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.
This blog, #TheNewBookReview, is "new" because it eschews #bookbigotry. It lets readers, reviewers, authors, and publishers expand the exposure of their favorite reviews, FREE. Info for submissions is in the "Send Me Your Fav Book Review" circle icon in the right column below. Find resources to help your career using the mini search engine below. #TheNewBookReview is a multi-award-winning blog including a MastersInEnglish.org recommendation.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
The Lieurance Group: Meet the Writers and Designers
The Lieurance Group: Meet the Writers and Designers
Dear Lieurancegroup:
This is just a quick thank you for listing both of the books in the HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers in your most recent blog. It is always neat when Google Alert lets me know I have made a new friend--in your case, several new friends.
I am working on a companion booklet (sort of a chapbook) one obscure editing watchwords that I'd love to share with you when it's done, at no cost, of course. If you're interested, please let me know so I can send one (or a link) depending on how I publish it.
Very best to all of you.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Award-winning author of THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS
www.howtodoitfrugally.com
Dear Lieurancegroup:
This is just a quick thank you for listing both of the books in the HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers in your most recent blog. It is always neat when Google Alert lets me know I have made a new friend--in your case, several new friends.
I am working on a companion booklet (sort of a chapbook) one obscure editing watchwords that I'd love to share with you when it's done, at no cost, of course. If you're interested, please let me know so I can send one (or a link) depending on how I publish it.
Very best to all of you.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Award-winning author of THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS
www.howtodoitfrugally.com
Friday, May 18, 2007
Bank Roll: Berry Thinks It's On a Roll
Bank Roll
By Janet Elaine Smith
Publisher: Star Publish
Author's Website: www.janetelainesmith.com
Available on Amazon
Reviewed by Ron Berry
Max was not going back to that hick town. She had landed a job as a crime reporter at the big city newspaper. She had made the big time!! The sale blindsided her. She did not leave her job; her job left her. Now what? The ad said "Help needed, owner retiring." Salvation!!! It was her hometown hick paper, but it was a job. She called home. All she heard was, “Kidnapped!” All right! Not only was there a job opening, but a big-time story as well. This time there wasn’t a moose involved. It is rare for a moose to kidnap a bank president.
Yep, Bank Roll, by Janet Elaine Smith is all about a kidnapped bank president. This is the first in what promises to be an excellent series about Max Stryker, crime reporter, sleuth, and all around fun person. Check out the moose; he has a tail to tell. Watch the Five Bungling Idiots, otherwise known as the FBI, chase their tails and look in all the wrong places. But in the end it is a tale of who got whom that will keep you glued to your seat, with one hand in the popcorn bowl. Make sure you have a large drink also because the laughs come fast and furious.
Most bank presidents lust for money; this one, however, has different tastes. His loans are safe, but not his hands. He doesn’t have a lot of friends in this town, but kidnapping is still a crime. Bud Stryker, Max’s father, is the chief of police, the Mayor, and just about every other town official. It isn’t a big town.
Shane Foster drew the cover. This young man has talent. Pick up your very own copy of Bank Roll before Oprah sees it. Once that happens, they will be hard to fi
By Janet Elaine Smith
Publisher: Star Publish
Author's Website: www.janetelainesmith.com
Available on Amazon
Reviewed by Ron Berry
Max was not going back to that hick town. She had landed a job as a crime reporter at the big city newspaper. She had made the big time!! The sale blindsided her. She did not leave her job; her job left her. Now what? The ad said "Help needed, owner retiring." Salvation!!! It was her hometown hick paper, but it was a job. She called home. All she heard was, “Kidnapped!” All right! Not only was there a job opening, but a big-time story as well. This time there wasn’t a moose involved. It is rare for a moose to kidnap a bank president.
