Christy's Book Cafe

Peter and the Black Dog

2009-04-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

A fellow Triond writer has recently published a new book. I wanted to share a review of that book with you as it looks to be a very interesting read. Louie Jerome, if you read this, I think this book is right up my alley and I hope to pick up a copy of my own in the very near future!
As for everyone else reading this, follow the link at the bottom of the article for information on where to purchase a copy of your own.

The Poignant Tale of a Little Girl and Her Amazing Gift Louie Jerome’s Peter and The Black Dog explores the emotional pain in a young girl’s heart as she discovers the amazing power of healing.

The five-year-old girl has a gift that she doesn’t quite understand.Others, including her parents, don’t understand that she is different and she learns to conceal it—from the physical world.She withdraws into an inner, spiritual world where her constant companions are Peter and a nameless black dog. At the age of seven, she has a life-changing meeting with a faith healer who teaches her that her gift is one that is very special indeed.As she grows older and begins to embrace her gift, she has a terrifying encounter with spirits from a darker realm. From this encounter, she learns that for good to exist, there must also be evil and for light to exist, there must be darkness.As she embarks on a quest to explore her own spirituality, her heart, mind, and soul are opened to the infinite wisdom of benevolent people and spirits who guide her toward a greater understanding of herself and the world around her.Peter and the Black Dog is an uplifting story that not only explores the wonders of faith, hope, and spirituality, but gives a profound and social commentary on accepting the differences of others.

About the Author
Louie Jerome has been a writer since the age of seven, when she wrote, published and sold (for sweets!) her comic books to friends. She has traveled extensively through England, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaya, Macao, Bulgaria and Greece and graduated from Carlisle College in England. She is currently writing her second book and lives in the City of Carlisle, in Cumbria, England.

Click here for purchasing information!

In the Midst of Deceit

2009-02-14T08:40:00.000-08:00

by Tammy Varner Hornbeck, Apr 15, 2007
A Book review.

This book was fabulous ! I literally could not put it down !

This was my first book to read by Deborah Piccurelli, but I know it won't be my last ! The issue of believers being “unequally yoked” with unbelievers is an important issue not discussed nearly enough. It was very eloquently in the midst of a great suspense story !

The spiritual tone of the book overall was strong from the very beginning to its ending.
However, it is not so obvious by the description on the back cover, which is a shame. This error can cause a reader to put the book down and lose out on a great book !

The character are fantastic ! They are realistic and the expressions and dialog fit them to a tee.
The plot was an interesting one, and the way the author connected the main characters ocupatons was brilliant. Other than a “too obvious” hint at who the villain is, this was a fantastically written novel. I, for one am looking forward to this author's next book !

The Sign of Seven Trilogy by Nora Roberts

2009-01-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

by Christy Tuller, Jan 21, 2009
I have long been a fan of Nora Roberts and her new trilogy hasn't let me down one bit.

If you have ever read anything by Nora Roberts you would know that she has an amazing talent for storytelling. One of the biggest reasons I enjoy her books is because she has the ability to tell such a wide variety of stories, in all different genres and still manage to keep you glued to the page.
The same is true about the newest trilogy, The Sign Of Seven. This series is about a group friends who unwittingly release something evil on their shared tenth birthday, and how they come to conquer it and save their town.
The first in the trilogy is Blood Brothers . Here we are introduced to the three main characters, Caleb, Fox, and Gage, all friends who were born on the same day, same year. Join them as they wander into Hawkins Wood for a secret camping trip on their tenth birthday, share their shock and fear as they accidentally release what can only be described as pure evil, that sets its sights on their town for seven days. Then it returns every seventh year, for seven days, in the seventh month. See them as adults and meet the three women who arrive in town to help them beat back this evil demon. Follow along with Cal as he falls in love with Quinn, an author of paranormal books. Meet Cybil, Quinn's research assistant. Layla, who comes to Hawkins Hollow for reasons she can't explain.
The second book in is The Hollow. This one is told from Fox's side. The demon is growing stronger and his attacks on the six of them more frightening and frequent. Fox will do anything necessary to keep his family and his town safe. But will they survive this time?
The third and final book is The Pagan Stone. Gage left town as soon as he was old eough and only returns on the seven. At times he regrets even coming back to the town where his abusive father still lives. Will this time back be his last? Is he destined to die for this town he would rather leave? Despite his denial, will he fall for Cybil, changing his life, if he lives?
These three books will keep you on the edge of your seat and make you want to kee the lights on at night. Nora Roberts knows how to spin a tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Find out more about Nora and check out her book list at Nora Roberts http://www.noraroberts.com/. Read more about this trilogy at www.noraroberts.com/signofseven.htm. You won't be disappointed!
More of my book related articles:
10 Bone Chilling Books To Get You ready For Halloween
Books: Open Your Mind To A Whole New Adventure

Not Just Another Love: Book Review

2009-01-12T09:26:00.000-08:00

by Jackie Stroud Painter, Jan 1, 2009
I tell you about my background on writing and how my poems turned into the book.
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First of all let me give you a little bit of my background in writing. I don't think there was ever a time when I didn't love to write. I had a love affair with pen and paper and I think part of that was from me always wanting to write. When it came to writing I never saw it as a chore because I felt like I would only write when I had something to say. Most of the time I was writing notes to people. It was never surprise for me to write a 3 page note to someone. It was my freshman year of high school when I started writing poetry. I took inspiration from relationships and things around me. My thing was I was never good at poetry because to me all my poems sounded all the same. As I got older my poetry changed and I enjoyed writing about sensual experiences. But that never lasted. In June of 2008 my writing changed to what it is now. I found Gavin DeGraw again when his song "In love with a girl" came out. The song put a feeling in my heart that I couldn't explain. I had a fire in my heart when I would hear the song or see Gavin's face. In my eyes I was in love. Upon seeing the video I started writing like crazy and couldn't stop. I began writing like I had never written before. My writing style changed and I had so many ideas that I couldn't write quick enough to keep up with them. I would spend hours online searching for things about Gavin to give me ideas of what to write about. Gavin was my muse and inspiration for a couple months. Then while searching I found his older brother Joey and the fire was out. I felt something else. Joey became what I would write about. His music touched my heart and I wrote like I had more to say. The words poured out of me. When I wrote the poem "Walk Home" we had been out with my best friend and her daughter. We had been shopping and out to dinner with her. I was in a crazy mood that day and I felt like I was on a cloud and when I got home from being out with her I wanted to write. I laid down on the bed with my pen and paper and that poem came out of nowhere. I couldn't explain to you how or why but it just came out. From that day in June to now my heart has felt like prayers had been answered. I felt like I can see my gift of writing now. When I look at my book I see that these poems were written to go in that book. When I wrote all these poems I felt like there was something special in my heart. I still can't explain what came over me when I wrote them but it was the best feeling that I have ever had. I want these poems to be in your heart the way that they came in my heart.

Not Just Another Love by Jackie Stroud- Painter
ISBN: 1-60610-387-3

Buy it now at http://www.publishamerica.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?catalogid=27772
Also look for this book on Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble.com

Deadly Night by Heather Graham

2008-12-08T08:53:00.000-08:00

Imagine being the recipient of a grand New Orleans mansion, pre-dating the Civil War. That's the scenario that opens Heather Graham's excellent ghost story, Deadly Night. Aiden Flynn and his brothers, Jeremy and Zack, inherit the house upon the death of an aunt whom they never knew existed.
It's been neglected and in dire need of fixing up. Oh, yes. It's also haunted. A Confederate soldier, his beautiful wife and his Union cousin still walk the grounds, giving the locals a juicy legend of family betrayal and murder.
Kendall Montgomery, a tarot card reader, lived in the mansion with the again Amelia Flynn until the old woman's death. Slightly disappointed about not getting the estate, she gladly returns to her apartment in the French Quarter, leaving the Flynn brothers to their inheritance.
Meanwhile, Aiden has found human remains on the property and begins investigating in the face of ho-hum reactions from the New Orleans police department, still reeling from Hurricane Katrina. Flynn, with the help of his brothers, finds a string of mysterious disappearances of young women, dating back ten years. His investigation keeps leading him to Kendall and the jazz bar where her friends play in a band.
Kendall has been experiencing her own strange encounters with the paranormal. She never had any illusions that she could foretell someone's future by reading tarot cards but, when the death card comes alive and mocks her, she begins having dreams that she is being stalked.
Although they don't like each other at first, Aiden and Kendall are drawn together as the mystery of the plantation and the disappearance of the young women deepens.
Graham keeps the excitement building as Kendall receives more warnings with frightening and increasing frequency that she is in serious danger. When she moves back into the mansion with Aiden, she is visited by the ghosts of the Flynn ancestors, but are they malevolent or are they warning her of danger?
Graham's depiction of New Orleans as a dark, gritty and dangerous place does not sugar-coat anything but does the great city justice by painting her as a place of wonder, mystery and magic.
There is a bit of cliché in that Aiden Flynn suspects serious crimes where the local authorities see none. Their excuse is Hurricane Katrina washed up many bodies out of their final resting places and hundreds more are still missing. The bones could be from anyone. It's easy to see their point of view, but one would think they would be interested in body parts found on land where the flood waters didn't reach even during the hurricane.
With lackluster response from law enforcement, the story takes a unique twist as the ghosts take matters in their own hands and help Aiden and Kendall solve the mystery but also save Kendall's life.
Deadly Night is a great haunted house murder mystery for everyone, including those that may not enjoy horror.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_G._Scott http://EzineArticles.com/?Deadly-Night-by-Heather-Graham&id=1743739

'Jurassic Park' author Michael Crichton Dies

2008-11-05T13:12:00.000-08:00

By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer Hillel Italie, Ap National Writer – 15 mins ago
AP – In this Dec. 7, 2004 file photo, author Michael Crichton poses at The Peninsula Hotel in New York. Crichton …
Slideshow: Michael Crichton dead at 66
Michael Crichton, the million-selling author who made scientific research terrifying and irresistible in such thrillers as "Jurassic Park," "Timeline" and "The Andromeda Strain," has died of cancer, his family said. Crichton died Tuesday in Los Angeles at age 66 after privately battling cancer.
"Through his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand," his family said in a statement.
"While the world knew him as a great storyteller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us — and entertained us all while doing so — his wife Sherri, daughter Taylor, family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes."
He was an experimenter and popularizer known for his stories of disaster and systematic breakdown, such as the rampant microbe of "The Andromeda Strain" or the dinosaurs running madly in "Jurassic Park." Many of his books became major Hollywood movies, including "Jurassic Park," "Rising Sun" and "Disclosure." Crichton himself directed and wrote "The Great Train Robbery" and he co-wrote the script for the blockbuster "Twister."
In 1994, he created the award-winning TV hospital series "ER." He's even had a dinosaur named for him, Crichton's ankylosaur.
"Michael's talent out-scaled even his own dinosaurs of `Jurassic Park,'" said "Jurassic Park" director Steven Spielberg, a friend of Crichton's for 40 years. "He was the greatest at blending science with big theatrical concepts, which is what gave credibility to dinosaurs again walking the Earth. ... Michael was a gentle soul who reserved his flamboyant side for his novels. There is no one in the wings that will ever take his place."
John Wells, executive producer of "ER" called the author "an extraordinary man. Brilliant, funny, erudite, gracious, exceptionally inquisitive and always thoughtful.
"No lunch with Michael lasted less than three hours and no subject was too prosaic or obscure to attract his interest. Sexual politics, medical and scientific ethics, anthropology, archaeology, economics, astronomy, astrology, quantum physics, and molecular biology were all regular topics of conversation."
Neal Baer, a physician who became an executive producer on "ER," was a fourth-year medical student at Harvard University when Wells, a longtime friend, sent him Crichton's script.
"I said, `Wow, this is like my life.' Michael had been a medical student at Harvard in the early '70s and I was going through the same thing about 20 years later," said Baer. "ER" offered a fresh take on the TV medical drama, making doctors the central focus rather than patients. In the early life of "ER," Crichton, who hadn't been involved in medicine for years, and Spielberg would take part in writers' room discussions.
In recent years, Crichton was the rare novelist granted a White House meeting with President Bush, perhaps because of his skepticism about global warming, which Crichton addressed in the 2004 novel, "State of Fear." Crichton's views were strongly condemned by environmentalists, who alleged that the author was hurting efforts to pass legislation to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide.
If not a literary giant, he was a physical one, standing 6 feet and 9 inches, and ready for battle with the press. In a 2004 interview with The Associated Press, Crichton came with a tape recorder, text books and a pile of graphs and charts as he defended "State of Fear" and his take on global warming.
"I have a lot of trouble with things that don't seem true to me," Crichton said at the time, his large, manicured hands gesturing to his graphs. "I'm very uncomfortable just accepting. There's something in me that wants to pound the table and say, 'That's not true.'"
He spoke to few scientists about his questions, convinced that he could interpret the data himself. "If we put everything in the hands of experts and if we say that as intelligent outsiders, we are not qualified to look over the shoulder of anybody, then we're in some kind of really weird world," he said.
A new novel by Crichton had been tentatively scheduled to come next month, but publisher HarperCollins said the book was postponed indefinitely because of his illness.
One of four siblings, Crichton was born in Chicago and grew up in Roslyn, Long Island. His father was a journalist and young Michael spent much of his childhood writing extra papers for teachers. In third grade, he wrote a nine-page play that his father typed for him using carbon paper so the other kids would know their parts. He was tall, gangly and awkward, and used writing as a way to escape; Mark Twain and Alfred Hitchcock were his role models.
Figuring he would not be able to make a living as writer, and not good enough at basketball, he decided to become a doctor. He studied anthropology at Harvard College, and later graduated from Harvard Medical School. During medical school, he turned out books under pseudonyms. (One that the tall author used was Jeffrey Hudson, a 17th-century dwarf in the court of King Charles II of England.) He had modest success with his writing and decided to pursue it.
His first hit, "The Andromeda Strain," was written while he was still in medical school and quickly caught on upon its 1969 release. It was a featured selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club and was sold to Universal in Hollywood for $250,000.
"A few of the teachers feel I'm wasting my time, and that in some ways I have wasted theirs," he told The New York Times in 1969. "When I asked for a couple of days off to go to California about a movie sale, that raised an eyebrow."
His books seemed designed to provoke debate, whether the theories of quantum physics in "Timeline," the reverse sexual discrimination of "Disclosure" or the spectre of Japanese eminence in "Rising Sun."
"The initial response from the (Japanese) establishment was, 'You're a racist,'" he told the AP. "So then, because I'm always trying to deal with data, I went on a tour talking about it and gave a very careful argument, and their response came back, 'Well you say that but we know you're a racist.'"
Crichton had a rigid work schedule: rising before dawn and writing from about 6 a.m. to around 3 p.m., breaking only for lunch. He enjoyed being one of the few novelists recognized in public, but he also felt limited by fame.
"Of course, the celebrity is nice. But when I go do research, it's much more difficult now. The kind of freedom I had 10 years ago is gone," he told the AP. "You have to have good table manners; you can't have spaghetti hanging out of your mouth at a restaurant."
Crichton was married five times and had one child. A private funeral is planned.

Angels & Demons: A Book Review

2008-10-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

by Lucia B, Jan 5, 2008
How can you combine Science & Religion in one fast-paced and fun book? This fictional novel shows you how it's done.
Since I saw Angels & Demons by Dan Brown in a bookstore shelf, I've always wanted to read it. I never did read its book synopsis or anything about it at all - never researched it online or even asked anyone who've read it and never touched it. I used to just look at it whenever I see it thinking "One of these days I"ll be reading you'. And so, when I finally bought the book, it came as a surprise to me that it's about one of the famous rivalries on Earth today!
Angels & Demons is indeed an intelligent and fascinating read. The Science vs. Religion angle is superbly written. Truly I say to you, this is a fun, educational and Christian-inspired book-in-one! No it does not preach religion nor does it teach math or science, but it somehow deals with all of them.
Since the existence of science, Christianlity has always found a way to condemn scientists' findings or to punish those who proves otherwise what the church had been teaching. In all those centuries ago, a lot of people were killed, condemned or prosecuted because of science and it's proof of how things actually are; which disproved how the Bible explained those same things.
Dan Brown excellently and carefully weaved a story that somehow answers questions about religion and science but also leads us in search of more answers. It allows the reader to question his/her beliefs in a Higher Being and our trust in Science and Technology.
If science can prove that what the Bible says can actually be scientifically done, where then would religion go? Would science be finally able to be connected with Religion? What use will we have of Christianity or religion in general once science has “revealed” all Christianity's secrets? Would religion and belief in God cease to exist? But where would the “shattered” universal mysteries and people's faith go? Where will science bring it? These are the questions that may arise upon reading this book.
If one reads it more intently, understand it without bias and ponder on the sort of wisdom it imparts, the answers may come to each of us.
I believe this book also shows that science and religion need not be in contrast with each other, rather should be looked upon as partners - much like coffee & cream, yin & yang, the sun & moon or man & woman.
Certainly, all things come from something and yes, all God's miracles may someday be explained and scientifically done but still a Higher Being is no doubt behind everything (even science) and vice versa.
On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the most excellent, I give this book a perfect 10!
To see the original article please follow this link http://www.bookstove.com/Historical-Fiction/Angels--Demons-A-Book-Review.71320 where you can leave the author of the article feedback and comments!

13 Buttonholes by Joann C Odenwelder

2008-10-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

13 Buttonholes by Joann C. Odenwelder was created from stories that her mother told her about her time working in a Navy uniform mill and being in love during World War II. It was also formed by her love of adventure, the state of Texas and her love of learning.
Odenwelder's main character is Annie Capelli. The story begins when she is 17 in 1942, living in Pennsylvania with her parents, older sister and younger brother. She works in a Navy uniform factory as a buttonholer. She believes she's in love and has the dream of being a wife and mother in her heart. Problem is, she has chosen the wrong person to share the dream with and it takes her quite a number of years to find it out.
Annie marries the love of her life-Kenneth. Just as if she's living the fairytale in her mind, they have two children. Her husband leaves his family's farm to open his own successful retail business. Just when she thinks life is about as perfect as can possibly be the couple takes a vacation with her sister and brother-in-law that changes their lives forever.
It's 1952 and Annie's sister Josie and brother-in-law Earl and her husband decide to move to Texas, buy a hotel and café in the middle of nowhere and instill themselves into the booming economy. Annie is in disbelief, but as is her personality at the time, she follows along and fulfills all that is asked of her and more. She's working the nightshifts, raising her kids, taking care of the advertising and making all the "regulars" very happy.
Then in an awful moment of realization, Annie sees her husband for the cad he is and opts for divorce-not something done in the early 1950's by a woman with two small children. Then she has another blow-her sister and brother-in-law no longer want to keep running the now very successful hotel and café.
Annie shows what she's made of-she stands up for the rights of the various minorities by serving everyone concerned in the same dining room, keeping her customers, buying out her family and owning the business outright.
Does she do it all on her own? No, her sister and brother-in-law do not leave Annie in the lurch-the re-arrange their plan and change jobs, leaving Annie as sole owner, but remaining in Texas. She also finds Blair Metcalfe, the attorney who helps her attain her divorce and preserve as much of her dignity as possible. He also falls in love with Annie and her children.
He helps her find her way through the 1950's culture that does everything to challenge and destroy any woman who tries to make it in a man's world.
As with any novel that relates the life of a particular character, Annie starts out very idealistic and young. Her transformation was needed, but happened just a bit too quickly and a might too easily. Yes, there was the divorce, her sibling wanting out of the business and her transformation from a doting wife and mother to independent businesswoman, but it didn't happen until the last couple of chapters.
And while Annie vowed to never rely on a man again and tried to stay "free", I notice that the author just couldn't help but let us see that in Blair Metcalfe, Annie had found her true soul mate.
As for the 13 Buttonholes-it was only mentioned as the position Annie worked as in the first couple of chapters and then near the end to explain to Blair about the rumored notes that the seamstresses put into some of the uniforms at the end. It wrapped up the story, but didn't really serve as much of a purpose as it should have given the point that it was the title of the book.
Carine Nadel is on The Reader's Advisory Panel of Woman's Day magazine and has had numerous articles and recipes published both on various websites and print publications. To read more of her work, log onto: http://www.Carine-whatscooking.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carine_Nadel http://EzineArticles.com/?13-Buttonholes-by-Joann-C-Odenwelder&id=1553049

Hazelnut Mocha Smoothies

2008-10-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

Try this yummy treat next time you curl up with your favorite book!

by Swapna P, Sep 16, 2008
This is a mix of smooth blend of coffee, cocoa and a nutty flavor is better than coffeehouse version. Try it, you like it absolutely.

Ingredients
1 cup milk
½ cup chocolate hazelnut spread
4 teaspoons instant espresso powder
6 ice cubes
2 cups vanilla ice cream chocolate curls, optional
Preparation Method
In a blender, combine the milk, hazelnut spread and espresso powder
Cover and process until blended
Add ice cubes
Cover and process until smooth
Pour into chilled glasses
Then serve immediately
Garnish with chocolate curls if desired
Tip
To make chocolate curls, warm a solid block of chocolate in the microwave for a few seconds. Then hold a vegetable peeler against a flat side of the block and carefully bring the blade toward you. Allow the curls to fall onto a plate or piece of waxed paper in a single layer. Slide a toothpick through each curl and carefully place where desired.

10 Must Read Books

2008-10-21T09:13:00.000-07:00

by Lost in Arizona, Jul 20, 2008
These are some of the best novels written in the 20th century.
Over the years I have come to appreciate reading. It is a pastime that allows me to escape and become enmeshed into the worlds of others. From the time my father gave me my first book, I must have read hundreds of books. But only a few of them have managed to make a lasting impression. Here are 10 must read books that will make you think.

To read the whole article ( which I recommend) click here http://www.bookstove.com/Book-Talk/10-Must-Read-Books.175349

Interested In Audiobooks?

2008-10-09T10:40:00.001-07:00

I would like to share with you a great article regarding audio books and how to choose them. It is called the Book Lover's Guide to Audio Books at http://www.bookstove.com/Book-Talk/A-Book-Lovers-Guide-to-Audio-Books.44092 , written by Melanie Marten. Click the link to read the article and while you're there, share your thoughts!

10 Bone Chilling Books to Get You Ready for Halloween

2008-10-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

by Christy Tuller, Oct 8, 2008
As Halloween quickly approaches, here are a few terrifying tales to put you in the mood.

I have always loved to read. Growing up and until I had my first child some of my favorite books were those written by Stephen King and Dean Koontz. I loved the edge of your seat terror that these authors are able to create. While I still love to read I now prefer the less frightening but I still love a good ghost story. I have put together a short list of books that you can read to get you ready for Halloween, or just for fun. I know I have forgotten some great books so please feel free to tell me in the comments section what your favorites are!
The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
This classic story is set in the 1790's Dutch settlement of Tarry Town New York, in the secluded glen of Sleepy Hollow. It is the tale of Ichabod Crane a lean, lanky, and extremely superstitious schoolmaster from Connecticut and his competition with Abraham “ Brom Bones” Van Brunt for the hand of 18-year-old Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter and sole child of a wealthy farmer. Many remember this story for the “ Headless Horseman” and his pursuit of Ichabod Crane, and his mysterious disappearance.
The Sign Of Seven Trilogy by Nora Roberts
- Blood Brothers
This is the first in a Frightening new series by Nora Roberts. This book tells the tale of three boys all born on the seventh day of the seventh month in the same year, born to different parents and becoming the best of friends. On their seventh birthday they release an unspeakable evil from the Pagan Stone, an evil that returns every seven years for one week in July, terrorizing their home town of Hawkins Hollow. Now it is returning again, and this time it wants to finish what it set out to do in the 1600's before it was locked in the Pagan Stone. This book pulls you in to the beginning of the final showdown.
The Hollow
This is the second of the Trilogy and works its magic once again pulling you in to the story and keeping you on the edge of your seat wondering what that demon will do next. This story follows another one of the boys, now a man, in what could turn out to be a life or death situation for him and his whole family and town.
It by Stephen King
This is the terrifying tale of an evil clown and IT's return to the town of Derry 28 years after the Loser's Club thought they had rid the town of the monster who was killing children. This book was also made into a movie and either one is enough to make you want to sleep with the lights on!
House by Frank Peretti & Ted Dekker
In rural Alabama, two couples find themselves in a fight for survival. Running from a maniac bent on killing them, they flee deep into the woods. They decide to hide in an old house that's been vacated for years . . . or so they think. They soon find that others are dwelling in the lower level of the house--and they don't like visitors. With danger present in the house, they try to leave-- but the house won't let them.
Brimstone by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Art critic Jeremy Grove is found dead, his face frozen in a mask of terror. His body temperature is grotesquely high; he is discovered in a room barricaded from the inside; the smell of brimstone is everywhere...and the unmistakable imprint of a claw is burned into the wall.

