Times Like These: A delightful and entertaining read.
Evelyn came from an unusual family. Her parents had married, separated, divorced, remarried (“at least twice to my knowledge”) and this book begins during one of their spells of togetherness – in 1945 when Evelyn was thirteen years old.
Evelyn had been working since she was eleven years old as a summertime maid in a boarding house; she had lied about her age. As the book opens she is heading towards a new home. Her father, George, worked as a telegrapher for the Western Pacific Railroad – he liked the hobo life provided by rail work. But now he was (relatively) settled in Nevada and Evelyn’s mother had joined him.
When Evelyn arrived at her new family home, she was appalled. Shafter, Nevada, was remote and had the railroad, a general store, a schoolhouse and very little more. Before her parents’ reconciliation, Evelyn lived in Sacramento with her mother – Sacramento with its stores, cinemas, dancing lessons — and now she was in the middle of nowhere in what seemed to be like an old Wild West settlement. There was nothing to do.
“Sometimes, we just have to make the best of things”
This was one of her father’s mottoes so the resourceful Evelyn started to make a life for herself in the desert village. And she had more adventures than she’d bargained for — from narrowly escaping death when she was trapped on a timber trestle bridge with a train rapidly approaching to taming a wild mustang that had been destined for the slaughterhouse.
As you journey through the book, you’ll love the characters and the friends Evelyn makes along the way and you’ll be completely engrossed in her stories.
E.E. Smith
E. E. (Evelyn Eileen) Smith first attended the University of Iowa, and later received a B.A. in Fine Arts from California State University Long Beach.
Known earlier as a playwright, her works include PLAYTIME IN LONDON; BOARDINGHOUSE STEW; WARTIME RECIPES; THE TEMPERATE ZONE (based on Edith Wharton’s short story); GHOST WRITERS (based on two stories by Wharton and Henry James); RUNAWAY TRAINS; A FLAG FOR MARIA; PRIVATE LIES (a spoof on the play by Noel Coward); REVELATIONS, A GAME FOR THREE OR MORE COUPLES; three one-act plays, together titled RYAN’S REUNION, and a collection of ten-minute comedies together titled THE BRITISH ARE COMING.
Her plays have been performed in Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and both northern and southern California. One play has been published.
Writing credits include a Drama Award from FS Theatrebooks, New York, (for BOARDINGHOUSE STEW); awards from Writers Digest (for PRIVATE LIES and PLAYTIME IN LONDON); and the Gem Award from Jewel Box Theatre, Oklahoma City (for WARTIME RECIPES).
E. E. Smith lives close to her native San Francisco where she now writes books and short stories instead of plays. One story was published in Writers’ Forum: Britain’s Best Magazine for Writers, in 2006. The play, WARTIME RECIPES, first performed in Oklahoma City in 1998, was reprised in the same theater in 2010. Her first novel, BOARDINGHOUSE STEW (based on the play of the same name) was published in 2009, and the New Edition published in 2011, along with the sequel, TIMES LIKE THESE. A Memoir, IN LOVE AND WAR, came out as an e-book in 2012. Also as e-books, a series of murder mysteries debuted in 2013, beginning with DEATH BY MISADVENTURE. It was followed by BAD BLOOD, RUSSIAN ROULETTE, and PRESCRIPTION FOR MURDER. By 2015, the hardcover editions of BOARDINGHOUSE STEW and TIMES LIKE THESE will be out of print, but both are returning as brand new editions of e-books.
Times Like These
By E.E. Smith
ASIN: B007RQRQIY
Phoenix International
e-book
November 2014
$3.99
“Times like these are about as unpredictable as boardinghouse stew!” says Teddy Soberjowski in the author’s pervious book, Boardinghouse Stew. The year was 1943, midway through World War II, when no one knew what would happen next.
Two years later, the times are even less predictable for the young heroine of Times Like These, on her way to a new home and an uncertain future with her volatile parents.
The war rages on in the Pacific, amid heavy casualties. Harry Truman is now president and secretly considering the use of a horrific new weapon to force Japan to surrender.
What would happen next?
“An enchanting and delightful debut…Author E.E. Smith skillfully delivers a nostalgic recollection of enlightened and inspiring relationships during one of our nation’s darker times.”
– Global News, Booknotes
Other books by EE Smith include:
Death by Misadventure
Bad Blood
Russian Roulette
Prescription for Murder
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
January 19, 2016
This is a very nice review of my book, “Times Like These,” but you seem to attribute it to another author (Jackie Jackson?) If you do not have a copy of my resume, either I or my representative, P.J. Nunn, will be happy to provide one.
Thank you!
E. E. Smith