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Donovan's Bookshelf

January 2018 Review Issue


Table Of Contents

Prime Picks
Reviewer's Choice
Fantasy & Sci Fi
Mystery & Thrillers
Novels
Young Adult/Childrens

Reviewer's Choice

Avenue of the Americas
Martin Blank
American Ensemble Books
ISBN: 9780578198910          $5.95
www.AmericanEnsembleBooks.Com 

Avenue of the Americas is a comedy play produced off-Broadway that holds a message that's simultaneously funny and thought provoking as an escapee from a mental institution discovers her knack in writing TV commercials that are wildly popular. 

The setting moves from New Jersey to New York, the characters are all in their 30s or 40s but among them, Katie is easily the most beautiful woman in the world as she views ads on TV, runs an imaginary ad agency in her mind (she's been incarcerated since she was ten), and deftly identifies where an advertising message or delivery is wrong. 

Katie's facing a new doctor and the potential of being transferred away from her few friends and into isolation; but even as this dire possibility is contemplated, a thread of humor is injected into the discussion: "Gus: In C you in a room where you all alone. Just padding. No windows. Nothing. Sometimes they take you to another room and they shock you...No magazines. No nothing. Just terrible, horrible pain. Katie: Sounds like public TV." 

Gus has a vested interest in Katie's remaining near him: she's teaching him to read in exchange for him bringing her magazines and more. And Katie's been with her old therapist for some twenty years, so her venture into an association with the new Dr. Meyers more than treads on unfamiliar grounds. Despite all this, Katie is eloquent in her expressions with her new doctor ("Meyers: May I get you some coffee? Katie: A McCafé vanilla latte. It’s like a giant vanilla unicorn just showed up to your mouth and wants to party."), although she remains steadfast in her delusion that she's running an ad agency instead of living her life in an institution. 

But, what if she really ran such an agency? Because Katie's not in a high-risk section of the facility, she's able to pull off a sudden action and escape into the real world - and that's where things get interesting. A series of chance encounters move her from a possible alley mugging to the limelight she craves, where she produces shocking ads as edgy as Katie inadvertently is: "Don’t end up a one-armed, homeless morphine addict, with a dead husband and children. Use Martha King Cosmetics." 

As Katie's ads venture into gruesome territory, agency owner Jay is faced with some hard decisions - and some hard realizations about the source of Katie's unusual talents for advertising. It turns out that Katie doesn't just talk advertising - she uses advertising to fill in the blanks of her own personality slate. And Jay's discovery about her as he conducts the due diligence he should have done from the start reveals a shocking truth that changes everything. 

Avenue of the Americas is a play that probes the unexpected boundaries of the human mind and its ability to interact on the borders of sanity and insanity. Ultimately, it succeeds in pointing out the fuzzy edges of these processes in daily life, and presents not only a long-time mental patient whose processes are crafted through advertising and sales ploys, but a society that reacts in much the same, half-sane manner. 

As Katie's present swings fill tilt to the past that has crafted this persona, readers are treated to unexpected revelations that probe the basics of sanity, insanity, and psychic survival techniques. 

Advertising involves altering human behavior, and it involves seduction. Ultimately, it also involves Katie in a series of world-changing events that alters her, as well. 

Avenue of the Americas is the cornerstone play, but also included is the shorter piece 'Driving Green', a ten-minute comedy revolving around three characters in a ride-sharing situation that neatly tackles opposing political viewpoints in the course of a ride that journeys into a marriage between two polar opposites. 

A surprise ending delights viewers and makes a point about different perceptions meeting in the middle. 

Both plays are delightfully thought-provoking productions which will come to life on stage, pairing comedy with observations that will keep viewers thinking far beyond each tale's conclusion. 


Avenue of the Americas

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The Dog Thief and Other Stories
Jill Kearney
Who Chains You Books 
ASIN: B01LYUW10Q            $4.79 Kindle/$12.97 Print
http://a.co/itn1zqO 

Animal lovers will discover a treasure trove of short stories revolving around animals, humans, and companion relationships in The Dog Thief and Other Stories, a collection almost as powerful in its messages about community interactions and individual survival as it is about animals who interact with humans in a variety of situations. 

Take, for example, the story 'Beer Money'. Readers won't expect an animal tale with the opener: "Bob lurked behind the cedar tree. He was spying on his ex-wife, waiting for her to leave for work." And when he does enter her home, he discovers "There was no sign that he had ever occupied this home...She had cleaned him right out of her life." 

As he makes himself at home in her absence, he comes upon the deaf old dog that also was once part of their lives. Buddy had been his dog before he'd met Linda, and has always been there for him. But it seems Linda that has plans for Buddy, and suddenly Bob is faced with yet another change in his life. 

Sometimes the animal and nature feel are peripheral to the human story, as in 'Driving While Remembering', which chronicles a drive into the past, the juxtaposition of life-affirming youth and the trials of aging, and the discovery of a wetlands volunteer who made a difference at the end of her life.

Each short story holds a poignant portrait of human relationships, changed circumstances, and struggle, and these lie at the heart of stories which often add animals into the mix. 

As vignettes and snapshots of moments of quiet revelation, change, and encounters with nature and (most often) dogs blossom, they present lovely pieces packed with depth, insights, and the kind of literary approach that elevates them to philosophical and psychological reflections about life's meaning and trajectory. 

Each story is heartfelt and wrenching in its own right, delicately captured in a moment of time that perfectly presents pets and people at different pivotal moments of their existence. 

Animal lovers seeking a collection of slices of life that add the extra dimension of pets and people will love this hard-hitting collection, which portrays all kinds of people from all walks of life. 


The Dog Thief and Other Stories

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Life's Bulldozer Moments
Donato Tramuto with Chris Black
Hamilton Books/Rowman & Littlefield
9780761868552             $32.99
www.rowman.com

Life's Bulldozer Moments: How Adversity Leads to Success in Life and Business doesn't posit a brand new concept - after all, it's long been said that adversity creates new ways of looking at things, and success comes from new perspectives, objectives, and approaches. 

What sets this book apart is a personal approach that blends business and life lessons into a memoir, firmly rooting hardships with the strengths Donato Tramuto gained from this process. 

Tramuto's book, surprisingly, presents a blueprint for success for the health care industry with these insights as it touches upon the author's hearing impairment, which cemented his determination to succeed even as he faced prejudice and barriers. This led him to a career in health care that eventually resulted in his success as a pharmaceutical salesman and a series of management and CEO positions. 

His business success led to a personal involvement in philanthropic endeavors and so his messages link material gain and social consciousness in a manner that will help readers become leaders in not only business ventures, but overall life improvement. 

The result is a powerful guide that charts several "bulldozer moments" in Tramuto's life and offers insights into health care issues, personal involvement, and business decision-making. 

Business and life purposes readers will read it for its lively tone, but will ultimately walk away with a clear blueprint for turning adversity into strength. Many other books cover some of the concepts; but Life's Bulldozer Moments covers the actual process of achieving this goal. 


Life's Bulldozer Moments

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THE NEW HUMANS: Second Genesis
Charol Messenger
Messenger Publishing, CreateSpace.com
9781546790464
$14.99 Amazon 6x9 soft cover, 234 p / $7.99 Kindle 
www.charolmessenger.com 

The New Humans is Book 2 in “The New Humanity” series and offers further predictions, expanding upon the premise of Book 1 Humanity 2.0, that humanity is posed for an unprecedented evolutionary process that will take it into a new rebirth and renewal cycle. 

The new humans are concerned with doing overall good in the world for purposes beyond self-satisfaction or material rewards. They are creative innovators who hold a higher purpose in mind, and they are involved in new scientific inventions and discoveries that will benefit not just the human race but the planet. 

Most of all, they represent a collective human shift into an age where compassion rules. 

If this sounds idealistic and downright impossible, it should be advised that the forces Charol Messenger documents in her first and, now, her second book are already at hand, not in the distant future of possibility. 

Chapters outline spiritual and social messages touched upon in the first book, but largely provide new material as they reinforce the notion that human beings are all about soul, not body; and that this long-forgotten perception is experiencing a new awakening. The result will lead to humans becoming more genuinely “human” than before: a concept that begins with a new cosmic age and expands to embrace change, flexibility, adaptation, and a different set of values and strengths.

The New Humans is ultimately a blueprint of this vision, hope, and not just possibility but probability. It maintains that human society is already in the process of changing. The New Humans provides sweeping visions of this change and also inspires individuals to embrace these hopeful transitions. 

The result isn’t just a documentary about human evolution: It’s a roadmap for spiritual achievement on both individual and society-wide levels. 

Readers with special interest in new age, spiritual, philosophical, and/or evolutionary concepts will find The New Humans engrossing, accessible, and firmly rooted in present-day experiences and future trajectories. 


THE NEW HUMANS: Second Genesis

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Sex, Drugs, Rock 'N Roll, and a Tiara: How I Celebrated Kicking Cancer's Ass 
Beverly Diehl
CreateSpace
978-1976077111     $3.99 ebook; $17.99 paperback
http://a.co/dGn7pK2 

Autobiographies about cancer struggles and survival rarely hold upbeat tones. Often they are poignant, emotionally tense reads that chronicle much hardship, pain and suffering as they wind through powerfully debilitating treatment regimens. 

But readers expecting the same flavor from Sex, Drugs, Rock 'N Roll, and a Tiara: How I Celebrated Kicking Cancer's Ass will be pleased to note a very different approach to the author's experience, because Beverly Diehl's account incorporates not only an upbeat but a defiant attitude that offers a rare tone of positive excitement, warning readers about its unusual perspective from the start: "...wouldn’t you like to find out how and why someone would brag that her breast cancer journey was the beginning of the best year of her life? Except I can’t truly say that, because going on three years out from diagnosis, the “best” phenomena and sense of delight continues. It hasn’t merely been one year."

Competing cancer accounts can hardly be described as 'upbeat'; and rarely incorporate ribald language, experiences of assault and rape, religious abuse, toxic relationships, and more. So readers should be forewarned: this is not your usual 'cancer survival' saga, but a romp through a life that is charged with adversity, attitude, and unusual perspectives. 

Breast cancer is only one facet affecting the course of Diehl's life, and readers who accept that this autobiography is well-rounded and inclusive of all kinds of topics will find it more satisfying and vivid than many memoirs on the topic. 

Candid and hard-hitting, it also tackles the topic of polyamory (more than one love relationship, experienced simultaneously) and a vibrant lifestyle that doesn't bow to the ravages of cancer, but defies it. It should thus be mentioned that Sex, Drugs, Rock 'N Roll, and a Tiara is not a read that will be appreciated by the conservative or cautious reader with firmly-held moral and ethical opinions of what a well-lived life should be. 

Details of cancer treatment cover all the specifics from emotional to physical experiences, leaving nothing murky or unacknowledged. Personal photos by Nick Holmes adds visuals to bring the people in her story to life, adding another extra dimension not usually seen in standard autobiographies. Again: it should be warned that nudity is involved - tasteful, but present. Readers who harbor conservative perspectives will likely not appreciate these candid shots any more than Diehl's frank talk about her sexuality and alternative lifestyle; but those who are not stymied by blunt, frank and open discussions and images will find her approach brave, innovative and revealing on many levels. 

The result should be not only on the shelves of many cancer survivors, but on the reading lists of those seeking a candid, vivid, pulls-no-punches read about one woman's romp through and commitment to her sexual nature. Without undercutting the serious trials of a breast cancer diagnosis, Sex, Drugs, Rock 'N Roll, and a Tiara neatly details how Diehl moved beyond initial diagnosis and treatment to confront and experience all of life's challenges head-on, with eyes wide open. 


Sex, Drugs, Rock 'N Roll, and a Tiara: How I Celebrated Kicking Cancer's Ass 

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Sky Theater: Essays on Rural Life and Community from the Editor of Dakotafire Magazine
Heidi Marttila-Losure
Prairiesummer Books
978-0984890736
$34.95 for the color version (a black and white version is also available for $14.95; the color Kindle version is $9.99)
http://dakotafire.net/product/sky-theater-essays-rural-life-community-editor-dakotafire-magazine-color-photos/ or https://www.amazon.com/Sky-Theater-Community-Dakotafire-Magazine/dp/0984890734 

Sky Theater: Essays on Rural Life and Community from the Editor of Dakotafire Magazine is unexpectedly gorgeous, so spring for the color or Kindle version and be prepared to immerse yourself in a community leadership program like no other: one oriented towards rural community development at the grassroots level. 

This takes the form of essays and opinion pieces written by Dakotafire Magazine editor Heidi Marttila-Losure during her tenure as its editor, but it's much more than an advocacy collection. Many insights on rural issues specific to Dakota communities in particular and wider rural living choices in general pinpoint the values, issues, and challenges of rural community development options and come from the viewpoint of a woman who made a deliberate choice to live in a rural community. 

This produces a powerful assessment of big-system support structures and rural and urban community contrasts, incorporating a perspective that contrasts them both: "Many systems, including in agricultural policy and education, are set up in ways that tend to make the nation more urban, and to make urban places stronger than rural places. I point out the pro-urban tendency of those systems when I see it and suggest ways those systems could be made fairer for the benefit of everyone." 

From consideration of the best balance of urban and rural systems for the healthiest society that includes China in its assessments and examples to expanding transmission lines, the effects of eminent domain, and the underlying perceptions of farmers and landowners who must contend with these changes ("One neighbor shrugs and says, “You can’t fight progress.” Another gave the power company representative a piece of his mind. No one, however, has come close to the kind of anger that led to protests, destruction of prop­erty, and arrests in Minnesota in the late 1970s when a power line was planned. Perhaps everyone learned—those farmers lost anyway."), each thought-provoking piece represents a vignette of experience, a dose of philosophical and social reflection, and suggestions for forming alliances rather than taking sides in various issues affecting the rural community. 

With such a dialogue in place, readers are given a rare glimpse of why rural people act and believe as they do in a discussion of how real innovation stems from a flexible willingness to consider positive possibilities for change and cooperative measures that benefit all involved. 

The result is a hard-hitting collection that should be in every rural reader's hands and, unexpectedly, also in every urban dweller's thoughts. Sky Theater is very, very highly recommended for its explorations and attitudes that ultimately seek to unite philosophies and perspectives, eschewing the usual approach that pinpoints 'right' and 'wrong' sides and thus increases divisions and conflicts. 

It's easily one of the most important books published in recent months to consider the boundaries between rural and urban thinkers and how to draw both communities closer together with common ground and perspectives that benefit each.


Sky Theater: Essays on Rural Life and Community from the Editor of Dakotafire Magazine

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Spiritual Living for Busy People: How to Nourish Your Soul in Today's Hectic World
José de la Torre
Peace Books
978-0-9991281-0-7         $15.99 Paper
978-0-9991281-2-1         $  6.99 ebook
http://www.spiritual-living.com 

Spiritual Living for Busy People: How to Nourish Your Soul in Today's Hectic World asks a basic question: is spiritual living just for spiritually aware people? The answer isn't what the reader would think. José de la Torre maintains that spiritual and religious living aren't necessarily synonymous, and his guide is intended for busy people who want to incorporate a sense of mindfulness and awareness into their daily lives. 

This audience will discover a range of answers and food for thought assembled from various religious practices, covering the nature of spiritual thinking processes in a carefully laid-out game plan that includes details on mindsets, heart-felt values, and caring for one's body. Also included in these discussions is higher-level thinking about power structures, gratitude, artificial divisions in the world that thwart spiritual objectives, and how to find personal meaning and purpose in life. 

Spiritual Living for Busy People opens with the author's autobiography and follows his spiritual growth, but the meat of his book lies in surveys of psychological, spiritual, and social forces that detract from spiritual awareness and thinking as he shows how to cultivate the kinds of perceptions and thinking patterns that defy these processes. 

These keys to better living are presented in hard-hitting reflections that offer a different definition of spirituality than most books offer: "Being spiritual is about being aware of one’s being, living in awareness from the heart, accepting what is in the present, and taking responsibility for one’s actions. Defined this way, belief in a soul, or in God, or in a Creator, is technically not required. Belief in anything, for that matter, is not required. The only belief required, I suppose, is the belief that we are created equal, and we each have a right to make our own decisions, crafting our own lives as we choose to live them. We can live spiritually by simply exercising basic human respect." 

In blending a 'how to' with an overall mix of philosophy, psychology, and spiritual reflection, José de la Torre offers a synthesis of insights and paths to leading a life that contributes to a better world. 

Nobody should be too busy to read this book, which couches its reflections in digestible admonitions and reflections that are powerful, yet surprisingly easy to access. 

Spiritual Living for Busy People is highly recommended for both spirituality and philosophy readers who seek to challenge their lives and perceptions. 


Spiritual Living for Busy People: How to Nourish Your Soul in Today's Hectic World

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Too Sharp to Fail
Kiana L. Wilson
Morgan James Publishing
9781683501428      $12.89 paper; $7.99 Kindle
www.morganjamesbuilds.com 

Too SHARP to Fail: How to Own Your Career and Thrive in the Workplace's message is simple: by understanding what influences one's career evolution and taking control of attitudes about that career and its influencers, change can happen. Perhaps this concept sounds too simplistic (and for older readers, it may be); but for new college grads and early career professionals, this book will be an eye-opener. 

It uses the fictional example of twenty-something college grad and aspiring professional Justin to illustrate its points, which adds excitement and human interest to the examples of career pitfalls and how to overcome them. 

Too SHARP to Fail focuses on Justin's mindset, reactions, and attitudes about work and workplace challenges, giving readers an eye-opening series of perspectives as Justin accepts a job, questions his decision early in the training process, re-examines the goals and visions he had in mind for the position, and handles daily challenges ranging from co-worker attitudes to the process of moving beyond his comfort zone to strive for bigger goals and successes. 

As the story evolves, working points are reinforced by discussions as readers are treated to bigger-picture thinking processes that assess decisions, choices, and their ultimate short- and long-term impacts. From the effects of mentoring and coaching processes that allow Justin to grow well beyond his original goals to strengthening one's psyche by using external sources sparingly, this psychological approach to career success is especially recommended for newcomers to the workplace who may be filled with ideals that will be tested by career and job realities and demands. 

Does a book need to be written about honing a better attitude in the workplace? Yes; especially considering the new/younger workforce it's written for. While novice, aspiring professionals will be its most likely audience, the messages in Too SHARP to Fail should really be considered by all who want to make their workplace and careers a greater success through attitude adjustment, a better perception of events, people, and work demands, and a greater attention to the details that differentiate successful approaches from those that fail. 

Very highly recommended, Too SHARP to Fail should be among the gifts to any college grad entering the workplace with career goals in mind. 


Too Sharp to Fail

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Traveling High and Tripping Hard
Joseph Davida
Dark Planet Press
9780999397503             $10.99
http://josephdavida.com/ 

Traveling High and Tripping Hard pairs a rock musician's search for the meaning of life with a trip around the world, providing a memoir replete with humor, adventure, drug-tripping insights, and the highs and lows of a vagabond. 

In some ways, Traveling High and Tripping Hard is reminiscent of Kerouac's On the Road and other stories of counterculture searches for self-discovery and coming of age experiences; but this book's expanded focus on altered states of consciousness and mind tricks that connect inner self to wider world events incorporates a singular focus that many earlier road trip classics don't contain: "I had done it. The Jedi mind trick. Somehow, with the power and assistance of the Force, the Buddha, or Shiva, I'd manipulated someone else's mind into accepting my will.  Maybe that sadhu at Pashupatinath had installed some magical powers into my hard drive with that tika, or maybe something had rubbed off from the Tibetan monks at Bhodanath."

What does swimming with sharks, checking out ruins in Belize, losing direction (and a father) in the Middle East, or facing the apocalypse and drugs in Thailand have in common? All are linked by Joseph Davida's vigorous romp through life in search of truth, perspective, and trips that don't conclude with a sense of failure. 

Absolutes, pain and suffering, and choices made while living and experiencing life all come to a head in this story of mental and physical tripping that probes the essence of change and its various incarnations. 

Readers who would take On the Road to the next level, journeying into mind-bending mental realms changed by drugs and challenging life encounters, will find Traveling High and Tripping Hard a vigorous, revealing memoir that closely examines personal change and larger life goals.


Traveling High and Tripping Hard

Return to Index


 
Fantasy & Sci Fi

Final Notice
Van Fleisher
BookBaby
ISBN Print: 9781543914115         $11.11
ISBN ebook: 9781543914122              $  2.99
Amazon site:  https://www.amazon.com/Final-Notice-What-would-certain-ebook/dp/B0771TKB1Z 

Author website: www.finalnoticebook.com 

Final Notice is set in the near future, when one's time of death can be pinpointed to the moment, in advance. The premise is simple: what would you do if you knew this date for certain? What choices would you make? 

A mathematician's invention of a 'smart watch' that can make this prediction was intended to provide time for the users to make positive changes or decisions; but in reality, those who receive this 'final notice' have different reactions, sometimes including fulfilling their desire for a final revenge. 

These stories of several people who choose this option and pursue their darkest dreams makes for a powerful and engrossing set of tales incorporating social and political commentary and psychological insights on motivations and influences on actions. 

While the underlying premise may come from science fiction, the ultimate impact lies in their social perspectives, which leads readers to think about future desires, the consequences of actions when death is an imminent  certainty, and issues ranging from gun rights to senior citizens' quality of life. 

In some ways, Final Notice is a centrifuge of social impact as Vince, mathematician/physician Vijay, and others face blossoming, unexpected results of the Final Notice option. Readers are invited to consider these penalties and the consequences of inappropriate knowledge as they follow the dilemmas and decisions faced by all involved. 

Visionary thinking, NRA rights, business and legal affairs, and special agendas coalesce into a story of interconnected lives changed by a technology that perhaps never should be accessible to the human race. 

Sci-fi and social issues readers alike will find the premise and its story thoroughly engrossing, promising many moments of reflection and, especially, many thoughts about gun control, gun rights, and the benefits or detriments of prediction. 


Final Notice

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Invasion
Roxanne Bland
Blackrose Press
978-0-9967316-9-0         $13.00
www.blackrosepress.com 

Invasion's title might sound like it portends another alien takeover story, but its roots in supernatural and urban fantasy are well evident as mage Garrett, werewolf leader Parker, and vampire ruler of Seattle Kurt face the most powerful adversity of all: a power that emanates from themselves and stems from their complex relationship with each other. 

A spell gone awry causes their auras to become commingled and confused, a situation further complicated by the return of Parker's alien lover, Shen’zae Melera, to Earth; closely followed by alien pursuers who will do anything to get her back. 

Suddenly, the four are faced with powerful adversity as they confront their own mixed-up relationships, the possibility that their intricate ties can never be severed, and face an alien invasion force that could overwhelm their abilities. 

Invasion is about more than one kind of invasion force and incorporates many twists into its story line that give it added psychological depth and dimension. 

While readers expecting a singular story of alien confrontation may be surprised at the urban fantasy and relationship elements embedded into the tale, Invasion offers a formula that doesn't neatly fit into either urban fantasy or paranormal fiction, and will especially delight readers of both genres looking for an action-paced story that creates something delightfully different. 

Invasion

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Mannethorn’s Key
Simon Lindley
CreateSpace
9781370873913 (ebook)               $7.99
9781979396912 (print)          $16.99
ASIN: B0773FTGYB
Book order website for all formats and online retailers: http://simonlindley.net 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomSimon_Lindley 

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/SimonL 

Fans of the epic fantasy genre who appreciate complex, well-detailed and absorbing quest sagas will find Mannethorn’s Key the perfect choice for a long winter's night. 

The story opens with an intelligent drakehawk bird who is being called back home via magic. It turns out that Ka is the decoy for bringing Grailborn to the wizard's door, and the reward for her loyalty is betrayal. 

Algarth Willowbrow's kingdom is in ruins: Grailborn has overcome his wards, his magic tricks and drakehawk have failed, and all that's left is a secret that involves a costly compromise and a final encounter that will ultimately determine the fate of Drageverden. 

In another world, former broker Bartholomew Waxman has also gambled everything and lost; but he's about to embark on a journey between worlds he never knew existed, on a quest that could change them both.  

Can a wizard stripped of his powers and an unsuspecting human who has already lost everything amass a power between them that can save both realms? 

One pleasure of Mannethorn’s Key lies in its ability to depict two very different worlds and purposes and bring them together in unexpected ways. 

As Bart and Algarth consider their choices, breaches of tradition, and most of all, their failures, other characters enter the story that also have lost much and made decisions that conflicted with their interests: "She had lost everything. She had also failed at her post, as a Darvulian Guard, to protect her Folk. She might as well have killed them all herself. What was she to do now?" 

Rage and revenge, a key hidden by Mannethorn that involves Bart in impossible circumstances, and mythical relics that explain much but are never found all make for a gripping story. 

It should be cautioned that violence, swearing, and clashes on more than one level permeate the story line. These are always in keeping with the tale at hand, but add an extra dimension of spice and angst to the story that may stymie fantasy fans looking for clean action reading. 

It should also be mentioned that Mannethorn’s Key is the opener to a series and only explores Bart's first day of experiences in Drageverden. More books are in order, and will likely flush out the story of guardians, spells, and dilemmas of a man who knows he is no savior, but seems to have been thrust into this unlikely role, with Mannethorn Lexipath holding the key to everything. 

Readers of epic fantasy looking for a powerful winter read will relish the detail and world Simon Lindley has crafted here, which sets the stage for further books in the Key of Life trilogy. 


Mannethorn’s Key

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The Stone of Integrity
M.J. Evans
Dancing Horse Press
978-0-9966617-8-2         $10.95
www.dancinghorsepress.com 

The Stone of Integrity presents the third book in the Centaur Chronicles and follows Carling's latest quest, which is sparked by an old Centaur's gift of an ancient map given to her as the future Queen of Crystonia. 

This map provides the first clue in a quest for the next of four powerful stones, the Stone of Integrity, sending Carling on a journey that she has only halfway been completed by finding the prior two stones (covered in the two previous books). 

This stone will give her the integrity she needs to rule - but it also is another step in a process Carling finds demanding; for she is a reluctant future ruler who never wanted to oversee a kingdom, so each stone provides her with a skill she needs in order to grow into her future role as ruler. 

The first thing to note in this book is that M.J. Evans provides exquisite descriptions of place, whether it be the fishing docks where an old fisherman, Fyzzle, offers her a clue, or an encounter with the Fairy King at a fairy festival, where Carling finds that her other stones give her the perspective and insight to make some hard choices: "Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is conquering that fear in order to always do what is right." 

From entering a painting with a group of supporters and sojourning into another world to begin a magical journey they thought they were already on to conquering her fears of dangerous waters, Carling's process tests her prior achievements as well as her future goals. 

The second powerful attribute of this book lies in its ability to follow Carling's personal growth, setbacks, and process of finding the kinds of courage and perspectives that will lead her not only to her latest goal, but which will add to her growth and skill sets; a process that demands she move beyond her comfort levels and into uncharted territory.

Characterization is well done and the adventures are nicely presented and crisp with detail and atmosphere as readers are treated to an examination of not only a young fairy's growth, but the processes of Fairies who are accustomed to hiding their feelings and faces from the world. 

All characters grow under Evans' hand, making The Stone of Integrity a satisfying fantasy of achievement, change, danger and adversity that considers the different forms of blindness that affect each character, challenging their beliefs and goals. 

Carling's experiences give her some of the wisdom and integrity she'll need to be a queen, and readers receive some powerful insights wound into an adventure quest that is thoroughly absorbing. 

The Stone of Integrity

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War World
Rod C. Spence
Gallant Press
Hard Cover: 978-0-9990879-0-9   $24.99
Paperback:  978-0-9990879-1-6   $17.95
Ebook:  978-0-9990879-2-3          $  9.99
www.warworldseries.com 

www.amazon.com 

War World involves wormholes, corporate interests, aliens, high technology, and special interests. It also tempers these themes with the efforts of a determined young boy, Jeremy Austin, who is an average student suddenly facing killer gnomes, wizards, prehistoric monsters, and a battle. 

Six teens become involved in a struggle for survival that moves from political to battle grounds in this fast-paced fantasy that pairs an epic quest with a broader goal that considers the heart of what it means to stay human and survive against impossible odds. 

Indeed, so much takes place that it's hard to neatly peg the genre of War World, despite its obvious role as a fantasy read. Basic components of thriller reading keep the action fast-paced and involving, the choice of teen characters makes the story accessible to young adults, and the action is high-octane, pulling teens and adult readers alike with powerful scenes only six pages into the story line: "There!” Jeremy cried, pointing to the coffin’s front panel. Two razor-sharp claws were protruding from beneath the glass panel, preventing its closure. “What do we do?” he shouted. He’d never felt this kind of fear before. Death lived behind that glass panel, and now it was getting loose." 

Between the dangerous Mrs. Friedman, the threats from TerraGen's efforts, military secrets, the search for a crown, and computer geeks who confront aliens, there's nothing predictable or staid about War World. Add a planet from hell and an 'Asian Barbie' into the mix for a story that is complicated, fast-paced, unpredictable, and about as far from H.G. Wells as you can get. 

Fans of alien invasion mixed with fantasy and epic quest elements will find War World a satisfying, well-detailed story that grabs readers from the first page and doesn't let go. 

War World

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Mystery & Thrillers

Cloud Warriors
Rob Jung
Roundfire (imprint of John Hunt Publishing)
ISBN:  978-1-78535-918-7      Price: $21.95
Website/Ordering Link/emails:
marketing@johnhuntpublishing.com and 

rob@robjungwriter.com 

Archaeologists and researchers often dream of finding famous ruins and evidence of forgotten societies; but what happens when they find a living remnant of a great civilization? Cloud Warriors details the dilemmas anthropology professor Terry Castro faces when he uncovers this bastion of an ancient Peruvian civilization and faces unexpected death threats from a corporation that's intent on profiting from the tribe's anti-aging potion. 

Professor Castro had anticipated danger; but not from the usually-friendly natives of the Peruvian Amazon jungle. As for the natives who nearly kill him in their first encounter, Castro's presence defies their belief system: "Amaru had returned from the hunt with a story that, were it not for his stature as shaman and chieftain of the two hundred remaining members of the Chilco tribe, would not have been believed. He had seen the people who were the color of clouds; those who, according to legend, had destroyed the great Incan empire and forced the Chilco to flee their mountain home. Yet he, Amaru Topac, had faced those whose skin was fairer than his own and had single-handedly defeated them. No shaman in the history of the Chilco could make that claim." 

And this is just the opener to a story that includes encounters with the spirits, a powerful magical potion that could change the world, and a clash between ancient and modern civilizations that places Professor Castro at the heart of one of the biggest discoveries (and potentially the most dangerous changes) humanity will ever face. 

Readers of thrillers that incorporate scientific discovery, deadly special interests and manipulation processes, and confrontations between ethical and moral purposes will relish Cloud Warriors for its fast-paced action and satisfying blend of adventure with a touch of extraordinary powers and intrigue. 

Astral suspension, teleportation, special communications, romance, terror, jungle journeys, and encounters with a shaman all contribute to a tense thriller that features many different characters and their thoroughly engrossing encounters. 

The result is a jungle thriller that is well written, replete with surprising twists and turns, and hard to put down; especially recommended for thriller readers who look for the kind of high-octane action, complex plots and powerful characterization mastered by such big names as Michael Crichton, H. Rider Haggard and Philip Kerr. 


Cloud Warriors

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The Former Assassin
Nikki Stern
Ruthenia Press
978-0-9995487-0-7                $14.99 Print; $2.99 ebook
nikkistern.com/the-former-assassin

Do aging assassins ever retire from the profession? And, what do they do with their special skills, afterwards? The Former Assassin poses this dilemma when successful assassin Suzanne Foster wants to retire from her role as Victor's personal killer - but he'd rather see her dead than release her from duty. 

In fact, he's so angry that he's determined to track her down and make her suffer before she dies - and so Suzanne finds herself the object of a deadly game where her pursuer holds as much expertise in murder as she. 
Expanded from and based upon an e-novella 'Don't Move,' The Former Assassin adds extra dimensions of intrigue and interplays that thriller readers will find fascinating and well-detailed.

Pitting two ruthless professional killers against one another makes for an absorbing story line; but add the extra dimensions of family, friends, and power plays that lead a woman to blindly follow her killer's instincts and a boss to control her for a riveting story that sets the stage with compelling psychological insights from the start: "The next day I went to work. And the next and the next. For nearly two more decades. I should have gone insane. I almost did on several occasions. I wanted to leave him. Actually, I wanted to kill him or hurt him as terribly as he had hurt me. I did none of those things. I contended with my pain and my rage. I had no choice. He watched me like a hawk, at once secure in his power, yet wary I might turn on him. My strength came from not doing what he expected. If I'd really thought about how long it might take to get free of him, I might not have made it. I didn’t think about it. I focused on the tasks in front of me." 

Once tasked with making inhuman, cruel decisions, how can a successful former assassin take the next step to escape from her profession entirely? And how long will her decision to take early retirement continue to haunt Suzanne's attempts to build a different life? 

Suzanne thought that Victor could find it easy to let her go, but she hasn't factored in his need for power, control, and domination: "Improbably or not, you still retain skills I find valuable. I shouldn’t need to remind you my assets don’t leave until I’ve fully realized my investment.”  He considers her his personal investment. And personal investments do not escape that easily. 

As Suzanne's family is threatened and Victor supposedly is taken care of in an explosion, she finds his demise mercurial as the threats continue. Her 'Spidey sense' may be all that stands between her family and disaster. 

From Suzanne's ability to keep her profession a secret even from her mother Lisette to detective investigations and business ventures with high stakes, The Former Assassin rapidly expands from one woman's dilemma to a broader set of schemes, explorations, and entwined fates. 

Readers attracted to cat-and-mouse stories of conspiracy, murder, corporate activities, and detective works, and those who enjoy added dimensions of psychological insights throughout these scenarios will find The Former Assassin offers just the right blend of intrigue and drama to make for a riveting read from start to finish. Its ending is as mercurial as its story, offering either closure or coming full circle, depending on one's perspective. 

The Former Assassin is a very highly recommended, well-done production that keeps readers guessing the outcome right up to its conclusion. 


The Former Assassin

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Hybrid
James Marshall Smith
Braveship Books
978-1-64062-021-6
www.braveshipbooks.com 

Wolves, hunters, hybrid threats, and science create a compelling thriller when mixed together in a vivid story backed by James Marshall Smith's science savvy and attention to crafting exquisite tension and detail into his story. 

Hybrid opens with an illegal dog fighting pit where one new introduction makes even the savage pit bull seem ineffectual. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrive to break up the event, but the mammoth Japanese Warrior escapes into the wilderness; there to begin a new life. 

Fast forward four years to an attack on a llama, a new Montana vet's involvement in the townpeoples' lives and the mysterious animal attacker, and the presence of a hybrid wolf that has evolved from a mating with the most vicious fighting dog in the world. 

DNA analysis contributes to a fast-paced plot as Yellowstone wolves are analyzed and the dangerous hybrid is tracked; but there's more going on here than a renegade wolf/dog hybrid. 

Also at stake is a tenacious newspaper investigation, an arson that nearly ends it, special interests, a Scouting troop's fight against the elements, and a dangerous confrontation between man and nature that involves politics, murder, wolf protection efforts, and failed dreams on all sides. 

Tracking wolves and hybrid alike may be at the heart of the story, but its pulse is on human efforts, challenges, and relationships; and these successfully drive a thriller that takes several twists and turns in the course of its adventure. 

Readers of science-based thriller reads will find Hybrid moves in unexpected directions to provide a satisfyingly complex survey highly recommended for anyone interested in team efforts and complex conundrums. 

Hybrid

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Vanished
Dan Petrosini
KDP
ASIN: B077YSPN61              $2.99
http://a.co/asXsPj9 

Phil and Robin have been married ten years when he vanishes one day, leading his best friend Dom Stewart (and Detective Luca, who is assigned to the case) to investigate a disappearance that is out of character even for this philandering buddy. 

With Dom himself a suspect in Luca's eyes and his friendship with the beautiful Robin under close inspection, the investigation that evolves becomes one of messy connections as Luca discovers Dom is covering up his friend's gambling habit and possibly much more; while Dom faces the fact that just because Phil won't be coming back, doesn't mean that Robin will become his. 

The three dance in a tale of intrigue and angst as suspicions mount and Dom and Lucas confront personal challenges outside of the case. One notable aspect of this story line's progression is not only its changing perspectives on events, which are clearly marked by chapter headings, but also its gritty tone as the characters assess circumstances and each other with candid and unerring inquiry: "I couldn’t believe my ears that some woman detective had come to the office asking about me. It must’ve been Luca’s partner, that Detective Vargas. Now I gotta listen to Greely’s bullshit? Maybe I should just quit, tell them to go fly a kite." 

As it turns out, the opening puzzle of Phil's disappearance is quasi-solved mid-book ... 'quasi', because what evolves proves to be much bigger than one man's fate and continues to immerse characters and readers in a blossoming puzzle with unlimited possibilities. 

Readers who look for detective stories that are edgy, packed with character observations and intrigue, and which hold unexpected and increasingly complex probes into gambling schemes, mob ties, and sometimes-dubious expressions of love will find Vanished a satisfyingly absorbing read right up to its surprising conclusion. 


Vanished

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Novels

Applejack & Bat Masterson: Trinidad’s Law
Charlie Steel 
Condor Publishing, Inc.
978-1-931079-18-1             Price: $12.95
www.amazon.com 

Applejack & Bat Masterson: Trinidad’s Law follows Jack 'Applejack' as he leaves his long-familiar family homestead in Southern Colorado to move out into the world. His encounters with a Mexican bully and a lone, injured gunslinger who teaches him a thing or two about shooting and survival prepares him for an unfamiliar, harsh frontier environment with all its evils and kindnesses. 

Fans of Western fiction who want a good story of a young man's coming of age and hard-learned lessons in the rugged West will relish the dialogue, encounters, and perspectives of Applejack & Bat Masterson: Trinidad’s Law. 

As Applejack makes different friends, becomes a lawman, confronts enemies, and learns to be an effective gunfighter, readers are steeped in the atmosphere, politics, and individual choices of the frontier as seen through the eyes of a young man on the cusp of adulthood. 

His chance encounter with gambler Bat Masterson early in the story leads to a gruff friendship that fosters his growth process as Applejack becomes associated with a savvy marshal whose choices sweep Applejack into conflict, confrontation, and even love. 

One of the strengths of Charlie Steel's presentation is its injection of overall insights about Western culture, which succeed in expanding a reader's own knowledge of the times: "The citizens of Trinidad began to look on the officers as an unnecessary liability, and wanted them gone. The press and voters complained of the lawmen’s gambling, excessive drinking, and hard behavior. They were the exact type of gunmen needed to change a lawless community but not the kind wanted once it was tamed. It was evident it would not be long, and they would all lose their jobs.  Applejack felt like a traitor. Now that he was accepted as being one of them, he wished that he wasn’t. He couldn’t wait to be riding the range and to have the simple task of herding stock or performing daily ranch work. When Bat Masterson was elected out of office, the young man would positively quit the law for keeps." 

From the politics revolving around the Earps and Doc Holliday to the process of assuming responsibility for his own future, Applejack receives a series of hard lessons about his place in the West through his relationship with Bat Masterson, and confronts the sweet impossibility of romance. As issues of fairness and survival force some serious decisions, Applejack finds himself immersed in altercations and a life quite different than he was born into. 

Readers seeking a rollicking good read backed by real-life events of the wild West, but peppered with solid action and characterization that bring these facts to life, will find Applejack & Bat Masterson: Trinidad’s Law a powerful saga that adds depth and insight to a story of criminal and legal forces and a young man's coming of age in a frontier world only beginning to reconcile lawlessness with authority figures. 


Applejack & Bat Masterson: Trinidad’s Law

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Asleep from Day
Margarita Montimore
Black Wing Books
9780999511411       $9.99 Kindle; $14.99 Paper
www.asleepfromday.com  

Asleep from Day opens with an intense mystery narrated in the first person: what is this place of beeping machines? As Astrid O'Malley comes to realize she's in an ambulence, she recalls some things and not others - and the biggest question revolves around the events that landed her there. 

As her days at the hospital are supplemented by flashbacks of Astrid's life, readers become involved in a story that moves from injury and recovery to a probe of the events that landed her in this position. 

Readers should anticipate a literary blend of romance, mystery, and powerful dreams that may give clues about a reality Astrid is ill prepared to tackle in her current condition.  Colorful Boston settings, evolving relationships, surreal parties, and faulty memories coalesce in a tale that keeps readers guessing about Astrid's selective memories and her increasing feeling that something's not right. 

Asleep from Day is simply riveting from start to finish; from Astrid's initial awakening in the ambulance to her return to a life that seems to hold many missing pieces and puzzles. Her accident is the impetus for change in her life, and readers follow her process of rediscovering friendships, finding courage, and undertaking an uncertain search for truth that involves two men in her life. 

The result is a captivating, literary piece that winds a path somewhere between mystery, romance, and psychological thriller, incorporating elements of all these genres as it navigates the increasing treacherous routes of Astrid's revised life. Readers seeking something different from their novel reading will find Asleep from Day is a captivating story of how Astrid deals with old realities and pieces together a new one from shattered fragments of past and present.


Asleep from Day

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The Brambles
Leah Erickson
Rebel E Publishers
Ebook: 978-1-944077-27-3    $2.99
Print: 978-1-944077-27-8
http://a.co/7XHxeLV                                                                                                  

The dead girl, seventeen-year-old Elizabeth, has been haunting her small town since she was found hanging from a tree in her back yard. The town couldn't be to blame for her death (the family was reclusive and nobody interacted with them), so why is she haunting their lives? 

The answer lies in a twisting series of events that makes The Brambles a ghost story with a difference as various peers reflect on her life and death and their involvement in her world. Most of them have never known anyone who died before. Most of them only knew a single aspect about the reclusive Elizabeth. And most of them will come to know her better after death than ever before as a series of eerie incidents transpires to envelop the town in a dangerous truth when Elizabeth begins to speak to each person in different ways. 

In The Brambles, her mysterious death is only the beginning of a strange reality that emerges to change everyone it touches - Vanessa, Mack, Lillian, and even Elizabeth herself, who exists in a form readers can perceive, as well: "The place where Elizabeth lives now sometimes feels like the place she has always been. But more and more, recently, she is preoccupied with that other, living dimension. The one that she used to occupy, back when she was a living girl. Because even though she is at peace as she is now (not exactly happy, but a blissfully neutral state, experiencing herself as one with the woods and the leaves and dirt, a blissful serenity of death’s indifference) she is pierced by her intimations of those still alive in her former life." 

As Elizabeth's renewed purpose evolves, her story reaches out to grasp everyone involved, moving from a ghost and mystery saga to a deeper perspective and involvement that injects meaning and choices into a bigger picture: "Elizabeth’s sense-memories are lately becoming more and more vividly alive, and won’t let her rest. In some way, she has to act.  She knew she had to harness the power of her pure essence and form to have some kind of effect on what was happening in the present. Or else it would be like a never-ending cycle of pain." 

Privacy can become a prison, in this world. Secrets can isolate. And as privacy and secrets unravel for each character, mature young adult to adult readers receive a ghost story like few others: one which juxtaposes the hidden underworld of small-town and teen secrets with a dangerous predator's lasting impact on everything he touches. 

Mature teens to new adults who want a story that begins with a ghostly presence and evolves into a much broader story will find The Brambles creates a brooding set of circumstances that embrace everything it touches, making for an engrossing tale that's thought-provoking, hard to put down, and very highly recommended. 


The Brambles

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The Chief and His Marine
B.A. Sherman
B.A. Sherman, Publisher
978-1979072922
$13.00 Paperback, $26.95 Hardcover, $4.99 Ebook
www.basherman.com 

The Chief and His Marine provides a fictional story based on true events of war, but adopts an unusual perspective of such events in presenting a parent's point of view. 

The setting moves between the U.S. and Afghanistan as it juxtaposes the first-person war encounters of a father and son who share military service experiences and familiarity with desert battles alike, opening with the reflections and convictions of Navy Seal father Chief Platte, who is determined to choose a path that will bring him to see his Marine son Nick again. 

Ten years with the Seal team results in missions that lose many good men, but these missions and maneuvers continue despite setbacks, and are well-detailed in a story filled with accounts of Navy Seal program operations and a father's evolving relationship with his son. 

When his Marine son and his battalion are deployed to Iraq to help train their Iraqi soldiers to help fight a new terror group called ISIS, father and son find both their relationship and their military commitments challenged on different levels, and readers are introduced to the horrors of military activities from more than one perspective. 

Unlike military stories that come solely from a soldier participant's viewpoint, The Chief and His Marine features many different contrasts; from a Navy Seal and a Marine's different approaches and endeavors to encounters with different factions in the Middle East that challenge each with new insights. 

At the heart of these encounters and revelations are viewpoints that shift, change, and incorporate a parent's view of his influence not only on political and military levels, but in his relationship with his beloved son. Ultimately the story asks the ultimate question "Why are we here?" and presents answers on more than one level. 

From close connections between family members and military comrades to final decisions which affect life, death, and the future of both sides, The Chief and His Marine crafts some real dilemmas and asks many hard questions, and making top reading for military novel enthusiasts looking for more overall philosophical and psychological depth than most such writings offer. 


The Chief and His Marine

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The Chimera of Prague
Rick Pryll
Foolishness Press
978-0-9745056-7-1         $26.95
Ebook: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B076G4BXHW 

Hardcover and paperback versions: http://www.rickpryll.com/store 

The setting is 1990s Prague, where divorcee Joseph is taking a 'gap year' off to live abroad and search for his ideal soul mate; a task which necessarily involves a lot of women in his life as he tests the relationship waters. 

Obsessed with a Czech girl and a 28-year-old who stands on the cusp between the death of his dreams and the rest of his life, The Chimera of Prague creates a literary synthesis of metaphors surrounding love, a sense of place, a sense of history, and Joseph's pursuit of happiness. 

The fact that Joseph is not a young adult but nearly a middle-aged man taking an unusual chunk of time off to contemplate his desires, strategies, and future makes for a particularly compelling read, but the meat of the story lies in its poetic descriptions and Joseph's observations. 

He's not only exploring and bringing to life the streets and culture of Prague: he's conducting a survey of his inner self and its resources and struggling with a mountain of guilt about his choices along with an avalanche of emotions that accompany such self-inspection: "I'm alive and dead, I figure everything out and I'm sick of it ... I want to disappear and reappear with my shit together ... I'm not happy. I'm not sad. I am. That's all. I desperately am." 

His journal draws readers into this process and nicely supplements the third-person story narration with a form of examination that sometimes reads like a movie set as Joseph at times adopts the dispassionate and descriptive eye of an observer of his own life. 

History, precedent, chance and change all coalesce in a commanding story of a man who is not happy or at peace despite his apparent magnetism with women. His process of discovery involves confronting ego and makes for a completely engrossing process spiced with the backdrop of European culture. 

Readers of psychological fiction will find The Chimera of Prague compelling, vivid, and hard to put down. 


The Chimera of Prague

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Limbo
Laura Koerber
Who Chains You Books
978-1946044174            $11.97 Paper; $3.97 Kindle
http://a.co/iJ7wPQr 

Limbo is a place halfway between heaven and hell where wayward humans wind up with too much time on their hands and no direction.  It's actually a ghost town where these souls spend their time gossiping, playing games, and singing - and where a newcomer, teen Alyse, decides to bring these disparate souls together in the afterlife equivalent of a neighborhood block party. 

Most of these lost souls are locked into their own isolating patterns. They've changed relatively little since their arrival in Limbo. Alyse was never a religious believer, and never imagined she'd wind up in a ghosts' village haunted by the souls of those exiled both from the living and any final destination. 

But she's just one of a variety of characters who wind up in this lost place, forced to reconcile her new existence with the realities of eternity in a dead-end town reminiscent of an old Western story. 

The villagers hold on to their beliefs that there is a different afterlife beyond Limbo; a better place that souls eventually go to. But, they don't really know - anyone who manages to leave this village never returns. They are just awaiting God. And in a ethereal tale reminiscent of a more spiritual version of the philosophical classic Waiting for Godot, Alyse, the Preacher, Lily, Darla and others work at being 'good enough for Heaven' and greater than the circumstances of their lives, which have ended up in Limbo. 

If any of them had known there was this kind of afterlife, would they have done anything different? And should they be doing something different, now? 

Readers receive a satisfyingly different combination of philosophical and spiritual reflection, commentary on ghosts and lives lived on the margins in both worlds, and a dash of wry humor that permeates the story as Limbo's residents get to know one another and reflect on the circumstances that brought them together. 

On one hand, Limbo is an entertaining story of how people pass time under different circumstances, of how they evolve ideas about their world and its underlying rules, and the choices involved in their interactions with others. 

In other ways, Limbo is a quintessential tale of animal and human relationships, how life is lived (or not), and the elements which translate to being alive even in the afterlife world of the dead. It's a fantasy replete with human relationships, animal companions, and finding meaning and cheer in the most dead-end of situations. 

Readers seeking an uplifting afterlife saga that offers a winning brush against life's ironies and inconsistencies and an attention to building characters who face Limbo in different ways will enjoy this enchanting, light tale of discovery, change, and dubious redemption; all wrapped into the tale of a block party like no other. 


Limbo

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The Marker
Diana Savastano
DRS Publishing, LLC
978-0-9852089-5-0         $14.99
https://www.amazon.com/Marker-Diana-Savastano/dp/0985208953/

https://www.dianasavastano.com/ 

Sometimes forging a new future involves putting the past to rest. In the case of The Marker, which blends Civil War history with a ghost story and an evolving romance, a multifaceted blend of experiences revolve around the discovery of a vanished grave marker and how its appearance over sixty years later becomes the impetus for uncovering the truth behind an Unknown Soldier's story, paving the way for a modern-day romance. 

Under another's hand, The Marker could too easily have become a light paranormal romance; but those expecting a simple read should be forewarned that Diana Savastano's attention to historical detail probes deeply into this evolving story, which begins in Mississippi in 1863 and moves into modern times. 

Dr. Bradley Taylor dies wearing a Union belt buckle; and so begins a deeply disturbing error when in the summer of 1867 a mission to properly bury the fallen uncovers his remains, hands clutching the despised Union relic he's tried to wrest from his body with his last breath. 

Fast forward to present-day New York City, where gorgeous news reporter Jennifer is about to receive an assignment that will change and challenge her life. No stranger to odd assignments, Jennifer chafes at the thought that she's being sent to Florida to report on life after retirement instead of being granted the vacation time she needs. 

Her resistance to her Florida assignment is changed by what she discovers there, the research she and her father conduct into the relic, and a series of events that transpire since she discovers the grave marker which slowly affects her decisions, life, and future. 

On one level, it could be said that The Marker's underlying mystery, ghost story twist, and history winds into a more complex achievement than most; but on another level, sometimes Jennifer's pursuits are puzzling themselves. It's as if her life hangs in the balance between professional advancement and too much drama and between pursuit of truth and freedom and impulses to discover love in her future. 

The subplots and many characters support some of her quests while creating new questions and conundrums that pose some of the greatest challenges in Jennifer's personal and professional life, changing its direction and introducing many new possibilities. 

Drama-laden ex-relationships, an evolving relationship with a doctor, the possibilities in facing joy, sorrow and loss head-on, and surprising connections between ancestral mysteries and love lend a satisfyingly complex combination of mystery, romance, and history with just the right supernatural touch to provide an intriguing overlay cementing relationships and processes. 

One doesn't expect such a beginning to lead to detective work and deaths, but the pleasure of The Marker lies not only in its inclusion of many different threads and subplots, but in its non-linear approach to love. 

Romance fans should expect a delightfully absorbing story that provides more than a thin layer of events, but takes the time to probe beneath surface appearances and life trajectories to chart a course through untested waters.


The Marker

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The Point of the Pick: A Novel of the 20th Century
Curtis Seltzer
Curtis Seltzer, Publisher
Print: 978-0-9994224-0-3              $29.99
Ebook: 978-0-9994224-1-0    $11.99
www.Curtis-Seltzer.com 

The Point of the Pick is highly recommended for any reader fond of The Godfather and stories based on organized crime activities, offering a chilling account that only a few years ago would have been considered more fantasy than possible reality. 

Organized crime has moved into the upper echelons of business and politics in this scenario; and in one election for president of the coal miners' union, the mob corrupts both candidates, leaving no options for anything different in a substantially changed local political landscape. 

Prejudice, mob violence and hitmen, coal magnates and wives who decide to play dangerous games by siding with the opposition, and radicals who find themselves a target and who are on the run contribute to a satisfyingly complex cast of characters who keep the action fast-paced, the subplots numerous and intricate, and the story line packed with clashing personalities and exciting scenarios. 

Like The Godfather, The Point of the Pick is not recommended for readers unwilling to absorb a myriad of details and mob activity scenarios. It's a powerful, fine read for Godfather fans who desire more of the kinds of action, intrigue, and mob murders that made Mario Puzo's classic writings so famous. 

Lives saved and lost, set-ups that take advantage of witness protection programs and a series of lies, and powerful characterization that excels in vivid confrontations on various sides are set against the backdrop of the changing coal industry and its impact on everyone. 

With its taut action, highlights of special interests and their interactions, individual efforts to retire and stay alive, and a solid attention to evolving details that present conundrums even to those outside mob action (“Sometimes good notions end up makin’ bad consequences, things we can’t predict.”), The Point of the Pick is a solid, involving action piece that's hard to put down and very satisfyingly complex in its mob details and interactions. Fans of The Godfather will welcome this title's continuing action and drama. 


The Point of the Pick: A Novel of the 20th Century

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Young Adult/Childrens

Dreadmarrow Thief
Marjory Kaptanoglu
Marjory Kaptanoglu, Publisher
978-0-9994492-0-2: ebook           $2.99
978-0-9994492-1-9: paperback    $9.99
978-0-9994492-2-6: hardcover     $24.95
Ordering Link:
https://www.amzn.com/dp/B076BBFYMM
Author Website:
https://www.marjorykaptanoglu.com/ 

Dreadmarrow Thief is Book One of the Conjurer Fellstone series, and tells of teen Tessa, who is responsible for her father's murder when she uses a forbidden artifact to shapeshift, attracting the attention of the Conjurer Lord Fellstone, who has him killed as punishment. 

This only leads Tessa further into the forbidden dark side of magic as she sets her goals on stealing his most coveted and powerful possession: an amulet that might be able to restore life back to her father. 

Joined by two peers who harbor their own special objectives for revenge and restoration, Tessa throws any caution to the winds as they embark on an epic journey to wrest back what they have lost, from romance to loved ones murdered. 

Several things set Dreadmarrow Thief apart from other teen fantasy epic journeys; not the least of which is Marjory Kaptanoglu's use of evocative, visionary language that successfully places readers of all ages right into the sights, smells, and sounds of Tessa's world: "Today, my fifth time as a russet sparrow, I felt as if I’d been flying all my life. I left caution behind, soaring over the town square, catching a beakful of rancid smoke rising from the shops and ramshackle homes. My wings flapped according to instinct and carried me toward Sorrenwood’s outer edge, over rows of broken shelters." 

From this introduction one deftly weaves through the atmosphere and setting of a world in which Tessa is newly empowered by others to change the outcome of her poor decisions, which have left her an orphan: "Mama had left years ago, and now Papa was struck down. I had nothing further to lose. If I didn’t act, the lord’s men would most certainly return to arrest me and take back the windrider. Calder was giving me a chance to change the outcome—to bring my papa back to life. After that we could leave Sorrenwood as he’d wanted. Of course I would do it. I must swallow my grief for now and take action. There would be plenty of time to mourn in the end, if that was what it came to." 

Her embrace of new 'family', her acceptance of a possibility that demands she display both courage and flexible acceptance of a wider world than she's explored in the past, and her gritty determination to enact positive change against all odds brings readers right into the characters, movements, and purposes of a story that sweeps swiftly along, nicely powered by her discoveries and confrontations. 

By setting the story in medieval times in a world where conjurers and magic hold all the power, then shifting this scenario to include the perspective and struggles of a teenager who defies the consequences of her mistakes but also exhibits a sensitivity and concern to those around her, Kaptanoglu creates a sensitive and absorbing tale within the quest-style fantasy structure that proves hard to put down. 

The point of view shifts from Tessa's first-person experience to third-person perspectives of Ash and others; but these transition points, which could have proved jarring under another author's hand, are clearly presented in chapters that are headed by the changing character names, and so offer an added dimension of insight from both Tessa's internal view and the outside observations of others. 

Although teens are obviously the age group targeted for the story, many an adult fantasy reader - particularly those who enjoyed Harry Potter but who seek a feisty, determined female protagonist - will find much to appreciate in the complexity and atmosphere of Dreadmarrow Thief. 

Challenged, heartsore, yet determined and pro-active, Tessa is a remarkably realistic, absorbing young heroine whose actions and reactions are poignant and powerful. There are many surprises throughout, making Dreadmarrow Thief an absorbing read that also, satisfyingly, stands alone as a heartfelt exploration of a girl convinced that knowledge is strength: a certainty that propels her from childhood to adulthood in a different, compelling coming of age fantasy designed to appeal beyond its age group. 


Dreadmarrow Thief

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Lil’ Boy’s Steps to Goal Achievement
April L. Jones, PhD
Visionary Consulting Services, LLC
978-1546788638            $13.95 

www.amazon.com

It's unusual to see a goal-setting book for kids, but Lil’ Boy’s Steps to Goal Achievement demonstrates that it's never too young to begin these lessons, and uses a journal format to guide children into the basic ideas, processes and successes of setting and achieving goals. 

Activities revolve around identifying goals, organizing them, considering attitudes about rules and guidelines, and tracking process in reaching stated objectives. There's even a section about mentors and their role in the process. Since many an adult may not clearly understand the importance of mentoring in a young person's life, this is an especially educational, notable section providing an early introduction to one of the key concepts of life success. 

In adopting a journal approach which encourages kids to write down their goals and learn techniques for pursing them, Dr. Jones emphasizes how children can take an active role in the process, providing both structure and flexibility as youngsters are encouraged to revise and change their goals over time. 

Dr. Jones' own father, Lil' Boy, used many of these ideas in his extraordinary process of becoming a notable commissioner (she's already produced his biography, for adult readers); but seeing these techniques outlined in a step-by-step format accessible to elementary-level kids means that a whole new generation will receive the tools to follow in his footsteps, whether their goals are political or individual pursuits. 

Lil' Boy's experiences are also incorporated into this journaling process and offer insights based on life experience to back the ideas presented herein: "Always remember you don’t need to do it alone. Lil’ Boy never achieved his big dreams by trying to do it alone. He had help from parents, teachers, and many other people from his school and community." 

While the journal itself is flexible and kids are encouraged to set goals, understand rules, and choose good mentors, there are also examples of Dr. Jones' father peppered throughout, which reinforces the underlying concepts of caring, community, and service: "This inspired Lil’ Boy very much, and he wanted to become just like Dr. King, a civil rights activist who made peaceful and positive change in his community." 

The result is actually more than a goal-setting primer: it's a subtle call to action, responsibility, and participation which uses many civil rights insights and examples to inspire and compel a new generation of leaders by providing the basic approaches key to their success. 

Very highly recommended, Lil’ Boy’s Steps to Goal Achievement should be in every elementary-level reader's hands as a positive first step in creating effective community-oriented leaders from future generations. 


Lil’ Boy’s Steps to Goal Achievement

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Lucy's First Christmas  
Rolynda Tassan
RiverRidge Publishing
978-0-9983318-4-3         $8.99
http://a.co/dM72ob7 

Lucy's First Christmas continues the stories of Lucy the adopted cat and centers around Lucy's first Christmas celebration in her new home. 

As Lucy observes various family members making special preparations, from baking holiday cookies to stringing lights on the tree and making snowmen outside, she decides to join in and help; but her efforts only land her in trouble. 

Lucy needs to find something else to do - something for which she's uniquely qualified to participate. But what can that be? 

Lucy's First Christmas provides elementary-level picture book readers with the realistic, warm story of an adopted kitty's first holiday with family, adopting a cat's-eye perspective on preparations for festivities. 

As with the other books in the Lucy series, Lucy's First Christmas excels in this point of view, neatly juxtaposing a busy family's efforts with the puzzlement of a young cat who only wants to help and participate in the fun. 

Lucy continues to find her place in the family, and this holiday celebration offers an outstanding approach to seasonal celebrations and how family pets are part of the effort. 

Lucy's First Christmas is as warm, simple and welcoming as the other books in the series and continues to explore how Lucy integrates with her new animal and human family's routines and rituals. Picture book readers with good reading skills who are just moving into chapter books will relish the easy access and family-oriented message of this new pet's continuing lessons. 


Lucy's First Christmas  

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Why Not?
Amanda Huneke
Warren Publishing
9781943258482
www.warrenpublishing.net 

Why Not? is illustrated by Claudio Tenorio Pearl, who produces bright, good-sized picture book drawings to accompany the story of Peyton Pep, a young girl with a big imagination and a positive view of what can be accomplished in life. 

So when she announces to her mother that she's on her way to visit the North Pole, the savvy woman responds with questions about how she's going beat the cold with proper clothing which Peyton likely doesn't own. 

Peyton's answer the next day is to revise her projected travel itinerary, which brings its own special challenges as her trip moves from the land of snow to a hot desert environment. 

Peyton actually has new ideas for each day of the week - and as her mother raises practical concerns, her travel adventure ideas keep changing. Will she find one she can actually achieve? 

Gorgeous color drawing and the impact of an active imagination which collides with practical considerations creates a vivid picture book story that is whimsical, fun, and which concludes with an unexpected revelation from her mother. 

Parents who choose Why Not? for its read-aloud pleasure will find much to like about the precocious child's positive and creative viewpoints and a wise mother who counters Peyton's lofty goals with realistic, practical insights.


Why Not?

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