Ray Clenments Pens New Book on Spirituality

Title Zor Author Ray Clements (J.B.) Author's Web Site: www.GoToZor.com Genre: Spirituality-mind,body,spirit ISBN: 978-1452895406   Reviewed by Lisa Brown for the Book Worm Society             Reviewers Rating: 5 Star Review Zor by JB is a sagacious novel that ingeniously combines the worlds of the Consciousness, Spirituality and Quantum level science as definitive proof of the capabilities of human beings. The novel's main character - John is in deep need of spiritual guidance and Zor is the protagonist and spiritual guide that enlightens John into a new understanding of life and reality. The book is clear, concise and very easy to relate to. As a devoted spiritualist and bookfreak for many years I have had the opportunity to read and study some of the most profound spiritual documents ever written. Some of those books left me with dangling unanswered questions. Other books inspired me to seek more information for further enlightenment and some books just left me confused, however Zor is one of the few books that has everything so well put together. I have finally found the book that I am sure one day will be considered a modern day gospel by all those that have the opportunity to read it. The book sums up and explains many theories that are normally expressed as separate doctrine. I found this book to be a god send and many others will find it just as valuable as there are many of us that are losing our faith because of the onerous road that life is to travel. Zor encompasses all the main tenets of every possible spiritual belief and tangent scientific spiritual theories as we may or may not know them. Zor does not just lay out spiritual theories for the reader to make their own connections to, Zor demonstrates the theories in living color for the reader to absorb and understand. Although some of the theories are familiar this book is a great expression of all of the theories. The novel encompasses the following teachings: the effects of negative thinking, how our thoughts effect our realities, the energetic interconnection of all living things, the true affects of placebos on the mind and body, the comprehension of evil and dispelling it, the power of prayer, the power of meditation, the real reason for the building of the Hadron Collider and even Quantum physics and its relation to our spiritual being. Additionally, the book contains many more spiritual teachings but to name them all would do a disservice to the author and potential readers you need to experience this book for yourself. From the outset, the book draws you in with the initial meeting between John Brewster and Zor. Zor is a dwarf and is targeted and insulted by some ignorant people. Zor does not respond to the insults and this lack of a reaction amazes John. Zor's refusal to indulge in the negative behavior brings about a perfect explanation of the damaging effects of negative thoughts and actions. The descriptions that are used to explain the debilitating effects of negative energy are to say the least completely accurate. Negative energy corrupts and destroys. I can say this because I have personally watched how negative energy destroyed someone's mental well being and health until it caused their suffering and death. I could compare this book to other books pertaining to spirituality in modern day but this book bears no exact likeness to other books of this nature as it is a compendium of spiritual knowledge. This book really hit home with me because as I read it, I saw the connections that I made through my own pursuit of spiritual enlightenment come together as a whole. Without giving away too much more of the book I would like to emphatically endorse this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone, whether they are spiritually enlightened or just trying to make due while healing your life borne wounds, this book contains the spiritual "band aids" that we all need. (Reprinted with permission)

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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 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Biography: Vets Will Love It

Title: Belle of the Brawl; Letters Home From a B-17 Bombardier

Author: Gary A. Best
Author's web site link: garyabest@gmail.com
Genre/category: Military/WW II biography

ISBN: 978-1-59299-489-2

Publisher: Inkwater Press

Reviewered by : Rob Ballister for  Military Writers Society of America 

Review:

Gary A. Best’s BELLE OF THE BRAWL is a wonderful portrait of the relationship between a boy and his mother, told through the letters of young Fred Lull as he writes home during his training and deployment as a B-17 bombardier. It describes a warm, emotional relationship, where a young man in harm’s way continuously works to reassure his worried mother that he is just fine and plenty safe, even when the horrors of war surround him.

Best does a great job of interspersing the letters from Fred with notes, comments, and news clippings about the war at that time. This serves to both allow the reader to fix in history when the story occurred and also to contrast the harsh realities of war with the boy’s club picture that Fred paints for his mother.

In addition to developing the picture of the relationship, the book does a wonderful job of painting a picture of what life was like in America during World War II. The reader learns about rationing, traveling in the United States, and how Americans worked to make ends meet in the 1940’s.

This book is an excellent addition to any library, but will be especially enjoyed by military aviation buffs and World War II veterans.

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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 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Wow! A review and how-to publicity post in one!

 

Title—Beyond Nostalgia

Author—Tom Winton
Author’s web link--http://tomwintonauthor.com/
Genre—Romance/Literary Fiction
ISBN--1460920937

ISBN--978-1460920930

Reviewed by Mark Williams International

 

Fellowship Of Kindle Writers: Tom Winton

Time was, only women read romance novels, and only women wrote them.

Of course, that’s not strictly true.

Barbara Cartland has a lot to answer for!

In fact many (most?) of the great novels of English literature have been romances, and not just the obvious ones like Pride & Prejudice or Jane Eyre.

Easy to forget that so-called “horror” classics like Dracula and Frankenstein are first and foremost romance novels.

Love, of course, is one of the eternal themes of literature.

Love is what separates man from beast.

That, and the ability to write.

No wonder so many novelists choose it as a central theme.

Enter: Tom Winton and Beyond Nostalgia.

“‘Beyond Nostalgia’ is a monumental romance, a ‘Gone with the Wind’ set not against the backdrop of the burning of Atlanta, but against the rumbling disaffection of America itself. “

So said one reviewer on Amazon.com, and plenty of others share those sentiments. Not least, me!

As male romance writers blossom in the brave new world of e-publishing (two in the UK Kindle top ten!) it is writers like Tom who have a great future ahead of them as word spreads and promotes their work to a wider and appreciative audience.

But Tom Winton offers not just a great novel for us as readers.

He also has an inspiring story for those writers among us struggling against great odds (ie all of us!).

Here, in Tom’s own words, is the story behind the story.

The Struggle of the Aspiring Author

I can’t speak for all authors, but the road to the recent publication of my novel, Beyond Nostalgia, has been fourteen years long and full of potholes, bumps, and more than a few depressions. But wait… don’t throw away your pens and give your computer the old heave ho quite yet!

It doesn’t have to be that way.

I read somewhere that Robert James Waller wrote his mega-selling novel, The Bridges of Madison County, in three short weeks.

Much of my delay was self-inflicted. What I am going to say here has nothing to do with blowing my own horn. It is meant to convey a message — do not give up.

It took me two and a half years to write Beyond Nostalgia, on a part time basis. While doing the seven drafts I laughed, I cried, and I even got turned on a few times.

I loved the process and I hated it.

When I finished it twelve years ago, I sent out a fair amount of queries. Two or three agents showed interest – read a few chapters — but there was no cigar.

Disgustedly, I threw the manuscript into a closet, and there it stayed for eleven years. Alongside it, on that closet floor, I left a piece of my soul.

I wrote virtually nothing from then on and wasn’t the most pleasant person to be around. No longer experiencing the high I’d always gotten after a good thousand word session, I was not happy.

Then, in December of ’09, I was at my local library one day and, after choosing a few books, I sat down and started reading a copy of Writer’s Digest like I used to years earlier. I read an article about online writers’ communities and thought, “heck… maybe I can give this a shot.” A day or two later I had the missus upload the entire manuscript onto Harper Collins’ authonomy website. I was absolutely stunned by what happened next.

I’ll never forget the first of over 400 reviews I received.

Other than those few agents who’d taken a peek, the only people who’d ever read Beyond Nostalgia were my wife and I. I’d always believed I had a good book but had very limited feedback.

When I read the first review I received, chills ran up my arms and the smile that rose on my face was far wider than it had been in many years. The reviewer, who was very experienced on authonomy, said, “This is far better than most of the books I’ve read on this site”.

And what happened after that blew me away.

Many, many of the reviews I received were more like raves. Beyond Nostalgia climbed to number 61—out of a field of 6,000 books– in less than three months.

The first two months, in the monthly ratings, it was ranked #3 or 4 in romance and in literary fiction. It also got to #9 in all genres. Harper Collins has since changed some rules which make it possible to rise faster, but back then things didn’t happen so quickly.

One morning, after those three months, I burned out and no longer wanted to do so many reads and reviews. But I had become a much better writer.

I then did an eighth and ninth draft and started sending out queries. That was the most difficult writing I’d ever done.

How, I asked myself, can I possibly tell these agents what my 87,000 word story was about in just two or three paragraphs?

While waiting for responses a friend recommended I put the manuscript on Random House’s YouWriteOn site. He said it was very low maintenance, and since he too was an authonomy veteran who had done lots of time in its trenches I thought I’d give it a shot.

