• Donovan's Literary Services
  • Recommended Reading
  • Pick of the Month
  • Author, Author!
  • Title, Title!
  • Author Comments & Accolades
  • How to Get Reviewed
  • Recommended Resources
  • Other Services
  • About
  • Copyright and Permissions
  • Contact
Donovan's Bookshelf

May 2017 Review Issue


Table Of Contents

Prime Picks
Biography & Autobiography
Audiobooks 
Fantasy & Sci Fi
Reviewer's Choice
Novels & Mysteries
Young Adult/Childrens

Biography & Autobiography

Big Top Typewriter
David Lewis Hammerstrom
CreateSpace
9781542975612             $12.95
www.amazon.com 

Books about circus experiences come and go, so readers who started early with Toby Tyler and went on to power their dreams of a circus lifestyle with other classics about the big top have found their choices dwindling as the circus fades. However, Big Top Typewriter: My Inside Adventures Through the World of Circus is a rare coverage that stands out even from the plethora of big top histories and performer autobiographies, presenting an eyewitness experience of the breakthroughs, politics, and dreams affecting not just the circus world but author David Lewis Hammerstrom's own pursuits of publication and truths. 

It's rare to find a survey of some fifty years of circus history by one who is a participant rather than an outside observer, but David Lewis Hammerstrom was in that unique position and juxtaposes his world-hopping circus experiences with his equally eye-opening efforts to get these insights published. 

Thus, the first caution: Big Top Typewriter is as much about the process of writing and publicizing circus life as it is about circus history itself - and that distinction is one of the facets that sets this book apart from either the historical approach or the autobiographical 'I did this' performer's experiences. 

Straddling the high wire somewhere in-between, Big Top Typewriter surveys behind-the-scenes circus politics and experiences, including turning points in Ringling Brothers history and how the author reported on this history and the barriers he encountered in publishing and entertainment worlds alike. It takes readers ringside as he attempts to capture the madness and magic of the circus, deals with circus curators, historians, photo archivists, and traverses the worlds of the big top and publishing industries in a precarious balancing act that captures the challenges of writing about the circus and entertainment worlds.

From amusing interviews and 'Circus Gods' who alternately smile and frown upon his endeavors, creating a career that moves one step forward and two steps back, to a light-hearted sense of humor that parades through the story with the pomp and circumstance of a blossoming author and reporter, Big Top Typewriter is anything but your staid story of circus animals and performers. It moves within and beyond these topics to consider such varied challenges as how to sell a modern circus, how to sell circus writings, and how to keep control of a narrative when publishers, agents, and editors want to change one's voice beyond recognition. 

As such, those who seek a circus description alone will be surprised to note that this follows more than one kind of circus experience, offering plenty of insights into a writer's life and encounters with the publishing industry and circus worlds alike. Readers who pick up the book for its circus insights might be taken aback by this bigger picture; but the end result stands out from the crowd of dwindling circus memoirs and materials to address the special challenge of not only how to capture and represent a fading industry, but how to publish the kind of book that isn't diluted by mainstream publisher editing processes. 

Big Top Typewriter is highly recommended and is alternately fun and thought-provoking for two audiences in particular: readers who like circus exposés, and aspiring writers who struggle to find, project, and publish their own unique voices and styles. 


Big Top Typewriter

Return to Index

Heading Home: Field Notes
Peter Anderson
Conundrum Press
9781942280217             $14.99
www.conundrum-press.com

Many autobiographies chart journeys and discoveries, translating them into experiences directed to travel and self-discovery enthusiasts; but when was the last time that a collection opened with an introduction that popped the reader onto the road right away? : "I folded up the map of home I'd made and it was adios old shack, adios old town, and hello to a road I couldn't help but ride." 

Heading Home: Field Notes isn't just about leaving a home. It is more about the author seeking and finding a new place to sink in roots and tracing the journey that gets him there. The powerful opener is only a portent of the riches to come as the author begins his journey with a succinct vision of what sparked his decision to hit the road: "... When the mine at Climax shut down, it was the bust that finally got to me-storefronts boarded up from Leadville to Salida, down-valley friends leaving the country, nights darker than the shafts inside the mountain above town." 

The collection holds the gritty landscapes and experiences of the West, but incorporates all these into an exploration that captures every nuance of minute details, whether it is the different perspectives and determinations of two mountain loners or the early snowpack described by a forest ranger on a trip into the backcountry to help a seasonal employee pack out.  "Snow came early that year. Had a kid named Jackson cruising timber on the mountain and it was time to pack him out. Sky was full of mare's tails-another front coming in. I made good miles through the high spruce. Post-holing hip-deep snow on the way down, I saw something up ahead-a black sheep, left behind from the summer graze."

Wonderfully evocative in its phrasing, Heading Home holds the rare capacity for immersing readers in the ordinary and highlighting the extraordinary in every moment, whether it be a bat emergence from an old iron mine ("Here, in the foothill twilight, what matters is the way they rise into a vast whirling column. What matters is the breeze and the sound, like moving water, they leave in their wake. What matters is this great river of wings that ends as it begins. In darkness. Now you know where the night comes from.") or, in a more humorous vein,  the imagined survival experience of a couple of Barbie dolls who accompany his young daughters on a backcountry pack trip. 

"When the Barbies make their next appearance, I am secretly happy they have been liberated from my daughter's pack, stripped naked, and set afloat in a very cold mountain stream. The Barbies ride the current, their long, slinky legs goose-bumping off creek bed cobbles and their carefully coiffed hair trailing like algae behind them. Get me . . . like .. . out of here. How strange this must be for the Barbies . . . to be without their closets full of Barbie clothes, without their pink corvettes and mini cell phones, hundreds of miles from the nearest mall, headed into a long night with a cold bivouac ahead of them."

Think a wider-ranging version of the philosophical, evocative fly-fishing literary classic, A River Runs Through It. Heading Home has the same kind of feel for land, people and places in the West. It is a powerful cocktail of evocative, beautiful prose that is not to be missed by any who appreciate a literary voice from this part of the country. It is award-quality writing that should please readers who appreciated A River Runs Through It. Yes, it's that good. 


Heading Home: Field Notes

Return to Index


THE HOOK: Surfing to Survive a Shattered Family, Drugs, Gangs and the FBI
Kathleen Doler
BookLocker.com Inc.
9781634921176
Price (trade paperback): $18.95
Price (e-book, all formats): $4.99
Author’s website: www.kathleendoler.com

Amazon listing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1634921178

Barnes & Noble listing: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hook-kathleen-doler/1125861967?ean=9781634921176 

Life is much like surfing: many times when you think you've caught the big wave and ridden it successfully, it presents a surprise: "I replay the drilling in my mind...riding out, speeding well ahead of the pitching curl. But the wave didn’t peel off; instead it broke in one big section and drilled me from behind. I shrug. Life — just when you think you’ve made a clean getaway you get caught, caught from behind." 

Using surfing metaphors, Kathleen Doler takes readers on a journey of adaptation, self-discovery, and perseverance in The Hook, which surveys techniques and methods for navigating life. This isn't a self-help title, per say, however. It adopts a fictional format as it tells of the protagonist's attempt to escape from the chaos of her dysfunctional family by traveling the globe, only to return home to find her junkie brother in the hospital trapped by a dangerous meth addiction and an equally deadly drug dealer. 

Dana refuses to give up on her beloved brother, even though the rest of her family and the community have already done so, and she hopes their shared love of surfing will help bring him back. Instead, however, she delves deeper into his world and uncovers even more unsettling facts about his relationship to his dealer, his homelessness, a growing gang war, and a final wave of confrontation that could sweep away everything she's loved and worked for. 

The Hook is a gripping exposé of life on the line. It grasps the reader from the start with its surfing description, then moves rapidly away from the calm aftermath of survival and achievement and into the riptides of a family and community gone awry. At the center of this maelstrom is one young woman determined to survive and to carry her lost sibling into the light. At what cost is the reader's guess as various scenarios are explored and their underbellies exposed. 

The Hook's effectiveness lies not in its subject (much of which has been covered in various fictional formats before), but in its 'hook' (for lack of a better word, and in keeping with its surfing subject), which grabs reader attention through various scenarios of catch and release, connections, and struggles for survival. 

Shane's surfing abilities are one way of reaching him - and as Dana chooses this path, opportunities blossom for both of them. Their concurrent journeys are well presented in a story that toes the line between opening new avenues of hope and narrowing possibilities through personal choices and actions. As events move beyond Shane's dilemma and Dana's efforts to embrace other lives and bigger pictures, so The Hook becomes a blossoming portrait of change and hope. 

Those interested in a powerful first-person story of adversity and perseverance which traverses drug and gang worlds to uncover avenues of hope and change will relish the perspective of lives in flux in The Hook, which reels in readers with a complex and multi-faceted production. 


THE HOOK: Surfing to Survive a Shattered Family, Drugs, Gangs and the FBI

Return to Index


Quilt of Souls
Phyllis Lawson
CreateSpace
978-1-5077-8975-9
$17.95 Hardcover; Kindle Edition: $6.99
www.quiltofsouls.org 

Author Phyllis Lawson was only four when her world changed as she was "...driven sixteen hours down the road in a car full of strangers, to a house in the middle of nowhere, with grandparents I never met before. I was abandoned. No way around it. The stigma of being given away followed me around for many years, like a lost puppy nipping at my heels. It took my grandmother’s love and an old, tattered quilt to repair my self-esteem and return me to wholeness." 

While this opener may sound like the preface to a singular autobiographical experience, it should be noted that Phyllis Lawson's experience was not unusual. As she points out in her opening paragraphs, blacks who made the pilgrimage from Southern rural to urban city life in the 1930s and '40s often found themselves struggling when the kids began to arrive. The solution was to send these children back to the South to live with relatives. 

Lawson's early life thus wasn't unusual, given these circumstances: it actually was quite ordinary at the time, and reflected a growing trend in the black community: "They’d end up sending a child or two down south to live with grandparents; grandparents they might never had met before. Just like that, a young’un would be plucked off their front porch, out of the only family they knew and without explanation, left on the doorstep of virtual strangers. Sometimes these children didn’t return north until they were teenagers. Sometimes they never returned." 

Although this is an important part of her story, Phyllis Lawson doesn't just speak of her childhood, but about how her resilience and values were reinforced by both the loving guidance of her grandmother and a tattered old quilt that proved the impetus for positive change. 

The patchwork of threads of this quilt run steadily through Quilt of Souls as Lawson learns to become a quilter herself, finding that many of the lessons of quilting apply equally powerfully to handling life's challenges. Read between the lines to find the evolution of a quilter intricately tied with the autobiography of how a grandmother handles children removed from their parents and instills many values in them while you review the historical influence that swatches of quilt fabric lend to their lives.

Quilters who pick up this book anticipating a quilting how-to or a history alone will find there's much going on in Lawson's autobiography. The focus on family relationships and grandparenting is exquisitely wrought, while the quilting references and fabric and quilting history expand these topics in a manner that blends reminiscence with social and cultural insights and secrets handed down between generations. 

The quilt theme is a steady thread supporting these revelations: "Grandma took the pieces of fabric we sewed into my quilt from Isaiah and Robert’s black and red gingham shirts. I suddenly had a better understanding of this precious bag of cloths. I would never refer to it as a “bag of rags” again. I thought about the importance of Grandma entrusting me with the quilt and all these stories. Not only did I have to remember it, but I also had to hold it sacred." 

Southern culture and folk stories, black heritage, and quilting all come together in a delightful series of family stories that are funny, thought-provoking, and packed with depth, making Quilt of Souls a special recommendation for both quilters who look beyond project-oriented guides and any collection strong in family memoirs and black Southern cultural explorations.


Quilt of Souls

Return to Index


Red Fire, Growing Up During The Chinese Cultural Revolution
Wei Yang Chao
Avant Press
978-0-9981960-1-5         $16.90
www.weiyangchao.com 

Plenty of books have been written about the Chinese Cultural Revolution and its experience; but few come from the perspective of a child who lived through these changes. That's one of the reasons why Wei Yang Chao's Red Fire is so absorbing: it gives insight into the roots of ideology and its effect upon families and children, but even though it's written fifty years later, many of these eyewitness experiences are just as vividly portrayed as when they were lived. 

Vintage black and white photos pepper Chao's autobiography, which personalizes his powerful memoir of the special social and political challenges of the times: "...while I was quite familiar with struggle sessions, this time the targets were my mother and father, and it was now my turn to betray those I loved." 

The inclusion of media and propaganda releases creates a striking contrast between official acts, public image, and the author's private impressions: "Mao needed to be sure of his physical prowess at his advanced age, when there was some doubt as to whether he had enough energy left to go to war against his powerful opponents and to safeguard his political beliefs. Nobody knew for sure what Mao intended, but by swimming in the Yangtze, Mao signaled confidence in his physical condition and, by extension, confidence that he could win yet another political battle. The swim was also a touchstone for the personality cult he enjoyed among the masses. People’s reactions to the news showed that his popularity had not diminished in the least." 

From accounts of political reforms to descriptions of reactions that reached into individual homes and lives, Red Fire provides a link to help readers understand how events changed people’s lives. Chao deftly reaches into the most everyday of circumstances to illustrate transformation: "How could a small child be so quickly reformed? It seemed totally improbable. The truth of the story, I finally decided, lay in the mother’s faith, for loyalty worked a kind of black magic in those years, and we were all of us thoroughly bewitched." 

Few other accounts of these times offer the candid vision of a childhood set against the social and political transformation that came from a charismatic, controlling leadership. 

Holding many thought-provoking insights about the Cultural Revolution experience and a leader changing his nation, Red Fire deserves a place on the reading shelves of any political or social issues reader; especially those concerned with current American political processes and readers of Chinese Cultural Revolution history and experience. 


Red Fire, Growing Up During The Chinese Cultural Revolution

Return to Index


Unmasking: A Journey
Rayne Dowell
Self-Published
978-0-9959167-0-8         $17.99
www.RayneDowell.com 

Imagine a story that begins with a separation between husband and wife - but not for the usual reasons. Rayne Dowell's on/off relationship lasted for fifteen uncertain years; but as she says: "Turns out I don’t have a problem committing. I have a problem committing to something that doesn’t work for me." Ultimately, she left her husband because of her dreams - and because of an intuition that could not be denied. And this intuition sparked the journey described in Unmasking, a spiritual memoir that is as much about the process as its conclusion. 

Much as intuition told Rayne that her husband was cheating on her, it also prompted her on a journey that revealed many facets of a world that she hadn't understood before. 

Chapters take the form of a physical and psychic road trip that carry readers along for a vivid ride that involves a purging and renewal process supported by footnoted references and some online links to the author's own solutions, "The 8 Step Beginner Unmasking Formula". 

As she rids her life of toxic chemicals, toxic people, and unhealthy attitudes, she begins evolving and growing, acknowledging a process and presence guiding these changes. As always, her dreams point the way, often creating a disparity between her waking and dreaming worlds, which she vividly describes: "I feel disconnected to humanity in a way, because I’m living two separate lives, one in “reality” and another “dream” one. No one knows me in “reality” because I have a separate life, my “dream” life, and somehow they’re connected. But it feels like I’m supposed to “act normal” and not outwardly react to all the new information I’m receiving. It’s a solitary feeling." 

As links are created between the author, the people around her, and eventually the planet, readers are treated to deeper-level thinking and observations which move from ethereal dream states to bigger pictures and problems: "After I wake I review this dream. Another dream of Leslie and hard drugs. Why am I still looking for information about Leslie? Why?! I must be somehow still trying to figure out how I can reach him. So, I feel into this. It feels like Leslie is a drug addict too. Not heroin but some other hard drug. Cocaine maybe? Yes, that feels about right. So, in order of addictions/illusions, Leslie’s first one is power, then drugs. Illusions of fear. That can have very real effects in the physical realm. I determine Leslie isn’t equipped to make an informed decision whether my intuition is on target or not. I appreciate that, in his own way, he’s been trying to understand, but in the end, he doesn’t. It would require him to make changes to overcome his own fears, and it’s difficult to overcome fears. It is freeing though. The tricky part is you won’t realize how freeing it is until you’ve done it. Then I wonder, just how far has it gone? If I’ve noticed it here in Canada, how much has the energy, nature, deteriorated, or is deteriorating, on the rest of the planet?" 

Few autobiographies adequately capture the process of transformation as does Unmasking. From the illogic of energy and processes related to it to the sense of following one's heart and path in life, the author's journey evolves into a bigger picture of not only the process of self-realization, but of one's individual place in the world and how choices impact this sense of being. 

Can prophetic dreams result in a whole soul "woven of scars" - one which changes both itself and the world around her? Unmasking follows one person's spiritual and personal course through life's grief, challenges, and dangers; but in so doing, it provides a road map for those who would acknowledge their intuitions and embark on their own journeys: "A person can only learn by doing, by trying, by being open to the possibilities, by admitting their mistakes, by asking for help when they need to and by holding themselves accountable." 

Anyone interested in uplifting reads about the nature of personal transformation and the paths leading to it will relish Unmasking's candid and intricate focus on how one choice in life leads to another. 


Unmasking: A Journey

Return to Index




Audiobooks

Aesop's Fables with Colin Hay
Tom Graves
Devault-Graves Digital Editions
Audio: 9781942531241         $6.66
Ebook: 9781942531234        $9.95
www.devaqult-gravesagency.com 

Almost anyone who has read a book well knows of the classic Aesop's Fables, one of the cornerstones of parables and moral fables - but the audio production of these tales is unexpected and delightful enough to make it a recommendation beyond its intended 6 to 11-year-old age group. 

One big draw (as with any audio) is the quality of the production. Colin Hay is the former frontman for the Australian rock group Men at Work, but his delightful light Scottish brogue lends a different narrator's voice to this collection - and an intriguing power that makes the collection perfect for succinct and attractive listening. 

The power of Aesop's fables might seem to speak for themselves in print version; but the audio needed this extra boost to attract listeners of all ages, and one of the special delights here is Hay's ability to dramatize his reading while lending an accent that flavors the story without being unintelligibly thick. 

This pairing lends an exquisite feel to the stories, capturing Aesop's intentions in providing lessons from life encounters while proving gently entertaining. 26 short stories may sound like a lot for a young listener's attention span; but these are quick pieces and when enhanced by drama, become absorbingly compelling. 

Many an adult will want to listen, because lessons such as a parent/child encounter with greed in 'The Boy and the Jar of Peanuts' or a little mouse's ability to save his lion friend in 'The Lion and the Mouse' may have been forgotten by many an adult over the years. Their lovely resurrection here, in a powerful audio, makes for a winning production recommended for all ages. 

It should also be noted that the ebook format contains lovely illustrations throughout, many in full color, that perfectly capture both the antique feel of Aesop's works and the sentiments of each story. 


Aesop's Fables with Colin Hay

Return to Index



Fantasy & Sci Fi

The Crown Princess' Voyage
Dylan Madeley
CreateSpace
1539503259
Price: $4.61 Kindle, $18.99 Paperback (varies)
http://squareonecomics.com/dylanmadeley/the-crown-princess-voyage/ 

Everything is still in flux in The Crown Princess' Voyage, which continues where The Gift-Knight's Quest left off, with a struggle for dominance: a process that involves generations in a slow abiding search for peace and empowerment. 

Against this backdrop, Princess Chandra Kenderley, who has inherited an uncertain crown under dubious conditions, finds herself and her magical abilities at odds with a world posed on a delicate tightrope of tension and possible war. 

The kingdom's precarious pivot point is well detailed, both socially and politically, in reflections as powerful in thought as they are in action: "But most of us are struggling to survive out here. People who can't find or make work would traditionally try going to the Frontier, or try settling to the North-east of there, for example. If you can't work, like my father, either you have a family to pick up the slack or you appeal to the ruling Council for a place to live. Or someone else appeals, for you. It's interesting you should put it that way, though. The privacy of beggars; that's a question you would never hear from someone born and raised in the spiritual tradition. They might never think to ask." 

As Chandra makes the journey that will change her perceptions and her life, events tumble towards an uncertain crescendo, all fueled by her determination to bide her time and do the right thing for both herself and her people: "She could not ignore an intuition that served her excellently so far, nor could she let these doubts and fears show. Especially not if someone unseen wanted her to feel scared, and might feel emboldened by such expressions. The one thing to do, the one thing Chandra knew by nature, was to remain alert and never stop thinking carefully." 

From how beliefs and traditions have stayed together over the years to why forces become immersed in struggles with the greater good in mind ("…if one person could construct so much wrong in the world, then perhaps he and his allies could work just hard enough to build some right. Human problems had human solutions."), The Crown Princess' Voyage stays true to the thought-provoking attention to detail of its predecessor but moves the saga along as the richness of the kingdom and its different peoples are thoroughly explored. 

Even if an enemy is defeated, can those governing the kingdom ever rest easily or be truly happy? The forces that cause major protagonists to grow as individuals as they face paradigm-changing choices makes for a riveting, action-packed story whose progress is livelier than its predecessor, which set the foundation for a powerful story of invaders, patriots, and the clash between improbable forces and sorcery. 

Fantasy fans who relish social and political insights against the backdrop of confrontation and intrigue will find The Crown Princess' Voyage continues to hold tightly to and rests firmly upon its unique blend of attention to detail, complex character interactions, and a dialogue that keeps everything on track, making it a highly recommended pick for those seeking more than light fantasy reading. 


The Crown Princess' Voyage

Return to Index


Resurrection America
Jeff Gunhus
Seven Guns Press
978-0-9982177-1-0         $12.95
www.JeffGunhus.com 

Resurrection America is set in the near (and not inconceivable) - but this is not evident at first, because the opening scene focuses on a small-town sheriff, an old mine, and a discovery that frightens his ex-Marine deputy, then cuts off his radio transmission. 

A personal visit shows that the old, abandoned Resurrection Mine has been barricaded behind a high-voltage fence in less than a month, A man who meets him outside the fence explains that the mining forces behind it are used to operating around the world in different conditions - thus the extra security - but doesn't answer half of the questions Sheriff Rick has about their operation and his now-missing deputy. 

The answers slowly build the sci-fi element of the story, because robots are involved - and not the benign kinds that America is already rebelling against for taking workers' jobs away. 

The small mining town of Resurrection has long been dying, but holds much potential to live up to its name, rising like a phoenix of rebirth out of the ashes of failure. The only problem is a three-day secret that blossoms into something uncontrollable, complicated by a Fall Festival that brings thousands into the town and into the cusp of danger. 

Advanced weapons and security breeches, a special weapon development that threatens to get loose and become uncontrollable, and a small-town sheriff who stands between a town's redemption and widespread disaster fuels a powerful thriller that skirts the line between intrigue and apocalypse. 

From Americans who love their country and will stop at nothing to keep her powerful and safe to an operation that threatens to isolate and possibly destroy an icon of small-town America, Resurrection America is replete with fast-paced action tempered by slower moments of psychological inspection and character development that succeed in keeping its plot and presentations realistic and involving. 

The result is a powerful saga that eventually embraces computers, robots, neuroscience, military strategy, and more: a thriller that keeps Sheriff Rick and his readers guessing about the truth, right up to the end. Thriller enthusiasts who like their stories heavy with action and well-flavored with psychological inspection will find Resurrection America an engrossing production indeed, packed with satisfying intrigue and unpredictable twists and turns as it explores a secret experiment that threatens to change the world. 


Resurrection America

Return to Index


 
Reviewer's Choice

Among Friends: Travels in Cuba
Heather Murray
Heather Murray/CreateSpace/IngramSpark
Paperback: 978-3-033-05766               $11.99
Ebook: 978-3-033-05765-4           $7.49
www.travelsincuba.weebly.com 

www.amazon.com/Among-Friends-Travels-Heather-Murray/dp/3033057667/ 

www.barnesandnoble.com/w/among-friends-heather-murray/1124833411?ean=9783033057661 

www.kobo.com/ch/en/ebook/among-friends-travels-in-cuba 

Among Friends: Travels in Cuba is recommended for any would-be traveller to Cuba and for armchair readers who want a travelogue that contrasts rural and urban daily life in post-socialist Cuba, and comes from an author who moved through ordinary lives as she explored the country. 

Other travelogues about Cuba offer different approaches; but what makes this one so engaging is the fact that it was produced over a number of years and several journeys to the country, not just one or two, and so holds the ability to contrast past and present worlds as well as capture and comment on the future of Cuba's people.  The book features an online album of images from those worlds. 

Another reason why Among Friends stands out from any similar discussion is Heather Murray's creative artistry. She incorporates interviews that comment on changing social structure and its impact on the people ("…Castro decided to remove all the high school students from the cities, where they were supposed to be exposed to bad influences, and sent them to the country, where they would learn to ehm to appreciate the work of the campesinos and live in innocence, so-called. So new high schools were built in the country and teenagers were taken away from their families in the city and lived together in boarding schools. You can imagine what happened! Well, maybe they did learn to appreciate the work of the campesinos, because – you know – cutting sugar cane is hard work, hot work, but mostly it was just a total, total chaos. Complete. And the quality of education suffered because of that. It was nearly impossible to motivate English teachers who were used to cities for life in the countryside."). Best of all, she makes observations about these lives and social and political transformations that provide a strong sense of place and people: "First we walked to the famous Donatien cigar factory and had the full cigar-making tour. Here, the workers were quite a bit bolder than those I’d seen in Havana: they were constantly whispering “CUC? Dollar?” through the wooden grill that separated them from us. This was highly embarrassing for Julian, who couldn’t believe his fellow countrymen would lower themselves to beg in this way, when they were being paid good money to roll cigars." 

Too many coverages of Cuba focus on individual experiences as they attempt to capture impressions of the country. Murray's ability to succinctly depict the peoples of Cuba makes this a special recommendation for anyone who would understand the history, culture, and psyche of the changing nation. 


Among Friends: Travels in Cuba

Return to Index


Enthused Verses
Aadil Farook
University of Management & Technology Press
978-969-9368-21-9         $5.38
https://www.amazon.com/Enthused-Verses-Religion-Philosophy-Spirituality/dp/9699368217 

Enthused Verses: A Lyrical Catalog of Religion, Philosophy & Spirituality offers Western readers a rare combination of poetry and reflections on Islamic spiritual and Muslim social concepts using a range of precise, intricate topics. These range from what it takes to become a Rumi to the paradoxes, uncertainties, and meanings of enlightenment. 

If this sounds like a weighty read, it should be advised that Enthused Verses, while thought-provoking, is anything but dense. The poems challenge readers to pay attention and think, but they are not inaccessible and use free verse poetry to bridge disparate worlds. 

One good example of this process is 'Enlightenment', which moves from the paradox of science and the various scientific disciplines which have attempted to define mankind's pursuits to the real meaning of awakening as it moves from science to broader human endeavors: "Science devoid of emotions ends in relentlessness/inviting nothing but lack of human finesse/In the waves of its times, Philosophy drowns/leaving serious thinkers looking like clowns/Psychology mocks man's dignity/ascribing acts to ego's affinity/Art's reliance on only feelings/is a medicine without healing..." 

At various points, better editing (punctuation and minor grammatical corrections, as in "Reality is a puzzle harder to sought...") would have strengthened the impact of these poems, but this comment aside, their message and strength provides much food for thought into various aspects of Islamic religious and social thinking: "It is said that one should submit to a Shaykh for inner purification/Yet there's not a single verse in the Qur'an stating it as an obligation." 

By pairing these concepts with a free verse delivery system, Aadil Farook succeeds in capturing the subtler nuances of Islam and sentiments of much of the Muslim world, offering Westerners many contemplative passages that are enlightening. 


Enthused Verses

Return to Index


Intuition on Demand
Lisa K., PhD
Findhorn Press
9781844097197             $15.99
www.findhornpress.com 

What if intuition were not a fleeting thing, but a talent that, like any other, could be nurtured and developed? What if it were a constant in life: a talent that could be honed to be consistent and integral to one's decision-making process? 

Intuition on Demand: A Step-by-Step Guide to Powerful Intuition You Can Trust focuses on how to foster intuition and make it a reliable adjunct to one's life, surveying real intuition's characteristics, how 10 simple tools can help strengthen intuitive processes, and how to apply them to everyday life. 

These three facets are the central focus of this book, which go beyond other discussions of the topic to provide a concrete game plan for achievement that holds not only measurable results, but keys on interpreting these results. 

Building intuition is half the battle: understanding how to apply the messages that come from it is a key to successful development that's often omitted from more general discussions of clairvoyance, psychic development, and intuitive powers. 

These discussions set Intuition on Demand apart from similar-sounding books, creating added value by expanding the purposes and results of inquisition to all facets of life. 

Is it possible to train one's brain to produce intuition not sporadically but 'on demand'? Sure, it is. Author Lisa K. clearly provides a program to achieve these results. Coming from an author with a scientific background in psychobiology and engineering who has spent years researching her subject, it's far more authoritative and concrete a game plan than most. 


Intuition on Demand

Return to Index


Intuitive Art
Rachel Archelaus
Sephyrus Press
9780983013754      $16.95
www.sephyruspress.com 

Intuitive Art: How to Have a Two-Way Conversation With Your Higher Self is not easily categorized because it crosses genres between memoir, an art instructional guide, and a new age read using the story of how Rachel Archelaus used Intuitive Art to escape an abusive marriage with how its tools helped change her life and affected every choice she made, from small self-improvements in appearance to bigger steps in how to lead her life. 

This overview of the Archelaus Method of Intuitive Art's empowering individuals (which incorporate spiritual and psychological perspectives into its self-help program) adds the personal life experience that demonstrates exactly how and why this approach is effective. 

Many programs hold the underlying objectives of the Intuitive Art approach: to reach out to one's higher self, realize psychic and inner strength potentials, and utilize techniques to keep one's mind, psyche and life on track. One of the differences in this program lies in its incorporation of art projects and activities that utilize colors and shapes to encourage the process of transformation. 

Chapters go beyond the mechanics of teaching basic art, to draw important connections between art and higher consciousness thinking: "Your hand is your brain. You want to put all of the power, all of the decision making, into your hand. It will tell you when to start, change color, what intensity to use, what part of your drawing implement to use, how many times to use the same color, and what kind of strokes to use. Give your hand full control.  This is why it's essential to ignore what is going on in your head, and to not give in to the artist training that is used to controlling hand movements." 

This program may have traditional artists scratching their heads, but keep in mind that this is not an art instructional, but an art-based approach to life that advocates a stronger connection to intuitive or higher-level thinking - and this is a process that may be encouraged, nurtured, or guided; but not taught through hard-wired routines. 

From decoding healing spirals to understanding personal color interpretation, Intuitive Art is filled with splashes of the colorful art it encourages, and contains many insights that aspiring thinkers can utilize in the process of crafting their own creations and life. 

Think of it as the free verse alternative to rigidly metered poetry, for one example. Then, take wing. Intuitive Art tells you how and where to fly; but most importantly, it details why the journey is important and what can result from the effort, making it a top recommendation for self-help, spiritual, new age and artist readers alike. 


Intuitive Art

Return to Index


Night Work: Stories
James E. Schoen
Mill Street Publishers
9780997582628             $17.99 

Night Work: Stories contains a diverse collection of dark observations mixed with wry, dark humor, and is a recommended pick for literary readers who seek diversity, thought-provoking scenarios, and powerful characters who traverse places where "the white cold does not gather". 

These are edgy, challenging pieces which explore boundaries, the world's horizons, and the ironies and ecstasies of love and life. 

Take 'Ice Cream,' for one example of the unexpectedly wry observational tone of many these works.  The protagonist, Geoff, has just had a fall, but his wife remains fixated on the ice cream he's supposed to be bringing. His reaction to being badgered in the aftermath of an accident ("When I look down at the hand I'm not hanging from, sure enough, I'm holding the bag from Dillway's, with the half gallon of Raspberry Fudge Truffle inside.") is as revealing as his candid and witty appraisal of his marriage ("If there's one thing Irene is good for in bed, it is ballast."). 

He's always been willing to share - perhaps that's why he and Irene have gone for the hard stuff - harder than drugs and smoking. It's the candid camera focus on a long-time relationship and the protagonist's conviction that murder is in the wind that wafts the feel of darkness and light-heartedness in an unusual simultaneous mix of pleasures: "Years pass and you stop even wondering how. Sitting across from the little woman, who's not anymore, you're careful not to look up her housedress. With one of her knees pointing North and the other South, and she's sitting like six feet away, this is like trying to ignore the second coming." 

Few collections hold such a unique voice with its stark blend of angst and dark humor; and even fewer feature the diversity of characters and approaches to life as Night Work, making this a highly recommended pick for literary audiences who like rollicking good reads that excel in a blend of the macabre and the comic with a dash of life's ironies added in for good measure, and more than a touch of the darkly unexpected. 


Night Work: Stories

Return to Index


The Power of Time Perception
Jean Paul Zogby
Time Lighthouse Publishing
978-0-9957347-7-7         $16.95
http://a.co/8NUvcwD

The Power of Time Perception: Control the Speed of Time to Make Every Second Count is a counter proposal to the idea of time flying by, delving into the nature of how the brain perceives time's passage, how emotions or life experiences alter the experience of time, and how personal reality and time can both be altered through a series of techniques that anyone can master. 

Introductory chapters covering psychology, neuroscience, and how time perceptions can be distorted or altered accompany later discussions that narrow the focus to how to better live in the moment, how to encourage mindfulness and a better sense of 'flow' in one's life and everyday experiences, and how to apply diet, exercise, and other changes to better manage time. 

Many books discuss time management; but few discuss the nature of the time being managed, or the mechanics of how to alter it. Fewer yet include a range of psychological reflections for introverts and extroverts alike, discussions of personal choices in how to spend time, or tips on how to handle memories and aging brains that perceive time as 'slipping away'. 

Readers who anticipate a self-help approach or time management guide alone may be surprised and initially stymied by the healthy dose of supporting science and psychology behind these suggestions; but given how many lighter (and less informative) approaches are on the market, it's pleasing to see a book that intermingles self-help with science and delves into specifics at points where too many others would generalize. 

The result is no light discussion, but an in-depth read that pairs insights on evolutionary processes and the latest research with pointers on how readers can make the most out of time. This is the 'next level' time management book many have likely been looking for: a concrete approach that pairs insights on time perception with tips on how to alter and better handle time's challenges. 


The Power of Time Perception

Return to Index


Simplified Nutrition and Weight Management
Shannon Deshazer, NDTR, CDM
Independently Published
978-1543137415     $16.95 paperback; $6.95 eReader
https://shannondeshazer.wordpress.com 

Shannon Deshazer is a licensed Nutrition and Dietetics Technician, and this title lends authority and expertise to her discussion of nutrition and weight management, supporting an exploration that focuses on how the concurrent goals of better nutrition and weight control can actually be a simple process. 

Too many books on this subject advocate complicated programs, and many hold dubious theories with little if any scientific backing. From an introductory overview of the concept of caloric intake, balanced eating, and calculations about weight to the meat of the title, which lies in 'Chapters Influencing Weight,' the goal here is to emphasize simplicity through a program backed by statistics and facts. 

Readers looking for easy understanding and weight control routines will find both here, as chapters review influences on weight gain and reduction and teach how to understand various tests and what 'normal range' means, how to interpret various vitamin and mineral guidelines from such sources as the Food and Agriculture Organization and Food and Nutrition Service, and how to assess potential benefits and health claims made by various agencies through different studies. 

By providing a focus on methodology, analysis, and interpretation (as well as other influencers such as hormones and pharmaceuticals), Simplified Nutrition and Weight Management synthesizes a range of approaches on the subject, re-interpreting scientific and medical findings using language that lay readers can easily understand and apply to their own health goals. 

Meaty with statistics and studies yet surprisingly accessible in its approach, which even incorporates recipes into the mix, Simplified Nutrition and Weight Management is a satisfying alternative to both 'pop' diet books and over-complex analyses, promoting the simpler goals of moderation and balance and incorporating a range of weight influencers, from foods to exercise and lifestyle choices, into the bigger picture of improved, lasting health goals. 

Simplified Nutrition and Weight Management is very highly recommended for readers who seek a science-backed, logical, yet simple approach to affecting the kind of lifestyle change that involve maintaining weight and eating better, and who look for solid advice backed with solid studies and resources at every step. 


Simplified Nutrition and Weight Management

Return to Index


Success Through Pickss
Muthuswamy N
Smashwords
9781370826827             $8.99
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/705586 

Success Through Pickss comes from a management consultant with decades to his name, but it represents an investigation into a thinking process more than a strategy for business achievement, and promotes a level of inquiry and thought that goes beyond formula economics to delve into the realm of positive action in the face of diminishing resources. 

This approach isn't limited to the business world alone, but moves into personal lifestyles and choices as it surveys how basic principles of energy relate to both business management and personal lives, and how to best harness limited energy for maximum returns and results. 

Chapters support the Pickss system, which is based on the laws of energy, and provide a step-by-step formula for achievement which surveys applications of the "seven M's of resources (Method, Materials, Money, Machine, Men, Material, Mosphere) and discusses why only a fraction of these are typically used in management styles. 

Employees, entrepreneurs, and anyone who struggles with change in either a professional or personal setting and who seek a system rather than a set of guidelines will find Success Through Pickss a formula for positive energy that discusses common barriers, such as bottlenecks, and how to solve or work through them. 

From key criteria to starting up a business to unexpected discussions of military and world history, self-help applications of Pickss, and more, this five-star, highly recommended survey is heavily footnoted with references and filled with authoritative insights and actionable roadmaps to success. 

Readers with a prior interest not in guidelines but in following wider-ranging systems that require a revised perception of the world and what constitutes success will find Success Through Pickss weighty, thought-provoking, and filled with examples and insights that reach beyond business concerns alone. 


Success Through Pickss

Return to Index


This Land of Strangers
Robert E. Hall
Greenleaf Book Group
9781608322992             $25.95
Greenleaf Book Group 

At the heart of current American political processes and chaos lies a deeper problem: a crisis in relationships that stretches from personal to social and political arenas. This Land of Strangers: The Relationship Crisis That Imperils Home, Work, Politics and Faith documents the growing disconnect between not just politicians and their constituents, but people across all walks of life and relationships, and is a thought-provoking consideration of the wider-ranging impact of these disparities.  

Broken interpersonal relationships lead to broken processes across the board, and this book documents how this happens, examining the presence of and different influences on disconnections in home, work, politics, and faith. It cites research, other books, and case histories, considers how societies separate and what forces join them back together, and it includes a surprising influence from the business world as it examines innovation, organizational growth challenges, and concurrent changes these bring to relationships of all kinds. 

As narcissism and "me thinking" rises (among college students, especially) and spills throughout all levels of society and interpersonal interactions, many of the bonding foundations of relationships are stressed and challenged. 

Land of Strangers would be powerful enough if it stopped here; but it goes on to examine possible solutions to these issues, promoting a healthier relationship-centered structure that begins individually and moves up the ranks into society and politics as a whole. 

How can readers understand and embrace three simple strategies for success? In a world of instant communications and gratification, This Land of Strangers is a standout for its recommendation of bigger-picture thinking and a process that eschews the "me generation" for the "we" of success. 

It's highly recommended for a wide range of readers, from those who practice in business, psychology, social work, political science to anyone working or volunteering with faith-based organizations.   


This Land of Strangers

Return to Index


The Wandering Jew Has Arrived
Albert Londers
Gefen Publishing House
9789652298652             $29.95
www.gefenpublishing.com 

The Wandering Jew Has Arrived is a French literary piece from a 1929 journalist who decided to document the lives of Jews, traveling to England, Eastern Europe, and Palestine in his quest for answers about their lives. The result blends literary reflection with a travelogue, cultural history, and a survey of the roots of Zionism and Jewish immigration experiences at the turn of the 20th century. 

Perhaps it's the investigative journalist background that lends such a thoughtful tone to The Wandering Jew Has Arrived, elevating it beyond a singular travel survey and into the arena of 'literature'. This voice lends an extraordinary vision to a work that will not only educate Jews about their history, but will reach non-Jewish readers with its exploration of Jewish experience and sentiments about home and a sense of place. 

Passages question the foundations of various attitudes towards Jews and analyze their impact: "Calamities have causes. Elsewhere, one seeks the cause with clear independence of mind. Here, whatever the calamity, the first cause that comes to mind is the Jew. And how ironic when one thinks that it was the Jews who invented the scapegoat. Their priests endowed this creature with their sins and drove it away. The nations of the East retained the idea. But they replaced the goat with the Jew." 

With a remarkably clear vision enhanced by many interpersonal interactions and accounts of Jewish families, rabbis, and senses of place and heritage ("...my thanks to France for its legendary hospitality! I have had a long life, sirs, seventy-three years. But I was never French, nor German, nor Romanian - always Jewish!" "Then perhaps you can still go to Palestine?" "Sirs, I spent seventy-three years charming Europeans. Let others charm the Arabs!"), The Wandering Jew Has Arrived creates a thought-provoking discussion in the course of its travels and documents encounters that explore and expose the Jewish experience decades before the Holocaust swept through Europe and changed everything.

It's very highly recommended for anyone who would understand the Jewish spirit; especially since so many modern surveys of Jewish psyche begin where the Holocaust ends, and not before it. 


The Wandering Jew Has Arrived

Return to Index


Watercolors Revealed!
Terrence Lloyd
CreateSpace
978-09949594-8-5                  $34.95
E-book: 978-09958223-8-2     $  9.99   
http://a.co/94S73Dl 

Readers of French physician/astrologer Dr. Michel de Nostredame's predictions well know that many of his writings spoke of future visions and events that are only now being fully interpreted as the years go by and prophecy timelines are fulfilled; but even those who have read numerous collections of his works may be less aware that Nostradamus also produced a series of visionary art pieces that have received comparatively little interpretation or inspection. 

Perhaps this is because the manuscript containing these images was donated to the Vatican, and it wasn't until 1994 that these 1629 pieces were uncovered and gathered in The Lost Book of Nostradamus. 

Watercolors Revealed! departs from many of the usual devices for measuring and analyzing Nostradamus by providing a focus on these visual works, and is especially recommended for those already familiar with his writings and their analytical process. This audience will discover a treasure trove of predictive associations contained in Terrence Lloyd's review of his art works, pairing the author's interpretations and historical analysis with many of Nostradamus' source materials of prophecy. The images are those of popes, decapitations, strange creatures, symbolic objects, letters, bugles, crosses, candles, and more, and portend events that range from comparisons between Napoleon and Hitler (in one rare split-screen image that predicts the extermination of the Jewish people) to the rise of gambling and the fall of morality in Las Vegas. 

First, consider that his entire collection was produced in the 16th century. Nostradamus claims to have traveled to the USA, observed the Holocaust in action, and many other events which may sound fantastic; but when supported by both written text and visual observation that should have been 'impossible' by conventional standards of assessment, this evidence cannot be easily refuted. 

Secondly, while the author of these images is not a 'given', they could have only come from one person who observed these scenes in their mind. There was no evidence that Nostradamus' son was involved, and no indication that the images come from any but a singular source. Since they are in his collection, his authorship seems irrefutable on many levels. This is reinforced by Lloyd's note that the watercolors were paired with verses from Nostradamus' writings: "Most of these watercolors are associated with an appropriate verse from his full book which means that the same person did both!" 

Terrence Lloyd surveys the extent of these visionary art pieces and applies their subjects and contents to events of modern times. As he reviews each and juxtaposes history with image, readers are given interpretations of some 80 visions that are based on the convergence of historical event and prediction. 

It's important to note the nature of these interpretations: Lloyd doesn't just browse images and randomly pair them with historic events: he uses Nostradamus' predictions and perspectives to reinforce his assignments of explanations. 

Take, for example, Plate 5: The Cuban Missile Crisis. Lloyd's ideas are precise and specific to Nostradamus' references and approach to prophecy and visions: "The beastly Communist in this picture has a missile in his right hand and he is provoking a young American eagle. They are not at war since there are no symbolic "hand held rockets" to suggest that. No crossed keys; so it's not secret! This conflict occurred during the Cold War!" 

Nostradamus decoders who have technical background and familiarity with not just the surface content of his predictions but their overall decoding process will especially relish and acknowledge Lloyd's attention to detail as he explains the logic behind his discussions of these images. 

The result is especially recommended for those who have prior background in Nostradamus' writings, are familiar with the technical challenges of decoding his interpretations, and who hold some familiarity with the discovery of these watercolors which have not only been attributed to him, but which support and illustrate many of his predictions. 


Watercolors Revealed!

Return to Index



Novels & Mysterys

Aliens Got My Sally
Lee Baldwin
Baldwin Books
978-0-9854777-6-9         $3.99
NOOK: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/aliens-got-my-sally-lee-baldwin/1125815894

AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Aliens-Got-My-Sally-Fiction-ebook/dp/B06VY28X13/

KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/aliens-got-my-sally 

If this book's unusual and eye-catching title Aliens Got My Sally isn't indication enough that the story will go far beyond the usual alien abduction piece, its subtitle should cement this anticipation: UFO Pulp Fiction for the Modern Mind. With these two elements in mind, readers embark on a romp through a strange world where aliens are just one of the oddities of life: "QUANTUM BIOLOGIST SALLY JACOBS will discover how freaky the universe can be when a corner of it opens up and swallows her whole. That won’t be because she took a few minutes at the campus café, or because that made her late to observe tonight’s lunar eclipse with a friend. It won’t necessarily be because she follows this deserted shortcut to avoid the shadowed parking lot where carousing fratboys smash car windows, or because of the towering rebreathers that roar against urine-tinted sky. Sally’s fate will unfold in part because four out of five infants on this overheated planet are born dead, because half of all humanity goes to bed starving, and because like everyone else, she wears a breather mask to keep the poisoned atmosphere from killing her." 

The premise is simple: if intelligent life in the cosmos develops only infrequently, how can it expand to embrace the universe? Theories about space travelers who have influenced mankind's development abound; but Aliens Got My Sally takes matters a step further by adding multiple dimensions, technological promises, and expanding intelligence networks into the equation of two friends and their universe-changing experience. 

One doesn't expect a thread of humor to run through hard science fiction, but a sense of play is definitely here from the start as biologist Sally's abduction places her in a situation that contrasts her experience with ironic observation: "Clouded in incandescence, Sally tries to retreat. But when she finds herself unable to move, paralyzing fear rises to choking terror. She vanishes from the ordinary universe, along with the green-eyed raccoon and every living bacterium within 20 meters, hating, hating, hating it that her only part in this cosmic discovery is that of the screaming blonde." 

The novel is billed as speculative fiction, but to try to cast it in a particular genre is to negate its unique originality and voice. Aliens Got My Sally sizzles with elements of intrigue, a host of characters who hold their own special interests and objectives, and aliens who are not too far off from human beings in some ways, while impossibly distant in others. And what's Sally’s near-genius friend Anna doing investigating an alien mine shaft in hopes of making discoveries she's not sure she actually wants to consider, anyway? "As Anna works, her mind races to a dead certainty, that millions of years ago visitors from the stars landed on Earth to do a little prospecting. She sees the driving forces that brought her to this place and to this moment, fashioned from a dozen scattered parts. She knows they’re long gone, those excavators from a spacefaring culture, but her hindbrain has her scared witless because she does not want to meet anything strange. Not alone, not down here in the dark. Please." 

As Anna and Sally uncover secrets of the universe's nature - such as the fact that consciousness is reality's glue - readers receive a healthy dose of science, humor, action and intrigue, and fuzzy and unfuzzy logic as alien captors and their own contrary natures coalesce into a vivid, engrossing read that's hard to put down and impossible to predict. In this world, one woman's abduction is just the opener to a journey that holds promise for all mankind. 

Fans of speculative fiction, sci-fi, alien abduction, first contact epics, humor, and literature will all find much to like in the refreshingly wry and compellingly original story Aliens Got My Sally, which traces not only Anna and Sally's shared awakening, but the key decision they’re faced with: Can they reveal their overwhelming discoveries without a degenerate world order hindering all that humankind could become? 


Aliens Got My Sally

Return to Index


Bonnie & Clyde: Resurrection Road
Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall
Pumpjack Press
978-0-9974113-3-1
www.pumpjackpress.com  

The story of Bonnie & Clyde has received embellishment in fiction form in many places; but perhaps none as surprising as this, where a 1980s Texas newspaper man too often charged with writing obituaries uncovers the truth behind the Bonnie & Clyde legend. 

Here the story revolves around their faked deaths for the purpose of being hired to protect President Franklin D. Roosevelt from an assassin; and so the resurrected duo is charged with a new - and more acceptable - goal in life that places them on the good side of a scheme by businessmen to kill the President to thwart his social programs. 

Can an old woman's memories be trusted? Should Royce stake his career on uncovering the true story of covert agents Brenda and Clarence Prentiss? And if he does, what will be the fallout from exposing and changing one of the most believed characters in American history? Most of all - why would two notorious gangsters be interested in protecting American democracy - the very thing their sprees refute? 

As Royce probes deeper, truths emerge with ramifications that even the old woman hadn't anticipated - and with them, a series of events that reach from past to modern times with newfound threats. 

In some ways Bonnie & Clyde: Resurrection Road is a thriller; in others it's about a reporter's big break - and one which initially seems too dubious to consider: "This is persuasive circumstantial evidence, but only circumstantial,” Royce said. “Do you want the story or not?” she asked. “Because I can take it somewhere else. They may not tell it as well as you, but it won’t cost me near as much whiskey.” Royce thought. He looked around the room. He rubbed his forehead. He wondered if this was the craziest story he had ever encountered. He thought about the string of future articles on the Lubbock School Board, the cattle auction, and the high school football team waiting for him. What the hell. What did he have to lose but time. “Yeah, I want it,” he said. “I want it.” 

While the title Bonnie & Clyde: Resurrection Road would seem to indicate some kind of supernatural forces at work, in reality it's a reinvention of a classic perception that slowly and successfully turns the reader's mind about who are friends, who are enemies, and how loyalties can switch sides under social and political pressure. 

If a duo as notorious as Bonnie and Clyde can become secret super-heroes, and if they can turn easily from gunslinging escapades to sleuthing - and if their adversaries are clever yet respected icons of society - what does that mean for those who would easily identify the forces of good and evil in the world? 

Bonnie & Clyde: Resurrection Road is anything but a staid thriller or historical re-invention: it's a thought-provoking if not fantastic story of actions, consequences, and the driving forces that turn the chaos of youth into a measured effort to achieve redemption in adulthood. As the 'good fight' changes and Bonnie and Clyde realize that their past efforts pale in comparison to this task, so readers receive a healthy dose of introspection to ice the cake of action. 

Thriller fans seeking an engrossing read that continually twists history to provide thought-provoking new outcomes will relish the blend of action and psychology that make  Bonnie & Clyde: Resurrection Road an exceptional re-working of the past. 


Bonnie & Clyde: Resurrection Road

Return to Index


Cave Walker
Donelle Dreese
Moon Willow Press
9781927685228     
www.moonwillowpress.com 

Gillian's mother warned her to never talk about her mysterious ability. If people knew, they would shun and fear her. Her visions are a curse. And so she hides away at her mother's b&b, working for her as a breakfast chef and holding her secrets close, until events demand she choose an even more solitary life, living in a cave in the woods in an effort to keep these premonitions from coming true. 

Cave Walker is about love, adaptation, change, and exploring one's powers. As it follows Gillian through treacherous ways of thinking and the inevitability of foreseeing sometimes-terrible futures, it also serves a healthy portion of faith, ethics, and lessons that can be gained from shipwrecks, fear, denial, and the differences between psychosis and reality. 

Perhaps its greatest force is its lyrical language, which deftly captures Gillian's ability to confront change, sorrow, and a journey in which "I had not arrived in time to save anyone." Does being charged with an extraordinary ability translate to the need to change the future and rescue others? Can Gillian turn her powerlessness into power? And is prophecy a skill she can (or even would want to) teach others? 

There's more going on here than the tale of a woman struggling with psychic visions: a host of other issues are raised as Gillian's evolves, and these drive a novel that is evocative, compelling, and rich in reflections on faith, philosophy, ethics, and responsibility. 

Readers seeking more than entertainment value will relish the sights, sounds, and life of a woman who is tired of praying for hope and (seemingly) receiving no response. 


Cave Walker

Return to Index


Delia and Reid
Denis S. Hurley
Denis S. Hurley, Publisher
E-pub: 978-0-9943070-1-9    $9.99
Paperback: 978-0-9943070-0-2 

www.denis-s-hurley.com

Delia and Reid is an 'adventure love story' about the most beautiful woman in the world as seen through the thoughts of Reid, who reflects not only on his relationship with Delia, but other women in his life. 

What can readers expect from an 'adventure love story'? It's a romance in some ways and a more unusual adventure story in others as it traverses not only the evolution of a 'soul mate' relationship, but what that means for both Delia and Reid. 

Erotic adventures and processes, a sense of play and exploration, and media, legal, musical, and world-hopping travel encounters all blend in a novel that will neatly stymie readers anticipating a formula romance approach - and that is its strength. 

Delia and Reid dares to be different. It labels its contents and then moves outside of the box in identifying underlying psyches and world-changing influences that lead Delia and Reid into new experiences both outside and within the bedroom. 

Take the writing as an example of why this book stands out from most. Denis S. Hurley's descriptions are striking, enticing visions that are literary standouts in a genre of tired words: "If you want to read the love story, you'll be let into my head. If you don't feel extremely privileged to be let into my head, then you're a psychopath. If you're a psychopath who makes the intellectual decision to be good, well done for at least making that decision for others. If you're a psychopath who makes the intellectual decision to be bad, at least have the dignity not to complain if you're killed." 

Now consider the story line. Far from being a linear romantic encounter or series of adventures, Delia and Reid is always in flux. At many points it's simply hard to tell where it is heading or what will happen next - again, these moments will stymie formula romance readers; but are devices which will delight more literary-minded romance and erotica followers seeking something truly different. Not being sure of 'what's around the next corner' is a notable achievement; particularly given the novel's length—some 460,000 words—which is a bonus for readers who like their stories well-detailed and not hastily drawn.

Set in Australia but offering world-hopping experiences and encounters with other cultures, Delia and Reid is always firmly rooted in personal encounters, whether it be between the two lovers or their circle of friends and acquaintances who sometimes marvel at their romantic phenomenon: "I think of the girl at primary school with me. I think of the young girl at high school. I think of the young woman at uni. I think of Phillip's young wife. I see her as a young mother with toddler Yvette and baby Simone. I see her as the mature woman struggling with Phillip. I see her at the Medical Association dinners; everybody trying to keep their eyes away but not being able to do so. Yeah, me too, mate. You should've seen how she was dressed and looked. It always blew people away. Some of us used to place bets about what she'd be wearing. I saw her during all of those times! Way out of my league but, yes, I saw her at all those functions! I've heard her name so many, many times, throughout that history over all those years! Fuck, Reid! How did you pull her in to be your wife? Mate, come on!" 

Music is a constant stream running through this unusual love story, drawing readers in and creating the backgrounds for a series of adventures that are unexpectedly compelling. Listening to the music references contained in the story as the novel progresses will enhance the atmosphere of Delia and Reid's progress. 

Delia and Reid is a literary romance highly recommended for discriminating readers who desire more complexity and thought-provoking moments from a foundation of passion and personal evolution. It invites, entertains, titillates, promises intrigue and revelation, and leaves the reader spent, but well satisfied. 


Delia and Reid

Return to Index


Exodus '95
Kfir Luzzatto
Pine Ten

978-1-938212-39-0
Price: $13.99 (print version) $4.99 (Kindle and EPUB)
www.kfirluzzatto.com 

Claire Williams is a young graphic designer in New York City whose kindness to a dying neighbor leads him to reward her with a long-kept secret: the whereabouts of Moses' legendary lost staff. But is his secret really safe with her? She harbors a secret of her own that might not make her the best choice for keeping his, and even though she has assistance for what turns out to be an international journey of discovery, this secret may eventually betray everything. 

But, why is Claire privy to this information? Jack makes her legacy - and his choices - quite clear: "Why are you telling me all this, Jack?” “Because the staff is worth millions and you can recover it and sell it to Leskov and live a good life—not as I did. And because if I die and take this information with me the staff will be lost, perhaps forever. I want to pass the torch on to you. Will you take it?” 

Her own actions and reactions are equally clear: "I keep telling myself that I would do anything to get away from this drab life, day in and day out slaving at that desk, without any prospects. Only I can’t think of a way out. So if this staff is my lifeline, of course I’ll do it.” 

Exodus '95 is an edgy thriller that spices its espionage and international romp with a sexual flavor that draws readers in to Claire's lifestyle and choices. 

An ingenious machine, a complicated set of surprises involving the KGB, and ruthless enemies and high stakes are all faced by Claire, who maintains a feisty conviction that the staff will lead her out of her drab life much as Moses used it to lead his followers to freedom. But in any journey, there are costs, and these penalties are outlined in an adventure story packed with intrigue, twists, and turns. 

One of the twists (without giving away the plot) is that Jack is not what he seems, and is using Claire and taking advantage of her trust. Another twist involves Claire's strange hold over Dan. 

As relationships and plots evolve, Exodus '95 challenges the reader with many powerful, thought-provoking moments that take the story of a legendary staff and its powers and accelerate it to new levels of intrigue and interpersonal connections. Thriller readers who enjoy the spicy edge of sex and romance will find this an intriguing story of mistakes, dire consequences, and change. 


Exodus '95

Return to Index


F*ck You, Your Honor
Craig Chambers
Black Letter Editions
978-0-692-83159-5 (print)     $14.99
978-0-692-83160-1 (digital)   $ 3.99
www.amazon.com 

F*ck You, Your Honor is an unusual blend of political and legal satire offering thought-provoking insights into legal systems, and is written from the perspective of a lawyer who is assessed an unusual punishment by a judge: to write a sixty-five thousand word book extolling the dignity and integrity of the legal system, due in a year. 

The protagonist of this novel has been a lawyer for fifteen years: his skill sets don't include writing a book. Moreover, he muses about the legality of this punishment and his obligation to produce it, as well as the judge's underlying motivation ("What was this judge—some kind of bibliophile?"). Nonetheless, being a dutiful servant of legal process, the lawyer embarks on his assigned duty, and F*ck You, Your Honor thus becomes as much a parody of the legal profession as it is the story of a lawyer who takes a different approach than the judge had expected. 

Determined to get revenge for what he views as an unfair ruling, Darwyn “Wyn” VanWye uses the written word as a bludgeon to attack the legal system in a manner that outlines the dignity and integrity of a system under siege while pointing out its failures. His reviews of cases, lawyer proceedings, and justice rendered and thwarted provide a series of tongue-in-cheek observations of both the legal process and Wyn's struggles with romance, an ex-wife, and his tumultuous personal life. Can his writing actually solve two problems at once? 

Readers should expect plenty of wry comments on legal systems ("It is easier to make a mistake, to be wrong, rather than to be wronged. To be unfairly singled out and suffer a travesty of justice. Some cases are just decided unfairly; even though you are noble and right, there is no chance, the door is shut and locked tight, the case is poisoned, and there is nothing you can do. It is one of those obstacles in life. You can fret and worry and agonize over it, whine about it, become the neighborhood nut, allow it to paralyze you, waste an entire year. Or you can accept it and move on, however unjust, and simply do it, write the book already.") 

As Wyn's observations and experiences are documented, readers come to realize how he got in the position he's in and why his choices (to satisfy the letter of the law while producing something unexpectedly creative and critically revealing) are both logical and extraordinary at the same time. 

A lawyer has trouble admitting he's wrong, and can always come up with a convincing argument. But what if the process of crafting that argument backfires? What if an order to produce a book is the wrong response to a legal issue of unpaid alimony - and what if the book can be used to right that wrong, somehow? 

As author Craig Chambers (a lawyer, himself) romps through Wyn's life and cases, readers receive an insider's view of how justice and legal proceedings often are flavored with overtones of revenge: "In my cases, I usually sequester the witnesses, making them wait out in the hallway so they can’t be influenced by the other witnesses’ testimony. And so they will be totally bored. That will teach them to testify against my client." 

Inspired by a similar real-world situation where a book project was assigned as punishment, F*ck You, Your Honor is a wry examination of the legal system's failings from an argumentative lawyer's perspective: one who has fine-tuned the art of defiance into a subtle dig at the system in which he operates. 

Readers who want an out-of-the-box production that doesn't neatly fall into a particular genre but which subtly and effectively lambastes the ironies and inconsistencies of legal process will find much to enjoy in F*ck You, Your Honor, a sterling and lovely, vivid portrait of the transformative experiences of lawyers, law school grads, and obstacles to the pursuits of wealth and happiness. 


F*ck You, Your Honor

Return to Index


The Helper
M.N. Snow
CreateSpace
978-1539630661
Paperback price: $14.95/E-book price: $4.99
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N41DEY7

https://www.createspace.com/6396765
 
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1539630668

 https://www.books2read.com/u/mK97vd
     
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33225343-the-helper?ac=1&from_search=true

https://www.facebook.com/TheHelperNovel/       

John Sloan, a Marine Corps vet, harbors a strange healing ability that spills into and changes the lives of many who encounter him. But what happens when a healer finds his inexplicable powers suddenly cut off - how does he then find purpose in his life sans faith, ability, and positive forces?

One doesn't expect Native American folklore, world-hopping adventure, spiritual reflection, and philosophy to blend in a series of encounters that presents three main characters, speculative fiction, and a journey from the light of healing to the darkness; but one of the delights of The Helper is the same thing that will make it a marketing challenge in many ways: it defies easy categorization. 

It should also be mentioned that this is no light presentation in other ways, as well. Cursing and confrontation are described in gritty, realistic language at many points as the characters confront racism and each other. From Indian rights to black experiences in the South and the life-changing world of the Marine Corps, various scenarios employ clear and candid descriptions that could offend those expecting a lighter hand on the language, but which ultimately succeed in deftly capturing character motivations and moods. 

Because there are several main forces at work here, time and care is taken to describe their disparate worlds - and this may translate to a slower read than some might like. However, the time spent in building characters and setting more than pays off, producing an intricate piece that challenges readers to think about life's paths and incongruities in a delightful series of encounters that tests the limits of friendship and faith. 

What forces change people completely and forever? What happens when life detours become rough and messy, taking away predictability and replacing it with angst and? How do redemption and meaning re-enter a life totally changed? 

The Helper is no singular description of a shining light, but explores what happens when that light fades, and how the different characters find renewed faith and meaning in their worlds. Readers who want thought-provoking and gritty approaches in their stories will relish this tale's ability to present a world of contrasts, from the Light to darkness and everything in between. 


The Helper

Return to Index


Hugo Duchamp Investigates: L'ombre de L'île
G.N. Hetherington
GNH Publishing
978-1542921039
www.hugoduchampinvestigates.com 

Hugo Duchamp Investigates: L'ombre de L'île represents a departure from Hugo's prior books in that the setting moves far from France as Hugo attempts to free his loved one from prison - an endeavor slightly outside of his usual investigative approach. 

Hugo sees the world as a possible crime scene, so his observational skills are as finely tuned as those of Sherlock Holmes. But nothing has, so far, prevented the arrest and incarceration of his love - and nothing has, thus far, altered
things. All this is about to change. 

Every place he's lived has changed Hugo. In London, it was a life of self-imposed exile and solitude. France awakened him to new romance and family ties. Nostalgia leads him to momentarily wish he was again that loner who needed no-one, because the pain of having loved deeply and lost is nearly overwhelming - as is the idea that he can possibly regain this love by making an extraordinary effort outside his comfort zone. 

Prior readers will know that Hugo is an extraordinary detective - but can his skills translate to achieving the one thing he wants most in life, against all odds? 

From Ireland to Barcelona and beyond, the trail leads Hugo on an unexpected romp through different countries. Other characters such as Ben, Felix, Seamus and more round out the encounters as Hugo conducts his investigation and uncovers more and more to the mystery. But will his findings be enough to lead to his heart's desire? 

One of the many pleasures of Hugo Duchamp Investigates: L'ombre de L'île is that it stands as well on its own as it does as part of a series. Much like Sherlock Holmes, Hugo needs no introduction for newcomers or constant reminders for prior fans in order to prove satisfying (although plots of different books are summarized in the beginning, for those who would receive a quick introduction to previous events). This allows each book to fully embrace Hugo's past and present worlds. L'ombre de L'île is no exception, deftly continuing the sagas of his love and professional lives and points where they intersect without requiring extensive explanation. 

Another powerful facet of this title lies in the inclusion of many personal transition points which Hugo faces in the course of events. Hugo reflects on these possibilities and his role in them just as much as he reflects on perps, motives, and changing stories: "It reminded Hugo that he had promised himself his new home would be like this. Full of life, love and laughter, not the stark whiteness of his previous life and home in London. He was not sure how it was going to look now, but he knew it was something he had to strive toward." 

Too many detective stories fail to impart a proper sense of place and perspective in their sagas, but Hugo constantly faces personal challenges and changes in his quest for justice for himself, his friends, and his world; and these contribute an overall power to each of these books. 

L'ombre de L'île is no exception: its additional perspectives and engrossing interplays of romance, personal evolution, and investigative procedures is simply delightful, and will offer not a few surprises in the course of exploring Hugo's constantly-expanding world. 


Hugo Duchamp Investigates: L'ombre de L'île

Return to Index


I Believe In Butterflies
Marian L. Thomas
L.B. Publishing
978-0-984-89679-0                $14.99
www.lbpublishingbooks.com 

Emma Baker is in her seventies when her unremarkable life is suddenly changed by a shocking revelation. Her daughter Honour has only two fears: her past, and falling in love. Lorraine holds steadfast convictions about her place in the world. All three women and their heritages are connected in I Believe in Butterflies, a powerful legacy penned by a woman about to take her last breath in life. 

The story hooks readers from the beginning as the elderly black woman reflects on her life and times: "Some people say that I’m crazy. A crazy ole black woman with nothing better to do than stand on the bridge during the heat of the day and stare at the fish that swim by in the crisp blue water. I ain’t crazy. I just like staring at freedom. I like looking at the fish swimming from one end of the river, clear up to the other. Ain’t nobody worried about what color they are or if they be big fish or small fish. Ain’t nobody worried about any of those things when it comes to the fish. Folks been fishing in that water for years and my fish ain’t never lost their freedom. I reckon that if God gave them fish their freedom, then that’s how it was meant to be for all people." 

Emma has a distant relationship with her daughter Honour ("The truth is—on the day she crossed over from the black side of the railroad tracks and walked a couple of miles to board the only train we got, I never wanted her to come back. Just call. We get along so much better on the phone for the one or two minutes we manage to have a conversation."), but this is destined to change as the discovery of a body in the river sweeps disparate and distanced lives into a maelstrom of discovery and danger. 

A locket, an injury that lands Emma in the hospital in a coma and brings her daughter to her side, Aaron's love for Honour, Honour's flight from family and connections, and Lorraine, who struggles with the differences between white and black identity - all awaken from a single observation that spreads outward like ripples, intersecting and interconnecting lives. 

I Believe in Butterflies is about self-discovery on many levels and at many ages. It's about black and white relationships, music and mystery, and questions of love on. As lies, truths, and growth intersect, readers are drawn into a story that's ultimately about finding and keeping peace. What is the real face of freedom, and how can past experience be overcome to regain new family connections? 

I Believe in Butterflies asks many questions, provides many answers, and ultimately comes full circle after traversing changing worlds and lives. As bridges between past and future are formed, readers swept along in the rising tide of emotion and discovery framed by I Believe in Butterflies will find this a powerful saga of black lives and family ties transformed by truth. 

Readers seeking powerful, evocative stories of self-discovery and connection will relish this pull on one's heartstrings for its psychological depth and focus on concurrent life journeys that hold both puzzles and, ultimately, solutions.


I Believe in Butterflies

Return to Index


 Into a Canyon Deep
James Lindholm
Publisher:  SynergEbooks
ISBN:  978-0-7443-2225-3            Price:  $4.88
Website/Ordering Link: main page link: http://www.synergebooks.com

Book Title Page: http://www.synergebooks.com/ebook_intoacanyondeep.html 

Into a Canyon Deep is a Chris Black adventure story that blends scientific investigation with underwater drama and social commentary as it explores a deep sea canyon's surprising and dangerous secret. Chris and his diving team didn't expect to encounter a deadly plot right outside their bucolic Carmel-by-the-Sea home, but when they stumble upon a canyon being used as a hidden toxic waste disposal site, their underwater adventure becomes deadly. 

Men have died for less - and in this case, murder is not an impossible outcome; especially since the illegal dumpers have influenced law enforcement officials, and a person from Chris' past has already died over an effort to keep the dump a secret. 

Without the support of peers or legal process, Chris and his team are truly on their own - or, are they? 

One especially pleasing aspect of Into a Canyon Deep is that scientific observations are woven into a story of deception and danger, so readers can expect a tale replete with not just intrigue, but details on investigative processes that delve deeper than most.  

From ruthless forces that would destroy a host of lives to keep their secrets, to shootings, goons, strange confessions, and an unexpected touch of romance that springs forth from the carnage that erupts from Chris' investigation, Into a Canyon Deep follows the various ways characters find themselves in over their heads, facing situations that are challenging and ultimately filled with adverse effects for many lives. 

Gripping, science-backed and filled with confrontation and trickery, Into a Canyon Deep is a 'must read' for any reader who likes their thrillers swift and their characters well-developed. 


 Into a Canyon Deep

Return to Index


Mercy
Rebecca Chianese
Hollow Press
9780692857496      $14.95    
www.amazon.com 

Carly is a divorced mother of adult children. Her life is a whirlwind of stormy family relationships, artistic ambitions, and little in the way of romance until she meets Michael during a chance encounter in a parking lot, who offers her a semblance of love and sanity against a backdrop of family angst.

From the moment she meets him, her life changes; but Carly is on a mission to re-invent herself both as a person and as an artist, and the bigger question is whether she will be able to accept Michael's presence in her life as a stabilizing force in the face of dysfunctional dynamics. 

Carly's greatest pleasure lies in painting and planning portraits. 'Mercy' represents the pinnacle of her artistic achievement, and holds many promises for a bright future as a recognized artist in her community. 

Pulling against these positive changes are a selfish ex-husband and her father who sees his ticket to a return to entertainer fame from a reality TV show that forces Carly and her family to participate in distasteful, emotional interactions for the sake of the camera, and Carly's own inner turmoil over her course in life. 

As events pull her in different directions and sometimes prove that her ambitions are helpless in the face of death, Carly finds herself questioning everything. 

Mercy is a powerful, gripping story that mixes a wry dose of humor and fun into its tale of a middle-aged woman's search for her own power and persona. Women who choose it for light or inspirational reading will be drawn by the rise and fall of stormy family encounters interspersed with Carly's powerful female friends and newfound business associates, who offer breaths of wisdom and fresh air to offset the emotionally charged world around her. 

The result is a very highly recommended, absorbing read that crowns art and achievement with the very realistic themes of growth, choice, and emotional evolution that make Mercy a multifaceted, fine production on more than one level. Mercy ultimately makes the reader want to paint, achieve, and grow. 


Mercy

Return to Index


Never Summer
Tim Blaine
Harvard Square Editions
978-1-941861-35-6        $22.95
www.harvardsquareeditions.org 

Most Western novels are somewhat predictable and staid in their approaches to their subjects; but Western novel enthusiasts who seek something quite different should take a close look at Tim Blaine's Never Summer, because it not only blends a Japanese theme with the story of a wanderer through the wild West, but it is replete with evocative metaphors and images not usually seen in Western writings: "He had managed to escape the place where every blade of grass rhymed with the last line of a tragic poem. For him, the narrative of his friend’s ruin would forever echo across Japan’s Tōkaidō Road." 

From the alleyways of Manhattan and the strange scenario of a sick man who rents a hotel room only to wake up in the company of a physician and an artist, Never Summer opens with incongruities and striking, descriptive images as it reveals the actions of a man diagnosed with only a short time to live. 

As Vlad uses his remaining time to undertake a journey out West in search of a physician who might be able to help him, he rolls through a landscape of romance, surprising confrontations, and reflections on not just the nature of life and death, but his choices in facing both: "To some, death was a doorway to a new life, or an honor to be achieved in battle, while to others it was simply an abrupt end. It was the latter that he could not reconcile. He simply would not accept a presumption that stripped all meaning from life. He knew he must go to the grave, but he could not consent, knowing that it would take everything from him. In the heat of the moment he knew he could act like a samurai, ignoring the question of victory or defeat, and charge daringly toward an irrational death, yet life was more than a moment. He felt as though he lacked a certain understanding that might grant him the resolve to accept his death, a vision that would give him the upper hand." When one's opponent is invincible, how can he be vanquished? 

There are many unusual themes and subplots running through Never Summer to keep readers on their toes and guessing about Vlad's experiences and where his journey will lead. From the synchronized, recurring themes of art and love to reflective moments brought to the surface by a single day in a strange town ("He felt the rumble from a train of thought, and kept his gaze on Longs Peak while he walked, suspecting that at any moment the vibrant aspects that suspended his senses would come crashing down in an avalanche of inspiration. His pace slowed as he struggled to take in the novelty of the brilliant day. Every color appeared in distinct contrast. The town was still new to him, but even the trees appeared as oddities previously unknown, or as something he had forgotten."), the refreshing, sparkling prose simply shines; as does the life of Vlad, who is anything but your typical Western wanderer.

The result is a compelling literary piece about a nineteenth-century drifter who returns from Japan to traverse a landscape as foreign to him as the concept of his own impending demise. Readers who appreciate genre-busting, thought-provoking reads - especially those familiar with and holding an affinity for Western settings - will relish the tone and characters of Never Summer. 


Never Summer

Return to Index


Pearl Weaver's Epic Apology
Rachel Keener
CreateSpace
978-0-692-83740-5
Price: 10.99 paperback, 5.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Keener/e/B001JPA2NK/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1 

Southern fiction readers seeking an enlightening, vivid story may initially be surprised by Rachel Keener's Pearl Weaver's Epic Apology because its metaphors and striking connections initially adopt anything but the typical sanguine style of a Southern Belle narrator: "It was Persephone that lived for me. I read her story, about being kidnapped from her mama’s arms and then sealing her doom by eating six pomegranate seeds, until I no longer needed the words. I could see it all around, whenever I wanted. I saw Hades, the thieving god with his mocking smile. Persephone, as beautiful as the flowers in the fields where she danced. I saw the Underworld like a pomegranate prison." 

But much as this creative style surprises, it also delights; and so fiction readers who choose Pearl Weaver's Epic Apology will find it well worthy of the effort: an unforgettable marriage of heart, soul, and Southern inspiration as a girl who "feels the [Persephone] myth inside me" grows up to reflect that myth in her blossoming life. 

To address Pearl's increasing obsession with this myth, her wise father invites her to fill the pages of her own empty notebook ("I understand wanting to live the story. That’s why I write.”) and so cements a lovely connection between evocative words and a provocative life that carries with it a strong undercurrent of emotion and observation. 

As Pearl makes many unexpected choices that carry her from heights to depths, she also learns to move between royalty and prison, freedom and confinement, and different worlds that each hold lessons for her and her readers: "...that’s when I realized the truth about characters. Never put them in charge of the story. Never, ever, tell them, just do what feels right. Because sometimes, characters skip all the best parts. Sometimes, they throw themselves in the fire." 

It's these many moments and their impacts, well detailed and wrapped in metaphor and meaning, that keep Pearl Weaver's Epic Apology unexpected, inspiring, and anything but a staid representation of Southern culture and perspective.

Part of the reason why the story line is so unexpected is that Pearl doesn't remain in the South, but takes her spunky attitude and heritage with her, even when she faces a bear attack in Alaska and keeps from being eaten through an unexpectedly aggressive response to looming death. As Pearl moves away from everything familiar and then returns to her roots to recapture a sense of place and stability, only to find that everything's changed, she carries readers through many worlds: "Geez, what’s your problem? I thought you wanted to come home!” I did! Only, so much had changed and it wasn’t ever supposed to! That was the promise---the one constant of my life. The whole world could look the same, but my home was the Weaver museum. It would stand untouched and unchanged." 

With its mercurial plot, blends of spiritual and personal inspiration, and the long fostering of an ultimate apology that holds an ending even as Pearl's story moves on, readers receive an evocative treat that incorporates a descriptive style and passion belaying the ordinary and offering many thought-provoking moments of surprise.


Pearl Weaver's Epic Apology

Return to Index


The River May Run
Michael Tuberdyke
Archway Publishing
978-1-4808-4565-7
$11.99 USD print/$3.99 Ebook
www.Archwaypublishing.com/therivermayrun        

The River May Run is about youth, aging, and a special transformation that happened five years earlier in the protagonist's narrative, presenting a novel that flows through life with the force and speed of a river. If this process seems uneven in its progression, slowing at points and then speeding up, that's only because the river is a constant (but not uniform experience), and so The River May Run follows its course with satisfying twists and turns that ebb and flow. 

One striking facet of this progression is the story's evocative descriptions and comparisons: "I rested my twenty-two-year-old head, along a one-hundred-year-old radiator and looked up toward the ceiling." These give pause and food for thought as they explore the protagonist's evolutionary process and juxtapose his physical and psychological growth. 

Another notable feature is its reflections on the aging process - particularly the musings on 'lost youth' by 20-somethings newly acknowledging the passage of time, opportunities, and life. No discussion of The River May Run would be complete without mention of various descriptions of time, which are beautifully penned: "Up above were the stars, and beside us, rang the sound of glasses clanging together. It made me believe that I was somewhere else. Somewhere, very far away, in another time perhaps. The night enchanted my soul and gave off a fragrance, which lasted just long enough to remember." 

As relationships come and go, encounters with individuals and life solidify, break apart, and change. Succinct moments are deftly captured, and readers are swept along a current of concurrent emotion and reflection which are wonderfully thought-provoking: "He turned around to sprint to the gates of his past, while I walked down the stairs. It’s unfortunate in matters dealing with the heart. No one wins. I’m sure Calvin and Maybelle loved each other, but our joys, along with our sorrows, do not last forever."

Beautifully evocative in its gentle trace of the passage of time through poetic fingers that ripple through the water ("Outside the street seemed like a wonderful parade of enthusiasm as people moved about crossing the bridge. That was the first time I ever felt old. I knew that look of enthusiasm, but the lights on the east and the west, for me, were no longer bright."), this is a captivating, literary work that is highly recommended for readers of stories about youth and the passage of time. It captures a reflective process that embraces social, cultural, and interpersonal changes with a fluidity and precision that is simply delightful. 


The River May Run

Return to Index


The Sorrow of Nurses
Simon Hardman Lea
Bazileos Publishing
978-1-912080-69-4       
www.simonhardmanlea.com 

This second book in the 'Lost Intensities' series continues the story begun in the World War I story Sins of Soldiers and opens in 1927 London, where an oil painting of the 1917 Western Front causes a passing woman to flash back to the war and relive her place in it, carrying readers into a world where a nurse faces the ghastliness of war's effect on man. Beatrice helps wounded men who are being shipped away to safety; but there is no rejoicing or pleasure in their minds or in her task, for they have all been gravely injured, and deadly danger surrounds them even during their flight to safety. 

As Beatrice learns how to navigate this world of dead and dying soldiers who rely on and overwhelm the nurses who try to help them, she comes to realize that "...the threat of death makes every emotion more intense." When an emotion arises that acknowledges beauty and sensuality within this milieu of death and danger, Beatrice is totally unprepared for its impact. 

Beatrice and Griffin's worlds collide in more ways than one, and against the backdrop of a screeching train ride, Beatrice finally begins to feel her world re-awakening, and senses the possibilities that reside above and beyond the all-embracing effects of the war that has consumed her life and the world. 

Has Griffin run away from his duties and his life? Is he evil, or innocent? With Beatrice caught up in the events that swirl around Griffin's battlefield decisions, she finds herself in a deadly game being played out by Griffin, his superiors, and her own desires. 

There is nothing predictable or easy in The Sorrow of Nurses. Just when readers expect a romance, the story takes a turn into a twisting moral and ethical considerations of battlefield justice and decisions. Just when Beatrice seems to have chosen a side, her own ethics and profession come back to haunt her and affect her decisions as well as Griffin's. As events play out between battlefield investigations and a clever man who causes even a religious Father to question God's decisions, readers become caught up in a complex saga that questions the roots of good and evil on a hospital train that moves from the hell of the Western Front into a different kind of battlefield. 

Between the history involved in the participation of nurses during World War I to medical descriptions and military structure, The Sorrow of Nurses excels in a depth and complexity that takes a hospital train nurse's routines and focus and changes them completely, leaving her with unresolved lasting trauma a decade later. 

A deep pleasure here is that, from the moment her train leaves the station, readers are immersed in Beatrice's ride. Hard to put down and mercurial in its events, The Sorrow of Nurses will challenge readers to think about the absolutes of good and evil and the conditions that force one man to do the inconceivable, with lasting effects on himself, those around him, and the woman and priest who inadvertently stray into his world. 


The Sorrow of Nurses

Return to Index


The Town of Jasper
James D. Gianetti
Elevation Book Publishing
978-1-943904-08-2                $24.95 Hardcover/$16.95 Paper
www.elevationbookpublishing.com 

The Town of Jasper is a powerful thriller that features a detective struggling with his own addictions who is tasked with facing a small town that has been quarantined from the outside world when half its population succumbs to a deadly illness. 

While the book initially sounds like either an investigative story or a survivalist saga, the pleasure of The Town of Jasper lies in the fact that it's both - and neither. The American beliefs and values represented in this small town are transformed by 'The Incident', which leaves survivors trapped in a deadly scenario in which faith, order, and ideologies are challenged by evil, chaos, and addiction. 

Special interests rise from the ashes of anarchy to place Jack Sutherland at odds with his new world as well as the old one, leading him to confront his strengths, failures, and a changing world as an idyllic small town and its family values fall prey to disease and destruction. 

At the other end of the spectrum is the newly-emerged town leader Richard Morrissey, who carves order from chaos and must form some questionable alliances in order to do so. Sutherland has become "reckless and dangerous" since the accident. Morrissey has become clever and ruthless. Any alliance between the two would have been impossible under normal conditions. Now, it may be a key to the survival of everything. 

As readers pursue The Town of Jasper, they will notice that the book crosses several genres without falling into the trap of formula writing. The town's contamination and isolation reflects shades of apocalyptic science fiction. The detective's struggles with his personal failures and much-changed circumstances both before and after the vast changes that sweep his world incorporate investigative techniques that focus on powerful psychological processes, yet stop short of the kind of structure that would lead to deeming the story a detective piece. And, the evolving social and political struggles and alliances between the survivors compete with the best of survivalist sagas. 

Suffice it to say that 'thriller' perhaps best defines the progress, action, and attraction of a novel which should neatly appeal across the board to sci-fi, medical mystery, thriller, and survival readers alike, adding a healthy dose of intrigue to thought-provoking philosophical, ethical, and moral challenges. 


The Town of Jasper

Return to Index


Understanding the Alacrán
Jonathan LaPoma
Almendro Arts
978-0-9988403-0-7         $18.95
http://jonlapoma.com/works/books/understanding-alacran-4/

Pairing a coming-of-age novel with Mexican social and political affairs isn't a unique approach; but it is out of the ordinary; especially since the new adult protagonist rejects a lucrative teaching position to go to Mexico in an effort not to find drugs, but to escape their hold over his world. 

Understanding the Alacrán's young protagonist William thinks that a world of beaches and relaxation will be his ticket to a better life; but in reality, they serve as one of the magnets for a force that has always been present in his world, no matter where that place may be. 

A different approach might have produced a singular response from William and a predictable plot, but Jonathan LaPoma takes time to create a sense of people, place, and why situations evolve; not just how - and these elements are what gives the story added value and impact as the landscapes of Mexico and William's psyche immerse readers in the mental and physical atmosphere of the story: "I’d noticed another difference between San Cristobal and Lila, other than weather. San Cristobal was a tourist town; Lila wasn’t. I looked up and saw a mix of pasty white gringos from—judging by accents—Australia, the US, Britain . . . All the clowns I’d tried to leave behind. For a moment, I was no longer in Mexico until someone with a remote turned on the small TV mounted to the wall in a darkened corner,   shattering my tranquility with the rhythmic blast of a banda music video. Banda was basically a Latino version of polka, and along with mariachi, teeming with cultural significance for the Mexican people. Anyone who’s been to San Diego or LA or El Paso has likely heard it blasting from some Mexican’s truck at some point or another." 

From how he navigates Mexico with his German friends and seeks employment and a new life in a different world to his drive to push boundaries, only to find them rebounding to neatly adapt to and reflect more of his inner self than the world around him, this story is steeped in a new adult's perspective on life: "When Sal left, I’d lost my translator and only link to my previous life. This concern, however, quickly gave way to a satisfying mix of unencumbered freedom and burning curiosity. I’d been wanting to do some exploring since my arrival, and now there was nothing stopping me. Though I still wasn’t sure why I’d come to Mexico, I did know a large part of it was for exploration—to push the  boundaries. And I didn’t see any reason, other than prison, not to do just that." 

How glibly William glosses over the infamous Mexican prison! How stridently he takes familiar paths back to the very dangers he thought he was leaving behind! These are just a few of the approaches that create an excellent, compelling story line that brings to life both another culture and the rooted preconceptions and attitudes of a young outsider who seeks immersion but only finds well-worn paths ahead of him. 

It would be tempting to say that Understanding the Alacrán's audience should be the new adult reader alone; but in reality, anyone of any age who would better understand the psyche of the new adult and the heart of Mexican culture should consider this an appealing, engrossing story that moves beyond the traditional coming of age approach to add social and cultural concerns into the mix. 

The passages charting his slow awakening are especially well penned: "My ambition was always burning—ironically, often leaving me inert and miserable. But now I was beginning to see the subtle rewards in submitting to ambition and allowing it to guide me, rather than I it. I didn’t see nearly as much tragedy and sadness wherever I looked. People seemed more content. It also seemed that fewer people were watching me than I’d previously assumed. I saw struggle as something less tragic and more triumphant. Mica and I were lost, but not dead. I loved life on the road but was beginning to see it for what it was. Constant motion was as much an addiction as any, and had the same potential to destroy a life as could a drug problem. It was stillness that terrified me. But it was in stillness that I could keep the beauty inside of me in frame long enough to paint it. Life was going on as it always had in Buffalo. Nothing had changed but me." 

Given the latest state of affairs between the U.S. and Mexico, its undercurrent of social understanding and issues mixed with psychological examination makes it an especially relevant, timely read. 


Understanding the Alacrán

Return to Index


White Ash: The Story of Joaquin
Robert Lockwood
Friesen Press
978-1-4602-1188-5 (Hardcover)
978-1-4602-1189-2 (Paperback)
978-1-4602-1190-8 (eBook)
www.friesenpress.com 

White Ash: The Story of Joaquin combines many elements in a story with a Western setting and feel, a foundation in fact, and the tale of a 9-month-old Anglo orphan in 1929 who was adopted by illegal Mexicans and raised as their own, given the name Joaquin. Becoming a cowboy in the southwest where he hones his skills in open range grazing, Joaquin lives to see his skillset and lifestyle vanishing. 

In many ways, White Ash is a quintessential Western saga of a cowboy's unusual roots as he comes of age on the frontier and makes a life for himself.  In other ways, it's quite the departure on any anticipated theme as he becomes immersed in another culture, develops abilities that are fated to become outdated, and finds a place for himself in unexpected manners. 

But perhaps the most striking aspect of White Ash lies in its ability to incorporate cross-cultural understanding, a dash of romance, and a lone cowboy's evolving world into the bigger picture of changes that affect the Western environment over the decades of his life. 

Old Joaquin eventually vanishes into this landscape - but before he does, the convergence of his coming of age and the end of his world will change everyone around him: his adoptive parents Pedro and Juanita, their battle over status, and every individual who comes into contact with Joaquin and leaves changed. 

The evocative landscape of life he lives with horses on the frontier comes live in words that are powerfully descriptive throughout: "Joaquin thought of the comfort of his own quarters even though they lacked a stove, and of his new eight foot square range tepee, in lieu of the old, seven-footer. He thought to himself of the luxury of space and of the words he had heard at one time from Hackett’s wife, “A man needs enough room to cuss a cat!”Joaquin heard the distant yap of a coyote; he stood and listened as if the world were in slow motion." 

As the fading vaquero moves to the boundaries of his world and life, so is the plight of every man captured, who lives long enough to see their situations and worldviews change. 

Sometimes all you can do is fade away into the sunset. The lingering hope is that some impact from this life well lived with resonate into future generations. White Ash is partially about this process, partially about finding love and meaning in life, and always about the call of the wild, whether it be in beast or man. 

Readers of Westerns who seek deeper inspections than frontier drama alone will find White Ash a fine synthesis of compelling visual and psychological treat that eschews the formula of high-octane confrontation for the more realistic and thought-provoking observance of a frontier life well lived despite the many changes buffeting its progress. 


White Ash: The Story of Joaquin

Return to Index



Young Adult/Childrens

Gradle Bird
J.C. Sasser
Köehlerbooks
978-1-63393-263-0         $17.95
www.koehlerbooks.com 

Gradle Bird has only known poverty and depravation during her sixteen years of life, living with her grandfather in a seedy Georgia hotel and already well familiar with the trappings of poverty and thrift: "Gradle Bird sucked on a piece of penny candy and carried a sack of SpaghettiOs and an expired loaf of Wonder Bread she’d gotten on discount from the Timesaver up the road." It would seem she's almost hit rock bottom at a young age - but things are about to turn around for her, and this story chronicles these changes. 

In many ways Gradle Bird is a dark, somber account that is anything but your usual new adult read; for its protagonist doesn't move forward from rags to riches, but sideways from one difficult world to another. In other ways, it's a story of hope; because within each of these worlds, Gradle Bird finds people to love, goals, and new possibilities that co-exist alongside cruelty, angst, and danger. 

As the story progresses, Gradle moves from a world in which all her worn clothes come from motel room left-behinds and her spunk evolves from a determination to survive to a compellingly different promise of magic when she's brought to a haunted house and falls under its spell. 

Readers should expect stark worldviews, sexual encounters, narratives that incorporate scenes of abuse on many levels, and throughout it all, a gritty, determined protagonist who is a survivor at heart. 

From friends who harbor illusions of their powers and forces against them to how friendship and respect grows between unusual (often disparate) people, Gradle Bird is a story like none other, holding overtones of the young adult read Queenie Peavy but with a maturity level and focus that makes it recommended for both new adult and adult readership. 

There's a great need for novels for this age group that are sharply realistic yet different in tone and focus. Gradle Bird is edgy, thought-provoking, and anything but predictable. Its discussions of magical thinking, the roots of cruelty and kindness, and changing family relationships and friendships among seemingly-incongruous individuals will find a welcoming place anywhere where new adults look for much more depth than is offered in typical genre reads. 


Gradle Bird

Return to Index


Imagination Bigger Together
Casey Rislov
AuthorHouse
978-1-5246-5833-5 (sc)         $15.95
Website: www.caseyrislovbooks.com 

Ordering links: www.caseyrislovbooks.com 

https://www.amazon.com/Imagination-Bigger-Together-Casey-Rislov-ebook/dp/B01MR7A2Y7/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1489438751&sr=8-3&keywords=casey+rislov 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/imagination-bigger-together-casey-rislov/1125500358?ean=9781524658335 

Imagination Bigger Together receives colorful, large-size drawings by Stephen Adams as it explores the limitless possibilities of a fertile imagination in a way young kids can easily understand. 

Four animal friends get together to play a pirate game and discover that the sum of their collective imaginations far surpasses what any of them could accomplish alone. 

As the four imagine the adventures they experience on the 'high seas' and the exciting places they will visit far beyond their wildest dreams, young picture book readers and their read-aloud parents will enjoy a fun survey that begins with a world cruise and leads to a rock hunt for hidden gems, exploring a secret garden, mud puddle romping, and more. 

The emphasis on backyard play and how it can be enhanced by an active imagination makes for an engaging story that blends real-world observations and encounters with a spice of imaginative process encouraging kids to foster and accept their own playful fantasies. A backyard map offers visual emphasis about each of these adventures, which are created with a combination of a child's imaginative ideas and toys. Each point on the map holds a new spot for adventure, whether it be digging for treasure, taking a hot-air balloon ride, or encountering strange critters. 

Parents will find this a fun way of reviewing various kinds of imaginative applications for daily life encounters, while kids will appreciate the bright, large drawings of animal friends who pair a lively and fun prance through the world with a healthy dose of creative thinking. 


Imagination Bigger Together

Return to Index


Keep in a Cold, Dark Place
Michael F. Stewart
The Publishing House
Print: 9780993757921    $8.95
Ebook: 9780993757938  $3.99
www.michaelfstewart.com 

Keep in a Cold, Dark Place combines middle grade fiction with horror as protagonist Limphetta ('Limpy') O’Malley battles against a danger she unwittingly releases into the world by not following directions to keep her discovery in a cold, dark place. Limpy has long wanted a golden ticket to a better life away from the farm and into the city, but only unearths potatoes until her discovery of a strange box in the barn offers her a ticket to horror instead. 

Despite the familiar-sounding theme of little monsters being released into the world (shades of Gremlins!), Limpy's life is more complex than one might expect: her Irish father faces hard work and the loss of his farm despite all his efforts, and the very struggles he faces could prove Limpy's key to rising above her roots: "She’d been trying to keep the burgeoning excitement from showing. She hated the farm. Farm chores never ended. Chores kept her from studying, from her art, from a future. The sale of the farm might be the end of her father’s dreams, but it would be the beginning of hers." 

Her father believes she should work harder on the farm and 'respect her family,' but Limpy knows this life isn't for her, despite the recurring mental admonitions from the ghost of her long-dead mother ("Tough hands are an honest life’s work, Mother said in the darkness."). A hardened worker at age thirteen, Limpy wonders if her artistic talents will ever save her from a lifetime of farming. 

The mysterious spheres she digs up changes everything - but they threaten more than her world, where she welcomes something different. What has hatched in her barn are legendary monsters, she comes to find - but, are they truly evil? 

Limpy's efforts to solve her problems only result in bigger ones as she faces the consequences of her actions and their impact on the world. 

Under a different hand, Keep in a Cold, Dark Place could all too easily have become an entertaining horror read alone; but the injection of family and social issues into a bigger picture and the finely-tuned descriptions of a hard-working family's struggles make for much more than the one-dimensional horror piece of too many middle grade novels. 

Limpy and her world are deftly, realistically portrayed; but the story's ultimate message ("...remember that the greatest monsters are those we create ourselves.") provides an impact that will keep middle-grade readers thinking long past the story's gripping action. 

Keep in a Cold, Dark Place is horror genre writing at its best, going the extra mile beyond the circumstances of horror to probe the psyches, motivations, and lessons learned by all involved. It's very highly recommended for young readers who will relish Michael F. Stewart's close attention to detail and atmosphere.


Keep in a Cold, Dark Place

Return to Index