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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
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Why Not Travel Stories with a Lesbian Twist

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

Reviewed by Deborah Sheldon


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Editor Reviews Book on Editing for Amazon

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

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

Reviewed by Steve Fortosis for Amazon

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

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Boarding School Mysteries Book Reviewed by Donna M. McDine

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

Reviewed by Donna M. McDine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Eliza Earsman Publishes Call-to-Action Poetry

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

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THIS BOOK

From amazon.com:

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


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

Mainly succinct, sensuous. ~ University Lecturer, Wales.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HEAVENS ABOVE: shows love of word play.

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

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

JAFFA GATE STING: seriocomic. Song-like opening.

CATALONIA: a poem to the architectural beauty and transcendent faith contained in Barcelona.
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From the Back Cover

Provocative, reasoned, instinctive, funny, robust.

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

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

Sanity galvanizes readers to act!

Earsman is also the author of Days of Elijah.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Lists to Help You Plan Your Reading for 2010

I know it's not January 1 but it's not too late to think about reading for 2010, is it? Here are a few I've been directly involved with:

MyShelf.com runs top ten lists from each of its reviewers and columnists. My list is there for you to peruse but mostly I'm proud to be on reviewer Jennifer Akers's list with the poetry chapbook I co-authored with Magdalena Ball. It is She Wore Emerald Then: Reflections On Motherhood. http://www.myshelf.com/toptenreads.html


Then there is the Top Ten List on Squidoo from Jennifer Akers. She included The Frugal Book Promoter as one of her Top Ten for LIFE changing books. Guess improving a career can be life changing. But I’m getting a really big, fat head here. You’ll find several other great books on writing on that list, too. http://www.squidoo.com/booklist.

You may also want to buzz over to see the prizes I give out every year. They aren't limited to ten nor do I always name ten. The Noble (Not Nobel!) prize is a fun way to honor excellence in literature that isn't considered for the Nobel--and that leaves lots of room for me to play! It is at http://www.myshelf.com/backtoliterature/column.htm. Find past year's winners every January in the archives. You reach them from the Back To Literature page.

I am on a campaign to get more people to read and to buy books as gifts. And, I'm hoping I can encourage them not only to support the publishing industry but also to support emerging writers. Maybe set a goal. Half of those books could be by emerging writers. In other words, Stephen King's On Writing is superb and so is Bird by Bird, but do a search on Amazon. There are many other books on writing that are good and that your writing friends (or reading friends) will love.
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Imagination on Board Author Reviews Avon Romance

An Artful Deception
By Karen Kogan
Avalon Books
Hardcover: 216 pages
ISBN-10: 0803499175
ISBN-13: 978-0803499171
$23.95


Reviewed by Connie Gotsch

Lady Katherine wants no part of marriage to Phillip, to whom she has been pledged since childhood. But as her carriage takes her farther and farther from her girlhood home, she realizes she must either accept Phillip as her husband, or Cedric, the cousin she detests.

When the carriage turns over on a rough road and her maid dies, Lady Katherine conceives a plan to avoid both Phillip and Cedric. She will pose as the maid until she can find her own husband But Phillip turns out to be handsome and much kinder than the bullyboy she remembers . Now what?

The absolutely delightful romance, An Artful Deception of course, by Karen Cogan, published by Avalon Books.

The story twists and turns as romances do, while Lady Katherine struggles to clear up the misunderstanding she has created. With the help of a jealous servant, Cedric finds her and closes in. Phillip becomes furious when he discovers her true identity and threatens to let Cedric have her.

Predictably, Lady Katharine straightens out her mess, as good romance heroines do, but the fun of An Artful Deception comes from watching her do it. Karen Cogan has an easy-to-read style and a good sense of pacing. She balances action with just the right amount of description and dialog.

An Artful Deception is a light, cheerful, and totally fun read. It’s great for a winter night by the fire, or a warm beach in some mid-February vacation spot.

The reviewer is the author of A Mouth Full of Shell and Snap Me a Future
Featured in "The Complete Writer's Journal" --www.redenginepress.com
Learn more at www.conniegotsch.com.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Gay Fiction Given Applause By Reluctant Reviewer

Title: BenedictionA Novel
Genre: Gay Fiction
Author: Jim Arnold
Publisher: BookSurge
301 pp. $13.99
Kindle, $7.99
ISBN 9781439248577
Genre: Gay Fiction
Benediction Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb_QYDHPKeg



Reviewed by Victor J. Banis for Examiner.com



If I were to describe this novel in one word, it would be "earnest." And if I were to name its chief fault, it is that it wears its earnestness on its sleeve.

In all honesty, I am really not the best reader to review Benediction because it is exactly the kind of read I try to avoid. This has nothing at all to do with the merits or failings of the book, and everything to do with my own personal biases. I don't care for stories of catastrophic and/or terminal illness. For instance, I avoid AIDS novels, for reasons too complicated to get into here; and, really, this is an AIDS novel in which AIDS has been switched to prostate cancer.

Thus, in established AIDS novel fashion, we follow the fortunes of Ben Schmidt from early detection through the various stages of the illness and its treatment, with each step described in earnest, often clinical, detail. Men tend to not talk about prostate problems. It's probably a good thing for some to experience this with Ben. There's scarcely anything left unsaid.

So, why, you're wondering, am I writing about a book I didn't like—except, that I did, putting my personal preferences aside, and for what it is. And what it is, for the most part, is very well written.

The author is at his best in describing his settings, and the armchair traveler gets a lot for his ticket: an often lyrical San Francisco; raunchy New York club scenes; tacky giddy West Hollywood; Sydney, from sex dens to sand dunes; even Turin.

The plot—well, the illness mostly dominates that, though there is an off again on again relationship with the hunk next door; ditto with an internet trick; ditto the sexy doctor, and…hmm, might as well say it, Ben Schmidt is a slut. Also, once he falls off the AA wagon, a heavy duty lush and druggie.

Which brings up characterization. The people in the book are mostly well drawn, if mostly not very sympathetic. There just isn't anyone to root for. Certainly not poor Ben, who seems to have no fun at all, not even when he's having—often—sex. But I did come to admire him, and he has the good sense eventually to figure out where he needs to be; and that, too, is a tribute to the author, because I found myself thinking of Ben as I would of someone I know. Okay, someone who aggravates me no end, but still, my point is, the character does come alive.

The prose is literary. I'm surprised Kensington didn't jump all over this. As I was reading, I kept checking the cover, convinced I was reading a Kensington release. It should have been a shoo-in for a Lammie. It's the kind of thing they love. If I'd gotten it in time I'd have nominated it for a Publishing Triangle Award—there's one for debut novels, and this would have been worth their consideration.

All of which is to say, this is a really a fine book, and Jim Arnold is obviously a writer of considerable talent and a welcome addition to the glbt genre. Highly recommended, but with this caveat: it's a grueling journey, not only for Ben, but for the reader as well.













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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Authors, Poets and Readers Unite for Haiti

This just came to me from Lillian Cauldwell. She is sponsoring a way for authors, poets and other artists to contribute spiritually and financially to Haiti:

On Saturday, January 16, Lillian Cauldwell is sponsoring a Mixed Media event at PIVTR LIVE airwaves to raise monies for the Haitian children.

Programming runs from 2 to 4 p.m. est . Spots are 10 minutes!!

Please reserve a spot to recite poetry, read a short-short story, sing a song or sing-along with me, tell jokes, share a thought or opinion to help raise monies for these kids who are hungry, in need of medical care, clothing, water and the basic necessities especially if they're parnets are missing or died.

All proceeds go to Mission Socorro. (More on how Mission Socorro will use the proceeds below).

Contact Info: Lillian Cauldwell; 734-827-9407; lillian.cauldwell@gmail.com

"Creator" Cauldwell
Voices of the People - United We Roar!
734-332-5902
http://internetvoicesradio.com

This is information on the organization to which Mission Socorro sends its donations for the Haitian children.

Bethany International is responding to the tragedy in Haiti in several ways. We will send our first relief team to Haiti in six weeks. Two more teams will follow. We welcome you to join one of these teams.

What to Do?
Bethany now oversees a ministry called Short-Term Evangelical Missions (STEM). STEM has sent 115 teams to Haiti over its 20-year history. In light of this, we believe we have a very good awareness of where the teams can go and what they can do once they are in Haiti.

You can learn more about the teams here: http://www.stemintl.org/trips/opportunities/teams/locations/haiti_restoration

No Gift Too Small
A second way to become involved is through a financial gift. Team members, while they raise their own support for the trip, will need materials and supplies. This will be in the tens of thousands of dollars. You can make an online gift today toward this relief effort. To do this, go to
https://secure.bethanyinternational.org/donate/index.php. Gifts to the Haiti Relief Initiative are the last option.

Bethany International
6820 Auto Club Road, Suite M, Bloomington, MN 55438

If you are interested in donating to an organization likely to get out immediate relief, you can also easily donate to one of my favorites, The Clinton Foundation.
https://re.clintonfoundation.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=3869


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Fran Lewis Raves About Funny Fiction "Hauling Checks"

Title: Hauling Checks
Author: Alex Stone
Genre: Fiction\Humorous, Transportation\Aviation
ISBN: 978-1449563332
Reviewer: Fran Lewis


Review by Fran Lewis

Fly the Unfriendly Skies

Hauling Checks by Alex Stone is a humorous, yet very enlightening novel that brings to light a profession that so many people have probably never heard of, or would ever be brave enough to try. The occupation of Freight Dogs is unique and dangerous. Flying small airplanes in storms, fog, lightning, ice, and snow; Freight Dogs transport their cargo wherever and whenever, no matter what the conditions may be. This interesting and humorous novel kept my attention from the start.

In Hauling Checks the pilots of Checkflight Airlines persevere, risking life and limb every minute they are in the air, carrying canceled checks that have to be delivered to banks. Their boss (The Chief) does not care about the lives of his pilots, only the money he needs to keep his business afloat. The fact that the engine might be on fire, the wings might be so iced up that the plane may not make it off the ground, or the fog so dense that the pilots cannot see does not seem to faze him, nor does he care.

Resorting to unethical and shady business practices, The Chief is thoughtless, unfeeling, and mercenary. He cuts costs, salaries, pilots, and more in his final resort to save Checkflight when it becomes apparent that his airline might go under. In order to compensate for his lack of management skills, he decides to resort to some unsavory business practices such as having his pilots make drug runs, money laundering flights, and transporting people who he claims can sit on the floor of the plane without seatbelts or a seat, just a rope to tie around them to keep them from falling out of the plane. The situations will make you laugh, and keep you on the edge of your seat dying to see what happens next.

With a cast of characters so ill suited to their profession, the pilots create havoc wherever they go, and rarely make their destinations on schedule. This novel really keeps you laughing and yet it’s a little frightening to think that these things could really happen. The narrator flies with one co-pilot that is always plastered and another who is depressed over two failed marriages and is just a drop delusional, which makes flying with him quite an experience.

These underpaid, unappreciated pilots of Checkflight Airlines clock an insurmountable number of hours flying for a company that gives them no perks, no bonuses, and certainly no help when trouble arises in the air. On one run they leave a door open and the checks fall out of the plane. Before you know it reporters are televising pictures of these bank checks raining all over downtown Cleveland. It is like an Abbot and Costello movie but even funnier.

Also part of the mix are Checkflight’s two dispatchers, who are totally unfit for their positions, and have no clue as to what they are supposed to be doing. One of the dispatchers is senile, and barely remembers where she is, or her own name, and the other lives in her own imaginary world. You never know what is going to happen, and yet the situations that are described are so far out, you just have to laugh or stop and say: “You have to be kidding.”

The pilots fly planes that are poorly maintained and in terrible disrepair. Fixing and repairing planes is out of the question. Mechanical failures arise constantly and the people who own Checkflight airlines do not care. The safety of the pilots is not their concern, only the timely delivery of the cargo. I would not exactly call them Checkflight airlines, maybe No Budget Airlines or High Jinks Airlines. But, whatever you call them, this book is great.

For those men out there who are Freight Dogs, you deserve a lot of credit. This book, although humorous, shows the seedier side of flying. As a pilot who has experienced a lot of situations in the air, and as someone who was a Freight Dog, the author writes from experience making the novel more realistic to the reader. “Hauling Checks” is so funny that I could not put it down. The stories, the incidents, and the characters will keep the reader astounded until the very end.

I never give stars for a book. I give this book FIVE NEW PLANES IN PERFECT WORKING CONDITION, FIVE NEW DISPATCHERS THAT CAN REMEMBER WHAT THEY ARE DOING, and ONE MECHANIC THAT CAN HANDLE THE REPAIRS.


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Norm Goldman Reviews Award-Winning Literary Novel

Houses: a novel
Genre: Fiction/Literary/Women's
Publisher: Leigh Walker Books
ISBN: 978-0-32893-5

Reviewed by Norm Goldman for BookPleasures.com and Amazon
Rated 5 stars on Amazon

You may never have heard of Cynthia Rogers Parks, author of Houses winner of the 2008 Good Read novel competition sponsored by A Woman's Write, but you will wonder why, when you've read this novel.

Parks did an incredible job delivering to her readers a cozy and humane narrative through the voice of her principal character, Lacey Winters. Unveiling a half century of her life from the 1950s onwards, Lacey spins quite an absorbing yarn, and despite being a work of fiction, we actually feel she is "real," particularly if you grew up around the same time and experienced some of the rough challenges that she endured.

One of the triumphs of this novel is the manner in which Parks depicts time and place, as she cleverly intertwines the many events that have preoccupied the media over the past fifty years--assassinations, riots, scandals, civil rights protests, women rights movements, and a host of other events that, as the back cover of the book most aptly sums up, " the turbulent 60s through the psychedelic 70s, the materialistic 80s and the booms and busts of the end of the last century." And she has marvelously accomplished this feat,while avoiding the trap of overwhelming us with a great deal of back story and grounding narration. Yet, Houses still manages to reveal more about a half a century and the ways in which people inhabited it than the flood of tomes devoted to it.

As I read this novel, I couldn't help asking myself, how do you take an inventory of your life? How do you measure your life? What do you use as your signposts? What do you include and what do you leave out? How do you want to be remembered? And then there is the "what if?" Life often doesn't turn out as we expected and in fact, as is the case with Lacey, sometimes it seems to take another direction entirely. Remember the Yiddish proverb, "Man plans, God laughs."

As for Lacey, she sketches her life as a collection of phases or milestones that she identifies with the assorted houses she has lived in from the time she was a tot living at her grandmother's home with her sister and father, after the fatal accident of her mother, until her last one, when she marries for the third time. Each corresponds to a segment of her life portraying a different theme or issue that runs the gamut from teenage pregnancy and marriage, miscarriage, spousal war-time death, poverty, parental and sibling estrangements, suburbia, domesticity and independence, infidelity, divorce, depression, mid-life crisis, empty nest syndrome, unemployment, to being widowed for the second time. As Lacey sums up: "You think, don't you, that you impose yourself, stamp your own individualism, on the places you choose to live in. In fact, it works the other way around. Sometimes houses have their own ideas."

Parks is a extraordinary writer who has a talent for picking out tiny, telling details that make an entire scene or event come alive. In addition, her fine ear for dialogue effortlessly infuses mild, wry humor throughout the novel.

Cynthia Rogers Parks holds an M.A. And Ph.D in English from Georgia State University where, according to her bio, she was one of the earliest entrants in their graduate Creative Writing Program. Subsequently she taught English, business writing, and ESL classes for fourteen years. Her short stories have been published in numerous university and regional literary publications and she is a former Redbook Fiction finalist.

Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures
Cynthia Rogers Parks
http://housesthenovel.com
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
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Pulp Fiction Reviewer Shares New Release

Threshold
By Bonnie Kozek
Genre: Mystery/Thriller - Noir
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.
ISBN 978-0-595-49758-4

Reviewed by Ron Fortier for Pulp Fiction Reviews



REVIEW:

This book kicked me in the teeth. It’s an ugly slice of life few of
us ever get to see, or want to for that matter. Which is why turning
its pages was like sparring with a heavyweight. Every few scenes you
get your jaw rocked and your gut punched. It hurts like hell, but
once the literary adrenalin starts juicing, there’s no way you are
going to stop. Of course the challenge here is to try and tell you
what Bonnie Kozek writes like, when it’s damn near impossible. She’s
an original. Imagine what kind of hard boiled fiction Mickey Spillane
would have given us if he’d been a she? A sassy, angry, tough,
twenty-first century dame with a story to tell. That’s Ms. Kozek.

Honey McGuinness grew up with a suicidal mother who wanted to share
eternity with her. Only problem is, mom didn’t want to wait until
nature ran its course and opted to punch both their tickets by taking
a flying leap off a high-rise. She died, Honey lived. Sex, drugs and
a little rock and roll, the girl walked on the wild side until it all
became home, one she has no intentions of ever leaving.

“… what was I afraid of? I’d ingested, digested, shoved up my ass,
and shot into my bloodstream every kind of consciousness-numbing
intoxicant, narcotic, and medication known to man – and whatever I
missed in my later years my sick-o mother shoved down my throat in the
first sixteen. I was experienced, stoned and beautiful.”

When one of Honey’s homeless friends is gunned down in front of her
apartment and left to bleed to death, her bleak, comfy world is
shattered. Especially when she finds Billy was wired and the machine
tape is still on his body. Was he a helpless pawn of the cops? A
patsy sent into the drug flooded streets to be sacrificed to the scum?
Honey believed her heart had turned to stone long ago but with
Billy’s murder, she realizes, much to her own utter disbelief, that
she gives a damn. Then she finds an unlikely ally in a
goody-two-shoes rookie cop named Skinner. All of which propels Honey
on yet another personal voyage through hell to uncover a truth too
many powerful people want hidden permanently.

Threshold is a brutal, take-no-prisoners adult thriller that paints a disturbing, factual picture of a culture most Americans will never
know. Thank God for that. Whereas the fact that people do live like
this is a crime against all mankind. Bravo to Bonnie Kozek for having
the guts to write about it. My only question is, why was this book
published by a small, unknown publisher? If any book deserved to be a
Hard Case Crime title, it’s this one. They just don’t come any
meaner.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
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Wartime Themed Novel Praised by Huffington Post

Title: Homefront
Author: Kristen J. Tsetsi
Literary Fiction
ISBN: 9780615139906
Publisher: PenXHere Press


Reviewed by Carol Hoenig for the Huffington Post

There are many novels about war, most from the battlefield where there's page-turning tension and drama. But there are few stories written from the point of view of a loved one back home waiting, and waiting some more, not knowing if or how the soldier will return home. Perhaps that's because so few have found an interesting way to write such a story, but that has changed, thanks to Kristen Tsetsi, author of Homefront (Penxhere Press).

Mia is the protagonist in this affecting, semi-autobiographical story. The Army has put her in limbo, thanks to her boyfriend being sent off to battle following the events of 9/11. Suddenly, Mia's world is shaky and she needs to know what's going on "over there" by constantly watching television reports; when there is news of life lost, she waits time and time again for that official visit with the foreboding knock on her door.

I wish more writers would take the time to read Homefront. Tsetsi does a perfect job of showing and not telling. For instance, it didn't escape this reader that the boyfriend's mother supports the troops with not one, but six yellow ribbon bumper stickers, all plastered on her gas-guzzling SUV. And, instead of trying to explain, we're simply shown that one married army wife might be unfaithful to her husband when "Her 'hi' sounds single." It's also easy to envision another character whose voice is "smoke scratched." In spite of such a somber story, these descriptions are pure delight.

There were so many angles I wanted to take in writing this review. First, focusing on those who are left behind to do the mundane while loved ones are off fighting, where bullets and bombs don't discriminate in a questionable war. After all, far too many head off to do battle with a people they are told is the enemy and often come back maimed or in a coffin without reason. Second, there is Mia, a character so real that I ached for her pain, one that she medicated with vodka and the occasional joint while forcing herself to go through the daily motions that serve only as ineffective distractions.

Homefront is not a political book; rather, it shows how war paralyzes a loved one from going on living in the soldier's absence. Mia tries to control what she can by refusing to get rid of a Christmas tree that is nothing more than a dried up bush. Tsetsi does an admirable job showing the reader how sometimes the gewgaws we hang on to begin to lose their sheen and are no longer as precious as they once were while the loneliness and fear we feel becomes exhausting, impelling us out of stagnation.

The cast of characters include one soldier who is against the war, or as some prefer to call it, a "conflict," and there is a Vietnam veteran who cannot forget how unappreciated he was when he'd returned home. Even though this novel was inspired by her own life, Tsetsi doesn't take sides on whether our previous president made the right decision with the lives of our men and women in the armed services. Instead, she shows what it's like to be paralyzed by fear, contrary to being strong for the country as an expected honorable sacrifice.

I'll be interviewing Kristen Tsetsi and bringing the conversation to Huffington Post readers. You may find it interesting that the author self-published Homefront. I'll ask her about this, as well as many other questions. Meanwhile, get your hands on a copy of this book, one that James Moore, co-author of Bush's Brain, blurbs with the following praise: "Tsetsi turns a discerning eye on the human condition and leaves us with great sympathy for her characters and ourselves while also providing us the unsettling knowledge that we are all to blame for what we allow to happen in both love and war."
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
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MyShelf.com's Top Ten Reads Are Up!

My annual Top 10 list of books is at http://www.myshelf.com/toptenreads.html. Thought readers who frequent The New Book Review would want to see it. You'll need to scroll down a bit to see mine but there is a list there for every taste.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Author: Zane Smith
Title: Retreads
Publisher: Real Time Publishers
ISBN: 978-1-84961-034-6
Genre: Business novel

Reviewed by Terrence Ward for Allbooks Review


Retreads is a business novel about an up-and-coming predatory industry in the wake of the Great Recession: career marketing companies. Author Zane Smith introduces us to a cast of mostly unlikeable characters – unlikeable not because they aren't realistic, but because they are. The amoral attitudes and soulless closing techniques will be chillingly familiar to anyone who's had a brush with a professional scammer.

Set in the offices of fictional Executive Careers International in bustling Atlanta, Retreads takes the reader into the lives of some of the slickest operators and “bunko artists” in the career marketing industry and shows how they take advantage of people down on their luck and desperate enough to fork over what little money they have left to get back on their feet. Written as an illustration of how these operations are different than legitimate career counseling firms, the vibrant characters and very real conflicts left this reviewer feeling tense and genuinely interested about what would come next – pretty impressive for business fiction. A great read for someone looking for gripping slice-of-life fiction, and required reading for anyone who's been pounding the pavement looking for an executive position.

Terence Ward, Allbooks Review. www.allbookreviews.com
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Chiron Book Series Is Winner According to Midwest Book Review

The Taker and the Keeper
By Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin
Genre: Fantasy for preteens
ISBN: 978-1935178033
Publisher: Chiron Books


This review was originally on Children's Bookwatch at Midwest Book Review

The Taker and the Keeper is a Red Monocle series paperback that features middle-school protagonists and reluctant heroes Gregory Guest and Yolanda Torres. Through use of the red monocle, Gregory and Yolanda travel through time into the legendary court of King Arthur of Camelot, where with the help of Merlin an his apprentice they must outwit the enchantress Morgan le Fay to rescue parallel worlds, ancient and modern. Written to appeal to an audience age 8 and up, The Taker and the Keeper is part of an award -winning group of juvenile literature that promises to continue educating and enchanting young readers. The plot is tight, the writing is fluid, the action is packed, the suspense is palpable, and the novel ends with the three magic words "to be continued..." Three cheers and a heads up for the talented authors of the Red Monocle Series!

Find the video trailer.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Tons of Tips, Advice and Ideas for Authors Who Want Their Books to Succeed

Reviewed by Tony Eldridge

The Frugal Book Promoter is a solid source for any author who finds out the cold, hard truth that most of the publicity for their book is up to them. It covers book promotion from the time before the book is out to well into its publication. While it mentions traditional book promotion activities that can cost thousands of dollars, it is true to its title by providing more frugal tips, ideas and guidance than one author could possibly use.

Most authors have little knowledge or experience with book promotion. This book will help them look at things that often go overlooked. For example, the book discusses marketing aspects of blurbs, cover design and even author photos. It also gives suggestions on how to approach and communicate with people who can help you promote your book. This just scratches the surface of the tips found in this book.

Book promotion can be overwhelming to many authors, but The Frugal Book Promoter has so many great ideas in it that keeping it at arm’s reach will definitely pay off for the author with a new or upcoming book.

Tony Eldridge
Blogging at Marketing Tips For Authors
Author: The Samson Effect
"1st rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure"- Clive Cussler
Read Now online at BookBuzzr.com


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Imaginiation on Board Author Reviews Elizabeth Fackler's "My Eyes Have a Cold Nose"

My Eyes Have a Cold Nose
Elizabeth Fackler
Sunstone Press
Box 2321, Santa Fe, NM
87504-2321
(800) 243-5644
Paperback: 320 pages
ISBN-10: 0865346992
ISBN-13: 978-0865346994
$17.95 Amazon


Elizabeth Fackler’s My Eyes Have a Cold Nose, published by Sunstone Press is a great example of how an author can blend history, mystery, and fiction. Ms. Fackler begins with a historically accurate character, Elizabeth “Gigi” Garrett, daughter of sheriff Pat Garrett. Gigi Garrett lost her sight as a baby, but with her father’s encouragement, did the things a normal child would: went to school, climbed trees, rode horses, studied music and became a nationally known concert pianist.

My Eyes Have a Cold Nose opens during the Depression. Now in her mid-fifties, Ms. Garrett has retired from the concert stage and gives music lessons to the children in the New Mexico town where she has settled with her seeing-eye dog Teenie. The town and the dog are real. Ms. Fackler once lived in the house owned by Ms. Garrett. Discovery ot Teenie’s grave in the backyard led to the author’s interest in Gigi.

From the truth of Gigi Garrett’s life, Elizabeth Fackler develops a fictional mystery. Chauncy, an orphan who has spent his childhood shuttling between foster families, stands accused of murdering Gigi’s down-the-street neighbor, 15 year-old Eleanor Fielding. Gigi does not believe Chauncy to be guilty. Using her sharpened senses of touch, smell, taste, and hearing, she guides the local sheriff, Sly Rendt, through a maze of clues and possible suspects.

In the process, truth weaves back into fiction. The real Ms. Garrett somehow learned to identify color by odor, an ability which may have combined with faint visual memories since she was not born blind. She could also estimate accurately size, weight, position, and gender of a person by listening to movement.

Using this information, Ms. Fackler creates superb suspense in My Eyes Have a Cold Nose. This suspense is unlike any found in mysteries featuring sighted detective heroes. To explain just why would spoil the fun of My Eyes Have a Cold Nose. Suffice to say that Ms. Fackler uses Gigi’s abilities to create moments that tie a reader’s insides into knots, particularly when an intruder creeps into her house assuming she will not know anyone is there; or when Teenie bolts from Gigi’s, stranding her in the middle of a hostile crowd.


Between the heart pounding moments, Ms. Fackler describes the relationship between a blind person and a seeing, eye dog as a blind person would experience it. Teenie curls her body around Gigi to warn her of steps or rough sidewalks. Gigi can feel changes in the dog’s mood and focus by touching her harness.

Without one visual image, Ms. Fackler conveys a sense of the unnamed town where Gigi lives simply by describing what she feels as she walks the streets, hears traffic, and listens to the comings and goings of others.

As My Eyes Have a Cold Nose’s plot develops, the author sprinkles in Ms. Garrett’s reflections on life with her father: things he used to do, favorite sayings, tidbits he shared about law enforcement, and paternal advice. All the memories come from documented sources concerning Ms. Garrett and her family.

No piece of information is wasted or gratuitous. Throughout My Eyes Have a Cold Nose, fact drives plot and develops character to create fine fiction, a deep understanding of how blind people function, and a strong sense of New Mexico as a particular place in a particular time.

Reviewer Connie Gotsch is the author of A Mouth Full of Shell and Snap Me a Future. Her quote if featured featured in "The Complete Writer's Journal" --www.redenginepress.com
Learn more at www.conniegotsch.com

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Forced to Become Wealthy

Book Name: You Will Be Forced To Become Wealthy
Book Author: Finifid
Website: www.AgeOfLogic.com
Genre: Adult

Reviewed by Sophia Ofshtein


When I first got this book, I was positive it would be just another "get-rich scheme" but to my pleasant surprise, only it's underlying message was that. The bulk of the book was so much more. So much of the book is dedicated to discussing those questions we all always wonder about, especially today, in a day when there are so many more people questioning religion and faith.

Some of the content discusses a theory (which has me convinced) about our origins on this planet, and has me re-thinking some of my previous beliefs. The book definitely provides one with a ton to think about, but as you read on, you get more and more into the ideas, and really start to see the light, so to speak. It's difficult to really tell about the content, because some of the ideas are expressed so perfectly by the author, I wouldn't know how to reproduce them. Definitely not an easyread, but absolutely worth it. I'm pretty sure this book changed my life, and now I just need to get around to reading it again!

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

E. Joyce Moore's Poetry Reviewed

Ramblings Through the Attic of Thought
Author: E. Joyce Moore
Author's Site: www.moorehamenterprises.yolasite.com
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 0-9822056-2-7
ISBN13: 978-0-9822056-2-4
Publisher: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43348745
five star rating



Originally Reviewed by Timothy Stelly Sr. for Useless-Knowledge



E. Joyce Moore is one of my favorite writers, from essays to poetry, her missives tend to be heartfelt, yet analytical. Her poetry Ramblings Through The Attic Of Thought, is no exception. This a poignant potpourri of poetic style and musings, from haiku to hip-hop; covering subjects ranging from broken hearts to the state of black America . Moore fires at the reader from point-blank range.

2009 SORMAG Poetry Book of the Year

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post:

Soccer Lovers Alert! New Book for You

Book Title: The Game of Their Lives: The Untold Story of the World Cup's Biggest Upset
Author: Geoffrey Douglas
Publisher: It Books
Publisher's Address: New York, NY
ISBN: 978-0060758776
List Price: $13.99

Reviewed by Raja N. Krishnan for Amazon


I grew up watching soccer. I enjoyed playing soccer with friends and then later for my high school team. In this country soccer is considered to be mostly enjoyed by kids. It is growing in popularity; it just has not crossed that threshold or the tipping point to take it into the mainstream. After watching the U.S. Soccer team’s great run in the Confederation Cup this past summer culminating in the loss to Brazil, the most feared team of this time, I was inspired to find a book written about the game of soccer. I came across a book titled The Game of their Lives authored by Geoffrey Douglas and this is the subject of this review.

The setting of the book is about a famous soccer match between the United States and England, the most feared team of that time, in the 1950 World Cup. Although at times in the beginning of the story the detailed play by play account of the soccer match can seem to be tedious reading, the author does convey the beauty of the game of soccer in a concise manner and also providing some history throughout the book. The author provides some of the best descriptions of the game of soccer in small doses throughout the book. At one point in the beginning of the book, the author goes on a smooth ride describing the gorgeous game of soccer. The following is an example from the book comparing the sport of soccer to other sports:

“The rhythms of most sports rely on stop-and-start devisements: four downs, nine innings, eighteen holes-and play is halted, breaths are caught, adrenaline depletes. In soccer, where play is continuous-there are no huddles, inning changes, set pieces, or lulls between tackles or points-the rhythms determine themselves.”

Throughout the book the author appropriately conveys the reason why soccer is an exciting game. Having stated that, this book is not only about soccer, it’s about the lives of the players that were on that famous 1950 US soccer national team. The book gives a glimpse about how it was like growing up in America during the depression of the 1930’s.

Furthermore it’s also about the life of immigrant families during that time and also the family life. As the author indicates he was sharing the living history of these soccer players. Living history……..yeah I think that’s what a good historian does. I thought that at times the back and forth transitions between the soccer match and the history of the players on the team seemed to not flow smoothly and also diminished the building suspense of the soccer match, I think with some patient reading Douglas does communicate this living history. It is a challenging task to merge two different aspects, such as a description of the game of soccer with a history of the players; in this case I thought it was a valiant effort and with some patient reading Douglas does communicate this living history.

I would recommend this book for those young soccer players, and also for those that are interested in the account of this 1950 United States vs England World Cup Match. This is an apt book to consider reading ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa. Also, this would be an interesting reading for those that are interested in history, particular the history of immigrant families in the United States. The book gives a nice perspective on the life of immigrant families.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
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Michael J. Sullivan Gets Enthusiastic Review from Nerds Review Site

Title: The Crown Conspiracy
Author: Michael J. Sullivan
Genre: Fantasy
ISBN: 0980003431/978-0980003437
Publisher: Asipirations Media, Inc.
Pages: 310
List Price: $11.99
Name of reviewer:Mike Ferrante


Reviewed by Mike Ferrante for Nerds Review Nerds Review Site

Yes, I am still working on Open Your Eyes, for all its scant 152 pages it is a surprisingly dense book. In the meantime I flew through Sullivan’s The Crown Conspiracy in just about a day. Perhaps the best compliment I can pay the book and its author is that immediately upon arriving at work I went and grabbed its sequel, Avempartha off the new book shelf. It is my understanding that The Crown Conspiracy is a debut novel and, that being the case, it is a surprisingly mature one with relatively few new-author stumbles. Part of that maturity is likely a result of the fact that the entire series of books was written before The Crown Conspiracy went to press.

With it’s main duo, a pair of thieves named Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater The Crown Conspiracy will likely draw comparisons to Fritz Leiber’s similarly employed duo. However, other than the professional and physical similarities between the characters (quick small thief, big brawny fighter) it is there any overlap ends. Royce and Hadrian are two well-developed characters shrouded in mystery and written with a delightful dry wit that few veteran authors could emulate. You get hints about the duo’s past, but they are surprisingly small tidbits and yet they are strangely satisfying. Perhaps it is simply that the characters’ presence in the here and now is so fully-realized that everything else is merely secondary; regardless I’m excited to learn more rather than disappointed that I learned so little.

The plot revolves around our two thieves, or independent contractors if you prefer, who take on just about any job (with sufficient notice) for just about anyone as long as the price is right. In what could easily be shown as a throwaway introduction (it isn’t) to what is our two “heroes” do Sullivan deftly captures not only their skill, but their character as well. That same introduction shifts quickly though naturally into the novel’s main plot and it isn’t long before we find Royce and Hadrian in chains and accused of regicide. I don’t want to delve into deeply into things after that, lest I ruin it for you, but from there readers are taken on a twisting plot full of political machinations, the crushing weight of history, a surprising wit (Hadrien’s remarks while hanging in the castle dungeon’s actually elicited a genuine laugh out loud moment), and plenty of action. It is an extraordinarily tale told with a mature voice that would be impressive from a veteran and is even more so from a new author.

The Crown Conspiracy, despite being the opening act to a new multi-book saga called the The Riyria Revelation, is refreshingly self-contained. According to Sullivan’s webpage each of the novels will be self-contained though part of a greater whole. How that will work in later books, as the weight of back story grows stronger, remains to be seen but here at least the start to finish story is a welcome thing. Looking at Sullivan’s webpage there is also this quote:

The series is intentionally written with a “light hand” avoiding long-winded descriptions of unfamiliar names in order to keep the pace rolling. The result is a story that creates depth though the plot, characters, action and dialog, rather than narration.

To which I respond: Amen! This is certainly true in The Crown Conspiracy and all the narrative force is funneled to drive the plot forward. That doesn’t mean that their aren’t moments full of evocatively described scenes but those moments arise with a very natural flair directed not so much at the reader but from character to character. The description of magical prison was particularly impressive though the attempt to enter the prison was very reminiscent of the Fellowship’s attempts to gain access to Moira. However, this is seems an entirely intentional as Royce quips, more than once, about the stupidity of magic words to lock a door. Earlier in the book I found myself especially moved by the description and story of “the Squirrel Tree.” It is a surprisingly quiet moment and it expertly gives the reader insight into the speaker’s mind but at the same time hammers home just how nasty the villains are.

Late 2008 and 2009 have thus far been very good for the speculative fiction market. I have no idea how the actual numbers look in terms of sales but the quality of new fiction I’ve read over the last several months has been impressive to say the least. With the “big” publishers putting out any number of quality titles it is far too easy for independently published titles like The Crown Conspiracy to get lost in the shuffle. Aspirations Media Inc. (AMI) seems to have had some problems of late (http://www.librarything.com/topic/63671&work=6204998, see Message 7) and Sullivan managed to negotiate a deal to get Avempartha out, as I understand it, pretty much on his own. There isn’t a massive marketing push. The Crown Conspiracy and it’s sequel Avempartha are out there and garnering attention thanks mainly to Sullivan’s own work and word of mouth. It is a work and series that deserves attention. Simply put, I couldn’t put this book down and, when I did, I went and picked up the sequel right after. So if you’re at all interested in new and excellent fiction head over to your local bookseller of choice (who usually take special orders), or Amazon, or Sullivan’s own website and pick up the The Crown Conspiracy you won’t regret it.
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
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Essential, Literate, Academic: Essays for the Serious Writer

The Essential Don Murray
Subtitle: Lessons from America's Greatest Writing Teacher
Edited by Thomas Newkirk and Lisa C. Miller
Afterword by Chip Scanlan
Boynton/Cook Publishers
ISBN: 9780867096002
Nonfiction/How-To/Writers
Contact Reviewer: hojoreviews@aol.com
Publisher's Site: www.boyntoncook.com






Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, award-winning author of This Is the Place and Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered, Tracings, a chapbook of poetry, and the author of the HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers.

The miracle of books from an author's point of view: They live beyond the author's last breath. Of course, it is really the sharing of that breath, the soul, that they care about. Thanks to Boynton/Cook Books, Thomas Newkirk and Lisa C. Miller have been allowed to resurrect Don Murray's essential wisdom for writers several years after his demise.

Don Murray, a popular columnist, journalist and writer, died in 2006. And though this book definitely celebrates Murray as a writer in his own right, it is—at its root—Murray the teacher of writingthat has been brought to life in these pages.

This is important because Murray's emphasis on creativity and the writing process as opposed to the stress so many teachers and writers' programs put on product and genre is fit so well with my own teaching philosophy. I love them because they are similar to mine and, sure. It feels like validation in a writing world become more commercial and less author-centered as time goes on.

But I'm recommending this book comes because I think that Murray's techniques may very well eradicate the disease known as writer's block and do very much the same for joyless writing. It may even do that for writers who are completely comfortable with product-oriented writing.

Murray's message should definitely be heard by all writers--especially beginning writers. Having said that, I think this book holds more value for teachers of writing. For one thing, there is a distinctly academic quality about many of the essays chosen by the editors and about the foreword, too.

With that in mind, I advise new writers to skip the foreword and go to some of the middle chapters that reproduce some of Murray's methods. His keeping of a day book, his note making, his process of drawing inspiration and even his sketches. It is in those chapters one will get an idea of the man and what made him a formidable writer in many genres. It is in those chapters he does his best job as teacher, too.

It is in those chapters that Murray is allowed to teach by example. At one point he talks about the importance of a teacher sharing his or her own work with students, that this sharing is vital to the teaching process. I suspect it is those middle chapters he wouldn't have wanted his students to miss. It is in those middle chapters, the teacher is intent on sharing what brought him joy, the wonderful exuberance of discovery in writing.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post: