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Common Knowledge

Legal name: Blalock Moeller Vanzura, Laurie
Other names: Anthony, Laura
Wilde, Lori
Birthdate: 1958
Gender: female
Education: Texas Christian University
Short biography: Laurie Blalock was born on 1958 in Texas, USA. She started writing at age eight. She credits her father, Fred Blalock, as the guiding force behind her career. She can't remember a time when she didn't want to write. She even went to nursing school so she could have a schedule flexible enough to allow her to write on the side. She nursed for 20 years, working in a variety of settings from the newborn nursery to the recovery room, to dialysis. But she never lost her desire to write. She sold her first book in 1994 as Laura Anthony, but later discovered she had a flair for comedy and branched out under the pseudonym Lori Wilde. She has achieved a lifelong dream and now pursues writing fiction full-time.

First married with Anthony Moeller, now she is married with Bill Vanzura, her own real-life hero. She continued living in her native Texas, with a red heeler/Australian shepherd dog, Cinnamon, and four ducks, Quacker, Big Guy, Affleck, and Sheepidy. She is an adventuresome, she traveled Europe as a teenager, hiked volcanoes in Hawaii, trod on glaciers in Alaska, shot white-water rapids, water-skied, snow-skied, raced all-terrain vehicles, bodysurfed in the Gulf of Mexico, and photographed grizzly bears in Yellowstone. She's taken flying lessons, rode in a hot-air balloon, completed two marathons, and performed with a professional jazz band.

You can visit her web site: www.loriwilde.com or write to her at loriwilde@yahoo.com
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: Texas, USA
Places of residence: Weatherford, Texas, USA
Disambiguation notice: Laurie Blalock Moeller Vanzura writes as Laura Anthony and Lori Wilde.
Associated Place (for map): Texas, USA

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icolford 742 reviews

The Forgotten Midwife by Laura Anthony

Laura Anthony’s harrowing and heartrending novel, The Forgotten Midwife tackles the shameful history of the Magdalene laundries, facilities that operated in Ireland under the auspices of the Catholic Church for over a century. The story is narrated in two threads. In the contemporary timeline, set in New Jersey, Riley Carmichael is betrothed to Sam. Riley, keen to join Sam’s large, bustling family, regrets that her own family consists of just her and her grandmother, who has show more Alzheimer’s and resides in a care home. One day, in a rare moment of lucidity, Riley’s grandmother gives her a shoebox containing old documents that Riley didn’t know of, documents that link Riley’s mother, who was adopted and is now deceased, to Irish roots. This new knowledge propels Riley and Sam to Ireland in search of Riley’s Irish family. The historical timeline, beginning in 1956, centres on Margaret Lannigan of Tipperary. 20-year-old Margaret, a fun-loving, carefree spirit, dreams of the day she will marry her fiancé, Joseph Maloney. But it is not to be. When Margaret’s older sister, Sheila, dies suddenly, Margaret finds herself the focus of unwanted attention. It has been tradition in the Lannigan family for the eldest daughter to take vows and join a local order of nuns called the Sisters of Penance. With Sheila’s death, this obligation falls to Margaret, who, much to her chagrin, is given no choice in the matter. Despite her protests, and without delay, Margaret is whisked off to Ballyvale Convent by the domineering Father Michaels. Life at the convent is a quiet one of discipline and solitude. Margaret misses her family and Joseph, but over several years slowly adapts to the new life that has been forced upon her. However, she is unable to quell her rebellious nature, questioning everything and always looking for ways to circumvent the rules. She is especially curious about the well-dressed couples that arrive at the convent from time to time and, after meeting with Father Michaels, leave with big smiles and a newborn baby. The building across the road is also a subject of fascination for Margaret. It appears to her untutored eye as a second convent, though she’s been told it’s a laundry. Then, after an act of insubordination results in her being pegged as an unrepentant troublemaker by the mother superior and Father Michaels, she is transferred from the convent proper to the laundry, where she is forced without training into the role of midwife to the “fallen” girls who have been sent there by their families to await the birth of their babies behind closed doors. This is where Margaret’s story, and Anthony’s novel, takes off. Ever the rebel, horrified by the misery she witnesses, Margaret does everything she can to alleviate the suffering of the girls, who labour ceaselessly in sweatshop conditions under the watchful eye of the unfeeling Matron whose cruelty seems to know no bounds, but whose behaviour is excused and encouraged by Father Michaels. At great risk to herself, Margaret disregards the rules yet again and connives with others at the laundry to ease the burden on the girls and save them where possible. Margaret’s haunting tale of strength and defiance against enormous odds elicits a visceral response and, midway through, makes the book something of a page-turner. By contrast, the half-dozen or so chapters devoted to Riley’s search for her roots are less compelling, included (one suspects) only to serve as a structural bridge into Margaret’s story. But this is a minor caveat. The Forgotten Midwife provides a vividly dramatic account of righteous and principled resistance to corrupt authority, and in Margaret Lannigan, the author has created a strikingly full-blooded, engagingly imperfect protagonist. Also, and to her credit, Laura Anthony does not shy away from the horrific details that make the Magdalene laundries one of the more shameful and sordid episodes in the checkered history of the Catholic Church. show less

May 7, 20266 other reviews

scoutmomskf 4,031 reviews

Cupid, Texas: How the Cowboy Was Won by Lori Wilde

Fun friends to lovers story. Ember and Ranger have been best friends since they were kids. Neither one pursued anything deeper on those occasions when the thought occurred, each one afraid to ruin their friendship. Ember is quite the extrovert. She is friendly, bold, and a bit blunt in her speech and actions. Her self-esteem has taken a beating thanks to a failed, but blessedly short, marriage. She came home to Cupid to regroup. Her best buddy, Ranger, was in New Zealand for a year but was show more due to return soon. Ranger is almost her complete opposite. He is an introvert, happiest when lost in his work, with his head in th
e stars. The only thing that can pull him out is Ember.

Over the past year, while Ranger has been away, both of them have realized how much they miss each other and depend on each other. I loved Ranger's return and the absolute joy of their reunion. I loved Ranger's surprise and confusion as he noticed things about Ember that had previously made no impression on him. It didn't take him long to realize that he wanted more than just friendship from her. Ember also feels the pull, but after her disaster of a marriage has given up on the idea of love for herself. She quickly saw that Ranger needed a wife and decided to put her matchmaking skills to work.

I loved watching the development of the relationship between Ember and Ranger. He had his sights set on her and nothing was going to dissuade him. Unfortunately, he had his work cut out for him because Ember refused to admit what was happening between them. Instead, she was determined to find his perfect match, and her attempts were pretty funny. At the same time, seeing them spend time together made it so obvious that they were made for each other that I just wanted to shake her. Ranger got a little desperate and called on a friend for help. Ember had her own moments of confusion as unexpected feelings of jealousy made their appearance. Things got even more complicated when they shared their first kiss, which was a mind-blowing experience for both of them. It strengthened Ranger's determination, but sent Ember further into denial, with her fears and insecurities convincing her that she wouldn't be right for him anyway. I liked when she finally came to her senses and ached for her when a misunderstanding made her believe it was too late. This was followed by more misfires in communication as Ranger made his case to her, but forgot the most important thing. Ember made some mistakes of her own that she then had to face up to before she could believe in a future for them. I loved her big moment as she took courage in hand, trusted her instincts, and went after what she wanted. Ranger's reaction made it the perfect ending for this book.

The secondary characters in the book were almost as much fun to watch, especially the various subjects of Ember's matchmaking attempts. Though she'd had several earlier successes, in this book, nothing seemed to go right. A good part of it was caused by her desperate attempts to fix Ranger up, leading her to push a couple of unlikely matches. It was fun to watch her subjects resist her maneuverings and end up with the right matches in spite of them. I also liked catching up with both Ember's and Ranger's siblings, and look forward to seeing Rhett's turn on the hotseat. show less

May 11, 20194 other reviews

kbranfield 2,444 reviews

Love of the Game: A Stardust, Texas Novel (Stardust, Texas Series Book 3) by Lori Wilde

The third installment in Lori Wilde's Stardust, TX series, Love of the Game is an endearing romance between an injured baseball player and his physical therapist. With strong professional ethics, plenty of emotional baggage and conflicting priorities, there are numerous obstacles Axel Richmond and Kasha Carlyle must overcome on the road to happily ever after.

Kasha has a lot riding on her new job with the Dallas Gunslingers so she works hard to ensure Axel recovers from a possible career show more ending shoulder injury. Having recently discovered she has an adult biological half-sister with Down Syndrome, she is doing everything possible to become Emma's legal guardian. Kasha was adopted as young child after a family tragedy and she is shocked by her strong emotional connection to her sister. Equally stunning is her intense and immediate attraction to Axel and even if her professional relationship with him precludes any type a personal relationship, her need for control would never allow her to give in to her passion for him. Having experienced firsthand the devastating effects of out of control passion, Kasha keeps a tight rein on her emotions and desires.

Axel cannot imagine life without baseball so he is extremely focused on overcoming his injury. Although initially skeptical of Kasha's treatment plan, he wants to avoid surgery so he reluctantly follows her instructions. Axel is extremely driven and when finds himself at loose ends, he is forced to revisit the very painful memories of the devastating loss of his young son. He is taken off guard by his growing feelings for Kasha but he is willing to explore the possibility of a future with her but she is incredibly resistant to the idea. Having finally breached her formidable defenses, Axel is very conflicted when his long held dream is within reach.

The romance element of the storyline is leisurely paced since Kasha has valid reasons to keep their interactions strictly on a professional level. Despite her efforts to maintain an emotional distance, she and Axel genuinely like and respect one another and friendship naturally grows between them throughout the course of Axel's treatment. Underlying all of their interactions is a simmering sexual tension that they both try to ignore, but once Kasha decides she has to alter some of her plans regarding Emma, they decide to act on their desire. Not too long after their relationship turns to romance, Axel is faced with a decision that makes Kasha rethink their future together. Will Kasha stop letting the events from her past prevent her from finding happiness?

Love of the Game is an emotional, passion-filled addition to Lori Wilde's delightfully charming Stardust, TX series. Each of the characters is superbly developed with believable issues to overcome. The storyline is engaging with just a touch of whimsy that perfectly balances the novel's more serious undertones. It is a heartfelt and beautifully rendered love story that will appeal to old and fans of this wonderful series. show less

Feb 3, 20205 other reviews

kimkimkim 1,213 reviews

The Moonglow Sisters: A Novel by Lori Wilde

I am a sucker for sister stories and other than being a bit too long this was a perfect Sunday read. Three sister who grew up picking Moonglow pears, blasting music from their boom box and singing “Who Let the Dogs Out”, giggling, laughing, enjoying their sisterliness (is that even a word?)

Madison, the eldest, “is the solid anchor on the ground”, Shelly, the middle daughter who has been MIA for the past five years, “is the high-flying kite” and Gia, the baby of the family “is show more the string that keeps the two connected.” A wedding parted the sisters and a tragedy pulls them back to their family home in Moonglow Cove, Texas. They are going to have to decide if they can put their pride, hurt, and raw emotions in a box with the lid screwed down so they can work together and help their grandmother who is gravely ill.

Lots of emotions running wild and turning rational women into screaming banshees. Lots of harsh words being flung and landing hard. So much forgiving is required but it is such a slippery slope. Two steps forward, three back, half truths, partial truths, mistakes, misjudgments, all the things that often define family dynamics. Did I mention the hunk living next door? A definite positive like it a lot element.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers - William Morrow Paperbacks for a copy. show less

Mar 2, 20206 other reviews

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