A to Z: Important Questions Answered by Francine Silverman

Book Marketing from A-Z
By Francine Silverman
Purchase Link:http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/search.asp?cat=Marketing&action=browsemarketing 0-7414-2431-2
Reviewed by Shirley Johnson, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

A Must For All Authors To Have!

By Shirley Priscilla Johnson "Author/Reviewer -... (USA

If you were to sit and talk with any writer whose work is having success, and ask them what the main element is that has made this a reality, they would tell you one word, promotion.

As a reviewer, I have read countless books that literally brim over the top with talent and craftsmanship of writing that will never be read by a hungry audience. Why? Because none knows about these rare treasures that would fill them with total ecstasy and pure reading enjoyment. When I am asked, who is your favorite author; I always say, the unknown. It is a sad truth, but there is hope at the end of the tunnel, Book Marketing from A-Z, may indeed give any author a fighting chance in the competitive world of publishing.

What will you find inside the pages of this excellent work? The heart of your fellow authors, reviewers, and others that will share with you their trials, tribulations, failures and successes in book promoting. Written in a clear concise way; this work is easy to navigate, not filled with fluff, but with honest ideas to help you achieve your goals.

Authors from every genre are represented, countless stories and valuable tips literally fill each page with their carefully constructed ideas and plans that have helped to bring them in contact with the reading public. Find out the true answers to questions such as; Just how well do contests do to draw potential buyers? Are reviews really that important? Does having a book signing really make a difference? If you have an unanswered question about promoting, this book will give you the answer.

As one who hears the heart-cry of countless unknown authors, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. This work will be a Godsend to you; an author's Bible that you will refer to time and time again; one that will help join you with the reader that is awaiting your hidden treasure.

Shirley Johnson
Senior Reviewer
MidWest Book Review

Disclaimer: Carolyn Howard-Johnson, editor of The New Book Review is quoted in this book. I think it's an exceptional book, too!
(-:

Cynthia Brian's Star Shines: She'll Help Yours Do the Same

Review of The Business of Show Business, a comprehensive career guide
for actors and models
By Cynthia Brian
ISBN 0-9721140-0-9
304 pages $19.95
E-Book Available@ $25.95
ISBN# e-book: 0-9721140-1-7

From The Midwest Book Review

Want to be an actor, but don’t know how to break into the business with the right approach? You can’t go wrong with-and shouldn’t go without-Cynthia Brian’s The Business of Show Business: A Comprehensive
Career Guide for Actors and Models.

The author has a background in producing, directing, acting, hosting, and consulting, and has coached kids and adults alike. From learning what kinds of jobs are out there to learning about agents, auditioning, rules for child actors and working on the side, this is the ‘insider’’ guide to the industry which should be in the hands and on the minds of any aspiring model or actor before they compete in the show business world.

--
The Business of Show Business is available from on-line booksellers or
directly from the author, Cynthia Brian. Email cynthia@star-style.com for autographed copies or discounts on cases of 32. Books are great for drama, theatre, and acting workshops and classes.

New Beginnings Earns Four Romantic Hearts

New Beginnings
Pat McCain
Paranormal romance
ISBN: 978-1-84728-621-5
Reviewed by Anita of The Romance Studio
Rated Four Hearts
Available from TreePress.net

After the death of Alexandra’s father some very strange things started happening. Her lights being turned on and off by themselves. She has seen what looks like a ghost of a small man wearing a kilt and a woman wearing a long dress. Her father has left her money to trace her roots in Scotland and she believes that the things that are happening around her and her strange dreams may have something to do with her family’s history.

John MacDonald is a very distant cousin of Alex. He has been experiencing some of the same strange occurrences. He believes their ancestors are trying to tell them something. As they go about researching their history and looking for the answers to their mystery they become quite close. Things are going well between them until Alex’s friend arrives to join her on the trip.

Sammy has always thought she should be the center of attention. When she does not get her way she begins making life miserable for Alex and John. Alex has always known her friend to be self-centered but her actions go beyond what is normal for her. As Sammy’s behavior becomes even more bizarre it is obvious to Alex her friend needs help.

