Carolyn Myss Reviews Book That Will Liberate You from Negative Emotions

Title – Emotional Freedom
Author – Dr Judith Orloff
Genre or category – Self help, personal transformation
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Harmony; First Edition edition (March 3, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0307338181


Book Review by Caroline Myss


EMOTIONAL FREEDOM: Liberate Yourself From Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life (Harmony, $24) written by Judith Orloff MD is the perfect book to come along at the perfect time. I couldn’t put it down!

We live in a tumultuous, fear-dominated period in history and must become masters at overcoming fear and other negative emotions so they don’t sabotage our power. With skill and compassion, Dr. Judith Orloff shows us how to become heroes in our own lives by transforming anger, loneliness, and envy and more rather than simply “reacting” when our buttons get pushed.

An Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA and intuition expert, Dr. Orloff shares her wealth of personal and professional knowledge to illuminate the field of emotions. She draws on wisdom from traditional medicine but goes light years beyond it by presenting emotions as a path to spiritual, energetic, and intuitive awakening. Why is this leap so important? The intellect has restricted vision about emotions, but bringing intuition into the feeling realm lets us go deeper within. Dr. Orloff asks us to see every success, every heartbreak, every loss, every gain as vehicles for transformation. She teaches readers to view emotions in a non-ordinary way, rather than simply making you happy or miserable. Everyone will benefit from the insightful instructions that continually guide us and also from the author’s intimate personal journey and well-earned life wisdom. Judith is the kind of doctor we wish we all had.

Part One of the book introduces you to the four components of emotions: their biology, spirituality, energetic power, and psychology. Understanding each component in yourself will lead to inner breakthroughs that aren’t possible without seeing the whole picture. It offers a self-assessment test to evaluate your current level of emotional freedom so you can increase it practicing this book’s principles. Dr. Orloff invites you into her romance with sleep and dreams as revolutionary states of consciousness. She also helps readers determine their “emotional type” including “the intellectual,” and “the empath. “so they can make the most of their own finest qualities. As an empath, Dr. Orloff knows the gigantic challenges of being an “emotional sponge” and teaches other empaths who’ve been labeled “overly sensitive” how to stay grounded in an often-overwhelming world.

You’ll enjoy the “emotional vampire survival guide”--specific advice for dealing with emotional drainers. We’ve all met them. You’re talking to someone, when suddenly you feel anxious, depressed, or tired. She describes the narcissist, the victim, the controller, and other types of vampires. Plus, there are quizzes to help you determine “Are you in a relationship with an emotional vampire?” or if you might be one yourself. Sometimes, we all have the capacity to be draining, but with mindful compassion we can catch ourselves early and make a shift.

Part Two of the book offers a hands-on approach for facing the most prevalent negative emotions and building positive ones Each chapter is called a “transformation” in which you learn how to transform a negative emotion into its counterpoint. For instance, fear is transformed with courage, frustration with patience, and jealousy with self-esteem.

You learn to do this in your life by taking a wealth of quizzes, from Dr. Orloff’s patient studies, and her own intimate journey with each emotion.

Emotional Freedom is the rare book that can open your mind and your heart to more empowerment. Give yourself a gift and read it.

SPECIAL OFFER! Purchase a copy of Emotional Freedom with 100 bonus gifts from Dr. Michael Beckwith, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Shirley MacLaine and more at Judith Orloff MD is at http://www.drjudithorloff.com/emotional-freedom-promotion/
or www.drjudithorloff.com


The reviewer, Caroline Myss, is a pioneer in the fields of intuition and mysticism and bestselling author of Anatomy of the Spirit.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR: National bestselling author Judith Orloff MD presents new solutions for dealing with emotions in our hyper-tense world. She invites you to take a remarkable journey, one that leads to happiness, serenity, and a mastery over negativity that pervades daily life. You possess the ability to liberate yourself from worry, anger, and fear. True emotional freedom is closer than you think.
About Judith Orloff, MD

Transforming the face of psychiatry, Judith Orloff, MD is an assistant clinical professor of Psychiatry at UCLA and author of the new international bestseller Emotional Freedom. She synthesizes the pearls of traditional medicine with cutting edge knowledge of intuition, energy, and spirituality to achieve physical and emotional healing. She passionately asserts that we have the power to transform negative emotions and achieve inner peace. She offers practical strategies to overcome frustration, stress, and worry and teaches people how to quiet overactive minds that won’t shut off.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

San Francisco Poet's New Work Published

A Dreamer’s Guide to Cities
By Joan Felfand
Published by San Francisco Bay Press
Publication Date: January 6, 2009
Paperback: $ 14.99, 74 pages
ISBN: 978-1-60461-009-3


From a review in Poetica



Expect the unexpected. In her latest collection of poetry, A Dreamer’s Guide to Cities and Streams, Joan Gelfand stuns the reader with her range of forms and styles. Whether Haiku, or Villanelle, lyric or rap, rhymed or narrative, the poems in this collection are suffused with her marvelous visual acuity, her ear for today’s language, her keen observations of the here and now.