After receiving eight reads (the minimum required for a ranking) Beyond Nostalgia was ranked 13^th. The next day it hit number one, where it stayed most of the month. Only at the very end of the month, when I accidentally deleted the wrong review, did I finish in fifth. But the top five are considered Best Sellers, and my novel is now in contention for Random House’s YouWriteOn “2011 Book of the Year”.

I was riding high after being one of YouWriteOn’s Best Sellers last July. Then responses from those queries I’d mailed out started trickling in.

I suppose I shouldn’t say “trickling in”, because in one month I had ten agents request to see part or all of Beyond Nostalgia–four of them in one day.

Son of a gun, I had Brad Pitt picked out to play my mc in the sure to come movie. Martin Scorcese was to be my director. Even the sound track played in my head. Then, over the next couple of months, everything went poof! I didn’t have one agent offer to represent my book. Three said they were sure I’d find an agent “soon”. But it didn’t pan out. I was almost ready to throw Beyond Nostalgia back in the closet.

But I didn’t.

At the eleventh hour Tim Roux at Night Publishing took a look at my book when one of his authors recommended it. A couple of days later he offered to publish it.

We first did a test run for a few weeks on Smashwords, and it did very well. It did so well that Online Novels declared it one of February’s two “Most Popular” novels in their General Fiction category–and It hadn’t come out until February tenth.

Tim is a small, new publisher, and we are trying to make a go of it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many other online outlets. The book can be ordered at any Barnes & Noble brick and mortar store, but I only wish they would stock it.

At any rate, after being on Amazon for just four weeks, Beyond Nostalgia made the Literary Fiction “Best Sellers” list for a short time last week. It is also on Amazon’s “Highest Rated” and “Hot New Releases” lists in both Literary Fiction and Contemporary Romance.

It will take a lot of work, and luck, to keep the book out of Amazon’s sea of obscurity, but this time I will not give up.

And any aspiring author who believes in their book needs to do the same thing.

Hang tough!

Don’t make the mistake I did.

With the online market growing as you read this and all the helpful online writer’s communities available today, we all have a chance to go up against the big boys.

It won’t be easy, but we have that platinum opportunity.

Click on the links above to visit the sites I mentioned and one more called Agent Query, which is the only one you’ll need when you’re ready to chase down that elusive agent.

Keep writing!

Tom’s book is available in paperback through Amazon.com and as an e-book from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and smashwords.

Unquestionably a great romance novel. Unquestionably not Barbara Cartland!

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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 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Title:The Battle for Tomorrow: A Fable

Author: Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall

Author's Website: www.stuartbramhall.com

Genre:Young Adult Fiction

ISBN: 978-1-61204-219-0

Paperback

Reviewed by Francis L. Holland for Amazon

 

Five Stars 

The Battle for Tomorrow is about a sixteen year-old young woman whose interest in politics takes her places where she never imagined she could go.

People on the Left will be amazed at detail of this novel and its context, because the novel is precisely about THIS MOMENT in our nation's history.

At the same time, people on the political Right will read "The Battle . . . " for its shockingly intimate knowledge of the culture that makes involvement in Leftist politics enthralling to young people--even the children of right-wing families and politicians.

If you're a conservative, you might want to watch your children carefully to see the symptoms leading up to the protagonist's flight from her family into the hands of the political Left.

Once having started this book, you won't want to put it down. You may not be able to put it down. The experiences of its protagonist carry the reader along as if we were boyfriends (young again) and blowing kisses to the protagonist, Angela, as her train leaves the station on a trip that is utterly novel and equally unpredictable.

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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 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Author of Spirtual Book Offers Free Gifts for Reading Her Book

Author: Days Go By, Not Love ~ A Beautiful Journey of Change (Book I).

By Therese Benedict
Author's Web site: http://www.daysgobynotlove.com

Synopsis:

Best-Selling Author and Clairvoyant Therese Benedict has the ultimate gift of love through communicating with God and his amazing angels. It has given her the enchanting life of love and happiness and now she is giving it to you …

Therese communicates with God and his angels throughout every moment of her life … In fact, it was the guidance she followed from heaven that changed everything for her … And now it can change everything for you! http://goo.gl/TQXw4

From listening to every step of their guidance … Therese went from being a single mother … To marrying the man of her dreams … From quitting her job in law and moving to a new state … To finding her dreams … From surviving and healing from melanoma cancer … To being presented the Congressman’s Medal of Merit for her countless acts … All because she was willing and honored to follow that guidance and do exactly what was being asked of her and who she is as person.

And now … Therese is sharing this heavenly guidance with you in her best-selling book Days Go By, Not Love ~ A Beautiful Journey of Change (Book I). So, you can have that same chance in trusting in God and his angels to bring you to your dreams! http://goo.gl/TQXw4

In her book,  you will find the answers to bettering your life with insight of the steps that are needed in making your life complete. Therese helps you understand why your life is where you are and not where you want it to be. And no matter where you are in life you will feel hope and heal from your pain. This book will not only give you guidance in one direction of life, but it will give you the answers in many directions of your life, so you may find the happiness that you have been dreaming of...

This book was written to help all those who wish to change their life and to help bring this world together instead of apart … Every bit of Therese’s guidance and the action that you take TODAY can truly help change your life …

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Therese offers Thousands of Dollars  in FREE Bonus Gifts plus an Enter-To-Win Prize Drawing during her book tour with Denise Cassing. Just  buy her book from Amazon today or tomorrow. …. Learn more about how to get your free gifts and enter the drawing at http://www.daysgobynotlove.com/bkpromo .

http://goo.gl/TQXw4, 

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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 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Young Adult Cross-Genre Review

Book: Uncommon Magic

Category: YA fantasy romance
Author: Michelle Scott
Author's Website: www.mscottfiction.com

Reviewed by Reading Vacation

Rating: four out of five stars

Review: Usually, in books, the magicians are in hiding because they fear the un-magical. Uncommon Magic goes against the norm to a world where magicians control everything and are looked up to as kings. Where inventions are against the law and inventors are put to death. How does an ordinary girl get pulled into the battle of the magical and un-magical? Between magic and inventions? Between love and family?

Fist, Mira. She will do anything for the boy she loves, Jess, who turns out to be a magician. She does not have the strongest girl power, but she does have some redeeming qualities. Sympathy for those suffering is one of those qualities. Even while the magicians were so downright mean to her, when they were in trouble, Mira still tried to help. Also, Mira is loyal to those she cares about, even though they sometimes don’t deserve it. Take Jess for example, he was a jerk to Mira, but she refused to give up on him. I don’t think I would have stuck around.

The magic is uncommon indeed. The magicians can start a fire that does not burn things. They also put on the most magnificent image shows out of thin air. Their magic isn’t all kittens and rainbows though. Magicians do the most horrible things to the un-magical. Magic is sometimes used to put someone to death, or make them suffer for a crime they may not have committed. That is why the un-magical were so upset.

You can see why a revolution was long overdue. The un-magical were prepared to deal with their unfair treatment, for which I applaud them. Magicians couldn’t stay in power forever, and now the people were realizing it. But, their methods were sot of uncalled for. I mean, did they need that many weapons to take down a few magicians. The end result was my favorite part of the revolution. I think both the magicians and the un-magical have a brighter future because of a few people who wanted to be heard.

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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 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Nonfiction for Teens Recommended

Snowflake Obsidian: Memoir of a Cutter
Written by The Hippie
www.SnowflakeObsidianBook.com
ISBN: 978-1-4502-6654-6
Publisher: iUniverse
Rating: 5/5 stars
Genre: Teen nonfiction

 Reviewed by Bensey originally for Amazon

I consider myself an avid reader and was skeptical before reading this book. However, once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. I related to the main character in so many ways and really felt that the author put a true voice to a beautiful soul who was figuring out how to love herself.

I loved the characters in the book, and more specifically the way that The Hippie was able to bring each of them to life and create a way that the reader appreciated each of them whether or not they were an emotionally stunted father or a shallow and back-stabbing best friend, or a drug-using soul mate. The Hippie brought an empathetic voice to each character. I found myself laughing during parts, crying during parts and praising the author's ability to overcome her own insecurities in other parts. I appreciated the way that she wrote about her experience with cutting; not minimizing the pain that she was in, but not over-dramatizing it either. It can be a delicate subject and I felt that The Hippie's vulnerability maintained the balance between self-torture and self-actualization during that time, as well as writing about the experience of overcoming it.

The Hippie's journey during "Snowflake Obsidian" is one that is refreshingly honest. I highly recommend this book.

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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 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :