Massachusetts Newspaper Reviews Jendi Reiter's Debut Novel

TITLE: Two Natures

AUTHOR: Jendi Reiter

PUBLISHER: Saddle Road Press

WEBSITE: www.jendireiter.com

GENRE: Fiction (Gay/Lesbian)

ISBN: 978-0-9969074-2-2

REVIEWER: Tinky Weisblat

PUBLICATION: The Recorder (Greenfield, MA newspaper)

http://www.recorder.com/Tinky-Weisblat-5348397

Reviewed by Tinky Weisblat originally for The Recorder in Greenfield, MA

REVIEW TEXT:

“Two Natures” is an unconventional but sweet romance set in an era that is at once far from us and very near indeed.

This engrossing debut novel by poet Jendi Reiter of Northampton tells the story of Julian Selkirk. A Georgia boy from a conservative, religious family, Julian arrives in New York in the early 1990s. He hopes to break into two often related worlds: fashion photography and gay culture.

He makes friends quickly, but it takes him years to find the true love for whom he longs.

Julian enjoys the sense of belonging that being gay in New York in the 1990s gives him. Although his siblings have guessed at his sexual orientation and his parents may know about it at a subliminal level, he was never able to come out back home in Georgia. In the city he can at last be himself.

Nevertheless, life in New York is far from perfect. Added to the difficulties all young people face in growing into their best selves and finding romance, Julian must face the promiscuity that is part of gay culture at the time.

He is thrilled to be able to enjoy sex at last and openly. Although he longs for exclusivity, he fears asking for it, however — and fears mentioning love to the object of his affection.

In addition, Julian and all of his friends must deal with the threat of AIDS, then at its height in this country.

And although they live from day to day in a subculture in which their sexuality is accepted and even often celebrated, they still come into contact with the larger society. There, being gay is viewed as an aberration by most and a sin by many.

When AIDS strikes close to home, they realize that the legal system offers them few protections from discrimination.

Julian is an engaging protagonist. His friends are varied and often funny, and Reiter’s careful, evocative prose brings the reader vividly into his life and world.

Julian’s struggles to establish a career, find a home and connect with someone with whom he can share his life will ring true to anyone who has ever been a young person trying to become established in the big city.

Jendi Reiter will read from “Two Natures” and sign copies of her book on Saturday, Oct. 22, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the World Eye Bookshop in Greenfield. Food will be served. Reiter will also appear at the Broadside Bookshop in Northampton on Wednesday, Oct. 19, beginning at 7 p.m.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jendi Reiter is the author of the newly released novel Two Natures (Saddle Road Press)

See the book trailer at http://bit.ly/twonaturestrailer  

She is  also an award-winning poet and editor of WinningWriters.com , named to  Writer's Digest "101 Best Websites for Writers."  Midwest Book Review says "Intense revelations about what it means to be both Christian and gay...a powerful saga,: 

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. 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 read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Relationship Aid Offered by Cupids Bow Technique

Title: The Cupids Bow Technique

Sub Title: From Casual To Committed Using The Power Of Polarisation

Author Name: Lyn Smith – The Queen of HEARTS

Author's Web site: http://www.HunkyCaveman.com

Genre: Self Help – Relationships

Link to buy in the USA. 

Link to buy in the UK. 

SYNOPSIS
The Cupids Bow Technique - From Casual To Committed Using The Power Of Polarisation

This book is for women who are unsatisfied with their current relationship status either because you’re unhappy being single or are currently in an unfulfilling relationship.

The Cupids Bow Technique is step by step guide to attracting / creating a healthy committed relationship with the love of your life, with all the intimacy, passion and peace you could ever want.

I Answer All Your Questions:

How The Cupids Bow Technique uses the principles of polarisation to enable you to step into your natural feminine power

Why stepping into your feminine power brings out the natural strong masculine male inside him.

What is polarisation, why it is important? How you can create it and use it effectively by implementing The Cupids Bow Technique and be a moving target that his love arrow wants to passionately hit

How To Be A Moving Target - In The Dance of Love

What men really think about a woman who pursues them and why you would never want to be that woman. Why chasing a man will make him want to pull back. The importance of being a moving target and letting him run towards you How to deal with men when they connect one moment but then are distant the next How to use disinterest and detachment as your aces in the deck! Why men thrive on the chase and why the chase has to be as challenging as an obstacle course.

If you want more information on why men thrive on the chase and more guidance on how to be pursued by your man then - The Cupids Bow Technique - is a must read and do.

Men love it when they’ve had to earn the right to execute Cupids love arrow passionately into your heart.

Some women aren’t aware that they’ve got any negative baggage and conditioning that affect their relationship status. The Cupids Bow Technique will ensure you get lasting successful results rather than a temporary quick fix because I’ve included exercises at the start that will build a solid foundation of - healthy positive mind-set and emotional well-being states - as a strong platform for progression.

Be the woman other women admire and secretly envy for having the healthy committed

soul mate relationship that they can only dream of.

I’ll hold your hand and guide you through the process of The Cupids Bow Technique you deserve to know how to access your inner feminine power and have the love life you crave.

When you’ve practised these principles, you’ll feel really happy, alive and fulfilled in your intimate relationship

I’m really excited for you to get your hands on The Cupids Bow Technique and welcome you to our wise woman’s confidential club

  

  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lyn Smith spent most of her life growing up and living in England and currently lives in Spain.  As a teenager, she was subjected to several traumatic experiences that went on to impact her ability to trust, love & enjoy relationships with men, this went on for decades.

As a result she felt driven to heal herself and discover how to form healthy relationships

Over the past 30 years based upon her personal research & training with the world’s leading industry experts, plus her vast experiential learning, she has subsequently designed & presented her own course programmes to share these break-through relationship techniques with women across the globe.

Lyn, The Queen of HEARTS has a proven track record as an International Relationship Coach and Inspirational Speaker.

The Cupids Bow Technique is her first book on relationships – How to go 

From Casual To Committed Using The Power Of Polarisation

Understanding the polarisation of masculine & feminine energy resulted in her creating massive attraction and a passionate committed relationship – enabling her to not only feel secure and protected but also to feel alive, fulfilled and finally at peace.

Lyn makes a difference by helping you make a difference

Lyn’s Mission is to empower you to reach your full potential in attracting / creating the ultimate intimate, committed relationship and to have a positive impact in reducing divorce, domestic violence & suicide. Her vision is to achieve our mission globally, through world-class coaching and training.

To contribute by creating a lasting legacy of safety, dignity and opportunity for children and women who have survived rape, abuse and severe trauma as a result of war crimes and sex trafficking – through the setting up of worldwide – ‘you can heal your life’ centres / retreats

ABOUT THE NEW BOOK REVIEW

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 read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Dr. Bob Rich Falls in Love "Beautiful Hero"

Title: Beautiful Hero: How We Survived the Khmer Rouge

Author Name: Jennifer H. Lau

Author's Web site: http://JenniferLau.net 

ISBN:  978-0-9980798-0-6 Genre: Biographies and Memoirs Link to buy in the USA.

Link to buy in Australia 

Reviewed by Dr. Bob Rich originally for his Bobbin' Around Newsletter

Beautiful Hero, by Jennifer Lau

You’d expect a book with the subtitle “How we survived the Khmer Rouge” to be grim, and it is. At the same time, it is utterly gripping. I was racing through it with a sort of a morbid fascination. Surely, no one could survive this! But, obviously, the author had.

However, the unremitting parade of horrors, hardship, deprivation, death and disease did get to me, and after awhile I didn’t want to read on. I wanted to run away, to escape the story -- but it had caught me. I needed to find out how she’d managed to survive, and to become a highly functioning professional in America. So, I read on, and it gripped me, wouldn’t let me go, to the very end. No, I’ve finished, and it’s still gripping me now.

The story is told by an adult, much later, but there is an immediacy of the small girl as the witness, written in clear, plain language. She takes us into the horror with a matter-of-factness that makes me admire her all the more.

I always enjoy learning about cultures strange to me. From the first pages, Jennifer Lau intrigued me with things taken for granted among ethnically Chinese people in Cambodia, which I considered odd, quaint, ingenious -- or sometimes disgusting. Without info dumps or lecturing, always from within that little girl’s point of view, she taught me about beliefs and practices I hadn’t even imagined.

If you have ever felt sorry for yourself, reading this book will set you right. The worst you have experienced is nothing compared to what this family survived. And what distresses me is that, right now, there are other people suffering as badly, in the same way. They come from Syria, or are Rohingya from Myanmar, or Hazara from Afghanistan, or survivors of one of the many  African conflicts... that matters not, nor does their religion, or skin colour. Like Jennifer’s family, they are people with feelings, thoughts and sense of pain just like you have.

And, if given a chance, they will contribute to a society that adopts them in the exemplary way  Jennifer’s family has.

There is an interesting observation on page 27; one I wish today’s decision makers would note. Cambodia was a peaceful country. Then the Americans decided to cut off supplies to North Vietnam by dropping more bombs in Cambodia than all those in Europe and Japan during World War 2. Half a million people in a neutral country were killed. As a direct result, the terrible Khmer Rouge was born. This is what has been going on in Israel/Palestine from 1948 to the present. It’s what created the tragedy of Syria. The way to induce people to hate you is to attack them. Hate only leads to hate. Love is the only thing that can defeat hate.

One note of warning. Only read this book if you have a strong stomach, or, like me, the Buddhist skill to accept. Reading “Beautiful Hero” hasn’t given me nightmares, but it could well have.

 MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Dr Bob Rich is a multiple award-winning writer, professional editor, and professional grandfather. His Bobbing Around blog will inform, interest, inspire or outrage you — but never bore you.

ABOUT THE NEW BOOK REVIEW BLOGGER

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 read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Jenny Twist's Sci-Fi Book Gets High Praise

The Owl GoddessAuthor: Jenny Twist
Author's Web site: https://sites.google.com/site/jennytwistauthor/home 
Genre: SciFi
ISBN-13: 978-1530594665Reviewer’s Rating 5 out of 5 stars
Buy link: myBook.to/OG

Reviewed by Mary Patterson Thornburg, http://www.marypattersonthornburg.com/

"The Owl Goddess" is one of the most entertaining and original books I've read in a long time.

On one level, it's a story based in a familiar science-fiction theme: a spacefaring vessel is wrecked on a planet inhabited by an intelligent but technologically primitive race. One of the native tribes discovers the accidental visitors' camp, and the novel follows the two groups over a period of a couple of years, as they interact with and endeavor to understand each other.

But from the very first page, it's obvious this is a completely different "first contact" story. The twelve shipwrecked spacefarers have familiar names: Athena, Zeus, Hera, Artemis, Apollo... Yet the members of both groups are definitely human, physically and emotionally very like each other despite the fact that the accidental visitors are far from their home world. What's going on here? It's a mystery the twelve visitors attempt to solve even as they struggle to build a base for themselves on this strange – but not entirely strange – new planet. And the solution is so clever that I gasped and then laughed out loud when I discovered it.

The story is told from multiple points of view (including, briefly, that of a young owl), but the two central characters are Athena, the youngest of the visitors, daughter of the ship's captain, sixteen when the novel begins, and Prometheus, a teenaged member of the stone-age tribe. Stunned by the unusual habits and abilities they observe in these new people, the natives take them for supernatural beings; the spacefarers, equally baffled by the cave-dwelling tribe's way of life, suppose the natives are mentally as well as technologically primitive. But Athena and Prometheus become friends, and their friendship leads both groups into a series of adventures.

This novel will be appealing to readers of all ages, interesting and amusing whether they are familiar with the ancient Greek myths or not. It's well and clearly written, in straightforward and colloquial language. It humanizes all the characters – not only the "gods and goddesses," who after all are very human in the mythic stories themselves, but maybe more importantly the stone-age people, who are just as human as we are despite their primitive technology. As a retired teacher, I couldn't help thinking how much a middle-school or high-school class would love this. I'd certainly teach it in a unit about mythology. And as a movie producer (in my dreams), I'd grab this one in a minute.

Jenny Twist is an amazing author whom I discovered only recently. I can't wait to read more of her work!

ABOUT THE NEW REVIEW BLOGGER

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 read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Title: Mentorship Basics: an overview.

Author: Charles Mathenge Rimiru.

Amazon's Link for purchase

ISBN-10: 1539037908

• ISBN-13: 978-1539037903
• 
  

Synopsis:

The main theme of the book is: Why mentorship or rather, what is mentorship? 

    This book was born as a result of the author conducting leadership and mentoring seminars to different groups, organizations, churches or individuals, he came to realize that quite a number of people indicate that they had heard about mentorship or the mentoring process but they do not quite grasp what is entailed therein. A lot of them also wonder why mentorship seems to be such a big deal nowadays since it seems like everyone is talking about mentorship or being mentored by someone or a group.

This book is a very basic introduction to what I would consider basic mentorship principles where I have tried to use as few technical terms as possible. I have also tried to use real life experiences where we can learn and apply these principles on a daily basis.The author hopes that this basic introduction of these principles will evolve into an even bigger series where each of these principles (and many others not included here) will be expounded upon even farther to make them more familiar and practical to anyone who reads about them. Let us enjoy this learning journey together as we navigate the mentoring basics discussed herein.

  The book itself is very plainly written and the author self -published through CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (a part of Amazon). It is easy to follow the thought pattern and ideas by the author. However, since it was edited by the author himself and a couple of friends, there are a few grammatical and spelling errors to be found in the book.

Rimiru, Charles Mathenge grew up mostly in rural Kenya, East Africa but now lives in Richmond, Virginia where he is a mentor a coach devoted to helping other people discover what it is to live a fulfilling and exciting life. He previously worked as a College Instructor/Professor for a couple of years before transition to the banking Industry where he still currently works full time. Charles has been in the Mentor-ship and Leadership Training fields since 2008 to individuals, various churches, youth groups and to men’s organizations as well especially in the areas of personal development and basic finance matters with special focus on budgeting and getting out of debt. 

He has previously authored a couple of books and articles in the academia world and is now currently working on various self-development and mentor-ship books that derive a lot of their contents from the many seminars and mentor-ship conferences he participates in.

He can be contacted on email at mcrimiru@gmail.com and also on twitter at @Rimirumc.
Charles Mathenge Rimiru.

----- 

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 read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Extending the Power of Your Fave Review FREE

I received a note from a new author about this blog so I thought I'd share what a told her. She said (approximately):

"Carolyn:

I am new at this and trust that my higher power lead me to the right place."

  

 This is my answer to her:

LOL. I think your higher power knows what it is doing! 

 

Maybe we should take one thing at a time. I take it that all of this was written by you. In that case, I need permission that it is yours and that you give me permission. If not, I need assurance that whoever wrote it gives me permission.  I also need metadata on your book. Info on how to do that is in the side column of The New Book Review at http://TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com.  OR, you can copy the format of one of the reviews on that blog.  You can also include a biography with links to where your book is available.  And if a reviewer did wrote it for you, you can include a bio for them with links to their book or business. Everyone wins! You'll see that my own bio is at the bottom of each review--yes with links!

 

Then you send the whole shebang to me at HoJoNews@aol.com.  This is a free service so it must be a copy and paste effort for me. I know you will understand that.  But you'll also see how  liberal I am with information and links that can benefit writers everywhere. I want the blog to be a resource for names of reviewers, publisher, as well as good books to read. It helps (but isn't required) when all who participate also subscribe.

 

And right now you need help with reviews. As it happens Bookbaby.com is offering the third in my multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers as an e-book absolutely free.  Find it at http://Bookbaby.com. If you can't find it, sign up for their newsletter. It will be featured in many of those before October 30 when their free offer expires.  After that, How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically will be released on Amazon as a paper book and as an e-book on Kindle. Until then you can learn more about it on its new page on my Web site at http://bit.ly/HowToGetReviews. I am adding to it--slowly. (-:

 

This book includes all the hard-won secrets of review-getting--and I mean ALL--for my fiction, poetry, and nonfiction books.  I know you would also benefit from my The Frugal Book Promoter (some of it on reviews) at http://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromo. 

 

Best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Multi award-winning poet, novelist, and author of how-to books for writers and retailershttp://howtodoitfrugally.com
Twitter: @frugalbookpromo
and @frugalretailing
Facebook: http://Facebook.com/carolynhowardjohnson
Pinterest: http://Pinterest.com/chowardjohnson

 

ABOUT THE BLOGGER AND THIS BLOG

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 read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Memoir, Athens, New Life! What More Can Be Asked of a Book!

A Room in Athens: A Memoir

by Frances Karlen Santamaria

Tatra Press LLC
ISBN- 978-0-9898352-9-9
Softcover; 174 pgs; $15.00

Review by Karen Chutsky  originally for IndependentPublisher.com

They say artists hover a bit outside of life; too obsessed with observing, contemplating and recording their impressions of it to be one hundred percent involved in it. 

Such is the pensive writing style of Frances Karlen Santamaria, best described through the words of her adoring son: “...she dashed off written watercolor like impressions of people fresh and literary…some sympathetically rendered others verge on harsh caricature.”

And what better subject to render into vivid pictures than her first foreign sojourn at the age of 27, during the midst of the mad dash of the early 60’s in America to soak in the “Zorba the Greek” experience of Greece and other exotic European ports of call, “where your consciousness is stretched each second with total attention.”  

Foreign travel has always been a rite of intellectual passage for the class of thinking Americans to which Frances and her husband belonged.

The synopsis: In 1964, off Frances went with Arno, the Holiday magazine writer and aspiring novelist at her side -- and soon to emerge son inside her for part of the ride -- a child who would become for the last three months of her adventure a gurgling focus more intriguing than that of the life around her in their last and longest stop, Athens, Greece. 

What I find wonderful about diaries and memoirs are the raw emotions and images of life that so often become the dulled and manipulated stuff of fiction, written by those trying to capture the sparks of lives lived by someone else. Frances’ writing offers up her experience like a plate of steak tartar.

Though the book is billed as a comparison of the realities of Greek life versus the idyll of Greece – “eh” -- the main storyline bubbling through her memoir is purely the journey of a woman on the cusp of becoming a mother, as she quips; “the one major event of our grown lives for which we do not have our hair done,” choosing to have her baby at a natural childbirth clinic in Greece; thought of as a rather dubious thing to do at the time, while coming to  grips with marrying a man “with a built-in mistress”: a writing career. She describes it succinctly thus; “he seems about to write something…but whatever it is hasn’t emerged …and he lives around an unseen but felt iceberg lodged in his mind.” Her husband seemed to place a higher value on his own freedom to experience the night life of Greek tavernas with other young sponges dissecting the novelty of Greek life -- while his wife was sequestered to “a room in Athens.”

To quote one of those famous Greek philosophers she admired so, “Without strife, there can be no greatness.” And in the end, France’s wonderfully potent writing speaks its greatness in this memoir clearest to women, through the unique episode of life she and a handful of Greek woman experienced in their journey into motherhood. 

Most notable are her vivid sketches of places and peoples, palpable as if one muddled through the grand tour of Europe -- though sadly, her diary of the months spent touring England, Italy, Spain, and Yugoslavia, pre-birth are reduced to a few paragraphs. They would have blasted open the tunnel of the book into a grander adventure. Hopefully, they will someday be compiled and edited into what would be a very worthwhile book.

Some vibrant excerpts:

         

“At twilight, the sky above Athens turns orange and the light in the streets takes on a purple tones of the bare mountains that semicircle the town.  Men sat drinking in cafes where women never went.  The city had awakened from its long afternoon nap and Athenians were out in their numbers, going back to work, shopping, strolling.  Soldiers―with custom-made uniforms hugging their bodies-- passed by in the twos and threes of soldiers everywhere, there were many of the righteous priests in their black robes, their hair braided in a knot in the back like a matador’s.  They had , without exception, the air of smug landowners…”

“Boys in white aprons ran by, swinging tripodic, long handled trays of coffee and ouzo--messengers of the Greek carry-out.  Occasionally, a cart rumbled by with a handsome young man standing up driving the horse, so like a charioteer I had to smile.”

The greatest compliment I can pay her is that many of her fecund commentaries on life were just as poignant and literary as those penned by the great philosophers of Greek antiquity she so admired. 

And though the reality of her Greek cultural adventure felt far short of her fantasy, as she realized “Ancient Greece is a state of the spirit only to which plane fare can’t take you,” the birth of her firstborn son did not disappoint.   

A Room in Athens or the more befitting title from its first publication, Joshua, First Born, exposes just the tip of the iceberg lodged in the mind of the very talented writer, Frances Karlen Santamaria

----- 
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 read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.