Yep, Bank Roll, by Janet Elaine Smith is all about a kidnapped bank president. This is the first in what promises to be an excellent series about Max Stryker, crime reporter, sleuth, and all around fun person. Check out the moose; he has a tail to tell. Watch the Five Bungling Idiots, otherwise known as the FBI, chase their tails and look in all the wrong places. But in the end it is a tale of who got whom that will keep you glued to your seat, with one hand in the popcorn bowl. Make sure you have a large drink also because the laughs come fast and furious.
Most bank presidents lust for money; this one, however, has different tastes. His loans are safe, but not his hands. He doesn’t have a lot of friends in this town, but kidnapping is still a crime. Bud Stryker, Max’s father, is the chief of police, the Mayor, and just about every other town official. It isn’t a big town.
Shane Foster drew the cover. This young man has talent. Pick up your very own copy of Bank Roll before Oprah sees it. Once that happens, they will be hard to fi
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Wowee! Zowee! A Review by Clive Ashenden
Title: FranticBy Frances Lynn
Available on Amazon
Author's site: www.franceslynn.org
In 'Frantic' we follow Alice, a naive English girl, aching to rebel against her posh upbringing, as she descends into a glittery hell peopled with dangerous grotesques and dusted with white powder.
After sharpening her claws on the butt end of the sixties, author Frances Lynn tears into the seventies' alternative scene with glee, exposing the hypocrisy, shallowness and sad junkie lifestyles of the 'beautiful people'. However, this is not just a novel about sex, drugs and rock n' roll; it's a novel filtered through them. So the reader gets to enjoy vivid acid tinged prose, and riotous cartoon depictions of San Francisco and London. At times, the style is reminiscent of counter-culture icons William S. Burroughs and Robert Anton Wilson, but with a fairy-tale sweetness neither of those authors have.
Fans of Frances Lynn's "Crushed", will recognise the same storytelling skills but may be shocked at the unbridled content. Freed from the constraints of writing for a teen audience, the author can display the the sharp wit which made her Britain's bitchiest columnist.
Like Alice says: "Wowee Zowee!"
Available on Amazon
Author's site: www.franceslynn.org
In 'Frantic' we follow Alice, a naive English girl, aching to rebel against her posh upbringing, as she descends into a glittery hell peopled with dangerous grotesques and dusted with white powder.
After sharpening her claws on the butt end of the sixties, author Frances Lynn tears into the seventies' alternative scene with glee, exposing the hypocrisy, shallowness and sad junkie lifestyles of the 'beautiful people'. However, this is not just a novel about sex, drugs and rock n' roll; it's a novel filtered through them. So the reader gets to enjoy vivid acid tinged prose, and riotous cartoon depictions of San Francisco and London. At times, the style is reminiscent of counter-culture icons William S. Burroughs and Robert Anton Wilson, but with a fairy-tale sweetness neither of those authors have.
Fans of Frances Lynn's "Crushed", will recognise the same storytelling skills but may be shocked at the unbridled content. Freed from the constraints of writing for a teen audience, the author can display the the sharp wit which made her Britain's bitchiest columnist.
Like Alice says: "Wowee Zowee!"
Monday, May 14, 2007
Interest In Stem Cell Research Is High
Title: Right to Recover: Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America
Author: Yvonne Perry
Category: Health/Medicine
ISBN 13: 978-1-933449-41-8
Pub Date: October 2007/Available for presales on Amazon now
Price: $19.95
Publisher: Nightengale Press
Language: English
Web site: www.right2recover.com
Ms. Yvonne Perry has written a marvelous book on stem cell research with her volume Right to Recover. It is extensively researched, closely reasoned, and obviously very close to her heart. The book is chocked full of facts and figures and yet it is in a readable style that makes all the dry statistics seem not at all burdensome. When the book comes out in Sept. 2007 I would highly recommend getting a copy and studying it closely for the facts, both political and scientific, included there in. The only trouble with Ms. Perry’s book is that it will probably never be read by the people who truly need to understand its import. Ms. Perry is preaching to the choir in this wonderful volume and, so long as the present administration and its wrong-headed, self-righteous backers are in power, nothing is going to change. Nevertheless, the book is drop dead great.
------
Reviewed by G. L. Helm
Author of the novels, OTHER DOORS, a fantasy of Peace, and DESIGN, and publisher of the Antelope Valley Anthologies, RED SKIES LIKE NO WHERE ELSE ON EARTH, and ALDOUS HUXLEY SLEPT HERE.
Author: Yvonne Perry
Category: Health/Medicine
ISBN 13: 978-1-933449-41-8
Pub Date: October 2007/Available for presales on Amazon now
Price: $19.95
Publisher: Nightengale Press
Language: English
Web site: www.right2recover.com
Ms. Yvonne Perry has written a marvelous book on stem cell research with her volume Right to Recover. It is extensively researched, closely reasoned, and obviously very close to her heart. The book is chocked full of facts and figures and yet it is in a readable style that makes all the dry statistics seem not at all burdensome. When the book comes out in Sept. 2007 I would highly recommend getting a copy and studying it closely for the facts, both political and scientific, included there in. The only trouble with Ms. Perry’s book is that it will probably never be read by the people who truly need to understand its import. Ms. Perry is preaching to the choir in this wonderful volume and, so long as the present administration and its wrong-headed, self-righteous backers are in power, nothing is going to change. Nevertheless, the book is drop dead great.
------
Reviewed by G. L. Helm
Author of the novels, OTHER DOORS, a fantasy of Peace, and DESIGN, and publisher of the Antelope Valley Anthologies, RED SKIES LIKE NO WHERE ELSE ON EARTH, and ALDOUS HUXLEY SLEPT HERE.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
History and A Great Story Rolled Into One
In the Shadow of Suribachi
By Joyce Faulkner
Red Engine Press
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780974565202
Adult/Creative Nonfiction
Author's Site: http://home.comcast.net/~joycefaulkner/suribachi.htm
Contact Reviewer: HojoNews@aol.com
Rating: 5 of 5
Emerging Author Joyce Faulkner
Designs New Kind of Literature
If reviewing were a different sort of animal I could probably pen three lines of 17 syllables, wind up with haiku that would remain with the reader and call it day. I could describe In the Shadow of Suribachi by Joyce Faulkner with words like "heartfelt, consummate skill, emotional and bloody," fool a bit with the caesuras and stresses and--perhaps--give readers a better sense of the soul of the book.
Having said that, there is more to this work than its essence and prose will work better to explain that. Here the author assembles disparate events like the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane in Islmorada, Fl, the infamous kristallnacht, the 1942 circus fire in Cleveland. Each real-life event is told from the point of view of a character and may--at first--feel as if they are separate stories. If the reader listens carefully, however, she will hear the intimations in each of how these young men's futures will connect, how what has gone before will affect them later as Marines fighting and suffering in Iwo Jima in 1945.
This book is neither beast nor fowl. The stories (and story) are based on interviews and careful research so it is nonfiction. They are told with all the craft of a fiction writer; that makes it creative nonfiction. They are assembled in a way that would qualify it as a literary novel. A literary novel, after all, tells of the human condition. Characters in literary novels must be carefully drawn and readers should draw something from one that lives long after the last page is turned. This book, published by a new traditional press called the Red Engine Press, qualifies.
Readers should know that, though they may well be mesmerized by this story (stories), it is not easy reading. Endorsed by professionals from the Army's 101st Airborne Division to history teachers, it captures what Lt. Col. Dave Grossman calls "the reality of human aggression and combat." This is a time when we, as a nation, need to fully understand what we are sending our young men and women to do. To understand it may behoove us to visit--or revisit--Suribachi.
It won a Military Writers' Society of America gold meda.
------------
Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s first novel, This is the Place, has won eight awards. Harkening, a collection of stories, has won three and her how-to book for authors, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T, is USA Book News' "Best Professional Book 2004." Her new chapbook of poetry, Tracings, to be includes her own childhood memories of WWII. It is also a Militar Writers' Society Award-Winner. She wrote a foreword for another Support Our Troops, published by Andrews McMeel. Learn more about her at: http://carolynhoward-johnson.com or www.HowToDoItFrugally.com.)
By Joyce Faulkner
Red Engine Press
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780974565202
Adult/Creative Nonfiction
Author's Site: http://home.comcast.net/~joycefaulkner/suribachi.htm
Contact Reviewer: HojoNews@aol.com
Rating: 5 of 5
Emerging Author Joyce Faulkner
Designs New Kind of Literature
If reviewing were a different sort of animal I could probably pen three lines of 17 syllables, wind up with haiku that would remain with the reader and call it day. I could describe In the Shadow of Suribachi by Joyce Faulkner with words like "heartfelt, consummate skill, emotional and bloody," fool a bit with the caesuras and stresses and--perhaps--give readers a better sense of the soul of the book.
Having said that, there is more to this work than its essence and prose will work better to explain that. Here the author assembles disparate events like the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane in Islmorada, Fl, the infamous kristallnacht, the 1942 circus fire in Cleveland. Each real-life event is told from the point of view of a character and may--at first--feel as if they are separate stories. If the reader listens carefully, however, she will hear the intimations in each of how these young men's futures will connect, how what has gone before will affect them later as Marines fighting and suffering in Iwo Jima in 1945.
This book is neither beast nor fowl. The stories (and story) are based on interviews and careful research so it is nonfiction. They are told with all the craft of a fiction writer; that makes it creative nonfiction. They are assembled in a way that would qualify it as a literary novel. A literary novel, after all, tells of the human condition. Characters in literary novels must be carefully drawn and readers should draw something from one that lives long after the last page is turned. This book, published by a new traditional press called the Red Engine Press, qualifies.
Readers should know that, though they may well be mesmerized by this story (stories), it is not easy reading. Endorsed by professionals from the Army's 101st Airborne Division to history teachers, it captures what Lt. Col. Dave Grossman calls "the reality of human aggression and combat." This is a time when we, as a nation, need to fully understand what we are sending our young men and women to do. To understand it may behoove us to visit--or revisit--Suribachi.
It won a Military Writers' Society of America gold meda.
------------
Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s first novel, This is the Place, has won eight awards. Harkening, a collection of stories, has won three and her how-to book for authors, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T, is USA Book News' "Best Professional Book 2004." Her new chapbook of poetry, Tracings, to be includes her own childhood memories of WWII. It is also a Militar Writers' Society Award-Winner. She wrote a foreword for another Support Our Troops, published by Andrews McMeel. Learn more about her at: http://carolynhoward-johnson.com or www.HowToDoItFrugally.com.)
Saturday, May 12, 2007
A Young Reviewer Sounds of on a YA Novel
Crushed
Frances Lynn Eiworth Publishing (2006)
ISBN 9780955367236
Reviewed by Sarah Wilborn (age 12)
Originally Published in Reader Views (3/07)
The book “Crushed” was a very interesting and fun book. It was about a girl in England, named Door. She was determined that she was adopted. Her sister got everything she wanted, yet Door got nothing. Door was a bit gloomy, and Dee was stuck up. Door was also not as pretty as Dee, and didn’t have as much talent.
Their Mom was unlike others and favored Dee more than Door. Their father was in his own little world; he wrote books about history. At times he would be zoning out and thinking about being back in time, and what it was like, at other times he was writing about what he thought. His life was centered on his books.
Her parents seemed to have cared more about Dee than Door. As well, Dee did get everything, including a date with Door’s favorite singer. All’s well that ends well, Door finds a humongous family secret Dee doesn’t know, and she gets a super popular and a awesome boyfriend.
This should be a 5 Star book. I absolutely LOVED it!!! My rating for it is 5.
I really liked this book. It was funny and it was realistic. At times I would laugh and think what I would do if I was there. Sometimes I would think that Door is stupid, sometimes I thought their parents were clueless and dumb. The author, Frances Lynn, gave very, very, very, very good details, most of the time. It didn’t get boring at all. The hardest part was to put the book down to do what I needed to do. I could see this book being someone’s life, although it would be horrible.
“Crushed” is a book for any age and can relate to those that have someone in their life that favors someone else. All they want is attention, and one or two simple dreams. Door wanted to play the drums and her parents said no, yet Dee was a ballerina and went to practice almost every day. Door has a big problem with her mom never understanding. They have so many fights and those are big and scary.
“Crushed” was such a good book. I absolutely want all my friends to read it, and I know they’ll go crazy for it. Like I said, this book isn’t for a certain age group or certain kind of person. Anyone with a love for reading, or need something good to do needs to read this book!
Frances Lynn Eiworth Publishing (2006)
ISBN 9780955367236
Reviewed by Sarah Wilborn (age 12)
Originally Published in Reader Views (3/07)
The book “Crushed” was a very interesting and fun book. It was about a girl in England, named Door. She was determined that she was adopted. Her sister got everything she wanted, yet Door got nothing. Door was a bit gloomy, and Dee was stuck up. Door was also not as pretty as Dee, and didn’t have as much talent.
Their Mom was unlike others and favored Dee more than Door. Their father was in his own little world; he wrote books about history. At times he would be zoning out and thinking about being back in time, and what it was like, at other times he was writing about what he thought. His life was centered on his books.
Her parents seemed to have cared more about Dee than Door. As well, Dee did get everything, including a date with Door’s favorite singer. All’s well that ends well, Door finds a humongous family secret Dee doesn’t know, and she gets a super popular and a awesome boyfriend.
This should be a 5 Star book. I absolutely LOVED it!!! My rating for it is 5.
I really liked this book. It was funny and it was realistic. At times I would laugh and think what I would do if I was there. Sometimes I would think that Door is stupid, sometimes I thought their parents were clueless and dumb. The author, Frances Lynn, gave very, very, very, very good details, most of the time. It didn’t get boring at all. The hardest part was to put the book down to do what I needed to do. I could see this book being someone’s life, although it would be horrible.
“Crushed” is a book for any age and can relate to those that have someone in their life that favors someone else. All they want is attention, and one or two simple dreams. Door wanted to play the drums and her parents said no, yet Dee was a ballerina and went to practice almost every day. Door has a big problem with her mom never understanding. They have so many fights and those are big and scary.
“Crushed” was such a good book. I absolutely want all my friends to read it, and I know they’ll go crazy for it. Like I said, this book isn’t for a certain age group or certain kind of person. Anyone with a love for reading, or need something good to do needs to read this book!
Belgian Reviewer Shares Zumaya Publication Thriller
Death Game
By Cheryl Swanson
Zumaya Publications
www.zumayapublications.com
editorial@zumayapublications.com
ISBN: 1-554110-326-6
Copyright 2006
Trade Paperback, 300 pages, $14.99
Thriller
Reviewed by Mayra Calvani, www.mayracalvani.com
CG expert Cooper O’Brian’s life turns upside down when her younger brother, a troubled teenager, is accused of murdering another boy in what looks like a deadly game. In spite of the evidence, including a tape which shows her brother shooting the victim, Cooper believes something just doesn’t feel right. Is the tape fake? How can she prove it?
With her brother on the run and the authorities after him, Cooper begins to investigate on her own… only to discover a bottomless vortex of deceit, rage and death. As the story unfolds it becomes obvious that something much more sinister and terrifying than a simple murder is stake.
Twisted computer games, ‘closed cities’, terrorism, and a massive conspiracy mix together to create a suspenseful thriller that will touch readers in an emotional level.
Its horrifying implications are not far from reality in the present world we live in. Though the story is written in first person, which is somewhat unusual for a thriller, talented author Cheryl Swanson maintains a quick pace that reaches a spine-tingling, heart-stopping climax. Sensitive readers who are easily offended by explicit language should be aware that this book contains its fair share of it. Swanson’s style is characterized by a stabbing wit and razor-sharp sentences that suit the plot and add momentum to the pace. An impressive debut novel by a promising author.
By Cheryl Swanson
Zumaya Publications
www.zumayapublications.com
editorial@zumayapublications.com
ISBN: 1-554110-326-6
Copyright 2006
Trade Paperback, 300 pages, $14.99
Thriller
Reviewed by Mayra Calvani, www.mayracalvani.com
CG expert Cooper O’Brian’s life turns upside down when her younger brother, a troubled teenager, is accused of murdering another boy in what looks like a deadly game. In spite of the evidence, including a tape which shows her brother shooting the victim, Cooper believes something just doesn’t feel right. Is the tape fake? How can she prove it?
With her brother on the run and the authorities after him, Cooper begins to investigate on her own… only to discover a bottomless vortex of deceit, rage and death. As the story unfolds it becomes obvious that something much more sinister and terrifying than a simple murder is stake.
Twisted computer games, ‘closed cities’, terrorism, and a massive conspiracy mix together to create a suspenseful thriller that will touch readers in an emotional level.
Its horrifying implications are not far from reality in the present world we live in. Though the story is written in first person, which is somewhat unusual for a thriller, talented author Cheryl Swanson maintains a quick pace that reaches a spine-tingling, heart-stopping climax. Sensitive readers who are easily offended by explicit language should be aware that this book contains its fair share of it. Swanson’s style is characterized by a stabbing wit and razor-sharp sentences that suit the plot and add momentum to the pace. An impressive debut novel by a promising author.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Night Demons--My First Submission!
Here is my first submitted review. Thank you to Stacey Bucholz and Howard Hopkins for permission to include it on my blog.
NIGHT DEMONS
By: Howard Hopkins
http://www.howardhopkins.com
My Space Space: http://www.myspace.com/yingko2
Publisher: Golden Perils Press
(378 pages) Paperback: $22.99
Available from www.amazon.com, www.bn.com
Review by: Stacey Bucholz
5 Daggers
NIGHT DEMONS is truly gripping! I have to say that this is my favorite book to date by Mr. Hopkins. I'm a big Stephen King fan and I felt like I was reading one of Mr. Kings books right from page one and all the way to the end. From the very start of NIGHT DEMONS I felt the same excited anticipation that only Stephen King has been able to give me in a horror book.
Mr. Hopkins delighted me with his visual detail and his excellent way
with words. He has written a great book of horror and suspense and I loved every single minute of NIGHT DEMONS. I was so surprised and absolutely thrilled while I was reading, to find that Mr. Hopkins had surpassed himself. I didn't think it was possible.
If you love true horror, the kind that really creeps you out and won't
let you read without all the lights on, then you will absolutely love
NIGHT DEMONS! I haven't been this frightened by a book in quite a while and I loved it! Mr. Hopkins is a true master at scaring the socks off you. He sure didn't hold back his imagination while leading me through a hell of a terrifying ride. I've been an admirer of Mr. Hopkins work for quite a while, but now I consider myself one of his biggest fans. Grab NIGHT DEMONS if you sincerely want the scare of your life!
NIGHT DEMONS
By: Howard Hopkins
http://www.howardhopkins.com
My Space Space: http://www.myspace.com/yingko2
Publisher: Golden Perils Press
(378 pages) Paperback: $22.99
Available from www.amazon.com, www.bn.com
Review by: Stacey Bucholz
5 Daggers
NIGHT DEMONS is truly gripping! I have to say that this is my favorite book to date by Mr. Hopkins. I'm a big Stephen King fan and I felt like I was reading one of Mr. Kings books right from page one and all the way to the end. From the very start of NIGHT DEMONS I felt the same excited anticipation that only Stephen King has been able to give me in a horror book.
Mr. Hopkins delighted me with his visual detail and his excellent way
with words. He has written a great book of horror and suspense and I loved every single minute of NIGHT DEMONS. I was so surprised and absolutely thrilled while I was reading, to find that Mr. Hopkins had surpassed himself. I didn't think it was possible.
If you love true horror, the kind that really creeps you out and won't
let you read without all the lights on, then you will absolutely love
NIGHT DEMONS! I haven't been this frightened by a book in quite a while and I loved it! Mr. Hopkins is a true master at scaring the socks off you. He sure didn't hold back his imagination while leading me through a hell of a terrifying ride. I've been an admirer of Mr. Hopkins work for quite a while, but now I consider myself one of his biggest fans. Grab NIGHT DEMONS if you sincerely want the scare of your life!
Monday, May 7, 2007
Displeasures of the Table by Martha Ronk
This book was required reading in a poetry class I took from Suzanne Lummis at UCLA. Not quite poetry, not quite memoir, not quite anything, really, is--unlike its title--is pure pleasure.
Speaking of Food, Thinking About Everything Else
Image and Memory as Entertainment
Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, award-winning author of This is the Place, Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered and Tracings, a chapbook of poetry.
Displeasures of the Table by Martha Ronk is a sort of mingling of peanut butter sandwiches and nostalgia. It is often a sort of examination of how a train of thought moves along a fragmented track, how one image connects us to another event. Reading Ms. Ronk is like discovering we have found a kindred spirit when we notice she can follow us when we go off on a tangent in mid-conversation and she can figure out what the hell we’re talking about.
Unlike my husband who says:
“What do you mean by ‘it’?”
After I’ve said:
“It was made of blue floral chintz.”
After he’s been talking about his mothers couch—the one he doesn’t want to inherit.
And, even if he understood that I meant the couch was blue floral chintz, he’d be wrong. No. The couch made me think about the periwinkle and sky-colored chintz bedspread in the attic, and, frankly, I have trouble understanding why he can’t see the connection.. I mean, the couch wasn’t chintz so how could he make that mistake?
This slim booklet is not easily categorized. What you’ll find there is neither quite essay or prose poetry or flash fiction. It is just to be enjoyed for what it is. Enjoy the quotes and the language; savor what you find there. It’s like a plate of spaghetti, all tangled and impossible to keep any single strand whole. It’s very tasty nonetheless.
This book is for those who love what is original, for those who like memory or analytical games, for those who love detail and connecting dots. Those people will love Displeasures of the Table. I did.
PS. My favorite piece is “Corn” on page 26. My daughter is going to love “Brussels sprouts” on page 19. She had trouble swallowing them, too.
Speaking of Food, Thinking About Everything Else
Image and Memory as Entertainment
Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, award-winning author of This is the Place, Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered and Tracings, a chapbook of poetry.
Displeasures of the Table by Martha Ronk is a sort of mingling of peanut butter sandwiches and nostalgia. It is often a sort of examination of how a train of thought moves along a fragmented track, how one image connects us to another event. Reading Ms. Ronk is like discovering we have found a kindred spirit when we notice she can follow us when we go off on a tangent in mid-conversation and she can figure out what the hell we’re talking about.
Unlike my husband who says:
“What do you mean by ‘it’?”
After I’ve said:
“It was made of blue floral chintz.”
After he’s been talking about his mothers couch—the one he doesn’t want to inherit.
And, even if he understood that I meant the couch was blue floral chintz, he’d be wrong. No. The couch made me think about the periwinkle and sky-colored chintz bedspread in the attic, and, frankly, I have trouble understanding why he can’t see the connection.. I mean, the couch wasn’t chintz so how could he make that mistake?
This slim booklet is not easily categorized. What you’ll find there is neither quite essay or prose poetry or flash fiction. It is just to be enjoyed for what it is. Enjoy the quotes and the language; savor what you find there. It’s like a plate of spaghetti, all tangled and impossible to keep any single strand whole. It’s very tasty nonetheless.
This book is for those who love what is original, for those who like memory or analytical games, for those who love detail and connecting dots. Those people will love Displeasures of the Table. I did.
PS. My favorite piece is “Corn” on page 26. My daughter is going to love “Brussels sprouts” on page 19. She had trouble swallowing them, too.
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