Zinnias

Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
visit the Gosport Web Page at www.gulfcoastgateway.com/gosport

August 31, 2001

By Art Giberson
Gosport Managing Editor

     When one first hears of a book on a decade of letters between friends, you can't help but wonder if this is really a book you would care to read? Could personal thoughts and opinions of two individuals possibly be of interest to a wide readership?
     In the case of "Ten Good Years" by Pensacola author Alice Rose Stefani, the answers are, yes and yes.
     "Ten Good Years" is a delightful, truly human story set in the Great Lakes region of Northern Ontario, Canada.
     The story basically revolves around two friends, Jayne and Meg, keeping each other informed about what is happening in thier lives by writing letters.
     Jayne, a U.S. citizen, falls in love with a Canadian, George, and they settle in the small community of Bruce Mines, Ontario, near Lake Huron. At first it appears as though life couldn't be better.
     Before long, however, Jayne admits to Meg, in a long rambling letter, that life in Bruce Mines isn't exactly the idyllic lifestyle she and George had

dreamed of.
     Problems first began to appear, Jayne tells Meg in one of her early letters, when the former owner of thier house keeps showing up to reclaim various items left in the house, or on the property, when she sold it to them.
     "Mrs. Potter," Jayne writes to Meg, "is an elderly lady and seems to think she can just stop in and claim anything she wants.
     "Because she is old, some of our neighbors seem to think she is entitled to act that way. But in my book, she is not. She is quite well off. She owns several other pieces of property in addition to the farm

she lives on. Therefore she is not needy, just greedy."
     As a result of Jayne's encounters with Mrs. Potter and other locals, she feels that she dosn't quite fit in and is indeed at times treated like the outsider she truely is. George, on the other hand, being Canadian, fits in well with the locals and is made to feel welcome.
     In an effort to combat her lack of acceptance in the community, Jayne turns to the historical past of Bruces Mines and builds friendships with the community's early inhabitants and its historical buildings.
     As you turn the pages of the 248-page soft-cover novel from 1stBooks, you're treated to a cornucopia of gossip, romance, fear and hope.
     If you would like to meet the author of this delightful summer read, she will be signing copies of "Ten Good Years," Sept. 9, 01 at the Sacred Heart Hospital Gift Shop, 5151 N. Ninth Ave., from 3-6 p.m. If you're looking for a good, wholesome book which can be shared by the whole family "Ten Good Years" is the one.
Highly recommended.

Excerpts from a book review published in the Sault Star, Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada, on July 26, 2001

...Anyone who reads for pleasure, entertainment, escape, or just to relieve the stresses of modern-day life, will find Ten Good years a good read, with a unique historical look at a typical Canadian pioneer settlement and its tradition, as well as a close-up study of the many and varied dimensions of the human condition of everyday life.
     [Ten Good Years] ... should be picked up by CBC for a mini series that will showcase the natural beauty and historical significance of this Canadian section of the Great Lakes region, says prominent reviewer.
     Author Alice Rose Stefani brings the town to life flawlessly and makes it a breathing, changing part of her story.
     As Jayne falls deeper and deeper into the past of her new home, she begins writing letters to a friend in an attempt to encourage her to relocate to or buy a summer home in Bruce Mines.
     It is through these letters that we see Jayne's world growing changing, and making an impact on the young heroine.
     ...Writing in the first person and in epistolary form, the author has created a vicarious journy to an idyllic place near the shores of beautiful Lake Huron, in Bruce mines, Ontario.
     Stefani is a retired educator, now writing full time. She lives and works in Pensacola, Florida.

4 out of 5, A Year in Provence, Canadian style., June 14, 2001

Reviewer: kerz009 from Sault Ste Marie Ontario CANADA

Title: TEN GOOD YEARS Author: Alice Rose Stefani ISBN: 0-75961-402-4 Publication Date: April 16, 2001 Artwork: Pen and Ink Drawings by Paula S. Perdue Page Count: 247 Type: Quality Trade Paperback 5 X 8

The novel, TEN GOOD YEARS, by Alice Rose Stefani, is the Canadian version of A YEAR IN PROVENCE. (by Peter Mayle) Writing in the first person and in epistolary form, the author has created a vicarious journey to an idyllic place near the shores of beautiful Lake Huron, in Bruce Mines, Ontario. Indeed, each letter from Larchwood, the home of the main characters, is a quaint vignette full of special connections between husband and wife, man and nature, and history of time and place. Also, unique to this collection of letters are seven authentic 1882 letters from a turn-of-the century resident of Bruce Mines to his adopted sister in England, urging her, after her husband's death, to come to Bruce Mines so that he can provide for her and her three children. Ultimately, the lady is seduced by his description of Canada's natural beauty and the promise of a better life. Certainly, anyone who reads for pleasure, entertainment, escape, or just to relieve the stresses of modern-day life, will find TEN GOOD YEARS a good read, with a unique historical look at a typical Canadian pioneer settlement and its traditions, as well as a close-up study of the many and varied dimensions of the human condition of everyday life. In conclusion, this reviewer can only hope that TEN GOOD YEARS will be picked up by PBS for a mini-series that will showcase the natural beauty and historical significance of this Canadian section of the Great Lakes region.

Wish I Was There, June 26, 2001

Reviewer: Nancy B. Holland from Molino, Fl USA

In Ten Good Years the author makes the location, Bruce Mines so believable that I am ready to pack my bags and head north. The descriptions of the towns as well as the home that George and Jayne are restoring make me feel that an old friend is writing ME. I especially liked the letters from George. It made you believe that he is as nice a man as Jayne tells you in her letters. What happens in the next ten years? Alice, get a sequel out.