Trueluck Summer
Page 23
In October, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent civil rights activism. At 35 years old, King is the youngest person ever to receive the prize.
The popular children’s book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming is published posthumously. The author, well known for his James Bond series, died August 12.
Most Popular Films of 1964:
The Carpetbaggers
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
The Unsinkable Molly Brown
My Fair Lady
Mary Poppins
The Number One Hits of 1964:
The Singing Nun - Dominique
Bobby Vinton - There! I’ve Said It Again
The Beatles - I Want to Hold Your Hand
The Beatles - She Loves You
The Beatles – Can’t Buy Me Love
Louis Armstrong - Hello, Dolly!
Mary Wells - My Guy
The Beatles - Love Me Do
The Dixie Cups - Chapel of Love
Peter and Gordon - A World Without Love
The Beach Boys - I Get Around
The Four Seasons - Rag Doll
The Beatles - A Hard Day’s Night
Dean Martin - Everybody Loves Somebody
The Supremes - Where Did Our Love Go
The Animals - The House of the Rising Sun
Roy Orbison - Oh, Pretty Woman
Manfred Mann - Do Wah Diddy Diddy
The Supremes - Baby Love
The Shangri-Las - Leader of the Pack
Lorne Greene - Ringo
Bobby Vinton - Mr. Lonely
The Supremes - Come See About Me
The Beatles - I Feel Fine
1964 Most Popular TV shows:
1. Bonanza
2. Bewitched
3. Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.
4. The Andy Griffith Show
5. The Fugitive
6. The Red Skelton Show
7. The Dick Van Dyke Show
8. The Lucy Show
9. Peyton Place II
10. Combat
Most Popular Christmas gifts, toys and presents in 1964:
Easy Bake Oven
G.I. Joe
Rat Fink Collectible Hot Rod Figures
Password Game
Mighty Tonka Dump Truck (made popular due to the elephant stepping on it during a commercial)
Plastic Mr. Potato Head
Wham-O Professional Frisbees
Monster Magnet
Rube Goldberg’s Animated Hobby Kit
Hand's Down game (with Slam-O-Matic)
Compiled from American Experience on PBS, Pop-Culture.us, and ThePeopleHistory.com.
Other Books by Susan Gabriel
Temple Secrets
A novel
Fans of The Help and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil will delight in this comic novel of family secrets by acclaimed author, Susan Gabriel (The Secret Sense of Wildflower, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012 and an Amazon & Nook #1 Bestseller).
In Savannah, Georgia, one woman holds all the secrets. When she dies of a possible voodoo curse, the secrets start coming out. The ghosts are upset. And for the Temple family women, everything is about to change forever.
Aristocratic, 80-year-old Iris Temple has a fondness for exotic meats and her poison-pen Book of Secrets keeps her family and all of Savannah’s elites in line. Shortly after Iris dies, compromising tidbits from the Book of Secrets are mysteriously published in the newspaper and the quiet lives of the Temple family women explode.
Iris’s estranged daughter, Rose, escaped to Wyoming 20 years ago and married a cowboy. Will she accept the outrageous terms of the will?
Queenie, Iris’s black half-sister, lives in the historic family mansion, suffering Iris’s arrogant ways as her personal assistant. After all she’s tolerated with Iris, will she inherit the mansion, as promised?
100-year-old Old Sally, who keeps the old Gullah traditions alive, is Queenie’s mother by her white employer, Iris’s father. For Rose, she is the mother Iris could never be. Did Old Sally put a voodoo curse on Iris?
When they discover who will inherit the historic family mansion and Iris’s multi-million- dollar estate, the whole boisterous business of secrets forces the women into challenging – and sometimes hilarious – situations as they put the past to rest and forge a brighter future.
Temple Secrets is Southern gothic fiction at its best. If you like strong women, plots full of twists and turns, characters who are funny and unpredictable, and sibling rivalry of biblical proportions, you’ll love Susan Gabriel’s rollicking tale of the cost of keeping secrets, the healing that comes with their exposure and the bliss of coming home again.
Buy Temple Secrets and start unlocking the mysteries today!
Available in paperback, ebook and audiobook.
Praise for Temple Secrets
“Temple Secrets is a page-turner of a story that goes deeper than most on the subjects of equality, courage and dignity. There were five or six characters to love and a few to loathe. Gabriel draws Queenie, Violet, Spud and Rose precisely, with a narrative dexterity that is amazingly and perfectly sparse while achieving an impact of fullness and depth. Their interactions with the outside world and one another are priceless moments of hilarious asides, well-aimed snipes and a plethora of sarcasms.
“What happens when the inevitable inequities come about amongst the Haves, the Have Nots and the Damn-Right-I-Will-Have? When some people have far too much time, wealth and power and not enough humanness and courage? Oh, the answers Gabriel provides are as delicious as Violet’s peach turnovers, and twice as addicting! I highly recommend this novel.” – T.T. Thomas
“Susan Gabriel shines once again in this fascinating tale of a family's struggle to break free from their past. Filled with secrets, betrayals, and tragedy, the author weaves an intricate storyline that will keep you hooked.” – R. Krug
“I loved this book! I literally couldn't put it down. The characters are fabulous and the story line has plenty of twists and turns making it a great read. I was born and raised in the south so I have an affinity for stories that are steeped in the southern culture. Temple Secrets nails it. All I needed was a glass of sweet tea to go with it.” – Carol Clay
“The setting is rich and sensuous, and the secrets kept me reading with avid interest until most of them were revealed. I read the book in just a few days because I really didn't want to put it down. It is filled with characters who are funny, tragic, unpredictable and nuanced, and I must admit that I really came to know and love some of them by the end of the story.” – Nancy Richards
“I was glued from the first moment that I began reading. The book accurately portrays many of the attitudes of the Old South including the intricate secrets and "skeletons in the closet" that people often wish to deny. Each character is fascinating and I loved watching each one evolve as the story unfolded. This was one of those books that I did not want to finish as it was so much fun to be involved in the action.” – Lisa Patty
“I just finished reading Temple Secrets today and I truly hated for it to end! Susan Gabriel writes with such warmth and humor, and this book is certainly no exception. I loved getting to know the characters and the story was full of humor and suspense.” – Carolyn Tenn
The Secret Sense of Wildflower
“A quietly powerful story, at times harrowing, but ultimately a joy to read.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review (for books of remarkable merit)
Named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2012.
Set in 1940s Appalachia, The Secret Sense of Wildflower tells the story of Louisa May “Wildflower” McAllister whose life has been shaped around the recent death of her beloved father in a sawmill accident. While her mother hardens in her grief, Wildflower and her three sisters must cope with their loss themselves, as well as with the demands of daily survival. Despite these hardships, Wildflower has a resilience that is forged with humor, a love of the land,
and an endless supply of questions to God. When Johnny Monroe, the town’s teenage ne’er-do-well, sets his sights on Wildflower, she must draw on the strength of her relations, both living and dead, to deal with his threat.
With prose as lush and colorful as the American South, The Secret Sense of Wildflower is a powerful and poignant southern novel, brimming with energy and angst, humor and hope.
Praise for The Secret Sense of Wildflower
“Louisa May immerses us in her world with astute observations and wonderfully turned phrases, with nary a cliché to be found. She could be an adolescent Scout Finch, had Scout’s father died unexpectedly and her life taken a bad turn...By necessity, Louisa May grows up quickly, but by her secret sense, she also under-stands forgiveness. A quietly powerful story, at times harrowing but ultimately a joy to read." – Kirkus Reviews
“A soulful narrative to keep the reader emotionally charged and invested. The Secret Sense of Wildflower is eloquent and moving tale chock-filled with themes of inner strength, family and love." – Maya Fleischmann, indiereader.com
“I’ve never read a story as dramatically understated that sings so powerfully and honestly about the sense of life that stands in tribute to bravery as Susan Gabriel’s The Secret Sense of Wildflower…When fiction sings, we must applaud.” – T. T. Thomas, author of A Delicate Refusal
“The story is powerful, very powerful. Excellent visuals, good drama. I raced to get to the conclusion...but didn’t really want to read the last few pages because then it would be over! I look forward to Gabriel’s next offering.” – Nancy Purcell, Author
“Just finished this with tears streaming down my face. Beautifully written with memorable characters who show resilience in the face of tragedy. I couldn’t put this down and will seek Susan Gabriel’s other works. This is truly one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time.” – A.C.
“An interesting story enhanced by great writing, this book was a page turner. It captures life in the Tennessee mountains truthfully but not harshly. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.” – E. Jones
“I don’t even know how to tell you what I love about this book --- the incredible narrator? The heartbreaking and inspiring storyline? The messages about hope, wisdom, family and strength? All of those!! Everything about it!” – K. Peck
“Lovely, soul stirring novel. I absolutely could not put it down! Beautifully descriptive, evocative story told in the voice of Wildflower, a young girl of the mountains, set in a wild yet beautiful 1940’s mountain town, holds you captive from the start. I had to wait to write my review, as I was crying too hard to see!” – V.C.
“I write novels, too, but this writer is fantastic. The story is authentic and gripping. Her voice through the child, Wildflower, is captivating. This story would make a great movie. I love stories that portray life changing tragedy and pain coupled with power of the human spirit to survive and continue to love and forgive. Bravo! Susan. Please write more and more.” –Judi D.
“This is a wonderful story that will make you laugh, cry, and cheer.” –T.B. Markinson
“I was pretty blown away by how good this book is. I didn’t read it with any expectations, hadn’t heard anything about it really, so when I read it, I realized from page one that it is a well written, powerful book.” – Quixotic Magpie
“If you liked Little Women or if you love historical fiction and coming-of-age novels, this is the book for you. Definitely add The Secret Sense of Wildflower to your TBR pile; you won’t regret it.” – PandaReads
“Bottom line: A great story about a strong character!”
– Meg, A Bookish Affair
Available everywhere in print, ebook and audiobook.
Also by Susan Gabriel
Fiction
The Secret Sense of Wildflower
(a Best Book of 2012 – Kirkus Reviews)
Lily’s Song
(sequel to The Secret Sense of Wildflower)
Temple Secrets
Grace, Grits and Ghosts: Southern Short Stories
Seeking Sara Summers
Circle of the Ancestors
Quentin & the Cave Boy
Fearless Writing for Women: Extreme Encouragement & Writing Inspiration
Available at all booksellers in print, ebook and audio formats.