April 2016 Review Issue
Being
Selfish: My
Journey from Escort to Monk to Grandmother
Sarah
Marshank
Published by Sarah
Marshank/Selfistry
978-1-68222-814-2
$18.95
Through BeingSelfish.com
$29 for personalized signed copy
e-book
978-1-68222-815-9
$9.99
www.amazon.com
Sarah is twenty-two,
facing a second unplanned pregnancy, and faces a
difficult decision: whether or not to have her baby. Although raised in
a traditional Jewish household, she searches for her own definitions of
right and wrong, and this is just one of the many choices she confronts
in Being Selfish, a memoir that documents a life journey as she moves
from naive choices to a better, life-affirming path.
The first thing to note about Being Selfish is that it's all about the
journey to finding one's path and purpose in life: an endeavor that is
inherently selfish and which involves (for Sarah) a search of over
twenty years of discovery: "If I don’t have this baby, then I can just
get on with my life, continue along the path I’ve been on. And what
path is that?You know! The path I’m on. MY path. The path that doesn’t
have me birthing the child of some Rastafarian man I hardly know and
certainly don’t love. The path that doesn’t have me living through
another abortion. The path that leads me to fulfillment of my dreams,
to a meaningful career, to my perfect mate, to happily-ever-after. THAT
path."
Before her journey, the author was on such a conventional path, but was
slowly suffocating from her decisions. Moral and ethical challenges to
her behaviors lead her into a quagmire of inner struggles that cause
her to take the first steps in developing a relationship with herself.
How does one move from being a paid escort to becoming a monk and then
re-emerging into life with newfound family connections? It's a process
that involves being selfish and self-centered for a time, while
remaining committed to finding the heart of truth.
As she moves through relationships, psychic trials and physical
disasters, and rich encounters with all kinds of people, Sarah slowly
comes to embrace the finer art of 'selfistry' as part of the wider
journey to self-realization, and moves to a place where she can regain
a real sense of purpose and peace.
Readers who are on their own journeys will find fascinating Marshank's
memoir of discovery, and will relish the process of her 'full immersion
into life' which brings with it newfound joys and freedoms.
Being Selfish is a roadmap and a guide to the process which begins with
a selfish kernel of self interest but expands to embrace the world -
and with it, the pilgrim reader who would follow in similar footsteps,
but to the beat of their own drum.
Being
Selfish: My Journey from
Escort to Monk to Grandmother
Good Morning Diego Garcia: A Voyage of Discovery
Good
Morning Diego Garcia: A Voyage of Discovery
Juncture at the Still Point
Juncture
at the Still Point
On Stand-By South of Heaven On
Stand-By South of Heaven
Pilgrim
Wheels Pilgrim
Wheels: Reflections Of A
Cyclist Crossing America tells the
story of Neil Hanson's cross-country bicycle ride, and the many
revelations he discovers in his encounters with people along America's
roads and byways. It's a story of life changing experiences focused not
on the destination, but on the journey itself. Pilgrim Wheels
is a superior production, and does a terrific job of capturing the
experience of a cross country bicycle ride using crystal clear
descriptions. Pilgrim
Wheels
Sister
Jaguar's
Journey
Turning
Blue: A Life Beneath the Shield
Darkstorm Darkstorm
Henchgirl
The Bricklayer
The
Bricklayer
Cyber
Horror: The Beginning of The End
Fraternity of Fractures
Fraternity
of Fractures
Insatiable
Hate
Island
of the
Dolls www.jeremybatesbooks.com
Novels Awakening
Kali By Your Deeds
Fairy Godmothers of The Four Directions
Fairy
Godmothers of The Four Directions
Forever
Gentleman
Ghosts of Mateguas
Ghosts
of Mateguas
The Gilded Cage
The
Gilded Cage
Reviewer's
Choice The Black Panthers at
War The
Black
Panthers at War
Nurse Commitment
Nurse
Commitment
Snapshots: An Extraordinary Glimpse at Ordinary Lives Alone (#1
Flamestone Trilogy)
Alone
(#1
Flamestone Trilogy)
The Flower Fairy Superhero
The
Flower Fairy Superhero
Grammy’s
Glen
Return
to Index
Susan Joyce
Peel Productions, Inc.
ISBN
9781943158904 (trade
paper) $15.99
ISBN 9781943158911
(Amazon Kindle)
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Morning-Diego-Garcia-Discovery/dp/1943158908/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457104629&sr=8-1&keywords=9781943158904
It's a long journey from
Ojai California to a pleasure yacht on the
Indian Ocean, and one normally undertaken with a certain degree of
expertise under one's belt, using a roadmap for success.
Susan Joyce had neither.
What she did have was a shaky marriage, a
comfortable (if not naïve) life in Southern California, and the lure of
a different world which was accompanied (she discovered later) by a set
of falsehoods and dangers that nearly cost her life.
Good Morning Diego
Garcia: A Voyage of Discovery documents the process
whereby she grasps for something greater than stability and comfort,
only to find herself nearly losing everything - a second time.
Not everyone would opt to
embark on a sailing trip only to find out too
late that it's taking place during monsoon season. Not everyone would
jump at the offer to help crew a new boat with a set of strangers when
one's own experience as a sailor is limited. And few would survive the
storms that batter ship and psyche alike as Joyce comes to discover
that the illusions in her world are all too stark and real, and hold
the possibility of ending everything she knows.
To call Good Morning
Diego Garcia a memoir or a travelogue - or even a
sailing yarn - would be to do it a grave disservice. Joyce's ability to
take the higher road of adventure and insight and elevate them to new
heights in a format that transcends all of the usual approaches to
either memoir or travel story makes it a standout in both genres.
One the reasons why this
is so is the author's attention to plenty of
dialogue between everyone involved, and to presenting different
perspectives on hopes, dreams, and events: "I prepared pork chops and
coleslaw for dinner, and pondered the life jacket answer for a few
moments, imagining what strange creatures might live in the deep waters
of the Indian Ocean eagerly waiting to nibble on toes and fingers of a
human floating in a life jacket. “An opportunity like this can’t be
missed,” Charles said, pouring us wine."
Another reason why Good
Morning Diego Garcia shines so strongly is that
it's, quite simply, the kind of adventure of a lifetime that so many
dreams of and so few achieve (not the marital challenges; but the ideal
of sailing exotic seas on a luxury yacht.) It all sounds so alluring,
so romantic, and so wonderful.
Hold that thought. Good
Morning Diego Garcia explores the other side of
it. And it'll bring along a wealth of readers - memoir fans, armchair
travelers, sailors of large and small ships, and would-be-adventurers -
for a rollicking good ride filled with rolling waters and cultural
encounters, history, politics, and people living in limbo in more ways
than one.
The edge of adventure has
never felt so compelling.
Return
to Index
Sandra Jung Hall
Patchwork Publishing
9780972311212
$14.95
http://www.amazon.com/Juncture-Still-Point-Journey-Growth-ebook/dp/B01D0SPEZO
Stories about infant
fatalities are challenging to write and often
heart-wrenching reads, and Juncture at the Still Point is no exception
as it follows a three-month-old infant with Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Type 1, a progressive disease expected to kill infant Heidi Hall within
a year of her diagnosis.
Juncture at the Still
Point is written by Heidi's mother and follows
the family's grief and chaos as they face a terminal diagnosis, an
infant's disability and short life span, and the ups and downs of
questions, confusing answers, hope constantly revived and then crushed,
and the relentless progress of a debilitating condition.
Amid disaster and angst
are insights on survival, growth, friendships,
and more, though, and it's these nuggets of wisdom, insight, and
life-affirming revelations that make Juncture at the Still Point more
than a story of a child's terrible health issues.
Growth is life-affirming
and even happens through the loss of all hope
and in the face of death: "Through we wouldn't have predicted it at the
time, our life with Heidi would become fuller, more beautiful, more
purposeful, and even more fun than the life we had imagined with her
before the diagnosis. Later, moments would come to be shot through with
the sweet sharpness that comes with a heightened appreciation of the
instant and consciousness of presence. Later, the world would
be new to us again. I don't regret my inability to relate to
some people in the same way that I did before Heidi's
diagnosis. One finds there are relationships worth
preserving, worthy the effort to breech that divide between the person
she was prior to catastrophe and the person she is now. Other
relationships are revealed as not as valuable as once believed."
As much as Juncture at
the Still Point is about Hall's process of grief
and struggle, so it truly shines with these nuggets of wisdom about
life's slings and arrows and how to fjord the larger river of pain:
"Events, circumstances, and our reactions to them are the components of
life. Maybe when one embraces what life brings, including the bad
"luck," there is a chance he or she can find good sort of
ferocity within, like that of a "dragon mom" as defined by
Rapp. Or perhaps of a disabled child who's been dealt a
crappy genetic hand, but learns to navigate the world on her own
terms."
The process may seem
inevitable from the first chapter, but
surprisingly, it's not set in stone. Sandra Jung Hall's journey and
experiences pair grief and struggle with life-affirming insights, and
it's this juxtaposition that makes Juncture at the Still Point a
powerful, highly recommended read not just for parents struggling with
child illness, disability and mortality; but for any who would think
about the deeper meaning of life, death, and the richness that lies
between these juncture points.
Return
to Index
Steven Koss
Amazon Digital Services
ASIN: B01BPPQG6U $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/On-Stand-South-Heaven-Struggle-ebook/dp/B01BPPQG6U
Many readers will realize that at some time in their lives, they may
need to care for parents, even if they don't have a good relationship
with them and even if they have lives elsewhere. Steven Koss was such a
son, who dropped his life upon learning of his father's diagnosis of
cancer and moved from Florida to Ohio, confident that he could help
make a difference in his father's last months of life.
In truth, what is revealed in Koss's account in On Stand-By South of
Heaven: Coping with Cancer - My Struggle, My Journey, My Growth is far
more than a story of altruistic or loving care: it's a saga of nitty
gritty struggle on many levels, all spiced with the specter of death,
and it comes from a son who entered his father's world only to find it
packed with fights with physicians, lawyers, social workers, and
financial institutions.
The fact that Koss did not have a close relationship with his father
when he learned of the brain cancer diagnosis only serves to reinforce
that his choices are indicative of a powerful personality whose
determination to make a positive difference belayed the fact that end
of life scenarios often become quagmires of struggle on many levels.
Fulfilling a care promise made to his grandfather, Koss takes the leap.
In truth, he was facing his own dilemma with unemployment, looming
bankruptcy, and financial, so his father's growing needs neatly
juxtaposed with his personal need to choose a different direction in
life.
One notable feature of this story is his candid assessments of family
relationships and the difficult choice of caring for a distant father:
"I was caught in a tough spot. I told Jack years earlier I
would come when needed, but not before. I felt it was my duty
to take charge as the only person able to. On the other hand
why should I sacrifice for someone who was not there for me as a
child?"
Duty, sacrifice, and ethics and morality come into play as Koss
considers the pros and cons of his choices and makes a difficult
decision to help: "There were so many variables, and the effects on the
people in my life would be severe. A part of me wanted to get
out of Florida because that road was stagnant. I thought it
might be time to reengage in college. This is the selfish
side talking. Another part of myself didn’t want the
responsibility of care giver. There were too many unknowns in
this equation up north. My life in Florida was very
predictable and comfortable. I took in the fact that nobody
could handle my father. Jack needed me, but did I owe this to
him or my father? I’m sure most people like me, ask
themselves, “Would they do it for me?” I already knew the answer to
that, “No”, but I had given my word to Jack."
Few stories of choices at the crossroads of life are as clearly
analyzed and portrayed (usually it takes an outsider's dispassionate
involvement to clearly make such observations), and few results of
these choices are so enticingly analyzed throughout as in this
compelling memoir.
The author's ability to candidly self-assess as well as to present all
sides of stormy situations are one of this story's great strengths:
"Staring off into the gulf, it came to me that going home was the right
thing to do. Not because I gave my word, although this is
important, but because in giving a part of myself up for someone else
was the greatest gift I could give in life. I thought of
people serving others and I wanted to do my part, I wanted to be like
them. Now that I think back on it maybe it was a selfish
decision. My life in Florida was not excellent by any
means. I wasn’t feeling particular good about myself."
Family connections and dysfunction, loneliness and fear, and struggle
don't end upon death: Koss finds himself cast adrift even while freed
of some end of life challenges, and still must find his way in the
world - this time without parents: "There was still a ton of work to do
as my father had no will. I was still meeting with lawyers
and brokers regularly. I was dealing with the courts and the
DMV. I was a full time student and worked at least 30 hours a
week. I was visiting my grandfather twice a week and my mom
once a week. I might have looked fine on the outside to most but I too
was dying slowly. I had no passion for the days and I kept
getting through with drugs and alcohol. When there is a hole
in your soul you’ll try and fill it with anything."
In the end, the life lessons he learns will provide a new foundation
where one didn't exist before - and leaves readers of On Stand-By South
of Heaven with and skills to apply to other life challenges.
Why take the higher road? Because its riches promise far more than any
comparative safety or smoothness of the road more traveled. Steven
Koss's journey towards these riches in On Stand-By South of Heaven is a
powerful indicator of how to live a life well examined and ultimately
secured by positive, growth-inducing choices.
Return
to Index
Neil
Hanson
High Prairie Press
978-0-9826391-2-2
$14.95
www.highprairiepress.com
Hanson himself provides an introduction that deftly defines his
process: "A pilgrimage isn’t necessarily to anything, and not
necessarily from anything. In fact, I suspect the greatest pilgrimages
don’t start off as pilgrimages at all, but rather as something else.
Possibly an adventure. Maybe a journey at just the right time in a
person’s life. That’s what this story is about. The idea of an
adventure, that evolved into a journey, and from which a pilgrimage
blossomed."
An idea that became an adventure evolved into a journey into something
greater than originally conceived, and Hanson's ability to carry both
bikers and non-bikers along for the ride is part of what makes Pilgrim
Wheels such an engrossing read.
Descriptions capture the philosophies and nuances of Hanson's
experiences: "I think those of us on two wheels feel a bit disconnected
from the enclosed vehicles that represent the safe, status quo in the
world. I like the image of a frontiersman riding out in the open on two
wheels, akin to the horseman who’s part of the world he rides through,
rather than a spectator who experiences the world filtered through
steel and glass. On two wheels, we feel the heat of the sun on our
backs, we breathe in the nuance of the scent around us. We’re
experiencing the world of the road, not watching it from a climate
controlled rolling theatre. We feel the wind buffeting our face or
pushing us gently from behind."
The ideal reader of Pilgrim Wheels should not expect a travelogue full
of routes or places, or even an account of touring basics; but a
journey story spiced with the appeal of personal observation blended
with philosophical reflection: "Dave sometimes wonders if I find more
joy in life than he does. He’s not saying that my life has more joy in
it, but just that I seem more able to notice and savor the joy that’s
there. I don’t really know if he’s right or not, but if he is, then
it’s also true that Dave notices adversity less than I do. He just
takes the wind shift in stride. He gears down and just keeps pedaling."
Descriptions are powerfully written and offer readers a compelling 'you
are there' feel that captivates the reader regardless of his or her
level of knowledge about bicycling or bicycle touring: "The tailwind
was a bonus that turned this day of adventure into what might be the
nicest day on a bicycle I’ve ever experienced in my life."
Pilgrim
Wheels is a fine recommendation for anyone who would enjoy an
armchair journey across America on a bicycle with Hanson, or who wants
to prepare for the kinds of challenges a cross-country venture could
bring.
Return
to Index
Sister Judy Bisignano and Sandra C. Morse
Maketai,
Inc.
9780990968818
$19.95
www.sisterjaguarsjourney.com
Sister Jaguar's Journey is
written by a Dominican nun who spent nearly
seventy years in a lifelong quest for God, only to find everything she
was seeking in the most unlikely of places: the Amazon rain forest. How
a nun invited to speak to a community in the Ecuadorian Amazon
rainforest becomes the student herself, re-discovering God while
learning plant medicine and native ways, makes for a gripping and
unique account.
It's not every day that a staunch believer in traditional Western
Christianity not only comes into contact with a 'primitive' culture,
but becomes personally immersed in and spiritually challenged by it.
But most of all, it's a special treat to follow the path of a woman who
comes to embrace very foreign ideas, from the wisdom of Pachamama
(Mother Earth) to rituals and beliefs that allow her to not just fully
embrace other spiritual ways, but to let go of a faith with too many
roots in self-depreciation and fear.
From Bisignano's forced exit from the convent as she stood up for
justice and defied the spoken and unspoken rules of the Dominican
circle to Sister Judy's fierce determination to follow her beliefs
through the most turbulent of circumstances, one of the most striking
facets of her journey is her flexibility in the face of rigid both
internal and external systems.
Accounts of personal and spiritual transformative journeys typically
hold one thing in common: their participants waver in their beliefs and
paths. Sister Judy didn't waver; she jumped ship. She directly
confronted her internal messages and deliberately placed herself in
situations that led her to constantly question and search for new clues
to different perspectives on life.
Her life-affirming journey is a testimony to flexibility and change,
both spiritual and social, as she becomes involved in issues of justice
and absorbs and imparts wisdom, finding a place for herself as a plant
teacher in her new Amazon community. Her path celebrates and
reveals this community: another fine point setting Sister Jaguar's
Journey apart from other life-change autobiographical chronicles.
The result is a fine spiritual saga which holds several facets that set
it apart from any other. This Dominican nun's transformation is told
using lively, compelling language refecting a zest for life and
adventure, and charts an engrossing odyssey.
A video version of Sister Judy's story (9780990968823, $9.95) offers
added value in visually bringing the rainforest peoples and environment
to life.
Sister
Jaguar's Journey
Return
to Index
Turning
Blue: A Life
Beneath the Shield
Lawrence
Hoffman
Page Publishing
9781682891049
$24.95
www.pagepublishing.com
Turning Blue: A Life Beneath the
Shield provides the autobiography of
an author who longed to wear a uniform and be part of an organization:
a desire that would lead him from ball games and Scouts to joining the
NYPD force in 1984, there to become a veteran police detective.
In contrast to many police stories which recount crime encounters and
department politics, Turning Blue offers a satisfyingly different
approach in documenting not only street encounters and detective work,
but how this work is absorbed into an officer's psyche, belief system,
and everyday life outside of the force. Turning Blue is at
its strongest when depicting this process, which takes stories of
detective work and juxtaposes them with personal insights on how
challenges to psychological and physical survival are reconciled with
life-altering events and tragedies.
There are stories of struggle and strife; but these are contrasted with
touching moments of kindness which serve to emphasize that an officer's
work is not all about conflict and confrontation.
From Columbian drug dealers to team operations, descriptions are
precise and sometimes include a surprising touch of humor: "Generally,
these things never go as scheduled. Most criminals have no concept of
time, and it annoys the shit out of me. Is it too much to ask
that you sell me my illegal guns and controlled substances at the
agreed upon time? As narcotics cops, we are completely regulated by
time."
These insights blend with Hoffman's family life and personal
perspectives to provide a well-rounded coverage highly recommended for
anyone who enjoys police protocol and true-crime accounts, adding a
healthy dose of psychological depth that many police stories lack,
making for a highly recommended, engrossing read.
Return
to Index
M.L.
Spencer
Stoneguard Publications
978-0-9971779-0-9
$5.99
www.MLSpencerFiction.com
Darkstorm presents Book One in the Rhenwars Saga: several more in this
series are to be expected. Two nations teeter on the brink of war, each
backed by powerful forces, and it may take an unholy alliance with
black magic to achieve the positive goal of thwarting an apocalyptic
event.
Being the prequel to the series, Darkstorm is a perfect introduction
for newcomers and, for prior fans, fills in much information about the
setting and people of this dark fantasy world; but readers anticipating
a light, entertaining leisure read should be cautioned. As events play
out, social and moral issues revolving around magic's use and its
ultimate effects are highlighted, offering much depth, detail, and much
food for thought.
Spencer's descriptions are sharp and pointed, drawing connections
between characters, their physical attributes, and their moral and
psychic abilities: "Arden Hannah was just as alluring as she was vile.
It was a powerful and frightening dichotomy."
There are few clear-cut delineations of good and evil offered in the
story and, as a result, choice is depicted as a changing (and sometimes
questionable) set of options in a series of scenarios in which good
intentions lead to bad results.
There is much temptation to become a 'darkmage', and even when a goal
seems to lie in the realm of what is noble, the end results are often
anything but good. As Braden and Quin struggle with magic, their
choices, and their roles in their world, so readers are drawn into a
story line that delivers powerful action but offers unexpected side
dishes with introspective examinations of motivation, circumstances,
and consequences.
As the plot evolves, readers come to see that the real struggle is not
just between competing magical forces and methods of wielding them, but
between different moral concepts and values systems.
The female characters of Sephana and Merris are as well-drawn and
mercurial as their male counterparts, moving neatly from vixen and
seductress to authoritative women both in charge of their destinies
and, alternately, helpless against events that cascade over them all.
Intrigue, political alliances, and differing methods of displaying
power and authority often come together through passages that expose
the inner thought processes and relationships of protagonists as they
interact with each other and with their world's social and political
constraints: "Gazing at her former mentor, Merris was reminded of
exactly why she had never liked the woman. Sephana had a way of
positively exuding competence; it was a trait that made others trust
her and turn to her for guidance. It lent credence to her gentle
arguments and weight to her quiet authority."
Readers
who enjoy political intrigue, psychological suspense, and
military action will appreciate the attention to detail in Darkstorm
that brings a magic-infused world and its peoples' struggles to
life.
Return
to Index
Rita
Stradling
Rita Stradling, Publisher
978-0-9910822-4-7
$14.99
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B016KYHO3U
Barnes
and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/henchgirl-rita-stradling/1122797673
Audible:
http://www.audible.com/pd/Teens/Henchgirl
Henchgirl, Book One of the Dakota Kekoa series, opens with an
intriguing 'excerpt' from a book about dragons which has been banned
from the public school system, and tells of how two species who were
never supposed to meet became entwined through actions of humans, whose
manipulation of chemistry dissolved the natural barriers designed to
keep the two species apart. While this introduction sets the stage,
Chapter One moves to the first person (and quite a different scenario)
as a savvy protagonist faces a vampire who is just one of the dangerous
forces lined up outside a club.
Dakota isn't really human: she's acting undercover in the human world
as the spawn of dragon and human (a 'dracon'), and she's on a secret
mission as rising tensions between dragon and human worlds portend war.
As such, she not only walks the line between the two worlds which have
made her, but she faces adversity and strife that are social and
political in nature, grasping the basics of power, control, prejudice
and politics with equally compelling attention to detail.
Take her family ties, for one example. She lives in a monstrously large
ocean-view mansion, her power dampener allows her to read emotions and
sift through souls, and she works for her grandfather, using her
abilities to support her alcoholic mother and her siblings.
Just as the worlds of human and dragon mingle throughout the story, so
the strengths and weaknesses of each come to life in the psyche and
efforts of Dakota, who represents the pivot point where dragon and
human concerns intersect.
A myriad of subplots revolving around different protagonists rounds out
the atmosphere of Henchgirl and continually adds new insights into
Dakota's world, but the swirl of action always centers on her
challenges, decisions, and interactions within both worlds.
Perhaps the strongest facet of Henchgirl lies in Stradling's ability to
craft powerful scenarios, compelling characters, and motivations that
lead to higher purposes and concerns than the typical fantasy fueled by
either dragons or teenage protagonists.
Dakota's ability to be an assertive 'bad girl' as well as a teen on the
cusp of greater powers, and the dilemmas that come with each problem
she must confront, makes for an engrossing leisure read that will reach
beyond fans of teen magic stories or dragons and well into adult
audiences seeking feisty protagonists and gripping story
lines.
Henchgirl
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to Index
The
Living Miracle: A
Love Story
Donna D. Vaal
Dorrance Publishing (Rose Dog
Books)
ISBN: 978-1-4809-6677-2
e-ISBN:
978-1-4809-6700-7
$16.00
www.Thelivingmiraclebook.com
The protagonist in The Living Miracle: A Love Story was born in 3044 at
The Center of Life in an age that has outgrown the need for a god and
which births synthetically created babies. All babies are now born at a
creation complex overseen by Master Izanagi, who has further plans for
using the non-human humanoids which are often created along with their
DNA counterparts as twins.
This is where the story begins - but it doesn't progress in a linear
fashion and it doesn't go where readers may anticipate. There's nothing
predictable about this world, where life and love are uncertain and
strangely defined and where a loving boy gives new life to his numbered
humanoid twin, acknowledging her as a piece of humanity rather than a
toy or a casual creation.
Herein lies the problem, for an artificial being rescues her twin and
thus is truly born into something completely different: an individual
with a soul from God, charged with hiding her reborn consciousness
until the time is right. The 'doll', 'computer', and 'thing' has come
truly alive as a reward for her selfless act. What's next? Plenty, as
The Living Miracle shows.
The two remarkable children must remain unremarkable in the eyes of
their elders if they are to survive: "The Mosouka was programed from
birth to understand things far above age, or human experience. Hiroto
was an exceptional child. Like his great grandfather Master Izanagi
Okamura, he was a genius with an IQ yet to be recognized on the charts.
Had the Principled Noyen not been so busy with his own insane need to
replace God, he would have recognized the genius in Hiroto." And so
begins a game that weaves recovery, love, transformation, and belief
into a compelling story that's hard to put down.
Is this a possible future? In a world bereft of God, focused on DNA
structures and genetic manipulation, what place or purpose does a
living miracle have? While twins and their connections are the central
theme of this story, moral and ethical issues abound in a tale
saturated with thought-provoking moments analyzing family connections,
plots for control and dominance of life, death, and spirituality
itself.
In a world where God is questioned and man has taken it upon himself to
dictate reproduction and define humanity itself, is there a place for
any reminders of miracles and a higher truth?
The Living Miracle is like no other. Compelling, filled with rich
insights, and hard to put down, it creates a long and winding road
documenting humanity's purposes, illusions, and its journey back to the
certainty of a higher power in an age overtaken by godlessness. Both
religious readers and secular followers will find The Living Miracle an
intriguing and gripping story of an all-too-possible future altered by
one miracle that stands alone as the flame to a bigger fire of
hope.
The
Living Miracle: A Love Story
Return
to Index
What
the Clocks
Know
Rumer Haven
Crooked Cat Publishing Ltd.
ISBN:
9781910510896
ASIN:
B01C8PQHAQ
$2.99
www.crookedcatpublishing.com
http://www.amazon.com/What-Clocks-Know-Rumer-Haven-ebook/dp/B01C8PQHAQ
Margot
is changing her life: she's dumped her boyfriend, quit her job,
and has moved to London in search of herself, unsure of what her next
move should be.
This question is answered for her as the old house settles in around
her (or, does she settle into it?) and brings with it strange dreams,
other lives, and a ghostly possibility.
It's not unusual to find a ghost story couched in the broader tale of a
lifestyle change; but what brings What the Clocks Know to real spooky
life is its ability to timeslip the protagonist between Victorian and
modern London to enter different worlds that each serve as a microcosm
of love, hate, and everything in between.
The scene opens with a poignant depiction of this state of mind. The
protagonist is in mourning for a lover; a solitary affair in which she
wishes herself dead, as well. There is a price to be paid for having
been 'born old', and that price is death. How Margot comes to be in
this state and where she stands in the worlds she traverses is the
subject of a haunting saga that immediately opens with the timeslip
potentials in life provided in the enchanting young adult novel
Charlotte Sometimes.
From these clues one quickly determines that Margot is not uninformed
on these matters, and that her life is actually a set up for the final
act in which a journey out of her world will become longer and go
farther than she could have imagined.
Diary entries and death sentences, crazy dreams and unreal entities,
wicked arguments, parallel lives, and friendships holding promises of
renewal, and spirited women tamed and lost … all these elements combine
in a powerful novel packed with eye-opening imagery and tales of
spirits dead, alive, and evolving.
What does it take to find a soul mate in another world, or to live a
full life in two dimensions? What happens when two bodies sharing one
soul unite? Margot may be running away from something, but she finds
she's actually running into another conundrum as well: one from which
she may never escape.
The entire production is a gripping read, highly recommended for ghost
story enthusiasts, timeslip novel readers, and anyone who likes romance
and powerful protagonists facing unexpected circumstances.
What
the Clocks Know
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to Index
Rene Natan
Amazon Digital Services
ASIN: B007PKCHBI $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/Bricklayer-Rene-Natan-ebook/dp/B007PKCHBI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456413778&sr=8-1&keywords=Bricklayer+rene+natan
A construction company would seem an unlikely setting for
murder, but the success of The Werkstein doesn't make it immune to
fraud and its deadly consequences, as readers quickly realize as
dangerous events unfold in The Bricklayer.
It all begins when a female engineer is hired to join the company's
all-male crew, and though owner Fred expects problems, murder is not on
the list of his worries.
As deaths begin to accumulate, identifying Fred as a likely suspect, a
suspicious police detective views Fred's friendships, his behaviors,
and his attempts to woo an officer in his own unit as mounting proofs
of Fred's deadly intentions, and sets his radar on stopping the next
murder.
The Bricklayer builds a story line that is anything but predictable. A
construction worker's attention to precision bricklaying and working
with stone would not seem to indicate a dual talent for successful
murders, much less his choices in making decisions that barely hide his
intentions. A police investigator's ability to connect the dots leads
him in unexpected directions, and a series of murders might ultimately
have their roots in something entirely different than logic would
dictate.
It's not just up to the police to solve the crimes: readers are drawn
in by Fred's actions and the motivations of those around him, and
murder is only one of the many issues that permeate a story about a
woman working in a man's world, company liabilities and assets,
collateral damage, and murky inquiries.
The Bricklayer swings between Fred's world, the police department,
those who work in the construction company, and evolving relationships
with a deft attention to building drama and connections. It should be
mentioned that there are numerous subplots and characters throughout,
so this is no quick and easy read.
Readers receive a slow build-up that takes its time in forging these
connections, and will appreciate the attention The Bricklayer brings to
moving its protagonists into position for some fine revelations. It is
a fine pick for readers seeking a story that pairs intrigue and romance
with an engrossing series of escalating events that lead to a
satisfyingly unexpected conclusion.
Return
to Index
Cyber
Horror: The
Beginning of The End
C.H.A
Publisher:
C.H.A
ASIN: B01BO9THAE
.99
www.cyberhorror.com
Cyber Horror opens not in a laboratory but with a hospital fountain,
where a boiling water eruption targets people in a purposeful way and
defies control. Days later, playground children confront mysterious
bubbles from the sky that change upon contact, and a few days after
that, a baseball game is challenged by mysterious circumstances.
Readers will know these events are connected by their back-to-back
presentation, but the story that evolves in Cyber Horror is more
satisfyingly complex than readers might initially imagine, and involves
computer viruses with human victims, hackers who craft specialty
malware, organic viruses that self-replicate, and a brilliant
researcher's discovery run amok.
All these elements contribute to a tale filled with suspense, laced
with computer science, and linked to motivations and purposes of evil
creators and those forced to deal with a nightmare unleashed.
The strength of Cyber Horror lies in a story line that rests upon
scientific discoveries and their ultimate impact on an unsuspecting
public. As containment and control break down, madness and mayhem
spread in an unusual, unpredictable manner. Characterization is well
done and the blend of powerful, believable protagonists, special
interests, and the unpredictable outcomes of experiments gone awry
create an involving read that's hard to put down.
Fans of apocalyptic sci-fi, medical thrillers, horror, and hard science
fiction will find plenty to like in Cyber Horror, which features a fine
premise and the interactions of many protagonists who hold special
interests and abilities affecting the progression and ultimate outcome
of events.
Though the novel's outcome is definitive, the door is left open for
more, and horror readers will easily find themselves looking forward to
this possibility.
Return
to Index
Mark Pannebecker
AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1-5049-5755-7 (sc) $16.95
ISBN: 978-1-5049-5754-0 (e) $3.99
http://www.amazon.com/Fraternity-Fractures-Mark-Pannebecker/dp/1504957555/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456331641&sr=8-1&keywords=Fraternity+of+Fractures
Fraternity of Fractures opens with a girl called Phoenix, the white
heat of a perfect crime in the making, and the smoky evening world of a
St. Louis neighborhood about to serve as the backdrop for a clever
event.
The first thing to note about Mark Pannebecker's writing is that it's
as precisely attuned to creating atmosphere as the methodical crimes it
describes: "In the distance a police siren sang, but Phoenix wasn’t
concerned—as Justin was prone to say, “It’s the ones you don’t hear
that get you.”
The second thing to note is that events often build to a
seemingly-predictable conclusion, only to change mid-step, keeping
readers on their toes. The cleverest of crimes may thus only result is
a single coveted item being stolen, or the murky possibilities of
attraction may occur between women as easily as between men. The sultry
sounds of rock music from the 1980s are used to cement an atmosphere
and sense of the times that revolves around places, personalities, and
lifestyles teetering on the edge of disaster.
Don't expect a singular approach in Fraternity of Fractures. The
story's not about a perfect crime, relationship, era, or location, but
about the interrelationships of protagonists who are each searching for
their place in the world. Such an atmosphere tends to be dark and
brooding, pairing objectives and desires with observations which lead
readers in unusual directions as past and present become interwoven
with both social reflection and personal experience: "While waiting for
Phoenix and Dylan, Justin looked at a newer, utilitarian building down
the street and thought again about how it didn’t fit in. No connection
to the past, he thought again. The newer building reminded him of his
father and when he turned away to look at the aesthetically more
pleasing architecture of an older building his thoughts turned to his
mother. No respect for the past."
Because of these sifting, shifting scenes, Fraternity of Fractures is
likely to stymie readers anticipating a one-dimensional crime saga or a
story of changing relationships on the edge of society, so one of the
novel's special strengths may also be a reason (for some) for setting
it aside. Brooding atmospheres and twists of fate, changing concepts of
love, loyalty, the appropriateness of stealing from the rich, and a
sense of dancing passions, purposes, and changes that keep protagonists
and readers on their toes will not produce a read attractive for many a
general-interest follower of mystery and suspense genre formula
writings.
Such complexity is better reserved for those who appreciate literary
devices that move beyond formula productions to probe the alleyways and
atmospheres of characters who examine their motivations for stealing,
the influences on decisions which lead to higher levels of crime, and
the relationships that evolve and dissolve as part of this evolutionary
process.
To call Fraternity of Fractures a 'crime novel' or a 'novel of
suspense' would be to do it an injustice. Embracing elements of
different genres (mystery, suspense, crime) and yet rising above them
all with a sense of purpose and atmosphere that satisfyingly wings its
way above and beyond most genre reads, it's an involving and evolved
piece that ultimately connects the changing courses of very different
lives.
Not for the mild-mannered reader in search of light entertainment,
Fraternity of Fractures not only invites its readers to think - it
demands it. The smoky backdrop of 1980s St. Louis in the midst of a
crime wave is only one facet of a story about of fractures, healing,
and change: an exquisite standout in a world of fast and dirty crime
scene whodunits that sketch their worlds without truly capturing their
complexity.
Return
to Index
Insatiable
Hate
Dennis A. Nehamen
Golden Poppy Publications
978-0-9890572
5 7 $15.99 Paperback, $2.99 ebook
www.dennisnehamen.com
Because Insatiable Hate picks up where Dennis A. Nehamen's Mistaken
Enemy ends, it's recommended that readers have a priority familiarity
with and affinity for Enemy to appreciate the smooth segue into events
in Zach's life that is represented in this latest thriller.
Here Zach faces the aftermath of events that took place in Mistaken
Enemy which makes him seem guilty of crimes he never committed, with
the real perpetrator all too visible and all too intent on destroying
his life.
Many of the themes that permeated the prior book continue here:
revenge, conspiracy, murder, criminal activities, and a whirlwind of
deadly circumstances that keeps Zach and those he loves in the center
of danger. Readers who appreciated Zach's struggles in the first book
will find added interest here as Zach continues to handle hate crimes
and obstacles that seem insurmountable.
Serial killers and international intrigue, moments of relief nearly
comic in their logic ("What was I complaining about? I didn’t have any
of those pressures. For me, it was just one lousy guy trying to kill
me."), and the interplay between family and deadly forces is well done.
These all expand Zach's personality and purposes and provide prior fans
and newcomers with another wild adventure where everything is
threatened and nothing is safe.
Insatiable Hate isn't just about hate and revenge: it's ultimately
about tenacity and its ability to alter the course of events. Zach's
efforts will continue to involve hearts and minds accustomed to
thriller formats and will delight audiences with the notion that even
when the inevitable seems inescapable, there's always hope.
Prior fans of Zach's adventures will find this latest story packed with
nonstop action, while newcomers will want to turn to Mistaken Enemy for
more.
Return
to Index
Ghillinnein Books
978-1-988091-8-2
$$24.50 hardcover, $2.99
Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/Island-Dolls-Worlds-Scariest-Places-ebook/dp/B019O6C5GW/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Island of the Dolls adds to the 'World's Scariest Places' series with
Book Four. Each book's setting is actually a real-world place, and so
Isla de las Mune-cas (the Island of the Dolls) is actually a floating
garden in Mexico. A legend about a drowned girl and dolls that haunt
the premises forms the foundation for a gripping story that is a fine
addition to the series, but also stands well on its own, making it an
attraction for newcomers.
The tale opens with a little girl's near-drowning and the threat from
gruesome dolls that leads her to flee. The compelling opener
immediately shifts to the first person as the protagonist awakens from
a nightmare and an alcoholic binge from the night before. He's part of
an ad hoc TV documentary group that has come to investigate the legend
of an area haunted by dolls, but the truth is even more bizarre when
they find themselves immersed in murder, mayhem, and a legend that may
prove all too real for comfort.
Island of the Dolls excels in creating gripping scenarios and building
believable protagonists who move from disbelief and personal angst to
terror. It employs many of the devices professional thriller authors
use, creating solid characters and making them walk out of their
familiar worlds into scenarios that challenge their beliefs and
connections to each other, the world, and reality itself, and it
provides a satisfying dose of horror wrapped in the compelling events
of an investigation that takes many unexpected twists and turns.
This means that the action is vivid, the protagonists convincing, and
the winding plot leaves nobody behind as it weaves through a virtual
maze of creepy possibilities.
Readers might feel that some of the tension and scenes are a bit drawn
out (such as when the protagonists face a dark crawlspace or hole and
argue about who should face its dark possibilities), but this serves to
neatly heighten tension and just when the build-up seems too much -
snap - an unexpected discovery is made which could be either benign or
explosively shocking.
Inject more than a small degree of social reflection into events
("Elizaveta recalled life in Saint Petersburg in the early- to
mid-nineties. The brutal winters, the jostling for food and other basic
supplies, the overcrowded buses, the cynicism and aggression, the
robberies and racketeering, the misfortune and disdain etched on
everyone's faces. Despite all this, her compatriots certainly had more
than Solano—yet were their lives any better than his? Were they more
fulfilled?") for a powerful saga that reaches out, grips strongly, and
proves hard to put down.
Thriller fans and readers of Stephen King, Joe Lansdale, and other
masters of the art will find much to love in this highly recommended,
action-packed read.
Island
of the Dolls
Return
to Index
T. S. Ghosh
Zharmae Publishing Press, L.L.C.
Ebook: ASIN: B01806MTKY $4.99
Paperback: 978-1943549436 $14.95
http://www.amazon.com/Awakening-Kali-T-S-Ghosh-ebook/dp/B01806MTKY
Awakening Kali is set in the 1900s in Bengal and opens with the myth of
the Indian goddess Kali, who savors the taste of the demon blood she
has consumed and dances a primal victory dance of destruction until she
realizes that she may have destroyed something she loves.
Fast forward to quite a different world in 1937: one in which Kali
slumbers and her wrath has left the world. In this world, Chhaya is the
youngest daughter in a family that doesn't want her, and she finds a
new beginning in life when she is married off to a man who really loves
her.
But Chhaya's world trembles under the weight of love, newly awakening
the destructive fires of Kali. Is Chhaya cursed or blessed, and will
the slumbering powers of her own passion destroy everything she loves?
Awakening Kali is a unique read about another culture, another time,
and cross purposes. It's infused with pending disaster, it creates a
captivating story of wrath and various forms of mental illness, and it
places characters at odds with their world.
The rich culture and traditions of India are an integral part of a
story infused with mythology and social tradition, while Chhaya's
choices and challenges and India's perspective on mental illness is
exquisitely portrayed, woven into a tale of love, madness, and change.
Dialogues between protagonists create powerful scenes in which insanity
is displayed and probed: "Forget the cleaning today. The cleaning
doesn’t matter. Don’t you know what today is?” He gave her a forced
smile. “It’s Independence Day! India is finally free of the British!
It’s monumental! It’s what our parents and grandparents dreamed of! The
entire city is celebrating. We need to take the children and be a part
of this historic moment!” He watched the change in her face as she
absorbed his words. He saw the glimmer of rational thought battling
with the madness in her brain. For a moment, he thought he caught a
glimpse of the old Chhaya, his Chhaya, peering up at him. And then, in
a flash, she was gone. And the madwoman returned in her place. “I don’t
care what day it is! I have to get the house cleaned! I have to! Don’t
you understand?” She gave him a frantic look."
Self-knowledge is often a part of mental illness, and as Chhaya
descends into a dark place, she admits what is going on even as she's
helpless to change it: "Of course, it wasn’t the gods that she was
angry at—at least, not right now. No, it was Arun she was angry with.
It was his fault that she had lost count. After all, it was his stupid,
idiotic story that had distracted her. She paused. Was it really just a
story, though? Or was leaving them something he was truly considering?
Was he really that unhappy? Part of her brain laughed at its own query.
Of course he was that unhappy—he was living with a wraith, a phantom of
a wife who haunted him with her lunacy and her rage. Because that’s
what she truly was—a dark, angry, cavernous shadow that shrouded
everything and everyone she touched. No wonder he wanted to leave her."
Many stories about mental illness are set in Western cultures. To find
one that reflects the cultural norms and social perspectives of another
world is exceptional, and to wind a plot from the different
perspectives of protagonists caught up in this world and its limited
choices - well, that is extraordinary.
Awakening
Kali is more than a novel about obsessive-compulsive mental
disorder. It's a story of how that condition becomes a part of Indian
society and how it transforms the lives of all it touches, offering a
riveting, compelling read that is hard to put down and especially
recommended for any with an interest in mental health stories in
general and Indian culture in particular.
Awakening
Kali
Return
to Index
Boston
Teran
High Top
Publishing
978-1-56703-068-6
$9.95
www.hightoppublishing.com
By Your Deeds tells the vivid story of one Violette Sier, a female
attorney of the 1920s New York who finds herself traversing the globe
in defense of her latest client, an American war hero who is being
detained and imprisoned overseas; but to call this a story revolving
around detective work or courtroom battles would be to do it a grave
disservice.
By Your Deeds is also the story of a young career woman who follows her
impossible dreams, of a nation coming of age against the backdrop of
war, of survival against all odds, and of a decorated soldier's last
dream of traveling to Mongolia retracing the journeys of Genghis Khan:
a pursuit that places him in more danger than his what he faced during
wartime years.
There's more than one way of obliterating purpose in life, and though
Harlan has learned this during war, it's a lesson that is destined to
return to him time and again in the course of this story ("Sweeping it
away is meant to symbolize the impermanence of life and the world. It
is part of the lesson to be experienced and learned.").
At a pivot point in history where war gives way to powerful and
significant events and when men and women stand on the cusp of
empowerment, Violette and Harlan are oddities in a world still churning
with political and social violence.
Patriotism and passion, endearment and idealism, and forms of tyranny
and oppression all come together and haunt Violette and Harlan's
movements as they dance around the social structure and culture that is
Europe and beyond - and around one another: "She was a moment of
wordless beauty. If he could have dreamed her up, he would have. He
felt like a lonely soul on a rooftop who had just been found. She'd
entered his existence and consumed it like a fever, but in the back of
his mind was a stealthing fear this could all only promise sorrow."
Envision a ballet. Every movement is precise. Every description is
crafted for maximum effect and social, legal, and political processes
are honed to sharpened edges as Violette faces circumstances she never
dreamed of, in which "A thousand dreams went off inside her head like
tiny sparklers."
The best novels come with quests, romance, good and bad deeds,
retribution and redemption. By Your Deeds follows these processes,
using two vivid protagonists to explore life and love in a long journey
that examines deeds done and undone, using sterling language that is
precise and bright: "They lay together in silence in the dark of a warm
night in the sanctuary. They had spent it all. One’s leg hung over the
other’s like a draped hour hand. The air was heavy as a long summer
from their breathing. You look to find important words but to what end?
No matter how armed you are with words or passion, with caring or love,
in the end you are left clinging to one truth–time is mortal."
With its wider-ranging examinations crafted within a story of
redemption, forgiveness, and discovery, all wrapped with crystalline
words and compelling descriptions, what's not to like, here? The
package simply shines and will attract fiction readers seeking vivid
writing and a compelling novel of transformation and
adventure.
By
Your Deeds
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to Index
Jennifer Morse
Amazon Digital Services
ASIN:
B019QW65Z6
.99
http://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Godmothers-Directions-Jennifer-Morse-ebook/dp/B019QW65Z6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453476231&sr=8-1&keywords=Fairy+Godmothers+of+The+Four+Directions
One might anticipate from its title that Fairy Godmothers of The Four
Directions will be a fantasy or the fable retold; but Jennifer Morse's
background is in psychology, so here she uses the parable of the fairy
godmother to examine choices and attitudes. Yes, this is couched in a
fairy tale format; but it's anything but fantasy leisure reading, as
readers will quickly discover.
Picture Cinderella's stark world after her parents died, for example.
Unloved and grieving, Cinderella throws herself into work in an effort
to cope with her loss and the cruelty that newly dominates much of her
world. This process paves the way for a fairytale rescue - but not
before she moves past her grief to arrive at the heart of what she
truly desires and wishes to be. (In this case, in keeping with the
original story, everything revolves around the Prince.)
The Cinderella character and fairytale is neatly juxtaposed with
psychological insights in passages that pair a young girl's changing
priorities and perspectives with the arrival of a miracle in her life.
Under Morse's hand, these hurdles, barriers, and transformations are
exposed as what must take place in order for Cinderella to be able to
receive her gifts and perceive the truths of her world, and the idea of
the singular rescuer becomes much more complex in Fairy Godmothers of
The Four Directions.
As the story's retelling embraces psychological concepts, scientific
insights and science-based research evolves, and readers will be
pleasantly surprised by a tale that succeeds in the difficult effort of
taking a well-worn fantasy and injecting into it a completely different
avenue of understanding: "Your mirror neutrons live next door to motor
neutrons. Mirror neutrons are activated by your imagination, dreaming,
even intuition. When the mirror neutrons ignite they cause a ripple out
effect to the motor neutrons. In this way you are, literally and
physically, preparing to live your goals by first dreaming them."
What a fine way of absorbing psychological insights! It could be said
that Cinderella doesn't dream high enough: that her goals of achieving
love and centering her psyche on a man are, in fact, self-limiting, and
that the power of the fairy godmother is reduced by Cinderella's
objectives. Feminist readers will undoubtedly take issue with this
focus; but Cinderella undertakes these journeys alone, builds
independence, and discovers newfound strengths, and so her goals evolve
beyond the singular purpose of finding a man and basking in love.
The wider-ranging strength of Fairy Godmothers of The Four Directions
lies in its ability to serve as a guideline to translating ambition,
opportunity, and life goals from fantasy into reality. Cinderella's
growth process embraces mystical as well as psychological and
scientific concepts and sweeps readers along for a walk into (and out
of) her world. The result is a powerful examination of vulnerability
and change that takes the trappings of a well-worn fairytale and
injects it with new life.
Readers of psychology, fantasy retellings, and self-help books will
find Fairy Godmothers of The Four Directions a satisfyingly different
approach that succeeds in packing much food for thought into what
initially appears to be a simple retelling.
Return
to Index
Roland Colton
Anaphora Literary
Press
9781681142296
$40.00
http://anaphoraliterary.com
Forever Gentleman is a historical novel set in Victorian London and
blends the author's love for architecture, music and history as it
steeps its story in the sights, sounds, and flavors of the era and
follows Renaissance man Nathan, whose struggles as an architect and a
musician bring him in contact with the ladies and lords of high
society.
Nathan's gifts bring him love in unexpected places; but they also are
challenged by his economic misfortunes and by threats that give him
clear choices between romance or seeking safety in another country.
From the squalor of Debtor's Prison to judges, courtroom dramas, and
the beckoning possibilities of a new life that takes his beloved piano
concertos to new heights, Forever Gentleman is about a young man
finding his place in society and the social trials and snafus (and
romance) that confront him along the way.
Readers who like atmospheric, sweeping historical sagas cemented by the
personal goals, observations, and challenges of protagonists who
interact on many levels will relish Forever Gentleman's special ability
to turn out a rollicking good read while remaining true to the history
and influences of its times.
It's a romance, it's a mystery, and it's a history all wrapped into one
satisfyingly beautiful production, and is highly recommended for anyone
who appreciates a depth and attention to detail that results in a
powerful story line.
Forever
Gentleman
Return
to Index
Linda Watkins
Argon Press
978-1-944815-01-1
eBook $2.99
978-1-944815-00-4
Print
$16.95
http://lindawatkins.biz/
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Mateguas-Island-Novel-ebook/dp/B01BJ38QAW/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1454931282&sr=8-7&keywords=mateguas+island
Nook:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ghosts-of-mateguas-linda-watkins/1123373406?ean=2940157740245
Kobo:
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/ghosts-of-mateguas
Ghosts of Mateguas joins others in the Mateguas Island saga in
providing the third novel in a series that excels in blending
supernatural forces with a family's relationships and the lure of an
island which has changed all their lives.
Here the story continues (prior familiarity with the preceding books is
recommended) with the "Puffin Man" (who is dating Susan), Karen
Andersen (who wonders about the true origins of her infant son and his
connection to Mateguas Island), and a family that returns to the island
which served as a scene of terror in the past.
The changes aren't over, yet: as each family member uncovers new
challenges and horrors and a new body emerges to add to the previous
roll call of carnage, it seems the lure of Mateguas Island is not only
alive and well, but irresistible, once again holding the power to
attract and change the lives of all who encounter it.
Bill, Karen, Terri, and Dex's fates seem predetermined and unshakable -
or are they? Amidst a series of events that winds around a terrible
truth and requires its protagonists to make difficult choices, Ghosts
of Mateguas offers a compelling saga of grief, guilt, and perseverance
that deftly combines suspense with supernatural intrigue.
Prior fans of the series, especially, will find the further
interactions between the characters to be engrossing and satisfying,
staying true to prior events while adding deeper insights and tension
and intrigue to the mix and adding a dose of revelations and truths
that draw together prior events in a satisfying new story just as
well-crafted as its predecessors.
Return
to Index
Judy Alter
Alter Ego Publishing
978-0-9960131-2-3
$14.99 paperback, $4.99 digital
http://www.amazon.com/Gilded-Cage-Novel-Chicago-ebook/dp/B01C348KTS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456334542&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Gilded+Cage+Alter
One doesn't expect a fictional story of two privileged people to
reflect the historical transformation of one of America's largest
cities; but any with an interest in Chicago history will quickly
discover The Gilded Cage is just such a gem - a history embellished
with all the drama of fiction, bringing events and protagonists to
life.
Any good novel captures the sights, smells, and scenes of its setting,
and The Gilded Cage opens right away with these feelings: "He would
never forget the smell. It crept into the railroad car and clung to his
clothes and the prickly plush seats on which he’d sat and slept for two
days. It was almost strong enough that he thought he could reach out
and touch it. A whiff of animal odors, a hint of sewage, but mostly a
swamplike mustiness, oppressively heavy."
As the murky muddiness of early Chicago comes to life, along with the
uncertainty of a traveler who could have lived anywhere else and
perhaps enjoyed a better environment ("He hesitated, peering
uncertainly out the window to see only an empty, muddy field with small
buildings in the distance. In his mind, he saw Lockport, New York, with
its neat frame homes with white picket fences, carefully tended shops,
lovely old trees. Or New York City—he could take the train back to the
city and carve a sophisticated life for himself there."), the story of
how a Quaker child evolves into a man who reaches for more than a
tranquil country community life creates a vivid introduction to
Chicago's world.
Readers journey with Potter into this world, experiencing his marriage,
his interactions with high society's functions, and the social and
political forces working to transform the rugged city into something
more modern.
Few novels can capture all the forces affecting an urban struggle for
modernity. That The Gilded Cage does so through the perceptions and
efforts of protagonists who hold various disparate special interests,
from women's suffrage to architectural and building challenges, is
testimony to a well-rounded survey of how early Chicago evolved and the
forces at work to transform it.
From fires and riots to amazing triumphs, Potter and Cissy are part of
how and why their world changes. The Gilded Cage provides readers with
a vivid re-enactment of Chicago's most amazing period of history
through their eyes. Culminating in the fairytale World’s Columbian
Exposition, The Gilded Cage shows why sometimes you can't go home again
- or how a world can change to the point where it can no longer be
called home.
Readers of historical fiction (especially those with an affinity for
Chicago) will relish every page of this inviting, atmospheric
story.
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to Index
Juvenal's
Lament: A
Political Fable
Alan Thompson
W & B Publishers
9001
Ridge Hill St., Kernersville, NC 27284
9781942981541
$17.99
Author's website: http://mindsonshelves.com/
Publisher's
website: http://a-argusbooks.com/home.htm
Juvenal's Lament: A Political Fable anticipates a prior affection for
political settings and processes from its readers; but those holding
such an affinity will find it replete with a fine blend of intrigue and
insights. While its setting is in the (realistic) near future of
America, the story line is close enough to modern times that it should
be viewed as a fable or a novel, and not as political sci-fi in the
traditional sense.
Tommy Sawyer is chosen to serve out a dead congressman's remaining
term, but he doesn't expect to become involved in an impeachment trial
of a Chief Justice. Events that follow create a tangled web of
political confrontations and questions ranging from murder to
corruption at the highest levels of political office.
What's a lone man to do - particularly one who has been chosen to be
just an office placeholder before the next election? There are plenty
of options, as Tommy discovers when a task urged upon him by officials
and his wife becomes something much more complicated: "I had experience
in Washington. Would I agree to run in the special election
to fill out the remaining nine months of the term, while they settled
on the district’s next real Congressman? I thought not, but my wife –
herself a native of Washington, D.C., and still owner of an historic
Georgetown mansion – sought to convince me otherwise. “You’re
always complaining about the government,” she said. “Now you
can do something about it.” “One man? In nine months?” “Maybe
not. Maybe you’ll run again. They all
do.” She paused. “And who knows? Given
your history, nine months might be enough.”
As the fable unfolds, Tommy's strength as a political outsider with
insider status sets the stage for a series of events that are
politically confrontational even as they are personally life-changing.
Readers can never accuse the protagonist of sitting quietly or taking
events lightly. Tommy and his opinions are one of the driving forces of
Juvenal's Lament and ultimately serve to depict the psyches,
motivations, forces of corruption, and dangerous influences in
mainstream governmental processes and procedures.
As terrorism, political manipulation, and disconnects between public
interests and political processes comes to a boil, Juvenal's Lament
becomes a heady rush into disaster tempered only by Tommy's ability to
resist established procedures while lending his different voice to this
world.
It's difficult to neatly peg this story. At times it's a murder
mystery, at times an investigation into political process, and at other
moments, a probe of life-changing events: "Had I learned anything that
mattered? Perhaps Lucinda’s mother was involved in the
Radcliffe suicides. If so, was that just history, or did it
have anything to do with the plot against the Chief Justice?
Or the deaths in Greenwich Village?"
Can one man truly make a difference? That’s one of the central
questions driving Juvenal's Lament, a political fable that combines the
fervor of a coming-of-age saga with a blossoming of personal and
political processes in an era where America stands on the cusp of
freedom and fascism, not entirely unlike where the world stands today.
Readers of detective and mystery stories, political process, and
intrigue and investigation who enjoy a complex, ever-changing roll call
of characters and special interests will find Juvenal's Lament a
satisfying and unique story. It neatly juxtaposes the personal
ambitions and life of one Tommy Sawyer with a crescendo of legal and
political events that could lead to either all-out disaster or new
beginnings; all resting firmly on the pros and cons of democratic
political processes and how power is ultimately acquired and
wielded.
Juvenal's
Lament: A Political Fable
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to Index
Patch
of Dirt
Richard
Lutman
Hawkins Publishing Group
P.O.
Box 447, Bellflower, CA 90707
978-0-9962145-2-0
$13.95
www.hawkinspublishinggroup.com
Joe Oliver is a weather-beaten, thirty-something cowboy in Montana, out
looking for work, when he stumbles on a strange deal involving a
sixty-something ex-Vietnam vet and his much younger wife.
It turns out that the task at hand is more than the usual ranching job.
Rita and Frank are looking for someone to be the biological father for
their child and Joe seems the perfect candidate for the job - until
Rita falls in love with him.
A nasty triangle of complexity evolves, placing Joe in the much more
dangerous position of having to solidify his feelings and make some
difficult choices. What began as another ranch job has just turned into
something far more complicated than anyone could have predicted.
Patch of Dirt is about ordinary people facing bad weather, bad ideas,
and poor outcomes. It adds many elements to the Western theme that are
satisfyingly unexpected as it probes the emotions and motivations of
three very different characters, and it tells of a loner who has
eschewed close connections until Rita enters his life. And even then,
for him, circumstances are not cut and dried nor filled with sudden
love, but foster a slow simmering of ambivalence.
As Rita snoops through Joe's soul and confronts her own mixed emotions,
the characters uncover consequences from their actions and choices
("She knew Joe was breaking into pieces she couldn’t mend.
She hadn’t meant for that to happen."). Joe and Rita find themselves in
discussions and situations that lead each to question their lives and
decisions.
That's one of the many strengths of Patch of Dirt, which takes many
matters of the heart (from spirituality to sex and interpersonal
connections) and closely examines them all.
Richard Lutman's attention to probing the separate psyches of Frank,
Rita and Joe ("Even after marrying Rita he still felt a growing
loneliness and fear. At sixty-five his life was nearly
over. The last of his line, he wanted to finally be called
Dad and maybe even Grandfather.") creates a powerful result when these
individual examinations come together in an explosive reaction. As each
protagonist probes their past and their interrelationships, the central
theme of the story blossoms until each separate figure's struggles and
regrets becomes driving forces in their choices for their future.
Readers anticipating a one-dimensional or shallow Western adventure
will find Patch of Dirt something far more complex, showing how three
very different people share their lives, come together, and depart.
It's a powerful story that transcends the usual limits and perceptions
of the Western romance, and will delight and surprise readers who seek
something more than light action or casual romantic
interplays.
Patch
of Dirt
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to Index
Pearlie
Judy
Iverson
CreateSpace
9781523815401
$13.75
http://amzn.com/152381540X
To call Pearlie a ghost story would be to oversimplify its intentions,
because even though a ghost is involved, the real story is about the
circumstances that created her - and here's where Pearlie really
shines. How does a relationship spanning generations result in tragedy
and a haunting? And what will keep the deadly scenarios from happening
again?
Pearlie takes the ghost story format and elevates it into a saga of
intergenerational relationships, examining how patterns are formed,
repeat, and sometimes proceed towards inevitable conclusions unless
something alters them.
Chapters take their time to build suspense and craft the set of
circumstances surrounding Pearl's creation and ultimate demise,
documenting family sufferings, blessings, and why one spirit is
compelled to hang around after death.
Struggles to keep families together against all odds, fundamental
belief systems and messy complications, and issues of accountability
and angst drive a story that is as much about family interactions and
patterns as it is about a wandering old soul's effects on these
patterns.
All this is why readers looking for the typical ghost/haunting saga
from Pearlie could be disappointed: there's far more depth here than in
a singular ghost story, and a satisfying complexity revolves around
family history which focuses on the bigger picture, where Pearl's
presence is just one facet of what is passed between generations.
Readers who consider a ghost the icing on a cake of intergenerational
angst and skeletons in the closet will find Pearlie a wonderfully
evocative read, especially recommended for audiences who delight in
stories of family history, mystery, and ultimately,
forgiveness.
Pearlie
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to Index
Re-Enchanting
Nature
David Vigoda
Collioure Books
978-0-9728250-0-9
$15.95
www.davidvigoda.com
Frank is a photographer who has spent his life documenting disasters,
but now he's on a different kind of mission: one that seeks to capture
not despair and terror, but what is good and hopeful in the world.
His journey to the mountains of France only serves to emphasize his
isolation, for there is nobody to greet him upon arrival and no
connections to touch base with. He is alone, and his seclusion will be
one of the facets that makes his re-connections with the world so
vivid.
David Vigoda's special strength lies in his ability to take ordinary
settings and circumstances and elevate them into accounts packed with
extra-sensory life and perceptions: "Stepping onto the stairway beneath
a brilliant mid-day spring Mediterranean sun, nodding goodbye to the
co-pilot, he reminded himself that the only way to enter a new world
was through the center of the old and that there could be no decisive
move forward without the seductions of hesitation. At the bottom was a
piece of old carpeting drenched in cleanser, an improvised response to
a recent explosion of hoof and mouth disease among British herds, and
as the liquid squished around his shoes he smiled at the attendants and
gazed at the palm trees thinking that he had died and been reborn.
‘That’s why the attendant in Heathrow was so cheerful, she was my guide
to the afterlife. I died there and the plane was my coffin. But that
long claustrophobic corridor was also a birth canal, and the plane a
bird carrying me to my new life. Emerging from it was rebirth, the
disinfecting mat a purification."
Under his hand, the process of rebirth and protagonists whose very
different lives and forms of chaos intersect make for gripping
descriptions of vulnerabilities and revelations without neglecting
intricate descriptions of the most subtle of details, such as a dinner
between a physicist and a philosopher and how their discussion evolves
into touch and something more.
Of necessity, these descriptions are sometimes lengthy and adopt a
step-by-step examination of the process of connection. There's nothing
quick about Vigoda's representation of these experiences, and readers
searching for stories that skim over these smaller details in favor of
nonstop action and drama might find themselves stymied by the slow,
inevitable documentation of relationships and close encounters.
But that's one of the delights afforded to those who would take the
time to absorb a fine meal rather than inhaling aromas on the run: they
settle, they grasp, and they become an irresistibly compelling piece of
a story line that moves deftly beyond two isolated and lonely
individuals and into the trajectory of their lives and decisions and
the intersection of choices both good and bad.
Using this slower approach, truths sparkle like gems from casual and
serious encounters: "She stared at him, eyes still pleading for
forgiveness, for him not to be too hurt. “To know how to free oneself
is nothing,” she said. “The hard part is knowing how to be free.” She
knew she was quoting from a novel again but at that moment, wanting so
much to change the look in his eyes, she couldn’t think of a better way
to speak the truth." Arrogance, survival, science and nature, and the
worlds of art and science ultimately lead to new definitions of love,
new confrontations of myths, and original insights into reality,
choice, and consequence.
Readers who look for a novel well steeped in philosophy which takes the
classic love scenario and turns it upside down will find much to relish
in this evocative story of loners who seek to reinvent not just
themselves and each other, but their worlds.
Re-Enchanting
Nature
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to Index
Welcome
to the
Show
Frank Nappi
Sky Pony Press
9781634508922
$9.99
www.skyhorsepublishing.com
It's unusual to say that a third book of a series stands well on its
own and doesn't really require the support or a prior knowledge of the
others, but Welcome to the Show is such as production, adding to the
Mickey Tussler series about an autistic baseball prodigy.
Set in the 1950s, this baseball saga continues the story of Mickey's
rise to fame and connects major league playing with life's challenges
in such a way that even non-baseball fans will find Mickey's progress
absorbing (although baseball enthusiasts will be the most likely
followers of Mickey's on- and off-field exploits.).
Frank Nappi's attention to detail and his honest appraisal of the times
pulls no punches, so readers anticipating a light or breezy coverage of
autism and social issues of the 1950s will find plenty of passages more
detailed than might be anticipated from a casual baseball saga.
The protagonists in Welcome to the Show clearly reveal their thoughts,
hopes, and worries ("Molly worried what people were saying, what they
were thinking, and how they would treat her special boy. She also
worried each time either Mickey or Arthur shared with her another
incident that, in her opinion, placed her boy in peril."). Some are
specific to Mickey's condition and others are more general expressions,
but all psychological revelations hold food for thought and a depth
unexpected for a 'baseball story': another reason why Welcome to the
Show is notable when compared to other books about either autism or
sports.
From encounters with prejudice about special needs in society ("Regular
folks and other kinds should not mix. It ain't natural.") to games that
teach Mickey about life ("Baseball, Murphy, like life, my friend, can
only be understood backward…It can only be understood backward, but it
must be lived forward."), Welcome to the Show is about achievement
against all odds and the ripple effect of a game that spills into life
experience, ethics, and psychological growth.
So many factors entwine here that it's difficult to say Welcome to the
Show is about any singular person or event. It is ultimately about the
game of life itself, and continues a powerful series (prior books not
seen by this reviewer) by exploring the evolution of this process,
using a focus that any reader - baseball fan or not - can easily
understand.
Welcome
to the Show
Return
to Index
Gina M. Dinicolo
St.
John's
Press
9780966298673
$12.99
paperback and $7.99 Kindle
http://www.ginamariadinicolo.com
Readers of The Black Panthers at War: The 761st Tank Battalion and
General Patton's Drive on Germany might at first anticipate a review of
the notorious California Black Panthers group during the 1960s civil
rights era, but this is a serious history about one of the most
significant fighting forces in American history and should be in the
collection of any serious military reader.
The 761st unit not only fought the Germans during World War II, but
made a name for itself as the first African American tank unit to see
combat. It served under General George Patton to fight on Europe's
front lines. The unit experienced some of the most intense fighting of
the war as it worked alongside Patton's Third Army to forge inroads
that would lead to military success.
It should be noted that military readers of World War II history should
also expect a healthy dose of biographical details about the tankers,
descriptions of the social and political forces of the times, and a
lively survey that embraces the personal lives and perspectives of many
of the men, as well as their military struggles.
This well-rounded approach adds depth and an animated and compelling
personal tone to the account, bringing the unit's entire experiences to
life ("They moved through the frigid morning air. The roar of tank
engines and the crunching of Sherman tracks broke the silence. The
sound of German guns added to the cacophony.").
Military
accounts often fail to add "you are there" details, or they
focus excessively upon battle events overshadowing the lives of the men
fighting. The Black Panthers at War uses these men and their leaders,
including those in Washington, to recount this slice of history. These
features make for a recommendation beyond its primary audience of
military history followers and will attract anyone who would understand
the special significance of the Black Panther force's achievements and
the changing lives of its members.
Return
to Index
Dr. April Jones
CreateSpace
9781508655671 $25.99
https://www.createspace.com/5341862
Dr. April L. Jones has a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Organizational
Psychology which lends her the expertise and ability to analyze
business structures and their internal organizations and structures,
and her Nurse Commitment addresses a key issue in health management:
attracting and retaining nurses.
It applies basic business concepts of team building to the nursing
profession with a special eye to managing multi-generational teams,
addressing staffing problems not unique to nursing, but to a wider
range of business environments.
Six years of research went into the method described here, so this is
not just an opinion piece, but a data-supported method that delves into
the makeup of multi-generational workplaces and their special
challenges.
Chapters consider how employees become committed to their workplaces
(or not), how this commitment differs between generations and
workplaces, and how employers can foster the kinds of employee
dedication that build stronger organizations.
From the emotional challenges of affective commitment to the obligatory
responsibility patterns of normative commitment, readers receive an
analysis of different degrees of commitment and their patterns of
behavior, connections between age and nursing credentials, how managers
can use employee development plans with a different eye to implementing
better work team models, and how employees can better assess their own
progress through worksheets and employer assistance programs.
The result provides a strategic model for a voluntary development
program that takes the special strengths and focuses of each different
generation into account to build a better overall team.
While nurses and healthcare institutions will be the logical readers of
this eye-opening, revealing approach, many a business will want to
pursue its infallible logic and attention to building not just
explanations and ideals, but an implementable program based on solid
research which is heavily footnoted with references and bibliographic
materials throughout.
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to Index
Alasdair Gardner
Amazon Digital Services
ASIN:
B01BPLNYQO
$2.99
http://www.amazon.com/SNAPSHOTS-Extraordinary-Glimpse-Ordinary-Lives-ebook/dp/B01BPLNYQO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457276955&sr=8-1&keywords=Snapshots%3A+An+Extraordinary+Glimpse+at+Ordinary+Lives
With so much talk about seeing bigger pictures, finding hidden meanings
in life and words, and creating works that embed these bigger-than-life
concepts into ordinary experiences, it's refreshing to find a book that
focuses on the smaller segments of what makes life extraordinary; and
that smaller piece is Snapshots.
The five short stories in this collection capture one small piece of a
life. Each piece is stand-alone, but each segment holds within it a
kernel of observation that both connects it to the other stories and
provides a self-contained revelation all by itself.
Take "Timmy's Truck", for example, in which a Yankee businessman trying
to assimilate into his new Virginia environment looks to buy a pickup
truck, only to find it's actually a vehicle for something much more
than integration.
Or think about the camaraderie, companionship, and underlying
competition in "The Poker Game", a regular series of interactions whose
rules and psyches are shaken by a newcomer to the group who introduces
a different kind of game.
Test drives through culture and social mores, games turned all too
serious by one change in makeup and strategy, and issues of love,
loyalty, health and disease, and slightly altered consciousness make
for joyrides through space, time, morality, and individual lives.
Passion and poetry, office politics and angst, new beginnings and odd
conclusions - all these are deftly captured in snapshots of the moment
that capture pivot points where change can either stall or progress.
Like exquisite gems, they shine alone. Presented as they are in a
collection holding a light entwining of themes and approaches, they are
even stronger, and will delight readers of literary short stories who
enjoy short vignettes that glimpse and reveal individual
lives.
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to Index
Holly Hook
Holly Hook, Publisher
ISBN:
1523368934
ASIN: B019TOP8HM
Price: 0.99
Kindle
8.99 Paperback
http://www.amazon.com/Alone-Flamestone-Trilogy-Holly-Hook-ebook/dp/B019TOP8HM
http://www.amazon.com/Alone-1-Flamestone-Trilogy/dp/1523368934/ref=sr_1_19?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1455979626&sr=1-19&keywords=Holly+Hook
Alone is Volume 1 of the Flamestone Trilogy and opens with a
bang: a smartphone tags the protagonist's best friend as 'MISSING',
sparking the angst and attention of Elaine, who is on a journey to both
save her friend and deny the possible connections between herself and
her murderous father.
There's only one way of proving her different psyche, and that's to
embark on a journey to find her friend. Best friends tell each other
everything - but Talia never mentioned possible abuse from her foster
family. Best friends keep no secrets - but Elaine has harbored one
which she cannot seem to share with anyone. And best friends don't give
up on one another - even when the situation seems hopeless, and even if
the journey involves walking out of everything Elaine finds familiar.
Alone begins this quest and brings Elaine to a world with no
smartphones, no technology support, and too many monsters. It's a world
in which her rejection of her family background might have been the
wrong move: a world in which these murderous impulses may be the only
things standing between life and death.
Elaine's going to have to traverse strange lands and develop a skill
set she never knew before - and readers are going to ride along for her
heart-wrenching journey. It's just that simple, because once Alone is
begun, it's hard to put down.
Feisty protagonists, excellent twists and turns of plot, and gripping
moments of pursuit and life-or-death confrontations keep readers on the
edges of their seats. Young adult to adult readers of fantasy, horror,
and intrigue will find Alone is solidly cemented by protagonists who
are not just believable, but absorbing. Their purposes, failings, and
adventures become an intrinsic part of a saga that paints a stunning
portrait of survival against all odds.
And yes, it's Book One. Be forewarned: more adventures will continue
the journey introduced here!
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to Index
Noam Atinsky (transcribed by Bryan Atinsky)
The Flower Fairy Superhero Publishing, LLC
Hardcover: 978-0-9888226-0-3 $24.95
IBooks: 978-0-9888226-1-0 $5.99
Kindle: 978-0-9888226-3-4 $5.99
http://www.theflowerfairysuperhero.com
There was once a little girl named the Flower Fairy: a super heroine of
a different nature, who loves to help people. Her bright red shoes
enable her to fly, she holds an enchanted basket, and her mission is to
help anyone in need.
When she comes upon a queen whose castle has been stolen from her by an
ogre, she confronts an evil monster who is big, scary, and hungry. He's
sure she will fight him - but her weapons are magical flowers and a big
heart.
The real value of a superpower lies not in confrontation and battle,
but in viewing 'evil' in a new, positive light: one that can change
even the monster inside.
What happens next offers young picture book readers of all ages (and
their read-aloud parents) a joyful story with an underlying, positive
message.
The bright, simple drawings by Francisco X. Mora are presented in a
format enhanced by a read-along audio that highlights words as they are
spoken. The pages can be set to turn automatically, and professional
voice-over actors enhance the compelling story line. The result is a
delightful multi-media package that winds a powerful message within a
light, fun story of a magical girl who wants to spread goodness through
the world through her actions: a message parents will relish in a
voice-saving format they will appreciate. The book in this
format is available on IBooks. There is a Kindle version with audio,
but not highlighted. There is also a hard cover print version
on Amazon with a special price if you buy both the print and Kindle
version.
The original 'flower fairy' was an American child, Noam, who loved
stories involving superheroes who helped others. She was only five when
she was killed, along with other family members, in a car accident in
Israel - but months before her death she wrote a puppet play, dictated
the story to her father and mother, and it was performed before her
death at her 5th birthday party. It lives on in this book.
It should also be noted that part of the proceeds of all versions of
the book go to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.
Return
to Index
Grammy’s
Glen
Toni
Atkinson
Booklogix
www.booklogix.com
Grammy's Glen consists of a poem and illustrations (the latter not seen
by this reviewer) and tells of a wise woman who lives alone in a glen,
surrounded by animals and natural beauty. She tends her animals and
enjoys the lovely scenery alone, until a girl and her brother stumble
upon her world and partake of its magic.
Children will find this gentle poem a fine introduction to a world of
natural wonder, while parents will appreciate the fact that there are
no threats of looming darkness or danger to spoil the feel of a fine
day outdoors.
From observing colorful fish and ducks to watching vivid green turtles,
it's enough for Grammy and the children to sit and enjoy their world.
The poem imparts the sense that drama and adventure can be present even
in the most gentle of observations.
The theme may promote seeing "through the eyes of a child," but
Grammy's ability to enter this world and absorb and reflect the
peacefulness of nature is what makes this piece special.
When paired with colorful illustrations, Grammy's Glen will be an
excellent picture book recommendation for readers of all ages who would
find adventure in the peace of nature and lives lead by
animals.
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to Index
Khahari
Discovers The
Joy of Family
Evan J. Roberts
Empowered People
Press
978-0-9966463-1-4
$9.95
www.influentialandhighlysuccessful.com
www.khahari.com
From the beginning, baby Khahari is passionately loved, and there's
much to be done to prepare for the new arrival. The routines and
expectations of new parents are captured in a light rhyming verse and a
picture book presentation that celebrates family from the initial
discovery of a new baby's imminent arrival to bringing the child home
and raising it.
Illustrations by Janine Carrington offer large-size, fun, and very
colorful drawings of family scenes, while the gentle text will lend
visual support to a vivid family story that steps a child through the
process of anticipating the joy of a newborn's arrival. In almost every
image the parents and child are smiling, laughing, and enjoying life: a
bright and positive message that captures the joys of discovering the
world.
As Khahari grows up, he experiences the world for himself and discovers
his own joys, from a family zoo visit at the age of two to the
interjections of Mister Fearful, who would question even the easiest of
outings.
How the family keeps Mister Fearful at bay and enjoys the world
together makes for a warm, cozy rhyme that captures a family well
versed in hugging, kissing, and displays of affection.
Part of successfully interacting with the world is having faith and a
positive perspective: these are taught here as the family picture
unfolds and grows. Kids and parents using Khahari Discovers The Joy of
Family as a read-aloud will find it a delightful supporter of a
family's drive to experience the best life has to offer, creating a
positive message that makes for a standout read highly recommended for
parents looking for supportive and fun texts.