Love, Bravery, and Tragedy
By Michele Karlsberg–
Flower of Iowa, an historical novel by Lance Ringel, is a sprawling tale of battle, courage, the resilience of the human spirit, and the transformative power of love. The grand epic showcases unforgettable characters, meticulous research, and exhilarating storytelling. Recently, I had a chance to speak with Ringel about this work.
Michele Karlsberg: What was the inspiration for
Flower of Iowa?
Lance Ringel: As a teenager, I was introduced to the Great War through Barbara Tuchman’s amazing book
The Guns of August and a CBS-TV series called
World War One. They both made a great impression on me, spurring a fascination with the war that changed our world so completely. Fast-forward three decades later. I was stuck in bed, recovering from a near-fatal bout of hepatitis, and the local PBS station began re-airing the CBS series. At the same time, controversy arose over Bill Clinton’s campaign promise that e
By Michele Karlsberg–
True Colors Lab has released this year’s most anticipated children’s book,
Two Dads Under the Christmas Tree, by Tobias Miles and illustrated by Milan Samadder. The backlash to this LGBTQ-themed sweet tale, however, has led to multiple challenges.
When the publisher Claudio Ferri reached out to me in October, he was quite frazzled, to say the least. He was beside himself after he had placed advertisements for this title and received negative reactions not having anything to do with the quality of the book. Sadly, for example, he encountered a local librarian who accused him of adopting two Black children so that they could grow up to become his slaves. Needless to say, I found this very disturbing and I felt it was even more important to get the word out about the book and related series.