Monday, 14 July 2008

Irene Watson Reviews Dr. Karen H. Sherman's Self-Help Book

Title: Mindfulness and The Art of Choice: Transform Your Life
Author: Karen H. Sherman, Ph.D.
Website: www.ChoiceRelationships.com or www.drkarensherman.com
Genre: Self-help
ISBN: 978-1-932690-51-4
Publisher: Loving Healing Press
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views

Dr. Sherman, in practice as a relationship expert for over 20 years, has written a book to help readers create a better life for themselves. Taking excerpts of her own life and experience, she explains how to live mindfully. The book consists of two parts, the first part “How the Art of Choice Works” and the second part is “The Art of Choice Exercises.” Both sections include a thorough explanation plus exercises.

Dr. Sherman stresses that experiences in the past encode our mental and physical memory. These are called core issues or “baggage.” She believes the feeling attained during a negative experience remains in our being, and often the same feeling comes up in other similar situations. This in turn creates an emotional response. The experiences could be traumatic, yet on the other hand, something perceived to be very menial could also create an emotional reaction. For example, a child is walking with her father and reaches up to hold his hand. At that same moment the swing of the father’s arm goes away from the child. The child, at that moment, could feel rejected by not realizing what caused the father’s arm to move away. This feeling would become embedded in the child’s memory as rejection. From then on, anytime something or someone is pulled away from her, the same feeling of rejection occurs. Often the feelings are replaced with distraction, such as alcohol, drugs, or adverse behaviors. In “How the Art of Choice Works” Dr. Sherman addresses how to embrace the feelings, yet react differently. She also addresses patterns caused by the situation and how to change them.

In a short two-paragraph section, Dr. Sherman explains awareness is the key response to making changes and gives a simple technique to generate it. Once we are aware of the reaction, she gives exercises to become conscious of the body, observe the behavior, note thoughts, address the thoughts/fears and ultimately break the old patterns, creating a new flow in life.

There are many books on the market that cover the same issues as Dr. Sherman, however, there isn’t one that is as concise and to the point as “Mindfulness and the Art of Choice” is. In less than 100 pages she helps the reader become aware of personal issues/reactions embedded in the memory. Within a few simple exercises we can change the feelings associated with the situation. At the same time we can move away from recreating those same feelings in another situation. It may sound like a difficult task, and it could be. However, Dr. Sherman simplifies everything for us through her explanations and exercises – to a point where “Mindfulness and the Art of Choice” becomes truly a self-help book. This book is highly recommended for anyone that is considering choosing to have “the good life.”

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.

Thursday, 10 July 2008

Lulu Reviewers Loves "The Time Cavern"

The Time Cavern
By Todd A Fonseca
Paperback: 162 pages
Publisher: Borders Personal Publishing (June 21, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1605520101
ISBN-13: 978-1605520100
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Price: $12.95
Kindle Price: $4.95
Official Website: www.thetimecavern.com
Book Trailer: http://www.thetimecavern.com/booktrailer.html
Amazon listing: http://www.amazon.com/Time-Cavern-Todd-Fonseca/dp/1605520101/


Reviewed by Shannon Yarbrough for The Lulu Review

I immediately think of the phrase, “judging a book by its cover,” as I write this. Face it. We all do it, which is all the more reason for a POD author to spend so much time on making their cover appealing and eye catching. I hope that Todd’s hard work pays off because readers will definitely not be disappointed with what’s behind this cover.

As the story unfolds, the reader is introduced to a ten year old boy named Aaron who is camping on his own for the first time. Of course, all ten year olds have a wild imagination and long for a sense of independence, so Aaron immediately begins to worry about the sounds he hears outside the tent. He also senses that he is being watched. Fonseca dedicates the book to his own son, also named Aaron. As I nestled into the story, I imagined the author creating this story as a bedtime tale for his son. If that is the case, the author has done an excellent job of transpiring his story to the page.

Aaron decides to investigate the noises outside the tent, but before doing so, he records his thoughts in a notebook. Here, we learn that Aaron is actually camping in the backyard of his new home, in which his family just moved into the day before. The beginning of the story is set up as a nice metaphor for the entire book. You may be frowning at the thought of yet another time travel story based on the title alone, but the young protagonist leaving a big concrete city and moving to the corn fields of Amish country makes for a nice set-up in my opinion which many young readers can relate to.

Fonseca has a talent for appealing to a young audience in the use of his subject matter….independence, moving to a new home, making friends, being afraid, exploration, and the use of the imagination, etc. Outside of the young boy’s adventures the author also uses a nice mix of dialog to keep his story moving, evenly exposing the reader to other characters including Aaron’s parents.

Aaron soon forms a friendship with a neighboring girl named Jake, who tells him his house is haunted. This sends Aaron into a frenzy to investigate the noises he’s been hearing, along with the mysterious eyes he sees in the old family barn. While exploring the barn, Aaron finds the page from a diary of a young boy who lived over 100 years ago. The writings on the page echo the mysterious feeling Aaron has been experiencing…”hearing your name being called by the wind.”

The next day, Aaron seeks out Jake to ask her about what she had said about his house and what she might know about the mysterious wind. He shows her the diary page he found and the two begin a journey they will not soon forget as they set out to solve the mystery of the Amish boy who wrote the diary entry, the howling wind that whispers your name, and an ancient cavern filled with even more secrets.

Todd Fonseca’s book is an adventure story that both kids and adults will love. It feeds the imagination, just as the tale itself builds upon the eagerness of its characters to solve the mystery. Fonseca’s main characters, Aaron and Jake, are believable and come alive on the page through their real-life dialog and eagerness to learn the truth. The author does a great job of keeping the momentum going with nicely paced conflict and interest, which will definitely keep the pages turning.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.

Monday, 7 July 2008

Wendy Cleveland Reviews a Linda Weaver Clarke Novel for Reader Views

Title: Edith and they Mysterious Stranger
Author: Linda Weaver Clarke
Author's Website: www.lindaweaverclarke.com
Genre: Historical Fiction
ISBN: 9781589824690

Name of Reviewer: Wendy Cleveland
Where Review was published: Reader Views
Rating: 10 points


Reviewed by Wendy Cleveland for Reader Views


Edith and the Mysterious Stranger”(ISBN 9781589824690) centers around the Roberts family living in the Wild West of Bear Lake, Idaho. Melinda is about to have a baby with her husband, Gilbert, but has found out that she needs to be bedridden for the remainder of her pregnancy. They enlist the help of Melinda’s cousin Edith, who is a nurse, to stay with them until the baby is born. Edith has never been married. Though many men have courted her, she seems to always find fault with each one. Melinda and Gilbert challenge each other that they will introduce Edith to two men, Henry and Joseph, with the help of Edith’s mother, Martha. Of course, Edith does not give either one of them a chance even though they continue to fight for her heart throughout. During one of Edith’s visits to her mother, she hands her a letter and tells her “We truly don’t know men until we’re married because we never know the inner person. You know, the heart, his spiritual side. We’re so busy courting and trying to impress one another that we never get to know the soul of the person.”

Throughout the story, Edith receives numerous letters from this “Mysterious Stranger” each becoming more personal. Edith soon falls in love with this person even though she has never met him. Once Edith finds out who the “Mysterious Stranger” is, she is pleasantly surprised. Meanwhile, another love story is taking place between the new ranch-hand, David, and Gilbert’s 16-year-old daughter, Jenny. However, David came to the ranch with his own intentions that will be tested.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this story very uplifting. Ms. Clark did a fantastic job of portraying the importance of knowing your God Given Gifts. The history of the Wild West was also intriguing with the world of outlaws and cattle rustlers as well as the medicines and herbs they used.

The Power of the Written Word -- this is the life lesson I took away from Linda Weaver Clarke’s book “Edith and the Mysterious Stranger.” In today’s society, no one writes letters anymore. Everything is done by email or telephone. Most everyone today is also materialistic looking at the outer rather than inner person. The fact that Edith fell in love with someone just by getting to know them through their letters and not seeing them was inspirational to me. Humility -- if we all could just get a little of that, we would all be better people. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in a good inspirational read from beginning to end. You won’t be disappointed. I’m definitely a fan and will be looking for another installment in the Roberts family saga.



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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.

Saturday, 28 June 2008

"Minta Forever" Strong Statement on Abuse

Title: Minta Forever
Author: Jean Campion
ISBN-10: 1932738371
ISBN-13: 978-1932738377
Pages: 192
Price $15.95 Amazon
Publisher Western Reflections Publishing Company
951 N. Highway 149, Lake City, Colorado 81235
P.O. Box 1149, Lake City, Colorado 81235
E-mail: westref@montrose.net
1-970-944-0110, 1-800-993-4490 (orders) 1-970-944-0273 (fax)

Reviewed by Connie Gotsch, author of A Mouth Full of Shell and Snap Me a Future and featured in The Complete Writer's Journal --www.redenginepress.com



Some authors go for the sleaze when they write on the theme of domestic abuse, dwelling on physical and sexual aspects until the reader wonders if the book’s a novel or a nursing text. At the end of the story, the heroine puts all the trauma behind her and prepares to head for the altar with some handsome man who rescues her. Her abuser either languishes permanently in jail, or lies under a grave stone.

In real life, abusers destroy their victims mentally as well as physically, and the victims often have no easy way out of the situation. If they do get rid of the abuser, they can’t find peace. The abuser might leave a victim alone, but there’s always the fear that he might come back, because abusers do not go to jail forever. Sometimes they don’t go at all, and just find another woman to batter

Southern Colorado author, Jean Campion knows this, and she recreates the real life abuse scenario in her novel Minta Forever, published by Western Reflections Publishing Company.


Pushed by well-meaning parents, Ella Jane Morgan Skaggs’ finds herself married to the abusive but wealthy farmer, Edmond. He does all the psychological things abusers do, including separating her from family and friends, and berating her at every chance. He brings her to his home town to live, where she knows no one. Worse, when he appears in public with her, he treats her well, so anyone she would ask for help would not believe she needs it.

When Ella decides to escape, she faces the dilemma of all abused women: where to go? Finally aided by a cousin, she gets a teaching job in a one-room school in a small Colorado town. Now the cousin and her husband are in danger of Edmond, as are the people in the town where Ella has taken refuge, under the new name of Minta Mayfield.

From page one of Minta Forever, Campion sets up a cat-and-mouse game between the husband and wife, highlighting the psychological abuse, and suggesting the physical and sexual aspects just enough for the reader to grasp.

Once escaped, Ella/Minta, spends a lot of time wondering in her journal if Edmond will find her, and what that will mean to her new community/ Any real life abused woman faces the same questions.

Around the abuse theme, Campion presents a good picture of how one-room schools operated in Colorado in the early 1920s. She grew up in a family of educators and heard tales of one-room schools and the people who taught in them. The novel began as a research project on one-room schools in La Plata County, Colorado, and the author found plenty of descriptive material to make Ella/Minta’s daily activities and surroundings believable. At no time, however, does she wallow in education history for its own sake. Every single historical mention relates to plot, action, character, or theme of the story.

Of course as Ella/Minta worries about Edmond’s return, the reader does, too, and Campion cleverly creates several heart-stopping moments when Edmond might be lurking in the shadows; and an explosive scene when he finally is.

People in town react as one might expect. Some support Ella/Minta. Some want her fired as a bad example to the students. Campion explores the ideas of forgiveness as supporters outvote the non-supporters.

A final twist in the plot puts Ella/Minta in the dilemma of real life abuse victims. Is she safe from Edmond, or is she not? What decisions should she make about what she does next, based on not knowing for sure if she’s safe?

Forever Minta raises provocative questions, and without being overly graphic, reminds everybody how hideous domestic abuse and violence is. The story also points out that there are no easy choices for an abused woman. She has make the best one with the information she has and hope it’s right.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.

Thursday, 26 June 2008

Title: Adams Point -
Series: Book Three in the Legacy Series
Author: Elena Dorothy Bowman
Genre: Paranormal/Futuristic
ISBN: 1-59431-452-7
Format: ebook/print
Publisher and reviewer's rating: 4.5 Blue Ribbons


Reviewed by Chrissy Dionne for Romance Junkies Reviews

SNIPPET

Guests are disappearing, unwelcome ghosts are making their presence known and the resident ghosts are nowhere to be found. Welcome to ADAM’S POINT, the final book in Elena Dorothy Bowman’s LEGACY series. It is sure to hold you spellbound as you experience the wonder of an ancient prophecy and it’s effect on everyone who visits the area.


When we last visited Adam's Point in the previous book, Gatekeeper's Realm, readers were left with many questions regarding the spirits that inhabit the made over inn which had once been known as Pierce House. Guests have disappeared and there's a sinister wraith hoovering over the building. Some of the guests have opted to return to Caleb's Cove where they believe they'll be safe from the danger lurking at Adams Point, but are they really?

Ethan, Abigail and the guests who chose to remain at Adams Point have no clue what to expect from the wraith or what to do to appease it. With two couples already missing, Tony's mysteriously disappeared, and unbeknownst to anyone at Adams Point, Jill, one of the guests whom Ethan had dropped off in town has also disappeared. The apparition obviously intends to do whatever it has to in order to ensure his demands are met and until then Ethan, Abigail, Tony and the guests are all at its mercy.

Abigail harbors hope that Jacob, one of the original ghosts - and a friend, will escape the wraith's clutches long enough to clue them in on what needs to be done to release them all from the nightmare in which they've found themselves. In the meantime, the men devise plans to find and rescue the missing people while protecting the women. One of their plans is for the women to leave Adam's Point and stay at Caleb's Cove where they'll be safe. Only it soon becomes painfully obvious that the wraith's plans don't include allowing any of them any measure of safety. The only way to satisfy it is to return to the Inn and attempt to appease it somehow. Where have the missing people disappeared to and why? Will Jacob be able to break the wraith's hold and return to Abigail to let her know what's going on and what needs to be done to correct the situation?

After reading Gatekeeper's Realm I was fascinated with the characters and the vivid imagery that enthralled me throughout the storyline. I'm thrilled to say that Elena Dorothy Bowman's continuation of the story in Adam's Point contains all the same traits that have made the LEGACY series a thrilling read. I loved the men's alpha attitude and determination to protect the women and had to laugh at the women's not-without-us attitude. While the sinister apparition kept me guessing at what stunt it would pull next I was really hopeful to meet Jacob and learn just how he could help satisfy the wraith. I do have to confess while I was quite sure there would be a happy ending for the couples, I wasn't anticipating the emotions which I experienced at the end of the story - sorry I can't say more because it'd give too much away.

I would recommend reading all three of the books in the Legacy series - House on the Bluff, Gatekeeper's Realm and Adam's Point in order to fully experience the wonders carefully hidden and guarded in this fascinating house/inn.

© Copyright 2003 by RomanceJunkies.com
Reach the reviewer at RJchrissydionne@yahoo.com.

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Journey to the Rim of Space and Beyond
http://elenadb.home.comcast.net
http://www.sarahslanding.com
http://www.myspace.com/elenabowmanauthor
http://elenadorothybowmansbooks.blogspot.com/

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.

Monday, 23 June 2008

Rebecca Jones Lauds Doreen Orion's Travel Tale

Queen of the Road: The True Tale of 47 States, 22,000 Miles, 200 Shoes, 2 Cats, 1 Poodle, a Husband, and a Bus With a Will of Its Own
By Doreen Orion
Humorous Travel Memoir
ISBN 0767928539.
Broadway Books, $13.95

Reviewed by Rebecca Jones for the Rocky Mountain News "Grade A."
Published June 5, 2008.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jun/05/queen-of-the-road-the-true-tale-of-47-states-200/

Book in a nutshell: When Boulder psychiatrist Orion's husband, Tim, proposes they take a year off to travel around the country in a converted bus, Orion - a "princess from the island of Long" with a deep-seated aversion to anything strenuous and a profound appreciation for shoes and exotic drinks - is appalled. Reluctantly, she agrees.

Their year on the road proves a wonder, taking them from fall in New England to Christmas in Key West to Mardi Gras in New Orleans to summer in the wilds of Alaska. Orion never quite conquers her fear of bus crashes - or bus fires or various other bus misadventures - but along the way she learns that living with only what you can cram into 345 square feet of living space has its advantages.

Best tidbit: "We went to Memphis specifically to see Graceland, something we'd both always wanted to do. We're not the only ones; it's the second most visited residence in the U.S. (The White House is Number One.) The fourteen-acre, 17,000-square-foot estate turned out to be a colossal disappointment. I thought it would be far more grand. Maybe it's just that, as a museum left exactly as it had been when the King died, it can't help being a fashion victim of the '70s. But really. One of the richest men in the country, a cultural icon no less, and he had Formica countertops?"

Pros: Orion has every good travel writer's ability to make readers feel they are there, to capture the telling details of places, and to present the account in a witty, accessible way. Reading the book makes you want to hit the road and have some of your own grand adventures.

Cons: Alas, for most readers, taking a year off to travel - let alone a year well before they're of retirement age - simply isn't feasible. But we can dream . . .

Final word: This is a fun read that will make just about anyone start itching for a road trip.

Doreen Orion
We didn't just dream of the road...
www.QueenOfTheRoadTheBook.com
www.QueenOfTheRoadTheBook.com/blog

QUEEN OF THE ROAD: The True Tale of 47 States, 22,000 Miles, 200 Shoes, 2 Cats, 1 Poodle, a Husband, and a Bus With a Will of Its Own is available now from Broadway Books, an imprint of Random House.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.

Sunday, 22 June 2008

John Rosenman Brings Romance to New Sci-Fi Novel

Title: Alien Dreams
Author: John B. Rosenman
Genre: Science fiction
E-Book ISBN 13: 978-0-9798081-4-2
E-Book ISBN 10: 0-9798081-4-6
To be released later as a trade paperback.
Publisher: Drollerie Press


Reviewed by Ron Berry at for Berrie Reviews


It is hot, and a sense of menace pervades the rugged landscape of the planet Lagos. At first there is no sign of the original exploration crew. Once the four-member rescue force discovers their dead bodies, their demise is difficult to understand. Equally disturbing to Captain Eric Latimore, the leader of the rescue mission, is the fact that they find four unusual cubes, one for each member of their team. It is almost as if their visit was expected. Alien Dreams by John B. Rosenman pulls you into his web succinctly and holds you in suspense. What does all this mean?


It is an alien, barren landscape, and four very different crewmembers from the rescue ship attempt to explore it. Yet once the cubes are discovered, each member is haunted by the same sinister dreams featuring beautiful aliens. The question now is what really killed the original crew. Did these odd cubes have anything to do with it?

As the rescue crew searches the land, they find a most unusual spacecraft. It looks like other ships, yet there are no entrances or exits. Its presence just deepens the mystery. As things turn out, the spacecraft is the simplest part of the mystery. Life quickly becomes complex for the crew when they encounter terrifying aliens that endanger their lives.

Soon Latimore finds himself facing a transcendently difficult choice. To save the lives of his crew, he must give up the woman he loves and become an alien himself, then lead his new “people” across the universe on a cosmic adventure. Will his sacrifices be worth it? What is his ultimate destiny? Until you read Alien Dreams, you won’t know. John B. Rosenman weaves an intricate plot and a most exciting tale with mind-stretching concepts that make us look at the universe in a new way. This book is classified as science fiction, but there is a lot more romance and intrigue than in your ordinary SF materials.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.

Friday, 20 June 2008

Hop On Over to Read "The Frog in the Well"

The Frog in the Well
(Hardcover)
By Irene Y. Tsai (Author), Pattie Caprio (Illustrator)
Published by www.cebilingualbooks.com
Genre: children's book
ISBN: 978-0980130515
List Price: $14.95
Originally published on CE Bilingual Books website and other marketing
materials.


Reviewed by Tom Watkins

The Frog in the Well is both beautifully written and illustrated. The
story of how the frog views his world will jump off the pages for
children while educating them about Chinese culture and language. I
have had an interest in China ever since a 4th-grade teacher opened my
eyes to the country and its people, culture, language, and history.

The Frog in the Well will create a spark for learning about China and
the most spoken language in the world: Mandarin Chinese. Parents,
teachers, and educational leaders should be encouraged to help
children discover China, and The Frog in the Well is a great tool for
doing so. This will help prepare our children for the transformational
world that they are entering and make America a magnet for Chinese
investment in the future. Don't just sit there—hop on over and pick up
a copy of The Frog in the Well."

Reviewer: Tom Watkins
Michigan State Superintendent of Schools (2001–2005), MI
Honorary Professor, Mianyang University


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.

Thursday, 19 June 2008

Love Food and Mysteries? Do the Silver Sisters Have Something for You!

TITLE: A Corpse in the Soup

AUTHOR: Morgan St. James and Phyllice Bradner

WEBSITE: www.silversistersmysteries.com

GENRE: Funny Mystery series

ISBN# Paperback: 1-59705-805-X Audio CD: 1-59607-857-X

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson, Reader Views, www.readerviews.com

Fast-paced and laugh-out-loud funny, this was a quick and satisfying read. Morgan St. James and Phyllice Bradner are sisters in real life, so that might explain why their co-operation worked out so well in a book. I certainly hope this was not the last book they’ve written together. Silver Sisters rule! I would highly recommend A Corpse in the Soup to any mystery lover, particularly those who enjoy the Cooking Channel and love a good, funny read.

Take several chefs, add some classy – and less classy - ladies, a couple of well-aged vaudeville actors, a talking dog, a bunch of gofers and miscellaneous Hollywood characters, and add a heaping cup of jealousy, a pinch of intrigue, a smidgen of history. Garnish with incredibly funny names (Sterling Silver, Biff Wellington, Chili Pepper, Justin Thyme, Mr. Manicotti, Caesar Romano…), take a shot at the increasingly popular cooking shows and stir well. What do you get? You get a recipe for an amusing, frothy, yet not lightweight romp. The characters are lovable and believable, even when they leave you shaking your head in wonder over their antics. The story flows well and pulls you in very quickly. Although you might think quite early in the book that you know who the villain is, I would be surprised if you’d truly manage to solve this mystery before the final pages.


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.

Tuesday, 17 June 2008

First Novelist Brings Us Katrina and Her Disaster-Battered Sisters in Other Parts of the Country

Title: After the Floods
Author: Bruce Henricksen
Publisher: Lost Hills Books
Genre: Novel, 212 pages, perfect bound
ISBN: 978-0-9798535-0-0

Reviewer: Susan Larson in the New Orleans Times-Picayune
Susan Larson can be reached at slarson@timespicayune.com
Permission to reprint this review has been granted by Lynn Cunningham of the Times-Picayune. lcunningham@timespicayune.com

"A Whimsical Look at Poet-Katrian Exile"

In his first novel, After the Floods, former New Orleanian Bruce Henricksen tells a tale of two cities--New Orleans and Cold Beak, MN--both recovering from disastrous floods, both filled with folks trying to make a comeback. And not just people--add some crows and dogs into the mix.

