangled myself from the world of clothing and shoes, and immersed myself in my true passion--writing fiction and taking deep dives into the lives of my characters.
When you can pry my fingers off the keyboard, I've been known to imbibe in a few glasses of wine and have been spotted forking into decadent desserts while gathering with friends and family. Put me on a shady deck or an umbrella-covered patio, with a table full of opinionated know-it-alls, a spicy margarita, and I'm in my happy place. I've also been known to jump at the opportunity of taking unexpected trips to far-away places.
But I'll always make time for writing and reading, with a stack of novels ready and waiting on my nightstand, and a few always sleeping patiently on my Kindle. I bounce around genres, and I'm usually up for a good recommendation. So, let me know what you've enjoyed reading lately. I can be reached via Messenger on FB or on my FB author page--Bobbie Candas. I look forward to hearing from you!
Highly recommend this book. Was a nice enjoyable storyline. At the beginning I thought " oh blah..." Then I kept going and the story totally sucked me in. I couldn't put it down. Read it in one day. The writer has done an excellent job of creating the lives and times of the characters and taps into your imagination in a way that makes you easily picture them .Thank you for an enjoyable read !!!
It is a good novel, well written so you feel yourself immersed in what is happening to the characters. You feel part of the family.
Today, you would have put Nanette's behaviour down to the effects of the results of her botched abortion and not being able to have more children of her own. I was glad that she had that slow realisation of not being able to trust people and that she came to her senses.
What Mariah must have gone through was awful, it sounds as if it could have been a frequent occurrence though.
This was another great book. This takes place during the depression in small town Iowa. Two young women have goals to get out of farm life and move to the big city. Nanette leaves while Mariah marries and becomes the mother of twin girls. Mariah becomes a widow from a freak accident and falls upon hard times. The 2 women cross paths and Nanette offers to take one of the twins until things improve for Mariah. Mariah reluctantly agrees to let this stranger temporarily take her child, a decision she will soon regret.
The Lost and Found of Green Tree caught hold of my heart quickly and broke my heart when it ended. Mariah and her twins, Jo and Sarah, were so real and life dealt them many difficulties. The author made you care a lot about Nannette too. Even though you didn’t want too. I will be reading many more books written by Bobbie Candas. You should too!
This is one of the best books I have read in a quite awhile..It held my interest from beginning to end..It is right up there with "The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah." Totally different storylines but the interest and quality are equal in both books..Looking forward to reading more by this author..It will be hard to choose my next book now..Everything else pales in comparison..Highly recommend..
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Okay, I actually enjoyed this! Some punctuation errors but didn’t take away from the story. For some reason I love stories set in the US during the Great Depression. Those folks had to do so much just to survive, and reading these stories is always encouraging. But honestly this book was also so much more than that! I’d recommend :)
The characters were well developed, The author's use of a separate chapter for each main character was helpful to develop the characters. With all the surprising plot twists and turns, I couldn't put the book down. I do think giving the antagonist character a positive appearance at the end of the book made the ending feel "chopped off" and somewhat unreal.
I enjoyed the historical aspect of this book and it was a simple read. The use of profanity did not fit it all with the story and some of the thoughts and language I thought to be more modern than historic. Three stars because the story itself was not too bad, believable. I would, however, give the ending a one-star as it really fell flat.
This book was a very nice surprise having never read this author but would definitely look for anything else she may have written. I would highly recommend this book and look forward to maybe even a sequel.
I liked the way the author chose to use twins as the main characters in her book. I loved the era and the setting in Iowa farm life. The story moved from farm to Hollywood and back to farm. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
3.5 I really enjoyed the first half of this book and would give it a 4. The second half became a little slow and unrealistic and the ending was too easy, so I found myself feeling it was a 3. Well-written; I will try this author again.
The epilogue was a really good ending. Maybe No will get together with Nanette and it could really be beneficial to them both. Nanette had a flair for making successes out of nothing. I Loved that David and Mariah got together.
What an excellent read!! Bobbie managed to make the characters and their situations jump off the page make you feel like you were right there listening in! The love, fortitude and optimism of good hearted people in that troubled era was just wonderful!!!
If I can't care about the characters in a book after the first chapter, I put it down. The characters in this book just pulled me in,made me care about them,cheer for them,hurt for them.All in all such a great book,about women overcoming obstacles. Read it!
I loved meeting and following these characters through their lives. Each person is believable and getting to know them was a delight. Can't wait to read the sequel!
I enjoyed this book very much. Set in the early 1900's it is the story of two very different girls from the same town making their own way in hard times.
I really liked this book. However I felt it ended abruptly & left a lot of loose ends. It would have been nice to see Mariah’s story continue & also Jo & Sarah’s.