I Never Believed In Ghosts Until… by the Editors of USA Weekend
This book is a collection of 100 real life encounters with the supernatural. The experiences that you will read in this collection are the stuff of nightmares. The ghostly encounters range from the truly terrifying to the benign- but all defy rational explanation. Not recommended for solitary nighttime reading.

The Taking by Dean Koontz
This is a terrifying tale of fighting for survival when a Southern California community is hit with an unusual rainstorm that brings in an eerie fog. By the end of the first day they have no communication with the outside world and the next morning it is clear that something is out there hunting them.

Coast To Coast Ghosts: True Stories Of Hauntings Across America by Leslie Rule and Ann Rule
An employee of the St. James Hotel in New Mexico watches in shock as a fair-haired toddler with a terribly disfigured face disappears into the floor. This is just one of the paranormal mysteries Leslie Rule shares with us-a result of extensive interviews and research uncovering the reasons behind ghost sightings across the country. Coast to Coast Ghosts features dozens of spine-tingling, real-life ghost stories and approximately 50 black-and-white photographs, taken by Rule, including some believed to have captured actual apparitions.

Everyman's Book of Classic Horror Stories edited by Peter Haining
Here in one unique collection are some of the classic horror stories of the last 200 years. They are culled from Britain, America, France, Germany and Japan. The authors include: Poe, Le Fanu, Maupassant, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Ambrose Bierce, Bram Stoker, M.R. James, H.P. Lovecraft, Edogawa Rampo and Mervyn Peake among others.

Against Medical Advice by James Patterson

2008-10-07T10:51:00.001-07:00

Watch for James Patterson's newest book and his first non-fiction, Against Medical Advice coming October 20th!
Here is short description of the book:

The dramatic true account of one family's struggle with a tormenting medical mystery.
One morning when he was almost five years old, Cory Friedman woke up with the uncontrollable urge to shake his head. From that day forward his life became an agony of irrepressible tics and involuntary utterances. Cory embarked on a fifteen-year odyssey of medication upon medication, treatment upon treatment–a constantly changing regimen that left him and his family feeling like guinea pigs in an out-of-control experiment. It soon became unclear which tics were symptoms of his condition and which were side effects of the countless combinations of drugs. The only certainty was that it kept getting worse. Simply put: Cory Friedman's life was a living hell.

Look for this in bookstores on October 20th! To read an excerpt go to http://www.jamespatterson.com/books_againstMedicalAdvice.html

Tyrant of the Mind by Priscilla Royal

2008-10-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

The title of Priscilla Royal's second novel featuring Prioress Eleanor of Wynethorpe, Tyrant of the Mind, comes form a seventeenth century play by John Dryden. It is stated in a line from Act 3, Scene 1, "Song of Jealousy". It's very appropriate to this novel where murder nearly takes a back seat to the green-eyed monster.
Prioress Eleanor is recalled to her home, Wynthethorpe Castle when her young nephew is taken ill. Sister Anne, whose care and healing abilities bring the boy back from the brink of death, and Brother Thomas accompany her on her sojourn. While the nephew Richard is on the mend, Eleanor's father Baron Adam is in negotiations with his close and dear friend, Sir Geoffrey for the marriage between Eleanor's brother Robert and Geoffrey's daughter Julianna. Although the baron's children and the knight's were childhood friends, they are no longer youngsters. After the death of his wife, Sir Geoffrey married his ward, Isabella, who was expected to marry his son, Henry and has opened a wide rift between the two men.
As the knight and his retinue arrive at Wynethorpe Castle for the continuation of negotiations, the chasm separating father and son is widened even more as Sir Geoffrey loudly accuses Henry of recklessness which resulted in the death of a retainer. Later, Henry is stabbed to death and Eleanor's brother Robert is found standing over the body holding a bloodied knife.
Even though it looks bad for Robert, no one, not even Sir Geoffrey, believes he could carry out such a heinous act, against his childhood friend. But it's not up to them to decide. As law dictates, Baron Adam locks up his son in a very comfortable cell. Eleanor is grateful that a snowstorm has delayed any message getting through to the sheriff. She, Sister Anne and Brother Thomas struggle to make sense of the mystery and find out who killed Henry before the roads become passable.
Then the castle priest Father Anselm nearly dies after being pushed down a staircase. Pressing with her investigation, Eleanor learns a hideous truth behind Julianna's marriage to Sir Geoffrey.
In a race against time, the trio from Tyndal Priory uncovers jealousy, humiliation and lies in abundance. Royal adds more intrigue into this story and the plot becomes more complex. Prioress Eleanor finds herself increasingly in a struggle between loyalty to her family and her faith. Royal's portrayal of her is more meaningful in Tyrant of the Mind, more so than Wine of Violence. In the first we see her struggle against the nuns at Tyndal, who are angered at such a young woman being appointed their prioress. She wins over them with grim determination. In Tyrant, she has the same stubbornness but she must deal with her father, the only man who can match her hard-headedness and wit. Her usual straight-forward thinking is confounded as she realizes that her childhood friends have long lost their innocence and are now almost strangers. She must face ugly truths about her own family.
Eleanor is reminiscent of Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma, a nun/sleuth in seventh century Ireland. They have many of the same qualities and temperament.
Royal's second novel is a wonderful read and can probably satisfy the discriminating tastes of readers who don't like mysteries. The depiction of thirteenth century England brings the past alive and vivid even in gray, snowy weather. Tyrant of the Mind will please any reader no matter what the weather.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_G._Scott http://EzineArticles.com/?Tyrant-of-the-Mind-by-Priscilla-Royal&id=1536631

Scattered Leaves by Richard E Roach - Book Review

2008-09-25T09:21:00.001-07:00

Multi-Media Publications Inc. (2008)ISBN 9781591461463
Following a spectacular explosion on a drilling rig, from which he escaped unscathed, Ben McCord returns home only to find his beloved wife June brutally raped and murdered. The main suspect at first, he is cleared of any suspicion after the police verified his presence at the explosion site, yet he quickly nearly becomes the next victim. After several more direct attacks on his life it becomes abundantly clear that somebody is out to get him. Ben rapidly discovers that this somebody is obviously a government agent, but the motives remain unclear. He decides to pursue justice on his own, wanting to avenge June's death and if possible, stay alive in the process. The following events develop briskly, and Ben is soon thrown together with another victim of the same gang, a young dentist, nicknamed PJ. Although it's been only a few short days since his wife's death, it is obvious that Ben immediately becomes preoccupied with PJ and his quest for his wife murderer really becomes secondary. He is much more focused on staying with PJ and helping her avenge the terrible fate she suffered at the hands of this unsavory bunch. Will they succeed and will the mystery of June's killer ever be revealed?
There is absolutely no doubt that Richard E. Roach can write. His prose hits you right in the stomach, and it hits hard. I felt totally desensitized. The violence never stopped. The main story, the one of June's murder and Ben's quest for vengeance, was graphic. When PJ entered the story, the description of what happened to her at the hands of the sleazy guys was vivid. The addition of several scenes from her past, involving ongoing sexual abuse of a child by a family member, pushed me over the edge. Yet the violence never stopped. There was much more to come, from castrations to recounting of news stories involving different horrible crimes, other rapes, even one of a child, marital rape and more. Although this is all probably very close to the realities of today's world, the reader needs to be warned of the content. And while we all mourn in different ways, I found it disturbing that one would remarry so quickly after the death of a beloved spouse who died in such a violent way. Undoubtedly well written, "Scattered Leaves" by Richard E. Roach is a book I would recommend to anybody who loves scenes of death, destruction, violation and obliteration. http://www.readerviews.com/

Books, Books, and More Books

2008-09-24T09:36:00.001-07:00

by Cee Jay, Aug 5, 2007
A lighthearted look at our books, and why we refuse to part with them.
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I am here today, cleaning off my book shelf. It's very tall, and very full of books. When I left Chicago, to come out west to follow my dream, I couldn't bring everything with me. I was forced to leave some of my dear books. I like non-fiction books. I want to know how to do everything. cook , needlework, gardening. I want to do it all. I thought it would be practically impossible to replace all my books. Then I met the internet .
Hello! Books for sale! I found the old books, and I found new books . I found books I didn't even know I wanted. When I decided to clean the shelves, I decided to put what i would keep, on the left side. To go, on the right side. So far, the only things on the right side are some old magazines, and a few, long outdated catalogs.
The stack on the left is about four feet high, and I'm not even finished with this one shelf. Why is it so hard to part with the old books? I noticed when I wanted a recipe foe zucchini bread, I had various recipes for it in at least six different books. So, I should be able to pare down, right? I can't do it. I can't part with any of my books, anymore than I can part with my firstborn. Why do we love our books so much?. I think somewhere down the line, you realize that books are knowledge, and knowledge is wealth.
If not the gold kind, then at least the wisdom kind . Books are valuable. Books tell you things, guide you through life, inspire you. they can even save your life, if it's vital information. People in other countries, can probably tell you better than I can, about the value of books. With knowledge gained, and things learned, lives are changed there, and here also.
Knowledge contained in books, can lift you up, can elevate the spirits, , and give you a better, happier, more productive life. Books are good! I know this. Is that why I can't get rid of any of them , Even though space is getting tight here?
I wish I could convey this to my grandchildren. In this age of computers, I Pods , blackberries, cell phones, books are considered less important. "old fashioned". Maybe there is some hope though. I have a little book , I always read to my two year old granddaughter, I read it, then she says "again, again!", Ok, then I read it again, and again , until I just can't do it any more. So last week, she picked it up, and started "reading" it ! Apparently, she memorized a good part of it .
"I love to read gramma," she said. " I love books." Now those are words, that belong in a book!

Seven Fascinating Literary Works for Bookworms

2008-09-23T11:10:00.001-07:00

by Verniel Cutar, Sep 21, 2008
The next time you drop by a local bookstore, try to look for the following novels. They are highly acclaimed among literary circles, and have gathered elusive awards and positive reviews from literary critics. I highly recommend these books.

One Hundred Years of Solitude (by Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
Set in the tiny fictional village of Macondo, this novel portrays the rise and fall of the Buendia family. It takes the reader towards a journey of 100 years of rich family and cultural history. The author is a master of telling the story from different vantage points. Although the timeframe for the novel extends to well over a century, the events are not told chronologically but from different angles and time periods. This novel is a Nobel Prize winner.
Midnight's Children (by Salman Rushdie)
This novel won both the Booker Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1981. It is the only novel written by an Indian author that got on Time magazine's list of top 100 best English language novels in a span of 50 years. The credentials of this book should speak for themselves.
Breathing Lessons (by Anne Tyler)
"Breathing Lessons" won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1989. It is a story that tells the reality of married life and midlife crisis. One of the best modern literary artists, Anne Tyler also authored works such as Earthly Possessions and The Accidental Tourist. All those mentioned titles became smash hits.
Rabbit Is Rich (by John Updike)
This novel is the third part of Updike's "Rabbit series". Rabbit Is Rich was the lucky episode in the series that won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1982. The story is about a former high school basketball star who now faces the challenges of modern society, ever struggling with various factors such as his wife's alcoholism, his uncontrolled libido, his son's misbehaviour, and dark memories from his past.
White Noise (by Don Delillo)
This novel is one of the best examples of postmodern literature. In fact, it is a standard "textbook" for college students taking up literature, primarily discussing postmodernism. Don Delillo's eighth novel, White Noise won the National Book Award in 1985. Film makers also attempted to release a film adaptation of the novel in 2006, but did not fully materialize.
Catch 22 (by Joseph Heller)
Considered as one of the greatest literary works in the post World War era, Catch 22 gained massive acclaim when it was first released in 1961. Today, it is a favorite among famous literary circles and subject of study for avid students of literature, sociology and politics. The story was set during the late stages of World War 2, focusing on a handful of U.S. air force soldiers. The novel is full of satire, political and social criticism, as well as many equally strong underlying themes. Disturbing, humorous, and witty to a full scale extent, this novel is definitely a must read!
Everything That Rises Must Converge (by Flannery O' Connor)
Unlike the other works mentioned here, this work is not a novel but a short story collection. It is, however, considered as an individual literary piece. "Everything That Rises Must Converge" is in fact the first short story in a collection of nine, thereby earning the title for the whole work. The author wrote these short stories during a long period of illness, and were published after her death. She writes with supreme taste, style, and technicality; the readers often find themselves grasping for and holding on to every word.

Duma Key Review - A Look Into Stephen King's Novel

2008-09-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

I've recently finished reading the new novel by Stephen King called Duma Key. I wanted to write this short review about Duma Key to share with you what I feel about it.
Duma Key is a novel which portrays the strengths of Stephen King's writing over the years:
1. His ability to create compelling and deep characters
2. His ability to develop rich and natural dialogs.
3. His vast imagination which breeds continuous new terrors and ways to enthrall us readers.
4. His ability to frighten us and make us laugh at the same time.
There was a time, a few years back, when it seemed that King's writing has faltered a bit, as if he's lost his edge. However, now it seems that the fountain of King's creativity is far from dry. Duma Key is a living proof as it's a novel which I enjoyed immensely and which can assume a place of honor among King's numerous works.
Duma Key is the story of a man by the name of Edgar Freemantle who suffers an horrific work related accident which deprives him of an arm and inflicts upon him a severe head injury which impairs his memory. He retreats from his Minnesota home to a rented place in Florida, on a secluded stretch of beach called Duma Key.
Here he resumes his long lost talent of painting and begins producing work of astounding beauty and power. However, the force of Edgar's pictures isn't confined to the canvas, for soon, his work begins to infringe upon the real world and to threaten him, his friends, and his family. Now that Edgar realizes what that he has unleashed a terrible force, he must face this dark entity and fight what he has helped to awaken.
I won't say anymore so as not to spoil it for you. I truly believe that this is a book you should read. I highly recommend Duma Key to any lover of fiction and suspense.
To read more about this book, visit this webpage: [http://www.squidoo.com/Duma-Key-Book-Review]Duma Key Review.
John Davenport is an author and and avid reader. To read more about Stephen King's work, click here: [http://www.squidoo.com/Duma-Key-Book-Review]Stephen King Review

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K LeGuin - Book Review

2008-09-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

In the world of Epic Fantasy there are two series of books that stand above all the rest as masterpieces. Lord of the Rings is one of those series. The Earthsea Series by Ursula K. LeGuin is the other. This is a review of the first book in the Earthsea series A Wizard of Earthsea.
As far as fantasy novels go this is a bit counter to the norm. This book weighs in at less than two hundred pages which in today's world is less than half the size of a typical fantasy book. Yet, it is extremely rich and textured with a beautiful story and remarkable themes.
The basic setting for the story is a coming of age story about a young boy named Ged who goes off to wizard school to achieve his potential. Sounds rather familiar? Maybe so but this is where the familiarity ends. The world in which we travel (Earthsea) is an archipelago of different islands and a lot of the story involves travel by boat from island to island and often times Ged travels in a small boat alone using magic to fill the small sail and propel him onward in his travels and his quest.
The book is rich with mythological themes and ideas and one of the central themes is the naming of things. Wizards in Earthsea understand that if you know the true name of a thing you can control it and much of their time is spent learning the true names of things. This skill is critical when Ged, in his little sailboat, faces his first dragon. The book also covers some importance of controlling power, the dangers of pride, and the importance of facing yourself and all your flaws truthfully.It is suitable for children and for adults alike and it makes superb reading aloud at bed time. But, while there is no explicit violence, there are some mildly dark themes and scenes so as a parent you may want to pre-read it first if your audience is younger than eight.
The Archipelago and the World of Earthsea books
A wizard of Earthsea is the first book in a trilogy of books called the Earthsea cycle. As a book it stands alone and can be read as an individual work. It has a complete story that comes to a resolution at the end. You can purchase this single book and be satisfied that there is no necessity of purchasing more books to find out what happens next. But, once you are introduced to Ged, the Archipelago, and Earthsea you are going to want to continue adventuring in his world. The second book in this first trilogy is The Tombs of Atuan and the third book is The Farthest Shore.
Many years after the publication of this trilogy LeGuin returned to the world of Earthsea with three more novels in the cycle. They are Tehanu, Tales from Earthsea, and The Other Wind which was published in 2001. So there are now six books in the series.
A Wizard of Earthsea is a book that introduces us to a remarkable world of magic, wizards, and dragons that is not just fantasy fun. It is also a thought provoking and sensitively written story. LeGuin has paid close attention to the importance and magic of words in the archipelago and she has done the same with her writing of the book. It will cast a spell of enchantment over you. If you are a fan of fantasy books and you haven't read this one you are in for a treat. This book is the prototype for which much of modern fantasy is based upon. It is a timeless classic.
Love Fantasy? Check out the authors website: [http://fantasyguide.stormthecastle.com]The Fantasy Guide - Your guide to Fantasy Books
For more insights and articles about epic fantasy visit his site at: [http://www.epic-fantasy.com]Epic-Fantasy.com - The webs only epic fantasy site.

Romantic Fiction Also Historically Significant!

2008-09-16T09:59:00.001-07:00

Enjoy two books in one...a romance fiction which includes historical letters from Abigail Smith Adams to then President John Adams during the Revoluntionary War! Fun to read!

Dear John
By Norma L. Betz
AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1-4343-1071-2
With a deep sigh, I closed Norma L. Betz's first book, Dear John, having read it that day! What a delightful, satisfying read!
Actually, you might say that Dear John has a book within the book, for it includes many original letters from Abigail Smith Adams to her husband, who was then the second president of the United States, John Adams. What a wonderful way to share part of America's history with readers!
The main thrust of the book is a love story, but not necessarily the usual one! Let me tell you a little about Susanna and Quincy... Susanna Smith is a professional woman who has created a rather insular life for herself...and her companion, Quincy. As an administrator at a college, she well knows that she should have already taken time off to attend to the estate of her late aunt, for whom she was named-Susanna Abigail Smith. But, in doing so, she would have to admit that she had trouble with delegation and had procrastinated leaving, even though she well knew that her staff could handle her department during her absence.
When Quincy realized that she was pulling her luggage out and getting ready to leave, he was quite concerned that he might be left behind. However, when his favorite blanket was placed by the door, he felt it best to stay right there and ensure he went with her! No, Quincy is not her pet. He is her only real companion and much of Susanna's dialogue is directed to Quincy! It's a fun relationship and readers will enjoy their sharing. As Susanna laments not having visited her aunt more often and not even knowing about her death until after her burial, it is Quincy with whom she shares her turmoil. It is he that gives her his unconditional love and support when she begins to realize that she has shut herself off from her family and even other friends.
Susanna's arrival at her aunt's home brings back many wonderful memories. But it is when she starts hearing the praises of her aunt from her lawyer, who had been in love with her, from his son and her co-worker that her pain and loss grows even worse. And when her aunt has left her a letter, along with the letters of her famous ancestor, she becomes enthralled with reading them even to the point of going to the library to read and research what was historically happening about which her aunt was writing.
The movement back and forth between the life of Abigail Smith Adams, through her letters, and Susanna's is very well done and adds tension to the reading of both. Susanna reads of what Abigail is facing as the Revolutionary War is fought and then learns more about what was actually happening through visits to the library where her aunt was once the librarian.
At the same time, much is happening in Susanna's life as she meets her own "John" and begins to care for him. Her life is turned upside down and is placed in danger because of what she finds there in her aunt's historical home. The reader's interest is sustained throughout as both the War is fought in 1775 and Susanna's own internal struggles for her life begins.
Quincy hooked me in, the historical letters caught my interest, and the drama of Susanna's new life turned each page. I enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to especially those interested in historical romance (although this isn't a historical romance book). Once you start reading the letters from Abigail to John Adams you'll understand this reference! By the way, the book includes footnotes and an extensive bibliography for the true historian.
Enjoy this one-I did!
G. A. Bixler is co-owner of an online review site of Independent Professional Book Reviewers. She has over 40 years experience in educational administration and publishing. New or well-known, self-published, or small press authors are all welcomed! Compare our prices to other professional book review sites! http://www.Bookreviewers.org
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Glenda_Bixler [http://ezinearticles.com/?Romantic-Fiction-Also-Historically-Significant!&id=1357313 ]http://EzineArticles.com/?Romantic-Fiction-Also-Historically-Significant!&id=1357313

Crime Thrillers Are Top Fiction

2008-09-15T19:20:00.001-07:00

Crime thrillers or police procedurals have some of the best writers offering us a plethora of styles, contexts, characters and superb plotting that can keep us entertained and relaxed for hours on end.
And, we are not talking about potboilers either - there are writers who not only offer interesting characters and good plots (with all the twists and turns); but who are good writers of the language which adds immensely to the pleasure of reading.
There are some key American authors who excel at this - my top nominations include: Michael Connelly, James Lee Burke, John Lescroart, Dennis Lehane, Lawrence Block and Ed McBain
And, still really good, but just a little bit down a wee level ..... and this is purely subjective:
Lee Childs, Jonathan Kellerman, Robert K Tanenbaum, John Grisham, David Balducci, Jeffrey Deaver, James Patterson, Harlan Corben, Robert Crais, John Connolly. Crime thrillers, to maintain your interest, do not have to keep you guessing 'whodunit' (a la Agatha Christie style with Miss Marple) though that's great if they do.
That's an added pleasure but, they do have to be plotted well and offer protagonists whom you care about and are interested in...... such as Harry Bosch (Connelly); Matt Scudder (Block); Dave Robicheaux (Burke); Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky (Lescroart); Kenzie and Gennaro (Lehane).
It's not just the 'good yarn' that brings you back to an author - it's his development of the lead characters that also grabs your interest and who become the thread woven throughout all of the series - perhaps best summed up John Lescroart
"When I was just starting to write it (his current work), I asked my wife, Lisa, what she hoped to see in my next book, and she said she'd like to just sit down and spend some time with all of her favorite characters-not just Diz and Abe, but Frannie and Treya, and Wes Farrell, and Wyatt Hunt and Gina Roake. And that's pretty much what I used as my template for this one (The Victims)."
With Connelly et al (above) I recommend you start from the beginning of their series to obtain maximum benefit - all of them have maintained a high standard of storytelling and writing excellence throughout their works.......
They don't just simply churn out novels to make a buck and then gradually decline into clichés, formulaic writing, contrived plotting or the implausible as some writers have done after initially giving us really good books to read...... Clive Cussler being a main offender at this.
The best fiction novels are those which constantly maintain a standard of excellence and meet our expectations...... and in the crime genre ....... The above mentioned are among few who can claim to write top fiction books, consistently.
Though having said that, I must contradict myself - James Patterson is in danger of churning out books for the sake of it - his "The Quickie" co-authored with Michael Ledwidge, is a good example - it is basically dreadful; with the lead character having few redeeming qualities to hold you to the page. It is hard to credit that the book came from the man who gave us the rivetting Along Came A Spider and other consistently good Alex Cross yarns. It almost seems that he has so many ideas, that he has to use a co-author to flesh them out - and they don't have the same feel as his solo authored works.
Excellent crime novels can either be American or British - I can't decide which I like better. The cultural differences, locales, and perspectives are sufficiently different that it makes comparisons odious and it's much better to enjoy the two different styles as stand alones although they are of the same genre. While always wanting the latest from a Val McDermid or a Reg Hill, I can't imagine a reading list that doesn't include a James Lee Burke or John Lescroart either.
You are invited to my website for more - and to add your own comments too if you wish.
Peter Damien Ryan http://www.readingbooks-4fun.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Damien_Ryan http://EzineArticles.com/?Crime-Thrillers-Are-Top-Fiction&id=1470073

