Thinklets

More Precious Than Rubies, Press release

"This one has a little of everything: romance, tragedy, drama, humor." A reader from Salem, Oregon, comments on MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES, by Elena Ives, published by Meadowlark Press.

Charm is Deceptive and Beauty is Fleeting...

In MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES, an antique ruby necklace — a souvenir from long-ago tragedy — is now a silent witness to deep and timeless love, then treachery and deceit, until eventually becoming an emblem of God’s unconditional forgiveness.

Medical student, Gabe Westbrook, literally counts off the days until he can return to his parent’s summer vacation home in Cannon Beach, Oregon, and be reunited with the girl next door, Rachel Albrecht. Each of the past five summers have bound them into deeper friendship, marked by Gabe’s powerful undeclared love.

One summer Rachel and Gabe meet Ian, a doctoral student from Portland. At first Gabe disagrees with Ian’s outspoken antagonism toward faith and patriotism, but it is Ian’s pursuit of Rachel that he soon finds barely endurable.

Then, when Gabe’s grandmother gives Rachel her most cherished possession, her mother’s ruby necklace, it tragically becomes a tool for treachery and deceit when Gabe’s narcissistic mother uses it to drive Rachel and Gabe apart.

"The main theme of MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES is the peace that comes from obedience and sacrifice, truly dying to self," said Elena Ives, author, referring to Gabe’s fervent soul-searching years later when he discovers that he had been tricked into walking out on Rachel that summer. "The truly catastrophic moment for Gabe was when he faced the feelings that he still had for Rachel and realized that he had no right to them."

Readers of MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES may experience a twinge of déjà vu, and according to Ives, familiar themes were intentionally borrowed from Jane Austen’s Persuasion and The Country Girl, Paramount’s 1954 movie with Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby.

Ives, author of MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES and CITY OF ROSES lives in Oregon with her husband, Don.

MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES is available from the following Internet booksellers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders, or can be purchased through the publisher at MeadowlarkShoppe.com

More Precious Than Rubies

by Elena Ives. 5.5 x 8.5, softcover, 267 pages. ISBN: 0-9773591-8-2. $12.95. Publication: Winter 2005-2006

City of Roses Press Release

"Elena Ives has invited us to join her in experiencing the joys, pain, love, fear and longing she expresses in her writing." A reader from Portland, Oregon, comments on CITY OF ROSES, by Elena Ives, published by Meadowlark Press.

Rose City Cinderella —Thorns and all

Byron Holgrave is a well-known Portland physician. His late father was a US senator, and Byron is a member of one of Oregon’s most wealthy and prominent families.

Margaret McKenna is a housekeeper. Her father was an out-of-town sailor, one of thousands who celebrate at the Portland Rose Festival Fleet Week every year, but when he sailed away, he left something behind– a daughter. Margaret, born nine months later to an alcoholic, emotionally crippled woman, is a member of one of Oregon’s most disadvantaged families – but Margaret and her brother and sister have one asset: the prayers of a godly grandmother.

Byron is the medical director of the trauma unit of a Portland hospital — where Margaret mops floors — and also devotes long hours to scholarly medical research. When a chance event catapults Byron’s humanitarian actions into public view, however, the notoriety only brings emptiness, loneliness, and the aching reminder that there are no accolades from the only source that matters to him, Margaret.

As a reader from Oregon City, Oregon, commented, "Here is Cinderella in the ashes and the prince in clouds of glory."

"There is something irresistible about the archetypal Cinderella character," said CITY OF ROSES author, Elena Ives. "She is actually a very complex person. It has to be clear to the reader why Prince Charming chose her. After all, he’s Prince Charming. He can have anyone. Cinderella has got to be very unique, or it just isn’t believable."

Ives describes herself as an "unabashed romantic" who can become "intoxicated by Jane Austin." However, she is unapologetic about the novel’s heartfelt documentation of today’s societal pressures versus Christian ethics, which is woven throughout CITY OF ROSES in a style reminiscent of best-selling Christian author, Randy Alcorn.

"In writing courses, they teach, ‘If you want to send a message, call Western Union,’" she said, "but even a quick glance at great literature shows that’s not necessarily true. For example, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen didn’t hide their obvious concern about the social problems of their times. Many of the situations that made their characters sympathetic and compelling were caused by external societal injustices."

Ives, author of CITY OF ROSES and MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES, lives in Oregon with her husband, Don.

CITY OF ROSES is available from the following Internet booksellers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders, or can be purchased through the publisher at MeadowlarkShoppe.com

City of Roses

by Elena Ives. 5.5 x 8.5, softcover, 241 pages. ISBN: 0-9773591-0-7. $12.95. Publication: Winter 2005-2006