This Review for Tales2Inspire ~ The Diamond Collection - Series II Says It All!!

Now the recipient of a National Indie Excellence (NIEA) Finalist Award

_________________________________________________________________________

Author’s Name: Lois W. Stern (Creator, editor, contributor)

Author’s email: tales2Inspire2@gmail.com

Title of Book: TALES2INSPIRE ~ THE DIAMOND COLLECTION - SERIES II

The complete editions of the Ruby (Gifts of Compassion) and Sapphire (Timeless Memories)  Collections under one cover 

Number of pages: 268

Age/Interest level: 10 +

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1507618050
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1507618059

Amazon link: bit.ly/3sQ8AbO

Reviewed by: Foluso Falaye 

Posted on: Readers' Favorite

Review: Tales2Inspire: The Diamond Collection - Series II is created by Lois W. Stern is a riveting collection of nonfiction short stories by award-winning authors. Each story inspires consciousness, empathy, and appreciation for the little things we take for granted. The book is divided into two sections. The first part focuses on stories of compassion while the second one is about timeless memories. In one story, we see how training dogs helps in teaching dropouts to be responsible. Another story reveals the effect of the horrors of the Holocaust on a survivor. An assistant DA shares the values he stands by while relating an encounter with some good-looking burglars. As these stories are told, each author is introduced with an "about the author" page that follows their brilliant contribution. We experience their amazing stories and connect with their important memories, as well as the life-changing messages they hold.

I found several parts of the book quite relatable, especially being judged by a lover's parent for having different hair. Additionally, I loved that each story doesn't have too many characters or themes but maintains a concise structure that allows for quick assimilation and deep intrigue. The collection includes themes of family, loss, health challenges, pets, sports, mental illness, and romance. Apart from the stories, readers are engaged with the book's other fantastic features, including book club discussion questions, pictures of protagonists and authors, and an "about" section. I loved all the tales so much that I am now convinced that everyone should tell their story. Like the authors in Tales2Inspire: The Diamond Collection Series II, everyone has a profound experience of life that sheds light on what truly matters. All nonfiction short story fans will be happy to read this beautiful, heartwarming book by Lois W. Stern.

Title: Prequel

Author: Rachel Maddow

Publisher: Crown

As Reviewed on Maddow's Amazon Buy Page

     I am considering this a review and hope you will, too.  It is slightly edited from a recommendation I sent to a housebound relative who reads voraciously and sends recommendations to me--about three a week. You will see I found some reasons for reading it that might be quite different from the usual reader.  Here it it is:

Dear Reader: 

     You don't know Rachel?  Rachel is a highly  talented …and educated…MSNBC host, podcaster, writer…She writes with humour and much irony. And she avoids lots of unnecessary latinate words, and that's the kind of thing someone who also makes her living with words notices.  Her knowledge of political  history is prodigious. She is an antidote to the crap going on in the world right now. 

     You said you avoid TV.  I think many thinking people turned away from  TV because of all the misinformation that’s going on there. My trajectory was just the opposite.  A long, long time ago when I was in my writing/retailing/getting-an-education era of my life I didn’t watch much, either —almost never. I started watching because I found it an antidote to all the misinformation we have been inundated with in these times of mass media--including the internet. \

     You may recall, I am pretty fussy about what I read. Or not. We had the decade-long gap where we didn't communicate. To update you, I am an ex journalist major, as well as a recovering journalist. I am truly grateful to my journalism experience because of the perspective it has given me and, frankly, the background it has given me for my other writing.  I am pretty much settled on NBC and MSNBC as a major TV news resource because they have a huge staff of trained journalist/reporters stationed all over the world. They even cover financials with a separate cable station, CNBC.   CNN  is my next favorite as a reliable resource, but it seems their new CEO is letting it (or causing it) to slip lately.  And I probably haven't missed a "60 Minutes" on CBS segment in decade.

