“Catherine Burr is a genuinely gifted author!” – James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, Midwest Book Review
Catherine Burr’s Books
Dry Spell
“Sometimes the road to faith leads you back where it all began.” – c burr
DRY SPELL
A faith-driven memoir by bestselling author Catherine Burr. Available now.
Beyond Dry Spell: a spiritual awakening to be released
New Book Coming soon: Beyond Dry Spell: a spiritual journey by bestselling author Catherine Burr.
This book is not just a reflection of my spiritual odyssey; it is an invitation to witness the transformation that comes with embracing faith amidst life’s uncertainties. It is a testament to the enduring power of belief and the strength we can find in the shared experiences of our communities.
Captivating—Burr’s Newest Installment of Gold Creek Series
Introducing the latest installment in the Catherine Burr Gold Creek Series: a brand-new novella, Echoes of the Past, set in the captivating town of Truckee, California. Get ready for an exciting adventure that will immerse you in the charm and intrigue of this picturesque location.
Echoes of the Past by Catherine Burr Released to Rave Reviews
Catherine Burr‘s latest book release, Echoes of the Past has been released to rave reviews. The latest romance novella by Burr is part of the Gold Creek series of stories about life in the gold rush both past and present. Burr’s book is available wherever books are sold.
Echoes of the Past finds us exploring the world of Sarah, who is a veterinary doctor in Truckee, California. Set in the majestic Sierra Nevada mountains near Lake Tahoe, Sarah is due to get married in the spring. She has been having some second thoughts on her relationship with Jacob and goes for a walk one day to one of her favorite places down by the river. She falls and discovers time travel. What transpires will change her life forever.
New Catherine Burr release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Introducing “Accidental Cowgirl”: A Captivating Tale of Personal Growth and Rediscovery by Catherine Burr
Pine Grove, CA
June 22, 2023
Catherine Burr, a literary luminary with an extensive repertoire of over two dozen captivating books, invites readers on an enchanting journey with her latest novella, “Accidental Cowgirl.” This compelling story weaves together themes of personal growth, rediscovery, and the transformative power of love.
In “Accidental Cowgirl,” readers are introduced to Jessica, a spirited protagonist whose life takes an unexpected turn. As she navigates the twists and turns of her journey, Jessica embarks on a path of self-discovery, encountering the healing power of art, the enchantment of nature, and the resilience of the human spirit.
Burr’s exquisite prose brings the story to life, enveloping readers in a world filled with vivid imagery and profound emotions. Midwest Book Review has hailed Catherine as “a genuinely gifted author,” and the Road to Romance has described her writing as “captivating.” With “Accidental Cowgirl,” Catherine Burr continues to captivate readers with her unparalleled storytelling.
“Accidental Cowgirl” is available in print and ebook formats, providing readers with various options to embark on this extraordinary literary journey. Whether curled up with a paperback or indulging in an ebook’s convenience, readers are swept away by the rich tapestry of emotions that Burr masterfully weaves.
Join Jessica on her quest for self-discovery and the pursuit of happiness. Immerse yourself in the pages of “Accidental Cowgirl,” and experience the transformative power of love, art, and the resilience of the human spirit.
For more information about “Accidental Cowgirl” and to purchase a copy, please visit catherineburr.Wordpress.com and amazon.com/author/catherineburr
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New Releases
I have several new hardcover releases out, published by Barnes & Noble Press. Exclusively available at Barnes & Noble.
Cassie
Just released, Cassie by Catherine Burr and CJ Starr, a short country romance story about a coming-of-age young woman who plans on a refreshing summer vacation at her grandparents ranch, only it turns into a haunting experience when she meets a ranch hand who has devious plans.
Published by New Line Press
There’s something about hardcovers
I’ve been going through my backlist that was previously only published in paperback or ebooks and they are now are being published in hardcover – some will have dust jackets which is totally cool. Here are the first few. They look fabulous!! Publisher: Barnes & Noble Press.
Burr releases hardbacks
Catherine Burr announces the release of hardcover editions of her novels, Silicon Secrets, Next Exit, Silicon Collection (which houses both novels), in hardcover editions. Publisher: Barnes & Noble Press, and available at Barnes & Noble.
Is Stay at Home Order Prime Time for Writers?
Being on lock down with the mandated Stay at Home Order should be prime writing time for writers? But is it? Have you dug out your WIP’s? Have you dusted off those half-written stories that have grown cobwebs in your computer files? Are you guys using this time to write?
Catherine Burr bts — New Line Press
Catherine Burr is a bestselling author of more than 20 books. She draws from real life to create captivating stories. Originally from British Columbia, Canada, Catherine grew up in the high-tech and affluent world of Silicon Valley. She lived in Saratoga where she graduated from high school, attended West Valley College, bought her first house […]
Catherine Burr bts — New Line Press
REVIEW The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney
It’s a bit challenging to write a review for THE PERFECT WIFE that doesn’t give away key plot lines and surprises. I’m going to start by first of all saying I’d never heard of this author (JP Delaney is a pseudonym, but I hadn’t heard of the “real” author either for that matter). That is a long-winded way of saying I’ve never read the author before.
The author writes under the names of JP Delaney, Tony Strong, and Anthony Capella, which he mentions on his website, so I’m not divulging any secret pen names.
Had I known this was a sci-fi type book, I wouldn’t have purchased it to read. I don’t read sci-fi, don’t watch sci-fi, not interested in sci-fi. What caught my eye initially about this book is that it’s based in the Bay Area and the blurb said Abbie (the wife) is married to a high-tech guru (think Steve Jobs) and she goes missing while surfing. Being from the Bay Area, with a background as a Silicon Valley high-tech wife, and as an author of Bay Area fiction books, I found the premise one I couldn’t pass up.
The book may be a tad confusing at first as it’s written from two different time period perspectives and the chapter numbers are not sequential and are in different time frames, past and present, and frankly, one of the POV’s, after reading the entire book, I wasn’t sure whose POV it had been. However, these blips are quickly gotten past as the book is so incredibly engaging and I spent the entire book just wanting to know what happened to Abbie!
I prefer to pick up a book and know not much about it. I don’t want to know how it ends, I don’t want to know the details. I want the story to unfold as I read. I would suggest you not know certain details of this book before you read it because then it gives it all away and this is one book where you don’t know exactly what’s happening and that’s what keeps you reading the pages like a Netflix binge.
THE PERFECT WIFE is unlike any book I’ve read before and the complexity of the intricate story-line and details of IA animatronics and behind the scenes of a high-tech, (though low-profile) IA company, was compelling. I give the author props for the description of the Bay Area and high-tech, with the exception that the author referred several times to the local freeways with the term, “the” to preface the number., i.e. “Tim takes the 101.” “The 101 runs along the coast.” Referring to “the 101” is a Southern California thing (not Northern California), and no one refers to 280 as “the 280.” I chuckled at that though because the author bio said the author is from the UK (maybe in the UK they just call it UK) lol. So, I give the author a pass on this one.
One comment on the cover. In my opinion, it does not look like a typical sci-fi or suspense thriller-type cover, it appears to more of a romantic fiction cover, probably why I looked at it in the first place. The cover seemed out of place with the nature of the storyline of genetic engineering of robotics. One might’ve expected something with a bit of robotics in it but perhaps the publishers were looking to expand their audience. Which if it had had a different robotic cover, I wouldn’t have read it; and I’m glad I did read this book because is one author I will check out again. One comment on the title of THE PERFECT WIFE, there are other books with the same title and I believe maybe a TV show or two, could be confusing for people.
One other detail, Tim, one of the main characters, was a high-tech, brilliant, visionary, founder of a technology company, this story is set in current time, yet he uses a BlackBerry cell phone.
I do highly recommend this book. This book was so deep on so many levels of futuristic technology and AI robots replacing humans. So much to delve into for serious contemplation. Overall, I found the book fascinating and compelling and I didn’t put it down for days until I finished it. Just a side note, I didn’t like either of the main characters by the end of the book, neither one had any redeeming qualities, but the book made up for it by the high velocity storyline, witty dialogue, and subtle humor throughout.
My only other comment is I thought the ending fell a bit flat and wanted a different ending, but can’t say what that ending would be, without giving it away! Still, I give the book 5 STARS. And if I didn’t make it clear enough, I loved this book, I thought it was intriguing, different, unique, well-written, thought-provoking, and very much one to put on your TBR list.
REVIEW The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck
I have always loved John Steinbeck’s writing. I’ve gotten rid of a lot of books over the years, but the ones I keep include Steinbecks. Yet, I had never read The Winter of Our Discontent.
I listened to the book on audiobook, and huge props to the narrator, David Aaron Baker. I will now listen to about anything he has narrated. After listening to other books, hello, they do not hold a candle to his voice. His inflections, his tone, I don’t know what he’s paid to do book narration, but he’s worth every penny. And if one of my books were to be turned into an audiobook, I’d want him.
Listening to this book was a joy. There were times, however, when typical Steinbeck fashion, he goes off on a tangent in great detail, and you just want him to get back to the story.
Here’s the thing that made me nuts about this book. The ending. I was getting such a kick out of the fact that their son was going to be on TV, that he’d won a national writing contest, that the store now belonged to Ethan, at last, their lives had turned around as the card reader had predicted. Then the abrupt ending hit.
SPOILER. Ethan goes to the ocean and tries to drown himself? What? Out of the blue? I was shocked. It seemed out of character for Ethan. And I so wanted a happy ending for this family. I felt as if the ending just happened out of nowhere and left the story hanging mid-air.
I know this was Steinbeck’s last novel, and it felt as if he had left the writing of the last chapters and the publisher published the book unfinished. I had to Google the ending of the book to see if I could make sense out of it. I learned that others too were in dismay and didn’t understand the ending.
I would highly recommend this book, however I’d like to envision a different ending.
I did Reading Rush for 1st time!
Have you been doing Reading Rush? It’s where you try and read as many books as you can in 7 days!
This is my first year and it seems to be pretty cool! So far I’ve read 2 books which isn’t a lot, but for me who has a hard time reading because I always want to edit the book I’m reading, but I’ve enjoy reading and getting out of the daily news for a change. So far, I’ve read ENRIQUE’S JOURNEY and COUNTRY, and I also wrote reviews.
I’m not sure what I’m going to read next, but if you have any suggestions, let me know! My profile to the reading rush is linked below.
REVIEW Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario
I contemplated giving this book 2 stars but didn’t because it did keep my interest throughout the story and I wanted to find out what happened and I finished the book even though there were times I wanted to put it down and not finish it. So, I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
The parts that left me wanting to not read further was (spoiler) when migrants were trying to catch the train from Central America, through Mexico, and they were mortally injured, the description of the bodies was very very graphic and hard to get that image out of your mind. I wasn’t expecting that kind of graphic violence because I thought this book had been read in schools and was more of a young-adult book so it was a bit of a surprise. If it was meant to be jarring and shocking, it was.
The book, while the story was intriguing, ultimately fell flat at the end. You were left without any real resolution other than to find out the migrant generations just keep repeating the same mistakes including abandoning their families.
I really wanted the book to have a satisfactory ending, these migrant families went through so much, you want them (after they’ve endured endless struggles) to finally find success in America or anywhere for that matter, but the lesson here is not much of a positive one, at least for the characters in this book.
Also in terms of writing, while I do read with a very critical eye, I thought the writing was incredibly simplistic and could not believe that it had won any kind of a Pulitzer Prize. The POV bounced back-and-forth and you weren’t quite sure who was talking at some points. The story also skipped forward and backward many times.
This book while it may be based on a true story, also had some incredibly predictable parts. Every time the migrants went to a so-called professional to help them with their immigration, and they charged thousands of dollars, they kept falling for the same trap and would lose thousands of dollars. One would think that they might learn their lesson but apparently not.
It was interesting to me that this book was written over 20 years ago but yet so much of it seems to stay true as of today. Seems not much has changed.
I was really glad I read this book and I did read it cover to cover, so keeping in mind that is very simplistically written and it’s very graphic, I would recommend it to an adult audience only as it’s very mature material.
REVIEW Country by Danielle Steel
Oh dear, Lord have mercy. First things first, in honor of transparency, I believe that I have never read a Danielle Steel novel before this one. I have pretty much watched every single Danielle Steel movie and have loved them all. But the fact that there are very few Danielle Steel movies available anymore except for on DVD and who has DVD players these days, so I thought I would read a Danielle Steel book. I will probably never read another one.
I don’t know if all Danielle Steel novels are written in the lackluster narrative style that “Country” is, but this novel was quite painful. I was always taught that when you write a novel you “show —not tell,” Danielle Steel does just the opposite, she tells and does not show.
The novel, “Country” reads like one long skeleton of an outline, one that’s been narrated but never developed. I too could write 179 books if all I did was write out a narrative outline with no dialogue, no story, and no character development.
Living in the country, I wanted to like this book. I love country music and wanted to like this book. I’m from the Bay Area, I’ve skied at Squaw Valley. I felt invested due to the location and subject matter of the story; I was wrong.
By the way, (Spoilers ahead) just a few side notes on the story itself, I know Steel writes about extravagant, wealthy people but I’ve never seen anyone drive a Ferrari to a ski resort in the middle of winter. If you have, I stand corrected. PS, send photos.
Also, when the husband died, the family was quite upset which was ridiculous because nobody even liked him. Oh, and how absurd was it that the ski patrol pronounced that he had died of a heart attack, shouldn’t that have been the determination of a coroner?
The way the wife was portrayed after her husband passed away was insulting to women; her kids were fully grown, and before he died, she had been indifferent to the point of hating her husband and yet her reaction to her husband’s passing just didn’t even make sense. He had previously had an affair and told his wife that he didn’t love her anymore but her reaction was, “Oh well I’m gonna stay with you anyway because of your money,” which was ridiculous because she could’ve gotten a divorce, there was no mention of a prenup, he was extremely wealthy, surely she could’ve received alimony or a settlement and been just fine. She had sex with him because she declared it was her duty? What decade is this? There was proud mention of how after he had died, he had had his financial affairs in order, well, why wouldn’t he? The husband was a complete scumbag and their kids were no better. The female lead character in this book was so weak, she was completely unlikable and frankly, not only did I not care if she ended up with a famous country singer, I didn’t care if she ended up alone.
There were so many details – small and large, that should’ve been caught by an editor that it baffles me they weren’t. I could go on and on but it’s a Danielle Steel book and I guess it is what it is. It’s fantasy with no resemblance to reality.
I have read that Danielle Steel writes many of her books by typewriter, perhaps it’s time to put the antiquated thoughts, ideas, and typewriter away? Or, perhaps this book was the one that got away from Steel and it isn’t up to par with her other books, I don’t know. Have you read her and what do you think? Should I read more?
I listened to this book as an audiobook, and the narrator’s yo-yo voice was like listening to nails on a chalkboard. The narrator tried to speak in what he thought a woman’s voice sounded like and it was demeaning and the high-pitched whining was insulting to women at best.
I have always loved Danielle Steel movies and I hope Hollywood makes more of her books into movies because I believe that’s where her forte is; her stories transcend well onto the visual screen, however, the written word, not so much.
Why Write?
I was in a mood and someone asked me if I had been writing. I found this interesting on many levels but the top of the heap is their awareness that I, like most writers, write when we have to express ourselves, when we are in a “mood,” when we have been through something or have a story to tell.
I think one of the things I like most about writing is the intrinsic ability to get lost in a story, in the characters, in making up scenarios – whatever our imagination can think of. It’s a special talent to write and not only that but to have the desire to write. I know people who are good with words and think would make great writers and have stories to tell but for whatever reason, they don’t.
In my family, I come from a long line of writers. My grandfather was an amazing writer and wrote about his experience immigrating to the United States. My father wrote many books, he was a storied person who loved to write and write he did. I have family members – actually, my siblings and both of my parents are published authors. I guess you could say writing is in our mood.
Author Discusses NDE in New Book
I don’t talk about it much, didn’t even realize it’s referred to as NDE, but I did have a near-death experience and I do briefly touch on it in my book, DRY SPELL. It was a bizarre experience and I share about it in my book and I hope you find it as interesting as I did living through it. DRY SPELL is available in hardback and as an ebook from Apple, Barnes and Noble and Amazon. As always, thank you for reading my books. Us writers share deep, intimate parts of our souls, whether we are writing fiction (which is just truth disguised as fiction) or nonfiction.
Catherine Burr 