New Beginnings is a paranormal romance that takes the readers on a fascinating adventure to uncover a mystery. Alex and John’s ancestors want their story told. Throughout the story the reader is carried back and forth through time to learn the truth about these people that lived and died three hundred years earlier. As their story of love unfolds a new love begins to grow.

Alex and John are a wonderful couple of characters. They find a love and understanding that can lead to future happiness. Their love grows slowly as they notice they enjoy the same things and that they have a common history. Their sweet story of love will leave the reader feeling warm inside as history corrects wrongs done in the past.

Drama unfolds when Sammy joins them and starts making trouble. The true strength of the characters and the love that has grown between them becomes known. John does not let anyone walk all over Alex and Alex is not about to let John be treated badly. Sammy has some serious problems that lead to some startling surprises being revealed. Readers will cheer Alex and John on as they set Sammy straight and do not let her roll over them.

This is a moderately paced story that lets the mysteries it has to tell unfold slowly. The characters draw the reader into their lives and let them share in the love that grows between them. This is a story of love that last forever even beyond the grave. I encourage readers to add New Beginnings by Pat McCain to their reading list.

Rodin's Inspiration: A Novel to Inspire Artists and Women Everywhere

Camille Claudel: A Novel
Author: Alma H. Bond, Ph.D.
Publisher: Publish America, LLLP
ISBN: 1-4241-1670-8
Reviewer: Evie Sears for Lady Book Notes http://ladybooknotes.blogspot.com/index.html


The story of Camille Claudel is the story of a woman born ahead of her time, a female genius for whom the world was not ready, a woman who attained heights of artistic ecstasy and endured acute personal and mental agony.

Camille Claudel was born on December 8, 1864 in a village in northern France, the eldest of three surviving children (her elder brother died when merely fifteen days old). As a child, she enjoyed warm relations with her father and brother, but her relations with her mother and sister were distant and cold. Claudel’s fascination with art began when, as a young child, she sculpted figures from stones and mud. Having moved with her family to Paris as a teenager, Claudel began studying with Auguste Rodin in 1884, at the age of nineteen. Her tumultuous relationship with Rodin shaped the remainder of Claudel’s life.

Claudel quickly became Rodin’s inspiration and served as the model for many of his sculptures. She also became one of his principal assistants whose work on many detailed portions of his sculptures was invaluable. Most significantly for Claudel, in spite of the fact that he was a married man more than twenty years her senior, she became Rodin’s lover. After nearly a decade of intimacy, and at least one pregnancy that ended in either miscarriage or abortion, Claudel finally realized that Rodin would never marry her and severed their intimate relationship. Soon thereafter, Claudel stopped working in Rodin’s atelier, though she continued to see Rodin in professional capacities for several more years.

From 1884 until the early 1900s, Claudel was an expressive sculptor whose style grew more distinct from Rodin’s after the breakup of their relationship and her departure from Rodin’s studio. Dozens of her works are still displayed and admired in museums around the world. Her achievements are particularly noteworthy when one considers the amount of time she spent assisting Rodin’s career in her roles as his model and assistant. Claudel was close friends with Claude Debussy, whom she greatly admired. Sadly for both of them, however, she did not love Debussy with the passion she felt for Rodin.

Although Claudel’s precarious mental state began manifesting itself around 1905, it is unclear when her decline began. Claudel locked herself away for long periods of time, created and destroyed numerous sculptures, acquired a houseful of cats to be her companions, let her property and house rot around her and took no care of her physical condition and appearance. She who had once been a beautiful woman became, prematurely, a hag, convinced that a jealous Rodin was trying to steal her works and impede her career.

There were many factors that probably contributed to Claudel’s mental decline. Her failed relationship with Rodin and the loss of her child (particularly if she was compelled against her will to have an abortion) were likely contributing factors. The dysfunctional relations within her family also may have contributed to Claudel’s decline. Her father was the only family member who supported her, her brother tolerated her, and her mother and sister outright rejected her. The rigors of being an independent female artist in a male-dominated world certainly had negative effects on Claudel. Her life was a never-ending struggle to acquire commissions, sell her works and attain the professional status she believed (rightly, as it turned out) she deserved. Rodin, Claudel’s mentor, enjoyed degrees of fame, success and prestige that Claudel never attained. While he prospered, she nearly starved. Unable to support herself, Claudel remained financially dependent upon her father until his death in 1913. Eight days after their father’s death, Claudel’s brother committed her to an asylum.

Claudel spent the last thirty years of her life in an asylum in the mountains of southern France. Her mother and sister never visited her and her brother visited intermittently, approximately a half-dozen times in thirty years. After several years of treatment, Claudel’s psychiatrist suggested that her family should take her home and reintegrate her into their home and society. They did not take up his suggestion. Since her family had no interest in resuming relations with Claudel, she remained institutionalized until her death on October 19, 1943, at the age of 79.

Alma H. Bond, a psychoanalyst, has written a compelling account of Claudel’s tragic life. She presents the story as a memoir written by Claudel in the final days of her life. Although the broad outlines of the story are true, Bond has taken liberties in setting scenes, providing dialog, and revealing Claudel’s purported thought processes and interpretations. Bond states clearly that hers is a fictional account, simply one plausible view of Claudel’s life; it should not be read as a definitive biographical or historical work. Nevertheless, Bond reveals the heartbreak of a gifted woman working in a society that rejects her personally and pays scant attention to her artwork. Bond lifts the veil on the heartbreak of an impressionable, sensitive young woman betrayed by an older lover. Bond discloses the family dysfunctions that remained hidden from view, or ignored, even when they resulted in gross injustices. Clearly, even though the work is fictional, it offers a compelling, accurate glimpse at the broad characteristics of an era.

Bond’s most extraordinary feat is the way she portrays Claudel’s subtly deteriorating mental state. Early signs of paranoia are evident from the outset in Claudel’s descriptions of her childhood home. During Claudel’s happiest period, the height of her romance with Rodin, the paranoid tendencies are more subtle, but not entirely absent. After her breakup with Rodin, the paranoid tendencies resurface slowly and build gradually until Claudel’s institutionalization in 1913. In an accurate depiction of mental illness, Bond balances Claudel’s periods of lunacy and lucidity. Sometimes the reader is uncertain whether Claudel’s viewpoint is delusional or uncannily insightful. Bond understands mental illness and she presents it masterfully.

Camille Claudel: A Novel is a beautifully written book that seizes the reader’s mind and heart. Readers who have never heard of Camille Claudel will, upon finishing this book, seek to learn more about this wonderfully gifted artist and her work. This book, notwithstanding the fact that it is fiction, should be required reading for all students of women’s studies and art history.

Reviewed by Evie Sears

Police Chief Weighs in on "Integrity: Do You Have It?"

Title: Integrity: Do You Have It?
2nd edition
Author: Dennis Aubuchon
Infinity Publishing.
ISBN: 0741429160
Author's Website: www.myqualitywriting.com

Reviewed by William E. Cooper for Reader Views (1/07)

Integrity. We live in a world where integrity has often become situational. We don't always agree what it is or when it applies. Many people simply have never been taught its value or applications. The pace of today's world too frequently does not allow many people or organizations the time or ability to consider the ethical implications of decisions or actions. Unless one is grounded in integrity and practices it as a rule, the consequences of taking the "easier" option in the long run may become significant.

As a retired police chief it was my responsibility to insure the integrity of everyone and everything in my department. The public entrusted us with considerable power, and the criticality of maintaining the highest standards was the rule of the day. Absolute, unquestioned integrity must come from the top and be set through example and actions. In addition, the leader of the organization must have the courage to act when ethics violations occur. So it is in an organization, and in any person.

We are constantly barraged by ethics problems in the daily media, yet the majority of organizations and people are honest and truthful. It is our responsibility to teach it and conduct ourselves accordingly. Mr. AuBuchon has written a truly good book on the subject, and I encourage everyone to buy this book and read it. He provides an excellent journey through the subject and adds cases, examples, policies, and directives, as well as references to the law. I believe this book should be part of every home, business, library, and educational institution. It is too important to ignore or let get away from us. Any discussion of religion, politics, government, or education must have as its basis integrity and ethics. The
author provides his readers with definitions of ethics, applicability to each of the parts above.

I've taught ethics in the police academy and in graduate school courses. I've written on the topic and have found that many of the ideas and beliefs I teach are discussed and promoted in this book. I have to provide a high recommendation for "Integrity: Do You Have It?" because it deserves it.


Dennis AuBuchon, author: Integrity: Do You Have It? 2nd edition
Have you signed the business ethics pledge
Member Authors' Coalition @ www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com
Registered as an expert on www.Allexperts.com

Can the Food Business Be Evil? Great Fare for a Thriller!

Evil Business
A paranormal mystery novel
By John F. Nienstedt
ISBN 0-595-42056-7
200 pages at 14.95 paperback
24.95 Hardcover
IUniverse

Reviewed by Laurel Johnson for Midwest Review

In this follow up to the popular See the Monkey, protagonist Norman Fuller battles evil in America's heartland. His career as a New York newspaper journalist is stalled. His Pulitzer nomination was heady stuff for awhile, but the prize went to someone else. His boss thinks Fuller has lost his journalistic edge and is sending him to Kansas City, of all places, in pursuit of the ultimate evil. Once again, the mysterious "Voice of Evil" that saved Fuller's life on 9/11 returns to reveal a conspiracy that threatens the lives of all Americans.

You don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to believe the truths uncovered in Fuller's investigation. The three powerful Midwestern CEO's in "the golden triangle" understand what buyers want and play to their customers zealously. The world wants cheap food that tastes good, easy meal preparation, and a quick fix to all problems. Past generations ate food fried in lard, ate sweets and butter. They lived through unbelievable hardships yet faced life with hope. The questions Fuller must answer in his investigative report are: Why is our generation paralyzed by depression, obesity, and high cholesterol? Could the answers be hidden in the foods we eat? Do we worry excessively about terrorist attacks when we should be worrying about the foods we put in our mouths? Are political donations more important to the government than the health of citizens? Fuller's life and career are on the line as he follows clues from Kansas City to a tiny Utopian village. The truths he reveals are frightening to consider.

Evil Business is a book of fiction based on a premise made scarier because it's probably true. The plot is fast paced and exciting, the characters believable, and Nienstedt's writing style exceptional. This thriller has "movie" written all over it.

Laurel Johnson
Senior Reviewer
Midwest Book Review, March 2007

Tackling the Tough Questions About Riders of the Purple Sage

No One to Cry To, a Long, Hard Ride into the Sunset with Foy Willing of the Riders of the Purple Sage
By Sharon Lee Willing
Biographical Memoir
ISBN-10: 1-58736-686-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-58736-686-4
Reviewer: Tim Lasiuta (Canada) reviewer (


As one of the premier western swing bands of the 1930's and 40's, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage were in demand everywhere. Radio. Movies. Special appearances. But, unlike the Sons of the Pioneers, their lineage did not continue unbroken. Unlike the Sons, their history was not chronicled, until now.

Sharon Lee Willing has provided a look into the troubled life of Foy Willing. Not that this is a sad book, but it is more a book about sadness. Foy Willing had had it all. Wealth. Fame. Reputation. And a faithful family. But his life path was the result of poor planning, and in the end, his character.

Sharon tackles the tough questions. She relates the early history of the Riders in more detail than we have ever had. But, with her appearance in Foy’s life in the 1950's, the story gains credibility. Foy had been an alcoholic, but he recovered. He still was in demand. He wanted marriage. But he was unwilling to take the final step. When he did, alcohol was again part of his life. And his marriage dissolved. That’s where the sadness comes in.

Foy was talented. More talented than his recording history tells. More passionate and creative than he is given credit for. Near the end of his years, the ‘old’ Foy Willing resurrected and he began the nostalgic resurgence of the Riders with very much success.

She even includes a discography, his film appearances, and a comprehensive list of songs written/co-written by Foy. Collectors will love this.

This is a heartfelt book. If you want a glossed over history of Mr Willing, don’t buy this book. If you want to read about the real Foy Willing, this is for you. Written by the one who knew him best, and loved him the most, "No One to Cry To" is the story of a man, blessed with talent, on a lifelong journey who finally found what he was looking for.

Tim Lasiuta (Canada)

Short Review, Great Referral

The Kahills of Willow Walk
S.K. Hamilton
Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 0-9769989-2-0

Reviewer: Gwen Austin, author
http://www.angelfire.com/wa/austinawe

I stayed up late last night because I couldn't put this book down! That rarely happens so the author should pat herself on the back. The characters were well-defined and believable, the situations so well set up and carried through, and the ending just perfect. I didn't find any places where it lagged at all. This is such a satisfying book to read. S.K. Hamilton even created the delightful cover. Really good job.

Gwen Austin, author

Calfornia's Erma Bombeck Sees the Funny Side

title: Who, Me? Paranoid? Humor Humor Everywhere
author: Erica Stux
genre: Humor
ISBN: 978-1-58736-676-5
reviewer: Lenora Smalley, former president of California Writers Club, San Fernando Valley chapter
review first appeared on www.lenorasmalley.com



Erica Stux has a new book whose title immediately gives readers an idea they have found a funny and entertaining collection. In a style reminiscent of the late Erma Bombeck, Erica writes about events and relationships which confront us all. There are entries with intriguing titles such as The Care and Feeding of Dishwashers, HairDo's and Don'ts, New Math for the Family, May I Have My Attention, and an especially humorous tirade on Phantoms in My Fridge.

We have dibs, dabs, little jars or packages hiding in niches and corners in our refrigerator. I loved Erica's comment, "There could be a jar in one of those niches containing, for all I know, a hitherto unknown Dead Sea Scroll." She writes about many things we all know to be true. How major appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines always break down on weekends, especially long holiday weekends. How stoves usually quit on Christmas or New Years Eve. She extols the virtues of a good plumber or handyman, saying we should hang on to them because they are "worth their weight in drill bits."

I laughed reading the episode The Dinner Party I'd Most Like to Forget. It was one of those times when anything that could go wrong did, including spilling a drink on a guest and having the coffee pot blow a fuse, crashing the party into temporary darkness. She writes about events that make us want to laugh or cry, but Erica makes us laugh and helps us see the funny side. Read this book and the next time the groceries fall out of the bag onto the sidewalk or the ice cream scoop drops off the cone, remember Humor Humor is Everywhere.

The Perfect Storm-of-a-New Kind

Storm
By Joyce Anthony
Star Publish Books, 2007
Author's Website: http://joyceanthony.tripod.com/

This review is by Jamieson Wolf. It originally appeared on The Book Pedler

Storms are bringers of many things; winds that rip the sea apart, dark skies that foretell danger, limbs ripped from trees and rain that pummels down all around us. But what if a storm brought something else all together? What if a storm brought something that would change your life?

This is what happens to Sam. A lighthouse keeper, he takes his job seriously. He is the last thing between a ship and the rocks of the coast. Playing solitaire as a fierce storm rages outside his lighthouse, he is thankful that he is safe inside. What he does not know, however, is that his life is about to change forever.

Going outside the next morning to survey the damage, Sam comes upon a wicker basket. Inside is a baby that stares at Sam with eyes that are wise beyond their years. Sam wonders how anyone could have gotten the child onto the island; they are surrounded by nothing but water, clam now that the storm had passed.

Deciding to take care of the baby, he calls the child Storm, naming him after what brought him to the island in the first place. Thirty three years later, Storm rests by Sam’s side as he lies dying. No matter what Storm does, Sam is not comfortable. A chill has invaded his bones and he knows he is not long for the world.

Knowing this, Sam tells Storm that he is meant for great things. “Follow the railway tracks and seek the whirling rainbow. There you will find what you are meant to be.”

After Sam’s death, Storm finds himself in a small town where he hears a voice in a dream telling him that he must find his destiny. He finds the railway tracks that Sam spoke of and soon meets a pure white dog with amethyst eyes. When the dog leads Storm to a battered woman by the train tracks, Storm has no idea that he has found his destiny.

The dog with the amethyst eyes leads him down a path that will change his life forever and will challenge everything he knows. And Storm must rely on all of his strength if he is to help others and to survive…

This was one incredible read. From the first words, I knew I was in for a literary treat. After reading the first chapter, I knew I was in for a life changing experience. Rarely does a book come along that speaks to me so clearly, so beautifully and I was blown away by the beauty of Storm.

Part parable, part fantasy, party mystery, part spiritual quest, Storm is unlike anything you have read or will read. Ever. I can’t even come close to describing the beauty and depth of this novel, the sheer gorgeousness of it. I am still haunted by this novel, thinking of it, dreaming of it. You will find yourself thinking of this book well after you have turned the last page.

What I love most about this book is the story. It’s so simple yet it manages to touch on every emotion you can name. I laughed and cried while reading this novel. It’s written with such a depth that it’s hard to believe this is Anthony’s first novel; she writes with a maturity of a seasoned writer and the beauty of her words is breathtaking.

Even though there is a spiritual message in this book, it doesn’t hit you over the head. Storm makes you think and it makes you feel and that is the true power of a book. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so affected by a novel, so moved by words I’ve read.

This is one of the best books I have ever had the pleasure to read. I can’t get Storm or those amethyst eyes out of my head and I don’t think I’ll ever want to. Storm helps reshape how you look at the world, how you look at others and, perhaps most importantly, how you look at yourself.

Storm is an enchanting work that I will read again and again for years to come.

Stem Cells: How To Form an Ethical and Reasoned Opinion

Title: Right to Recover: Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America
Author: Yvonne Perry
ISBN-13:978-1-933449-41-8
Publisher: Nightengale Press
Pages: 324
Price:$19.95
June 2007

Reviewed by Cheryl Ellis, www.allbooksreviews.com

If you have been unable to settle on an educated opinion concerning stem cell research, this well laid out book should end your dilemma.
Stem cell research is being conducted for both medical and scientific reasons. It could be the answer to many debilitating and terminal afflictions including Cancer, Parkinson's Disease, Arthritis, Spinal Cord Injury and many more.
It is clearly evident that Yvonne Perry has spent countless hours researching the two categories of stem cells; adult and embryonic. “Adult Stem Cells” are harvested from umbilical cord blood, the placenta, amniotic fluid and bone marrow. “Embryonic Stem Cells” are harvested from fertilized eggs created in-vitro (outside the body). It has already been proven that adult stem cells can repair and regenerate diseased cells. Stem cells contain pertinent information as to how the cell develops. From this information the scientist can learn what is needed to prevent genes from becoming dysfunctional or produce drugs or treatment to cure the ones that are already diseased.
Without overstepping, Yvonne Perry presents both religious and political opinions. The facts that she enlightens us with are enough that we should all ponder what is really going on in the name of religion and politics. Just how much either can control our present and our future.
The author, Yvonne Perry has surpassed her goal of educating each reader with an honest evaluation of this controversial subject. Stem cell possibilities are without a doubt a realistic aspect of our future yet an ethical and political debate in our present. ‘Right to Recover’ is complete with Index, Appendix and Bibliography, with well laid out current information. She is a freelance writer, author, keynote speaker and ghostwriter. Her books are evidence of her natural desire to assist people along a spiritual path, as they are well researched and challenge people’s belief systems.
I would highly recommend everyone read this book. Reviewer: Cheryl Ellis, Allbooks Review
Available through Amazon or order from your local bookstore.

Wondering About Authenticity? Ask a Historian!

There's Something About CAVE CREEK (It's The People)
By Gene K. Garrison
History, memoirs, lifestyles, humor, characters
ISBN: 978-1-4303-0982-6
Marshall Trimble, Official Arizona State Historian
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cocoon/legacies/AZ/200002721.html

Cave Creek is a one-of-a-kind town. In a Valley whose cities are
becoming more homogenous with each passing year Cave Creek has retained
its unique character. In time it too may become more like Scottsdale,
Carefree, Tempe, Mesa, and the other cities down below, but if and when
that time comes the old stories will keep the memories alive.

My earliest memories of the town are of the mid-1940s. My
uncle and aunt, Russell and Jeffie Talbott, owned the Golden Reef Mine
north of town. Later, my brother Dan opened an equine veterinary
practice in the area. Soon after my parents retired and joined him and
his wife Mary. I spent many hours traveling around with Dan on his
calls to the ranches north of town and many more sitting on a bar stool
at Harold and Ruth Gavigan’s Cave Creek Corral. It was here I met many
of the people in Gene Garrison’s book, including George Mileham, Jim
Hardy, and Logue Morris. There were others too, with colorful names
like O. K. Charlie, and Leadpipe.

Cave Creek is home to folks with wide interests. Geoffrey
Platts was a desert preservationist who gave his life to save a friend
in a flash flood and Catherine Jones was a colorful pistol-packin’
deputy sheriff who once shot a piece of the ear off a troublesome
bootlegger.

Cave Creek has produced some of the West’s best cowboys.
Anyone who’s ever chased a wild steer down one of those cactus-strewn,
steep-sided canyons north of town can attest that anyone who cowboyed
around Cave Creek could cowboy anywhere in the world. George Mileham
was one of the best. Jim Hardy was one of the first to be born in the
little town of Phoenix and he was still spry when Phoenix celebrated
its 100th birthday. And some say Logue Morris was the inspiration for
the great western song, “Man With the Big Hat.”

Gene has pulled these stories together into a wonderful
book about the characters and places that made Cave Creek one of the
state’s most colorful towns. It may change some in the future but the
people have left an indelible mark on the area.

Marshall Trimble

Official Arizona State Historian

Ahhh, Those Controversial Whales!

Whale Song
By Cheryl Kaye Tardif
Kunati, Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-60164-007-9
Copyright 2007
Trade Paperback, 200 pages, $12.95
General Fiction/YA

Reviewed by Mayra Calvani, www.mayracalvani.com

Whale Song is a beautifully written novel that deals with a controversial subject and combines elements of myth, legend, and family drama.

The story begins when thirteen-year old Sarah Richardson moves with her family to Vancouver Island, leaving behind her old life and best friend. In spite of the fact that not all of her new classmates offer her a warm welcome, Sarah soon makes a good friend, a native girl called Goldie. A white girl where most of the people are Indian, Sarah soon experiences prejudice and racism. Her escape is her loving home, her friendship with Goldie, and her love for the killer whales that inhabit the island waters. From Goldie’s grandmother she learns many legends and Indian myths about these magnificent, intelligent mammals.

Then disaster strikes and all that Sarah holds dear is snatched away, leaving her enveloped in a dark vortex of confusion and loneliness. As her life abruptly changes, the issue of racism is replaced by a much more controversial one. Does the end justify the means? Does love justify breaking the law?

The story is told in the first person by Sarah herself; the reader is drawn into an immediate intimate rapport with the young protagonist. The language, in its simplicity, heightens the strong moral conflicts which carry the plot. In spite of the family drama, no silly sentimentalism mars the prose, and Sarah possesses a strong voice that is both honest and devoid of embellishments. The author has managed to create a sense of serenity and beauty that has to do with the mythical setting and the ‘parallel’ presence of the killer whales and wolves.

Consider this excerpt taken from the prologue and which sets the tone and mood for the rest of the story:

I once feared death.

It is said that death begins with the absence of life. And life begins when death is no longer feared. I have stared death in the face and survived. A survivor who has learned about unfailing love and forgiveness. I realize now that I am but a tiny fragment in an endless ocean of life, just as a killer whale is a speck in her immense underwater domain. (p.9)

A sad yet uplifting novel, Whale Song is about the fear and innocence of a young girl and about coming to terms with the shocking and painful truth one often must face. Above all, it is a novel about forgiveness and forgiving oneself.

How To Beat Six Million Other Writers to the Publish Line

The Frugal EditorPut your best book forward to avoid humiliation and ensure success.
by Carolyn Howard-Johnson
ISBN 978-0-97851-7-4
Red Engine Press
Reviewed by Billie A Williams
Listmom at Word_mage@yahoogroups.com

In this day an age, when according to some studies, over 81 percent of Americans feel they should write a book and more than six million of them actually have at least written the manuscripts. What are your chances of getting published when that is just over two percent of the population? Most of these manuscripts however, are doomed to failure because they don’t understand the intricacies of polishing (read that as editing) their manuscripts before sending them out, and/or hiring an editor to give it the final tweak before they send them off.

According to a recent article by Robert McCrum in The Observer and I quote,
“…according to the New York Times, there's a new book published in the United States every half an hour, and - wait for it - that's just fiction. RR Bowker, the company that compiles the Books in Print database in the USA, has calculated that no fewer than 175,000 new titles were published in 2003. That's one book roughly every 20 seconds.” And as you can imagine that trend has only increased since then. As McCrum says, the new books have the shelf life of yogurt, but that quality will always stand above the rest and will persevere. So how do you bring that quality to your own work?

The Frugal Editor by Carolyn Howard-Johnson is like having an editor in a box, or more correctly, between two covers of a book. Concise down-to-earth advice about how to edit your manuscript before you even begin to think about sending it out into the red pencil world of publishers, where their editors get the first chance to evaluate your hard work.

Frugal Editor is a veritable thesaurus of how to spot the gremlins that can mess up your prose. If edits and editors paralyze you with fear, take heart. Carolyn Howard-Johnson makes the whole process palatable. She intersperses her directives with light hearted humor making the whole process nearly enjoyable.

If there is an error your manuscript could contain, you’ll find the method for search and eradication in this delightful book. You’ll want to read it cover to cover, but then you will keep it by your side as you write, rewrite and edit so you can be frugal when you do decided to hire that editor to give it one last polish before you submit it anywhere. As Howard-Johnson says; “The lesson here for all of us is that attention to detail and craft counts, and that even experienced writers can flub an opportunity if they don’t pay attention to the last great step toward publishing, a good edit.”

Howard-Johnson explains the difference between and editor and a typo hunter. She also cautions that “…no matter how skilled an editor is, the author needs to know a lot about the process too. The cleaner the copy you hand over to your editor, the more accurate she can be and her edit may cost you less in time and money.” When Howard-Johnson says frugal in her book titles she means it and she goes to great lengths to insure the reader gets her/his money worth by providing resources with links, examples of the often scary Query letter construction, and more. She doesn’t leave the reader high and dry at any point. Further advice or learning is a matter of using the comprehensive index to find the detail you need and then following the advice, link or resource mentioned to guide you in your search for excellence.

The twenty plus pages of appendices is not mere fluff or padding of book length or word count, it is more than a bibliography of recommended reading (though it also contains that). You will find samples and links such as the query letters mentioned above, helpful groups to investigate, grammar helps and books. It’s hard to believe more could be contained in any book on your shelf. Spare no gremlin—search and destroy, polish and perfect before you send out your hard work. This book is the tool to help you do that. I highly recommend this power house of methods and means that will not only enhance your chances of publication, it will help you make any publishing house sit up and take notice – perhaps even pushing your book to the coveted best-seller lists faster than you ever imagined.

A Good Thrilla-Chilla Reviewed by Ben Baker

Then Ben wanted it to be seen at Barnes and Noble.Com
Fatal Addiction by Everett Beal
ISBN: 0976411571


Reviewed by Ben Baker for his Ashburn, GA., newspaper, then for B&N.com

Ev Beal, relying on his long experience in the pharmacy industry, has turned it to good advantage in this espionage/thriller-type novel. The book is fast-paced, sometimes too fast which is the only complaint I have, and the characters are far more believeable than the typical protagonists and antagonists you'd find in similar works. The folks in this book are real people. Simply put.

You're not going to find flying cars, laser wrist watches and micro-nukes in a shoe sole. You are going to find a solid and believeable plot with no need to rely on Science Fiction type devices to cover up where the writer's narrative abilities fall down. It's a sad indictment of ths nation that it takes a work of near-fiction to expose the world of illegal pharmacopia and the designer drug market.

This is not the kind of thing you're going to read about in your morning paper, even though it happens in every community across the nation. Beal's work, unfortunately, will be one of those books that never gets the serious consideration and treatment it deserves. Why? Because he hits too close to home exposing a dark side of society we choose to ignore.