December 2013 Issue

Voyage to a Phantom City
Christopher Bernard
http://redroom.com/member/christopher-bernard

Voyage to a Phantom City is a surreal, philosophical story that opens with a vivid description: "You hear a creak, an animal-like squeal, and feel the breeze and hear the sound of surf against the rocks. The kitchen backdoor pauses and swings, in a little dance, awkward as a child; you must have forgotten to latch it. It finally makes up its mind and stops, stuck on the threshold like a half-open book, and you turn back to the broken hurricane lamp and the unopened letter lying near it."

With such an evocative invitation it's hard to stop reading: captured from the first paragraph, readers are quickly immersed in a sensory explosion of images and description surrounding bad news brought to an isolated man. The 'you' referenced is an old man, his hair nearly all white, and the dreaded letter contains notice of the death of an old friend from years past. As readers gain understanding of the impact of this death and the strange experiences which follow, settings and perspectives change from the introductory 'Kitt's Rock' chapter to the second chapter 'In the Mountains', which takes a flash of memory and moves the plot to an entirely new setting where 'Kitt's Rock' was just a dream ... or, was it?

The protagonist here is one Mr. Hunter, a desert guide who leads professors and assistants into a barren world to check on a possible ancient city revealed by satellite photos. His work as a guide is not a joy, but his desert job offers much more than pay: it's a subliminal experience challenging perception, illusion, and memory; blending past, present and future with different worlds: "Dozing: broken images of the professors blend with memories of your flat in Oran, the schoolyard of your middle school near Columbus, a road in New England, a silent bar in the East Village during the summer before the attacks on September 11, a rowdy Cairo dance club, a train stopped in the middle of a pasture in Spain, a foaming vanilla shake sliding toward his mouth, then the blocky face of your long-dead father...."

Literary, allegorical and spiritual discoveries permeate the expedition and weave together literary and daily worlds alike, creating waves of surreal thought and interactions between very different protagonists. At the heart of Voyage to a Phantom City is a focus on these different directions and how these roads are chosen: "Corn circles, witches' covens, corn wizards¯corn was the basis of Mayan blood rituals. That's what got me into archaeology, when I discovered that. Midwestern corn no longer seemed like such an embarrassment. We had a secret, we were wild and weird, dancing bare-chested beneath the slowly fattening cobs. All summer long." From drifters to anarchists, believers to students, each searcher seeks something different from the expedition ... more than archaeological discovery.

Being in the desert and encountering different people in singular ways leads to epic visions, dreams, and equally ambitious thoughts: "And you drift off to sleep, with the thought of the night sky slowly turning, like a kaleidoscope. And your mind begins to turn with it, the night sky's stars turn and turn around you, in a great sweep between the poles and a long, flat horizon, as though you were on a sea or in a desert: a turning wheel of dark and light above your head, that turns faster and faster, the stars streaking in white arcs against the blackness, as long as comets, sweeping, swirling, faster, faster, until you feel yourself, as it were, shooting up in a fountain, a geyser, of stars, thrust into the sky, and you're flying, the earth shrinks below you to the size of a toy train table, of a doll house, of a map, as you soar into the night, the earth's shine surrounding the horizon like a corona, and you hear a voice saying, "This is you," and it says again, "This is you . . . this is you . . ."

When survival and danger enter the picture, each explorer finds a different way of confronting mortality. Voyage to a Phantom City's changing settings and reflections are evocative of the best of Proust's Memory of Things Past, in that the plot is enriched by a combination of reflection and tactile descriptions loaded with a sense of the moment. In such a surreal world the story line becomes quite simply an overlay for memories weaving past, present and future, and under Christopher Bernard's visionary hand each experience brings with it a burst of emotion and perception that goes far beyond the usual singular tale.

Without spoiling the plot's evolution, it should be said that all things return to Kitt's Rock: and in that moment readers gain true insight into the real goals and meaning of the phantom voyage they've just undertaken.

Heartfelt and brimming with experiential moments, this is a challenging novel recommended for readers with special interest in surreal and philosophical literary works.


Antisocial Media
Alex Siegel
Amazon Digital Services
ASIN: B00FHKB0SO            $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FHKB0SO

 Antisocial Media provides another Gray Spear Society saga … and if you haven't read the prior eleven books in the evolving series involving spiritual 'supernatural' beings and their constant struggles against oppressive dark forces, now's the time to go back and enjoy a powerful collection of riveting, action-packed sagas to prepare a foundation for this latest adventure.

Here Marina's the new commander of the San Francisco cell of the Society, and everything's fresh to her; from her geographic location and team to her many responsibilities; all of which weigh heavily on her… especially since she has no experience being a commander.

Her new position places her in the perfect spot to face one of the most frightening events the Gray Spear will yet encounter: a destructive force which is ripping apart the social fabric and connections of the city, pitting husband against wife, prompting waves of abuse, and threatening chaos.

Now, readers already familiar with the Gray Spear Society will quickly realize that this narrowed focus on Marina and her new responsibilities as commander is actually a step back in time. Marina looks forward to her new challenges without lover and fellow (more experienced) commander Aaron's help - but she's also facing deadly forces with all the insecurities of a brand new team unused to working together. It's a big change - culturally, socially and politically, from Chicago - and so it all takes time for Marina to absorb. And time will prove a luxury in the face of a fast-growing threat.

Marina's enlistment of unsullied (and sometimes reluctant) recruits such as Corrie and her approaches to building a team offer readers many satisfying and surprising moments: "I'm the person you've been waiting to meet your whole life. I represent the destiny you were born to fulfill. Conversations like this are never accidental….(sic) this is a question of faith."

Faith and determination are only two of the forces connecting very different - and supernaturally skilled - protagonists throughout the novel. As Marina confronts some of the most surprising forces of her life, she'll come to rely on both strengths in herself and in the team she's chosen, and will tackle open threats to the idea of marriage, fidelity and relationships: "There is no reason for a couple to be permanently bound together with legal chains like prisoners in a work gang. It's unethical. It's illogical, yet most young people celebrate marriage as if it were some glorious, life-changing achievement."

Her team's search for 'anything strange' that might lead to the source of this culture-changing message and its linked increase in abuse and violence involves considering forces outside of God in an investigation best done without the help of God: "…I felt His presence very strongly when I got my gift. You'll have divine encounters, too. It's one of the perks of being a Spear."

The Society is looking for poison, the spread of a disease, or any evidence of what's affecting the city. What they discover is a phenomenon that began in nearby San Jose and which is spreading throughout the Bay Area.  And if they can't track down and battle its cause, society as a whole could disintegrate.

Any seeking a unique blend of spiritual thriller with more than a touch of the supernatural will find this latest Gray Spear saga provides fast-paced action and many satisfying twists and turns. Those who have read all eleven prior books may find these twists becoming more predictible, but will still find the story involving and will also appreciate how the plot successfully flushes out protagonist Marina's past and her evolution to becoming a Gray Spear leader.

 Echoes of Paradise
Deanna Kahler
Rose Petal Publications
ISBN Number: 978-0615863399      $12.95
 www.deannakahler.com

 Echoes of Paradise offers a powerful blend of spiritual and paranormal insights and is a pick for any who enjoy such a mix, blending positive viewpoints with life-changing observations.

Celeste thinks she's satisfied with her life until her former love Connor dies and leaves her feeling not just alone, but with questions about what happens after death and how she can resolve traumas from her past. Her journey leads to a newfound focus on spirit communication, unexplained circumstances, and possibilities derived from human connections and even from their absence.

It's also all about miracles, so be forewarned: readers should be open to all kinds of possibilities as they read this vivid account of Celeste's personal struggles to find meaning in a much-changed life.

Connor is the love that helped Celeste recover from the scars of an abusive ex-boyfriend: even though they never married, she always thought that one day they would. Since they were only in their thirties, time seemed the one thing they could count on. Now it's evident that 'one day' won't happen, and that the very different personality issues that kept them apart ("He craved adventure and new experiences, while Celeste felt safer with her predictable life and familiar, comfortable surroundings.") will never be resolved.

The connections she felt with Connor even during her brief marriage was one thing that broke up her relationship, and now it appears that even death won't end this strong bond: "She had never been angry or bitter that their relationship didn’t work out. Instead, she was left with a sad longing. Although she had no expectation of them becoming a couple again, she had secretly hoped that one day, he would tire of the single life and figure out that all he really wanted and needed was her. Connor was a good person. He was someone she would never forget, no matter how hard she tried. Not even after death."

All this provides the backdrop for events that will lead her to question not only the nature and purpose of romance and her relationship to Connor, but the meaning of life itself.

Celeste comes to realize Connor's continuing presence in many ways: first ethereal, then as a very real part of her world. As he teaches her about the nature of reality itself, Celeste comes to develop an entirely new worldview that incorporates elements of belief beyond Christianity: "Celeste then thought about how we all create our own lives based on what we think, feel, and choose to do. She remembered how our lives can be whatever we want them to be. Our thoughts shape our reality. We literally have the power to write our own stories."

The message in Echoes of Paradise is powerful, inspirational, and filled with spiritual reflection. It advocates a God with a plan - and offers hope, promise and inspiration to spiritual readers interested in ties that bind beyond the reality we know. Any reader looking for such inspiration in their novels will find the story of Celeste and Connor to be not tragic, but filled with hope. And that's part of the purpose in a well-crafted story that carries readers on a delicate spiritual journey to expand their own belief systems.

 Time's Chariot
Henry Stollenwerck
No Publisher, ISBN, Price
E-mail: lhsjr@sbcglobal.net

 Time's Chariot opens with an observation ("Against all odds, Frank Holt lived to be an old man.") and then moves on to consider what factors influenced Frank's achieving the older age of nearly 79 years, sans wife and back home on an ancestral farm in Texas where isolation brings with it both loneliness and joy.

One anticipates the story will consist of Frank's reflections about the end of his life and the experiences that brought him to the Texas prairie, a lonely survivor of life's slings and arrows. In fact murder changes all that, involving Frank not in a quiet end-of-life retirement, but in a series of encounters that challenge the notion that someone over seventy has already lived the most meaningful and exciting moments of their life.

Flashbacks to his wartime encounters blend with present-day experiences, with many startling contrasts between violence and beauty permeating his observations: "He closed the rifle case and aimlessly wandered out to the deck overlooking Bulls Branch.  Wild flowers had appeared as though a great invisible hand had splashed them upon the field below. The blue bonnets turned the field blue with a whitish cast to it. All through the blue were spots of bright orange from the Indian paint brush, and scattered through the field along and among the blue and orange were spots of pale pink and light cream from the prim rose."

These observations are one of the great strengths of Time's Chariot: it literally takes a memory and lives it, bringing forth visual and emotional connections that draw readers in to experiences such as a Marine Corps sergeant teaching new recruits about gun maintenance and appreciation.

Readers come to know Frank on many levels: as a lover, a fighter, and a survivalist. As he battles dangerous forces and becomes involved in international politics, he finds within himself the ability to use his military training to confront assassins and turn the tables on them - and discovers unexpected love right under his nose.

 Time's Chariot is hard to neatly categorize: at once a Western, a thriller, a romance, and a novel of intrigue, its protagonist is immersed in past and present worlds of conflict even as he experiences travel and pleasure from his changed life. It's the story of an older man's search for peace and tells how adventure finds him, breaks his isolation, and leads to newfound revelations.

Well written, vivid, and replete with changes, Time's Chariot mirrors what we all experience: evolutionary growth that doesn't end at any age but continues, relentlessly, onward. Any who seek a novel replete with strong images and a tough protagonist with an equally powerful history will find this an engrossing story.

 Owning Main Street: A Beginner's Guide to the Stock Market
Patrick Pappano
Cardyf Publishing
9780988912700                   $39.95
 http://www.amazon.com/Owning-Main-Street-Beginners-Market/dp/0988912708/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382716758&sr=1-1&keywords=Owning+Main+Street

www.owningmainstreet.com

Owning Main Street: A Beginner's Guide to the Stock Market is an unusual, striking pairing of a basic stock market financial guide with artistic pictures by Ben Aronson. The combination of illustrations with explanations of financial concepts makes for a unique presentation certain to capture the interest of even those who believe stock market books are dry (and, most of them are!). For, here's the exception to that belief: a book written by a layman who became a stockbroker at the age of 61. 

Fueled by the notion that despite his lack of experience he'd gain much from the training, Patrick Pappano's sole business plan for success was to 'just be a good broker'. His education in the field went beyond understanding asset classes to realize a different approach was required in order to provide lay readers (without financial backgrounds) with the basic keys to beating inflation through investing.

Owning Main Street: A Beginner's Guide to the Stock Market stresses the idea of understanding the overall process over setting targets when making investment decisions. There's a basic key involved in such an understanding: "In the end, which stocks you invested in will hardly matter -- what will matter is that you invested in them at regular intervals, over a long span of time."

This key to success is outlined over and over again in chapters that assume no prior stock market (or even financial experience), and which condemn the usual active trading strategies as losing propositions.

It steers beginners, instead, to routines and perspectives geared to building a retirement nest egg by letting the market do the work, and focusing on more passive strategies than aggressive management promoted by many/most brokers who profit by constant customer change and buy/sell orders. And instead of index-watching, it promotes more of a "Ferris Wheel" approach to understanding the highs and lows of the market's process.

Chapters reveal this progression by considering all aspects of stocks, business, and their managers. They provide examples of business fluctuations and changes designed to help investors understand the ups and downs of stocks, companies and the market: "The obvious argument is that if the CEO is also the Chairman, who has the power to look after the interests of the owners? The answer is nobody."

While some of these discussions would seem to apply to general business, in fact all of them are important clues to understanding the market and making the right investment choices. 

From underwriting processes and the variable annuity product's pros and cons to growth, savings and investments, Owning Main Street: A Beginner's Guide to the Stock Market advocates a strategy for taking back power in investment decisions rather than relying solely on stockbroker recommendations.

Charts, graphs, and illustrations throughout assure that novices receive all the written and visual information needed to reinforce Patrick Pappano's review of Wall Street processes. The result is a powerful assessment of not just stocks, but an investment process that individuals can take charge of without extensive financial background.

Owning Main Street is thus recommended for any novice business reader and any investor who wants an understanding of the market based on no prior knowledge or experience with its nuances.

Bevel Down
Todd Langley
Amazon Kindle
ASIN:   B00E3JFXB0     $.99
http://www.amazon.com/Bevel-Down-absurd-tragic-memoir-ebook/dp/B00E3JFXB0

$8.99 Paperback:
 http://www.amazon.com/Bevel-Down-absurd-tragic-memoir/dp/149210793X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384641269&sr=8-1&keywords=bevel+down

Bevel Down is not your usual novel: it's billed as an "absurd tragic memoir of an Okie meth head" and focuses on the life and issues of an intravenous meth user in Oklahoma. Set in the mid-1990s and told in the first person, it combines the format of a novel and with a memoir in revealing the short life of a junkie whose life becomes lost to fantasy, decline, and darkness.

Why would one want to read such a story?

In the first place, it's a gripping narrative that shows how such a decline takes place. How does a thieving junkie evolve from such a world, and how does he exist under impossible conditions that narrow his worldview and lead to crime and danger?  News reports aside, Bevel Down delves into the heart of such a lifestyle and takes a close, intimate look at a young man who relishes his outlaw image only to eventually finds himself trapped by it.

Secondly, the Bevel Down provides readers with a powerful account of relationships formed under such conditions, with the idea of 'community' evolving to include dubious and disintegrating connections: "They had perhaps once loved each other, but the degradation inherent in their lifestyle had eroded that affection into an uneasy living situation that was becoming increasingly violent."

As lifestyle choices become increasingly linked to crime, drugs, and decline, so the protagonists become immersed in the quicksand of a world that is too easy to enter and too difficult to escape.

Be prepared for scenes of violence, drug use, and the evolution of a logic that justifies criminal behavior as a means to an end. Also be prepared for the main protagonist's views of his own contributions to deprivation and his struggles to retain bits of his own humanity: "I 

didn’t want to be responsible for creating another needle freak; partly due to my own lingering humanity and partly because my monkey didn’t like to share, but also because Desmond was the only remotely grounding force in my life, a friend outside the circle of craziness I usually spun around in." 

Bevel Down isn't a novel for readers seeking clear conclusions and soft situations: it's a gritty, eye-opening and violent survey that offers solutions to community erosion: "The bottom line is that there is no community. If there was, then crime would be rare because people would be unified instead of divided. If we want to change the world, then we have to do it by talking face to face with each other. We must accept not just our neighbors, but our entire neighborhoods into our lives, and the only thing that will do that is communication." 

The conclusion offers a satisfying blend of hope and despair: something also not common in your typical singular novel, and highly recommended for readers seeking accounts of social challenges and community evolution.

Lunatic Laundry
Todd Langley
Amazon Kindle
ASIN: B00ES2B1TK      $.99
http://www.amazon.com/Lunatic-Laundry-ebook/dp/B00ES2B1TK/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1382811020&sr=1-1&keywords=Lunatic+Laundry

$8.99 Paperback:
http://www.amazon.com/Lunatic-Laundry-Todd-Langley/dp/1492253391/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384641352&sr=8-1&keywords=lunatic+laundry

Lunatic Laundry is in keeping with Todd Langley's focus on the darker side of life and human nature, opens with a spiritual encounter between a man and a coyote, and moves quickly to the heart of the story: one Sara, a young rehab inmate in Texas who is challenged not only by the possibility of becoming God's emissary on Earth, but by a host of lunatics around her in the form of fellow inmates.

Reminiscent of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (but with an interesting spiritual twist), Sara finds herself confronting well-meaning doctors who would medicate her away from her mission at The Center for Christ’s Healing Touch, a rehab clinic for young women from ultra conservative families. Sara's been sent there not because she's an addict, but because she needs 'reprogramming' from her unacceptable activities and thoughts. 

Instead, what happens is she is changed by (and changes in turn) a cast of unpredictable characters who each have their own, very different missions and issues in life, from Crazy John (the janitor who loves cats and lives in a trash-filled trailer) to blonde inmate Manahan, whom Sara invites to "…silently visualize the window changing. I’ve read books about shamanism, and it says that everything on the physical plane has its beginnings on the spiritual plane, not the other way around."

One would think that with such a cast of characters, each with their own different issues and perceptions of reality, that Sara's observations would have little impact in a system geared to handle quirks at best and insanity at worst; but in fact Sara proves both the unifying force and the guiding light in such an institution, and the unexpected evolves in a community where lunacy is a given and connections even to reality are tenuous.  

Sara's power to unify disparate entities will eventually embrace and connect the community and will change lives: "She walked to Shay and took her hand. The smile that lit Shay’s face was like a thousand suns. Kylee turned and held her other hand out to Janna. She took it and held hers out to Manahan who in turn linked with Candice and so on. The earlier dissenters hesitantly but irresistibly fell in line until at the very end Madeline held her hand out to Tiffany. She paused but could not stop herself from reaching out and completing the chain. The energy of the moment had grown larger than any individual."

Her ability to change worlds will alter reality itself and injects a God-driven spirit into a system geared around insanity, creating disciples from what was formerly a type of prison.

Compelling and filled with unpredictable twists and turns of plot, Lunatic Laundry is for any reader who enjoys spiritual reflections on life's meaning and the power of individual change. It's not a passive, quiet story; but a vivid saga of how Sara comes to realize her own powers in such a place, and leads others on her path.

A Widow Redefined
Kim Cano
Amazon Kindle
ASIN: B00C8BV10W         $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/A-Widow-Redefined-ebook/dp/B00C8BV10W/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1383059047&sr=1-1&keywords=A+Widow+Redefined

Amy White is a young widow who lost her husband to cancer. Her life must go on without him; but any hopes of healing or resolution (even after three years of grief) are thwarted by the mysterious appearance of flowers on his grave on Valentine's Day. Who placed them there? Did he have a secret life? Amy's determination to answer to these questions will turn into an obsession that involves many secrets as she keeps this event (and her search) from her live-in mother and seven-year-old son.

There are many elements that set A Widow Redefined

apart from your usual novel of grieving and recovery. First is the process of weaving a mystery into the story line where the protagonist, filled with grief, is forced to consider even more emotional turmoil and challenges to her belief system.

The buildup is slow: don't expect a fast-paced story from page one. The point is that life also moves in this fashion - slow, then swiftly - and that grief can be either all-consuming or only too slowly extinguished by other life events.

In this case it's a mystery and the uncertain friendship that evolves from it that makes A Widow Redefined so absorbing: it's a thought-provoking revelation of life's ironies, all juxtaposed and bound to each other by circumstance and events beyond control: "People shouldn't die of cancer at thirty. Every good memory eventually ended up there …in reality…(sic) And now there was the mystery of the daffodils."

In the end Amy's newfound friendship with Sabrina will offer a kind of healing she's been unable to obtain elsewhere. And in the end, further surprises will complete the evolution of her life, which was placed on hold when her husband died.

Throughout the story line, interactions with Amy's son and mother are strong and revealing. The different methods each woman uses to handle grief and move on meld into a unified source of comfort and mutual support. And this all serves to give Amy courage to face not only the past, but further surprises from the future.

The warmth of an evolving friendship bound by mutual interests and a family's recovery from close-held grief makes the processes described in A Widow Redefined revealing and involving. Any reader seeking a story of emotional growth from all protagonists will find this a story of quiet desperation, friendship, and moving on.

The Secrets of Business
Ehab Atalla  
Ehab’s Books and Media Publishing, Inc. 
9780989473804           $19.95
www.ehabatalla-usa.com

The Secrets of Business is a celebration of the American capitalist system and how it can lead to success for immigrants and natives alike, and is a primary pick for any business collection appealing to novices or business readers looking for concrete approachs to achievement in a changing world.

Now, plenty of other books have been written from both immigrant and small business perspectives: what sets The Secrets of Business apart from either viewpoint is a focus on underlying methods of achievement that lie behind any business venture, but largely go unspoken. These assumptions are keys to success, and Ehab Atalla's story embeds these keys into a saga that blends personal with business pursuits and considers the inherent opportunity that underlies adversity. His mission here is to: "…make business easy for everyone to understand. I have engineered business principles for anyone to just press the gas and go by opening their mind to different business opportunities, and explaining them in detail."

Without further ado than a heartfelt introduction, chapters enter into a dialogue with would-be and novice business readers and explore exactly how this blueprint reads and how it can be applied to virtually any business venture.

Business operations are full of secrets, from working quickly and efficiently to understanding how psychological factors meld with business ventures to achieve either opportunity or failure. And lest readers harbor any suspicion that the author's business savvy was achieved through inheritance or the silver spoon, it should be noted that he "…went from being a broke, immigrant cashier to starting 34 businesses in 15 different industries."

The focus on this step-by-step process for achieving such success is what makes The Secrets of Business so remarkable. And for any who believe the secrets will be intuitive or self-evident, it should be mentioned that his approach is far from conventional. The abstracts and theories common to business school thinking are set aside for more real-world experiences and applications - and all of these have been personally tested by the author.

Don't expect dry theory here. The use of the first person, case history examples from real life, and a sparky, even saucy, condemnation of traditional approaches draws readers in where traditional business books fail: "Business—on the other hand--is unpredictable: you’re the one who is creating steps and taking steps at the same time. You are the artist. It’s really no different than a painter creating a painting. Just like a painter, you ‘creating’—or ‘painting’—a business. “So if you’re goal is to create a successful business, then you need to forget how success works in school. That is step one."

Chapters then pinpoint specific skill sets needed to run not just any business, but a successful one. From the different requirements of retail to product versus service approaches and how to cultivate wealth once it's achieved, chapters review all aspects of a business pursuit.

With its gritty, hard-hitting discussions of everything from import/export business demands to leveraging positions, different business structures, online and retail sales, investment strategies and more, The Secrets of Business packs so much into its pages that one might believe it could only do a cursory job of touching lightly on points.

Don't be fooled. What we have here is an in-depth discussion that sets up a basic blueprint for success. All that's needed are readers who want to move beyond traditional school-based theoretical business models to understand the real underlying influences on successful strategies - and then apply them. 

Rama: Gaze in My Direction
Liz Lewinson
Epiphany Press
9780989889919
ramabio.com       

'Rama' in this case is one Dr. Frederick Lenz, American Buddhist and teacher; and the biography of Dr. Lenz presented in Rama: Gaze in My Direction is recommended for any who want greater insights into his life and Buddhist belief in general.

It's a spiritual, transformational biography that surveys his life and uses the results of over a hundred interviews to build a wide-ranging consideration of his many achievements. (And for novices to Buddhism, 'gaze in my direction' is a meditation instruction having to do with focus and being open to inner messages and beliefs.)

An introductory chapter tells how the author came to meet Rama while searching for a new spiritual teacher, and how her own ability to 'gaze in his direction' immediately revealed his 'siddha' ("In the literature of Buddhism and Hinduism, a siddha is a magical or mystical power attained by an advanced practitioner of meditation.") Months went by before she was to become his student and embark on a journey that would lead to an understanding of different perspectives on American Buddhism and Eastern belief systems.

Dr. Lenz's actions in promoting his teachings and mission and expanding his students are documented in a vivid account based on the author's personal interactions and those of others involved in Rama's circle: "This year, in 1982, what we’re doing together, besides just having a generally good time, is trying to get you to walk through the doorways to eternity. Because each time you walk through those doorways your perfection will manifest in a new and exacting way. . . . What I’m trying to do is to have you not be pedestrian or plebeian with this study. That is to say, we’re not simply studying how to get high in a new way. You’re studying existence itself, to become it.” 

From his journeys across the country to spiritual revelations, social challenges, and changes, this is filled with insights on Rama's perspectives and approaches to spiritual growth: "He likes us for the being that he sees can emerge after our layers are peeled back. He does not expect us to be holy, just honest."

It is this blend of Rama's wisdom and his life journey in teaching groups and individuals across the country that makes Rama: Gaze in My Direction so unique: part travelogue, part spiritual reader, and part biography, it's a celebration of his life and perspectives as much as it is an account of how American Buddhism spread across the nation.

From musical projects to dance, lectures and meetings to meditation encounters, Rama's wide-ranging influence powers not only his life and those of his students (including the author), but becomes the focal point for the evolution and dissemination of Buddhist belief across the country.

Any interested in accounts of Eastern religious thinking and growth will find Rama: Gaze in My Direction filled with unique, perceptive insights.

The President's Killers
Karl Jacobs
Lien Press
ASIN: B00FML0SMW            $3.99
http://www.amazon.com/The-Presidents-Killers-Karl-Jacobs-ebook/dp/B00FML0SMW

The President's Killers is a novel of a high-level killing with a satisfying twist: told from the viewpoint of protagonist and suspect Denis Kinney, it reveals that Kinney is actually the newest recruit with an elite government intelligence agency. The only problems are: the nation believes, thanks to circumstantial evidence, that he's gunned down the President - and the agency claims they never heard of him.

With every lawman in the country hot on his tail, Denis is compelled to find out the identity of the real killer in this fast-paced thriller which doesn't disappoint, and which is spiced with a sense of reality that can only come from an author who was himself the former top aide to a Senator (and, therefore, well versed in politics and behind-the-scenes government operations.)

The President's Killers is all about political intrigue and high stakes chase scenes: if you don't like cat-and-mouse thrillers, don't go here. If, however, you're a thriller reader more than used to such scenarios, be prepared for the ride of your life. There's nothing predictable about The President's Killers, and no easy answers evident in the course of a struggle to unearth the identity of the real killer.

From a cryptic help-wanted ad on the web which leads Denny to become the patsy in the President's murder to the involvement of Meesh, a woman who isn't used to seeing the FBI's shadow around every corner, The President's Killers presents an ever-tightening net of intrigue and deception that involves forces on all sides in a desperate search.

As Meesh and her boyfriend become more involved in deception and danger, they also find their relationship strengthening even as the nation is ever more focused on finding answers. The investigation progressing on all sides will take place on the streets, in public areas, and will even bring danger into unexpected places such as a ball game.

Part of what makes this thriller so exceptional is that it brings to mind events surrounding Kennedy and King's assassinations. Another facet that keeps The President's Killers an exceptional read is its attention to detail. From the nuances of protagonist personalities and involvements to encounters between law enforcement agencies and a suspected killer on the loose, events progress swiftly and often unexpectedly with plenty of action and political and social insights.

The result is a thriller that grabs hold and won't let go: a strong recommendation for any interested in political intrigue and high-level murder mysteries.

Got a Bad Boss? Work that Boss to Get What You Want at Work 
Dr. Noelle Nelson
MindLab Publishing
ASIN: B00F80BKEW           $7.99
http://www.amazon.com/Boss-Work-That-What-Want-ebook/dp/B00F80BKEW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381940393&sr=8-1&keywords=got+a+bad+boss%3F

Got a Bad Boss? Work that Boss to Get What You Want at Work is recommended for any employee who has a bad, miserable boss without the luxury and option of quitting the job. Now, there are plenty of bosses who are everything from selfish and cruel to just plain crazy: good luck with trying to change their basic personalities.

What this book advocates instead are strategies to change the relationship with such an individual - and that is done by first identifying a Bad Boss's secret fears and desires and then one's own personal strengths, reworking those parameters to make for better interactions.

It's both harder and easier than it sounds: harder because the process of such identification requires a good degree of self-analysis and the ability to analyze others; easier because in fact Got a Bad Boss? is the stepping stone to achieving this level of psychological inspection.  The ability to turn the 'impossible' into documented achievement requires a detailed knowledge of psychological profiles and how they work, and Got a Bad Boss? provides these keys to nailing a boss's profile and working within that outline.

Chapters offer prototypes of different 'bad boss' habits, from egomaniacs to incompetents, and provide keys to placing a 'bad boss' in the right category for considering effective responses to behaviors. The goal is to assure that the boss has a feeling of success directly attributable to employee (i.e. your) actions.

Got a good boss right now? Think you therefore don't need to keep this reference on hand? Nobody is immune to the possibility of getting a bad boss: the focus on how to thrive under various diverse personality types will thus prove invaluable to any employee at one time or another in their career.

The author is a practicing psychologist as well as a trial consultant to major corporations, so she operates in two worlds: that of business and that of mental health. The meat of her title's focus (which neatly differentiates it from other employee guides) lies in its more aggressive suggestions that go beyond simple survival strategies and enter into the realm of prospering under adverse conditions: "…you don't need defensive maneuvers, as in “How do I survive my tyrannical boss?” You need attack strategies, as in “How do I get 
promotions, raises, whatever I want and need from my expletive-deleted boss?!” 

Case histories throughout document different boss personality types, their likely methods of manipulation, and provide guidelines for adjusting employee responses and behaviors to gain better results from every interaction. Specifics on how to 'work' these different personality types are clear and involve doing 'reality checks' on both the gripe and one's own goals in the workplace.

By moving the blame from the boss alone and encouraging self-examination, Got a Bad Boss? creates an all-around formula for success based on a healthy dose of self-growth and change.  It's not for those who would assign blame to others alone, but for readers who would re-examine their own goals, reactions, and motivations; there to discover the 'bad boss' scenario may be one of mutual participation.  The result is a reference that should be in any employee's toolbox - and in any business reference collection. 

America Never Promised Us Happiness (Only the Right to Pursue It)
Dr. L. A. Lemmons 
9780988708204             $25.00 
www.drlemmons.com
 
“Happiness is at best a pipe dream,” says author and naturopathic physician, Dr. L. A. Lemmons. This startling conclusion came after 10 years of searching in vain for the American dream.   

Her debut work, America Never Promised Us Happiness (Only the Right to Pursue It) addresses the myths and fallacies surrounding this much lauded past time. Humor is used throughout the book to make more palatable some hard-hitting facts about American culture and its preoccupation with happiness.  

Central to the author’s argument is that there is a difference between ‘being happy’ and ‘finding happiness.’ ‘Happy’ is our natural state once our need for food, warmth, and sleep have been met. ‘Happiness’, on the other hand, is marketing gimmick used by media, businesses, and politicians alike to sell products. "The definition of happiness is so entirely vague, it can be anything— making it the perfect selling medium."

‘Happiness’ is a marketer’s dream come true. It is at the heart of every commercial, movie, and magazine advertisement. Hear and see these messages enough times and an insidious process begins to take root: the brain starts to record the message that consumerism is the source of all things good and joyful in life.    

Tackling such issues as love, marriage, relationships, mental health, and dream analysis, each chapter shows how marketers systemically disrupt the natural rhythms of human life with their relentless advertisements. "Dream scientists take REMs out of their natural context of survival and place them on a department store shelf of a store near you, marketing them as if they were some sort of third dimension wishing wells."

So what is real happiness and how can it be identified apart from media and business influences? That’s the heart of a book that ultimately offers enlightenment and illuminates a path towards real satisfaction - and why any concerned with the idea of 'achieving happiness' needs to read America Never Promised Us Happiness (Only the Right to Pursue It). Quite simply, it cuts through illusion to grasp reality - and that's quite an achievement! 

Tears Upon the Rose
Gregory Robert Wright
www.gregrwright.com

Tears Upon the Rose: A Story of Ireland 1641 - 1660 is recommended for readers who like strong historical novels featuring many protagonists, strong background facts, and challenging conditions. It's set in a narrow period of Irish history when clan and religion meant far more than country and borders, and it opens with a dream by one Robbie, who runs in fear from an unknown assailant. 

In this bitterly divided country Robbie is warned of an uprising that could end his life, and embarks on a journey towards a home that no longer offers sanctuary. Caught between political and social conflict, he swears revenge on the man who killed his family only to find himself involved in an unusual war where sides are not clearly defined and friends become enemies overnight.

English and Irish interactions are personal and political at the same time, tempered by struggle, differing ideals, and danger. Meetings between different classes are outlined precisely, with dialogue documenting close encounters between different worlds: "She sat fascinated, and for the first time in her young life, was unsure of herself in the presence of a man. As was typical of women in her privileged position, she had had experience with men at an early age – but they were men of her own kind. She knew how they flattered; she knew how they pursued. This one was different. Very different. She clasped her hands together and watched him until he finished."

The forces that bind cultures and communities range from political experience and social strife to the arts; all of which are explored with an eye to showing how Irish (and English) history evolved, from the common man through high society, and how encounters between them changed both.

As Robbie comes to realize his real heritage as Sir Robert Delacey, he also examines the roots of beliefs born in exile ("A mere ten months ago, he had been a member of a privileged class of a privileged race. How could he not have realized it?...The Scots had provided him his religion and his God….The Irish had provided him with a love of simple things….Above all, he had been English. Englishmen had provided the order in his world….Now he didn’t know what he was. He had been prepared to abandon his religion, or rather, to exchange it for the woman he loved.") 

In a world where wars center around religion and heritage, people are divided by blood feud and deception, and where fighting is more the norm than loving, unity and accord often seem far from the realm of possibility.

Traveling storytellers both unite and inflame peoples and impart news, religious communities form alliances and foster loyalties and war alike, and all protagonists are drawn into a complex web of political and cultural challenges to survival.

One thing to note about this historical novel is its extensive cast of characters. This isn't a simple, easy read: its complexity mirrors the state of interactions between the Irish, Scots and English. Some protagonists are entirely fictional while others are based on real-life characters.

Another note: the theme of conflict and evolving, changing relationships runs through all characters and story lines. It's a complex thread that moves back and forth documenting alliances, conflicts, and vast changes affecting the entire region. Hardship, strife, duty and betrayal: all these are additional themes that create a fluid, changing story line where politics and ideals affects even love: "Mary Margaret, listen to me. Even if I knew that I was marching to my death, I would not shrink from it. What do you think Ireland is? Is it just place with rivers and streams and salmon leaping? Is it merely a place with the greenest fields and the blackest marble on earth? No, it is not. Ireland is the place where God has planted us. It is the place that he gave to us, whether we

be O’Briens or O’Connells or O’Bannons or O’Kennedys. From its deepest glens and its highest crags, our ancestors watch us. They whisper to us. I have heard them. Shall we abandon them to the strangers? How can we? I tell you, Mary Margaret, we cannot.”

Any reader seeking a novel centered around the multifaceted, changing natures of a country's social and political changes will find Tears Upon the Rose a revealing and well-detailed account worthy of close inspection. It's page-turning action, well-drawn protagonists, and most of all, its attention to historical detail makes it a gripping read that educates even as it entertains: highly recommended; especially for those who seek more than 'light characters' in their historical fiction!

Saving Superman
Kathleen Sales
IUniverse
9781491713532     $3.99
www.kathleensales.com

Saving Superman is recommended for teen to adult readers and provides a fine psychological novel. It begins with ten-year-old runaway Pete's account of his mother, hospitalized for depression after losing her baby.

It's important for Pete to feel like Superman because he's lost control of his world. From his depressed mother and a sibling's death (which he feels is his fault) to his problems at school, Pete needs his Superman comics to help him feel empowered. He comes to discover others in the world who also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder: namely hobo Jake, whose nightmares rival even Pete's.

When Pete reaches his goal (a relative's home in Nashville) he's in for a rude awakening: his relatives expect him to re-enter school, a place where he knows he can’t succeed, and they don't seem to realize that Pete carries that failure with him wherever he goes: "I’d failed, and that meant I was too stupid to do schoolwork. Maybe I’d grow up both brave and stupid like Pa. I clung to that."

As Pete keeps hoping for their lives to change and for his mother to return to the lively, happy person he once knew, his fears and hopes eventually lead him full circle back to Jake - whom he discovers is a drunk.  But he still considers Jake his friend, and it doesn't take superpowers to realize Jake’s in trouble.

Add his mother's dark secret (which Pete has dutifully kept and struggled with), his relationship with an older sister (who doesn't know about the mysteries in his life and leads Pete to think: "When adults kept secrets, it always drove me crazy. That’s why I learned to eavesdrop. But I couldn’t tell her everything."), and so many emotional burdens that even Superman couldn't fix them, and you have a versatile, changing story that closely examines a child's powers of survival and adaptation.

Saving Superman is as much about change and coping as it is about discovering inner resilience and the power to survive virtually any psychological onslaught. It's a story of running away and coming back, a story of secrets and revelations, and most of all a chronicle of families breaking apart and coming back together. In the end these evolving relationships will give Pete unexpected courage and the ability to survive even the specter of death.

All these elements give Saving Superman a hopeful and inspirational feel that will reach any young adult reader experiencing chaos and conflict in their own lives.

Hyde's Corner Trilogy Book I - No Man's Land 
J B Bergstad 
Smashwords/Woodside Publishing Group ASIN: B00CDAQ4PU                $4.99
http://www.amazon.com/Hydes-Corner-Book-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00CDAQ4PU/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383408973&sr=1-2&keywords=HYDE%27S+CORNER+TRILOGY

Fans of historical novels won't want to miss the first installment of the 'Hyde's Corner' historical trilogy No Man's Land. Set in Oklahoma with a Western feel of adventure, No Man's Land quickly captivates the reader with a deft portrait of one widower Doctor Beaman, whose grief has not subsided even after years of suffering, and who faces a powerful adversary and uncertain camaraderie in the form of Selmer Burks, a figure of reminiscent of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. At once a devoted family man and a sly enemy capable of exacting great revenge, Selmer becomes sheriff and uses that position to carry out his personal vendetta, involving Doctor Beaman in ungodly acts that are moral and ethical horrors.

Is Selmer mad, as he fears, or is his motives and approaches calculated, sane reactions to his life? As Selmer's brand of justice spreads and the newly-formed Sundowner County changes, Selmer's vendetta will slowly poison not just his family, but the entire town.

Oklahoma history permeates every page of a story that spins a web of intrigue and interconnected lives, from a family who leaves Tennessee to find themselves unexpectedly setting down roots in Oklahoma to the evolution of a monstrous family figure who sets the stage for both rebellion and revenge.

Generations of interactions and responses overlap town history: as characters develop and change, so does the face of not just the small town, but the West as a whole.

No Man's Land is a vivid saga of how family associations evolve to political arenas and beyond, of how the old West confronts modern times, and of how one man's legacy affects everything around him. It's packed with twists and turns that are completely unpredictable and satisfyingly filled with angst and revelation, and it's a suitable 'Book One' to a trilogy that promises further depth and development.

Any fan of Westerns featuring powerful protagonists will find this a strong read.

Hyde's Corner Trilogy Book II: In The Name Of Vengeance
J B Bergstad
Smashwords/Woodside Publishing Group
ASIN: B00EB3PGRO           $4.99
http://www.amazon.com/Hydes-Corner-Trilogy-Vengeance-ebook/dp/B00EB3PGRO/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383408973&sr=1-1&keywords=HYDE%27S+CORNER+TRILOGY

Hyde's Corner Trilogy Book II: In The Name Of Vengeance provides the second in a trilogy centered in Oklahoma in the old West; and if you haven't read Book One, be advised that it's a 'must' for providing the depth of characterization to appreciate the ongoing family dynamics continued here with In The Name Of Vengeance. 

Selmer Burks hasn't changed his ways: even as he mourns the death of his child, he still plots revenge. This time his desires are thwarted by the lure of his newborn bastard grandson, who gives him a new lease on life and appears to at last change his vengeful heart. Tasked with raising the child, Burks discovers within him a newfound and unprecedented love and loyalty for grandson Thomas.

Even as Burks rules the town with an iron fist through in his sheriff's role, he finds within him the capability of building a loving home environment against all odds. But the past catches up to the family and grandson Thomas soon discovers the truth about his birth, forgiving his grandfather's trespasses only to face a new test in the form of romance and disintegrating family and town relationships.

This second book in the series is more about the second generation than the first, however, and offers a solid focus on how Thomas comes of age and evolves his own personality against the backdrop of his grandfather's strength.

Killing, vengeance, and bloody encounters are threads that run through this family saga - as is love. That Burks possesses the strength to fiercely love his grandson despite his equally strong thirst for vengeance against the forces that took his beloved daughter from his life is testimony to his multi-faceted personality. Through his relationship with his grandson he will pass on legacies that range from understanding and forgiveness to knowing when to pursue injustice: "Burks took Tom's chin in his hand and pulled the boy's face close. "Everything is relative, boy. You said it yourself. Mrs. Porter is dead. No punishment could bring her back. I understand Mr. Temple is spending his days in a wheelchair just like Bowdery's. I've heard tell he spends his days in a sanitarium down in Tulsa. Drools on himself. Jabbers a lot. Could be that's worse than being dead." Burks searched his grandson's face hoping to see an understanding take root."

One powerful feature of Book II: characters are even more exquisitely drawn and rounded out than in Book I. From the importance of giving one's word to the trauma of inter-family murder, readers will find themselves not outside a Western novel looking in, but walking amongst the characters, their motivations, and their experiences.

The roots of vengeance and fears come alive within the framework of Burks and his grandson's conversations and interactions: "His eyes didn't leave his grandson's face. "You can see it now can't you, Tom? Damnit boy, you've

got to get past flesh and blood. You've got to understand the spirit. Hyde evil crawls into every nook and cranny of my county. It's in the air, son. It waits for those of weak character and infects them like the Spanish Flu. You only need to think on the actions of Royster, Hammersmith and

the rest. Think about the last three years. If the Hydes win, they'll be nothing for the Burks…."

Burks' ability to perceive peoples and places as 'evil' permeates all their lives and affects decisions and confrontations alike. But will Tom be able to step into his grandfather's killing footsteps and justify his own actions as defenses against some greater evil force? And what will happen to love in the face of all this conflict?

Kidnappings, violence and suffering: oh my! The action just doesn't quit, and the plot changes are satisfyingly unpredictable, keeping readers on their toes - and immersed.

In The Name Of Vengeance does require familiarity with and appreciation for Book I in the series in order to provide a smooth transition: but what a ride this is!

Doors to Perdition: A Short Story Collection on the Dark Side
J B Bergstad
Woodside Publishing
ASIN: B00DPO2CJK     $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/Doors-to-Perdition-ebook/dp/B00DPO2CJK/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383580765&sr=1-1&keywords=Doors+to+Perdition

Doors to Perdition: A Short Story Collection on the Dark Side 

consists of eleven stories of psychological suspense and intrigue; each of which centers on violence, killing, and how personal decisions can lead to horror, shock and awe. There's no singular path to these horrors: each protagonist arrives at his own personal version of hell through a different doorway; and this is part of what makes the stories in Doors to Perdition so compelling. 

Each story, in keeping with its different route to the same kind of horror, opens with a very different protagonist and setting. 'Saturday Poker', for example, is set in Brazil in 1971 and focuses on the character of novice bank robber Bryson, who is on the run after a newspaper identifies him as a possible fourth man involved in the robbery.

An alcoholic with money woes, Bryson was the one who suggested the robbery of his former employer - and the one who escaped. What seemed like a good idea for four middle-class men (down on their luck but with no prior records) turns into disaster, but Bryson has yet to face his biggest disaster, as a result of his decisions.

There are no neat conclusions to these tales; nothing which offers redemption or atonement or even solutions to the warped and twisted paths the protagonists choose. So if you hated Twilight Zone and dislike psychological profiles and examination - don't come here.

Doors to Perdition is all about the journey to terror, life's ironies, and how the human experience becomes warped and twisted by psychological horror. Each short story encapsulates a very different kind of dilemma; but all are bound together, under one cover, with an overlay of angst and psychological terror: the kind that transforms lives - and the reader.

Doors to Perdition is a dark and involving read for any who like deep, stark dramas with unexpected twists.

What Would Oprah Do?
Erin Emerson
King Literary Group
ISBN-10: 0615880487    ISBN-13: 978-0615880488
Price: $11.00 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/29710600

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-would-oprah-do-erin-emerson/1117017857?ean=9780615880488

http://www.amazon.com/What-Would-Oprah-Erin-Emerson/dp/0615880487/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

www.WhatWouldOprahDo.net

What Would Oprah Do? is light reading at its best and introduces 32-year-old Cate, who arrives at a crossroads in life when she's laid off from her corporate job. And who best to guide her through this confusing process than Oprah Winfrey, her inspiration? And that's where the TV personality enters Cate's life to become more than just a figurehead. Cate decides to write Oprah, and the very act of penning her predicaments and searching for the nugget of Oprah's style of wisdom changes her life: ”I have no idea what to do with my life and the only thing that gives me hope is writing letters to Oprah. I really believe that she tries to do good in this world, and it’s just nice to imagine that she lets me move into one of her houses and gives me some sort of stipend or general relief so I can find my purpose."  

Now, don't expect a serious and plodding story line here: there's a healthy dose of humor to accompany the main story, there's thought-provoking reflection on pursuing one's dreams against all odds, and all this is held together by protagonist Cate's engaging personality and whimsical perspective on life. Cate has five months' worth of savings accrued: thus, she has five months to figure out her life ("I had saved up just enough money to pay my bare necessities for five months. I figured that since somehow God had immediately intervened and changed my work situation, surely I could sort out where to go from there in five months."): what could go possibly wrong with this plan?

The answer is 'plenty' - but that's not the real point of this appealing saga. Its heart lies in Cate's writings themselves, which are nothing short of hilarious and inviting: "Dear Oprah,I saw the most ridiculous thing on the cover of a tabloid today, a headline saying that you and Gayle are secret lovers. I’m sure with your strong character; you would never let that kind of nonsense bother you. What shocked me was that the person who wrote the article, if you can even classify it as such, is a woman! I feel sorry for her because she has obviously never had a real girl friend if she can’t understand your relationship with Gayle without trying to make it romantic. This woman needs some real friends!" 

These letters open each chapter and set the tone for Cate's further discoveries about her goals and perceptions: "Despite all of my attempts to envision the life I’m trying to create, sometimes you have to see things as they are, not as how you want them to be. I don’t know why I thought that everything would fall into place when I sorted out what to do with my life, but that’s what I believed."

Cate's ongoing confrontations with the reality of a harsh job market that offers few opportunities are neatly juxtaposed with her personal goal to move in a different direction with her life, and they represent unexpected journeys that also move Cate from writing to Oprah to even penning musician Beyonce with a special request: "If you truly believe that you wouldn’t be where you are today without the support of your fans, I’m unabashedly asking you to repay the favor and support me in my business."

At once hilarious and poignant, What Would Oprah Do? is about a formerly-successful businesswoman faced with kickstarting her life in a new direction: surely a novel for modern times, and perfect for women looking for light, yet inspiring, reading!

The Death Bet
A.K. Price
Ebookit
9781456619046     $2.99
www.thedeathbet.com

The Death Bet holds a compelling, colorful cover design by Megan Baker (of MB Productions, Maui) that will draw mystery and crime novel readers into the story of a surprise company investigation, a murder, and a complicated business relationship. Confidential files, an audit gone wrong and an element of fate soon involve Blaine Stone in one of the most puzzling encounters of his career.

Blaine is invited to quit his regulatory job (which is involved in investigating life insurance company First Granite) and is offered a cool four million to make it quick. The only problem is: Blaine knows it's blood money, and that First Granite executives are up to their ears in a bet gone bad. They have purchased a portfolio of life insurance policies so they can collect death benefits when insureds die. The only problem is that insureds are not dying as planned, forcing the executives to keep paying expensive premiums to keep the bet going.  

From a secret society immersing a small town in a web of intrigue and danger to an increasingly dangerous cat-and-mouse game that reveals the murderers behind a corporate entity, Blaine finds himself struggling to keep up with changing events and revelations that could place him at the heart of the deadly deal gone wrong.

Political clout is the preferred approach of this company - and a high priestess insists murders aren't the answer even as Blaine receives clues about who the next victim will be.

In addition to the web of intrigue spun around a business/quasi gang, strong characterization also surrounds Blaine's life and family, adding an extra dimension of personality to his actions and reactions.

It all boils down to missing money, a power struggle, and an anonymous group called the Red Skulls who wield a different kind of undercover influence in a complex, evolving scenario.

The Death Bet is ultimately a no-holds-barred treasure hunt, and immerses Blaine and his love Lindsey in a dangerous world that will either make or break their lives. It's a satisfying combination of thriller, mystery, and big business crime saga and its complex twists and turns of plot are especially recommended for seasoned mystery readers looking for elements of espionage and adventure in their genre reading.

James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra
Colm McElwain
Troubador Publishing Ltd
9781780880693              L7.99
www.jamesclydebook.com 

James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra is a children's fantasy novel centering around James, raised in a children's home under a shroud of mystery and tasked (by his grandfather) with protecting a mysterious diamond which holds the strange power of attracting evil into the world. His recent adoption (and that of his adopted brother and sister from the children's home, Ben and Mary) only brings danger with him into his new home; a fact revealed by a fortune-teller's perceptive eye.

Accompanied by his good friends, James embarks on a journey to the alternate world of Orchestra where he will face the source of both the diamond and evil, there to make decisions that will change the universe.

James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra features many strengths; not the least of which is an ability to immerse readers in its characters and their vibrantly real worlds. James and his friends have their hands full, but the challenges they face together are tempered by individual goals and personalities that are vividly portrayed and which examine underlying influences. Even the motives of those deemed wicked are considered with an eye to tracing the road toward evil. James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra creates engaging relationships between all the protagonists with a dose of light-hearted love thrown in for good measure.

A second strength lies in its ability to create a winding story line with no clear linear path. A reader used to fantasy adventures, especially, will appreciate the twists and turns of a plot that keeps to no logical direction - and, therefore, offers many surprises throughout the story.

Thirdly, James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra weaves a healthy dose of action, suspense, and intrigue into its fantasy. Where many genre tales excel in the fantasy portion and fall short on depicting reality, this saga incorporates real elements of a pre-teen boy's life and concerns: "…he certainly didn’t feel any different. Nor did he ever want to be. He was quite happy to be like everybody else, thank you very much. And yet, in his mind he still thought about everything that Belinda had said to him. He was special; destined for greatness, destined to be a great leader. She seemed to know everything. Could she be wrong once?"

Another plus: though this story of necessity incorporates several violent confrontations, the actual degree of violence is kept to an acceptable minimum. No gory descriptions or bloody encounters here - which are in keeping with a children's book designed to entertain, not horrify. Parents will be appreciative of this attribute.

Chapters are short and adventures are to the point, with each chapter linking neatly to the next in a pattern designed to keep young readers guessing - and reading. From diamonds to a forceful, mysterious queen and a mystery that could ultimately threaten his friends, James finds himself on a journey that will change everything.

A final note: there's no neat, tidy ending to this story. And this both creates opportunity for a sequel and ties into the prior point: there's nothing easily predictable about the events of James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra. Perhaps that's its greatest strength!

Aloha, Mozart
Waimea Williams
Luminis Books Inc.
1935462636        $7.69
www.amazon.com/Aloha-Mozart-ebook/dp/B00B77CI1E

http://waimeawilliams.wordpress.com/

Readers seeking a historical story integrating a passion for art and music, a coming of age account, and the saga of a young woman whose unusual flair for singing opera flourishes, despite an impoverished background in Hawaii, will find Aloha, Mozart the perfect pick. It combines one woman's personal drive with the rising cultural and political powers of 1960s Austria to create a powerful protagonist whose personal growth mirrors the political surges of her times. 

Maile Manoa exhibits her inherent abilities at an early age, but is powerless to do much about them. In sixth grade she realizes her calling is to sing opera; an interest unheard of - and unsupported - in her community; so she sings other genres with her amazing voice and saves her pennies to someday achieve her true dream.

What she doesn't know is that this passion will lead her away from her beloved homeland to other worlds, causing financial and emotional hardship for her family. Ultimately she experiences a series of worldly encounters that challenge her heritage, her morals and ethics, and her goals.

The story opens with a bang, hooking the reader with a poetic and enchanting description that is a prelude to the tone and approach permeating Aloha, Mozart: "Maile Manoa's singing came from the ocean, people said, from the mountains, from flowers….Some claimed that dogs and horses stopped eating to listen to her, chickens in the yard, even sharks out beyond the reef….but she didn't consider herself special. Singing was simply something she did."

As Maile is introduced to the culture and worlds of opera and European culture, she finds her life transformed, her voice finely honed, and her beliefs and heritage challenged. Would she do anything to achieve her goals? What happens when romance enters the picture, complicated by rising political tensions, and two very different choices and opportunities, each with the power to change her life?

Maile's ever-changing world is one of eye-opening wonder, passion, and evolving transformations that keep her options open and fluid. Her journey involves unbelievable sacrifices, heartbreak, and choices that speak of the ongoing resonance and meaning of music in her life.

The contrast between very different worlds (Hawaii and Europe), their values, and their culture is one powerful strength of this novel, which moves beyond one girl's growth to embrace social change on different levels.

Another strength of Aloha, Mozart lies in its mercurial, evolutionary process which blends philosophy, psychology, and history within the realistic and compelling worlds of protagonists who must mesh their desires with influences beyond their control.

Finally, Aloha, Mozart offers a poignant set of insights into the mechanics of betrayal, achievement, disillusionment, and change. In the end it's all about the microcosm of evolution and how success and failure are perceived. Within this environment, Maile's worlds of wonder are marked with struggle; all deftly portrayed in a novel especially recommended for fans who enjoy stories solidly rooted in music.

America's Greatest Blunder
Burton Yale Pines
RSD Press
978-0-9891487-0-2 (paperback)
978-0-9891487-3-3 (hardcover)
978-0-9891487-2-6 (mobi  e-version – for Kindle)
978-0-9891487-1-9 (e-Pub e-version)
Prices:       Hardcover -   $28.95                 Paperback -    $17.95
                          E-book             $ 7.95            
http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Greatest-Blunder-Fateful-Decision/dp/0989148734/ref=la_B001KJ495W_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383068488&sr=1-1 

America's Greatest Blunder: The Fateful Decision to Enter World War One maintains what should be obvious: that America had no business entering the local, years-long conflict to create a world war, and that by intervening and tipping the local balance of power, the U.S. in fact created the roots of World War II's even greater atrocities.

Compromise would have come more quickly without American intervention, bitter resentments wouldn't have created a German national pride vulnerable to the likes of a madman like Hitler, and the entire situation would have likely resulted in a lasting peace, not the uncertain and volatile, simmering resentment that was to fuel World War II.

Now, many titles have already made this point. What's new here is an attention to documenting the political and social milieu that led up to America's decision to enter World War I, how an attitude of neutrality changed to one that saw military intervention as the best option, and how the famous and celebrated doughboys in fact introduced a new level of violence onto the battlefield which was to have lasting ramifications for all involved.

Much historical research and analysis has gone into America's Greatest Blunder: a fact reflected in chapters that provide plenty of background and insights to trace exactly how these decisions evolved. From how this country observed the war's progress to how it made the decision to become involved, how it entered the war, and how the doughboys broke a battlefield stalemate that allowed France and Britain to in effect punish Germany and crush its national pride, chapters trace the legacy of a reluctant peace and its long-range effects at home and abroad.

It's all about deadlocks, the specific actions and events that led to the rise of Nazism, and how America's entry into the fray changed the face of the world forever. But most of all, this focus how America changed the Western Front's battlefield dynamics which struck the most punishing blow to relationships on all sides makes for a close inspection of a military approach that won a war but set the tone for festering psychological conflict requiring a second world war to achieve any semblance of resolution.

What would have happened if the U.S. had stayed out of World War I? Burton Yale Pines maintains that peace would have been established and would have proved less unstable, that German national pride and identity wouldn't have suffered a crippling psychological blow, and that different surrender terms could have been crafted that might have avoided the rise of Nazism.

Had this country remained neutral (and military intervention been avoided), than human relationships in today's world might be very different. In this case, yes: the U.S. won that particular war. But the lasting impact of its decisions resonate even today in a world which cannot definitively be deemed 'better' for America's decision.

As this country continues along a path that involves military interactions with other nations, it could use the lessons of World War I as a cautionary tale of the long-term effects of interventions. And while readers could say that the projections of different scenarios had America not entered the fray are subjective ones, nobody can argue about the fact that World War I ultimately caused more problems than it purported to solve.

Plenty of well-researched evidence support Burton Yale Pines's contentions here, providing logical lessons of cause and effect documenting the fallacies and dangers of military responses by this country as well as other nations.

Political science (and especially military history) readers should consider America's Greatest Blunder a foundation work suitable for debate and reflection on the lasting impact of military intervention, no matter what the arena of battle.

Dead Dreams, Book 1
Emma Right
Right House Books/New Shelves Book Distribution (for orders)
e-book ISBN: 978-0-9892672-1-2      $3.99
PB: 978-0-9892672-4-3                  
www.emmaright.com

http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Dreams-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00ESVEVBQ

Billed as a 'young adult psychological thriller' and mystery, Book 1 of Dead Dreams tells of eighteen-year-old Brie O’Mara, who has a world of living and dreams ahead of her and nothing but bright promises for a good future. She's all set for success … until she gains a new roommate in Sarah, an heiress with lots of money and a penchant for trouble.

At first Sarah's secrets don't bother Brie: after all, she's obtained a roommate not for friendship, but to help her make ends meet in her first bid for independence.  The problem is, Sarah's secrets keep reaching out to immerse Brie in not just mystery but danger, and soon Brie realizes that Sarah's life is not just spilling over into her own, but threatening to take it over and destroy everything she's worked towards.

Brie has modest expectations from a roommate situation and no illusions about possible friendships: ”Running to my parents to bail me out each time a housemate wriggled out of a deal wasn’t an option and I didn’t make enough to bear the rent alone. Just as long as Sarah paid her share, and didn’t try to murder me in my sleep, that was all I expected out of this arrangement."

Perhaps it's her Craigslist choice for a roommate search, or maybe her assumption that secrets are okay as long as nobody is hurt in the process, that leave her open to someone like Sarah ("She looked sober. She had money. She seemed like a clean-cut, girl-next-door type, and except for her relations who she shouldn’t be blamed for, I couldn’t see a reason to refuse."): either way, it paves the way for a mystery that only keeps growing.

Eventually Brie will discover she actually has something to gain from Sarah's inheritance: a gain that will only result from giving up something she can't afford to lose. From a lawyer who might have been paid off by Sarah to a subterfuge that ultimately involves a look-alike game ala 'Single White Female' (but with more bite), Dead Dreams succeeds in questioning the nature of reality, perception, character and motivations.

Events that unfold will lead Brie to trust no-one, including herself, and will also cause her to question the power of money and its ability to pay off nearly anyone.

Dead Dreams concludes with passages that will lead to and support Book 2 - and provides an open-ended set of possibilities that challenge the protagonist's ability to confess to her role in a crime.

The combination of psychological suspense and mystery lends to this 'young adult' title's appreciation well into adult audiences, and will require a mature young adult reader able to appreciate the intricate twists and turns of psychological suspense that are such a strong part of the events driving Dead Dreams.

The Gatekeeper's Sons
Eva Pohler
Green Press
ASIN: B008YNLXW4
http://www.amazon.com/Gatekeepers-Sons-Saga-ebook/dp/B008YNLXW4/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383837110&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Gatekeeper%27s+Sons

The Gatekeeper's Sons is Book 1 of 'The Gatekeeper's Saga', and is a powerful young adult fantasy novel centered around fifteen-year-old Therese Mills, who is heading home in the car with her parents when someone begins shooting at them, sending their car into a lake. She watches her parents drown, somehow finds the strength to escape, and winds up in the coma that introduces her to the twin sons of Hades.

The Gods' interactions in and observations of human affairs are evident in the beginning: "Humans didn’t realize how lucky they were, Than thought as he took the woman’s hand. At least, if they were mostly good, they could live a brief life with some kinds of freedoms and then spend eternity in a dreamlike trance, unaware of the monotony around them."

And this sets the stage for the rest of the story revolving around Therese's deal with the gods, which requires her to avenge the death of her parents with the help of Than, who has fallen in love with her and who has struck a deal with his father Hades to return to the Upperworld to try to win her.

It's important to note that the weaving of Greek mythology into the underlying plot and the twining involvement of Therese with these gods requires readers to enjoy mystery as well as fantasy and romance.  Therese's experiences operate on all three levels and so The Gatekeeper's Sons is not easily identified as being one thing or another, but holds strong elements of various genres.

Secondly, the characters really make the story. This should be true of most young adult novels; but sadly, it isn't. The motivations, anguish, romance, and drive for revenge and resolution that permeates The Gatekeeper's Sons is satisfyingly diverse.  Its setting offers mystery but also provides explanations for how romance evolves and how Therese's quest for justice becomes entangled in this process. 

There's also more than a touch of the supernatural as Therese longs to be with her parents more than she can initially accept Than's love: "I don’t care about the real villain. I want to be with my parents. Take me, too.” She stumbled forward and into Than’s arms. “Take me to them,” she said again.  He kissed the top of her hair. “I told you, you wouldn’t be the same if I did.”  “I don’t care,” she whispered breathlessly. “That’s not why I’m here.”

But what is the hidden cost of revenge? Soon Therese finds that her destiny and her choices are being assessed by the gods and controlled by oaths and alliances far beyond her understanding. In the midst of all this a love grows up between a mortal and a god: a love that might offer no easy paths.

Being Book One, The Gatekeeper's Sons provides no neat conclusion but leaves the door open - wide open - for Book Two in the saga. Fans of this book who appreciate its blend of romance, mythology and mystery will await Book Two with baited breath: the combination of mythical and human worlds is satisfyingly complex and concludes with evidence that the real drama is only just beginning. 

Stay tuned for further developments!

The Rainy Day Killer
Michael J. McCann
Plaid Raccoon Press
ISBN: 9780987708793 (e-book)
          9780987708786 (trade paperback)
Price: $3.99 (e-book); $19.99 (paperback)
http://www.mjmccann.com

http://www.amazon.ca/Killer-Donaghue-Stainer-Series-ebook/dp/B00EWQT8Z6

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-rainy-day-killer-michael-j-mccann/1117105043

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/the-rainy-day-killer

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/363571

http://www.powells.com/s?kw=the+rainy+day+killer&

http://www.fishpond.com.au/c/Books/q/the+rainy+day+killer?rid=2102031192

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/the-rainy-day-killer/id723233597?mt=11

https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/michael-j-mccann/the-rainy-day-killer/_/R-400000000000001138555

The Rainy Day Killer stands strongly alone but also adds to the 'Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel Series', opening on a rainy day when homicide detective Lieutenant Hank Donaghue is working on a wet, nasty murder - much to his chagrin. For that's how the Rainy Day Killer operates: by targeting women in the rain and then murdering them.

Unlike many murder mystery investigations, this case requires the efforts of three professionals to solve: Donaghue (who leads the investigation), FBI profiler Ed Griffin, and Detective Karen Stainer, who is trying to prepare for her upcoming wedding and who resents the intrusion of a complicated case and killer just when her attentions should be on her personal priorities.

The interactions between these three professionals and their different approaches to the investigation is one feature that differentiates The Rainy Day Killer's modus operandi from other, more singular murder mysteries where a single investigator provides a more linear approach to problem-solving.

Now, newcomers to the series might note this difference; but in fact it's been used before in the author's prior three books in his series. The interactions between the homicide Lieutenant and Detective Karen Stainer are realistic, wonderfully vivid, and especially strong in their portraits of police operations and the investigative process as a whole.

Where other crime books focus on the process alone, The Rainy Day Killer's consideration of the personalities involved, which often influence the course of the investigation through their preferences and insights, makes for an additional layer of reality. And after all: a good crime novel is all about the realistic feel of not just the event and problem-solving strategies, but the interactions between all people involved.

Tasked with 'nailing' the perp, Karen is conflicted and resentful about being pulled in two directions (her wedding, and her career.) But soon the two come closer together as it becomes evident the perp is now stalking her with the intention of making her his next victim.

Between passages about the crime and the investigative process are plenty of vivid assessments of department interactions, conflicts, and behind-the-scenes politics: "Everyone was petrified that Barkley would insist on Jarvis, who was universally despised as an obnoxious, self-centered son of a bitch. Jarvis was perceived as a favorite of Chief Bennett, which was said to be helping him in his

career advancement. The smart money, though, was on Cassion. Like Barkley and Bennett, she was ex-FBI."

The glimpses of psyches, personality conflicts, and influences are precise and revealing: "“She’s very upset,” Martinez said, still looking at Hank, “and very contrite.”

“She wants to be,” Karen said. “This is your captain we’re discussing,” Martinez snapped. “Show a little basic respect.”

Karen reached out with a forefinger and jabbed Hank on the forearm. “This is my captain. I don’t care what anybody else says.” “Not at the moment, he’s not.” “Fucking politics—”

It's not just about the psyche and behavior of the perp: it's about the underlying psyches and behaviors of all the major players chasing him, as well. And this is one powerful facet that sets The Rainy Day Killer apart from your usual crime novel: it's as much about office politics and influences as it is about criminal psychology - and those underlying currents of contention and confrontation are what help make The Rainy Day Killer special. Any crime novel enthusiast (especially those looking for a different approach) will find this an involving, revealing story from start to finish.

The Legend of the Ravens
Branwyn Rhodes
Branwyn Rhodes, Publisher
9780989110709       $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Ravens-Branwyn-Rhodes-ebook/dp/B00E6K8BLA/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1383843393&sr=1-3&keywords=Legend+of+the+Ravens

www.ravenslegend.com

The Legend of the Ravens is a children's book based on historical legend: a fairytale set in London in the 1600s, when Edward James becomes friends with the ravens living in the Tower of London. The King has protected these ravens (as did his predecessors) for centuries, believing that six ravens should live in the Tower at all times to prevent disaster. The problem is, the cantankerous ravens get into trouble and the king changes his mind about their beneficial powers. And so it falls to Edward to save the ravens - and England - from a terrible curse.

Mike Kunde's colorful, lovely drawings lend to a picturebook presentation that requires good reading skills but holds the ability to immerse young elementary-level readers in a fine fantasy.

The ravens are sassy creatures (as ravens are), have bold personalities and names, and have an inflated perception of their importance based on historical precedent: "Big and bold, they liked to think they were in charge of anything and everything associated with the Tower."

Edward enjoys his friendship with these birds until an incident involving an astronomer changes everything. Now, this astronomer also has an inflated feeling of self-importance: "…he took his work very seriously. He was not about to let any man, beast, or bird get in his way." So when the ravens accidentally break his precious telescope in the course of an argument, the royal astronomer bends the ear of the King to get rid of them.

The ravens unleash a frightening force in revenge and Edward finds himself caught in the middle of a struggle that could bring disaster to the entire kingdom. Only Edward might be able to bring peace back to the world.

While this is a fantasy and a semi-historical story, it's also a story of a young boy's coming into his own power, about the strength of win-win problem-solving techniques, and about power struggles on many levels.

Young readers will relish the fantasy saga but will also be absorbing all these elements of values and ethics in the process of following Edward's growth and challenges.

It's a quick read, it's filled with compelling elements of action and personality conflicts, and it is a fine fantasy young readers in grades 2-5 will appreciate.

Use Protection: An Employee’s Guide to Advancement in the Workplace
Johanna Harris
Hire Fire and Retire LLC/CreateSpace
ASIN: B00FVYMJPO             $9.99
http://www.amazon.com/USE-PROTECTION-Employees-Advancement-ebook/dp/B00FVYMJPO/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1-catcorr&qid=1383844538

Use Protection: An Employee’s Guide to Advancement in the Workplace isn't your usual employee guide to office politics: it goes beyond typical HR-oriented advice to reveal the 'hidden' company processes and rules most general, non-union employees never know.

Take, for example, the challenge of responding properly to illegal questions asked in the course of a job interview. Identifying these questions is only part of the game: the other key to success lies in responding to them. These responses can dictate whether a job is offered or not - and they can also affect workplace rights in the future.

Among other issues addressed are those of properly gaining and using a workplace mentor, handling unfair assessments during a performance evaluation process, what constitutes sexual harassment in the workplace, and much more.

Influences on winning or losing jobs, succeeding or failing in the workplace, and how managers conduct and consider evaluations are all covered with an eye to revealing not just the process, but an employee's legal rights and how these rights can be maintained while professionally addressing an employer's requirements.

From overcoming geographic distance to a manager (to assure the manager receives regular insights on how an employee is doing the job) to handling false accusations and understanding the evaluation process affecting which jobs are eliminated during hard times, Use Protection is all about proactive self-assessment. It won't reach those seeking easy answers: it WILL reach employees who want to assure they understand all the reasons behind company policies, procedures and actions in order to make the most of their status and ensure valuable contributions to a company.

Why should an employee make such an effort? Harris boldly outlines the purpose of her book: "The more you understand

about your company and its personnel policies, the more

likely you will have a satisfying and successful career.

That applies not just to next month’s sales goals or to the

next round of marketing promotions, but to the forty or

more years you can expect to work. You need to act strategically to protect your career for the long term. You’ll

be playing this game for a while."

The fact that author Johanna Harris is a labor lawyer, specializes in investigating employee wrongdoing, and that she holds extensive experience in human resources law and

employee relations lends authority to advice which is not to be found in other general books on employment.

Looking for strategies to assure success? Use Protection's case history examples from real-world scenarios blends with company savvy to translate all the 'hidden' operations of business for any who would persevere in moving upward.

Satchel & Sword I: The Search for the Saluka Stone
Claudette Marco
Createspace 
9781492853770      

Teen Nevaline is no ordinary girl, but a powerful protagonist who (even at age fifteen) is more than adept at fighting and physical training: something her Amazonia teammates resent her for: "Her skills always surpassed those of his daughter in both sword fighting and physical training. They both hated her for it….(sic) Her father imparted helpful words when dealing with such people: ‘coping with others is like caring for a sword, day after day it must see diligent sharpening and persistent polishing.’ In other words, dealing with people required a lot of work on one’s part, not to mention a lot of patience. Yet, if the wrong person wielded it, the cut of her or his blade ran deep; ‘wipe away the blood from your pride and continue on your own path absent return swing.’"

As a trainee in the United Warriors’ Training Camp, Nevaline's skills exceed those in her squad in both physical prowess and swordsmanship. Raised within a military structure, Nevaline's connections to her duty and military structure are just as strong as her abilities: "…she felt more and more entrenched into her duty to the army. That was her lot in life. To defend herself in battle, to not die, meant mastering the sword."

Balancing this military perspective is one special, mystical teacher and father figure, Master Sjhong, who has both raised her and encouraged Nevaline to realize some of her more mystical talents and her connection to the Goddess. His wisdom and influence has a major impact on her development, leading her away from a purely military perspective to a realization that her true destiny lies in killing the evil Micdian before he can enslave the world. 

But life is all about changes - and so is Satchel & Sword I: while Nevaline has lived with the possibilities of war and unrest all of her life, what she really wants is to live a more peaceful life away from the army. Unfortunately her desires for peace will not be realized anytime soon, and the expedition she faces with her best friend Cairine will both challenge her and change lives.

The heart of this journey involves a search for the mysterious Saluka Stone, with which Nevaline can awaken the god Micdian in order to destroy him. A lovely map introduces this saga with visual geographic support of the Kordalis and Caatlach Islands where action takes place, and allows readers to understand the extent of Nevaline's world and journey.

In the course of this search Nevaline will uncover answers not only to her questions about her real father, but about her own strange powers: "How could my sudden ability to view the forest as it should be and to wield wind and lightning through my bare hands not originate from the forest or Lady Earth?"

Myths, the surreal and challenging world of a young warrior girl who faces her greatest task to date, and ongoing issues of parentage, heritage and friendship unfold against the backdrop of a seemingly impossible mission that tests all of Nevaline's relationships and beliefs.

Perhaps this is the greatest strength of Satchel & Sword I: its ability to inject this sense of daily wonder into an epic fantasy involving an impossible journey, a testing of personal boundaries, and a realization of the world's infinite connections.

Teen readers with an affection for fantasy will find this strongly rooted in cultural exploration, spiced with a complex ever-changing story line, and centered around a powerful young adult female who holds the ability to transform her world without losing her sense of appreciation for its daily wonders: "Now she could see the ocean. They flew closer and closer. They reached the cliff’s edge. The waves crashed into the jagged rocks of the reefs below, throwing up a beautiful water spray. “Casaneas’s gates! What a marvel to witness!” she exclaimed. My gaze can remain forever upon this vision of nature’s beauty." 

Satchel & Sword I isn't a novel for light leisure story enthusiasts seeking quick action and resolution, but the beginning of an epic journey more suitable for any fantasy reader who is drawn to complex plots, characters, and powerful female protagonists.

Passage at Delphi
Allan K. Patch
AKP Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-0615917023 (AKP Publishing)
ISBN-10:061591702X         
Cover Price: $14.99                       Kindle: $6.99
http://akpatchauthor.com/

Passage at Delphi provides an unusual blend of history and adventure thriller that juxtaposes past and present worlds and connects three very different places and times in one story. It opens in Delphi, Greece in 2011 with Apollo's re-entry into a world that no longer recognizes Greek gods, telling of his decision to journey to the Americas to "… seek out allies to train, allies chosen in the Book of Histories, to see if they could pass his crucible of survival. After all, heroes do the work of the gods." But a battle between gods thwarts his mission, injecting injustice and agony into the mix.

With that introduction (provided in just a few pages), readers then move to 2011 San Diego, where Professor Lauren Burns is substitute teaching her husband's class when she's attacked by a student. Even as she successfully fights off her aggressor, her husband (who is at home recovering from tooth issues) experiences strange dreams about ancient Greece. His tenure at the university could be helped by his involvement in an evolving new archaeological discovery in Greece: the only problem is, he's already promised Lauren they will stay home this summer and focus on the one thing that has become her obsession: having children.

Zack faces a dilemma between career and family interests that reflects many conflicts in American modern society: "How could he get Lauren onboard for Greece? Whatever happened to their marriage being a democracy, two people choosing their future together? More and more, as she intensified the pressure to have children, their household democracy seemed to be as endangered as it was nationwide – with all hell about to break loose, an anarchy and chaos within their walls that would rip the fabric of their love apart. Just as, on a larger scale, once great civilizations tumbled. Like Ancient Greece."

As events unfold to immerse Zack and Lauren in both ancient and modern worlds, readers are immersed in a story line that at first seems simple but quickly evolves to become a complex mystery centered around historical events and ongoing challenges to freedoms both personal and political.

The Greeks created democracy and fostered a feeling of this idea through structure and order: as Zack and Lauren find their lives ever more entwined in past principles and issues, they find not only their marriage in jeopardy, but the fate of the world itself. They also find that the Greek gods are only too alive and well, affecting their modern world even as they changed the course of human affairs so long ago in ancient Greece.

When Zack has visions of a major catastrophe only he can avert, he tries to protect Lauren while exploring the limits of his vision even as the characters of ancient Greece  (including a very confused young girl, Cassandra) enter their world and become absorbed in their lives and causes.

Many of the landscapes in  Passage at Delphi are so intricately described that readers enjoy a "you are there" feel as they absorb Lauren's adventures, contrasting past and present worlds and providing vivid associations between the two: "Lauren walked to the window, dragging a wooden comb through the snarls of her long hair. The breeze ruffled the tapestries behind her, working like an electric dryer. By the open window, she saw the Argolid Plain below the citadel, along with distant farms and fields. Roads led from the city in every direction. Olive groves and vineyards dotted the landscape, the blue ocean to her left."            

And when Lauren finds herself in 480 BCE Greece facing the real possibility that Zack is dead, she must confront all her dreams, nightmares, and realities and how they exist on levels of possibility she never imagined possible.

Passage at Delphi is no easy adventure thriller, but an intricate weaving of fantasy and adventure that traverses times, places, and mythology. Here the Greek gods are real, and here Lauren and Zack prove pivotal characters with the power to affect humanity's future.

In the struggle for survival, what will be extinguished and what will survive? And can the present be changed by forces from the future?

In presenting action spread out over three different times and characters that intersect, Passage at Delphi could prove confusing. That it, instead, creates a fast-paced and challenging story line that places readers at the crux of understanding choices and their wide-reaching consequences makes it a force to be reckoned with: a novel that involves even the most experienced reader of historical fiction, mythology fantasy, and adventure.

The Execution Channel: A Political Fable 
Michael McCord 
Michael McCord, Publisher
IBSN/ASIN: B00EG06LX0        $2.99
Web Site: http://www.the-execution-channel.com/ 

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/The-Execution-Channel-Political-ebook/dp/B00EG06LX0/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

The Execution Channel: A Political Fable is political satire fiction at its best, and is designed to entertain (or piss off) just about every reader, no matter what his political beliefs. While all its characters are fictional creations, they are (with no pointing fingers) all too familiar to any who live in modern-day America with its ironies and inconsistencies.

Here in 2018 'Real America' there's motive on all sides. There's also a faith-based economy, elusive magical promises that never quite jive with reality, a future America that worships something called the 'Galtian Imperatives', and a new illusory founding father of all this farce and circumstance; one John Galt (a fictional figure from Ayan Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged', who doesn't believe in government and believes making money is mankind's highest goal), whose vision has not just captured but imprisoned America.

Over it all stands The Execution Channel, a popular TV show that features live executions in football stadiums, much as the ancient Romans enjoyed with their lion-based coliseum entertainment system.

In this new America led by Galtian ideals there are other characters who all represent self-interests and objectives, from a Texas militia leader who wants democracy by bullet to a billionaire's interest in politics as a platform for spreading his economic powers.

Now, all of this sounds frighteningly possible: where's the dark satire or humor in this? 

For one thing, the dialogue and presentations are tongue-in-cheek even as they condemn many modern nuggets of this future world's actions:

"He’s an imposter. The career congressman may have a 100 percent Liberal Hater rating, but it’s a front of deceit meant to subvert the Galtian Imperatives,” Bowie said. Political analysts said the most devastating blow came when Bowie’s campaign discovered that Someret once had paid one percent of the health insurance premiums for the employees at his balloon-making factory."

For another, the scenarios are solidly rooted in today's politics … only this future world takes modern standards to the extremes of logic, justification, and irony:

"I think if they are lucky, there will be quick trials before the ruling local militia. Hopefully for their sake, such a procedure will lead to quick executions, probably one shot each in the head, and if proper procedures are followed, their families will be charged for the bullets and the legal accommodations. Luckily, the families won’t have to pay much for a burial because the militias practice market efficiency and most bodies these days are being dumped at sea for sharks to consume. This service is becoming quite the job-creating industry so it’s win-win for a lot of people. Did you know we learned that little trick of disposing the evidence from our good and efficiently ruthless friends in in Chile and Argentina? They became experts at disappearing bodies in the 1970s. More importantly, they knew how to make a point.” 

With its quirky confrontations and dialogue, The Execution Channel succeeds in dancing between science fiction, political commentary, and social satire: and this is no easy dance. To create such satire, one must be politically astute beyond the usual reactionary stance - and author Michael McCord's background as an award-winning political commentator and journalist is just the ticket for taking these observations not just to their extremes, but injecting a sense of ironic humor into the mix.

The result is a hard-hitting yet accessible piece that toes the line between science fiction and political satire: a kind of dark comedy if you will, with its roots firmly centered in modern-day sentiments and trends. Readers seeking something different, challenging, and fun will welcome The Execution Channel's quirky presentation of an all-too-possible America where "Revolutions devour their own."

Missing Steps
York Van Nixon III
NexWord Press
ISBN: 0615817939     ISBN-13: 9780615817934   $9.99
http://www.amazon.com/Missing-Steps-York-Van-Nixon-ebook/dp/B00FZVT550/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

Missing Steps centers around one Kory Vanon, whose grandmother dies saving him from a fire in an event that causes him to shed his childhood too soon, only to become an adult pursuing a dancing career.

All too easily could Missing Steps have become solely about this pursuit; but in actuality it's much more: it's a story of a young man's increasingly dangerous life as his dreams decline and turn into a too-real, deadly struggle with personal demons intent on wresting from him all he has worked all of his life.

Now, be advised: this version of Missing Steps represents a revision of the original 2007 publication. While usually revisions hold little warranting their re-purchase, word has it that this re-issue is more finely crafted than its original version, by far. Not having read the first release, all I have to go on is this story; but any interested in strong characterization, exceptional dialogues and powerful premises that move beyond the anticipated plot structure will find Missing Steps an extraordinary read.

Readers should be prepared for a plot - and a life - that centers on dance. The author is a Jones-Haywood classically trained dancer: his background infuses a fast-paced story with real dance concerns and serves as the impetus for many of the protagonist's choices and motivations.

Readers should also be prepared for surreal and poetic descriptions setting mood and place with a solid series of descriptions loaded with hard-hitting impressions: "During moments such as this, copper moon rays usually disappeared before anything happened, except tonight. Indecision had finally lost patience. At last the indolent flame would be drowned in welling wax. In sympathy, shadows folded arms and bore witness."

There's a man and a gun, there's reflection on a child and circumstances which point Kory toward suicide as a solution to problems, and there's reflection on long-lost faith: a void slowly filled by an emerging force bent on taking away Kory's reasons for living.

Raised in an atmosphere of belief fostered by membership in the John Wesley African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Kory's faith is more than shaken by life events; but he doesn't realize that this void will come to be filled by something far more sinister: something that grows over the decades as he matures. There's no relief, no matter which path Kory investigates to subdue his fears and the haunting which affects his life: "Seeing her demise should have been enough to dissuade him, but his arrogance about his ability to have modulated his usage in the past gave him false confidence when he climbed into the pipe stem in search of that first feeling of euphoria. Now he faced a substance stronger than he was."

As Kory becomes addicted and begins to neglect his son, Little Kory, he faces the demons of his own childhood and comes to realize the patterns predicting his decline from a conservative lifestyle to one on the brink of disaster. Pulling himself back from the precipice, he faces his diagnosis of MS and eventually even holds the courage to include his love in a decision that will change their lives.

Missing Steps is all about identifying and changing the forces that cause disconnection and angst in one's ambitions and dreams. It's all about one man's evolving relationship with his son, and the quality of a life that changes over the decades.  Most of all it's about survival and overcoming all obstacles with new connections, goals, and dreams.

Perhaps this is the most powerful message of a story that begins with angst, tailors ambitions and dreams from that fire, and like a phoenix, falls only to rise again: "I’m stuck in self-pity and delusion, with no clue how to break the cycle. Can it be folly for me to believe one day I’ll fully recover and be the person I once was?” “You know one cannot return to the past. What’s more, most of your pain is in the past. Maybe it’s time for you to be the most of who you are now.”

The cadence and events of Missing Steps mirrors life's ups and downs. Its message of growth, change, and evolution is not to be ignored and creates a compelling story line readers will find involving.

The Night Trippers 
Pam Summa
Amazon Kindle (forthcoming)

The Night Trippers is the sequel to Pam Summa’s first novel, Groping for Luna, which was about Alice, Angel, and Joe and the challenges to their band and friendship when romance entered their lives. Groping for Luna (not read by this reviewer) apparently ended on a ‘happily ever after’ note; but what does that actually mean in real-world terms? Lives don’t work out that neatly, which is one of the ideas explored in The Night Trippers. 

In The Night Trippers Alice, Joe, and Angel return to continue the saga of their ongoing relationships with each other, their music and art, and their circle of friends. (Given their intertwined relationships and previous history, the sequel can be confusing for new readers until they get a sense of the characters’ past and present interactions.) Here a pregnant Alice reflects more deeply on how her actions affect her life. Her efforts to get her priorities straight may fall short of what most people consider sensible, but for her, having any concrete plan for the future is a monumental stretch. Meanwhile Joe, who has always argued for looking before you leap and then using a net, is questioning his old stance. When Alice says to Joe: “Isn’t that what using a net means? Planning for the future and using common sense?” he says: “I guess.” He didn’t want to say, no, it means watching for trouble so you can stay clear of it, and taking no chances. It means living in fear. He didn’t want to live that way anymore. He didn’t want her to live that way, either. Basically, that was the point. He didn’t want her to look at him and see a net.” 

Both Alice and Joe have to resolve their past with Angel in order to be with each other: Alice has to move on from her relationship (and infatuation) with Angel, while Joe has to confront his jealousy of Angel. And Joe has other issues with his old friend, which it takes him a while to reveal. Alice and Joe are still in the early days discovering who they are as a couple. Their process is part of what makes The Night Trippers so complex and revealing: it’s a journey every couple makes, and it explores boundaries between individuals who interact on more than one level. And Joe and Alice are not only discovering how to be together; they are individually coming to terms with their art-making – Joe’s music and Alice’s visual art – as well as with issues left over from their childhoods. Alice’s pregnancy makes her need to clear out old family issues particularly urgent. 

Meanwhile Angel, who left Alice partly because he could never envision himself in a monogamous relationship, much less a family circle, has moved in with Sukey (another non-monogamous ex-junkie) and - surprise - he discovers that his inability to commit to one person has suddenly come full circle with her. At the same time Angel is transitioning from being the unpredictable genius to the anchor of the band (which finally has reached a level of success that includes cash flow). Part of Angel’s newfound maturity is due to his love for the problematic Sukey, which acts as a spur to his self-awareness, and part from his changed relationships with Joe and Alice. Despite his anger at Alice, Angel’s insights about her are sound: “That was the thing about Alice—cornered, totally and obviously in the wrong, she would fight to the death and never give an inch. But she dropped all that if you were straight with her.”

Angel’s insights into Joe are not as clear, partly because Joe withdraws into inscrutability when challenged. As the band begins to take off, Joe and Angel have to deal with issues of creative freedom and financial commitment. Angel’s frustration with what he perceives as Joe’s apathy grows as Joe retreats, and even Alice has premonitions of disaster. How each of them comes to terms with the resulting upheaval will change their relationships as well as their art, and show Alice, Joe, and Angel a way to live with the changes that were initiated in Groping for Luna. 

The Night Trippers is a solid recommendation for any reader who has made music or art a big part of their life and is looking for a powerful new vision of success in that world. The book is also recommended for anyone interested in protagonists who circle each other like dogs looking for a fight. Don’t look for anything easy in this read: it truly follows life’s complexities, showing relationships as they evolve and emotions that are fluid and changing. And don’t expect pat solutions: at the end of the book no one has become rich or famous, and some relationships are unresolved, or are resolved in ways that preclude easy answers.   

What is left are the partings and new connections that carry life forward.