    Make no mistake, I listen and read from resources that are on both sides of the political spectrum.  I even recommend Dr. Frank Luntz’s, “Words that Work," in the Appendix of several of my books. One needs to know how both sides of politics manipulate the words they use. (Luntz even includes a list of words that can be used when one wants/needs to influence (copywriting and advertising are good examples ). He tries to be fair and noncommittal about politics but sometimes slips. His expertise in the worlds of marketing and politics is prodigious. His readers come to understand how our entire population is being manipulated with words and that saddens me.  That said, I think you find much to learn from Luntz and much to love in Rachel Maddow's newest book.  Even history buffs will be surprised at what they didn't know.

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 #AuthorsHelpingAuthors service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in the right column of this blog home page (a silver and gold badge and threee silver-gray circles beneath it. Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author and veteran educator, she 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 HowToDoItFrugally http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews. Pre-format the post editor for each new post. Cancel Save Post published

Boost Book Sales with a BOGO Offer (Buy One, Get One Free)

Hi there fellow authors,

It's Lois W. Stern here, your NewBookReview Blog Spot Review Acquisition Coordinator, sharing another helpful tip with you: 

This is a great way to grow book sales and brand awareness on a small budget.

The supermarkets do this all the time: BOGO (Buy One, Get One Free) and you can use this same idea to boost book sales.

 

Try bundling a couple of your titles into a 2 for 1 offer. Then send your offer out to your list, post it on your social media pages, add dit to your newsletter, and promote it in any other creative places you can think of. 

Your offer might look like this: “Buy (1st book title) at (add list price) and get (2nd book title) for FREE. And if you decide to include free shipping, be sure to use USA MEDIA RATE. When you ship your books, include a friendly message thanking them for their interest and telling them you hope they enjoy your books. This will cost you only a couple of dollars, but you can get barrels full of free PR in return.

(Here are a few ways to benefit from your investment. 

Just be sure to ask permission first, as courtesy builds trust.)

• Add their name to your newsletter list.
• Ask them if they could write a testimonial about your books. Then use that testimonial to further spread the word about your books.
• Post a thank you to them for purchasing your books on your social media pages, while adding a picture of your book cover. 
• If they give you a great testimonial, ask them if they would expand it into a review, then post it on any of the creditable online book review sites, and send you the link once that review is posted.
• Submit their review to The New Book Review blog spot, following the format provided at:

https://thenewbookreview.blogspot.com/2023/05/send-us-your-fav-book-review.html .

If you think it’s worth a small investment to get the word out about your books, 

how about giving BOGO a try?

Sci-Fi Author Joy V. Smith Shares Writing Tips from The Frugal Editor

Title: The New Book Review
Subtitle: HowtoDoItFrugally Series of books for Writers
Edition: 3^rd Edition
Author: Carolyn Howard-Johhson
Publisher: Modern History Press
Buy on Amazon
Multi award-winner including Reader Views, The Irwin Award
Pages 279

Reviewed by Joy V. Smith 

 From beginning to end, I learned what I needed to know--and there was so much I didn't realize I needed to know--to help me with my writing. She covers editing helps and resources, grammar, punctuation, computer aids, agents' pet peeves and warnings about CAPs, quotation marks, and exclamation points (one of my pet peeves), And a lot more! (heh, heh)

Of course I can't remember everything so I've used a lot of little flags. In checking some out for this review, I came across the cut and paste warning. Btw, that ruined a recent ms I sent out (the paste ended up after the end of my story). And I see there's a copyright shortcut. Don't miss the dialogue warning (cut back on those italics). Ah, there's helpful advice about hyphens and prefixes, etc. And helpful background on Smashwords and Kindle, plus info re: formatting. (I had to hire formatters for them.) I also needed to focus on front and back matter recently. (A little late....)

I wish I could memorize all that essential info, but that's what my little flags are for. (I'm glad we can end a sentence with a preposition.) I'll be rereading it.... Highly recommended because it'll save you from writing and publishing mistakes. (Nah, I'll skip the exclamation point this time.)

Note: I received a review copy from the publisher in return for an unbiased and honest review. 