A songwriter, producer, essayist and community organizer, Joan Gelfand is also the recipient of the Chaffin Fiction Award in 2005 for “Paris Blues Redux”. Joan’s story, “The Art Critic” was shortlisted for the Carver Prize. Her work has been published on the web and in numerous literary magazines around the world, including The New York Times Magazine, Poet’s & Writers and Vanity Fair and in a variety of anthologies. She currently serves as President of the Women’s National Book Association and also as judge of Poetica Magazine’s Annual Chapbook Competition.


A review of her 2006 collection entitled, “Seeking Center”, described her work thus: “That these edgy poems avoid sentimentality is a testimony not only to Ms. Gelfand’s metronomic irregularity - her insistence that meaning is primary - but to the sharp, jagged, always intelligent quality of her awareness.” This apt description holds true of her newest collection as well .Just when you think you have her pigeonholed, she confronts you with the unexpected: words laid bare as she drops the definite article, interrupts a line with slashes, or shifts moods from playful (another one of her talents) to profound.


Gelfand’s affinity with nature is matched by her anger and regret of how we treat our planet: In "Requiem for a Dying World," she writes:


“The taste for cash replaces
The taste for something gorgeous”


In Golden Gate, she begins with a lyric description of the landscape:


“Knife edged hills laid leisurely, deceiving”, surprises us with “But for me, the languorous red swipe taunts,” and leaves us with the haunting,
“Sometimes, distance is greater than the space
Between two points.”


A Dreamer’s Guide to Cities and Streams is an outstandingly rich, multilayered collection that rewards the reader with new meanings and nuances at every reading. And you will want to read these poems again and again.

To all of you book lovers, stop by Stories Books & Cafe, 1716 Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles on Friday, September 11th, 8 PM, to hear poet Joan Gelfand. California Poet Laureate Al Young had these words to say about Joan's work. "...Joan Gelfand’s poems vibrate, shudder or take flight, roaring and purring to safe and not so safe landings in the heart, in the gut. Readers, beware. This is powerful stuff.”

September 11th, 8 PM
http://www.storiesla.com/
1716 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026 (213) 413 3733

Joan Gelfand’s work has been published in over fifty national and regional publications. Her first book of poetry, Seeking Center: A Collection of Poems has been described by author Jane Swigart as “exquisite and breathtaking…reaching those secret places where we all overlap and long for validation.” Joan works as an arts administrator, organizing panels and readings at colleges and writer’s conferences around the Bay Area. Since 2004, she has been involved with the Women’s National Book Association, an organization with nine chapters and over 800 members. She is currently serving as President. Joan serves on the Advisory boards of booksbywomenforwomen.com and Poetica Magazine. An alumna both of the creative writing programs at San Francisco State University and Mills College, Joan is married to Adam Hertz, a web 2.0 entrepreneur.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Turning a Tuscany Trip Into a Tome

Chianti From a Tuscan Villa
By the R. Thomas Berners
100pp
Publisher: Coal Cracker Press
ISBN: 978-0-578-03123-1
Available at www.lulu.com.




The authors, both retired from the Pennsylvania State University, spent seven days on a modest group tour of the Chianti region of Tuscany, staying in a Tuscan villa and going on day trips around the area, to Castellina, Florence, Lucca, San Gimignano, Siena, Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, and Volterra.

On those day trips, they both photographed extensively with the idea of creating this book, a combination of Thomas’ photographs and Paulette’s paintings, to create our interpretation of the region that gave birth to the Renaissance and Chianti wine. On two spreads, the Berners play off each other, with a painting by Paulette of the same scene photographed by Thomas on facing pages. Otherwise, each photograph and painting is unique.

And although they visited places not on the tour, such as the Beaded Lily Glass Works in Florence, their plans for other sites did not always pan out. Thomas wanted to see the tomb of Elizabeth Barrett Browning in the English Cemetery in Florence, but the cemetery was closed for renovation work. He did manage to get some photos from a distance. (If you want to see Browning’s tomb, watch the movie Tea with Mussolini. The film opens at her tomb. The film also shows frescoes of Santa Fina in San Gimignano’s Collegiata. )

Alas, museums and churches, for the most part, did not allow photography, and if they did, it had to be without flash (no problem) and tripod (which made getting good photographs in low light a challenge). One church, Santa Lucia al Borghetto in Tavarnelle Val di Pesa (the town where the authors stayed), allowed photography and the use of a tripod, one of the few times indoor photographs could be taken at a slow speed.

The Berners call this 8.5-square-inch book a Pixels and Bristles™ production.
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R Thomas Berner is professor emeritus of journalism and American studies at the The Pennsylvania State University. He blogs at http://rtberner.blogspot.com/
and is an editorial consultant, freelance writer and photographer

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Christian Book Marketing

Title: Your Guide to Marketing Books in the Christian Marketplace,
Second Edition
Author:Sarah Bolme
Website: www.marketingchristianbooks.com
Category: Nonfiction: Marketing
ISBN:978-0-9725546-8-8
Publisher: CREST Publications



Synopsis:

This book provides a blueprint for authors and publishers to promote their books in the Christian marketplace. The book covers three areas:

1) Launching Your Book including gathering endorsements, garnering reviews, and pursuing book awards;

2) Selling Your Books with information on reaching Christian retailers, connecting with churches, promoting to Christian consumers, and harnessing the Internet;

3) Special Markets for selling your books to the homeschool market, the Urban market, and e-books.

Review:

Reviewed by Mary Battle

Sarah Bolme has distinguished herself as a leading publisher and author in her latest book, Your Guide to Marketing Books in the Christian Marketplace, Second Edition. In her book, Bolme reveals the secret to successful marketing for authors and publishers alike. She unveils countless valuable tips, web resources, and easy to follow instructions on marketing in the Christian book industry. As an African-American author, I found the ‘Targeting Special Markets’ section a priceless gem. This book is an essential tool for all Christian authors and publishers.
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Sarah Bolme is an author and speaker. She blogs at http://marketingchristianbooks.wordpress.com
and tweets at http://www.twitter.com/SaraBlome
Buy the book at www.marketingchristianbooks.com



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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Lani Massey Brown Pens Thriller

A Margin of Error: Ballots of Straw
By Lani Massey Brown
Genre: Suspense/thriller/mystery
ISBN Paperback: 1439206813
AISN Kindle: B002EQ9S3I


Reviewed by Midewest Book Review's Small Press Bookwatch
A Five Star Book

Politics is a tough career, with more knives in backs than a backstabbing convention. ‘A Margin of Error: Ballots of Straw’ is a political thriller following Cady Palmer as she attempts to stand up for what she believes in the face of a corrupt governor and his deep reaching network. Not knowing who to trust, Cady submerges herself in the webs of deceit where her next mistake may be her last. ‘A Margin of Error’ is an exciting read.

Synopsis:



When lovely computer expert Cady Palmer discovers the governor’s plot, the governor wants her dead. The governor's spy simply wants her. And her stalker…

Cady fired Leonard months ago. Since then he’s stalked her, waiting for today, all the while executing the governor’s plan for today’s election. Tonight when Cady’s election crew tallies the votes, she’ll know something’s wrong. It’s her job to know. But there’s nothing she can do to stop it. Later when it’s over, Leonard will come for her. And if Cady’s beautiful assistant, Izzy Palacio gets in his way, he’ll grab her too.

Leonard’s not the only one on the governor’s private payroll. The governor sends his long-time confidante Neal Charles to observe Cady and her election crew, ostensibly to alert the governor if there’s need for early damage control. But the governor really wants a lookout should Leonard’s scheme unravel. The governor doesn’t count on Neal devising plans of his own.

Cady pegs Neal for the spy he is and warns the coquettish Izzy. Nonetheless when Izzy disappears and Cady’s stalker closes in, Neal wedges himself into Cady’s drama, not for the governor or Neal’s own plans, but for Cady and Izzy. At first, Cady and Neal balk at the attractions drawing them together. Then before long, the two join as one in their search for truth and for Izzy. Together they discover the silent coup marching across the country in the governor’s state-of-the-art voting machines. They risk losing it all for each other.


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Sandy Lender Reviews Sutton's Women's Fiction

Title: The Ride
Author: Jane Kennedy Sutton
Jane's blog: http://janekennedysutton.blogspot.com/
Genre: Women's Fiction (Contemporary)
ISBN: (10)1-59507-193-8, (13) 978-159507-193-4
Reviewer's rating: 5 stars

Reviewed by Sandy Lender for Amazon

Going For a Literary Ride, April 9, 2009

What's a middle-aged gal to do when she realizes her disappointing marriage is truly over? Well, her best friend just took off on a cruise out of cell phone range and her aunt-actually-mother just passed away so she's kinda on her own to figure it out. Vulnerable, it would seem. This is how Author Jane Kennedy Sutton hands us the tormented Barbie in the contemporary fiction novel The Ride. Whether you've got a strong feminist streak that wants to scream at Barbie each time she takes a risk or you identify a little too well with her worries, Sutton has created a character that forces emotion from you. Mix in an obnoxious husband that too many women in today's society know, an inheritance that we need to hide from said husband, and a seductive stranger who reeks of self-assurance, and Sutton has a recipe for a coming-of-age story for a woman who's already come-of-age once.

I definitely recommend The Ride, not just because the author and editors obviously took time in refining it technically, but also because the story moves at a brisk pace, keeping the reader engrossed in the plot as it takes its twists. I was thoroughly impressed with Sutton's style and enjoyed her first offering in contemporary fiction. Hopefully we won't have to wait long for another adventure!

From Fantasy Author, Sandy Lender
"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Literary Novel Uses Internet as Enhancement

Book Title: Until the Deep Water Stills - An Internet-enhanced Novel
Author Name: Michael Robert Dyet
Novel Online Companion: www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog
Michael’s Blog: www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 (Metaphors of Life Journal AKA
Things That Make Me Go Hmmm)
Genre: Literary Fiction
ISBN: 978-0-9811995-0-4
Publication Date: March 2009
.

Reviewed by Marianne Paul, Author of Tending Memory, Twice in a Blue Moon
and Dead Girl Diaries


"Doomsday prophets who sound the death knell of this book shortchange the
artist and his abilities to find new ways to express himself.

In Until the Deep Water Stills, Michael Dyet offers a glimpse into the evolution of the novel, harnessing the new technologies to reveal layers of story in a way that can only be done in the electronic age. Dyet deftly uses the Internet
to create underlying strata, allowing the reader to slip away, if she wishes, from the third-person narrative of the novel to access the first-person intimacy of the blogs, diaries, letters, audio, and photo journals of the characters. When the reader returns to the main narrative, it is with deeper understanding, and sometimes astonishing new facts.

The story unfolds from a central event – the drug overdose death of a teenage girl at a rave. The aftershocks set out in ever-expanding circles, engulfing her parents, her aunt and uncle, and also a social worker using the death to promote her personal agenda of drug-free raves. Tragedy and misfortune rock the lives of the characters, but it is the emotional narrative beneath these events that is the epicenter of the novel. Secrets lie beneath the surface, as do fault lines beneath the earth. It is
private life to public life, subconscious mind to conscious mind, third person to first person - what we choose to reveal (or not) to those who are supposed to be our “intimates” – our spouses and partners.

Bryan speaks openly of his affair in his blog, telling strangers of his marital infidelity and his innermost thoughts, but not his politician wife, Grace. Jayce’s anger erupts so that he smashes a glass-top table in front of Katherine and their young daughter, but he can’t bring himself to share with his wife the one act of violence from his past that most plagues him. Katharine publicly communicates to her husband her desire to leave their marriage through the photographs she has chosen to display at the opening reception of her art show. Faith writes letters to the mother
who abandoned her at a young age, but doesn’t send them, choosing instead to view her mother from afar.

Marshall McLuhan said, "The medium is the message." He might have been peering into the future to see Dyet's novel, where the medium of the Internet enhances the story, certainly, but also, becomes the story,revelations offered to the reader in a way not possible in the hard-copy, print-static world of the past. The mode influences the telling."

~Marianne Paul
Author of Tending Memory, Twice in a Blue Moon and Dead Girl Diaries


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

A Time Travel Romance Is Also Dark Fiction

The Space Between
A novel by Erik Tomblin
Dark Fiction/Time Travel Romance
ISBN: 978-0-615-24536-2
Blue Fair Books
5 stars


Reviewed by Kelly Perry for Amazon


I adore books that can entertain me, but don't require my undivided attention to enjoy. I'm also infatuated with books that can make me laugh, maybe cry a little, and then give me the happily-ever-after ending I so want. But my biggest affection, my deepest love, is held for those books that grant me space in the author's world and offer transcendence.

I read Erik Tomblin's latest and was completely entranced. Like street lights that seem to grow closer until they soon begin to appear as stars that were made just for you, strung out along the streets like hushed party lights, The Space Between shakes free and transforms the world around you.

Now while I could go on and break the story down for you, I think the synopsis pretty much covers it. And sure, I could describe the intoxicating atmosphere, the fluid pace, the three-dimensional characters or even Tomblin's powerful, yet subtle style of writing, but seriously...how fun would that be to read? My point exactly. No, much like trying to describe to someone the utter deliciousness of funnel cake or getting a Prada bag at bargain price, some things just have to be experienced.

I promise, you won't be let down.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Brigitte A. Thompson Gives Writers a Dose of What They Need

Title: Bookkeeping Basics for Freelance Writers
Author: Brigitte A. Thompson
Genre: Nonfiction, business
ISBN: 978-0963212382
Reviewer's rating: 5 stars

Reviewed by Michelle Dunn for Amazon

Review:

- Writers everywhere will be so happy to find this book! I am a writer, not a bookkeeper, but bookkeeping is a big part of being a writer. Unfortunately, many writers do not have bookkeeping or business skills. This book can help you tremendously with forming your business, setting up what you need to do legally, choosing a name, and documenting your income for the IRS. The forms included in this book are invaluable and make the process much easier and stremlined, including a freelance contract and subcontractor agreement. Save yourself much time and aggravation and use this book and the forms included to begin your successful writing career today! ----Michelle Dunn, columnist and author of eight books in the collecting money seri

Synopsis:

Bookkeeping Basics for Freelance Writers addresses issues writers face daily such as how to deduct travel expenses, determine taxable writing income, and claim home office deductions.

Navigating through the recordkeeping required for a small business owner can be difficult. This book is written exclusively for those of us who earn money by writing. It includes useful information to help interpret the complexities of our federal tax code and proven techniques to reduce taxable income. T

hroughout the book we have included tips from both new and seasoned writers. In the Tips forSuccess feature writers share the wisdom they have acquired over time. In the Writer’s Block feature you will discover specific questions writers have submitted which, when answered, helpclarify points made about that topic.

You will also find that each part of this book works together to assist you in forming your overall business plan. Each chapter steps through a comprehensive plan that works as a building block towards a successful writing business.

Q&A/Interview:

An interview with Brigitte A. Thompson, author of eight financial books including the just released Bookkeeping Basics for Freelance Writers published by Crystal Press.

Tell us what Bookkeeping Basics for Freelance Writers is about.

Writers have many important questions to ask about income and expenses, but no single source for answers. I created this book, Bookkeeping Basics for Freelance Writers, to be that source. It is an easy-to-understand guide to organizing a writer’s financial life.

This book addresses issues writers face daily such as how to deduct travel expenses, determine taxable writing income, and claim home office deductions. Navigating through the recordkeeping required for a small business owner can be difficult. This book is written exclusively for those of us who earn money by writing.

Readers will also find that each part of this book works together to assist in forming an overall business plan. The chapters take the writer through a comprehensive process that works as a building block towards a successful writing business.

Have you found that freelance writers require a different set of bookkeeping rules?

Many bookkeeping rules are universal such as the requirement to record income, but there are some areas of the tax law that are of more interest to freelance writers. This includes dealing with royalty payments, bartering, personal property and agent fees. My book addresses the universal tax rules as well as the infrequently discussed rules that apply specifically to freelance writers.

Learning how to document expenses and how to track income will give writers the best chance at overall business success.

What are some tax deductions that freelance writers might not be aware of?

There are many tax deductions available to writers. Some expenses are common, such as the cost of purchasing a case of paper or paying for a computer software upgrade. Other costs incurred in the operation of your writing business may not jump out at you as expenses when they could be.

For example, consider the following accounts.

Mileage: Trips made in your vehicle to pick up office supplies can be counted as a business deduction if you record the proper information to support it.

Meals: Treating your agent to a restaurant meal with the discussion focusing on your next book can also generate a tax deduction when properly documented.

Shipping: UPS charges and postage used to mail a query or review copy of your book can be a small expense, but it should still be tracked. Those small deductions add up and every penny spent as a qualified business expense will reduce the amount of income tax you owe.

Bookkeeping Basics for Freelance Writers devotes an entire chapter to expenses including a comprehensive listing of expenses and detailed information regarding what documentation is required to support each one.

I'm sure you've observed other freelance writers making accounting missteps that cost them time and money. What are some of the most common issues and how can we avoid them?

The most common misstep I’ve seen with writers is not taking themselves seriously as business owners. This can lead to financial pitfalls. Many writers have been honing their craft for years so it’s hard to identify an official starting date for their self-employment. Without this point to mark the beginning, it is easy to put off tracking income and expenses. This can be an unfortunate mistake.

The IRS will consider you to be in business when you are actively pursuing projects intended to generate income and expenses. This means they will expect you to file a tax return to report those transactions. Keeping track of your income and expenses from day one will enable you to pay the least amount of income taxes on the money you earn.

Many people find numbers, especially when related to bookkeeping and taxes, intimidating. Will this book make these things easier to understand"?

Yes, my book breaks down complicated number crunching into easy to follow steps. By reading the book, readers will understand why it's important to keep certain receipts and how those pieces of paper factor into the overall success of their writing business. Sometimes knowing the reasoning behind a task makes it easier to complete.

Writers can take advantage of some wonderful tax deductions, but only when they are aware of the possibility and know how to accurately document the expenses. My book explains it all in a reader friendly format.

What are some of the challenges readers face with regards to bookkeeping?

I found the most common challenge writers face revolves around what they can claim as income and what counts as a tax deduction. For example, if their first job is writing the school newsletter, is the money received really income? Do they need to do something with the Internal Revenue Service before they can be considered a business? How do they handle selfemployment tax?

The second most common concern for the freelance writers is related to proper documentation.What receipts did they need to save? How should they be kept? What information needs to be recorded to prove the expense? These are all great questions and they are addressed in the book.

Why is it important for writers to understand bookkeeping?

Writers are earning money and this money needs to be reported as income on their income tax return. If writers do not have any expenses to claim, their taxable income will be higher and they will owe more income tax.

Understanding what can be claimed as business expenses when you are a writer and how to properly document these expenses will help ensure the success of your business.

The most important thing you can do as a writer is to become organized. There are many books available on how to organize your writing, but this is the best book available about how to organize the financial side of your writing business.


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Christy Tillery French Reviews New Memoir

Letting Go: An Ordinary Woman’s Extraordinary Journey of Healing and Transformation
Author: Nancy A. Kaiser
Genre: Memoir/Self-Help
ISBN: 9780981463323
Publisher: Visual Impressions Publishing


Reviewed by Christy Tillery French for Midwest Book Review


With five short words (“I never wanted this house”), Nancy Kaiser’s world came to a screeching halt. Nancy and her husband Bob had retired to North Carolina, where they planned to build their dream home on a mountain they chose as their special place. Before the house was finished, Bob said these words to Nancy, and from that point on, her world tilted and her life became off-balance. Alone, six hundred miles from family and friends, nothing seemed to go right for Nancy. On her own, she had to face the deaths of dear friends and beloved animal companions, as well as problems that kept cropping up with the house she moved into, all while dealing with the trauma of divorcing her husband.

Although the title describes Nancy as an “ordinary woman”, perhaps a more appropriate nomenclature would be an exceptional person in tune with nature, who not only understands the connection between animals and humans but also is able to communicate with animals. Nancy is a woman dedicated to finding her center through spiritual and cerebral means, pitting ego against soul, learning to love herself, trust her decisions, and focus on the positive instead of the negative. This outstanding book leads the reader through Nancy’s soul-searching journey of transformation, from a woman filled with anger and rage and negativity to one who is at peace with herself and her feelings and has learned to let go of the things she cannot control. The reader will feel Nancy’s pain as she struggles and rejoice with her as she begins to progress toward her life’s goal. The lessons learned in this book are of great significance and will gift the reader with a better understanding of “self”. Highly recommended.


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Self-Help Book (With Humor) Keeps You on Track

Title: Hindsight: What You Need to Know Before You Drop Your Drawers
Author: Maryanne Comaroto
ISBN-13: 0974661007
Genre: self-help, sex, relationships
Publisher: Bridge the Gap publishing

Have you noticed that you have a knack for attracting Mr. Wrong (or Not-Exactly-Right)? When it comes to relationships, timing is everything. Knowing what you need to know before you drop your drawers can save you tons of heartache, money and time. For some of us, finding a man any man totally eludes us. While others have become adept at finding a man, he is rarely the right man, and rarely does the relationship last, nor should it.

Let's face it, there isn't much worse than literally and figuratively waking up to the reality that we have been sleeping with disaster. Hindsight: What You Need to Know Before You Drop Your Drawers guides the reader through the challenges of dating and mating in the twenty-first century and shares powerful solutions on how to find the RIGHT man, get him, and keep him, so you are fully equipped to create healthy, sustainable, fulfilling relationships.

Maryanne Comaroto (Maryannelive.com) has been inspiring people to create and attract healthy relationships for nearly a decade. In HINDSIGHT she reveals the six tools you must have in your tool belt to create the perfect mate. Maryanne takes you through the toxic choices we make in dating, and then teaches you how to turn six tools into lifelong skills and Self-Love Prescription exercises designed to help you achieve mastery.

Since HINDSIGHT begins within, your relationship with yourself is the first place to start. You will learn: How to tell the frogs from the princes/princesses What you truly want and how to create it Ways to remove the blockages you have with men and relationships The steps on the journey from selling yourself to your sacred self that will attract your perfect mate How to manifest the relationship of your dreams into reality To lighten up and have fun discover the JOY of your own life While the truth can often hurt, it can also be hysterical. The journey through Hindsight will have you laughing and learning your way to healthier relationships.

Maryanne's book is applicable for just about anyone – single or not – as it focuses on the priority we should place on learning to be in tune with OUR OWN SELVES. It's then up to us how we choose to take this knowledge into our relationships! A great read for anyone feeling there has to be a better way to be in a relationship, or for someone who just wants help figuring themselves out! Maryanne tells it like it is in a way that encourages and inspires!

~Alexis James
(synopsis first published on Amazon

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Patricia Delois' New Book Reviewed

Title: Bufflehead Sisters
Author: Patricia Delois
ISBN-13: 978-0425227770
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher: Berkley Trade

Reviewed by Karyn Hall
Review first published by Amazon

Janet lives an ordinary life with an ordinary family, growing up
against a backdrop of the Vietnam War and the growth of the drug
culture. Her parents struggle for a balance between compassion and
control. Janet yearns for a sister, a Thelma for her Louise. Then
Sophie enters her life. Patricia DeLois has Janet describe Sophie as
follows: "Her hair was a nest of blond curls that made me think of
Goldilocks, and there was a smug look about her mouth that suggested
she might have already helped herself to someone's porridge and found
it just right." Turns out, this is actually foreshadowing of events
to come in Sophie and Janet’s lives.

DeLois writes with a magic wand. "One day in late winter, Sophie
suggested we dig our way to another country. Not China, she said--they
would look for us there. We would dig a hole halfway to China, and
then we would veer off toward Amsterdam."

DeLois enters the world of two children and shows the reader both how
Sophie viewed her dysfunctional family and how Janet viewed her own
parents as well as her relationship with the Sophie. The author is as
adept at showing the child's view as she is the adolescent view. The
imagery she creates is so realistic you'll think you're back in your
high school lunchroom, hoping against hope a certain boy will sit with
you and scorning the girls who have reputations. But this is an adult
book that holds a mirror to the ways we judge others.

A coming of age story, a book about heartbreak and the ways women and
men struggle with their wounds, and a tale of everyday lives,
Bufflehead Sisters is all that. It is also a look at having friends
who are different than you and how that affects your life and your
character. You may see yourself in the pages.

There's something special about Sophie. Every one who meets her thinks
so, though not in the same ways. This reader agrees, and probably not
in the same way as you.

I found Bufflehead Sisters to be an enjoyable book. I cared about the
characters and the conflicts they faced. I also looked again at the
choices I’ve made in life.


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Mary Jean Kelso's New Book Reviewed

Title: Back to the Homestead
Author Mary Jean Kelso
Genre: Western Fiction
ISBN 978-1-59705-431-7.
Publisher: Wings Press


Reviewed by Claudia Valiquet, publicist/literary agent

Mary Jean Kelso’s historical romance, Life on the

Homestead, was not only entertaining, but also informative about western life! Western fiction has been a passion of mine now for several years. I confess that Louis L’Amour is my favorite and I actually get a little bored with Zane Grey. Ms. Kelso’s book, while teaching me some new facts about life on the range, kept me in suspense the whole way through and I didn’t want to stop reading.

I fell in love with the Westerman family and agonized along with them as they dealt not only with the day-to-day chores and other tribulations that western pioneer families faced, but also with great adversities such as mental illness, cattle rustling, and severe childhood illness. Ms. Kelso dealt with racism as Charlie Cooper and his new wife, Effie Mae, a black couple settling onto the range, have to fear for their lives.

Despite all of the drama in the book, there are some wonderfully humorous portions, too, especially the marble game and a small matter about one boy who is not very good at handling guns. The book is action-packed and flows well, yet there is no blood or death--which is very refreshing. I’m ready for more!


Available through wings-press.com or ask for it at your favorite book store.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Barbara Bonfigli Captures Essence of Greece in Fictionalized Memoir

Title: Café Tempest: Adventures on a Small Greek Island
Author: Barbara Bonfigli
Author's Website: www.cafetempest.com
Genre: Fictional Memoir
ISBN: 978-0981645315
Publisher: Tell Me Press
Available From Amazon.com:


Reviewed by Michael Gelb, author of How to Think lIke Leonardo Da Vinci(excerpt from his review 4/30/2009 at www.michaelgelb.com


"...In CaféTempest, Barbara Bonfigli's fabulous first novel, we are invited to share a concentrated experience of food, spirit and love on an intimate Greek island.


"Your heart will race with the tempestuousness of love, your mouth will water from her savory descriptions of zucchini fritters and baklava (recipes included), and you'll discover a remarkable depth of spiritual wisdom, and humor! that shines through every page.


"Bonfigli plays with the best elements of Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) and Peter Mayle (A Year in Provence) and combines them with ingredients from Nikos Kazantzakis (Zorba the Greek) and Shakespeare (The Tempest) to bring us a uniquely sumptuous literary feast. Opa! --

To learn about Barbara Bonfigli and Café Tempest, feel free to visit any of these sites.
Barbara Bonfigli’s website – www.cafetempest.com
Order Café Tempest directly from the publisher - http://www.tellmepress.com/pub_ct.php
or from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Café-Tempest-Adventures-Small-Island/dp/0981645313
To see the complete tour schedule visit http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2009/05/cafe-tempest-by-barbara-bonfigli-summer.html

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Audio Book Offers Riehl's Poetry from Former Book

Title: Sightlines: A Family Love Story in Poetry and Music
Author: Janet Grace Riehl
Genre: poetry; audio book
ISBN: B0020SQFRC.
Originally published: Story Circle Book Reviews: Reviewing Books for, by, and about Women

Reviewed by Edith O'Nuallain



Sightlines: A Family Love Story in Poetry and Music by Janet Grace Riehl consists of 4 audio CDs, which combine the poems previously published in Riehl's book Sightlines: A Poet's Diary. This recorded version of Sightlines: A Poet's Diary (2006) expands on the original 90 poems by including brief clips of 40 songs played by her 93-year-old father and his Sunday Afternoon music group. The poems are further set in a wider context with her father's stories, and he reads the poems he wrote that open Sightlines, along with the lines of dialogue that appear in poems sprinkled throughout. In this unique offering, we glimpse the lives, past and present, of the poet and her family.

Together words and songs weave a magical tapestry of myriad threads, recounting family folklore in the warm timbres of Riehl's quiet-spoken voice, each story-poem set in the lively rhythms of fiddles, guitars and mandolins, music reminiscent of a bygone era. The sometimes slightly discordant notes of the violin merely add to the beauty of the tales told.

This series of poems and songs is a memoir. It is also a series of love poems, composed in memory and celebration of three people and two places Riehl loves. She traces the treasured reminiscences of a childhood shared with her two older siblings—her sister, Julia Ann, and her brother, Gary, tenderly watched over by loving parents. Her attentiveness to detail is evident in the images and words which reflect her considered awareness of who she is and where she comes from. Here is where Riehl composes the haunting and lyrical songs to her sister, tragically killed in an automobile accident, an experience so devastating that almost every succeeding poem is written in reference, either directly or obliquely, to it. The mother and father captured on her pages are our mothers and fathers, the love she expresses for them is the love we feel for our own.

One striking feature of Riehl's poetry is the unmistakable sense of presence that the author brings to her subject matter. Pick any poem from the book, and almost immediately the reader comes face to face, as it were, with the poet. She recounts, sometimes in devastating and searingly honest detail, her mother's progressive dance towards death. She is not afraid to open herself to the suffering of returning and re-living the death of her sister, a tragedy that changed everything. Riehl is a woman who has seen a lot, more in fact than many of us would wish to encounter. Yet her presence assures us that we too can survive the unthinkable; that we can live to tell the tale. And what is more, that in telling our stories we become more of who we are destined to be.

If we can locate the bravery within ourselves that Riehl points us towards, then we too may become in time as compassionate, caring, understanding and yes, even forgiving, as she. For indeed is this not what the best memoirs do? They do not point the finger of blame, but rather paint a picture of a wholly believable individual, someone who might have been our sister or brother or mother or father.

In the end it is the universality of her subject matter that renders her poetry so accessible. We read her poems not just to peep through a window into her life, but to lift the veil a little on our own, so that we may perhaps learn something about ourselves and our loved ones, even while we swim in the subterranean waters of her words.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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, 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. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.