Expectations
What’s in a Name? Would you expect a dry rendition of the ancient origins for names? NO! Sally Cronin would not write something that would put you to sleep. Maybe she wrote about why parents might name their child Nina Melvina. NO! That’s the story my mother told me when I complained about having too many esses to pronounce in my name. (Marsha Morris was a bit much for a girl with a lisp.) SallyCronin’s newest book is What’s in a Name?, published in February 2017.
Simple Stories About Believable Peoples’ Names
In What’s in a Name? Sally Cronin wrote simple stories about people like Anne, who preferred to be called Annie, Alexander Winterbottom, Beatrix, and David. Did I mention that she organized the stories alphabetically? She gave them all interesting lives. For example, Beatrix was a beautiful actress. Even after 40 years, she retained her regal demeanor and her audience appeal. Only at the end do you find out how she kept her image going.
While readers would classify the author Sally Cronin as constant and dependable in that she always delivers a great book, her characters are anything but predictable. Characteristically I’m going to rearrange the order of names and give you a glimpse of what you can look forward to reading.
We never learned why Celia had to leave her job. However, before leaving she had buried herself in work for twenty years. In the meantime, the world changed, and Celia had not. She worried how she would survive. Clive had a life-changing run-in with a cobra at age three. Diana Grace, courted by a handsome merchant banker, fell in love and married him in short order. When she got pregnant three years later, her husband’s reaction shocked her. Her subsequent reaction rearranged his world.
Many stories, each with a unique plot twist, often made me smile, even when the protagonist murdered someone. Murders and unexpected deaths sprinkled sparingly among the collage of tales kept the reader on his or her toes.
Four-year-old Grace broke my heart when she went on a hunger strike. Hector accidentally killed a man who attacked his buddy and had already killed two security officers. Sadly some stories ended badly for the protagonists.
The Name George Fits this Cagey Character
“George Horsefield slowly pushed open the door of the garden shed and poked his head through the narrow opening. He slowly scanned the immediate vicinity to make sure that the dog that lived in the house behind him was not lying in wait. It was a motley small mongrel with sharp teeth, and there had been a couple of occasions when those teeth had connected with his legs in a very unpleasant manner. All seemed safe, and George eased himself out onto the garden path that led to the wooden gate, but not before a quick glance behind him for a last look at his beloved. He and Mildred had been having a torrid affair throughout the summer months with secret assignations in her shed or his own. However recent events made them both aware, that for the time being, their trysts would have to come to an end.”
Cronin, Sally. What’s in a Name? (Kindle Locations 930-938). Moyhill Publishing. Kindle Edition.
You will never be bored reading What’s in a Name?. Because each person has a chapter, you might assume you can put the book down and come back later. Try it. I dare you! Can you tell I loved this book?
Author Bio
Sally’s life is as interesting as her books. She has led what she terms as an “eclectic life.” Because her father was in the Royal Navy, she only settled down in the UK at age 14. Switching between seven schools in different countries allowed her to gain a repertoire of curse words she swears competes with any sailor. (I didn’t see any in this book, but maybe that’s another story.)
Although she trained as a secretary, when a pregnant dental chairside assistant developed a phobia to blood (that was probably me), it forced her into the role of a dental nurse. Following the dental professions, she moved into the hospitality industry, and from there worked at several careers including radio and television.
Sally published her first book with a Canadian self-publisher in the late 90s and since then has republished that book and released nine others as part of her self-publishing company. Apart from health, she enjoys writing fiction in the form of novels and short stories.
Indie authors need reviews as much as our bodies need food, water, and air, so don’t be satisfied with just reading this review. If you have read one of her books, she would love to hear what you think about it. https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2017/04/18/how-can-we-encourage-more-readers-to-leave-reviews-for-our-books/
Sally’s blog is https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com
And for more information on her books listed here at Amazon, please visit
https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/my-books/
Related Posts
https://tchistorygal.net/make-history-happen/
https://tchistorygal.net/glimpses-author-hugh-roberts/
https://tchistorygal.net/easy-read-memoir-conflicted-hearts/
Additional Books by Sally Cronin
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
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