“Lips that touch liquor, will never touch mine.”

This last weekend my family and I participated in an historical reenactment of life in Willamette Oregon in the year 1913. Walking from scene to scene (each set inside or in front of a historical house) we led tour groups through different vignettes based on topics of importance at the time. One of these topics, temperance, turned out to feature and unexpectedly important role.

It is funny how life sometimes mimics theater. In this case a drunk driver bypassed the road blocks and was stopped by two local, off-duty, officers dressed in the official outfits of the time. Not believing that they had the authority to arrest him, he argued with them, leading them to call in on-duty reinforcement. To add to the confusion of the moment, a goat that was being walked around town as part of the tour got loose and was running around the area where the police were questioning the man.

Since Saturday there have been a few posts about this extra scene. (Link to Oregonian article). So, I won’t add to what has already been written. What I did realize, after seeing a picture of the scene, was that my daughter, who was playing one of the characters in one of the vignettes, was only one block away from where the man was stopped. At the time I thought the whole chaos was pretty funny. But after seeing that picture I now thank God that the man was stopped before he actually hurt anyone… especially my daughter and her young friend.

A battle that was waged 100 years ago still continues today. And while I am not advocating for prohibition, the word temperance actually derives from the Latin word temperantia which means moderation. Only later, when it was attached to prohibition, did it come to mean abstinence. Moderation in all things is good… but situations like the one above point to why moderation in alcohol drinking is essential.

We always assume that the bad thing won’t happen. But Saturday night is a poignant example of how close we are to being the one sitting at next to the hospital bed praying for our daughter’s life. As we approach the holidays we are guaranteed of many chances to drink and drive. But before you pull out those keys, please remember that there probably won’t be any 1913 cops to stop you from tragedy.

Know of any good ways to moderate over the holidays. Have any suggestions for ensuring that the drive home is safe? I love to hear comments from my readers. And to prove it I’m giving away a copy of my book BETTING JESSICA to one lucky commenter during the month of September.

Leave a comment for any of my blog posts and at the end of each month I will randomly select one visitor/commenter to receive a free download of my book. (Note: winner will be notified by a reply linked to their
original comment…. Check back at the end of the month for directions on how to claim your prize!)

"Summer's the one time of year I get fun reading done."

Sadly, I jumped the gun before summer actually started, and now I am afraid I may have already finished the best book of the summer. As my blog readers know, I rarely post book reviews in my blog. I do like to read... but I have also found it is difficult to do it with an objective eye.

However, I am making an exception in this case. I can't fully explain why since I don't even understand it myself. I will say that for some reason this book reached in a took a hold of me like few books have and I want to make sure the author received my humble vote of support.

Before the review, however, I wanted to post the results of the Blogoversary contest I ran. Apparently my lovely readers and friends were either too humble to enter the contest, or, didn't understand Rafflecopter was in charge of picking a winner. And so, I will randomly select one name from the list of six commenters. Drum roll..... And the winner is - Aven Ellis! Yay Evan. Send me a note to dwilstedauthor(at)gmail(dot)etc. along with your preferred GC (amazon or B&N) and I will email it to you asap.

All right... and now, for my review of:    A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM - by Scott D. Southard.
                                                                            My rating: ---- 4 and 1/2 STARS -----

I read A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM eager for a story of romance resembling hers in tone and style. And, while I definitely found this, I ended up enjoying Mr. Southard’s story for so much more. There is a depth and perceptiveness to his writing which actually had me in tears at one point…. Not during the narration of the story,  but in one of the prologues to it.

The book is divided into three volumes, each of which weaves the story of how Jane learns about herself, about love, and about her characters through her own relationships. It was at the start of the final volume, which in story alone had its own share of emotional moments, that I found myself reaching out to Mr. Southard as if to a like soul.

For one thing, I am a writer. For another, my friends will say I am fairly philosophical. In both of these elements I found statements of truth for my life that, in my 46 years so far, have eluded me. To quote:

“It is so easy to romanticize the idea of life.

People make the mistake of doing so each day. Life is not a poem, nor is it a painting. It is not perfect. Life is harsh, and the reality of it can be so hard that even the greater souls amongst us can break into tears over the pains that lie in front of them. It is a path we have all been placed on, and it is one that none of us agreed to or asked for, but we walk it because we have nothing else to do, and no other choice to make. That fact is the one truth that ties all of us together.”

There is much, much more to this prologue… and so much more the story of Jane herself. But I won’t give it away, because, like a gift, it should be opened by the recipient… each reader who has the good fortune to land upon 
Mr. Southard’s writing.

         * * * * * * * Bio (Deanne note: Obviously my next read will be 3 Days in Rome:>) * * * * * * * *
Scott D. Southard, the author of the new A Jane Austen Daydream, swears he is not obsessed with Jane Austen.
He is, however, also the author of the award-winning novels, My Problem With Doors, Megan, and 3 Days in
Rome. His eclectic writing has also found its way into radio, being the creator of the radio comedy series The Dante Experience. The production was honored with the Golden Headset Award for Best MultiCast Audio and the Silver Ogle Award for Best Fantasy Audio Production.

Scott received his Master’s in writing from the University of Southern California. Scott can be found on the internet via this very writing blog where he writes on topics ranging from writing, art, books, TV, writing, parenting, life, movies, and writing. He even shares original fiction on the site (recently, his experimental novel Permanent Spring Showers).

Currently, Scott resides in Michigan with his very understanding wife, his patient two children, and a very opinionated dog named Bronte.

He can be reached via comments on this site, twitter (@SDSouthard) and at the e-mail [email protected]