 

More About the Reviewer

Joy V. Smith has been writing stories since she was a kid and made her own little books. Later she wrote articles--including interviews with editors, artists, and writers--and short stories. The closest she came to writing long stories was writing sequels to her stories. Then she learned about NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. She started writing novels then and finished several over the years; there was a lot of editing to be done; Joy owes a lot to her patient editors. Her books include: Strike Three, Sugar Time, Taboo Tech, Velvet of Swords, Well Met by Water, Detour Trail, Cold New Planet, Pretty Pink Planet, Hot Yellow Planet, Hidebound, and The Doorway and Other Stories. 

 

She also collects books by her favorite authors and pop-up books, and, of course, reference books and books on writing.

"Mermaid" Author Reviews Carolyn Howard-Johnson's Flagship Book

Promotional Shot by Author Leora G. Krygier

 

Title: The Frugal Book Promoter
Subtitle: Do-It-Yourself Editing Secrets
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07X2CCTGL
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Modern History Press; 3rd edition (September 1, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Published as e-book, paperback, paper
Text to speech enabled

 

Reviewed by Lorelei Kay, author or “From Mormonism to Mermaid” originally for Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dynamite Book!

Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2023

Carolyn Howard-Johnson really knows her stuff! And more importantly, she’s willing to share! This includes nearly all things a writer needs to know to promote a new book.

As every writer learns, the writing is only the beginning; then the work of promoting it – to many of us the hardest part – begins. In The Frugal Book Promoter, Carolyn extends a helping, willing hand and offers to share her extensive repertoire of knowledge to get this job done.

Thank you, Carolyn, for this fantastic, helpful book!

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

For fifty years Lorelei lived the life of a devout Mormon woman.

As a child, her mother told her stories of her pioneer ancestors who crossed the plains to find religious freedom. She grew up in Salt Lake City, was baptized in the Tabernacle font on Temple Square, performed baptisms for the dead in the Salt Lake Temple, and also played the world-famous Tabernacle organ. She attended Brigham Young University, was sealed to her husband for time and all eternity in the Los Angeles Temple, and always said yes to the many callings her bishops extended to her.

Her life revolved around Mormonism and its clearly outlined path leading to exaltation. Then life's dilemmas thundered around her as she studied and prayed, and the doctrinal foundation she had built her life on crumbled.

She is a member of the California Writer's Club and a published poet.

She's also named after a mermaid.

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 #AuthorsHelpingAuthors service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in the right column of this blog home page (a silver and gold badge and threee silver-gray circles beneath it. Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author and veteran educator, she 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 HowToDoItFrugally http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews. Pre-format the post editor for each new post. Cancel Save Post published

Celebrating the 3rd Edition of The Frugal Editor

The Frugal Editor
Third Edition
Subtitle: Do-It-Yourself Editing Secrets
Author:  Carolyn Howard-Johnson 

Publisher:: Modern History Press
Hard Copy: 9781615996018, $41.95, 296pp

E-book: $8.95

Paperback book: $26.95

Special offer purchase of all four in the HowToDoItFrugal Series on Amazon

Review from Midwest Review may now be seen on Midwest’s Writing/Publishing Shelf  

Reviewed by Jim, Editor in Chief of Midwest Book Review

Synopsis: Whether you are a new or experienced author, this updated and expanded third edition of "The Frugal Editor: Do-It-Yourself Editing Secrets-From Your Query Letters to Final Manuscript to the Marketing of Your New Bestseller" by veteran author, editor and book marketer Carolyn Howard-Johnson will dramatically assist aspiring and experienced authors to present whistle-clean copy from a one-page cover letter to their entire manuscript in ways that will convince those with the power to say "yea" or "nay" to their book.

This third edition of "The Frugal Editor", is part of Carolyn's multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books for writers and has been awarded accolades from Reader Views Literary Award, Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Award, the coveted Irwin Award, and many others. This fully updated edition includes the new help you need from managing gender pronouns to maximizing the usefulness of front and back matter. Altogether, "The Frugal Editor" now provides 50% more information designed for the success of an author's title.

Critique: Speaking as the editor-in-chief of the Midwest Book Review, one of the most common problems that self- published authors exhibit is a lack of much needed editing with respect to the books they present for my review and for sale to libraries and the general public.

While this newly revised and expanded third edition of "The Frugal Editor: Do-It-Yourself Editing Secrets-From Your Query Letters to Final Manuscript to the Marketing of Your New Bestseller" should be considered as mandatory reading for beginners, and even the more experienced authors will benefit substantially from the experience, expertise, wit and hard earned wisdom of writing and publishing expert Carolyn Howard-Johnson.

While also available for personal reading lists in a paperback edition (9781615996001, $26.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.95), "The Frugal Editor" is a seminal and unreservedly recommended addition to professional, community, and academic library Writing/Publishing instructional reference collections and supplemental Writing/Publishing Workshop curriculum studies lists

Editorial Note: Carolyn Howard-Johnson (www.HowToDoItFrugally.com) was the youngest person ever hired as a staff writer for The Salt Lake Tribune where she wrote features for the society page and a column under the name of Debra Paige. That gave her insight into the needs of editors, the very people authors must work with to get free ink and the ones likely to spot unprofessional editing when they see it. Being familiar with the way news is handled helps her see how different books fit into different news cycles.

Later in New York, she was an editorial assistant at Good Housekeeping Magazine. In the Big Apple she also handled accounts for fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert who instituted the first Ten Best Dressed List. There she started writing media releases (then called press releases) for celebrity designers of the day including Pauline Trigere, Rudy Gernreich, and Christian Dior instead of being one of those dreaded gatekeepers of releases who get to say yay or nay.

Carolyn has worked as columnist, reviewer, and staff writer for the Pasadena Star-News, Home Decor Buyer, the Glendale News-Press (an affiliate of the LA Times), and others. She learned marketing skills both in college (University of Utah, and University of Southern California) and as founder and operator of a chain of retail stores. That molded her understanding of how authors might best collaborate with retailers to affect both of their bottom lines. Carolyn's experience in journalism and as a poet and author of fiction and nonfiction helped the multi award-winning author understand how different marketing techniques might be used for each genre.

She was an instructor for UCLA Extension's renowned Writers' Program for nearly a decade and earned an instructor's certificate from that school. She studied writing at Cambridge University, United Kingdom; Herzen University in St. Petersburg, Russia; and Charles University in Prague.

Carolyn turned her knowledge toward helping other writers with her HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Her marketing campaign for the first edition of this book won Reader Views Award, USA Book News Award, and the marketing campaign for it won the Next Generation Indie Award for marketing.

---

 

Title: The Frugal Editor
Subtitle: Do-It-Yourself Editing Secrets
Edition: 3^rd Edition
Publisher: Modern History Press
ISBN: 978 1 -61599-600-1
Available on Amazon as a hardcover, paperback, e-book

Reviewed by C. Hope Clark, author of the Edisto series and Vine Reviewer

VINE VOICE

5.0 out of 5 stars An encyclopedic wealth of knowledge

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2023

The Frugal Editor, 3rd Edition, just blew me away in its concentration of knowledge. It contains an incredible amount of teachings about how to manage a manuscript from the editing stage to the publishing stage. The book is a far cry from how to copyedit a story. Oh my goodness, it covers grammar, formatting, and tips and warnings about using which writing program, beta readers, hiring an editor, even covers. I have been in this business for 23 years, and I was dumbfounded at the little tricks, suggestions, and how-tos on so many topics. . . like MS Word, which I thought I knew everything about! Take it from someone who has traditionally published 17 novels . . . knowledge abounds in this book, and no author is too advanced to pick up this book and NOT glean something. I'm impressed . . . and I don't impress easily. Well done.

 

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

C. Hope Clark is the author of The Carolina Slade Mysteries,  The Edisto Island Mysteries, and The Craven County Mysteries. She’s editor of FundsforWriters, one of the Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers and published in The Writer Magazine, Writer’s Digest, Guide to Literary Agents, Writer’s Market, and other trade and online publications.

 

MORE ABOUT #THENEWBOOKREVIEW BLOG 

 Authors, Publishers, Readers and Reviewers may publish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with readers on this blog.  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 #AuthorsHelpingAuthors 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