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News, Reviews & Events

 

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Reviews on Watch Me Take Off

The Life of Ian J. (Jim) Duncan

Most enjoyable, and you well deserve to be proud not only of Ian, but of your ability to author such a tribute!

A beautifully written tribute to an extraordinary man who’s influence in the airline is legion.

A well-written story of a truly amazing man.

A Great tribute to a Great Leader in Aviation. 

Reviews on At Home On the Road:

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What a delight it was to read your well-crafted books, My Jewish Great Grandmother and At Home on the Road.  During this difficult time our country is facing, your memoirs lifted my spirits and helped me escape the ongoing news about the coronavirus.  Your storytelling ability is masterful.  I especially enjoyed learning about your upbringing, your career as a stewardess, and your travels with your devoted and beloved husband, Ian.  Your command of the English language is laudatory, and your ability to amuse your reader with humorous accounts of your adventures is first-rate.  Thank you for introducing me to you and your family in such a memorable way. 

                                            - Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda (Poet, artist, Virginia Poet Laureate 2006-2008)

 

At Home on the Road allowed me to travel with the author and her husband Ian in their Marathon Coach for two years in North America. Anyone who has dreamed of such an adventure will find helpful advice in the book, which has photographs and maps. Yet this book is more than a travelogue. I have read the author’s memoir, My Jewish Great Grandmother. She is a fine writer with a fascinating story to tell. In her new book, Ilona writes with humor and honesty about marriage and life, recounting a journey of trials, triumphs, and an unexpected ending.  I highly recommend this book.

                                                                            - Gail Wilson Kenna, author, editor, Soul Keats literary judge

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Your journey was full of lovely descriptions of scenery and nature.

Above all, though, I loved reading about your personal journey, your willingness to describe your feelings, your joys and sorrows and your spiritual journey with Ian. It is not easy to bare your “soul”. But you did it with honesty and humor.

You managed to point out repeatedly that it is not possessions that make us happy but the memories we gather throughout life and the people we share them with.

Congratulations.  

                             - Renate Muller, Irvington, VA

At Home on Road by Ilona Duncan tells the story of her and her husband’s decision upon retiring to sell their large Miami home and buy a converted bus to travel through the United States and Canada. Eschewing trendy sights their focus is on rural mountains and roads not usually traveled. This is a very well-written account of their two-year adventure seeing the world together and gaining a new intimacy with each other and their life together. Refreshing and honest, it’s a treat to ride with this couple and be part of their adventure.

                                                                              - Sharon Baldacci, author of A Sundog Moment

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Between 2019 and 2022, the Soul-Making Keats, a San Francisco literary competition awarded me several honors:

2019: Honorable mentions in Intercultural Essay for “Speaking of Love” and in Memoir Vignette for “The White-Pawed Cat.”

 

2020: Third prize in Memory Vignette for "The Little Crapaud"

 

2022: Third place in Religious Essay for "Natasha's Way" and in Memoir Vignette for "The Wise One" and honorable mention in humor for "An Uninvited Guest"

As a member of the Chesapeake Bay Branch of the National League of American Pen Women (NLAPW), I attended the 2022 50th Biennial in Washington, D.C. and was honored for placing third in the Grace Wofford Essay Competition. The photo shows me reading from "The Fashionistas." 

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Praises by Amazon readers for My Jewish Great Grandmother

 

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  • One regret, it had to end.

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  • Interesting narrative that opens new insights into this period in time. Excellent read by a brilliant writer.

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  • Most enjoyable. A very unique perspective. Well worth reading.

 

  • A truly heartwarming story of post WWII and the subsequent rebuilding of faith in her birthright. The writer explores the obstacles that were encountered en-route to shedding the burdens that her mother faced during Nazi Germany. Forgiving is never easy, but she climbs the mountain in a narrative of the journey. A good read that kept me going

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