Michael Connelly - Master Crime Writer

2008-08-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

For satisfactory recreational reading there is nothing better than a good murder mystery because they are some of the best books to read for relaxation and pleasure.
And, we are not talking about potboilers either - there are writers who not only offer interesting characters and good plots (with all the twists and turns); but who are good writers of the language which adds immensely to the pleasure of reading.
It's not just the 'good yarn' that brings you back to an author - it's his development of the lead characters that also grabs your interest and who become the thread woven throughout all of the series.
Brass Verdict: due in October 2008, is Michael Connelly's next Book, and looks to be all his fans could desire ..... a teaming up of Harry Bosch with Mickey Haller from The Lincoln Lawyer.
While Bosch remains (probably) the favourite protagonist, Connelly's occasional forays into other 'territory' has produced equally satisfactory works - maintaining his usual standard of writing and avoiding the pitfalls of becoming formulaic and contrived.
Although this might read like a paid advertisement - it isn't (wish it was) - I just think he's that bloody good and urge you to read him - and if you have - start re-reading him - it's a well worth exercise. His books are like a fine wine - you just savour them.
This quote from a review of "Trunk Music" (1997) clearly expresses why I recommend Michael Connelly's books:"Another terrific Harry Bosch tale...I just can't get enough of Harry Bosch and his adventures. Connelly really has his stuff together in "Trunk Music".
Getting his stuff together began right off with his first novel and has continued in all subsequent books - with or without Harry Bosch.
I find his books to be vastly entertaining and authentic with a wonderfully atmospheric feel for the locale and characters that populate his tales. His talent for skillful writing, deft dialogue, solid plotting combined with nuanced and rich characterization ensure high anxiety plots that always deliver on every level. There is no doubt in my mind that he is up at the top rank of crime writers.
Incidentally, I just love the title of his 3rd novel......The Concrete Blonde It has to be one of the best titles ever ..... it just grabs my fancy!
He doesn't just simply churn out novels to make a buck and then gradually decline into clichés, formulaic writing, contrived plotting or the implausible as some writers have done after initially giving us really good books to read...... Clive Cussler being a main offender at this.
With Connelly, I recommend you start from the beginning of his series to obtain maximum benefit - all of the novels have maintained a high standard of storytelling and writing excellence.
The Harry Bosch Novels are:
The Black Echo (1992)
The Black Ice (1993)
The Concrete Blonde (1994)
The Last Coyote (1995)
Trunk Music (1997)
Angels Flight (1999)
A Darkness more than Night (2001) [Features Bosch and McCaleb]
City of Bones (2002)
Last Light (2003)
The Narrows (2004)
The Closers (2005)
Echo Park (2006)
The Overlook (2007)
Brass Verdict (October 2008)
The Poet (1996) [This features reporter Jack McEvoy]
Blood Work (1998) [Introduces Terry McCaleb]
Void Moon (2000)
Chasing the Dime (2002)
The Lincoln Lawyer (2005) [Meet Mickey Haller] http://www.readingbooks-4fun.com/Michael-Connelly.html
Peter Damien Ryan http://www.readingbooks-4fun.com

Rules of Deception by Christopher Reich

2008-08-11T10:48:00.000-07:00

Dr. Jonathan Ransom, a surgeon for Doctors-Without-Borders, and his wife, Emma, are mountain climbing in the Swiss Alps. A storm sets in and it is too late for them to turn back. Emma tries to escape the storm and ends up tumbling on the slope and fractured her leg. Ransom knew he had to get help. His only choice was to leave Emma. Upon his return, he discovered her dead at the bottom of a crevasse. All he could see was a trail of blood. He figured her bone must have ruptured an artery. There was not enough rope for he and the rescuers to reach her.
A short time later, Jonathan receives an envelope addressed to his wife containing two baggage claim tickets. He and one of Emma's friends, go to pick up the bags. Ransom was not aware that his wife had some kind of dealings in Switzerland. He was in for a shock because he was ambushed in trying to get the bags and in return fired back. Little did he know at the time but he ended up killing two Swiss police officers.
When Ransom opens Emma's bags he is in for even a bigger shock. There he finds a change of clothing, keys to a Mercedes, one hundred thousand Swiss Francs and a driver's license issued to Mrs. Eva Kruger with Emma's face on it. What was going on? How did he not know something like this?
Dr. Ransom now becomes the target of an international mahunt. The only way he can survive is to find out what his wife's involvement was in all of this.
Will Ransom be able to find out the truth before it is too late?
Wow! This book is a riveting thriller that will take the reader on a very fast, adventuresome ride. It includes everything to make it a real winner - spies, high-tech weaponry, and global terrorism. What more could you ask for? From the moment I sat down and read the first couple of pages, I knew I was in for an exciting read that just could not be put down. The author does an excellent job in setting the stage for this intriguing book and the excitement builds from there. Be sure to add Rules of Deception to your reading list. You will be in for a treat!
Nancy Eaton - Owner of: http://www.bestsellersworld.com
This site has book reviews, book giveaways and a book discussion forum.

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X

2008-08-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
HE WAS BORN WITH GREAT POWERThe greatest superpower of all isn't to be part spider, part man, or to cast magic spells–the greatest power is the power to create.
Daniel X has that power.
AND A DEADLY SECRETDaniel's secret abilities–like being able to manipulate objects and animals with his mind or to re-create himself in any shape he chooses–have helped him survive. But Daniel doesn't have a normal life. He is the protector of Earth, the Alien Hunter, with a mission beyond anyone's imagining.
NOW THE FATE OF THE WORLD RESTS ON DANIEL XFrom the day that his parents were brutally murdered before his very eyes, Daniel has used his unique gifts to hunt down their assassin. Finally, with the help of The List, bequeathed to him in his parents' dying breath, he is closing in on the killer.
Now, on his own, he vows to carry out his father's mission–and to take vengeance in the process.

The Alehouse Murders by Maureen Ash

2008-08-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

In her first of a new mystery series, Maureen Ash introduces the reader to Templar Knight Bascot de Marins, who has returned to England after years of captivity in the Holy Land at the hands of the Saracen. Injured in his escape to freedom, de Marins is on sojourn from the Order at the castle of Lincoln, to allow his leg to heal. The leave from the Templar Knights also gives him a chance to question and renew his fading faith.
Nicolaa de la Haye, the lady in charge of the castle and wife to the sheriff, charges Bascot to find the murderer of four people found dead in the alehouse. The deaths come on the eve of Lincoln's huge midsummer fair and she is concerned that the person responsible could disappear into the crowds.
As the temperature rises, so does the body count and Bascot finds himself dealing with a ruthless and very determined killer.
Ash creates a vivid picture of medieval life and culture against the backdrop of King John I's reign. Although the monarch does not appear in the story, his pressure is felt by all and his influence is palpable. It is interesting to read Ash's portrayal of John as king which is in contrast to the depiction of him as prince to his brother, Richard I. Sharon K. Penman's excellent Justin de Quincy series lays John's perfidy and malice (some of which seems genuinely justified) unapologetically open and exposed.
The most engaging of Ash's characters besides Bascot are his young ward Gianni, and the aging matriarch Hilde, who also recognizes the intelligence of the wounded Templar and becomes instrumental in helping him solve the mystery. Gianni, the mute Italian orphan rescued from the streets and starvation by Bascot, communicates with the Templar through a series of hand signals and captures the readers' hearts as well as attention. Gianni is devoted to Bascot as a son is to a father and the sentiment is returned. Bascot lost an eye during his captivity (reminding the reader of Candace Robb's one-eyed hero Owen Archer) and relies on the boy's visual acuity for finding clues.
Bascot de Marins is a complex character like another Templar sleuth, Michael Jecks's Sir Baldwin Furnshill.
Ash received kudos from Penman and another medieval mystery legend, Margaret Frazer, along with other accolades printed everywhere on the paperback edition. The glowing reports are deserved as this book is worthy enough to be put along side the other medieval whodunits from Frazer and Penman. Ash's writing style tends to be heavy on the passive voice, but this does not distract from the reading pleasure. I look forward to reading the next one.

Book Review - Ravenstone

2008-07-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

RavenstoneBy Deborah CannonISBN:1425146023
Archaeologist Jake Lalonde searches for the origins of the icon of the mythical raven, as depicted in an ancient carving off the coast of British Columbia. Haunting his dreams, his search finds him is so far from what is expected that it leaves him breathless and nearly distracted enough to forget a deadly threat to his and Angeline's lives. Deborah Cannon brings legends into a new light in "Ravenstone," the third in a series but also a stand alone novel.
Menacing messages appear on Angeline's phone and the threat is all too real though some suspect she is imagining it. A past nemesis has returned to Angeline and Jake's world. Once safely (not really) locked away, insanely rich Radisson again haunts their minds and hunts control over their souls. When Jake's daughter's presence is revealed and then threatened, action must be taken. But Angeline is already on her way to Lyell Island, and Jake is unsure of where they stand as a couple.
Danger is hidden along with the elusive answers to Jake's questions. What seems innocent flirtation at first leads to deadly dancing with a past he had forgotten and a present situation he hadn't been very aware of.
The writing is engaging and immerses the reader into the contrasting but beautiful locales of the coast of British Columbia and the coast of Lyell Island, a Polynesian paradise.
Digging into the habits and mindsets of archaeologists is interesting to witness, while the troublesome romance adds a delightful human interest quality to the tale. Danger, love, life, the past of characters and the subjects they study, and the possible futures of all involved wrap up into a well rounded story. Add the mystical quality of legends and you've got a memorable book. Not surprising coming from Deborah Cannon.
Heather Froeschl is an author, award winning editor, and book reviewer, at http://www.Quilldipper.com

Double Dead - A Southern Murder Mystery

2008-07-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

Double Dead, the debut Southern murder mystery by Terry Hoover, has been called a "standout by any standard" by Mystery Scene Magazine. I agree and so do the American Library Association's Booklist and several mystery authors.
"Terry Hoover is a newcomer to the mystery scene, but Double Dead, her first novel, does not read like the work of a novice," writes Lynne Maxwell for Mystery Scene Magazine. "A finalist in the Malice Domestic/St. Martin's Press Contest for Best First Traditional Mystery, Double Dead is a standout by any standard, featuring intricate plotting, electrifying courtroom scenes and a genuinely likeable protagonist. Count me in as a charter member of the Terry Hoover fan club!"
As the book begins, it's summer 1961 in Charlotte, NC. People are thinking about yo-yos, madras and the A-bomb. The heat picks up when wealthy banker John Lattimore is accused of murdering his mistress Delores Green.
After exposing a scandal among management that destroyed his career and his wife's, former newspaper reporter Steve Harlan is eking out a living as a private detective. The defense provide him a big break: a chance to work on the big case he has been praying for. His jubilation is tempered when he learns how heartlessly Lattimore has involved Delores's 13-year-old son.
Did Lattimore do it or was the bottle to blame for the death? Harlan must find out to save his client from a date with the gas chamber and his own family from someone who will do anything to keep the truth hidden.
Double Dead has received a thumbs up from The American Library Association's [http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/12/prweb492277.htm ]Booklist, as well as praise from award-winning mystery authors Charles Todd, Judy Clemens and Cathy Pickens.
Double Dead, a finalist in the Malice Domestic St. Martin's Press contest for Best First Traditional Mystery, is the first book in the Steve Harlan series. Terry Hoover, a native of Charlotte, NC, where Double Dead is set, now lives just outside the city, with her husband - that would be me - a public relations consultant. Hoover can be found online at [http://www.hoovermysteries.com/]http://www.hoovermysteries.com.
Harry Hoover is a partner in [http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog]My Creative Team. He has 30 years of experience in crafting and delivering bottom line messages that ensure success for serious businesses like Duke Energy, Levolor, National Gypsum, North Carolina Tourism, Nucor, Premier, Rubbermaid, Ty Boyd Executive Learning Systems, VELUX, and Verbatim.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Harry_Hoover http://EzineArticles.com/?Double-Dead---A-Southern-Murder-Mystery&id=1348671

Silk by Penny Jordan

2008-07-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

Silk is the first in a proposed trilogy following the life of Amber, the daughter of a Russian artist and the granddaughter of Blanche Pickford. Set in the early 1900's, this magnificent story reveals the loves and losses of this young debutante, whose sole desire in life was to emulate the openness and love-filled marriage of her parents, but who, because of their untimely death, must instead succumb to the aspirations of her formidable grandmother, Blanche.
As a young girl, Amber is daunted by London society and the haughty airs and graces of its aristocracy, but when fate sends her Lord Robert, she finally feels that she might be able to make her way in this lofty world. An old school friend, Beth, rescues her from a potentially embarrassing and unfulfilling coming-out and their friendship continues to grow to the extent that Amber finds herself first in Paris and then in the South of France on a lavish holiday with Beth's aristocratic family. There, she meets and falls in love with the artist, Jean-Phillipe... but their illicit love affair is pulled up short when Lord Robert indicates to Amber what manner of man Jean-Phillipe really is. Pregnant and desperate, Amber readily agrees to a sexless marriage with a man that may respect her, but can never love her. Throughout everything, we are heart achingly aware of a Jay's unwavering love for Amber that is recognised too late.
Both an immensely penetrating and deeply moving love story and a history of a bygone era in British history, Silk is a powerful tale of intrigue, lust, drug addiction and the intensely private lives of the British aristocracy during a pivotal period. Jordan conjures up the brooding, salacious and delicious detail of a live that many of us could only dream of - palatial homes, decadent living, balls and parties, and through it all, a love of a fabric that manages to weave its way effortlessly through the story.
Hugely enjoyable, at times a little awkward and stilting, but always managing to capture your heart - this is a glorious read and one that is recommended to every romanticist out there.
For more [http://www.thetruthaboutbooks.com]book reviews from an independent source rather than yet another bookseller trying to flog you their latest stock - you can always check out [http://www.thetruthaboutbooks.com]The Truth About Books.

Creation in Death Book Review

2008-07-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

As "Creation in Death" starts, a woman's body is found. The state of the body and evidence found on it points to a serial killer who had been dormant. Lt. Eve Dallas is soon on the trail of the killer, one whom she investigated nine years earlier. Now, in the year 2060, "The Groom" is back and kidnapping, torturing and murdering women. His previous spree saw the brutal deaths of four women and this time he's targeting the very woman who is searching for him, Lt. Dallas. "Creation in Death" tells the story of the search for The Groom before he is able to get away with murder once more.
Fans of crime and mystery novels can appreciate the mystery in this novel, while fans of futuristic fiction may like its setting. Also, fans of Nora Roberts (here writing as J.D. Robb) will also enjoy her writing style in this work of fiction.
The story and plot kept my interest right up to the climactic ending. I raced through the book to find out what would happen next. I liked that this futuristic novel included some futuristic gadgets and ideas, but it wasn't overdone. It felt just right.
The novel, however, was a tad predictable and (in my humble opinion) nothing special. It's a face-paced thriller that's sure to hold the reader's attention, but don't pick this up if you're looking for excellence in writing or plot. It's a good, fun read, but it isn't spectacular in any way.
On the surface, "Creation in Death" is a great contemporary crime/mystery novel. Upon further thought, there were a few things that bothered me about it. There were a few plot points that I felt could have been developed further (like the killer using a pseudonym of "Ed Gaines," which is very close to a real killer, Ed Gein - his name choice isn't explained further than him using various forms of "Ed"). The characters were a little two-dimensional and stereotypical. (I've read that this is part of a series, and I haven't read any of the others; perhaps the characters are developed more throughout the series.)
Nora Roberts is one of our most prolific novelists in contemporary times. She's written nearly 50 novels, plus another 27 under the name J.D. Robb. She's obviously got a handle on storytelling. Regardless of whether I found the novel to be predictable or slightly flat, she's a bestselling author worth looking at.
I found Creation in Death to be a decent Summer read. I'd say it's a good beach read, but it's not quite accurate. The novel isn't exactly a light subject matter (with details of torture, brutality and murder), but it's a thrilling, fun read. Don't look for deep meaning in this novel, but it's worth a look if you're in the mood for an average contemporary fiction novel.
If reading fiction in serial killers is your thing, definitely pick up "Creation in Death."
Tonia Jordan is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Writers
Her portfolio can be found at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/spidergirl so stop by and read for a while.

Things to Look Out For When Collecting Antique Books

2008-07-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

Old books are out of date, obsolete and boring - right? While you may think so, there are plenty of antique books floating around that many people will pay up to thousands of dollars to buy from you. Not any old book, mind you. These are rare historical books that have a market of collectors wishing to buy them.
Many people have old and antique books at their house and have no idea how much they are worth. Below you will find some helpful tips in trying to appraise how much an antique book is valued in the market place.
As with other types of antiques, there are no hard and fast rules about how much an antique book is worth. However, there are some guidelines that will help you in determining how much you may be able to get for it. The number one factor is rarity. It is simply about supply and demand - the more rare the book is the more it will worth to someone if there is a demand for it.
First edition books are usually the most sought after versions. Typically, they are the rarest types and therefore the more valuable than editions published after it.
Other rare versions are those that have typographical errors. More often than not the publisher will withdraw a book with an error and therefore they are in limited supply in the general antique market place. Other rare editions are those with autographs from famous or historical persons.
The second factor that can cause a book to increase or decrease its value is its condition. The closer a book condition is to is original condition the more it will be worth. Any marks, stains, page tears or binding wear can decrease a books value markedly. However, any written remarks and notes by famous people or the author can actually cause the value of the antique book to increase.
Oftentimes, evaluating the value of an antique book can be very bewildering, so whether you're going to buy an antique book or sell one, it is recommended to consult an expert first to examine the antique book's real worth. But make sure that you do your own research, because trusting solely another's word can be deceiving.
Because the condition of a book is very important in determining its value, you really should store any antique books in a proper and book friendly place. Extreme conditions can cause paper to undergo certain chemical reactions that will damage their condition. Therefore, avoid place any old books in humid, hot, wet places or anywhere where there is direct sunlight.
Also, avoid storing books in places that release acidic vapors, such as unsealed woods. and placing them in your basement, under plumbing and water pipe. Flat, smooth shelves will do. But if you have enough budget, try storing them in high quality archival boxes. With proper care, you sure will find wealth in what you thought is already rubbish. [http://buyantiquewallclocks.com/]Antique Wall Clocks can be purchased in Richard Neesal's website where hundreds of antique clocks are available for sale, including [http://buyantiquewallclocks.com/Antique-Wall-Clocks/Seth-Thomas-Antique-Wall-Clocks]Seth Thomas, Kroeber, Sessions, Welch, Waterbury and Swiss.

Book Review - Switched at Birth

2008-07-08T11:48:00.001-07:00

A memoir with a twist, "Switched at Birth: My Life in Someone Else's World" by Frederick J. George examines the coincidences of life and the sense of humor of fate. Placed in the wrong bassinet in the hospital, Frederick didn't confirm the switch until he was 57, and the parents he had grown up with were already passed on; his birth mother the only parent left to embrace in this deeply moving time.
His father had always been suspicious, even accusing Frederick's mother of having had an affair. He always looked a little bit different than his siblings in the family photos, and had slightly different interests, but Fred had tried to fit in. Fate also tried, making efforts to step in, crossing the paths of both boys and their families over the years. Fred's brother was even friends with the switched boy, Jim. Ironic is the word that comes to mind, almost unbelievable is the tale.
Fred shares the histories of both of his families and how he came to understand them. He opens up, telling readers of his relationship with his birth mother, as it began so much later than it possibly should have, and his relationships with his plethora of siblings. Discovering an additional family history helps Frederick to find out who he really is and who he might have been.
The writing is reminiscent of the passed down family legend, purely memoir, remembered and shared in honesty. This is an interesting book about a twist of fate.
Heather Froeschl is an author, award winning editor, and book reviewer, at http://www.Quilldipper.com .

"Love Kills" by Edna Buchanan - A Mystery Novel Book Review

2008-07-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

Don't you love it when you find a book you absolutely positively cannot put down? "Love Kills" by Edna Buchanan is one of those mysteries. I sat up until the wee small hours of the morning to finish reading it. I had to! I had to find out what happened in the end.
Buchanan has two series going: The Britt Montero series and the newer Cold Case Squad series. In "Love Kills," she brings the two together in alternating chapters. Britt is the unifying catalyst. In the first pages of the book, a Bulldozer in the Everglades unearths the skull of an infamous kidnapper. Britt was one of the last people to see him alive so the Cold Case Squad wants to talk to her, but she's missing.
Britt disappeared about three books ago when her lover, Kendall McDonald was killed. Turns out she was hiding on a tropical island while trying to come to terms with her loss. Her friend, newspaper photographer, Lottie Dane comes to visit and haul her back to Miami. The last day before leaving for home, the two find a camera on the beach with honeymoon photos. They're determined to track the happy couple down to return the pictures. Tragically, the couple is missing at sea and feared dead. When the husband shows up, alive and distraught, Britt's nose for news prompts her to interview him for a story. The connection between the reporter and the new widower astonishes her and Britt is even more surprised when she finds out the truth. Ultimately, her search for the bridegroom's secrets and the Cold Case Squad's search for the kidnapper's killer collide.
There are two huge twists in "Love Kills" and I didn't see either of them coming. With the second one, near the end of the book I literally had to stop reading I was so surprised. Buchanan puts her protagonist, Britt Montero in dangers and just when you think things can't get worse - but they do, again and again until the climactic end. There is also one scene in the Cold Case section that was so funny it had me howling with laughter.
Buchanan, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist has written 16 books. I've read them all, AND they're all good. She worked as a crime reporter for the Miami Herald before retiring to write full time. Her books are sharp, fast-paced and great fun to read. She brings authenticity to her writing because of her journalistic background working with the police in Miami. Buchanan's non-fiction book, "The Corpse had a Familiar Face" is fabulous.
If you're looking for a new author to read, I urge you to try Edna Buchanan. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Carlene Rae Dater has been a writer of both fiction and non-fiction for over 25 years and has been published in a variety of genres. Writing, reading and talking about mysteries is her passion. Please visit and leave comments on her mystery blog at: http://www.themysterystartshere.com Please also visit her published books at: http://www.silveradopublishing.com

Happy Fourth Of July!

2008-07-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A WONDERFUL FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND! WHATEVER YOUR PLANS MAY BE, STAY SAFE AND HAVE FUN.

Turn The Page Bookstore Café Newsletter

2008-07-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

Turn The Page Bookstore is Nora Robert's Official Bookseller, check them out! If you are a Nora fan you can even purchase autographed books there! - MrsT

Join us for

Turn the Page Bookstore Café's

13th Anniversary Signing Celebration

on July 12th, from 1:00PM - 3:00PM.

Nora will be signing her newest Putnam hardcover, Tribute, a gripping story about a former child star who has taken on the task of restoring her legendary grandmother's farmhouse from ruin in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. As events from her grandmother's past come to light, Cilla McGowan is distracted by her neighbor, graphic novelist Ford Sawyer. But a "series of intimidating acts and a frightening, violent assault" may keep love and a chance of normalcy just out of Cilla's grasp. Read an excerpt from Tribute.

Other authors scheduled to attend the signing are: Diana Peterfreund, Donna Kauffman, Jeanne Adams, and Catherine Asaro. If you can't attend the event, you can still order signed books via our virtual signing page.

On Friday, July 11th, the Hagerstown Suns will once again be hosting "Nora Night" at Municipal Stadium. The game officially starts at 7:05PM, but come early and watch Nora toss out the first pitch. Stay for the game and end the evening with a fireworks extravaganza!

Our Book Club, hosted by Janeen, meets on the second Wednesday of the month. The selection for July is John Grogan's Marley & Me, a heartwarming story of a dog's impact on a family. In August, they'll read The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson, author of Crow Lake, a Book Club favorite.

Mark November 1st for our Fall Event . J D Robb will be signing the hardcover Salvation In Death.

New in the Store:

Some really exciting new items have arrived in the store, such as the new Nora Roberts Lunch Tote which is convenient for holding your sandwich, cell phone and paperback book!

Have you discovered our Eve & Roarke fleece blankets? They're perfect for a summer picnic or watching fireworks in the park.

We also have new 2008 Turn the Page mugs featuring a sketch of the store on both sides.

Other items include new soy candles, wax crumbles and room sprays made locally especially for us. Cedar Ridge Soaps has updated their products to make them more Earth friendly, and they've added new scents to their line. Also check out our spring scented Colonial Candles.

We have a large selection of Kookeys , an interactive plush line of cuddly friends. There are penguins and dinosaurs and monkeys, and more!

Future Books:

Tribute goes on sale July 8th. Can Cilla discover what really happened with her grandmother, the legendary Janet Hardy, all those years ago?

The trade paperback of Nora Roberts's Homeport will be reissued July 1st. What a perfect summer read! Travel with Miranda Jones and Ryan Boldari to Maine and Italy as they try to authenticate a bronze statue that may have been crafted by Michelangelo.....all while being pursued by a killer attempting to stop them.

Also in July is the reissue of the mass market paperback of The MacGregor Grooms. Daniel puts his matchmaking methods to work on his three grandsons: D.C., Duncan, and Ian.

The Murder Notebook by Jonathan Santlofer

2008-07-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

Nate Rodriguez is a police sketch artist who has a reputation for being one of the best. Not only does he have an uncanny ability to be able to sketch the pictures from an eyewitness account that does not amount to a whole lot but he is almost psychic when it comes to it.
Several murders have occurred in New York City that appear to be unrelated. Due to Nate's special abilities, he is placed on the task force investigating these crimes.
It does not take Nate very long to believe these murders are related. Then stranger things start to happen because more bodies turn up. These bodies are the killers themselves!
Now Nate's biggest challenge is trying to convince the NYPD that there is more involved here than meets the eye.
The Murder Notebook contains many sketches personally drawn by the author. The sketches add a great deal to the detail the author uses to engross the reader. This novel is fast moving and loaded with suspense. What really makes this book interesting is the way the author has combined his two talents - art and writing. Readers will admire Nate Rodriguez for his ability to be able to recreate a person's face from very few details and then take it to the next level by putting the entire puzzle together. The book has an interesting subplot involving the death of Nate's father, a policeman who was killed on the job. Nate has not come to terms with the death. Be sure to add The Murder Notebook to your reading list. If you are a reader who likes a suspense story that will make you sit there and try to analyze the outcome, The Murder Notebook is the novel for you. I highly recommend it.
Nancy Eaton - Owner of: http://www.bestsellersworld.com
This site has book reviews, book giveaways and a book discussion forum.

Photographer Seeks to Aid Troops with Book

2008-06-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

Photographer Alyssa Amori, a resident of Scranton, Pennsylvania illustrates her love for her hometown through her camera lens. Over a six-month period in 2007, Amori captured the essence of the city from its historic architecture to its parks and festivals for her book Scranton: The Electric City.

Over 100 images include:

Roger Clemens' appearance with the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Yankees
Nay Aug Park
Scranton Cultural Center
Lackawanna County Courthouse
Everhart Museum
Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel
Steamtown National Historic Site
St. Patrick's Day Parade
The Mall at Steamtown
Lake Scranton

Amori's ultimate hope is to get the book into the hands of as many Scranton service men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as possible. The book is designed to provide the troops with a much welcome glimpse of home. Amori is looking for individuals or groups willing to either provide addresses or donations to finance the printing and mailing of the books to the troops. To offer assistance, please email Amori at damori3@comcast.net.

About Alyssa Amori

Alyssa Amori first became interested in photography while living in Redondo Beach, CA during the early 1980s, having been inspired in large part by the region's abundant natural beauty. Returning to Scranton, she eventually showed off the best of her California work in a show at the Lackawanna County Courthouse. In late 2006, Amori returned to photography taking over 3,000 photos of the Northeast Pennsylvania area with a Cannon XTI digital camera. Currently, Amori is taking courses through the New York Institute of Photography in addition to her career at Moses Taylor Hospital as a certified pharmacy technician.

60 full color pp.

$24.95

ISBN: 9780979504532

Nicole Langan

[mailto:info@tribute-books.com]info@tribute-books.com http://www.tribute-books.com

Summer Fantasy Book Reading For Teens and Young Adults

2008-06-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

This is a summer reading list for young adults who want to explore fantasy and imaginative fiction without resorting to the current small handful of blockbusters. This list has some classics that might otherwise be overlooked, and some contemporary books that are just terrific. If you are looking for some really good fiction for the kids to read this summer this list can help.

Some Classics

A Wrinkle in Time - (Newberry Medal Winner) This is simply a beautiful book that has blazed a trail in modern children's fantasy by putting forward a story of several children embarking on a grand adventure; In this case to rescue their father. There is some fascinating and thoughtful stuff in this book like living stars and tesseracts. It is a perennial favorite and on every librarian's list.

A Wizard of Earthsea - Written by Ursula K. Leguin this is the first book in a series called The EarthSea series. Short and light but extraordinarily beautiful. This first book in the series follows a young boy named Ged as he goes from being a simple goat herd to a powerful wizard. It is simply beautiful and it brings forth some wonderful and magical themes such as the concept that everything (including dragons) has a secret name. And if you know the secret name you can control the thing (including dragons).

The Hobbit - This probably shouldn't be on this list but it is so good that I can't leave it off. With the absolute enormous success of the Lord of the Rings movies this book may be overlooked but I consider it better! It is also in the works to be a movie.

Five Children and it - This is one of the most popular books written by Edith Nesbit who is often credited with creating the whole genre of children embarking on fantasy adventures. Her books are in the public domain now and can easily be found for free. The theme of this book is: Be careful what you ask for. You may get it! That's the message in this delightful tale of five youngsters who discover a bizarre sand creature that grants wishes. There's a catch, of course: the wishes come undone at sunset, and worse yet, things often get out of hand!

Dragonflight - This book is a little more complex than earlier ones I have cited here and it tends toward being more of a novel for grownups but it very suitable for teens. We are introduced to a complex world of dragons through the main character Lessa. This book is often credited with being the book that has launched many a young girls writing career. It is the first book in a trilogy of books called The Dragon riders of Pern series.

A Princess of Mars: - The first novel in the Edgar Rice Burroughs series and currently in the initial stages of being written into a movie or animation that will be made by Pixar. This is the first book in a series called John Carter of Mars and it is good rollicking fun in the tradition of the old pulp magazines. It is a favorite for young boys who like sword fighting big monsters.

Contemporary fantasy and fiction

When it comes to modern fantasy fiction for teens there is an enormous selection to choose from and that, in itself, could be an obstacle. Here are summaries of some of the more popular ones and I have also picked some that are currently slated to be made into a movie.

Artemis Fowl Series - This series of books takes a little bit of an unusual position as far as children's books go because Artemis Fowl himself is a twelve year old genius and a criminal mastermind. The author of these books calls them Die Hard with Fairies! And the books are often characterized as being a high-octane and rip-roaring ride. It is a wildly popular series of books with a big website and even a wiki. There are currently five books in the series with the first being simply titled Artemis Fowl. The sixth book "The Time Paradox" is set to be released in July of 2008.

Here, there be Dragons - The title itself is rather mysterious and harkens back to another time. This was the phrase that cartographers used to write in patches of ocean that were unexplored. The basic premise of this story will really resonate with teens that are fans of fantasy itself because it starts with the unusual meeting of three young strangers John, Jack, and Charles on a rainy night in London. We later find out these three young men are J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams.

The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches - This is a series of books that takes place in a world of magic and secrets called Ruin Mist. This book was slow to start but word of mouth turned it into a best seller. It is one of those relatively little known books and series that is very satisfying.

Septimus Heap - If magic and wizards are of strong appeal this series of books make a great alternative to Harry Potter. The Main character (Septimus) is the seventh son of a seventh son and the main line of the story follows two children switched at birth: a boy destined to be a wizard and a girl destined to be a princess. There are currently four books in the series and the first book has been picked up by Warner Brothers and is currently being made into a movie that is scheduled for release in 2010.

Any of these books or series will launch teens and young adults on a remarkable adventure into strange fantasy worlds and no joystick or keyboard is required.

For More Great Fantasy Book stuff visit the authors site: [http://fantasyguide.stormthecastle.com]The Fantasy Guide

For more insights and articles about epic fantasy visit his site at: [http://www.epic-fantasy.com]epic-fantasy.com.

6th Target Written by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

2008-06-27T10:10:00.001-07:00

Another good story involving the Women's Murder Club that these two authors have continued to create new and novel cases for these sleuths who have worked together to solve many cases.
Children of well-to-do people are missing. There must be a connection since only the rich were involved-at least, so far. But there is another mystery unconnected to the missing children. Fred Brinkley and his handgun, Bucky, was on the ferry when he started shooting seemingly random people on the boat just before the boat docked. "Voices" told him to kill them. One of the injured was Claire Washburn, Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer's best friend, Medical Examiner, and a member of the Women's Murder Club. Claire tried to talk Brinkley down but the voices would not leave his head. Brinkley took off as the boat hit the docks, leaving a trail of blood and death behind on the ferry.
Boxer was off duty but was called to the crime scene and responded immediately, seeing all the blood and bodies on the ship. When she discovered that Claire was one of the victims she took a deep interest in finding this monster. Claire's young son, Willie, was also on the ferry and had taken off after the shooter at once. When Boxer arrived on scene, she took off after the boy; Willie wanted to keep track of the shooter not knowing what he would do next. Boxer found Willie and sent him to the hospital to be with his mother. There was a person shooting cam-corded pictures of the entire scene on the ferry, so the proof was there as to who shot and where he aimed. The proof was there and police were positive they would have no problem getting this killer off the street fast.
The other case of the kidnapped children was still ongoing and the only tie-in police could find was to an organization of nannies that worked for the rich but were highly thought of in character and past life.
When Brinkley was caught he admitted shooting those people because voices told him to do it. As one would expect, mental problems came into the courtroom with the defense and turned the case into a circus. Sure there was all kinds of proof that Brinkley had killed those people but he was not thinking properly at the time, so claimed the defense! The authorities were enraged knowing in their minds that if this man were set free, he would do the same thing over and over.
Several other cases came into play in the book, all of which were well diagramed and written. The reader will have strong feelings about the ferry killer, the child kidnapper, and an apartment house killer. These stories all were eventually resolved one way or another and keep the reader very much into the book.
Avid reader and reviewer of good novels and historical literature

Hit and Run by Lawrence Block

2008-06-26T10:28:00.001-07:00

John Keller is a hit man who has a passion for collecting stamps. One might think this type of employment and hobby just don't seem to go together. Being different is what makes this character very interesting.
John Keller was paid in advance for what he figured would be his last job before retirement. He had a strange feeling all along that he was being set up. Why was he paid in advance? Keller wanted to get the job over but each time he made the call for the OK to do it, he was told to hold off until the next day. The only person he could really trust was Dot.
Then it happened. The Governor is killed. As he was watching TV from his motel room, they showed the killer's face - A very familiar face at that! Yes, John was set up. Now what does he do? He knows his fingerprints are all over a Glock automatic gun. He was offered a choice of two guns and chose the other. Of course, in trying to decide which gun he wanted, John handled the Glock. He spent just abut all of his money on some stamps he bought, his credit cards are no longer good and he cannot reach Dot by phone.
What happens to John? Does he make it to retirement?
The only way I can describe this latest Lawrence Block thriller is to say that it totally consumed me. I didn't want to stop reading it and when I put it down, I couldn't wait to pick it up and continue. John Keller really makes this book something special. He is a hit man you just have to love. It's just his calm way of dealing with his "jobs" that impress you. He is very careful by "almost always" covering his tracks. There were times when he registered at more than one motel and did not stay in any of them. Each job he does just seems to be all in a day's work. This is a very fast paced novel, suspenseful and it also contains humor. Lawrence Block is a master at writing the "Hit Man" series. It sounds like Mr. Block might be getting ready to "retire" Keller but I sure hope this doesn't happen. This is one of the best thrillers I have read and I would love to see another Jack Keller novel sometime in the near future.
Nancy Eaton - Owner of: http://www.bestsellersworld.com
This site has book reviews, book giveaways and a book discussion forum.

"Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully" by Nancy Manahan and Becky Bohan

2008-06-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

Nancy Manahan and Becky Bohan team up to write a beautiful tribute to the life of Manahan's deceased sister-in-law in "Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully: A Journey with Cancer and Beyond." The authors hope not only to remember their loved one in print but to share her extraordinary passage from unthinkable diagnosis to dignified death.
"Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully" is the touching story of Diane Manahan - wife, mother, grandmother, sister, colleague, and friend - and her deliberate pathway toward the unavoidable end of her life. Stricken with cancer, Diane received the short gift of remission before the disease returned with a vengeance and ultimately caused her death. Although countless families have had to endure such a painful ordeal, Diane's story brings an enlightened hope and calming peace as she looks at her situation with an unusual perspective. To most, death is the ultimate unknown - terrifying and avoided in conversation. Instead of settling in this mindset, Diane chose to live and love each day to the fullest while openly communicating her final wishes on most of her burial and memorial services.
"Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully" is not only a deeply heartfelt story of a woman's life but a guidebook for those facing similar situations and would like to intentionally leave behind a beautiful legacy. Both Diane's story and the authors' lessons from her life touch the soul and encourage the heart to see death as more than merely 'the end.' Manahan and Bohan write with such emotion and love that I found myself mourning Diane's death but conversely, rejoicing in her conscious life. They perfectly capture this woman's spirit with their style, one which brightly radiates from each page.
Since death in inevitable for everyone "Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully" is a book many adults will find of great interest, especially those having to watch a loved one suffer from a terminal illness. Further, those undergoing a disease themselves and wanting to approach their deaths with more purpose would also greatly benefit from reading this book. I found that the most profound aspect of Manahan and Bohan's writing was that Diane - a non-violent person - didn't view her treatments as a 'fight,' a 'war' going on between her medicine and the invading cells, or that she was a victim of cancer. Instead and more positively, she was simply living with cancer - a peaceful journey full of love and mature acceptance even during her conventional and complementary therapies.
"Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully" is probably the most profound book on death I've ever read. Manahan and Bohan present a beautiful story of their loved one while offering hope to others that may be facing similar circumstances. A life lesson for anyone wanting to leave a more powerful heritage behind, "Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully" tugs at the heartstrings, lifts the spirit, and pulls the conscious mind towards a more meaningful life and dignified ending. http://www.readerviews.com/

Horror Book Review - Dean Koontz "The Darkest Evening of the Year" - Love it Or Hate It!

2008-06-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

I picked up this book at the library mainly because it's the story of a woman who helps to rescue Golden Retrievers. I personally became involved with Labrador rescue recently when my husband and I adopted a three-year-old Lab, so of course I had to read the book.
The story held my interest, but was hard to read in part because, unfortunately, too many dogs are abused in puppy mills and Koontz goes into detail about them and how they operate, yuck. At one point, when he talked about putting a dog to sleep, I wept. I've had to do it too often and it was a reminder that dogs do not live nearly long enough. There was also a long thread about the abuse of a disabled Down syndrome child which was stomach turning - very tough to read. Well, Koontz IS a horror writer.
I enjoyed Darkest Evening for the most part. The story was told from various view points, by apparently unrelated people. It was interesting to see how Koontz wove all the disparate threads together towards the finish of the book. However, the ending didn't work for me - or for many people who reviewed the book on amazon.com. It almost seemed like Koontz got to a certain point, looked at his watch and said, "Boogers, I've got to wrap this up!", and he did.
There's a big element of woo-woo in this book, so be prepared. Nickie, the Golden Retriever, who shows up in the beginning of the book may or may not hold the spirit of a previous dog or person. I think the dogs were more complete, interesting characters than the people who seem to me like caricatures. Once again, the woman were all gorgeous and the men handsome, the minor characters witty and rich. Give me a break.
In spite of the dark element of this novel, there are some very funny, laugh-out-loud lines in the book. The humor is a nice counter-balance to all the horror. I loved reading about the Golden's even though I'm a Labrador Retriever lover. I've lived with dogs long enough to know that they each have their own unique personalities and funny little quirks.
A lot of Koontz books are very long - partly I think because he just LOVES to describe! He's good at it but often it's just too much - it makes my teeth hurt. This book had lots of lush description, and frequently I got lost in it all and had to go back to see what was happening to the people! Unlike some of his longer tomes this one is a more normal length at 354 pages. All in all I guess I'd have to say I didn't love it and I didn't hate it but I finished the book and that's something I don't always do!
Carlene Rae Dater has been a writer of both fiction and non-fiction for over 25 years and has been published in a variety of genres. Writing, reading and talking about mysteries is her passion. Please visit and leave comments on her mystery blog at: http://www.themysterystartshere.com Please also visit her published books at: http://www.silveradopublishing.com

Odd Thomas Book Review

2008-06-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

Odd Thomas is an ordinary guy with a strange talent - he can see dead people, but like he says, "But then, by God, I do something about it." Odd protects lives a normal life in his small town of Pico Mundo the best he can, meanwhile helping a spirit or two along the way. Soon, though, he is called upon for a much larger purpose. A strange man (even stranger than Odd) shows up and it becomes evident to Odd that the man is planning something huge, something that will have a deep impact upon the lives of the citizens of Pico Mundo. The man, who may be evil itself, must be stopped, and Odd is the only one who can do it. Odd finds himself with less than 24 hours to stop a tragedy in the making, but things will prove not to be quite as they seem in this Dean Koontz Odd thriller.
Any fan of Dean Koontz' work will love this novel, and those seeking a good thriller, great writing, and a supernatural twist, will find a treasure in this book. At 302 pages, the hardcover proved to be a quick read, but well worth it. The novel presents an exciting, suspenseful tale with many twists and turns and more than one total surprise.
For me, the writing was superb in this novel. The character of Odd writes his own narrative, telling his story as it happens, but alluding to past and future events. He takes an almost comical tone (as instructed by another character who is forcing Odd to write this story as a memoir), a light narrative that tells a very dark tale. The writing kept me glued to the story and deeply connected to the characters.
I will certainly be moving on to the next books in the Odd series. So far there are three Odd novels - Odd Thomas, Brother Odd, and Odd Hours. I trust the rest of the series is just as good as the first.
As is often the case with the later works of Dean Koontz, there is a theme of connectivity, of things happening for a reason, of life having an ultimate purpose. Each novel presents another theory, and Odd Thomas is no different. I've come to expect and appreciate Koontz' theories and messages of hope and purpose.
Dean Koontz has written numerous novels over the last few decades, many of them becoming best-sellers. For me, his writing style is superb and his tales are intriguing and genuine.
Koontz is a master of storytelling and style. You'd be doing yourself a favor by reading his work.
Odd Thomas presents a few very graphic scenes of gore and violence, but the narrator does attempt to present these scenes in a light tone that will not disturb those who are easily disturbed.
Tonia Jordan is an author on http://www.Writing.Com which is a site for [http://www.Writing.Com/]Writers.
Her portfolio can be found at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/spidergirl so stop by and read for a while.

Rigged For Murder by Jenifer LeClair - Book Review

2008-06-22T09:54:00.000-07:00

Durbin House (2008)ISBN 9781930754881Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (6/08)
Homicide Detective Brie Beaumont has taken a leave of absence from the Minneapolis Police Department. Brie is working through unresolved issues and nightmares from post traumatic stress since the death of her partner Phil.
"Rigged for Murder" is the first in The Windjammer Mystery Series written by Jenifer LeClair.
Within the first chapter I found myself engaged vicariously as I experienced the gale force winds and storm-washed deck of the Maine Wind as Captain John DuLac "fought to turn the ship's rudder in the heavy seas."
The captain and crew changed the course of the battered schooner and soon safely anchor in the harbor off the Coast of Granite Island, to wait out the storm's fury.
Dinner aboard the Windjammer became a study in group dynamics as tensions built, passengers became edgy, and crew members voiced innuendos and insults at one another. Womanizer, Pete McAllister, bantered with flirtatious, Alyssa Lindstrom, until her husband, Rob Lindstrom exploded with jealously and threats. This storm created a new tension matching that of the storm still brewing outside the ship.
As LeClair skillfully introduced her cast of characters, made up of the ship's crew and passengers, I found myself matching wits with Brie as I speculated, first on who would be the murder victim, and secondly who might be the most likely suspect.
A scream in the early morning hours brought the ship to life as Alyssa Lindstrom discovered the body of a murder victim. A disabled radio made it impossible to contact the Coast Guard. Detective Beaumont and Captain DuLac took charge of an investigation and soon moved the body to Granite Island. Long time friends of DuLac operated a bed and breakfast inn on the island and soon the investigation was transferred to the library of the lodge.
A thread of possible romance develops as Brie, smitten by John's good looks, admires his strength and calm as he conquered the winds and waves of the sea, as well as the way he faced the crisis of a murder during his cruise. John in turn was impressed with Brie's beauty, her mysterious demeanor and her expert way of examining evidence, interviewing suspects, and her strength of character. http://www.readerviews.com/

The Andromeda Strain Book Review

2008-06-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton became a New York Times Bestseller because it was so frighteningly real and it's characters were developed in detail. From the first page of the book it appears it is a secret document about something that really happened in the 1960's. Michael Crichton opens with "This book recounts the five-day history of a major American scientific crisis..." and he weaves into the people who really helped him with writing the book. The purpose of Wildfire, a top-secret project located in Nevada, is to be a research station for any extra-terrestrial beings found. Therefore, when a satellite crashes back down to earth and then 49 inhabitants of Piedmont, Arizona drop dead, Wildfire becomes the perfect place to study the incident. The fact that the book takes place in areas that every American knows about makes the book even easier to believe. The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton is a novel that takes science fiction writing to a new degree of realism. The author uses well developed characters to tell of a possible scientific disaster. With the world at such unrest today, it is clear why the book is a New York Times Bestseller.
What still brings this intense, thrilling, and suspenseful science-fiction novel to the front is the story where scientists have to find the cause of a disease strain that came from outer space. The strain came from a meteor that crashed near a small town in the desert and it has killed everyone in the town except an old man and a newborn baby. In a secret underground government laboratory, four scientists are brought together to find a solution as fast as possible. If they don't find the cause and a solution in five days, the town, the area around the town, and the secret laboratory will have to be destroyed by nuclear explosives to prevent the spread of the deadly strain from outer space.
www.andromedastrain.info

My Lady's Treasure by Catherine Kean

2008-06-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

During the winter of 1192 in England, Lady Faye Rivellaux and her friend, Elayne Lorvais, married to Lord Torr Lorvais, and their eighteen month old daughter Angeline, often enjoyed picnics by the river. On an idyllic day, little Angeline discovers a valuable chalice buried beneath some mud and rocks. Recognizing its immense value, aye and Elayne keep the discovery a secret.
Elayne falls ill and on her deathbed, she extracts a promise from Faye to protect and care for little Angeline as if the child were her own. Faye takes this promise to heart and becomes a loving, substitute mother to the small child.
Then one day, Angeline is mysteriously kidnapped. Faye receives a demand for a large ransom of silver and is told of a location to make the exchange. An impoverished widow who survives on the charity of Lord Lorvais, Faye does not have the silver to pay the ransom, but she is in possession of the golden chalice and will gladly relinquish it to save Angeline. Dedicated to fulfilling her promise to her friend, Faye sets out to meet an unknown man at an arranged destination.
Sir Brant Meslarches' past is inextricably tied to that of Lord Torr Lorvais, and he harbours a deep dislike for the man. Because of a dying request by Brant's brother, Royce, Brant is compelled to obey Lorvais' demands and recognize him as overlord. But it is Lorvais who orchestrated the kidnapping of his own daughter in order to win the affections of fair Faye. Lorvais knows Faye does not have the silver to pay for the ransom, so he orders Brant to only scare her. When Faye offers Brant the golden chalice, he is shocked. How did she acquire it? Rant believes it is part of King Arthur's lost treasure that his brother Royce spent his life searching for.
This wonderfully rich medieval tale encompasses a little mystery, an abundance of love, an insidious sprinkling of evil, and enough adventure to keep the reader reading throughout the gripping climax to the very end.
Catherine Kean writes a rich medieval prose that draws you into this masterfully weaved tale. The novel's flowing prose allows the reader to immerse themselves completely in the story. The plot is uncomplicated with not too many characters. It is an enjoyable read with a gripping climax that held my attention long into the night until I reached the very satisfying ending.
Mirella Patzer is first generation Italian-Canadian. She is a published author of medieval fiction and an afficionado of all things Italian. For more interesting articles, visit her web sites at: http://www.mirellapatzer.com http://bestofitaly.blogspot.com

Dali & I - A Story About Style

2008-06-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

The newspaper ABC dedicated a page to the book that has been published recently: Dali & I - A surreal story (more on this work is to be found at this (1) site).
The article started about the famous moustache of Dali followed about his care for personal hygiene and about his work. The headline says it all: "Salvador Dali, falser than Judas."
Stan Lauryssens is a Belgian author who was Dali's ex collaborator. Why this work is published now, nearly twenty years after the death of Dali isn't mentioned in the article. But rather than "a surreal story" I would say it is a story about fraud, if the article has summarized the book well.
The there are many false paintings of Dali in circulation is commonly known. This book explains more about the "truth" of these false paintings: was Dali the one who merely accepted to sign blank canvasses offered by his guardians (accepted version of the "allegations" about false paintings) or was it Dali who initiated this process by signing a blank canvass and to tell his guardians - like Lauryssens - to sell them. According to this book Dali initiated it all.
Another curious passage is when Kirk Douglas is invited to stay at their (Dali's and Gala's) House and that Gala is going over his pockets while Kirk is outside ... The story doesn't end with the demystification of Dali but also of his wife Gala.
Whether this book will damage Dali's imagine is uncertain. Perhaps it is all part of his character and the transient property of surrealism. Perhaps it matches perfectly with his style as we know it.
(1) - http://www.dali-and-i.com/
© Hans Bool

100 Promises to My Baby (Book Review)

2008-06-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

When I read the first few pages of this book, I thought to myself that I had come across, finally, a book that goes further than a how-to baby book in the physical sense.
I also have to admit that what hooked me in the beginning was the quote from Tagore, opposite the contents page. "Every child is born proof that God has not given up on human beings." That is a quote I have always repeated to myself all through my life and all through the hectic times of our present-day history.
We take our baby raising tasks as if our babies are objects and they should be handled in a certain way. We always forget that there is a person inside that tiny being, and more importantly, that person has a soul. In contrast, Mallika Chopra's book raises our understanding of having children to a higher level, to the level of the soul, by reflecting her deep awareness of the responsibilities of becoming a mother.
The author, who has a physician's training, started writing this book when she was expecting her first child. In the introduction of the book she says she wanted to bond with her baby early on and started making her promises as a mother. Thus, this book was born out of the author's pledge to her baby so the baby could fulfill her potential and her purpose in life.
The author may have addressed the mothers, but fathers, too, can benefit greatly from this book. In close inspection, the book does not only relate the author's personal stories and commitment, but also, it influences mothers as well as fathers everywhere to think about their roles as parents.
"100 Promises to My Baby" has about ten chapters with titles like values, purpose, love, miracles, spirit, lessons, and traditions. With love and compassion as its highest goal, the book is interspersed with poetry, like that of Khalil Gibran, quotes from the Bhagavad Gita, definitions, and at the end of each chapter, some very precious reflections.
What I liked most about the book was the charming style of telling personal stories. I believe, in a book, almost any reader looks for the personal touch or for anything of human interest, and here, that human interest gives this book its true depth.
The book, with ISBN:1594861293, has 252 pages and is in hardcover with an elegant white overlay.
The author, Mallika Chopra, is daughter of Deepak Chopra and mother of two children. A partner in Chopra Media and in the K Lounge in New York City, she is an author and producer with a medical school background. Her book, "100 Promises to My Baby" is a gift to mankind that will never go out of style.
This article has been submitted by Joy Cagil in affiliation with http://www.BabyNameVote.Com/ which is a site for Baby Names.

Duma Key Book Review

2008-06-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

Duma Key tells the tale of an island with the same name. Stephen King's 2008 release explores themes of divorce, loss and art. Edgar Freemantle was a successful contractor from Minnesota with a happy marriage and loving daughters, but that was his "other life." After an accident nearly takes his life (and succeeds in taking an arm), Edgar moves to a Floridian island, Duma Key. There his artwork (once merely a hobby of doodling) quickly turns into impressive paintings with the substantial power to affect reality. It wouldn't be a King novel, though, if it didn't somehow turn bad.
Fans of King will surely like this novel, as it's being heralded as among his top work. I think many will be able to relate to the many topics included in the novel, as well.
I particularly liked how the plot unraveled itself almost effortlessly. I started the novel with little intentions or expectations and soon I found myself wrapped up in a world of art, sandy beaches, friendships, murder and magic. I enjoyed the story and where it took me, the characters I met along the way, and the sights I viewed while living the story with those characters.
At 600+ pages, it's a bit of a long read and for me, the ending fell a tad flat. King fans will think it adequate for the most part, but I found myself wanting more from the end. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the novel, though.
After finishing Duma Key, I found myself wanting to read something a bit more upbeat or optimistic. The novel is deep and heavy with realism which I enjoyed very much, but once I was finished, I wanted a bit more optimism.
I think most will enjoy the book and the way its plot and characters are developed. Edgar (and many of the other characters) are much different people by the end, but the evolution isn't apparent or identifiable. It's slow and subtly revealed to the reader throughout the novel.
I also loved the setting of Duma Key. I felt calmed by the island and its environment. I think King did a good job of pulling the reader into this isolated world. I identified with Edgar and felt a definite emotional attachment to his character, which could be why I needed a break from such strong emotional content when I finished the novel. Although the end felt a little of a letdown, I did enjoy the novel as a whole.
Tonia Jordan is an author on http://www.Writing.Com which is a site for Writers.
Her portfolio can be found at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/spidergirl so stop by and read for a while.

Miranda A. Grant I'm getting a baby sister.... Not!

2008-06-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

by Rebecca Anne Grant
22 pages; Saddle stitched; illustrated children's book; catalogue #07-3058; ISBN 1-4251-6604-0; US$14.00, C$14.00, EUR9.56, £7.23
Miranda wants a baby sister. She has two annoying brothers already. She totally denies the fact that the baby could turn out to be another boy, until it is.

About the Book
Miranda A. Grant, I’m getting a baby sister….Not!, is about a ten year old girl who is tired of being the only girl in a family with three children, her being the middle child. Miranda watches her brothers do things together and wishes she had someone to do things with too. She begs her parents for a baby sister for an entire year, before they agree to try to give her one. She waits ten long months for her mom to get a baby in her tummy, and then she has to wait nine more just to see the new baby. The whole time, she works very hard to help her poor tired mother do chores. After all the waiting and work, the time finally comes to see her new baby sister. Only, it’s not a sister at all. It’s another boy. Miranda realizes he’s just too cute to want to send him back. After a while, she figures out that he likes her better than her two brothers and ends up so close to him that she wouldn’t trade him for two sisters.
About the Author
Rebecca Anne Grant lives in Alexander County, in North Carolina. She is a writer, poet, illustrator, photographer/(Tiny-Paws-Kennel) owner. She had two poems published in 2004 with “The International Library of Poetry”. “Dad’s Only Boy?” earned her the “Editor’s Choice Award”. “Memories With a Friend, Mom” was published in “THE BEST POEMS AND POETS OF 2004”. Rebecca has earned a diploma with highest honors in “Creative Writing” and is currently working toward another diploma with highest honors in “Writing Stories for Children”. She plans to publish a book of poetry in the very near future and take a course in copywriting. She also plans to pursue a diploma with highest honors in “Art”. If you would like to know more about Rebecca and where to see more of her work, then go to her website at rebecca-anne-grant.tripod.com where you can find all the links to her work. If you would like to send her a comment on what you thought about her book, then go to her website and email her. She will reply to all comments.

Ordering information for this book can be found at http://www.trafford.com/07-3058

A note from MrsT. I have read and enjoyed Rebecca Anne Grants articles and stories and I am excited that she has published her first book. Congrats Rebecca! I hope it is a bestseller!

Essential Reads for Men: 'The Food and Beer Cook Book' by Richard Fox

2008-06-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

With the exception of such staples as curry, steak and ale pie or, god forbid, the doner kebab, beer and fine cuisine have tended to have a difficult relationship. Despite the arrival of microbrews and fruit beers, grain remains very much grape’s poor relation, with few top restaurants boasting of their beer list.
Now, however, grain has found its champion in Maxim ‘Beer Chef’ Richard Fox. The Food and Beer Cook Book is an unashamedly unpretentious collection of recipes and informative titbits designed to convince us that beer deserves a place in every kitchen, above and beyond that of chef’s lubricant.
Fox’s love of beer emerges from the start, guiding us energetically through the various types, matching beers to meals and even giving a quick rundown on beer tasting. Throughout, it’s clear that his recipes are as much about celebrating the beverage in all its forms as they are about the food itself.
As Fox himself says, ‘cooking at home is more about the event…than about fancy food’, and that’s reflected in his choice of dishes. Many are established favourites such as the club sandwich, Welsh rarebit and eggs Benedict, while every recipe uses beer either for flavour or to simplify preparation.
Fox assumes that his reader will have all the culinary aptitude of the stereotypical male, keeping recipes simple to the point of brutality and focusing on ingredients and flavours rather than technique. The club sandwich is made with pigeon and caramelised onions -- ‘top tasting, beer soaking, footie friendly fodder of the highest order’ -- while canapés include mini Yorkshire puddings with venison and raspberry beer sauce, with a side order of idiot-proof instructions.
The Food and Beer Cook Book includes suggestions for both formal and informal occasions, ranging from a romantic dinner à deux to supplies for TV marathons. Ladies horrified by the idea of confronting one of Fox’s creations at their next candlelit rendezvous can take comfort in dishes such as fruit salad with strawberry beer crème fraiche, and inside-out hot dogs with BBQ sauce look likely to keep plainer appetites topped up.
As you’ve probably guessed, this isn’t a book for the aspiring Gordon Ramsay. For those more Can’t Cook, Won’t Cook than Masterchef, however, it may prove just the thing to remove that kitchen phobia. Cheers!
**The Food and Beer Cook Book is published by Sentinel Press**

Young Adult Book Review - Looking for a Good Book - Got One for You!

2008-06-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

Why would I, a writer myself of much more contemporary works invite a young adult to read a book that was written in 1955? Well, the answer to that question is fairly simple, because it is the kind of book that captures that attention and spirit of a young reader and one whose message, through its fast paced and most intriguing storyline will indeed, captivate the imagination. A book whose beginning, middle and end, will be remembered and whose subtle message not forgotten.
What is this most excellent find and great work, that I go out of my busy way and eventful day to recommend to you? Well, the book was also made into a major motion picture and secured an award winning director and some super talented actors; this book of course is none other than:
"The Talented Mr. Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith - first written in 1955, this book copyright 1995 by Vintage Books, division of Random House.
Perhaps you have seen this movie with Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow? If not, that's okay, because the book is even better. You will be riveted to your seat, unable to take a potty break or even able to think about food or sleep once you start this novel. Patricia Highsmith has written well over 40 books and 25 short stories and is one of the greatest novelists and storytellers of our time, and after you read this work, you will certainly understand why. Now then, although I recommend this book to the specific target audience of young adults, I do recommend the movie to all.
"Lance Winslow" - Online [http://www.bloggingcontent.net/]Blog Content Service. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; [http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/]www.WorldThinkTank.net/. [http://www.carwashguys.com/history/founder.html]Lance Winslow's Bio

Our Names Changed the Day You Were Born

2008-06-13T08:58:00.001-07:00

DADDY
My name changed to "Daddy"
When Eli my son,
Arrived on this earth
And I became all 'undone.'
The excitement I experienced
Sent shivers down my spine;
This little boy-person
Who made himself known quite loudly that night.
Eli, Eli my son and my pride;
My joy and delight,
My excitement at daybreak
My peace in the night.
I long to teach you
The things men do
Like hunting and fishing,
To be a man through and through.
Along with all those things
The most important is this
To love the Lord God;
In doing this you won't miss...
The contentment of knowing
Your whole life through
That he'll always be with you
And eternity too!
I want you to pattern
As you see what I do,
As I love your sweet mother,
May you love her too.
For the best thing a man
Can do for his child
Is to love their mother
With abandoned delight.
So to you, my son
May you love life to the max,
And love your Creator
Who gave you life with no lack.
I love you Eli, my son,
Daddy
MOMMA
From the moment you were conceived
I knew in my heart
There would be no other like you
You would be a part...
Of the family we established
When we promised we'd be true
Now it's you and Daddy and Me
And they'll be others with you too!
You are the first of our true love,
We waited with pure glee
For the day you would arrive
To complete our home - you, Daddy and me!
As I lay with you upon my breast,
Hear your strong heart beat,
Feel the softness of your skin and baby smell
Thank you Lord for such a treat!
Mommies have this special place
Where her children always live.
And you, Eli will be my baby
Even when you're twenty-six! :-)
Eli, Eli my sweet boy,
I know that you need both,
Tenderness from my Mommy heart
And wildness from your Daddy's soul.
In the night when we're alone
Our communion is so sweet
You're at my breast so pure and soft
It makes my heart skip a beat.
You are the gift I've longed so for
Expressing itself in you;
The union with the man I love
Life has just become brand new.
I love you Eli!
©creations by peg
Peg Salmon

Harry Potter prequel auctioned to aid charities

2008-06-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

By EMILY RISTOW, Associated Press Writer Tue Jun 10, 6:11 PM ET
LONDON - An 800-word prequel to the Harry Potter series, handwritten by author J.K. Rowling, sold for nearly 25,000 pounds at a charity auction Tuesday.
With the winning bid of $48,858, the absent bidder paid more than $59 a word for Rowling's short story during the event at the flagship of Waterstone's book store chain in London. Proceeds will benefit the writers' association English PEN and a dyslexia charity.
A short mystery story by acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard raised $7,816.
Rowling was able to squeeze her Harry Potter prequel onto both sides of a piece of A5 paper, which is slightly bigger than a postcard.
The prequel to the seven-book series is set three years before Harry is born and features the characters Sirius Black and James Potter, Harry's father. They get into trouble with a policeman before escaping with broomsticks, drumsticks and a little bit of magic.
Rowling made it clear there was no hope for a new Potter novel and finished her card by writing, "From the prequel I am not working on — but that was fun!"
Twelve other authors and illustrators also contributed cards to the auction, including Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing and novelists Nick Hornby and Margaret Atwood.
Copies of all the cards will be on display in Waterstone's stores and online following the auction, and they will be collected into a book available in August.
The final installment of Rowling's seven-book Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," was published last year.
Rowling has said she has no plans to write another novel about the boy wizard, but in December she sold a handwritten, leather-bound book of fairy tales she described as drawing on the series' themes for nearly $4 million at auction. The money went to the Children's Voice, a charity she co-founded in 2005.

Neverwhere - A Modern Classic of Urban Fantasy

2008-06-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

Neverwhere is Neil Gaiman's novel about a bizarre and frightening world existing in an alternative world called London Below. This world is accessed through the London Underground (subway system), and is a kind of parallel universe containing all kinds of strange creatures.
The story begins when Richard Mayhew, a young man with a rather ordinary life, helps a strange young girl named Door who he finds injured on the sidewalk. When he finds out that Door is being hunted by a pair of sinister assassins, he follows her into the underground world of London Below and his life is never the same.
The plot of Neverwhere is quite complex and to summarize it any further probably does not do justice to the book. To appreciate this novel, you have to sit down and read it and allow yourself to be transported to the world Gaiman constructs. This is, of course, true of almost any novel and especially fantasies. It is, however, especially true of Neverwhere, which is strange even for a fantasy novel.
By certain conventional standards, Neverwhere is not a perfect novel. Some of it is, at least on one level, cliched or even silly. For example, the two killers who stalk Door and Richard fall into the all too familiar genre of amusingly articulate psychopaths, seen everywhere from James Bond films to the work of Quentin Tarantino and Elmor Leonard. Yet, they are frightening all the same. One of the characters Richard and Door meet is an angel -literally. Placing an angel, an icon from Christianity (or other monotheistic religions) in the middle of an otherwise very pagan-style book is, to put it mildly, incongruous. Yet the angel is a fascinating character all the same. This is a sample of what I find almost puzzling about Neverwhere -it seems to work far better than it should, based on any description of its elements. Gaiman is not afraid to go overboard, to create unlikely collages of characters and events, and to challenge even the fantasy reader's sense of what is possible.
Perhaps it is because Gaiman's roots are in graphic novels and comics (such as Sandman) -which, incidentally, I am not very familiar with; Neverwhere was my first experience reading him- but Neverwhere is an almost excessively elaborate and bizarre tale. As I began reading it, I at first had some resistance to it, thinking things like, "this is too far-fetched; it doesn't make sense, etc." Yet the book somehow drew me in, just as London Below draws in Richard. By the end, I was sorry to have to leave this world behind. Neverwhere is a book I hope will have at least one sequel.
This is why I have to rank Neverwhere very highly as a fantasy novel. Like Tolkien, who in a very different kind of tale, makes us love and believe in MIddle Earth, Gaiman creates a modern, urban fantasy landscape that we cannot possibly believe in, yet we do all the same. It is as though top notch fantasy writers actually channel (to use an overused new agey expression) alternative realities that readers can intuit are, in some sense, at least as real as the world around us.
Larry Christopher is a writer and researcher on many topics, including cultural issues, the arts and metaphysics. He is also the author of the urban fantasy novel, The Stone of Alexandria. For more on the fascinating world of urban fantasy, visit http://www.urbanfantasy.info

The Last Kid Picked

2008-06-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

The complete title of this little autobiographical gem by David Benjamin is The Life and Times of The Last Kid Picked. From personal experience, I must say, life with my three sons when they were in elementary school would have been much easier if I had read this book first. It certainly shed light on the behavior of boy children. although it is light hearted, the actual details of this young boy's trials and tribulations can make your heart ache. You learn on the opening page that the child's parents are separated, emphasizing the lingering pain of not having his father in his daily life:. "I stood out from the crowd. I was the kid without the father." This thread is pervasive: loneliness and yearning.
The place is Tomah, Michigan where the child attends a Catholic School and suffers the indignity of being the last child picked. His companions, whose names have been changed to protect their identities, are drawn with broad brush strokes which allow their activities to create wonderful images, exaggerated, but wonderful nevertheless.
Their activities focus on baseball and fishing in muddy waters. How they do not contract terrible skin infections and other disease is a mystery which would have been a comfort to me in those days long ago when my three were also fishing in muddy waters.
The fishing expeditions resulted in tadpoles which were duly saved, of course, and turtles, full of menace. All of the preceding escalated into escapades that adults find intolerable but for these boy children, just another thing that happened yesterday because today something else is evolving, equally unpleasant and hazardous.
The table of contents is intriguing, e.g. ...."A Perfect Day....Jesus Christ, KId! Go Outside....By the Shores of Lake Monona.."
But don't be deceived. Underlying the carefree approach is the sad struggle for dignity and self esteem when you are the last kid picked. "..... I befriended Koscal and Fat Vinny because no one else would ever think to volunteer. Koscal and Fat Vinny, in turn, hung out with me...."
It is sad. It is funny. It provides insight into the inscrutable minds of a young boy, seemingly intent on all things germ laden and dangerous. You can only marvel that this child survived to experience a triumph.
It is perceptive and informative for all those whose children are picked first as well as last.
Ruth, a voracious reader, blundered through Cuckoo U. and eventually joined the football team where she played left tackle on defense. No, seriously, take a look at my website [http://americanmadeyes.com]http://americanmadeyes.com/ and promise to look at it carefully and go buy some of the things I've found for you and if you can't do that, at least, love my dog http://americanmadeyes.com/bigdog.html

The Poker Club by Ed Gorman - Book Review

2008-06-06T09:53:00.001-07:00

Many of us have thought about what would happen if a burglar broke in while we were in the house. The Poker Club opens in this way. Aaron Tyler and his three friends are quietly playing poker in the attic when they hear breaking glass.
There has been increasing trouble in the neighbourhood. The boys know it from past experience and rush downstairs to confront the intruder. A ferocious fight ensues that ends in the burglar's bloody death. It's happened before elsewhere and it will surely happen again. You'd call the police, right?
But wait a minute. The burglar is covered with bruises and bumps. He is dead for goodness sake, and the force that consigned him from this world was overwhelming and excessive. Just who would the police start investigating when they turned up in numbers? Four on to one was hardly fair odds, but what is fair about a burglar invading one's home? Has the pendulum swung too far in favour of the transgressor?
Against Aaron's better judgment he lets the others persuade him that the better option would be to dump the body. Big mistake. From there on in their lives spiral downwards, but there is no going back.
Ed Gorman has written a decent thriller here. It is easy to get into and is a real page turner. All the action is sandwiched into a period of not much more than a week. It is easy to imagine it as a Hollywood movie, may be that is where its true roots lie.
I do have one minor gripe. There seemed to be far too many typos and spelling mistakes in the manuscripts. No doubt this is not Mister Gorman's fault, but if I were him I would be having a word with my publisher. It did become irritating and after a while I was looking out for the next one, rather than concentrating on the story.
That apart, I liked it a lot and would read more of Mister Gorman's work. If you like Lee Child's stuff I think you would enjoy this one too. Recommended.
David Carter's new novel "The Fish Catcher" tells the story of a group of children evacuated from London during World War II to escape the blitz bombing. It turns into a murder mystery and has been well reviewed. You can check out the first chapter on David's website at http://www.davidcarter.euThe book is available in hard copy or by instant download, and can be ordered in any bookshop quoting ISBN 978 - 1847539304

A Handful of Sand by Mary Louise McCaffrey - Book Review

2008-06-05T10:17:00.001-07:00

Before I read this book I knew that the Civil War in Mexico had happened but I did not know much about it. "A Handful of Sand" is a beautifully-written historical romance. After reading this book you will walk away with the knowledge of the caste system and oppression in Mexico and have read a really good romance.
The two main characters in the story are Isabella Escalon, the beautiful daughter of Don Pedro Escalon and Miguel Torres, handsome son of a wealthy merchant. The two meet right before Isabella's Quinceanera (her 15th birthday and coming out for Mexico's elite where she becomes eligible for marrying). She invites Miguel to the party but his father convinces him that he will end up with a broken heart because her father will never let her be with a mestizo (part Indian). Civil war breaks out during this time and Miguel and Isabella do not see each other for a long time as they both do their part for Mexico. Miguel is a secret fighter for Juarista's army, the army who fights to free Mexico from the conservative caste system. And Isabella becomes the angel con cintas (angel with ribbons) who helps the Juarista's escape the conservative forces that her father supports.
In time Isabella and Miguel do see each other again and fall in love. They see each other in secret for as long as they can before Mexico City falls to the French invaders and conservatives. During this time they do not know that they each are supporting Juarista's army but the truth comes out about Miguel when he is called North with his troops. With Miguel gone, Isabella tries to live in her father's world but still does what she can for Juarista's men.
The author does an excellent job intertwining the romance with the story about the Civil War. The historical information was excellent and I walked away with a lot of knowledge about the French invasion of Mexico, and the heroic response by the true Mexican people. I would highly recommend "A Handful of Sand" to anyone who enjoys a good romance and historical novels.
iUniverse (2007)ISBN 9780595393480Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (2/08)
http://www.readerviews.com/

Harlequin Romance at Its Best - Considering the Street of Dreams and Love in Your Life

2008-06-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

It is no doubt that Harlequin Romance novels and books have sold more than any other Romance serious. Should you read a Harlequin Romance book? Well, it is up to you, being a guy, my first answer was;
"No Way in Hell, would I ever read a romance novel or chick book!"
And then I lost a bet to a lady friend of mine and she happened to have one in her purse and said;
"You lose; there will be a test tomorrow!"
And so I read the book from cover to cover, a book whose subtitle promises; "Romance, Suspense, and Adventure at its best!" Ha ha ha, I thought, very funny, okay I decided, I'll give it a shot. What book did I read, well, I almost do not want to admit it, but, the book was pretty darn good actually, but don't you dare tell anyone, that I said so, I have a manly image to uphold. The book is:
"Street of Dreams" by Lynn Leslie - 1990.
Wow, this has got to be one of the most powerful and intriguing Harlequin Romance Novels of all time, and Lynn Leslie captures the reader from the first line and takes you on a fast paced story, with suspenseful insight and romance. From cemeteries to downtown and back again, you will not put this book down. After reading this wonderful work, I gave it back to my friend and she asked; "Did you like it?" I lied and said it was okay, not wishing to be thought of as a chick-flick type lover, but the reality was that I really did like it, and it was better than a lot of other books I have read. Buy a Harlequin today.
"Lance Winslow" - Online Blog Content Service. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance Winslow's Bio
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So, You Like Westerns - Here is a Book Review for You

2008-05-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

What was winning the west really like, how have those days gone by shaped our civilization today? You might be quite surprised how although things have changed, such as cars, trucks and planes, the wild west is still in us all and this is one of those books that takes you there and back again full circle until you realize this very fact. To which book do I refer you ask? Well, the book title is appropriate to its message, memory and madness:
"Western Madness" by Harvey T. Boyd - 1994.
The reader will get a history lesson of the old west and the history of Arizona from the ancient Indians to the first newspapers that brought information to settlers. Learn about Bisbee Arizona, in its hay day, learn about outlaws, mining and the reality of "okay coral" and what really happened in the day of Tombstone. Historical fiction at its best, that is the best of the old West; from that areas inception thru the 1940s.
The book takes us through Show Low, Holbrook, Winslow, the Navajo Nation, Hopi Indian Territory, in the 1920s,30s,40s and beyond and how that effects current events in the present period. This book was well researched and quite intriguing. The story is great, but best of all is all the Arizona history you will learn along the way and in the end you will find that the wild-west is still alive and well today.
Few authors are able to tell such a story bathed in history and delivering such a power punch of reality to all we are and all we know. I highly recommend this book, by two, one for a friend.
"Lance Winslow" - Online Blog Content Service. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance Winslow's Bio
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Fiction Books - Fun Filled Stories

2008-05-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

Fiction books showcase unreal characters from the imaginary lands that have magical super power and bedazzle you with their incredible grandeur. The larger than life depiction of marvel, luxury and splendour can be experienced by reading the awesome story books. These books may be inspired by real life but they are result of the imagination and the thought process of the writer.
It is one of the most popular genre of books in which there is a lot of excitement and thrill served through interesting depiction of stories with strange characters and plots. Fiction Books are based on imaginary situations and lives of unreal characters. These books are really invigorating and entertaining. Many writers have written exceptionally wonderful stories that are work of their imagination and creativity.
These books are available for readers from different age groups. Many characters have made special place for themselves in the hearts and memories of the readers. The characters like Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew etc have ruled the hearts of the teenagers and ardent book lovers. These books can be based upon science or suspense.
Apart from suspense and thrill, these books can also be full of tragedy and melodrama. Since the creativity depends solely on the imagination of the writer, one can find a wide variety of emotions and expressions in these books. The readers get to experience the magic of mysterious situations and wonderful transcendence of the characters as the story proceeds. The fictional stories showcase myriad expressions and deep emotions that arise through various situations in life. The suspense thrillers serve great adventure with the spine chilling mysteries. The suspicious characters have different shades and intentions.
There have been few highly exciting science fiction novels that have ruled the charts. The bestselling Fiction Books like Time Machine and Invisible Man. Romantic fiction is also very famous. These books have stories that depict love and compassion. The romantic stories have beautiful moments of great splendour and bliss.
These books are extremely interesting and keep the readers totally engrossed from beginning to the end. The influencing stories leave you awestruck with their intense emotions and dramatic situations. The fiction books are a great time pass and give you awesome entertainment. You can search for the best selling books on the internet and avail them at low prices.
Know more about books price comparison at rupiz compare and get discount shop from online Book Stores on latest Audio Cassettes Books. here.
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The Painter From Shanghai By Jennifer Cody Epstein

2008-05-22T10:31:00.000-07:00

The Painter from Shanghai is a story of fiction based on the life of painter Pan Yuliang.
Xiuqing is an orphan and left in the care of her uncle who has an opium habit. He told Xiuqing that they are going on a boat trip. Xiuqing thinks she is going on this trip to do work as an embroiderer. He sells the young girl to a brothel.
Once at The Hall of Eternal Splendor, Xiuqing goes through training and must change her name. She is now known as Yuliang. Yuliang's contract was then bought by Pan Zanhua, a government politician, who makes her his second wife. They move to a different place where Yuliang is not so well known and Zanhua desires for her to receive an education. Her skills do improve but she has a desire to pursue her interest in art. She starts to receive lessons from Qiuhua who is the artist that has done the covers of some of the political magazines that her husband receives. Yuliang then becomes a student at the Shanghai Art Academy. Her husband tries to support her interests for a time but becomes very unhappy when she shows him a painting she intends to enter in a contest (a nude self-image). The painting did win her a scholarship to Paris.
This is just the beginning of many turbulent things that start to happen to Yuliang. When she returns to China, many people are upset by her paintings because they are so shocking. The people are also concerned with the styles that Yuliang decides to wear.
What happens to Yuliang?
The moment I started reading this book, I became totally engrossed in the story. The author does an excellent job of making the reader feel everything that Yuliang went through during her time at The Hall of Eternal Splendor. The reader will feel the pain and humility that Yuliang had to endure.
The author also does an excellent job of showing that one can do what they want to do even though there are many obstacles in the way.
It is difficult to believe that this is a debut book from Jennifer Cody Epstein. She tells this story in such a way that the reader will think the words have come from a seasoned writer who has been mastering novels for many years.
It is very obvious that the author has done a tremendous amount of research in order to be able to bring this story together. This novel also takes the reader through a historical and turbulent time during the revolutionary period in China. Be sure to add The Painter from Shanghai to your reading list. I highly recommend this novel.
Nancy Eaton - Owner of:http://www.bestsellersworld.comThis site has book reviews, book giveaways and a book discussion forum.
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Maximum Ride: The Final Warning

2008-05-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

Also available as a Hachette AudioBook and eBook
In this breathtaking new story from the astonishing imagination of James Patterson, a girl has to save herself from an army assembled just to capture her–and maybe save the planet while she's at it.

Maximum Ride is a perfectly normal teenager who just happens to be able to fly, the result of an out-of-control government experiment. Max and the other members of the Flock–six kids who share her remarkable ability–have been asked to aid a group of environmental scientists studying the causes of global warming. Their ability to fly could help the scientists conquer this epic problem. The expedition seems like a perfect combination of adventure, activism–and escaping government forces who watch the Flock like a hawk.

But even in Antarctica, trapped in the harshest weather on our planet, Maximum Ride is an irresistible target in constant danger. For whoever controls her powers could also control the world....

Maximum Ride is James Patterson's greatest character, a heroine who manages to be human and fearless at once. THE FINAL WARNING is an unrelenting new adventure from the writer Time magazine has called "The Man Who Can't Miss."

The Body in the Gallery by Katherine Hall Page

2008-05-20T10:53:00.001-07:00

Due to the bad economic conditions, Faith's catering business has taken a downward spiral. Patsy asked Faith to come over for coffee. Could this be the good news Faith has been waiting for? The Avery's were childless and have seen many specialists. Maybe Patsy wanted to tell Faith some good news about a "blessed event".
When Faith arrived at Patsy's house she soon got the news - not one of a blessed event but something Patsy had planned for the next evening. The Avery's had loaned the museum a Bearden collage. Patsy had a very strong suspicion that the collage that is now in the museum is not the original because something was "off" with the signature. Patsy was not at expert in spotting fakes but since she lived with this piece of art, there was a very strong vibe that something was not right. Faith could not understand why Patsy just did not go in and look at the piece of art during the day. After all, Patsy is on the Board of Trustees. Patsy informed Faith that if something is going on with the piece of art the last person she wanted to alert is the director.
It doesn't take Faith very long to realize that the Aleford's Ganley Art Museum is not what it is cracked up to be. Through Patsy's urging, Faith agreed to take over the café at the museum. Strange things begin to happen. Faith finds a female body floating in a tank. Is there a connection between the dead body and the fake art?
Is Faith successful at solving this case?
As always, Katherine Hall Page's Faith Fairchild novels are a joy to read. The quality that makes this book really good is that you will have a difficult time trying to pinpoint who committed the crime. The author does an excellent job of keeping the reader guessing. There is also a subplot in The Body in the Gallery, which involves problems Faith is having with her middle school son who is involved in a cyber bullying incident. It is interesting to see how Faith and her husband deal with this situation. Katherine Page Hall is the only author who has received the Agatha award in three separate categories. The reader will understand why after reading The Body in the Gallery.
Nancy Eaton - Owner of:
http://www.bestsellersworld.comThis site has book reviews, book giveaways and a book discussion forum.
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Destiny of the Sword Book Review

2008-05-15T10:25:00.001-07:00

Destiny of the Sword, by Jeremy Twigg, is a first installment medieval saga with a twist of fantasy. The ageless theme of good versus evil emerges as the story of a war ravaged kingdom turned peaceful realm unfolds. Twigg cleverly reveals enough of the early savage history of the kingdom's early history to tempt the reader to read hungrily to the story's brutal conclusion.
Ayden, a young orphaned hunter, is fetched from his high mountain village with his mentor Gavin by the king's emissaries, The Guardians of Featherbrook City. The Guardians are surprised by the resistance the young man presents to the king's orders. With his mentor's urging, he grudgingly follows the Guardians over the mountain passes back to the city to meet with King Voss. Aeron, Captain of the Guardians and the King's son, becomes Ayden's friend and confidant in the early days of his arrival to the fairy tale castle and city. Ayden's is introduced to the sights, sounds, and people of the now peaceful, prosperous city. He discovers the city's favorite pastime is Starblade, a gladiator type event for highly skilled sword fighters. Ayden vows to take part and soon.
He gets his chance after Aeron witnesses a practice sparring match between Gavin and Ayden. Ayden enters the Starblade event expecting to fight a no-name opponent. To his surprise he meets his nemesis Devin, a rather egotistical and narcissistic man. Upon winning his match, Ayden is an overnight hero in the City of Featherbrook. He is given a position with the Guardians at about the same time the city is preparing for attack from an unseen enemy digging in on the outskirts of the kingdom. The Milaks led by their evil queen in conjunction with the former King Silas of Featherbrook City have amassed a formidable army and are preparing to overrun the kingdom and depose the present king. Locked in battle, the city's army is brutally outnumbered and is forced to retreat within the city's gated walls.
Will the Guardian's be able to hold the gate? What is the destiny of the young warrior Ayden? The author leaves the reader hanging, waiting for the sequel to this entertaining epic. The story while engaging leaves the reader wanting to know more about all the characters. The love scenes are short but sweet, and the battle scenes are clearly and graphically detailed. Where the author leaves the readers hanging in the end is similar to the feeling of reeling in a big fish and right when you know you will be able to scoop it in the net, the darn thing drops off your line. Deflated over the disappointment, you cast again looking for more. Twigg's ending to Destiny of the Sword is much the same, teasing, tantalizing, and leaving the reader wanting more in the next installment of this saga.
Shannon Evans, senior editor and owner of http://www.mywritingmentor.com lives with her best friend Rick on Bainbridge Island in the Puget Sound just a ferry ride from Seattle. She maintains two blogs: http://www.authormarketingtools.wordpress.com and http://www.mywritingmentor.wordpress.com
She works with her two Labrador assistant editors, Mocha and Luke, and her feline copy edit assistants, Caesar and Yoda. Shannon is widely recognized as one of the top writing coaches for non-fiction authors. With over 17 years editing for native and non-native English speaking authors she knows how to help writers make every word count.
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The Final Problem ? A Review

2008-05-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

The Final Problem saw Holmes pitted face to face with the leader of an organized gang, Professor Moriraty ? an antagonist equal in strength to him, and getting killed in a duel in Switzerland. Moriarty runs a crime syndicate using agents, himself doing nothing. Holmes ? the foremost upholder of law tries in vain to get to him. But all his powers of deduction prove futile to come up with evidence that could book the criminal. Yet, he wants to remove this ultimate source of crime out of the world, even if that means getting killed him self.
The story is told through Watson, who is actually trying to save Holmes posthumously from baseless charges leveled by the brother of the professor.
The story is unique in giving a very human touch to Holmes ? showing him in fear, danger, reacting as a human when faced with a man as intelligent as himself. He knows the danger he is in. And he wants this to be the summation of all his life?s work of fighting against criminals.
The narrative is very serious in style, and shows Holmes taking the case as a personal initiative, unlike normal cases that come to him.
The story proceeds with a meeting of Holmes and Watson, where Holmes describes the final antagonist and his resolve to weed him out at any cost to himself. He describes the danger he is in, being attacked twice, and his building catching fire. This is followed up by a meeting with Moriarty when he picks up his revolver for a potential duel.
The story proceeds with the whole gang being caught except the professor with the help of evidence gathered by Holmes. He now expects the professor to take revenge from him. The two friends proceed to Switzerland where they are followed by the professor. The expected duel takes place on a cliff, where both fall down to their death.
Some memorable excerpts from the story:
HOLMES FACES DANGER
"At the same time, it is stupidity rather than courage to refuse to recognize danger when it is close upon you."
It was not Holmes's nature to take an aimless holiday and something about his pale, worn face told me that his nerves were at their highest tension.
HOLMES TAKES UP A PERSONAL MISSION
"I tell you Watson, in all seriousness, that if I could beat that man, if I could free society of him, I should feel that my own career had reached its summit."
But I could not rest. Watson, I could not sit quiet in my chair, if I thought that such a man as Professor Moriarty were walking the street
s of London unchallenged."
HOLMES DESCRIBES MORIARTY
"He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson. He is the organizer of half that is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city. He is a genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker. He has a brain of the first order. He sits motionless, like a spider in the centre of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them. He does little himself. He only plans. But his agents are numerous and splendidly organized.
THE EQUAL ANTAGONIST
You know my powers, my dear Watson, and yet at the end of three months I was forced to confess that I had at last met an antagonist who was my intellectual equal. My horror at his crimes was lost in my admiration at his skill. But at last he made a trip -- only a little, little trip but it was more than he could afford, when I was so close upon him."
HOLMES VOWS TO CAPTURE HIM
"In over a thousand cases I am not aware that I have ever used my powers upon the wrong side. ?Your memoirs will draw to an end, Watson, upon the day that I crown my career by the capture or extinction of the most dangerous and capable criminal in Europe."
HOLMES EXPECTS REVENGE
"This man's occupation is gone. He is lost if he returns to London. If I read his character right he will devote his whole energies to revenging himself upon me."
THE LAST OF HOLMES
As I turned away I saw Holmes, with his back against a rock and his arms folded, gazing down at the rush of the waters. It was the last that I was ever destined to see of him in this world.
Two lines of footmarks were clearly marked along the farther end of the path, both leading away from me. There were none returning.
Any attempt at recovering the bodies was absolutely hopeless, and there, deep down in that dreadful cauldron of swirling water and seething foam, will lie for all time the most dangerous criminal and the foremost champion of the law of their generation.
WATSON?S LAST THOUGHTS ON HOLMES
(Him) whom I shall ever regard as the best and the wisest man whom I have ever known.
The author is a freelance writer and the content developer of: http://www.alfred-hitchcock-movies.com http://www.mystery-books.info

The Friday Night Knitting Club By Kate Jacobs

2008-05-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

This is a "chick" book and I loved it. If you're twenty-two or seventy-two, you will find yourself reflected back in the characters of this book. Each character has there own separate voice that sometimes, as in life, strays from the ideal we each set in our minds...
Actually this is my favorite part of the book...viewing the prism each character interprets their experience and how this certain prism impacts the "truth." We see the surface of behaviors and then pull back the curtain to discover "the hurts" driving each character.
While I read, I was reminded that each of us can only view the other in part, much is hidden. It is the hidden parts that must be revealed and brought out into the light for peace to be found...As in the main character Georgia's stubborn, proud attitudes that kept her from opening letters her lover's, James, sent years before. How often to do each of us create upsetting events, even words in our minds that never come to pass?
These characters are sometimes frustrating in their self-sabotage, but isn't that the truth of it? Isn't each of us truly our own worst critic? Judge and jury? Making assumptions based on our own fears and hurts instead of stepping back and viewing the full picture.
What helps to soften the self-sabotage is humor. The book is funny and insightful. The characters often poke fun at their own faults and of each other too. It feels very natural and human.
Best of all, this book of complicated emotions and behaviors doesn't end with your traditional happy ending. Like life, it's good and bad...and even sometimes, seemingly unfair. Happy reading!
Kelly Ballard is a workshop leader, Intuitive Guide and Healer. Through workshops, private sessions and guided meditations Kelly specializes in helping others discover positive solutions for immediate change/growth in their lives thus drawing their most abundant life into reality. Find out more information about her services and meditation CDs at http://www.kellyballard.com/ Contact her directly at 720-984-4232 or email [mailto:kelly@kellyballard.com]kelly@kellyballard.com She lives in Boulder, CO.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_Ballard http://EzineArticles.com/?Review---The-Friday-Night-Knitting-Club-By-Kate-Jacobs&id=1112268

Dante's Divine Comedy - Ten Reasons To Read It Today

2008-05-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

Dante's Divine comedy is a journey through the afterlife, written by one of the greatest classical poets in history. Here are ten reasons why this great work of literature can still be enjoyed today.
1. The Divine Comedy is a gripping and fascinating journey through the afterlife unequalled in literature.
Many scholars believe that the Divine Comedy is the greatest single work of poetry ever written. In the words of T.S Elliot: "Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them - there is no third."
2. The story is as exciting and fresh today as it was in the 14th century.
Monsters, adventure, politics, sex, love, relationships, good and evil, this story has it all.
3. It can be enjoyed and appreciated on many levels.
Besides being the ultimate adventure, The Divine Comedy is loaded with history, intrigue, allegory, religion, and yes even comedy.
4. This is a work that can't be read just once.
Like all great literature, this work demands multiple readings. It speaks to us wherever we are in life's journey, and grows as we grow.
5. It covers the whole range of emotions.
Frustration, confusion, terror, rage, compassion, and love. And that's just in the first book.
6. It's an education in theology, philosophy, and history.
Learn about Aquinas, the classical philosophers, artists, and poets as well as the political, and religious leaders of Dante's lifetime.
7. The inhabitants of Hell remind us some people we know.
Let's face it, maybe somebody in the office?
8. Souls don't always end up where you think.
Popes in Hell, killers in Heaven, it's all about redemption and mercy.
9. Everyone loves a story about a journey.
Earth, Hell, Purgatory, Heaven. The greatest journey.
10. It has a happy ending.
After a rough start, Dante ends up in Heaven. This is ultimately a story of hope.
Dave Lafferty is the creator of the website http://www.davelafferty.com This site follows Dante in his journey in the afterlife, and is written for the average person without a background in classical literature.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Lafferty http://EzineArticles.com/?Dantes-Divine-Comedy---Ten-Reasons-To-Read-It-Today&id=1133474

Rooke's Island - The Prophecy of the Staring Eyes by SK Whalen - Book Review

2008-05-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

iUniverse (2007)
ISBN 9780595445455
"Rooke's Island," by S. K. Whalen, is well suited for younger readers because the only enemy the main character, Margery Mutters, has to face is a crazy old owl by the name of Cockeye. Although Margery faces some challenges, they are scarce, and she recovers from them in a matter of minutes.
Margery Mutters (well, her given name is Adelaine Margery Josephine Hilda-Ann Mutters, but she prefers just Margery) finds a rather unusual envelope in the mail. It has two black eyes on it that seem to watch Margery. The letter bids Margery come to Rooke's Island, so she does. Once she arrives on the mainland, she spends the night in the hideous Purple Inn. The next day, on her way to Rooke's Island, she meets Mike, a boy whose face and hair resemble hers almost exactly. These mysterious similarities will be explained during the course of the novel.
When Margery arrives on Rooke's Island, she finds Mike waiting for her. Together, they discover that Rook's Island is a haven for owls. To discover this fact, they first have to make the journey to Inner Earth, the place where most of the owls live. On the way, Cockeye, the crazy old owl, tries to stop them from arriving. He is easily dissuaded, however. In fact, there are few real challenges for Margery or Mike to face during the course of the story. Even when a challenge appears, they are able to overcome it with little to no difficulty.
The plot moves quickly, perhaps even too quickly. For instance, one minute Margery is gardening at her home, the next minute she has arrived at Alwyn's Village. When Margery first gets to Alwyn's Village, which is the mainland near Rooke's Island, she is greeted by Gabriella (Gabbi) Mooleys. Gabbi, the chatty owner of the Purple Inn where Margery spends the night, talks mostly about things that are completely irrelevant to what Margery was discussing.
During the course of the story, Margery changed in several significant ways. Her new friendship with Mike helps her smile at what previously would have driven her crazy, such as her encounter with Gabbi. Even more important, however, is the gift Margery received when she first arrived on the island: the gift of being able to speak to owls. Margery did not face dangerous challenges, and the smaller ones that she did encounter were conquered swiftly. "Rooke's Island" would be a good choice for a read-aloud or for young, easily-frightened children.
Reviewed by Anneliese Buenker (age 9) for Reader Views (11/07)
"Rooke's Island: The Prophesy of the Staring Eyes" is a book about a lady named Adelaine Margery Josephine Ida Hilda-Ann Mutters. She has just gotten a letter and the letter says that her uncle just died and left everything he owned to her. The letter says that she should go to Alwyns Village. There she meets the owner of the local inn, named Gabriella Mooleys. In Alwyns Village Margery meets her uncle's lawyer Sidney Snog and goes with her cousin Mike to Rooke's Island. Once they get there, they find out about lower Earth, a series of tunnels beneath the ground and inner Earth, the center of the world. They find themselves in the middle of a prophesy.
Full of suspense. A mystery. . .
I enjoyed "Rooke's Island: The Prophesy of the Staring Eyes" very much and think it is appropriate for ages 8 and up.
Reviewed by Maya Landers (age 10) for Reader Views (3/08)
http://www.readerviews.com/

Don't Forget Mother's Day May 11th!

2008-05-06T11:33:00.000-07:00

Today's The Day! The Hollow is on sale!

2008-05-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting for this since reading Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts! The second in the Sign Of Seven Trilogy , The Hollow is out! Read more about it here!

For Fox, Caleb, Gage and the other residents of Hawkins Hollow, the number seven portends doom—ever since, as boys, they freed a demon trapped for centuries when their blood spilled upon The Pagan Stone…Their innocent bonding ritual led to seven days of madness, every seven years. And now, as the dreaded seventh month looms before them, the men can feel the storm brewing. Already they are plagued by visions of death and destruction. But this year, they are better prepared, joined in their battle by three women who have come to The Hollow. Layla, Quinn, and Cybil are somehow connected to the demon, just as the men are connected to the force that trapped it. Since that day at The Pagan Stone, town lawyer Fox has been able to see into others’ minds, a talent he shares with Layla. He must earn her trust, because their link will help fight the darkness that threatens to engulf the town. But Layla is having trouble coming to terms with her newfound ability—and this intimate connection to Fox. She knows that once she opens her mind, she’ll have no defenses against the desire that threatens to consume them both…

The Alibi Man by Tami Hoag

2008-05-04T08:26:00.001-07:00

She was a vision. She was a siren. She was a nightmare. She was dead. Now he needed her to disappear. And he knew just how to make it happen. The Palm Beach elite go to great lengths to protect their own—and their own no longer includes Elena Estes. Once upon a time a child of wealth and privilege, Elena turned her back on that life. Betrayed and disillusioned by those closest to her, she chose the life of an undercover cop, the hunt for justice her own personal passion. Then a tragic, haunting mistake ended her career. Now Elena exists on the fringes of her old life, training horses for a living. But a shocking event is about to draw her back into the painful vortex she's fought so hard to leave behind.
First she finds the body—a young woman used, murdered, and dumped in a canal. Not just a victim, but a friend. As Elena delves into her dead friend's secret life, she discovers ties not only to the Russian mob but also to a group of powerful and wealthy Palm Beach bad boys known for giving each other alibis to cover a multitude of sins. A group that includes a man Elena once knew very well—her former fiance, Bennett Walker, a man she knows has already escaped justice at least once in his life.
Finding her friend's killer will put Elena at odds with her old life, with her new lover, and with herself. But she is determined to reveal the truth—a truth that will shock Palm Beach society to its core, and could very well get her killed.
"Captivating thriller...[Elena] is a heroine readers will want to see more of." —Publishers Weekly
"Hard to put down." —The Washington Post
"A superbly taut thriller.... Hoag conducts a whirlwind tour of the high-flying world of the superrich and its tawdry underbelly that will leave readers breathless and satisfied." —Booklist

James Patterson

2008-05-03T09:10:00.002-07:00

James Patterson, the subject of a recent Time magazine feature called, "The Man Who Can't Miss," is
The bestselling author of the past year, bar none, with more than 12 million books sold in North America alone. In total, James's books have sold an estimated 130 million copies worldwide. A champion of reading and the founder of the $500,000 PageTurner awards that seek to spread the excitement and joy of books and reading in the United States. (Visit www.pattersonpageturner.org for more details.) -->
The creator of the #1 new detective series of the past dozen years, featuring Alex Cross and including the Hollywood-adapted Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls, starring Morgan Freeman.
The creator of the #1 new detective series of the past 5 years, featuring Lindsay Boxer and the other members of the Women's Murder Club. The most recent bestseller in that series is the record-breaking The 5th Horseman.
The first author to have #1 new titles simultaneously on New York Times adult and children's lists. James's first foray into kid-accessible fiction, the critically acclaimed Maximum Ride series, debuted on the list at #1 and remained there for 12 straight weeks. The series has so far been on the New York Times bestsellers lists for more than 54 weeks, proving that kids love pageturners, too!
One of a handful of authors whose sales have been growing over the past two years, even as bestselling fiction sales have been sluggish.
The author of novels--from The Thomas Berryman Number (1976) to Honeymoon (2005)--that have won awards including the Edgar, the BCA Mystery Guild's Thriller of the Year, and the International Thriller of the Year award.
One of Forbes magazine's top 100 celebrities.
The creator of the books behind six movies on the Hollywood fast-track, including the young adult series Maximum Ride, an adaptation of the celebrated illustrated children's book, santaKid, the thrillers Honeymoon and Lifeguard, the Alex Cross series, and a stunning horror novel to be published later on in '07, You've Been Warned. His Women's Murder Club series has also been green-lighted as a pilot for ABC television, and could be on the air as soon as fall, 2007.

Mary, Mary

2008-05-03T09:10:00.001-07:00

Another incredible book by world renowned author, James Patterson.
Mary, Mary is yet another book in the series about Dr. Alex Cross. Others include the movie Along Came a Spider in which Morgan Freeman plays Dr. Cross, a forensic profiler.
James Patterson is in my opinion the best writer of all time. He knows how to really grab the attention of his audience and his cross-referencing to Dr. Cross' experiences in other books makes one feel part of the story. You didn't need to read the whole series to make sense of each book individually, however.
He doesn't beat about the bush with senseless, long-winded descriptions and setting the mood - instead he sticks to the story at hand with just enough detail to make the story realistic.
Mary, Mary is the story of the killings of famous Hollywood celebrities. After each brutal murder, a well-known newspaper editor receives an email describing in much detail how the murder took place and the emotions the writer felt at the time. It is signed off by 'Mary Smith'.
Also present throughout the book is 'The Storyteller' who first killed someone right in the beginning of the book.
Each plot is carefully worked out, yet so realistic that it seems to just fall in place. The suspense is incredible and the end totally unanticipated, like with all Patterson's books.
Each of the 103 chapters are short enough to be read in quick 5 minute intervals during a busy day, yet long enough to be powerful and relay an event on it's own.
Mary, Mary certainly tops the top 3 books I've read.
By LizetteBalsdon - http://www.lizetteknowsbest.co.za

Linda Howard

2008-05-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

Linda Howard is the award-winning author of many New York Times bestsellers, including Drop Dead Gorgeous, Cover of Night, Killing Time, To Die For, Kiss Me While I Sleep, Cry No More, Dying to Please, Open Season, Mr. Perfect, All the Queen’s Men, Now You See Her, Kill and Tell, and Son of the Morning. She lives in Alabama with her husband and two golden retrievers.

Kiss Me While I Sleep

2008-05-02T09:57:00.001-07:00

Kiss Me While I Sleep, an incredibly original novel penned by International Bestselling Author Linda Howard. This book lacks all the predictability of many love-stories and adventure novels, but it's incredibly refreshing to read a book without knowing how it's going to end, since so many books follow the same old pattern.
Linda's work is well-written and captivating and I'll definitely be looking for more of her books.
Kiss Me While I Sleep tells the story of Liliane Mansfield, a hired assassin who works as a contract agent for the CIA.
After many years of service, Lily is drawn into a dangerous game - seeking revenge for the deaths of her friends and their adopted daughter, whom Lily found abandoned at the age of 3 weeks and rescued from a certain death.
In the process Lily takes incredible risks with her own life in circles where very dangerous people move.
Another CIA agent, Lucas Swain is brought in to either "bring her in or take her down". Lucas is drawn into the game with Lily when she puts her trust in him. Can she trust him? Is the nagging feeling that he is CIA the correct one?
A story of incredible love, understanding and connection unfolds as Lucas puts his career and life in the balance in the process of bringing Lily in or taking her down. It's hard to think about business when you understand a 'criminal's' motivations.
An incredible book which grabbed from the first page right to the last.
By LizetteBalsdon - http://www.lizetteknowsbest.co.za

J.D. Robb

2008-05-01T15:59:00.001-07:00

About J. D. Robb
Creation in Death, published by GP Putnam in November 2007, is the 25th book in the futuristic police procedural series about a Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the New York Police and Security Department. What started in 1995 as a three-book experiment by a then unknown author named J.D. Robb is now a series that keeps readers waiting with bated breath for each installment.
More than a decade ago it wasn’t public knowledge that the genius behind J.D. Robb was best-selling author Nora Roberts, but readers were immediately taken with Eve Dallas’ integrity, strength and heart and her burgeoning relationship with the mysterious Roarke.
The Gothic Journal hailed Robb’s work as “a unique blend of hard-core police drama, science fiction and passionate romance” while The Paperback Forum called it “a fantastic new detective series.”
Since then, 18 of the 25 J.D. Robb titles have landed on the New York Times Bestseller List. And Innocent in Death, the February 2007 release, hit the bestseller list in the number 1 spot.
J.D. Robb was a product of numbers: by 1995, there was a surplus of Nora Roberts’ titles to be released by her publishers and she continued to create more. Reluctant to publish romantic suspense books similar to what she was already writing under a pseudonym, Nora had been playing with the idea of a strong, idealistic woman on the NY police force in the future. J.D. Robb was born. The initials were taken from Ms. Roberts’ sons, Jason and Dan, while Robb was a shortened form of Roberts.
She wrote a three-book arc that had Eve Dallas solving three different murders, but winding its way through all three was the continuing thread of her relationship with the mysterious billionaire Roarke that started in the first book when he was a suspect in a high-profile case.
Looking back from the vantage point of the release of the 25th book in the series, Nora commented, “I think we saw solid potential with the release of the first book. Enough, at least, for everyone to say: Okay, let's do three more.”
She continued, “For me, the emotional investment clicked during the first draft of the first book. I really fell for the characters, and hoped the readers would respond to them so I could keep writing the series.”
A series with a continuing, and growing, cast of characters gave Nora the chance to explore the people she created and peel the layers off book by book. Eve and Roarke were about to get married at the end of that initial three-book arc and are on their honeymoon as the fourth book opens. This afforded Roberts the chance to explore a marriage through the subsequent 19 books to the delight – and despair of some readers.
Those readers have been vocal about their desire to see the couple have a baby or for Eve to become a captain in the department. A baby, explains Nora Roberts would change the way Eve does her job – which is physical and emotional to the point of exhaustion. The answer to that frequently asked question is that a baby would mean the end of the series. As for a captaincy, it’s always possible.
Besides the exploration of the marital state, the cast of characters has grown as Eve, very much a loner in Naked in Death, has opened up her circle to include a partner, her fellow officers and a domineering butler who came along with Roarke. Again, readers have become addicted to seeing what’s going on in the secondary characters’ lives and when there isn’t enough of a particular favorite, they love to ask “Why not?”
“It's the story – it’s always about the story,” explained Nora. “It's gratifying when readers fall for secondary characters and want more. Sometimes there is more--and sometimes there just isn't. If a character has a recurring role, then he or she will pop up--as a cameo or in a more active role--when the story calls for it.”
It wasn’t until the 12th book in the series, Betrayal in Death, that the publisher fully acknowledged that J.D. Robb is indeed Nora Roberts. In the fall of 2003, the two parts of the Nora Roberts whole joined together to write Remember When. The first half was a Roberts’ romantic suspense set in the present, the second half was a Robb In Death that saw Eve picking up a thread that relates to the first part of the book.Each In Death book now carries the banner: Nora Roberts writing as JD Robb. What started as an experiment is now firmly a part of the Nora Roberts phenomenon.

Strangers In Death, By Nora Roberts, Writing As J.D. Robb

2008-05-01T15:57:00.000-07:00

The setting is 2060, New York. Lieutenant Eve Dallas is called to a murder scene involving wealthy businessman Thomas Anders. Apparently, Anders was into kinky sex and liked to be tied up. Well, whoever he was with last, tied him up so tight, that they strangled him too! Looking around the crime scene, Eve notices all of the little things that add up to the fact that Thomas Anders knew his murderer.
The first logical suspect is always the spouse. But Ava Anders has an air tight alibi. She was off on a mini retreat with her girlfriends on a tropical island. So how could she possibly be involved? But certain actions by Ava are suspicious. For instance...when she was informed of the news about her husband's death, she ordered breakfast to her room and she also did not wake her girlfriends with her horrible news. She only left them a note when she left to go back home. But these actions don't necessarily mean that she is guilty. No one can judge exactly how a person will react to horrible news.
As with Roberts style, she gives a fair amount of coverage to Peabody, her assistant. Peabody is married to Mc Nab and they are always doing something zany to keep their marriage filled with spark. Roberts also introduces a few new detectives who you can expect to read more of in her future novels.
What can you say about the chemistry between Dallas and her husband Rourke? HOT HOT HOT !!! Roberts leaves no stone unturned to the readers imagination.The steamy sex scenes between Eve and Rourke are explicit and makes you wonder what type of book you are really reading!
This is a must read book! Roberts delves into the world of kinky sex and pulls no punches in including sex toys in the story. A different spin to the Eve Dallas novels and exciting to read!
Susan Kushner loves to read. She is the editor of http://www.heartandfitness.com, a website devoted to providing weight loss information and the steps to a healthy heart. It also provides you with valuable discounts on fitness gear and apparel along with weekly heart healthy recipes.

Andrew Gross in place of a bio.

2008-04-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

OKAY, SO I WASN'T ALWAYS A THRILLER WRITER

Who was? I actually did major in English at Middlebury, but after an MBA from Columbia, and a stint at the Leslie Fay Companies, a women's clothing firm started by my grandfather, I went into the sports apparel field. I ended up president of HEAD Ski and Tennis (to brag: we grew to #1 in America in both businesses while I was there) and later, le coq sportif, a French sports fashion line. It was one-too-many turnaround situations or more precisely--one that didn't turn around, that hastened my writing career.

SO HOW'D YOU MEET JAMES PATTERSON?

Truth is, he called. Out of nowhere. An editor had given him the manuscript of a novel I was hoping to publish, HYDRA. At that point, I would have been elated if my gate guard (we live in a gated community) dialed in with a little praise. Jim said he had read the book and asked if we could meet for breakfast. He said he had several projects he wanted to write and not enough time to do them. I had the incredible foresight to say yes.

SO WHAT'S IT LIKE TO WORK WITH PATTERSON?

It was like a combination MFA and MBA rolled into one. He knows what kind of stories he wants to tell, has a keen sense of what will appeal to his readers, especially women, what's vital in a scene for it to succeed, knows exactly when the scene needs more--or generally, less! And he's an even better editor than he is a writer. Hopefully, I've learned a few things from him along the way.

SO WHAT HAPPENED?

I figured we'd do one book. It led to six in seven years. The Women's Murder Club Series became one of the leading crime series of all time! My personal favorite was The Jester set in the thirteenth century in France. If you missed it, I really recommend you go back and take a read. Lifeguard had a great, likeable hero with the odds all stacked against him. Judge & Jury, our last together, is coming out July 31, 2006.

HOW DOES A WRITING PARTNERSHIP LIKE THAT WORK?

We alternate every word.

(Jim's line, actually.) To be honest, we always began with a concept and an outline that came from him, which we fleshed out into a detailed chapter- by-chapter outline. (Some chapters longer than in the actual book!) No writer's block here, the roadmap was always there. Every day, I knew exactly where I was going. That call from Jim changed my writing life!

SO WHAT'S NEXT?

In 2005, I signed a three book deal with William Morrow. The Blue Zone was published in Spring 2007, The Dark Tide will be on sale in March 2008, and stay tuned for number 3!

WHAT'S THE SINGLE, MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN A CAREER CHANGE LIKE THIS?

A supportive wife!

And I have one, in Lynn. Never once did she tell me I was out of my mind. (At least, not to my face!)

We live in Westchester County, New York. We have three terrific kids. Kristen's out of college, in the apparel biz, a natural. Matt's in college in D.C. And Nick, a squash player, goes to school in Connecticut. We share our house with a couple of Westies too.

By the way, having a Mom who believes in you all the way is good too!

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS?

If I had to start with a couple of writerly things... Dog Soldiers, by Robert Stone, All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren, (Read it as a search for one's father, not as politics.) Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy & Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates.

WHAT ABOUT IN YOUR OWN GENRE?

Sorry, Jim anything by Alan Furst or Robert Wilson. They both deserve much wider acclaim. When it comes to classic thrillers, The Wind-Chill Factor by Thomas Gifford and Tears of Autumn by Charles McCarry are my favorites.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE QUOTE?

"Some people think they can and some think they can't and they're probably both right!" Henry Ford

"You can do anything you want in life, anything, if you want to badly enough."
Fred P. Pomerantz. My grandfather.

WHAT IS THE BEST SIDE BENEFIT FROM SEEING YOUR NAME AT THE TOP OF THE BESTSELLER LIST?

A hell of a lot easier commute.

Find me on MySpace at: www.myspace.com/andrewgrossbooks

The Dark Tide Written by Andrew Gross

2008-04-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

I have now read both of Andrew Gross's books, The Blue Zone and The Dark Tide. I am convinced he is here to stay among today's top authors of suspense fiction that has just enough facts to keep your brain thinking and wanting more. His characters and locations are very well described and the stories well scripted.

Karen Friedman has a happy family consisting of her loving (or so she thought), husband, two children, Samantha and Alex, and family pet dog Tobey. Husband Charles is a highly successful investment banker who was thought of also being so by his associates in his business, and in giving his family a very nice life. The kids were into sports and Karen was always there with her support and Charles when he could make it. The neighbors of their upscale neighborhood thought very highly of the entire family

All of the above was true for many years of their marriage until Charles was in a commuter train bombing in Grand Central Station. This threw the family, the company Charles worked for, and their friends into deep sorrow. That is except for the ones involved in the money laundering schemes that Charles had been performing for many years, all of which his family knew nothing about. Many felt they had been swindled through Charles' actions and they wanted their securities and money back!

Lieutenant Ty Hauck of the Greenwich Police Department was a local hero from high school and college and had worked his way up in the department. He was highly thought of and worked on some tough cases. Ty became involved in the death of Charles Friedman when it became apparent that the hit and run of a young man was somehow tied into Charles disappearance. At first Karen's worry was that Charles was buried in the rubble of one of the still burning train cars. Her mind wondered all over the place until some identification was found that led the authorities to believe that Charles had been in the destruction and was dead.

Time went on without any sign of Charles body and no word from him to anyone. Karen and the remaining family went through hard times trying to invent a new life. Eventually a detective came to the Friedman's house to ask Karen some questions unrelated to the bombing. The detective happened to be Ty Hauck and the purpose of his visit was to see if the family knew the man that had been killed in the hit and run that had taken place at about the same time and near where the bombing occurred. The family did not know of the man but Karen and Hauck seemed to hit it off personally noticing each other from the beginning. The killings increased, some seemingly related and some not, so more authorities became involved.

One part of the investigation led to another until Hauck was delving too deep for some apparently involved in the deep-rooted problems Charles had created. Hauck was led to other parts of the world and back again as he continued to find clues to the work and people that Charles had worked for and against. One of the men Charles had worked with and had been a good friend of Karen's, Saul Lennick, was in contact with Karen telling her that he would do all he could to assist her and also he pumped information out of Karen regarding all the things she has researched.

Going any farther would give too much of the authors many great plots and storylines away. The Dark Tide was extremely hard to put down. You must read this book. Take my word that it is a non-stop action filled story with lots of adventure, shrewd dealings, love and sex, trips to tropical islands, and much more. As I said at the beginning of this review, I truly hope Andrew Gross continues for many years to give us great stories such as his first two have been.

Reader review by Cy Hilterman for http://www.bestsellersworld.com

The Narrows by Michael Connelly

2008-04-28T11:29:00.000-07:00

FBI agent Rachel Walling finally gets the call she's dreaded for years: the one that tells her the Poet has returned. Years earlier she worked on the famous case tracking down the serial killer who wove lines of poetry into his hideous crimes. Rachel has never forgotten the killer who called himself the Poet—and apparently he has not forgotten her. Harry Bosch gets a call, too. The former LAPD detective hears from an old friend whose husband recently died. The death appeared natural, but this man's ties to the hunt for the Poet make Harry dig deep—and lead him into a terrifying and unknown world. So begins the most deeply compelling, frightening, and masterful novel Michael Connelly has ever written. The Narrows places Harry Bosch in league with Rachel Walling, at odds with the FBI, and squarely in the path of the most ruthless and ingenious murderer in Los Angeles's history. What follows is a taut and tantalizing mystery that has Harry Bosch racing from the hostile vistas of the Nevada desert to the glittering Las Vegas Strip to the dark corners of Los Angeles. Through it all, Bosch works at his newfound life as father to a young daughter, balancing the deepest love he has ever felt with his own sense of mission and his deep awareness of evil. Publishers Weekly has given The Narrows a starred boxed review and said "Connelly is a master and this novel is yet another of his masterpieces." Here is what Michael Connelly said about The Narrows: "The next Harry Bosch novel is the sequel to The Poet — something for years I said I wasn't interested in doing but could not avoid once the idea came to me. Harry investigates the death of a cop he once worked with and that leads him into the path of the Poet. Terry McCaleb and Rachel Walling make appearances in this book, and if you look hard enough you'll even catch a glimpse of what Cassie Black is up to." — Michael Connelly

Crime/Detective Novel Week!

2008-04-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

This week we will be looking at the beloved crime novels! How many of you have read a really good crime or detective novel and just been hooked on them from then on? I know my husband was never really into reading until he picked up a James Patterson novel, and since then he reads quite frequently. I am starting this week with Michael Connelly. Please, I invite you to share your opinions of the authors and books I post about on this blog. If you haven't read one of the novels, I sincerely hope you will find the time to pick it up and read it! Happy reading!

Michael Connelly

2008-04-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one of his teachers was novelist Harry Crews. After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat. In Fort Lauderdale he wrote about police and crime during the height of the murder and violence wave that rolled over South Florida during the so-called cocaine wars. In 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. They wrote a magazine story on the crash and the survivors which was later short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The magazine story also moved Connelly into the upper levels of journalism, landing him a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written. After three years on the crime beat in L.A., Connelly began writing his first novel to feature LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch. The novel, The Black Echo, based in part on a true crime that had occurred in Los Angeles, was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by the Mystery Writers of America. Connelly followed up with three more Bosch books, The Black Ice, The Concrete Blonde, and The Last Coyote, before publishing The Poet in 1996—a thriller with a newspaper reporter as a protagonist. In 1997, he went back to Bosch with Trunk Music, and in 1998 another non-series thriller, Blood Work, was published. It was inspired in part by a friend's receiving a heart transplant and the attendant "survivor's guilt" the friend experienced, knowing that someone died in order that he have the chance to live. Connelly had been interested and fascinated by those same feelings as expressed by the survivors of the plane crash he wrote about years before. The movie adaptation of Blood Work was released in 2002, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. Connelly's next book, Angels Flight, was released in 1999 and was another entry in the Harry Bosch series. The non-series novel Void Moon was released in 2000 and introduced a new character, Cassie Black, a high-stakes Las Vegas thief. His 2001 release, A Darkness More Than Night, united Harry Bosch with Terry McCaleb from Blood Work, and was named one of the Best Books Of The Year by the Los Angeles Times. In 2002, Connelly released two novels. The first, the Harry Bosch book City Of Bones, was named a Notable Book Of The Year by the New York Times. The second release was a stand-alone thriller, Chasing The Dime, which was named one of the Best Books Of The Year by the Los Angeles Times. Lost Light was published in 2003 and named one of the Best Books of 2003 by the Los Angeles Times. It is another in the Harry Bosch series but the first written in first person. To celebrate its release, Michael produced the limited edition jazz CD, Dark Sacred Night, The Music Of Harry Bosch. This CD is a compilation of the jazz music mentioned in the Bosch novels and was given away to his readers on Michael's 2003 book tour. Connelly's 2004 novel, The Narrows, is the sequel to The Poet. It was named one of the Best Books of 2004 by the Los Angeles Times. To accompany this Harry Bosch novel, Little, Brown and Company Publishers released a limited edition DVD, Blue Neon Night, Michael Connelly's Los Angeles. In this film, Michael Connelly provides an insider's tour of the places that give his stories and characters their spark and texture. His 11th Harry Bosch novel, The Closers, was published in May 2005, and debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. The Lincoln Lawyer, Connelly's first-ever legal thriller and his 16th novel, was published in October 2005 and also debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. This book introduced Mickey Haller, a Los Angeles defense attorney and half-brother of Harry Bosch. Crime Beat, a non-fiction collection of crime stories from Michael's days as a journalist, was released in 2006, as was the Harry Bosch novel, Echo Park, released in October 2006. The Overlook, Michael's 18th novel, was originally serialized in the New York Times Magazine. This Harry Bosch story was published as a book with additional material in May 2007. Michael's next novel, The Brass Verdict, will be released in October 2008, and will unite half-brothers Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch for the first time ever. Connelly's books have been translated in 35 languages and have won the Edgar Award, Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Los Angeles Times Best Mystery/Thriller Award, Shamus Award, Dilys Award, Nero Award, Barry Award, Audie Award, Ridley Award, Maltese Falcon Award (Japan), .38 Caliber Award (France), Grand Prix Award (France), and Premio Bancarella Award (Italy). Michael was the President of the Mystery Writers of America organization in 2003 and 2004. In addition to his literary work, Michael was one of the creators, writers, and consulting producers of Level 9, a TV show about a task force fighting cyber crime, that ran on UPN in the Fall of 2000. Michael lives with his family in Florida.

The Hollow by Nora Roberts

2008-04-27T08:34:00.003-07:00

I have been waiting for this one! It is the next in the Sign of Seven Trilogy! This book goes on sale May 6th so look for it in stores! You can also read an excerpt from the book at Nora's website www.noraroberts.com .

For Fox, Caleb, Gage and the other residents of Hawkins Hollow, the number seven portends doom—ever since, as boys, they freed a demon trapped for centuries when their blood spilled upon The Pagan Stone…Their innocent bonding ritual led to seven days of madness, every seven years. And now, as the dreaded seventh month looms before them, the men can feel the storm brewing. Already they are plagued by visions of death and destruction. But this year, they are better prepared, joined in their battle by three women who have come to The Hollow. Layla, Quinn, and Cybil are somehow connected to the demon, just as the men are connected to the force that trapped it. Since that day at The Pagan Stone, town lawyer Fox has been able to see into others’ minds, a talent he shares with Layla. He must earn her trust, because their link will help fight the darkness that threatens to engulf the town. But Layla is having trouble coming to terms with her newfound ability—and this intimate connection to Fox. She knows that once she opens her mind, she’ll have no defenses against the desire that threatens to consume them both…

Nora Roberts

2008-04-27T08:34:00.001-07:00

Nora Roberts was born in Silver Spring Maryland, the youngest of five children. After a school career that included some time in Catholic school and the disciplines of nuns, she married young and settled in Keedysville, Maryland.
She worked briefly as a legal secretary. "I could type fast but couldn't spell, I was the worst legal secretary ever," she says now. After her sons were born she stayed home and tried every craft that came along. A blizzard in February 1979 forced her hand to try another creative outlet. She was snowed in with a three and six year old with no kindergarten respite in sight and a dwindling supply of chocolate.
Born into a family of readers, Nora had never known a time that she wasn't reading or making up stories. During the now famous blizzard, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write down one of those stories. It was there that a career was born. Several manuscripts and rejections later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published by Silhouette in 1981.
Nora met her second husband, Bruce Wilder, when she hired him to build bookshelves. They were married in July 1985. Since that time, they've expanded their home, traveled the world and opened a bookstore together.
Through the years, Nora has always been surrounded by men. Not only was she the youngest in her family, but she was also the only girl. She has raised two sons. Having spent her life surrounded by men has given Ms. Roberts a fairly good view of the workings of the male mind, which is a constant delight to her readers. It was, she's been quoted as saying, a choice between figuring men out or running away screaming.
Nora is a member of several writers groups and has won countless awards from her colleagues and the publishing industry.

Scent Of Darkness by Christina Dodd

2008-04-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

From Publishers WeeklyThis satisfying series kickoff finds Ann Smith, an inexperienced, plain-Jane office assistant, dropping off some paperwork at the home of her handsome, successful boss, Jasha Wilder—and hoping to use the opportunity to confess her mad crush on him—when she catches him transforming from wolf to man. It's just the beginning for the dumbstruck secretary, whose discovery draws her into Jasha's cursed world—his family's ancient pact with the devil, the search for their clan relics, a gang of boisterous, unpredictable relatives who share his shape-shifting ability—and onward to her extraordinary destiny. Dodd's latest is a fast-paced, well-written paranormal, with a full, engaging mythology and a handful of memorable characters. In Ann, she creates the quintessential all-American girl, counterpointing nicely the rich tapestry of Jasha's family history; the mix shows great promise for future volumes. (July) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Christina Dodd

2008-04-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

Readers become writers, and Christina Dodd has always been a reader. As she was growing up, she read everything, but discovered, because she likes humor, that she liked romance best. In romance, the relationship between one man and one woman holds center stage, and that’s always good for a laugh.
A woman wants things like world peace, a clean house, and a deep and meaningful relationship based on mutual understanding and love. A man wants things like a Craftsman router with attachments, undisputed control of the TV remote, and a red Corvette which will miraculously make his bald spot disappear.
So while Christina was working as a draftsman, she would read during the lunch hour, go back to work to design a sawmill, and plot the conclusion of the story in her mind. The book never ended like that, and she liked her endings better. When her first daughter was born, she told her husband she was going to quit work and write a book. It was a good time to start a new career, because how much trouble could one little infant be?
Quite a bit, it seemed. It took ten years, two children and three completed manuscripts before her first novel, CANDLE IN THE WINDOW, was published.
In the fifteen years since, her novels have been translated into twelve languages, featured by Doubleday Book Club, recorded on Books on Tape for the Blind, won Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart and RITA Awards and been called the year’s best by Library Journal. Christina Dodd herself has been a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle (11/18/05, # 13 Down: Romance Novelist named Christina.) Christina is a regular on the USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and the New York Times Bestseller Lists. Publishers Weekly praises her style that “showcases Dodd’seasy, addictive charm and steamy storytelling.”
Christina's releases for 2008 include THIGH HIGH, the third in herhugely popular Fortune Hunter series, as well as the second and third of hernew paranormal series, INTO THE SHADOW (July) and INTO THE FLAME(August). In February, her classic historical novel, PRICELESS, will bereprinted, repackaged, and on the shelves.
Christina Dodd is married to a man with all his hair and no Corvette, but many Craftsman tools.
See more at http://www.christinadodd.com/
On July 30, 2008, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the San Francisco Marriott hotel, Christina will be autographing her latest novels in the Romance Writers of America® annual "Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing events. In the past, with this massive signing (over 450 authors will participate!) RWA has raised over $500,000 for literacy, a cause close to Christina's heart. So come and meet Christina in San Francisco!
Please note: Since this is a literacy fundraiser, please do not bring your own books for the authors to sign. Help raise as much money as possible for illiteracy!

2008-04-25T08:46:00.001-07:00

The 12th book in Catherine Coulter's hugely popular FBI series.In bookstores June 24, 2008.
FBI Special Agent Jackson Crowne is flying his Cessna over the Appalachians with a very important passenger – Dr. Timothy MacLean, renowned psychiatrist, their destination Washington, D.C. Upon their arrival, the FBI will protect the doctor – and find out just who wants him dead.
But Agent Crowne doesn’t make it.
In Washington, D.C., FBI special agents Savich and Sherlock are eating breakfast with their son Sean when Savich’s boss, Jimmy Maitland, calls with the news that Jack radioed in a mayday in the mountains near Parlow, Kentucky. He helicopters Savich and Sherlock there to see what’s happened.
Jack Crowne is not only a very good pilot, he’s also lucky. He manages to bring his plane down in a narrow sliver of a valley and haul the unconscious Dr. MacLean from the burning wreckage before it explodes. Their crash is witnessed by Rachael Abbott, a young woman on the run from really bad trouble.
When Savich and Sherlock arrive, they find Jack and Rachael in the Parlow clinic and Dr. MacLean comatose in the Franklin County Hospital, prognosis unknown. But what is known about Dr. MacLean is that he has an incurable disease called Frontal Lobe Dementia that causes the victim to act and/or speak without censoring, e.g., ‘did you know your wife is sleeping with your boss?’ As the disease progresses it causes the victim to become even less restrained, all without realizing his words can cause great harm, or fear at what he could reveal. As the psychiatrist with an impressive patient list of Washington movers and shakers, this could present a huge problem. There have already been three attempts on Dr. MacLean’s life. One of his patients is very afraid that what the doctor knows wil become common knowledge. It is up to Jack, Savich and Sherlock to find out who is behind the murder attempts, and keep Timothy alive.
And Rachael’s secrets? It all revolves around her father Senator John James Abbott of Maryland, a man she knew only a few weeks before he was killed in what was ruled an accidental death. But Rachael knows it wasn’t.

Catherine Coulter

2008-04-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

Catherine Coulter is the author of 62 novels, including 57 New York Times bestsellers. She earned her reputation writing historical romances. Over a decade ago she added suspense thrillers to her repertoire—with great success. The Cove, the first book in Coulter’s bestselling "FBI Suspense Thriller Series" spent 9 weeks on the New York Times list and has to date sold more than 1.5 million copies. The Maze, which was reviewed in Publishers Weekly as "gripping enough to establish Coulter firmly in this genre," was Coulter’s first book to land on the Times hardcover bestsellers list. Since then, Coulter has lived up to that promise with nine additional back-to-back bestselling FBI thrillers including The Target, The Edge, Riptide, Hemlock Bay, Eleventh Hour, Blind Side, Blow Out, Point Blank, Double Take, and two omnibus editions: The Beginning, and Double Jeopardy. The summer of 2008 will see the release of the latest in the FBI series, TAILSPIN.
Catherine’s first novel, The Autumn Countess, was published at the end of 1978. She chose a Regency romance for her debut because, says Coulter, "as any published author will tell you, it’s best to limit the unknowns in a first book, and not only had I grown up reading Georgette Heyer, but I earned my M.A. degree in 19th century European History." Following The Autumn Countess, Catherine wrote six more Regency romances. In 1982 she published her first long historical, Devil’s Embrace. She has continued to write long historicals, interspersing them with hardcover contemporary novels, beginning with False Pretense in 1988.
Coulter lives with her physician husband in Marin County, California. She grew up on a horse ranch in Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas and received her Masters degree at Boston College. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, she worked on Wall Street as a speechwriter. Catherine loves to travel and ski, reads voraciously, and has a reputation for telling jokes—believing the publishing business is too crazy not to laugh.
Check out her website for more of her great books at http://www.catherinecoulter.com !

Dark Prince by Christine Feehan

2008-04-24T09:20:00.002-07:00

He came to her in the night, a predator -- strength and power chiseled his features. The seduction was deep and elemental; he affected her soul. His need. His darkness. His terrible haunting loneliness. Her senses aroused, she craved the dangerous force of his body. Burned for him. And he had only touched her with his mind.She came to him at dawn, his bleakest hour. As the beast raged inside him, threatening to consume him, he vented his centuries-old despair in an anguished cry that filled the waning night. And she answered, a ray of light, piercing his darkness. A beautiful angel. Her compassion, courage, and innocence awakened in him an exquisite longing and tenderness. He knew he must possess her, for only she could tame his savage side and lift the dark shadow from his soul. Apart they were desolate, bereft. Intertwined physically and spiritually, they could heal one another and experience an eternity of nights filled with love.

Christine Feehan

2008-04-24T09:20:00.001-07:00

New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan has over 30 novels published, including four series. Her debut novel Dark Prince received 3 of the 9 Paranormal Excellence Awards in Romantic Literature for 1999. Since then she has been published by Leisure Books, Pocket Books, and currently is writing for Berkley/Jove. She also has earned 7 more PEARL awards.She is pleased to have made numerous bestseller lists including the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Bookscan, B. Daltons, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Waldenbooks, Ingrams, Borders, Rhapsody Book Club, Sirenbooks, and Walmart. Her latest book, Safe Harbor, debuted at #1 on the New York Times. She has received numerous honors throughout her career including being a nominee for the RWA’s RITA and receiving a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times. She has been published in multiple languages and in many formats, including audio book, e-book, large print, and hardcover. In October of 2007 her first manga comic, Dark Hunger, will be released in stores. This is the first ever manga comic released by Berkely Publishing. Her ground-breaking book trailer commercials have been shown on TV and in the movie theaters. They have also earned her several awards including the prestigious Telly award. She has been featured on local TV, appeared on the The Montel Williams Show, and her book Dark Legend was featured on the cover of Romantic Times Magazine. Christine Feehan has appeared at numerous writers’ conventions and book signings including: Romantic Times Convention, Get Caught Reading at Sea Cruise, Celebrate Romance Conference, Emerald City Conference, and numerous Romance Writers of America Conferences.

Family Tree

2008-04-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

When a white couple gives birth to a baby with distinctly black features, a family is thrown into turmoil. Hugh Clarke, born into a pedigreed New England family that can trace its roots to the Mayflower, devotes his professional life to championing minorities but is blindsided by his daughter's color. He urges his wife Dana, whose heritage is unknown, to start digging for answers. Dana adores her baby and resents her husband's demands. Unearthing her family's past raises issues for her that go well beyond that of her daughter's racial mix. Hugh's father, Eaton Clarke, a renowned writer, anxiously awaits the results of Dana's search. Eaton is weeks away from releasing a book based on his well-documented family tree, and will be discredited as an historian if the very foundation of his book is undermined. To make matters worse, his wife, Dorothy, is taking an uncharacteristically independent stand with regard to their newest granddaughter.Family Tree delves into issues of trust, honesty, privilege, and identity. It debates the way we define ourselves, and explores the duplicity of political correctness and personal prejudice. * * * * *For information on the Family Tree connection to Berroco yarn and the Berroco Family Tree Knitting Collection, click here

Barbara Delinsky

2008-04-23T09:15:00.001-07:00

BiographyPersonal bios are really hard to write for those of us who make a living dramatizing bios for pretend people. Anything I write about me feels totally boring. But it is what it is. So here goes. I was born and raised in suburban Boston. My mother's death, when I was eight, was the defining event of a childhood that was otherwise ordinary. I took piano lessons and flute lessons. I took ballroom dancing lessons. I went to summer camp through my fifteenth year (in Maine, which explains the setting of so many of my stories), then spent my sixteenth summer learning to type and to drive (two skills that have served me better than all of my other high school courses combined). I earned a B.A. in Psychology at Tufts University and an M.A. in Sociology at Boston College. The motivation behind the M.A. was sheer greed. My husband was just starting law school. We needed the money.Oh. Oh. Back up. You'll love this. When I was in high school, I was kicked out of Honors English because I couldn't keep up! No, I never did go back to gloat. The truth is that though I came from a family of lawyers and never dreamed of publishing books, I did learn the basics of writing in high school, and, yeah, that skill has come in handy, too. Following graduate school, I worked as a researcher with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and as a photographer and reporter for the Belmont Herald. I did the newspaper work after my first son was born. Since I was heavily into taking pictures of him, I worked for the paper to support that habit. Initially, I wrote only in a secondary capacity, to provide copy for the pictures I took. In time, I realized that I was better at writing than photography. I used both skills doing volunteer work for hospital groups, and have served on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and on the MGH's Women's Cancer Advisory Board.I became an actual writer by fluke. My twins were four when, by chance, I happened on a newspaper article profiling three female writers. Intrigued, I spent three months researching, plotting, and writing my own book - and it sold.My niche? I write about the emotional crises that we face in our lives. Readers identify with my characters. They know them. They are them. I'm an everyday woman writing about everyday people facing not-so-everyday challenges. My novels are character-driven studies of marriage, parenthood, sibling rivalry, and friendship, and I've been blessed in having readers who buy them eagerly enough to put them on the major bestseller lists. My newest hardcover, Family Tree, is out in February, 2007. My next, The Secret Between Us, will be released in 2008. God willing, there'll be another in 2009 and another in 2010. 2010? Yikes. I didn't think I'd live that long. I thought I'd die of breast cancer back in the twentieth century, like my mom. But I didn't. I was diagnosed twelve years ago, had surgery and treatment, and here I am, stronger than ever and loving having authored yet another book, this one the non-fiction Uplift: Secrets From the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors. First published in 2001, Uplift is a handbook of practical tips and upbeat anecdotes that I compiled with the help of 350 breast cancer survivors, their families and friends. These survivors just ... blew me away! They gave me the book that I wish I'd had way back when I was diagnosed. There is no medical information here, nothing frightening, simply practical advice from friends who've had breast cancer. The 5th Anniversary Volume of Uplift is now in print. And the money I've made on the book? Every cent has gone to my charitable foundation, which funds an ongoing research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. Wow. Does it get any better than that?

Honor Thyself by Danielle Steel

2008-04-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

A world-renowned actress falls victim to a terrifying explosion in Paris—and begins a courageous journey of survival, memory, and self-discovery in Danielle Steel’s mesmerizing new novel.Carole Barber has come to Paris, with its rain-slick slate roofs and winding streets, to work on her novel—and to find herself after a lifetime in the spotlight. A legend of film and stage, Carole has set a standard of beauty and grace, devoting herself to her family and causes around the world. But on this cool November evening, as her taxi speeds into a tunnel just past the Louvre, a fiery instant of terror shatters hundreds of lives—and leaves Carole alone, unconscious and unidentified in a Paris emergency room.At the Ritz, they wonder where their famous, incognito guest has gone. From California to London, Carole’s friends and family begin to make inquiries. Then comes a moment of shock as they all realize that Carole is far from home and fighting for her life. In the days that follow, the paparazzi swarm. A mysterious stranger, a man famous in his own realm, quietly visits the hospital to see the woman he once loved and never forgot. Carole’s two grown children rush to her bedside, waiting and praying—until the miraculous begins to happen.…But as a woman who the whole world knows slowly awakens, she knows nothing of herself. Every detail must be pieced back together—from a childhood in rural Mississippi to the early days of her career, from the unintentional hurt inflicted on her daughter to a fifteen year-old secret love affair that went tragically wrong. But for Carole an extraordinary opportunity has arisen in a life-threatening crisis: a second chance to count her blessings, heal wounded hearts, recapture lost love… and to live a life that will truly honor others—beginning with herself.A tale of survival and dignity, of small miracles and big surprises, Honor Thyself creates an unforgettable portrait of a public figure whose hopes, fears, and heartbreaks are as real as our own. Her courageous journey inspires us all.

Danielle Steel

2008-04-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

America reads Danielle Steel. And so does the rest of the world. There are more than 570 million copies of her books in print, and every one of her books is a bestseller. In short, Danielle Steel is the most popular author writing today. She is read by women, men, young people, old people in 47 countries and 28 languages.
Ms. Steel's 71st best-selling novel, AMAZING GRACE, debuted in hardcover in October 2007. Other recent bestsellers include BUNGALOW 2, SISTERS, H.R.H., COMING OUT, THE HOUSE, TOXIC BACHELORS, MIRACLE, IMPOSSIBLE, ECHOES, SECOND CHANCE, RANSOM, SAFE HARBOUR, JOHNNY ANGEL, DATING GAME, ANSWERED PRAYERS, and SUNSET IN ST. TROPEZ, all of which have leapt to the top of the New York Times bestseller list, the Wall Street Journal list and comparable bestseller lists around the world.
Since 1981, Ms. Steel has been a permanent fixture on the New York Times hardcover and paperback bestseller lists. In 1989, she was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having at least one of her books on the Times bestseller list for 381 consecutive weeks. But Guinness was premature. The fact is that one or more of Ms. Steel's novels have been on the New York Times bestseller list for over 390 consecutive weeks.
Twenty-one of Ms. Steel's novels have been adapted for television, each earning high ratings and critical acclaim, including two Golden Globe nominations for JEWELS, a four-hour mini-series that starred Anthony Andrews.
In addition, Ms. Steel is the author of the "Max and Martha" series of books for young readers. They are ten illustrated storybooks written to comfort the young as they face problems, such as a new stepfather, new baby, new school, loss of a grandparent, and other crucial dilemmas in a child's life. She has also written the "Freddie" books, four of them, about real-life situations in children's lives, like a visit to the doctor and the first night away from home. Ms. Steel has also written nonfiction, HIS BRIGHT LIGHT, about the life and death of her son Nicholas Traina, released by Delacorte Press in September 1998 and immediately jumped to the New York Times Non-Fiction bestseller list and "Having a Baby." She has also written a book of poetry entitled LOVE: POEMS BY DANIELLE STEEL.
In 2002, Ms. Steel was decorated by the French government as an "Officier" of the distinguished Order of Arts and Letters, for her lifetime contribution to world culture. She was awarded the second highest rank of the Order.
Ms. Steel also has a passionate interest in emerging contemporary artists. She has had an art gallery for several years, and and continues to sponsor and organize free lance art shows and events to show the work of emerging and mid-career artists. She has a degree in design herself. In addition to her writing, Ms. Steel has varied philanthropic interests. She founded and runs two foundations, one named in honor of her late son, The Nick Traina Foundation, which funds organizations involved in mental illness and child abuse. The second was established to assist the homeless. She has won numerous awards for her personal work with mentally ill adolescents and children. Ms. Steel maintains a passionate interest in the welfare and well-being of children, particularly those in jeopardy. She has raised nine children of her own. And they continue to keep her busy, as she juggles writing and family. Her family is her first priority, despite her many interests.
From an education in New York and Europe to a professional background in public relations and advertising, and teaching, Ms. Steel moved on quickly to her literary career and has been hard at work writing ever since. She wrote her first book at nineteen. Often, she works on five books at a time — researching one storyline, writing another, and editing the third. Still, she often spends two to three years researching and developing a single project. In the heat of a first draft, it is not uncommon for her to spend eighteen to twenty hours a day glued to her 1946 Olympia manual typewriter.
Family, children, and young people are the central focus of her life, and her passion, which frequently shows in her writing. She deals with the themes that touch on the most pressing issues of real life, which makes her books universal, and touch so many people. She is fascinated by the pressing life situations that affect us all, how people handle them and are often transformed as a result. And her novels have explored subjects such as kidnapping, incest, mental illness, suicide, death, divorce, adoption, marriage, loss, cancer, war, among others. She also frequently writes about historical themes, shedding new light on familiar historical events with meticulously accurate research.
Despite her varied interests and activities, Ms. Steel leads an extremely private family-centered life. She lives in San Francisco and Paris.

Romance Week!

2008-04-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

Welcome friends and fellow book lovers! So, I've decided to cover a new book genre each week. This week I will post about Romance books. I will profile different authors and review some of their books. I hope you will join me for this exciting week! Tell me who your favorite romance author is! Have a suggestion for next weeks genre? Let me know! I would also love to find out what romance novels you might be reading or have read in the past that you have enjoyed! Check back each day for something new and exciting! Also be sure to check out the rest of my blog!

The Romance Novel

2008-04-21T11:33:00.001-07:00

The most popular and best-selling fictional genre in the United States and Canada is the romance novel, a category divided into series romances and single title romances. However, these books are not, as some critics say, literary pornography. Basically, romance novels are about females who are or will become the heroes of their own stories.
Romance novels are usually distributed as paperbacks and written to titillate, entertain and educate a massive and diverse reading public (numbering 51 million in the United States) by providing stories that are plot-driven, richly character developed and romantic.
Romance is the most popular type of fiction in contemporary literature, containing much more explicit sex than in any other mainstream genre. The novels do not necessarily portray weak women subjugated by men, but the 90 percent female readership participates in a virtual reality, which other fiction genres fail to focus upon.
Words and music are said to excite and turn on women more so than visuals. Explicit romantic erotica aimed at women can not, and should not be considered pornography. Women do not like to admit that they enjoy romance novels, but studies have determined that there is nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, romance novels have increasingly found their way into women's studies and literature classes at various universities.
As two lovers remain apart, romance novels sustain a sexual tension, but when the love is finally consummated, it is not gratuitous and should lead to a satisfying and optimistic ending inspired by emotion.
But what of the man, the other half of the equation in a romantic novel? With the expansion of the romance novel into other genres such as science fiction and military male readership has increased. Most men read their first romance because of their curiosity. They want to find out what women find so fascinating about the stories.
This article may be freely reprinted with the provision that this entire section is also used with the article.
Don Canaan is the chief bottle washer for the following web sites:
http://www.beatricefairfax.com (romance novels), http://www.israelfaxx.com (news from Israel)

Sundays at Tiffany's

2008-04-20T10:22:00.001-07:00

AN IMAGINARY FRIENDJane Margaux is a lonely little girl. Her mother, a powerful Broadway producer, makes time for her only once a week, for their Sunday trip to admire jewelry at Tiffany's. Jane has only one friend: a handsome, comforting, funny man named Michael. He's perfect. But only she can see him. Michael can't stay forever, though. On Jane's ninth birthday he leaves, promising her that she'll soon forget him.
AN UNEXPECTED LOVEYears later, in her thirties, Jane is just as alone as she was as a child. And despite her own success as a playwright, she is even more trapped by her overbearing mother. Then she meets someone–a handsome, comforting, funny man. He's perfect. His name is Michael...
AND AN UNFORGETTABLE TWISTThis is a heartrending story that surpasses all expectations of why these people have been brought together. With the breathtaking momentum and gripping emotional twists that have made James Patterson a bestselling author all over the world, SUNDAYS AT TIFFANY'S takes an altogether fresh look at the timeless and transforming power of love.

Lost At Sea- Rainbow Fish & Friends

2008-04-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

The importance of following instructions and being responsible are highlighted in this story. Marcus Pfiester ,the swiss author, uses very vivid watercolour drawings of fishes in his stories. His fishes take on human characteristics and touch on common topics that kids face.
In this story the fishes contemplated stealing the crystals from the Crystal Caverns. The 4 fishes edge one another on to see who would be the first one to take a crystal from the cavern and bring it home. Tug, wanting to make Rainbow fish happy, attempted to take one of the crystals. In the meanwhile Rainbow fish left with the group moved off to view another section of the caverns as he was interested to view the diamonds. He didn't wait for his buddy Tug to prompt him to stay together with the group.
This story addresses the issue of peer pressure, honesty and responsibility. It talks about the importance of following the teacher's instructions especially when they are on a field trip out of school.
There are many different books in the Rainbow Fish series. There are even books in the series catered to babies and toddlers which focus on Counting, ABC's and 1-2-3s.
This series of books also comes in Spanish for Spanish readers.
I rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
ISBN 1-59014-002-8
This book is printed by Night Sky Books- A division of North-South Book Inc
Rachel Dominique Goh is a elementary school teacher and a mother to two hyperactive toddlers. You can read more about her experience as a mother and educator at http://www.dominiquegoh.com

The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen

2008-04-17T19:15:00.000-07:00

The last thing Dr. Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli wanted to be doing on Christmas Eve was investigating a murder. They never expected the brutallity of this young woman's death. Written in blood on the wall was a message in Latin accompanied by upside down crosses. This chilling evidence started a case that would lead them to a group of scholars calling themselves the Mephisto Club.
Club members devote their lives to analyzing evil and helping law enforcement all over the world solve murders. They truly believe that Satan himself exists among us. When someone is murdered at the home of one of the Club members, they begin to fear that they are now the target of the very evil they are trying to study. After being invited to join the Mephisto Club and refusing, Maura finds that she is now a possible target of this evil being.
Club members are now asking themselves if this killer could be one of their own, or have they inadvertently summoned an evil entity from the darkness? Jane and Maura soon discover that a murder had taken place in another state that could very well be related to the ones they are now investigating. After driving out to meet the medical examiner and Sherriff they are convinced that the murders are all connected and they are now on a hunt for a young woman who had fled to Italy years before.
Delving into the most disturbing case of their careers, Jane and Maura embark on a horrifying journey to the heart of evil, where they find an enemy more dangerous than any they have ever faced before, one who's work is only just beginning. Follow along on this wonderfully written mystery as the two women work to find and stop this evil killer and save they lives of the remaining Mephisto Club Members.
The Mephisto Club is truly the work of a very talented author. Tess Gerritsen is an internationally bestselling author.
Christy Tuller is an expert on several topics and enjoys reading.

Festival of Books is coming!

2008-04-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder, if you haven't already done so, check out the link to the left about the upcoming LA Times Festival of Books! It promises to be an amazing event with more than 450 authors available to autograph books plus mant other exciting events! Check out the Upcoming Events area for the link and more info! I will be busy fixing up a house this weekend so i will not be posting for a few days. When I return I will have lots to tell you though! Our camping trip was loads of fun and we wished it didn't have to end but sadly like a good book all things have to come to an end. Check back in for my review on tess Gerritson's The Mephisto Club! Have a great weekend and I'll be posting again by Monday!