Amazon Delicate Armor Category:  Literary Fiction Publisher: Heron Bay Publishing ISBN-10:  0988536315 Type: Fiction Pages: 343 Copyright: Jan 1, 2014 ISBN-13: 9780988536319 A lovely look backward at a tender father/daughter relationship. Callie Lindstrom is a sun-browned, scratched-up, feisty and fearless girl. The reader will experience the world through her alert and inquisitive eyes. Set against a lovingly depicted backdrop of the natural world, Delicate Armor, a penetrating coming-of-age novel, captures the complexities and tensions of a rural American family. With the loss of his baby boy, Will Lindstrom places his energy in young Callie, teaching her his love for the outdoors. Accepted into the world of men within her family and privy to their dreams and struggles, she learns to navigate waves of conflict and loss while realizing her own place in the world. The reader grows up alongside Callie as she reaches adulthood. Excerpt In the dim back room of the basement, where Mom did the laundry and Dad made repairs on whatever needed fixing, I stepped up on the Remington Express crate and reached for the string with the tiny silver tulip dangling from it. The workbench, covered with polished tools, lit up under the bare bulb. I hopped down, moved to where the steel vise was bolted, and twirled its handle until the thick jaws opened wide. I inserted Grandad's shotgun shell, its puckered end aimed at where the wall met the floor, and tightened the vise, making sure the red paper didn't get squished or the brass head flattened. Then I raised a ball-peen hammer over my head and came down BANG on the primer.

Stephen Wilbers, columnist Star Tribune
"My affection for Callie, the feisty but tender-hearted narrator, grew with each chapter, as did my admiration for the author's ability to tell a good story and her wonderful ear for language. Scene by scene, this carefully crafted story is a joy to read."

Carole Wendt, former producer/writer for THE TODAY SHOW
"An enthralling story with unforgettable characters. Poignant and funny."

Ron Schara, host Minnesota Bound television show
"The story in Delicate Armor could have been mine. As a son, I was raised to think that some day when I became a father, I, too, would have a son to pass on my love of outdoor pursuits. Instead, my journey through fatherhood included two daughters who became my fishing partners, hunting companions, and morel mushroom stalkers. What really matters is the journey through life so elegantly described by Connie Claire Szarke. Daughters can do outdoors whatever boys can do."