"Remarkable Novel" About Drug Addiction by Down Under Author

Sleep before Evening
By Magdalena Ball
BeWrite Books
2007, ISBN 978-1-904492-96-
$17.99
286 pages

Reviewed by Bob Williams


Sleep Before Evening is a first novel by Magdalena Ball, author of The Art of Assessment and a collection of poetry, Quark Soup. She is also creator and editor of the Web’s premier literary site, The Compulsive Reader.

Mari and her mother Lily form the nucleus of the novel. Mari is a brilliant, but limited, high school student. She has a scholarship to NYU and is an accomplished pianist. Her father faded away from his family early in her life and she has found a substitute in her grandfather, Eric.

Her mother, Lily, has remarried. She is an artist, subject to mood swings that are exhausting to Russ, her husband, and to Mari. Lily in fact drives Russ away by the jealousy that torments her.

Eric has a stroke that is severe enough to leave him unconscious and without brain activity. His doctor recommends the removal of life support. Mari is opposed to this and insists at least that she be made part of the decision respecting her grandfather. Lily and Russ agree to this, but decide without her and Eric is gone before Mari knows what has happened.

In an already difficult home Mari now experiences the extremes of alienation from her mother. Accustomed to visit the city at her pleasure, Mari begins to visit it more frequently. She meets Miles, a young street musician and, cast off and vulnerable, begins a relationship with him. A large part of the book becomes concerned with sex and drugs and – well, not rock and roll exactly – blues.

Ball is very good at showing the shabby musicians that alternate between hopes and disappointments. Miles, the harmonica player, and Cath, the singer, and the other band members lead lives of noisy desperation with a heavy dependence on drugs. In this environment Mari becomes addicted. The needs of her addiction take her from one life-blighting experience to another and she deliberately overdoses as she sits in the rain, abandoned by everyone, under some bushes in a park.

She is found. Doctors save her life and she enters a rehab unit. Reunited with her mother, who draws upon an unsuspected source of maturity, Mari lives through the rigors of rehab. Home once more, she finds that there are still many unresolved problems between her and Lily.

This is a remarkable novel, not one detail of which rings false. The setting is New York City and one of its suburbs and the time is the Reagan years. Ball has achieved the remarkable in recovering this particular time past and the drive of the narrative makes this a compelling and an exciting book.
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About the reviewer: Bob Williams has been collecting books all his life, and has done freelance writing, mostly on classical music. His principal interests are James Joyce, Jane Austen and Homer. His writings, two books and a number of short articles on Joyce, can be accessed at: http://www.grand-teton.com/service/Persons_Places

A Top Book for Any Speaker's Library

The Solution is at Hand: The Dottie Walters Story
by Dottie Walters and Terri Marie
Copyright 2007
Pages 156 plus intro
ISBN 0-943477-14-X
Price $14.95
Published by New World Publishing

Reviewed by Dr. Patricia Adelekan, Ph.D., DTM, Founder of Global Education, Inc.
The impact of this unique inspirational book
transcends any that I have read for a long time.

Dottie Walters wrote her last book in conjunction with Terri
Marie. It is called “The Solution is at Hand: The
Dottie Walters Story.” The impact of this unique book
inspirational book transcends any that I have read for
a long time. In it are 14 of Dottie’s Life Lessons.
And, to think that Dottie did not see the final and
finished copy of the book or hear the CD that
accompanies it before she passed away, is eerie.

I read the complete book on the plane to France in
March and was so moved by it that I had all the French
Toastmasters of the IBM Toastmasters Club in Paris
begging for it. It was my only copy, so I could not
part with it. When I got to Nigeria, the same thing
happened. They too, were inspired and touched. What a
woman Dottie was! We need to keep her spirit and
message alive as nuggets of her greatness.

Dottie’s voice on the accompanying CD reveals her
kind, caring, and giving spirit. While listening to
it, one cannot but help feeling blessed by such an
indomitable spirit, as though Dottie were right there
discussing such deep lessons.

I invite everyone to invest in buying a copy of this
treasure of a book and to give it as a gift to someone
special in your life. You will never regret it.”

The Solution is at Hand’ is one
of the top three books every speaker should have.
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The reviewer is Dr. Pat Adelekan, Global Education, INC
“In Search of Global Greatness”

Promoting: Giving In to the Human Animal

The Frugal Book Promoter
Copyright: By Carolyn Howard-Johnson 2004
Pages: 243(Includes Index)
ISBN: 1-932993-10-X
Price. $17.95
Published by Star Publish 2004

Reviewed by Judith Woolcock Colombo

Humans are social animals. We like to associate with others to share our thoughts, blessings, and woes. But above all this, we love to express our opinions and demonstrate our knowledge about matters both mundane and extraordinary. Over the eons our penchant for giving advice has led to a phenomenon called the how to book. There are how to books on subjects ranging from the simplest household tasks to how to be a good parent or an amazing lover.

Authors are no exception to the rule, and are very eager to give advice to each other from how to write and publish your first novel to publicizing that novel and promoting yourself. Being an author, I know how important publicizing ones work is and how necessary it is to promote oneself. Because other writers know how eager their colleagues are to place themselves in the public eye, there are many books in the market place that offer publicity and promotion tips. More often than not, these suggestions require great expenditure and that is something most underpaid writers can’t afford.

However, The Frugal Book Promoter by Carolyn Howard –Johnson offers solutions that cost more in time than money, and time is something any committed writer must be prepared to spend. The author admits at the start of the book that some of her advice is based on her opinion, but this is an opinion garnered from years of being in public relations and from successfully promoting and publicizing her first two books.

The book starts off with some simple and helpful hints. The author speaks about branding yourself instead of publicizing yourself. Later she goes on to explain this more fully. Every time an author writes an article, short story, or book review and publishes it in a magazine, newspaper, ezine or website, he or she should end with their tagline. A tagline can be the author’s name and works, for example, Gloria Fox author of One Missing Shoe along with email and website address.

In the first chapters, Howard-Johnson addresses normal author concerns such as plagiarism: how often it is really done and how to guard against it by copyrighting. She also discusses P.R or how to publicize your book through media releases, publishing excerpts from your book, and author interviews among other things.

The Frugal Book Promoter is so filled with information that it would take several pages to describe. Howard-Johnson spends time elaborating on the things to do before the book comes out, building a Media Kit, entering contests, making contacts by attending conferences and how to decide which ones to attend and what to do while there. She discusses the importance of having your own website and how to have one built for a reasonable fee. She gives you a list of websites to go to that will teach you how to build one or help you get ones for free. She also explains the necessity of making a personal mailing list of family, friends, co-workers, your church group and so on.

The author takes you through the process of what to do when you get a publisher’s contract, the questions to ask and the pitfalls to avoid. She also gives advice on what to do after the book is published, how to get reviews, the importance of book signings and book fares, how to use the media including internet radio and public announcements in local papers. Her section on Amazon.Com is excellent. She explains how to establish a free account and how to use tools such as Listamania, book reviews, and the All About Me section.

One of the aspects of this book that I thought most valuable was the list of websites included in every chapter. They ranged from websites that help you with the mechanics of writing to review sites, and sites that help you sell and promote the book. There is also an appendix filled with wonderful things, like sample query letters.

As a writer, I found this book a very useful tool. Even if you don’t agree with some of the author’s opinions, the share amount of research that went into this book will awe you. One of the results of this extensive research though, is that the book can seem overwhelming. The solution to this is to treat it as a toolbox. When you need a tool, open the box and take it out, or study the specific chapter or chapters in this case. Beginning authors will find this an enlightening how to book and even old veterans might learn some things they never knew. I did.

Judith Woolcock Colombo: Author of The Fablesinger, Night Crimes, The Gasman & The Death of Betty Pinto
Visit my web site at http://odin.prohosting.com/~night01 Or email
judithcolombo@hotmail.com for info & sample chapters/

Hugs, Hope and Peanut Butter Sticks to Your Heart, Not the Roof of Your Mouth

Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter: Finding the Light Behind the Clouds
By Marsha Mott Jordan
Web Site: www.hugsandhope.org/pb.htm
Genre: Nonfiction, Humor
ISBN: 9771343-4-2
Published by Jada Press, 2006
Trade paper, 244 pages
Available on Amazon.com

Reviewed by Joyce Handzo of Christian Book Previews

Hugs, Hope and Peanut Butter will stick to your heart!

If you’ve ever been discouraged, this is a book for you. Drawing upon her own experiences of chronic pain and depression, the author opens her heart and life to bring a message of comfort and hope to the hurting. Proceeds from the sale of this book go to The Hugs and Hope Foundation for Critically Ill Children.

I would love to give this author a hug! Besides being a very funny woman, she seems to be the kind of person who loves life simply because it comes from God. Her words bounce off these pages with a contagious sense of hope and encouragement, offering readers a lighthearted look at the world around them.

Marsha Mott Jordan is someone you would want living next door. Her feet are planted firmly on the ground, while her heart reaches for the pleasant places of God. She is no stranger to sickness, and therefore it’s no wonder that she started an organization to help terminally ill children. These special young people illustrated the book, causing Marsha’s words to touch readers in a more meaningful way.

Made up of a random collection of essays, this book covers a variety of subjects. The author’s candid style of writing instantly endears her to readers, inviting them to laugh along with her as she rides the roller coaster of life. Spiritual insights pop into the narrative in a real way, allowing glimpses of the great God who watches over all His children. Marsha’s home life is a source of hilarity, while her heart is filled to overflowing with compassion for those around her.

Being uniquely qualified to speak to those who are discouraged, the author shares her past experiences and her hopes for the future. The pages are bittersweet, as the drawings by the children serve as a reminder of those whose health issues are shaded in uncertainty. Marsha’s words resonate with the reality of God and His great love, which can be found in every situation. Readers won’t know if the tears on their cheeks come from laughing or crying.