Mindy Lawrence Reviews How-To for Self-Guided Journaling

Title: Journal Your Way to Creativity: A Self-Guided Journal

Author: Jen Nipps

Paperback: 106 pages

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (March 25, 2018)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1986126889

ISBN-13: 978-1986126885

Reviewed by Mindy Phillips Lawrence

Author Jenn Nipps sent me a copy of her new e-book, Journal Your Way to Creativity: A Self-Guided Journal. I’d chatted with her and asked permission to review it since its title resonated with me, the subject matter close to my heart.

At first, this book seems simple, that is until you begin working with the prompts. Nipps’ introduction discusses how important creativity is and what it is and isn’t. Then ninety prompts pull you in and draw out your thoughts and insecurities. They lead you on a 90-day excursion into the blocks you have and direct you to discover ways to unblock them. Instead of telling you what to do in order to accept your creative life, this book leads you to discover the answers for yourself. 

The first prompt says, “Give your inner critic free reign for five minutes. Write everything it says. Then put it in jail. Put its words in an envelope and seal it. Don’t open it for at least a month or, preferably, after the end of this journal. Then see how you feel about what it said.” You reveal the weaknesses holding you back then you incarcerate them. Nipps asks you to be honest with yourself. Open the mental drawers and closets that hold the junk that keeps you from being free. 

Nipps includes a helpful list of books by other authors in the resource section that will give you more help in opening your creative life. She also lists her other works.

This book is as helpful as you allow it to be. You can add to the area in the printed version and say more. You can make your own file for the electronic version. Either way, if you allow the prompts to direct you and are honest with your answers, this book can greatly expand your creative life. 

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Mindy Phillips Lawrence is a writer and artist from Springfield, Missouri. She is the author of two chapbooks of poetry, co-author of The Complete Writer, and has been published in Writers’ Digest Magazine. Her reviews also sometimes appear on Amazon.com and Midwest Book Review. She is also a columnist for #CarolynHowardJohnson 's SharingwithWriters newsletter, http://HowToDoItFrugally.com and will soon publish a compendium of those columns.  

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG AND GETTING REVIEWS

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog 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 read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine 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.

Doriana Fontanella Reviews Bonnie McCune's New Contemporary Romance

Title: Never Retreat

Author: Bonnie McCune

Author’s Web site: www.BonnieMcCune.com

Genre: Women’s fiction, contemporary romance

Name of reviewer: Doriana R. Fontanella

Publisher: Imajin Books

ISBN

Never Retreat paperback        
ISBN 978-1-77223-351-3

ISBN 978-1-77223-351-3
ISBN 978-1-77223

Never Retreat electronic book (Kindle/Amazon)       
ISBN 978-1-77223-350-6

ISBN 978-1-77223-350-6

ASIN   B079SY632Z

Review by Doriana R. Fontanella 

I have read Bonnie’s previous two novels and find that she does not have a cookie cutter approach to her writing. So many times in reading an author’s various works, we can tell that the plot is boiler plate and the characters just have new names. In Italian, we say “Cambia il maestro, ma la musica è sempre la stessa.” In other words, the characters change but it is always the same old story.

Especially in Never Retreat, Bonnie’s approach to story-telling has evolved and matured. There is such wonderful details and descriptions of the surroundings that they become part of the story even before the weather becomes a major character.

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Doriana R. Fontanella

Write Connection LLC

Connecting Authors and Readers

writeconnectionllc@gmail.com

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bonnie McCune has been writing since age ten, when she submitted a poem about rain rushing down the gutter to the Saturday Evening Post (it was immediately rejected). This interest facilitated her career in nonprofits doing public and community relations and marketing. She’s worked for libraries, directed a small arts organization, and managed Denver's beautification program. 

Simultaneously, she’s been a freelance writer with publications in local, regional, and specialty publications for news and features. Her civic involvement includes grass-roots organizations, political campaigns, writers' and arts' groups, and children's literacy. For years, she entered recipe contests and was a finalist once to the Pillsbury Bake Off. A special love is live theater. Had she been nine inches taller and thirty pounds lighter, she might have been an actress.

Her true passion is fiction, and her pieces have won several awards. Never Retreat is her third novel and her fifth book of fiction. For reasons unknown (an unacknowledged optimism?), she believes one person can make a difference in this world. Visit her at www.BonnieMcCune.com, Bonnie@BonnieMcCune.com, twitter.com/bonniemccune, facebook.com/authorBonnieMcCune, www.linkedin.com/in/BonnieMcCune.

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG AND REVIEWS

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everything from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion and a whole lot you didn't know including how to use blurbs from reviews to sell books to catalogs. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically! 

This blog 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 read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine 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.

Veteran Poet Releases New Book from Poetic Matrix Press

  A Matter of Selection

 by Carol Smallwood
Publisher:Poetic Matrix Press (March 5, 2018)

Paperback:120 pages

ISBN-10:0998146986
Available on Amazon 
$17



Carol Smallwood, 
a whole battery of poetry chapbooks to her credit, has written another 
masterpiece.  By that, I don't mean something utterly impossible to
decipher or something that reminds the reader of poets' sonnets from her

11th grade English Literature class.  Many of the poems in Smallwood's 
A Matter of Selection are just as intricate, just as formulated. The thing is, 
you won't notice unless you make them into a puzzle to be unraveled 
or refigured like a Rubic's cube. And why would you want to do that?

Smallwood
writes intricate poems that are easy--even lazy. We read them for the spell
they create, the nostalgia, the wonder. Each is like images in the
opening poem: A melody. Morning fog. A path. 

Smallwood's
repetitive line, " . . . it makes sense to cut up pieces to sew with needle and
thread" in her poem "The Universe" lets her unraveling of the cosmos
be understood with subtle sounds. "Read," "bed," and, yes "dread." You
won't need a reviewer to tell you not to sweat it. You'll just go with the
gentle flow. 

Smallwood's 
A Matter of Selection are poems all the better in the moment. Save
analytics for another time, another chapbook another text. Like a child
listening to her mother's voice, no need to analyze. 

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everything from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion and a whole lot you didn't know including how to use blurbs from reviews to sell books to catalogs. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically! 

This blog 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 read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine 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.

YA Adventure Available as Ebook

Mirrored Kingdoms
Subtitle: The Shadow's Quest

by Antony and Eliza Gregwood

A Christian fantasy adventure book.

ISBN: B076HFL9MM

Ebook

Purchase at Amazon

When twelve-year-old orphan Matthew injured his ankle on a school trip, little did he know that taking shelter in a cave would lead him to a strange land, drawn by a blinding light, where nothing was familiar.

Raised by a farming family, Matthew slowly adjusted to their peculiar ways and their strange customs and he set out on a quest to discover the truth of where he was and how he'd got there.

As he struggled to understand the mysteries of this new land, Matthew had to face his fears and strive on through a journey of hope, danger and adventure and he finds an important sense of loyalty to the family that took him in. 

This would become a journey that would ultimately change his life....forever.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Find the author website at http://mirroredkingdoms.weebly.com. 

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everything from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion and a whole lot you didn't know including how to use blurbs from reviews to sell books to catalogs. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically! 

This blog 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 read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine 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.

Bonnie McCune Blends Techniques for Powerful Third Novel

Title: Never Retreat

Author: Bonnie F. McCune

ISBN: 78-1-77223-350-6 Kindle ebook
ISBN: 978-1-77223-351-3 Trade paperback
Available on Amazon and xxxxxxxx

A feisty single mom clashes with an ex-military, macho corporate star at a business retreat in the wild Colorado mountains, where only one can win a huge prize. But when a massive flood imperils their love and survival, they learn the meaning of true partnership.

Years ago, Ramona (‘Raye”) Soto faced harsh reality when a roving con man knocked her up. Now at thirty-something she’s concentrating on her career in a major telecommunications firm and funding college for her teenaged son. Enter Desmond Emmett—a fast talker and smooth operator. New to the office, the ex-serviceman possesses every negative quality for a guy Raye should avoid. Thrown together at a corporate retreat in the wilderness, the reluctant duo struggles to complete management’s extreme mental and physical tests for a huge reward. But only one can win the prize, and Des needs the money to underwrite medical treatments for his adored younger sister. See-sawing between attraction and antagonism, the mismatched couple, Raye and Des, face their biggest challenge: learning the meaning of true partnership. When a massive flash flood sweeps down the rocky canyon and threatens their love and survival, they must put aside their difference to rescue their colleagues—and their future as a couple.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bonnie McCune has been writing since age ten, when she submitted a poem about rain rushing down the gutter to the Saturday Evening Post (it was immediately rejected). This interest facilitated her career in nonprofits doing public and community relations and marketing. She’s worked for libraries, directed a small arts organization, and managed Denver's beautification program. Simultaneously, she’s been a free lance writer with publications in local, regional, and specialty publications for news and features. Her civic involvement includes grass-roots organizations, political campaigns, writers' and arts' groups, and children's literacy. For years, she entered recipe contests and was a finalist once to the Pillsbury Bake Off. A special love is live theater. Had she been nine inches taller and thirty pounds lighter, she might have been an actress. Her true passion is fiction, and her pieces have won several awards. Never Retreat is her third novel and her fifth book of fiction. For reasons unknown (an unacknowledged optimism?), she believes one person can make a difference in this world. Visit her at www.BonnieMcCune.com, Bonnie@BonnieMcCune.com, twitter.com/bonniemccune, facebook.com/authorBonnieMcCune, www.linkedin.com/in/BonnieMcCune.

FIND MORE REVIEWS:

“Few novels operate on such different levels, moving their characters to challenge not just each other, but their own perceptions. . .McCune provides just the right blend of comic relief, interpersonal encounters, and outside environment changes to make her story a powerful blend.” —Midwest Book Review. http://www.midwestbookreview.com/mbw/oct_17.htm#donovan; Donovan's Bookshelf


“. . .offering intriguing lead characters. . .the novel is a swift and satisfying read. The fresh air helps turn this office romance into a truly romantic adventure.” --Kirkus Review  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/bonnie-mccune/never-retreat/

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion and a whole lot you didn't know including how to use blurbs from reviews to sell books to catalogs. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically! 

This blog 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 read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine 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.

YA Author Crosses Over into Sci-Fi That Engages Adults

Title: You Have No Power Over Me
Author: Mark Logie
Genre: Sci-Fi, Also for adult reading.
ASIN: B0051/6D3M
Available as an e-book on Amazon 

YA AUTHOR PENS SCI FI STORY FOR ADULTS

5.0 out of 5 starsSubtle Science Fiction: A Quick, Fully Engaging Story!

April 4, 2018

Format: Kindle Edition

I enjoyed this story. I especially liked the literary approach at the end. That is, Logie 

suggested an ending but didn't preach or go into great detail; he left something to the imagination

 or discretion of the reader. In the playwright and screenwriter worlds, directors want the author 

to leave enough of the visual so they can use their own creativity in the onstage or screen storytelling.

Most readers are also quite capable of reading between the lines. Logie sets up the mystery well from 

the point of view of the protagonist, a homeless man. The unexpected--even improbable--danger from 

a child is alluded to and keeps the reader turning the page. There are spots that might benefit from a 

good editor; that often happens when authors are fully engaged in their story. They may not see the trees

for the forest. Still, Logie, known for his young adult fiction, seems to have realized in this piece that--much 

like Ray Bradbury's work--sci-fi and aliens are not just for kids. I certainly found myself fully engaged.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Learn more by clicking on his name on Amazon to take you to his profile page.
Find him on Facebook.com/mark-logie-author-1022617024509611/
Twitter: @MarkLogieAuthor

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion and a whole lot you didn't know including how to use blurbs from reviews to sell books to catalogs. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically! 

This blog 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 read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine 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.