The novel opens with George and Ruby surveying post-Katrina damage on Laurel Street. "Laurel is the street where Ruby's heart had been broken, broken with the branch that snapped in the storm, sending her eggs splattering to the sidewalk." The two fly north, a couple making a fresh start.

Billy Boischild is another New Orleanian who heads to Cold Beak, leaving behind a life in New Orleans in which he engaged in experiments in scientific faith implantation. He rents a trailer and starts examining his life, engaged in constant electronic spiritual debate with God and a nun called Sister Ann . . . But life in Cold Beak is wide open, as Billy finds . . .

The characters move in and out of one another's lives, looking for love and redemption, and sometimes, blessedly, finding it. Henricksen brings such fey charm to this spiritual comedy, with tender feeling for all these searchers, flying from despair toward hope, and ocassionally back again. Sometimes the reader feels she has wandered into Garrison Keillor's Minnesota, sometimes John Kennedy Toole's New Orleans. It's a short, thoroughly enjoyable flight of fancy, filled with sweet wisdom about the way we lean on--and crash into--one another.


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love--and that includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.

Monday, 16 June 2008

Speaking of Summer Reading! Mindy Lawrence Provides Us with Classics! For FREE!

This is a guest entry from Mindy Lawrence. I thought it so full of good resources on the classics, you'd want to see it. (-: Carolyn, co-blogger with Joyce Faulkner.

Dr. Dan Skelton, my client at MPL Creative Resources and my former English professor, sent me his reading list for the World Lit I class he is teaching this summer. I'd read all but two of the pieces (I haven’t read Seneca or Apuleius’ “The Golden Ass”). However, I looked for the main text that he recommended on Amazon and several other places. A new book was almost $70. I got the idea of finding all the works on the Internet where his students could access them if they couldn't afford the book. I found versions online of every work on his list. I've attached it here so you can see.

I was most enthusiastic about a paid site for Beowulf which I didn't include on my list because, well, it cost money. However, the program looked interesting and the graphics on the main page were beautifully done. See the rest of the freebie list below.

Would I like to be in Dr. Skelton’s class again, this time learning from the ancients to the Renaissance? You bet!

Mindy Lawrence
MPL Creative Resources
mplcreative1@aol.com


World Literature I – Reading List Online
Instructor: Dr. Dan Skelton


Gilgameshhttp://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab1.htm

The Hebrew Bible
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/index.htm

The Iliad
http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/iliad.html

The Odyssey
http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.html

Agamemnonhttp://classics.mit.edu/Aeschylus/agamemnon.html

Oedipus the King
http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/oedipus.html

Antigone
http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/antigone.html

Lysistrata
http://drama.eserver.org/plays/classical/aristophanes/lysistrata.txt

Seneca, “On Anger”
http://www.stoics.com/seneca_essays_book_1.html

Apuleius, “The Golden Ass”
http://manybooks.net/titles/apuleiusetext99gldns10.html

Augustine
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/augustine/textstrans.html

Beowulf
http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~beowulf/main.html
In Old English and Modern English

The Canterbury Tales
http://www.librarius.com/cantales.htm

Everyman
http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/everyman.htm

Carpe Diem poems:

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
http://www.bartleby.com/106/5.html

The Flea
http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/flea.php

To the Virgins to Make Much of Time
http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/herrick/tovirgins.htm

Shakespeare, Hamlet
http://www.tk421.net/hamlet/hamlet.html

John Milton, X – Paradise Lost
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_10/index.shtml




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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love--and that includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.

Sunday, 15 June 2008

Big Blog Tour for Kim Richards' "Death Mask"

Death Masks
Written by Kimberly Richards
Eternal Press, 2008 www.kim-richards.com


As part of a book tour we're participating in this month, we're reviewing
popular horror author Kim Richard's newest horror/thriller novel Death Mask,
released by Eternal Press.

Reviewed by Heidi Martinuzzi from Pretty Scary.


Someone is killing hot young boys in the local Metro Tonton Park (and it's
not me!). Bill, an unsatisfied computer tech with a lame job and lame
co-workers has one amazing girlfriend in Dixie. Dixie is not only hot, but
she's a salsa dancer who works out and even has hobbies, like pottery. When
Bill witnesses one of the local murders in the park, he suddenly becomes a
suspect as well. Bill has to balance dealing with his own investigation of
the murders with the police (who aren't much help) and with Dixie's
depressive disorder which has mysteriously come on again after being
dormant. It's not an easy time for Bill. Or Dixie.

We also get the killer's perspective in neat little segments so we can get
another point of view on everything that's going on. It fills in some
pieces, especially about the murders, and honestly does nothing to reveal
the identity of the killer. Of course, the killer is... Dah DUHN! It's a
secret. It's a twist, so I can't reveal it. Death Mask follows a traditional
thriller storyline complete with the very-necessary twist to accompany the
clearing of the name of the protagonist. What would a mystery thriller be
without a twist?

Dixie is a very complex character with deep emotional issues that prevent
her from overcoming her awkward depression. Bill's sense of inadequacy keep
him from getting farther along at work or making the most out of his life
with Dixie. It's a case of everyday problems getting in the way of people's
lives. Bill himself is completely unprepared to deal with a seemingly
dangerously intelligent killer who uses some kind of drug to kill their
victims and leaves their bodies in the park to be found by police. Bill
embarks on a near-obsessive path of researching serial-killers, the victims,
and the drug itself to a point that makes him a prime suspect in the eyes of
the police. It also doesn't do anything to improve his situation with Dixie,
who grows worse by the day. Little things that used to cheer her up no
longer move her. She has become increasingly irritable and unpredictable
emotionally.

What's also fascinating is that the people who do keep disappearing seem
somehow related to Bill's life. Like the punk kid who threatens him in line
at the fast food restaurant who later ends up face-down in the mud in the
park, or the mysteriously missing Denny from Bill's work, who was a liar and
an inconsistent friend. No wonder the police suspect Bill... but can he
prove that he's not the killer before someone he loves - someone like Dixie
- ends up dead?

Richard's work is classy and traditional, and lovers of thrillers will enjoy
and appreciate the traditional flow of her story in Death Mask. Importantly,
the imagery of the Death mask itself is used repeatedly in a very simple yet
artistic way throughout the novel; Dixie herself sculpts them in her pottery
workshop, and they appear again in an art gallery showing. The Death Mask,
an image cast of a person's face (often after death) and used in burial or
for a family's memory of that person, is a grim and macabre idea that works
perfectly for a theme as dastardly as gruesome murders in a park.

And yes you have your standard amounts of mental breakdown, dementia, and
murder mystery blood, so the depraved aspects of your soul will find
themselves entertained.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love--and that includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.

Saturday, 14 June 2008

On Literature, Readings and "Months and Seasons"


I had trouble deciding on where to put this report from Chris Meeks, author, friend and fellow UCLA instructor. It is a success story about promotion, cetainly, but it is also about literature. A book of short stories in particular. I hope you enjoy it as a guest post.


Carolyn--

Yesterday was a big day for me. Would people buy my book? Would they come to the reading? Yesterday morning the ranking for "Months and Seasons" on Amazon at #1,763,891--so low, it didn't really exist. I sent out a reminder to people that "today was the day," and that seemed to help. By midnight last night, Months and Seasons was ranked #9305.

All day yesterday, friends were writing e-mails that said, "Your reading has been on my calendar for weeks, but..." Things came up. People couldn't come. Would I get the 80 people I hoped for? I'm happy to say it was at least that. Most people I asked guessed it at a hundred people in the audience--which is something considering there was a $10 admission to the reading. Not only that, sales of the book there were brisk, too. I signed at least 50 books.

Marketing aside, the reading itself rocked. Each actor brought sensitivity and comic timing to each story, and the audience laughed in all the right spots. When Dracula soared into the night, for instance, the actor held out his arms and tilted his head back and said the lines from memory, and I heard people gasp. Four stories were read: "Dracula Slinks Into the Night," "A Shoe Falls," "The Wind Just Right," and "A Whisker."

While the day worked out extremely well, it was really the culmination of two-and-a-half years of planning, from agreeing to having my work presented, to writing the stories, having them edited, rewritten, reedited, proofed, and published, to writing a monthly newsletter, to getting the book designed, to printing and sending out ARCs, to e-mailing people to make sure they can come to the reading. Whew. It was a mammoth undertaking, but my book is now out in the world.

Thank you for your wonderful part in all this, not only inspiring me, but also writing reviews and offering advice. The reading was videotaped and in about a month, large chunks of it will be on YouTube. I'll let you know then.

Attached are a few photos.

Best,
Chris MeeksNoble (Not Nobel!) Prize winning author of The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea, Months and Seasons and many more including plays. His e-mail is chrismeeks@gmail.com.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love--and that includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.

Thursday, 12 June 2008

Butch Cassidy Anyone? Let's Let The Girls In On The Fun

Title: Melinda and the Wild WestAuthor: Linda Weaver Clarke
By Linda Weaver Clarke
Web: www.lindaweaverclarke.com
Genre: historical fiction
ISBN: 1-58982-367-2
Rating: 5 stars



BOOK REVIEW by Melynda Gascoyne for The Amherst Bee Newspaper: Buffalo, New York


HEAD TO THE FRONTIER FOR ‘MELINDA AND THE WILD WEST’:
For anyone who likes to read classic-styled romance novels that also have a drop of history, this is the book for you: “Melinda and the Wild West, a Family Saga in Bear Lake Valley, Idaho.” The story is set back in 1896 in Montpelier and Paris, Idaho, in the Bear Lake Valley area.

Melinda Gamble is the new schoolteacher and has relocated from Boston to teach in the community where her beloved aunt and uncle live. Being termed “headstrong” by her parents, she decides to take the job offered by her relatives in the western frontier as a way to escape from the city and the life they have forged for her.

This sets about a plan to help others by teaching. From the start, Melinda learns from her new surroundings. Right at the very beginning she comes face to face with Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch in a bank robbery. What a way to start your new life in the wild frontier.

From one of her students coming to class with skunk oil that explodes, to her encounter with a black bear, there’s always something for the imagination in the book. The characters grow in their complexity as the story unfolds. From Melinda’s relationship with Jenny, (the daughter of her widowed neighbor), to Gilbert, Jenny’s father and the gentlemen who steals Melinda’s heart, it is very easy to picture the scene you are reading.

Clarke blends bits of her family history into this charming tale in the form of the children at the school to members of the community in general. She was able to write about love in a soft fashion, not full of the same type of sexual writing of most romance novels. I was impressed with the eloquence in which Clarke spun her story. It was dramatic in some spots and yet contained simply placed bits of humor. I would recommend this to anyone.


Melinda is the first in a four-book series, “A Family Saga in the Bear Lake Valley,” written by Clarke. I’m hoping that the other stories are just as interesting as this one. At the end of the book, Clarke has a section of notes in which she explains parts of the story and from where in her family they derive. Age range: 16 and older.

Learn more about Melinda and the Wild West: http://www.pdbookstore.com/comfiles/pages/LindaWeaverClarke.shtml.
She is also the author of Edith and the Mysterious Stranger, http://www.pdbookstore.com/comfiles/pages/LindaWeaverClarke4.shtml

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coaliition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love--and that includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.

Wednesday, 11 June 2008

Step-by-Step Guide Can Transform Your LIfe

Mindfulness and The Art of Choice: Transform Your Life
Karen H. Sherman, Ph.D.
www.ChoiceRelationships.com
Self-help
ISBN: 978-1-932690-51-4
Loving Healing Press (2008)

Reviewed by Leslie Heidle for Rebeccas Reads (3/08)

“Mindfulness and the Art of Choice” offers insight into the cyclic emotional and behavioral patterns so many people encounter. Dr. Karen Sherman’s step-by-step guide gives readers the opportunity to explore their pasts, govern their present and embody their future.

Dr. Sherman has been a therapist for twenty years, conducts workshops, and speaks regularly around the country. In “Mindfulness and the Art of Choice,” she uses not only her knowledge and education to delve into the world of habitual and reactionary dysfunction, but offers first-hand experience in unhealthy emotional responses and how she used the tools included in the book to break old habits and create a life of mindful choice. “There is, I discovered, a way to approach life so that you feel a sense of being prepared, of being ready, of being grounded. This self-confident approach is generated from within. It comes from being in touch, being connected, with your self. Through this self-awareness, you will be able to deal with whatever comes your way.”

Dr. Sherman addresses the issue of fear when facing change and why so many people stay mired in prosaic and uninspired lives. “Another benefit of not making changes is that you feel like you are in control—you know the outcome. Your risk factor is minimized. Furthermore, functioning in this manner releases you from your responsibility. If you’re not all you can be, you can easily blame it on your past—something that happened to you, or something you didn’t get.”

What sets “Mindfulness and the Art of Choice” apart from many self-help manuals is Sherman’s awareness that people are a sum of their life experiences. Wanting to forget an abusive childhood or a traumatic encounter does not make the memory just go away. “Many people are not comfortable with the negative or painful feelings and go to great lengths trying not to feel them. Often there are attempts at using different distractions—anything from keeping busy all the time to using alcohol or drugs. The end result is a disconnection from oneself.” Learning to acknowledge the impact of the experience by being aware of old patterns, noticing the physical reactions in the body and observing your own behavior will allow a person to actively make changes and begin to build a more rewarding life.

Due to the fallible nature of human beings, unhealthy patterns are repeated from one generation to the next with pain and dysfunction handed down like family heirlooms. As adults, we many times unconsciously make the decision to hold onto these past pains and regrets. “You can never take away the past. The past is still something that has happened to you. And you cannot change your past. But what you have changed, what you have taken control over is how much of a slave you have been to your past.” In “Mindfulness and the Art of Choice: Transform Your Life,” Dr. Karen Sherman offers a guidebook of choices that can help lead the reader to a happier, more fulfilled life that reflects the person within.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love--and that includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.