Jim Cox Reviews A New Writers' Aid Book

Infographic Guide to Creating Stories
https://hankquense.org
Author:
Hank Quense
Strange Worlds Publishing
9798985309713, $24.99, PB, 118pp

Purchase 

Reviewed by Jim Cox, Editor-in-Chief of Midwest Book Review originally for his newsletter, a free service Midwest offers authors who provide paperback copies as ARCs to their reviewers #FrugalBookPromoTips. This review is published with blanket permission from the editor-in-chief of Midwest Review.

Synopsis: Do you have a story struggling to come out? Do you know how to write it down? Or how to tell it? Writing a story involves weaving many elements together to create a singular tale. If you're stumped on how to get started then giving the "Infographic Guide to Creating Stories: Learn How to Write a Story" by the award-winning author Hank Quense is a good way to begin.

In this basic 'how to' instructional guide and DIY manual, Quense tells you how to create your story. He believes that stories come from the melding of three elements: getting ideas, story design and story-telling. Ideas have to come from the author. "Infographic Guide to Creating Stories" concentrates on the last two.

"Infographic Guide to Creating Stories" concentrates on developing characters including such rarely discussed requirements such as a dominant reader emotion and the character's biography.

Plots are also covered in depth and a number of graphics are included to illustrate complex points. Still section discusses subplots and how to utilize them and how to nest them within the main plot. A separate chapter discusses the relationship between the plot and the emotional arcs.

Other topics covered in "Infographic Guide to Creating Stories" include: character arcs, scene design, point-of-view, writing voice and more.

Critique: A complete course of 'how to' instructions on the art and craft of writing stories other people would enjoy reading, "Infographic Guide to Creating Stories: Learn How to Write a Story" is comprehensive and thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation. Highly recommended to the attention of all aspiring writers, and while also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99), "Infographic Guide to Creating Stories" is an especially useful and commended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Writing/Publishing collections and writer workshop curriculums.

Editorial Note: Hank Quense has a blog at blog:http://hankquense.org. He can also be followed Twitter at http://twitter.com/hanque99, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StrangeWorldsOnline, and on the Writers and Authors Resource Center https://hanque.gumroad.com

More About Jim Cox and Midwest Book Review Services:

 If you have postage stamps to donate, or if you have a book you'd like considered for review, then send those postage stamps (always appreciated, never required), or a published copy of that book (no galleys, uncorrected proofs, or Advance Reading Copies), accompanied by a cover letter and some form of publicity release to my attention at the address below.

All of the previous issues of the "Jim Cox Report" are archived on the Midwest Book Review website at www.midwestbookreview.com/bookbiz/jimcox.htm. If you'd like to receive the "Jim Cox Report" directly (and for free), just send me an email asking to be signed up for it.

So until next time -- goodbye, good luck, and good reading!

Jim Cox
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI, 53575
http://www.midwestbookreview.com

More About #TheNewBookReview Blog 

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. 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 and love. Please see submission guidelines in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews or to the guideline tab at the top of the home page of this blog. Authors and publishers who do not yet have reviews or want more may use Lois W. Stern's "Authors Helping Authors" service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in a tab at the top of the home page, too. Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author, a veteran educator and also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's 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. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing

The Crystal Pond A Young Girl’s Journey Through Imagination by Alvin M. Stenzel

TITLE: The Crystal Pond

SUBTITLE: A Young Girl’s Journey Through Imagination

AUTHOR: Alvin M. Stenzel

GENRE: Young Adult

AGE / INTEREST LEVEL: 10 and up, young women

PAGEs: 175

PUBLISHER: Independently Published

LINK TO WHERE THE BOOK MAY BE PURCHASED

THE REVIEW:

The Crystal Pond is a beautiful modern day Fairy Tale. It is filled imagination and

inspiration and enchantment. It draws the reader to the desire to do better, to create better, to

love better, to be better. As with all brilliant fairy tales, it weaves its teachings and gifts within a

beautiful story. I can highly recommend this as more than just a mere story, but truly as an

inspiration.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE REVIEWER:

NAME OF REVIEWER: Susan Carrier

ORIGINAL PLACE THE REVIEW WAS PUBLISHED: Amazon.com

PERMISSION NOTICE: Permission for use granted

INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alvin Stenzel is a retired CPA living in The Villages in Florida. He spent most of his life working in the DC area and living in suburban Maryland. He is the author of several other motivational books, as well as poems and articles for newspapers and magazine. This is his first novel.

The first section of The Crystal Pond was written many years ago as a Christmas present for an eleven-year-old young lady who lived down the street. For her next birthday, it only made sense to write a sequel. It quickly became clear that there would be five parts.

The real beauty of the story is that the young lady eventually became his step-daughter. She is now a mother of her own with two beautiful daughters.

More About #TheNewBookReview Blog The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. 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 and love. Please see submission guidelines in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews or to the guideline tab at the top of the home page of this blog. Authors and publishers who do not yet have reviews or want more may use Lois W. Stern's "Authors Helping Authors" service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in a tab at the top of the home page, too. Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author, a veteran educator and also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's 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. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing

Kudos to Cami Ann Green, PhD, Winner of the Tales2Inspire Reviewer of the Month Award

TITLE: Tales2Inspire ~ The Diamond Collection - Series V

SUBTITLE: St
ories of Turning the Page 

SERIES TITLE: Tales2Inspire ~ The Diamond Collection 

AUTHOR: Anthology of authors of contest winning inspiring stories

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE: https://www.tales2inspire.com 

GENRE: Inspirational, non-fiction personal stories 

AGE / INTEREST LEVEL: 21 + 

PAGE COUNT: 236

PUBLISHER: Independently Published

PURCHASE LINK: https://www.amazon.com/Tales2inspire-Diamond-Collection-Moonstone-Collections/dp/B09MBVRB2S/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Tales2Inspire+Collection&qid=1649016550&s=books&sr=1-3

REVIEWED BY: Cami Ann Green, PhD

REVIEW LINK: https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AF3GIOZ5BOE6DTVHDYOMDPBOGBFQ/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_gw_tr?ie=UTF8

Reviewed by Cami Ann Green, PhD for Amazon.com

About the reviewer:

Cami Ann Green holds two law degrees and a PhD. Her professional career included serving as a law school administrator and university professor. Venues for her academic writing (under "Green" as well as "Hofstadter") range from two law reviews to three books on the nature of foreign consuls, all of which serve as a foundation for her ongoing lectures on these foreign officials who function in communities throughout the United States.

 

In her most recent book, The Yellow Star That Wasn't: Scandinavia, Miami, and Me, Cami interweaves facts about the wartime Jews in Scandinavia with pieces of personal memoir. Set against the backdrop of Jewish history in Scandinavia during WWII, she traverses the road as a post-war, Protestant, Swedish girl in Finland to her American obsession with what happened to the Jews in Scandinavia during that time. In this Amazon Bestseller (in four categories; Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden history0, Cami blends historical facts with personal anecdotes about her growing awakening to the existence of a Jewish people, while showing her own desperate need to belong. This search takes her to Miami through a marriage with a Catholic-American to falling in love with a Jewish-American man with a medical diagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). More information about this historical memoir can be found on her website: https://chofstadter.com/the-yellow-star-that-wasn-t-scandinavia-miami-and-me/, available on Amazon and  Barnes & Noble in both paperback as well as digital formats. 

 

Particularly drawn to human interest stories both as a writer and reader, Cami has been a three-time winner  in the Tales2Inspire Book Series, including for her story  about being the caregiver of an­­ OCDer.  

Today Cami continues to lecture on the nature of modern consuls functioning in communities throughout the United States, including one written about being the caregiver of an OCDer. 

Don't Just Dream About Getting More Book Reviews - Here's a Way to Actually Get Them

I had a dream. I knew traditional publishers were turning down the works of talented authors, so I started my Tales2Inspire® project to help give them the recognition I felt they deserved. And Tales2Inspire® has succeeded beyond my wildest expectations.

I have another dream: I know how hard it has become for authors to get reviews for their books, so I volunteered to help Carolyn Howard-Johnson with a second Authors Helping Authors project. That’s how I became TheNewBookReview Book Review Acquisition Coordinator. 

We now have over 150 books listed for authors seeking reviews, a wonderful outpouring of requests, but sadly only a few reviewer offers to date. Yet I still have that dream that we can build a NewBookReview community of Authors Helping Authors. I just need a little help from each of you to make this happen.

Can I count on you to become one of my Authors Helping Authors, and join in this effort? 

And by the way, we offer some really neat thank you payoffs for our reviewers:

 

A personalized banner, like the one at the top of this screen, with your book cover and headshot, for you to use for all your marketing endeavors

A Gold Star Reviewer Badge named for you on our genre chart, right next to the book you reviewed

It really isn’t hard to become a gold star reviewer if you just follow the steps below. 

• Go to: http://bit.ly/FreeBookstoReadandReview
• Click on a genre of interest to you.
• Select a book you would like to read and review.
• Contact that author to request their book and follow through by writing a review within 30 days. 

NOTE: (All the information is posted on each genre chart: book title and description, author’s name and email address, page count, interest level and more. Just follow the chart from left to right.)

Yes, I have a dream, that we can help one another get more reviews, and wouldn’t it be awesome if one of our authors contacts you to review your book!

Love Story Turned Movie Reviewed by Film Critic and Poet

TITLE It Had To Be Us

AUTHORS: Harry and Elizabeth Lawrence

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE: AuthorsDen (http://www.authorsden.com/harryandelizabethlawrence)

GENRE Romantic Memoir

AGE / INTEREST LEVEL: Adults of all ages.

PAGE #: 98

AWARDS: First Place in E-Book category at the 2006 Hollywood Book Festival

PUBLISHER: Long Story Short Publishing Company

LINK TO WHERE THE BOOK MAY BE PURCHASED:

 https://amzn.to/3LBogDw   

The Stuff That Love Is Made Of 

Reviewed by Richard Jack Smith originally for Amazon

It Had To Be Us, a funny and original memoir, overflows with detail from both sides of their love story. For this special romantic odyssey, Harry and Elizabeth Lawrence take turns illuminating events, often shedding light on little moments which the other person might have missed.

From the initial encounter to scenes both light and heavy, it's a narrative bathed in the glow of Technicolor. The potential for a feature length motion picture is strong here. (NOTE: It’s already been made into an award-winning short film titled CAKE: A Love Story, which can be seen on YouTube.)

After the reconciliation love affair ends, we get some excellent appendices. Readers can indulge themselves in a tasty selection of movie treats, including well-written critiques of romantic fare such as "Music and Lyrics" and "Love Actually."

This tome maintains a beautiful flow throughout, and it's exactly the kind of literature you want to read again instantly. 

You'll laugh and wish that all true stories could be this enchanting. 

Highly recommended. 

More About the Reviewer 

Film critic and poet Richard Jack Smith was born in London and currently resides in South Wales. His unique movie and soundtrack reviews and poems can be found on ReelTalk Movie Reviews (www.reeltalkreviews.com).Richard also wrote the Foreword for Cinema Stanzas Two: Poet Laureate of the Movies, an award-winning E-Book by Betty Jo Tucker (www.bettyjotucker.com). Richard’s own website link is https://www.facebook.com/hipnoticcritique. Reach him at  filmscorer@mail.com. 

More About the Author

Harry and Elizabeth Lawrence (not their real names) live in the same Colorado town where they were born in the early 1930s. They married soon after high school graduation and divorced after 24 years of marriage. Estranged from each other for  nearly two decades, they met again and rediscovered their lost love. A former educator, Elizabeth now writes poems and reviews films for various outlets. Harry, once a hardworking engineer, enjoys his retirement by watching movies and T.V. with Elizabeth plus keeping up with the world of golf.    Reach Harry and Elizabeth at reeltalk@comcast.net. 

More About #TheNewBookReview Blog

Computer Graphic by Gene Cartwright

Cover graphic by Doug West

The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. 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 and love. Please see submission guidelines in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews or to the guideline tab at the top of the home page of this blog. Authors and publishers who do not yet have reviews or want more may use Lois W. Stern's "Authors Helping Authors" service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in a tab at the top of the home page, too. Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author, a veteran educator and also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's 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. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing

Karen A. Wyle Releases New Nature Picture Book

Title: Wind, Ocean, Grass

Author: Karen A. Wyle

Illustrator: Tomasz Mikutel

Author's website: http://www.KarenAWyle.com

Genre: Picture Book, Nonfiction: Nature \

Age/Interest Level: ages 2-8

Page #: 50

Publisher: Oblique Angles Press

Purchase the paperback at Amazon,  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1955696004 and other retailers

 Kindle edition coming soon. 

Reviewed by Jill Franclemont originally fort All Things Jill-Elizabeth.

By now, readers of my blog are familiar with the work of the talented Karen Wyle. From adult books to children’s picture stories, Wyle’s work is consistently original, lovely, and magical. (If you need a refresher, check out my posts on a number of her previous adult titles and her writing experiences – Twin-Bred, Wander Home, Division, Leaders, and Water to Water in a two-part series of posts – as well as her first few forays into children’s books – You Can’t Kiss a Bubble and When It’s Winter. This latest book is no exception. The focus is on nature, and the results are as lyrical as the movement of the eponymous wind.

In her own words: This unique picture book has neither human nor animal characters, but instead features the wind speaking to the grass, explaining how long grasses are both like and unlike the waves of the ocean. Through lyrical prose and breathtaking impressionist-style paintings, the reader follows the wind’s journey over sea and land: the many moods of the ocean, the different seasons of the grassy field. We see glimpses of the birds that live off the bounty of the ocean, and the birds and flowers that live among the  grasses.

Through this nature metaphor, the story, without becoming didactic, teaches children about seeing commonality and celebrating differences.

And if that description doesn’t encourage you to take a look, the lush and evocative illustrations certainly should. For each of her children’s books, Wyle has done an absolutely magnificent job finding the perfect illustrator – and illustrative style – to convey the wonder of her story. Mikutel’s art is visually stunning and provides a counterpoint to the language of the tale that makes both more robust an experience.

I really love the message here. The back and forth between the elements reminded me of the way a parent talks to multiple children about how it is possible to love them each differently but equally – and  how the happiness of the parent requires the thriving happiness of each child. I am constantly amazed at Wyle’s knack for taking complex subjects – life, death, love, nature – and putting them into narratives that children can appreciate and that can help parents teach life lessons. It is no easy task, and I applaud her willingness to tackle the large subjects – and her deft hand at managing them.

The book is truly lovely and I encourage you to take a look!

----------

More About the Reviewer

The reviewer is Jill Franclemont, who blogs at All Things Jill-Elizabeth. Here's the link to the review: http://blog.jill-elizabeth.com/2022/05/09/book-review-wind-ocean-grass-by-karen-wyle-author-and-tomasz-mikutel-illustrator/. The general blog URL is http://blog.jill-elizabeth.com/. Jill has given permission for the review to be reprinted. She's on Twitter as @jill_a. Her email address (which she's allowing me to provide) is jillelizabeth@jill-elizabeth.com.

Author bio:

Karen A. Wyle is an appellate attorney, author, and photographer. She graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in English and American Literature. Also interested in both logic and psychology, she applied to law school in the hope of combining those subjects with her love of writing. She has been writing novels since 2010, and has published eleven of them, their genres including science fiction, afterlife fantasy, and Western historical romance. Wind, Ocean, Grass is Wyle’s third picture book, with more on the way.

Learn more about her at:

http://www.KarenAWyle

https://www.facebook.com/KarenAWyle 

https://www.twitter.com/KarenAWyle

Illustrator bio:

Tomasz Mikutel is an independent artist living and creating art in Northampton, UK. He was born in Lodz, Poland, and began drawing as a child, inspired by his oil painter father. He often paints animals, but his favorite watercolour artists include Alvaro Castagnet and Joseph Zbukvic. He describes his style as classic and traditional. He prefers painting “loose,” as opposed to photorealism: the looser style allows him to express more emotions and to “leave part of himself inside the painting.”

More About #TheNewBookReview Blog 

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. 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 and love. Please see submission guidelines in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews or to the guideline tab at the top of the home page of this blog. Authors and publishers who do not yet have reviews or want more may use Lois W. Stern's "Authors Helping Authors" service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in a tab at the top of the home page, too. Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author, a veteran educator and also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's 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. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing

Kudos to Emily Jane Hills Orford - Winner of the Tales2Inspire Reviewer of the Month Award

TITLE: Tales2Inspire ~ The Diamond Collection - Series V

SUBTITLE: Stories of Turning the Page 

SERIES TITLE: Tales2Inspire ~ The Diamond Collection 

AUTHOR: Anthology of authors of contest winning inspiring stories

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE: https://www.tales2inspire.com 

GENRE: Inspirational, non-fiction personal stories 

AGE / INTEREST LEVEL: 21 + 

PAGE COUNT: 236

PUBLISHER: Independently Published

PURCHASE LINK: https://www.amazon.com/Tales2inspire-Diamond-Collection-Moonstone-Collections/dp/B09MBVRB2S/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Tales2Inspire+Collection&qid=1649016550&s=books&sr=1-3

REVIEWED BY: Emily Jane Hills Orford

REVIEW LINK: https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/tales2inspire

X  PERMISSION RECEIVED FROM REVIEWER TO REPOST THIS REVIEW

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

“Change is the current that drives our lives.” Janet Rice wrote these poignant words in her creative nonfiction story, Bygone Brooklyn. Change is also what makes our stories so empowering, so sensitive and compassionate, and so important. Life is all about stories; it’s what defines us as humans. Stories reveal our history, but stories also heal, nourish, and make us whole, make us complete, like the protective powers of the moonstone. Stories like a father hearing for the first time from an adult daughter he never knew existed; a woman who explores her connection to Holocaust survivors after attending a talk given at her grandson’s school; a child who blends in well with children of different races and doesn’t experience her own sense of alienation until her comfort zone, her home, changes; a teacher struggling with the pandemic-infused new teaching format and, stressed to the limits of endurance, seeks another path to follow. Powerful stories and there are many, many more that will open your hearts and minds to the depth of the human spirit and the strength to survive against all odds.

Lois W. Stern’s book, Tales2Inspire – The Diamond Collection - Series V, is a compendium of stories from the two Moonstone Collection anthologies. The stories collected cover a number of topics, from grief to love, from family tragedies to triumphs, and so much more. The binding theme of these stories is the ability of the author of each story to overcome the trials, the challenges, and to find another way forward, to accommodate the change that life presented. Like the heartwarming stories of Chicken Soup for the Soul and many others like Trisha Faye, these stories will have you laughing and crying and often cheering on the author, as we all can relate to these life-changing, challenging moments. Coupled with photographs, these stories are meant to be savored and enjoyed, one at a time.