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: