Are You Lacking that Necessary MoJo

Title: #MojoTweet
Author: Marshall Goldsmith
Genre or category: inspirational, self-help
ISBN: Paperback: 978-1-61699-022-0 (1-61699-022-8)
E-Book: 978-1-61699-023-7 (1-61699-023-6)

Reviewed by Teresa Morrow for http://www.successful-blog.com and ThinkAha books


In this hurried world we live in, the need for great information that will make us want to jump into action, is often hard to find. Well, in the ThinkAha book series, this problem is quickly resolved by the format used. The books in the series, such as #MOJOtweet, is written in the template of around only 100 pages and formulated about tweets (also known as AHA’s) in 140 characters.

You may be asking what is Mojo? Mojo is the moment when you do something that’s purposeful, powerful and positive and the rest of the world recognizes it.

Mitchell Levy, CEO of Happy About, Inc. and publisher of ThinkAha books, summarizes the essence of the book in the forward, ” Mojo is that missing ingredient that is between you and your life filled with meaning and happiness. #Mojotweet provides that in bite-sized packages.”

Below are just a few of the wise, helpful and inspirational aha’s I found in the this informational compact book, #MOJOtweet.

~ We run everything through two filters: short-term satisfaction (or happiness) and long-term satisfaction (meaning). –>So true! When I first read that I thought, “no I don’t do that”, but when I thought about it again, I realized I certainly do.

~ Mojo is infectious. When people pass their positive spirit onto us; we feel like passing it back.

–>Again, great insight in such a short statement. Positive breeds positive. If I am around a positive person, my outlook will change for the better which I will radiate to others around me.

~ When measuring your Mojo, do so in the immediate present, not in the recent past or vague future.–>this is something I struggle with sometimes. I worry about things from the past or worry how to correct things before they even get here…not to concentrate on what is in the now.
-----
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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Title: Not A Fire Exit
Written by: Christopher Finlan
Genre: Fiction
Soft cover: 234 pages
Publisher: Milverstead Publishing
Print ISBN: 978-0-9842847-0-2; 0-9842847-0-2
Price: $12.95 soft cover



Reviewed by Carolee Gearhart for Amazon.com

A book that'll make me reconsider a Yoo-Hoo as a must-have beverage has got to have something compelling going for it! More seriously, the book delivered a knockout punch that had nothing to do with the wildly entertaining Nolan's Knockouts and the ensuing jealousy/indignation of Jim's long-suffering wife Sarah. To get a gripping mystery that combined witty repartee and a romance was a rare treat. Ultimately it was the quirky and endearing Jim and Sarah that stayed with me, and reminded me what my truest loves have really been made of - the everyday, nutty likes and dislikes of the imperfect person you've decided you can't live without. Love, in all its permutations, is really what makes the world go round....and this book left that with me - both from its content as well as its objective in helping fight a crippling disease that hits children. Thanks on both fronts, Mr. Finlan!


-----
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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Transgender Protagonist Leads Readers to Better Understanding

TITLE: She's My Dad
AUTHOR: Iolanthe Woulff
AUTHOR SITE: www.iolanthewoulff.com
GENRE: Fiction: Social Suspense/Contemporary/LGBT
ISBN: 9781432744052 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781432743772 (Trade Paperback)
PUBLISHER: Outskirts Press (November 13, 2009)



Reviewed by Erin N. for Luxury Reading

REVIEWER RATING: SHE'S MY DAD has been included in Vera's "Year's Best Books" list: http://www.luxuryreading.com/2009/10/years-best-books.html


In today’s society, absolutely no one is immune to the forces of hate in the world. Terrorist attacks, hate groups, and xenophobic neighborhoods, towns, and even nations are all appalling reminders that citizens of the world live daily with fear. But, how often is the hate within ever addressed? Due to blind prejudice, it doesn’t take much for an average working American, or even a well respected financial baron, to build a bomb and “set it off like some primitive Arabian towel-head,” as evidenced in this book and the news every night.

She’s My Dad brings this terrifying hate to the forefront in a spell binding and dynamic way. The story begins in a small town in Virginia. A wealthy man disowns one of his sons because of his homosexuality, only to have that very son be his only surviving heir. In an effort to shine a light on the inherent hate within our society, that son turns his vast fortune, and even his home, into a university whose ideals are integration and acceptance. Despite his noble efforts, the small town that is the home to this university isn’t enlightened enough to deal with its existence, and the locals harbor a hatred for the institution and everything it stands for.

Flash forward. An intelligent and engaging woman returns to the university 25 years after graduation to take up the mantle of a professor. A journalism major discovers the secrets of this woman’s past; she is a transgendered woman and, through a youthful indiscretion with a married local woman, is the father of a local boy. This boy has been raised in a home of hatred and intolerance. The new professor’s appointment to the university’s staff forces the staff, the students, the town, and her own son to finally address the prejudice inherent within themselves.

She’s My Dad is an action packed story with a great deal of insight into the human heart. Woulff creates a cast of characters that are fascinating and cause the reader to care about what happens to them. She’s My Dad is more than just a novel, it is an experience.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER: Erin fell in love with the written word as a small child and subsequently spent most of her life happily devouring literature. She works as a freelance news, marketing, and technical writer. Erin lives just outside of Cleveland, Ohio with her husband, children, and grandchildren.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Like her title character Nickie Farrell, Iolanthe Woulff is a transsexual woman. A fifty-nine-year-old Princeton-educated English major, she lives in Palm Springs, CA, where for several years she wrote a column in a local magazine about the challenges of gender transition. As the eldest child of author Herman Wouk, storytelling has always been dear to Ms. Woulff's heart. Her hope is that besides providing a suspenseful read, She's My Dad will help to dispel some of the widespread misconceptions about transsexual people.


-----
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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Rave Review for John Klawitter's New Release

The Rogue Pirates Bible Heretical
By John Klawitter
ISBN-10: 1-55404-716-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-55404-716-1
Genre: Science Fiction
eBook Length: 214 Pages
Published: December 2009
Imprint: Double Dragon Publishing

http://tinyurl.com/PirBib1
The Rogue Pirates Bible Heretical

Tales from the Biblical Zone
by John Klawitter

Review by Mary Therese Burns-De Francesco, Rome , Italy
~~ Rome correspondent for the La Gazzetta Italiana newspaper

Whymiscal, very human take on previously chiselled in stone biblical characters by author John Klawitter, who did for the Bible what Douglas Addams did for space travel with the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Klawitter brings home the characters and shows us they're good old guys and gals just like us, who happened to live in an amazing time full of burning bushes, angelic apparitions and thunder strikes on cue. Not to mention neanderthals, aliens and pirate spaceships....

Klawitter's other works also show an admirable capacity for understanding human nature and society as is, not how we wish it were, and his characters often feel like we already know them, they are quite believable, in effect. Many of his books are chock full of action like a Hollywood movie and it's hard to put them down, he did the same in this collection of short tales, one wants to read it over and over again and wishes there were more stories to read. I am an old fan of John Klawitter's work, I enjoy his mature tales, like only a master storyteller can tell them. I am enamoured of this world he invented, of the frame of the Rogue pirates to tell these age-old stories with a new twist, I really would love to see more development of the space pirate theme, I can't get enough of it, my mind keeps wondering about that world in my free time, I hope that John Klawitter will reveal more of that world to readers in the future.

A thumbs up to The Rogue Pirates Bible Heretical.

-----
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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

The Really OK, Not OK Book

I'm Not OK, You're Not OK, But That's OK With God: Finding the Humor and Healing in Life
By Shelley Hussey
ISBN 9780615199368
Publisher: Harper Ink


Reviewed By Carolyn Howard-Johnson, an Amazon Vine Voice


Prospective readers of "I'm Not OK" should know, I am not an officianado of inspirational self-help books. I have read enough of them to know that most are not written by writers--especially the ones on the bestselling lists--thus I don't seek them out. Usually one can't detect a voice or personality behind the advice. Thus, it's difficult to related to those giving the advice and certainly they aren't much fun to read.

"I'm Not OK" is different. It is full of humor. One would expect that from the subtitle. But it's also full of heart and, yes, one can detect a real person--and I'm thinking writer, too--behind the chapters and paragraphs.

Find the chapters titled "From Band-Aid Soup to Nuts." Find "The Fleeting Peace of Mind Zip Code" and "Fred Goes to the Not OK Corral." Here is a book that is full of anecdote, personal experience (read that "trusted experience") and, yep! Inspiration.
----
Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, multi award-winning novelist, poet and author of the HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and retailers.




-----
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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Birts Write Illustrate Book for Kids

Title: Ian Wakes Up
Author: Pat Birt
Publisher's Book Store :
http://www.authorhouse.com/Bookstore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=64737
Illustrator : Rob Birt

Genre : Childrens Color Picture/Easy Reader
ISBN : 9781449012137

Reviewed by Julie Rugh for Amazon

Supports teaching morning routine,

Ian Wakes Up is about a child's morning routine from climbing out of bed,to dressing, eating breakfast etc...all the things we do before leaving the house to start our day. The illustrations are bright, colorful and cheery...while simple and easy for the child to understand prior to being able to read the words. A wonderful tool for reinforcing those morning steps to a pre-schooler as they learn to do for themselves.

-----
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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Poodle and Doodle and Fun Story for Kids

Poodle & DoodleTitle: Poodle and Doodle
Written by: Donna J. Shepherd
Illustrated by: Jack Foster
Soft cover: 20 pages
Ages: up to 12 years
Publisher: Guardian Angel Publishing
Print ISBN: 978-1-61633-017-0 ; 6161330171
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-61633-018-7 ; 161633018-X
Price: $10.95 – Soft cover
$9.95 – E-book CD
$5.00 – PDF or Flip Zipped E-book

Reviewed by Donna M. McDine

The balance of friendship can be a difficult one to understand. At times one may feel they are overshadowed by a friend and become frustrated. Poodle and Doodle by Donna J. Shepherd explores an unexpected friendship in this delightful rhyming story of two distinctly different dogs.

What comes forth through the eyes of one fancy poodle pup, Angel, is her own insecurities of having another dog around. When Scruffy, a cross between Poodle and Labrador is brought home by their owner, Leah, havoc ensues wherever Scruffy goes. His less than stellar manners appall Angel until the “ah-ha” moment that Scruffy is not so bad and is actually fun to have around.

Shepherd wonderfully brings to life real life issues all humans contend with in finding their place with friends. Most of all, we are all individuals whether canine or human and should appreciate the positives in all we meet.

Illustrator, Jack Foster brings the canine characters to life with their young owner, Leah, making it an adventure to read over and over again.

To learn more about author Donna J. Shepherd visit: http://www.donnajshepherd.com and http://www.poodleanddoodle.blogspot.com.

Visit and explore Jack Foster’s colorful world at: http://www.jacktoon.blogspot.com.

Reviewer Donna M. McDine will help you post your media releases? Contact: Dynamic Media Release Services: http://www.donnamcdine.com/dynamicmediareleases.html Find her at: http://www.donnamcdine.com and her Write What Inspires You Blog: http://www.donna-mcdine.blogspot.com

-----
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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Memoir Serves As Self Help, Too!

Book: The Therapist's New Clothes
By: Judith D. Schwartz
Blog: http://litadventuresinpod.blogspot.com
Genre: Memoir
ISBN/UPC: 9781605710341
Publisher: Shires Press


Reviewed by Carla Cantor for Amazon.com


In The Therapist's New Clothes, Judith D. Schwartz takes us on a journey of self-discovery. Haunted by her grandmother's suicide, the author has spent most of her adult years trying to resolve emotional problems with her for as long as she can remember. But despite years of self-analysis and psychotherapy, she is unable to hold onto happiness. Her quest to conquer her demons takes on an even greater urgency once she marries and has a child. Desperate for answers, Schwartz seeks out a string of clinicians with whom she forges close, symbiotic relationships as they struggle to piece together the puzzle of her childhood. At the same time, she decides to
become a therapist herself.

Schwartz's pursuit of a tranquil psyche unfolds like a detective story, from New York to Chicago to Vermont and back and forth in time. The author moves deftly between early years and present-day life and provides an uncommon peek into the private worlds of therapy sessions and clinician training.

A "good patient" and a caring, astute beginning therapist, Schwartz
understands the ins and outs of concepts like transference and projection.
She clings to a personal narrative that includes guilt and parental blame
for a case of childhood mumps that may that (or may not) have caused her
brother's vision problems. Schwartz views emptiness and self-loathing, her
constant companions, as "old" feelings dredged up in therapy, to be worked
out in therapy - preventing her from realizing that the therapy itself has
become addiction that is keeping her from discovering a better way.

We root for this intelligent, insightful woman to unlock the key to her
misery and stop beating herself up, which she eventually does, sort of. One
gets the feeling at the end of the book that there are more chapters to be
written, new narratives and aha moments for the analytic Schwartz - but
that's okay. We can look forward to them.

In the meantime, Schwartz's cautionary tale will be inspiring to others and
make readers think. Aside from sharing a moving personal tale, Schwartz
broaches important questions - about the relationship between mind and body,self and biochemistry, and the meaning of happiness. Her story challenges us to take a look at own narratives and how they influence our perception of who we are in the world.

-----
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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Polishing up Your Media Releases with "The Frugal Book Promoter"

The Frugal Book Promoter
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
ISBN 193299310X
Star Publish
Pages 282 Includes Index
Winner USA Book News Best Book Award, and Book Publicists of Southern California's Irwin Award


Reviewed by Author and Radio Host Constance M. Gotsch

As the program director for a public radio station, thrice-published author, and publicist for a couple of arts organizations in my home town, I deal with releases all the time. Some of the people who send me stuff should read The Frugal Book Promoter. Carolyn Howard-Johnson is full of ideas on how to focus promotions, and how to make them attractive to any medium--radio, TV, the net, print, and more. To grasp all the information she's managed to pack into 243 pages, counting the index, would take multiple readings.

Though aimed mostly at authors The Frugal Book Promoter can be useful to anyone doing publicity. Ms. Howard-Johnson's ideas adapt as well to the Red Cross as they do to a hot romance to read in the airport.

The Frugal Book Promoter will be a dog-eared reference on my writer's shelf both at work and at home until it falls apart from over work, and I have to spring for a new copy.
-----
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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Dialect and Poetry: Relections on Cultures

Sozaboy: A Novel in Rotten EnglishA Collection of Verse
By Eliza Earsman
Genre: Poetry/politcal
ISBN: 9780955624810

Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

In spite of the generic title, this collection of poems by Eliza Earsman is creative, experimental and unique.

I can't remember who said it recently--one of our US state's poet laureates, I think--that poets need to roam afar from the personal more often. Earsman does that, though the personal is always there.

For one thing her passion is evident. I think students of poetry might also study her use of dialect. It is especially interesting because she supplies a glossary of terms at the end of her poems to help the unitiated.

A book that Eliza and her readers might also find interesting (though they should not consider the title a reflection on Eliza's writing!) is [[ASIN:0393329607 Rotten English: A Literary Anthology]] by Dohra Ahmad. She is an academic who has done a fine job of showing why books like Eliza's are important. It's namesake, Rotten English [[ASIN:9782460028 Sozaboy: A Novel in Rotten English]] may also be of interest. Language is an amazing mirror to culture as these books and Eliza's demonstrate.

Eliza's book deserves five stars for its daring, both politcally and poetically.

The reviewer is the author of poetry chapbooks Cherished Pulse, She Wore Emerald Then and Tracings.

-----
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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Title: Fatal Gamble: A Novel
Author: JP O'Donnell
Website: www.jpodonnell.com
Genre: Fiction: Mystery/Thriller
ISBN:
Publisher: iUniverse
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
ISBN: 978-0595504756 (hc)
ISBN: 978-0595514090 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0595618873 (e-book)

Reviewed by Will Gabbett of the Feathered Quill ww.featheredquill.com


It’s just another mundane day in the life of Dr. Jonathan Becker. He gets up, readies himself for work, kisses his lovely wife and then heads out the door for work. Getting in his car and tuning the radio to his favorite talk show, it’s a quick drive to the medical building where he runs a thriving pediatric practice. Arriving at his office, he sits in his car for a few minutes to listen to the end of the radio show and boom! Dr. Becker is shot dead. In just two short pages, Fatal Gamble grabs the reader and begs the question, who shot Dr. Becker?

The police are quickly on the scene of the deadly crime but have few leads in the murder. When another doctor from the same building is murdered, the wife of Dr. Becker seeks out a private investigator, Daniel Gallagher, to find the person, or persons, responsible for her husband’s death. The police, particularly the lead investigator, Jack Hoskins, are not fond of Gallagher, an ex-cop, and are not willing to share crucial information on the case with the private investigator. Through his own cunning and expertise, Gallagher must shift through a series of clues and false leads to find the killer.

After a third doctor from the same office complex is found dead, it becomes clear to Gallagher that the connection the three murder victims share is their partnership in the ownership of the medical building. When the police arrest a suspect and declare the case solved, Gallagher is the only one to question the arrest. With detective work that would make Perry Mason proud, Gallagher continues to search for the assailant. His investigation leads him to Washington , DC , Las Vegas , NV and his own backyard. Will he be able to find the killer before another doctor is murdered?

Fatal Gamble is a quick reading thriller with crisp, easy writing that takes the reader directly into Gallagher’s world. There are several unexpected twists and turns in the story that keep both Gallagher and the reader guessing. O’Donnell expertly guides the reader into the underworld dealings in both Washington and Las Vegas while avoiding all

the dry, dull irrelevant background text that many authors incorporate into their stories. With short, concise chapters, it is tempting to “read just one more chapter” before putting the book down for the night. Alas, for this reviewer, that “one more chapter” became two, then three, and then ten or twenty more chapters. It was a hard book to put down.

Quill says: If you’re looking for a great “who dun it?” book, pick up Fatal Gamble.


-----
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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Why Not Travel Stories with a Lesbian Twist

Title: Something to declare: good lesbian travel writing
Genre: Nonfiction: Travel
Edited by: Gillian Kendall
Publisher: Terrace Books
Pages: 219
RRP $19.95
ISBN 13 978 029923354 9

Reviewed by Deborah Sheldon


Something to Declare: Good Lesbian Travel Writing is neither travelogue nor tourist guidebook. The nineteen essays in this collection take the armchair traveller on a jaunt around the globe, featuring stories set in places such as Chile, Mexico, Vietnam, Ireland and Italy, and various cities within the United States, but you won't find hotel recommendations or restaurant reviews. Instead, editor Gillian Kendall has brought together an eclectic mix of essays from travellers who invite us to share their deeply personal experiences.

Each writer happens to be lesbian, but it is the writer's emotional journey rather than her sexuality that takes centre stage in each story. As Kendall remarks in her introduction, "...I had to wonder exactly What Makes a Lesbian a Lesbian when I got pieces that contained no reference to sexuality or orientation: they were just about places and people". Despite the strident subtitle, this is a collection for every reader, not just for lesbian readers.

Overall, expect top-notch writing. This is a literary collection, and you may find yourself pausing here and there to linger over a finely wrought sentence or image. A few caveats: at least one story is pure fiction; some essays appear to be a mixture of fact and fiction; and a couple of pieces, by comparison, feel amateurish and clunky. This is a mixed bag of lollies; as Kendall writes in her introduction, the book is like "meeting new friends at a good late-night party, where lesbians have gathered to laugh, eat, flirt, show off, sympathise, and - mostly - tell stories".

One common theme is coming to terms with home truths, no matter how uncomfortable or painful. The hardships of negotiating love feature strongly. A foreign place, which takes the writer out of her comfort zone, typically makes her face something she's been trying to ignore or repress. In Bashert, Leslea Newman tells of a sexual awakening in an Israeli kibbutz that comes as a total surprise to her although, perhaps, not to us. In Oaxaca, Suzanne Parker writes about the difficulties of travelling to a place she had previously visited with an old lover, and the disquieting mix-up of memories that can occur:

Who was it who bought me the lemon ice? Who made love to me in a room with a wall of windows? I was in a constant state of translation, of revision. Who was it who lay down ten years earlier and who wakes up now to the sound of different breathing?

Prejudice, or the fear of it, runs like a fine thread through many of the essays. Unexpectedly, the prejudice isn't always strictly confined to lesbianism. In Sheila Ortiz Taylor's beautifully written piece Outrageous, the narrator Glenda, who is white, and her black male friend, Topaz, have stopped for lunch at a diner while they are ferrying her belongings to hger new home in Florida. Ortiz writes:

Topaz unrolls his paper napkin, sending knife and fork skittering across the table. In the silence that follows, his eye falls on a truck driver in a faded red cap, holding his barbecued pork sandwich in two enormous hands as if the bun is the steering wheel of his truck. The man's eyes bore across the room trying to fix him in the crosshairs of his attention.

"Oh shit," says Topaz. "I was afraid of this. He thinks you're a white woman and he knows I'm a black man, and he assumes the everybody here is heterosexual, despite compelling evidence to the contrary. Now he's wondering exactly where his responsibilities lie."

The honesty of each contributor in revealing her soul makes this collection a voyeuristic experience too, as if you were dipping into the intimacies of a hidden diary.

Not every story appeals, of course, but that is typical for all anthologies. Choosing which stories to keep and which to leave out is a calculated risk that each anthology editor must take, but there's more than enough talent and feeling in Something to Declare to carry the reader over the odd bump or two. Challenge, pain, revelation and spiritual growth are the hallmarks of this book. You won't learn much about the various cities and towns listed in the stories, but you will gain an interesting insight into the human experience.



~Reviewer Deborah Sheldon is an Australian writer whose credits include television scripts, magazine articles, nonfiction books and medical writing. Her fiction has appeared in magazines including Quadrant, Pendulum and Island. Her short story collection, "All the little things that we lose", was released January 2010

-----
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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Editor Reviews Book on Editing for Amazon

The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Publisher: Red Engine Press
ISBN: 9780978515874
Available in paperback and for Kindle

Reviewed by Steve Fortosis for Amazon

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is a very brave lady. She had the audacity to write a book representing surely one of the most anal of all groups: editors/proofreaders. And, even more courageous, she did so in a casual, good-natured manner. She boils down a massive array of points and topics into less than 200 pages, and her editing knowledge is extremely impressive. This book surely deserves its place on every writer's bookshelf. My advice would be to compose your book by letting the words flow freely, without high anxiety regarding the multitudinous rules of writing. Then go back to Carolyn's book and run it through her gauntlet of wise steps to the polished manuscript. You really can't go wrong following her sage advice.
--Dr. Steve Fortosis, writer and editor, sfort1222@msn.com

-----
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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Boarding School Mysteries Book Reviewed by Donna M. McDine

Title: Boarding School Mysteries ~ Pick Your Poison
Written by: Kristi Holl
Soft cover: 134 pages
Ages:9-12
Publisher: Zonderkidz
ISBN: 978-03105-67998
Published: June 2009
Price: $6.99

Reviewed by Donna M. McDine

Pick Your Poison is not only the title of this edition of the Board School Mysteries it is a long time saying when not knowing what to choose in a difficult situation. Unfortunately, the girls at the private Landmark School for Girls don’t have a choice. While enjoying the delicious meal prepared by Abby for her home-ec project, several girls become severely ill. At first it is believed the meal was prepared with spoiled food until more girls become ill eating different food. Setting the wheels in motion of suspicions and accusations.

Determined to take the attention off Abby and herself, 12-year-old Jeri McKane begins her own investigation to reveal the truth. What she uncovers is unthinkable for many. Throw in the threat of competition and several individuals look guilty. Will Jeri be able to discover the truth before the food poisoning goes too far and someone dies?

Immerse yourself into the setting at the private Landmark School for girls and learn for yourself the true meaning of friendship. And beyond outward appearances all may not be what it seems with determined ambitions bubbling below the surface.

Children’s author, Kristi Holl has done it again. The twists and turns arise at every corner, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat and quickly turning each page with suspense to the end.

To learn more about Kristi Holl’s accomplished writing career visit her at:
Kristi's Web site.
Writer's First Aid blog at http://institutechildrenslit.net/Writers-First-Aid-blog

New mystery series at www.BoardingSchoolMysteries.com
Girls Connecting with God Web site at www.devotions4girls.com
What's a Girl To Do? blog at www.devotions4girls.blogspot.com
-----
The reviewer is Donna M. McDine, children's author, member of SCBWI, Musing Our Children & Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club. Her Webssite is http://www.donnamcdine.com. She blogs at Write What Inspires You Blog: http://www.donna-mcdine.blogspot.com
and The Golden Pathway Story book Blog: http://www.thegoldenpathway.blogspot.com

-----
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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Eliza Earsman Publishes Call-to-Action Poetry

TITLE: A Collection of Verse
AUTHOR: Eliza Earsman
GENRE or CATEGORY: History/Verse. 108 pages.
ISBN: 978-0-9556248-1-0

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THIS BOOK

From amazon.com:

Highly highly recommend you consider submitting your poetry for awards ... (Haven't done so yet - maybe later!) gifted writer ... amazing eloquence to your poetry. ~ Pamela Guerrieri, Senior Editor. www.proofedtoperfection.com


Your sight-rhymed poems have impressed. They cover politics, culture, and religion about which you write passionately, occasionally didactically.~ University Lecturer, Wales.

Mainly succinct, sensuous. ~ University Lecturer, Wales.

Written with clarity and precise diction. ~ University Lecturer, Wales.

A beautiful gift. Informative and enlightening! ~ Wanda, http://www.thesistahsministry.com/soulsistahscafe.htm

The following critiques on individual poems are from staff, University of Cardiff, Wales:

CATALONIA: you use lexis and syntax that suit the ambience being evoked.

STORM: contextualized to seafarers and `sun hammered waves' is stunningly visual.

HOME IN ON THE RANGE: both lyrical and dramatic. Arresting word combinations e.g. `squirrels pine, needles spruce. Also the comic details of old Billy grazing.

CHUNK: how fluently you convey nature's kinesthetic energy.

GLASGOW: CELL BLOCK H - powerful pathos. Scots dialect is employed appositely.

HEAVENS ABOVE: shows love of word play.

SCENE FROM THE BACKGOUND: even more of a word picture. Effective feature are the echoic effects...

CANUTE: punning, a teasing reflection of King Canute's fabled ability.

JAFFA GATE STING: seriocomic. Song-like opening.

CATALONIA: a poem to the architectural beauty and transcendent faith contained in Barcelona.
------

From the Back Cover

Provocative, reasoned, instinctive, funny, robust.

This latest publication by Eliza Earsman expands, in verse, some of the data in Days of Elijah (Revised and Expanded): A True Story - ISBN 9780955624827.

Specific/urgent attention should be paid to the non-fiction poem 'LEST SHE FORGETS' re the UK Mountbatten-Windsor royal family/World War Three agenda.

Sanity galvanizes readers to act!

Earsman is also the author of Days of Elijah.

-----
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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post: