Catching UP!

Books that went to Press or Back to press this week:

    Serge Dziminowicz is hampered by his past in a dysfunctional family.

Having trained himself in self-sufficiency, he fends off approaches from

women, shuns occasions for disappointment or betrayal. A college

classmate is his only friend. He cannot trust others, or himself.

With success come real surprises. Through his professional ability,

he meets not only a wife, but a new luxury, a startling attachment with

horses, a budding appreciation for the natural world, and a child he

adores.

When his career and his marriage both are destroyed by his feckless

father, his reputation and his livelihood in shambles, he is forced to

leave behind everything that has become meaningful to him.

In rural Vermont, he stumbles on a way of life that nourishes a second

growth. A near tragedy is the catalyst that enables him to dare to trust.

He ultimately learns he must lower his own barriers.

Second Growth is about overcoming the past, about learning how to

accept as well as how to offer help. A brilliant physician must find a

way to heal himself — in spite of himself.

Three Slightly Tarnished Golden Girl Step Out!

by C.M. Albrecht

When retired cop Harry “Bulldog” Drummond dies,

his free-spirited widow Mary, suddenly freed from the

Bulldog’s strait-laced ideas, recruits a couple of gals

from her colorful past and the girls go on a tear. Meaning

they create mayhem wherever they show up, much

to the consternation of Mary’s son, Creighton. Poor

Cray just lost his job, he has a wife, two kids, two

mortgages, a lazy dog and an old Chevy he was planning

to replace with a new Jaguar. But the big raise he

expected has vanished and so has his mother…along

with his aging Chevy. To make matters worse, she

doesn’t even have a driver’s license!

MINISTER'S CORPORATE ESCAPADES, Reverend Castle Mystery Series, Vol. 2. by Celine Rose Mariotti.

   In the second book of the Rev. Castle series, the good reverend is solving another big case. This time he is solving a case of corporate sabotage and murder. Tyler Cotton’s environmental company is being sabotaged by four of his employees. Tyler asks Rev. Castle to find out what they’re doing and who’s involved. Rev. Castle sets out on a quest to find the saboteurs, gather the evidence, and bring them to justice. Meanwhile, Tyler is framed for the murder of Jacob Punch, one of the saboteurs.Can Rev.Castle prove that Tyler is innocent? The story has a climactic ending. And in the quest to solve this case, Rev. Castle falls in love with Lydia. A real page turner!

Serge Dziminowicz is hampered by his past in a dysfunctional family.

Having trained himself in self-sufficiency, he fends off approaches from

women, shuns occasions for disappointment or betrayal. A college

classmate is his only friend. He cannot trust others, or himself.

With success come real surprises. Through his professional ability,

he meets not only a wife, but a new luxury, a startling attachment with

horses, a budding appreciation for the natural world, and a child he

adores.

When his career and his marriage both are destroyed by his feckless

father, his reputation and his livelihood in shambles, he is forced to

leave behind everything that has become meaningful to him.

In rural Vermont, he stumbles on a way of life that nourishes a second

growth. A near tragedy is the catalyst that enables him to dare to trust.

He ultimately learns he must lower his own barriers.

Second Growth is about overcoming the past, about learning how to

accept as well as how to offer help. A brilliant physician must find a

way to heal himself — in spite of himself.

Galleys that went out or went out again this week:

THE LIMITEDS, A Geocaching Mystery, Vol. 2. by Jennifer Kirsch

   Fourteen-year-old, Luke, dreams of spending July at Camp Unlimited, where campers explore cave networks, set off fireworks in pyrotech workshops, and sleep in tree house hammocks. But to get into the camp, Luke needs to demonstrate excellence in a sport, the arts, or school. More likely, he’ll end up at SURF, his town’s rec camp, where athlete’s foot, mildew, and warts plague the gym, bedbugs and lice infest the couches, and clumps of hair make frequent appearances in the burgers. When weird blobs start popping up on Luke’s computer, he’s too busy trying to complete his Unlimited application to notice. But when the blobs start looking like a secret, uncharted geocache, he and his friend Gabe follow their trail, only to find themselves battling superbug viruses and navigating labyrinths while on a quest to save lives.

Work began or Continued on the following:

GAIA'S DREAM, A Collection of Poetry by Terry L. White

   Poetry that embraces the heart and the soul.  

LOVE BITES: A poetry Collection by Barbara Garro

  A Collection of poetry about all aspects of Love.

   

NOODLES, by Evanita MuftiAn 

Indonesian army general's son, who recently graduated high school, continues his education at a college in San Francisco. The 19-year-old was a boy headed for trouble. His father hoped that the responsibility and overseas life experience would change his son's attitude. In fact the culture shock does make him change, but not in the way his father hoped for...

THE LAST CHRONICLER by Judy Johns Heathcoe

While tunneling through a mountain in the Russian Southern Urals, a team of engineers are trapped in a deep, large, cavern containing a living rain forest. Looking for a way out, they discover a hermitage that once was home to a historical society who called themselves chroniclers, whose members were able to travel in time to view a famous person or event in order to record history correctly.
In the hermitage library, among the many chronicles, they are privileged to view the lives of Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Allan Poe, and Nicholas II, last Tsar of Russia, and his family.  But hiding out and watching their every move are the remaining chroniclers who are determined to keep their existence a secret, even to the point of murdering any that discover it. The engineers find themselves running for their lives through the seemingly endless forest, wondering whether they would face death at the hands of the dangerous and adamant chroniclers. . .or the primeval creatures of the forest.

 Jack's News!

  by your Official Bookstore Cat, 

and Gossip Columnist.

Had some neat news from a favorite writer of mine, Ann Nolder Heinz,  who had some good reviews this week...

The first for Last Stop Freedom.  Both reviews are from 

Harmonious Truth:

Mini-Truths

Pros:  The Writing & Writing Style:

This book was well written. It quickly became clear that the author has a way with words. Particularly, in the way she represented the ear both in narrative and dialogue. The writing we good and authentic.

.            

Storytelling:
The way the story was narrated spoke volumes as to how talented the author is. I have no doubt that writing is this person’s calling.

Cover:
Rarely do I speak on book covers, but when it’s necessary I do. I feel like “Last Stop Freedom” is a book worthy of an amazing cover. And yet, both covers that I saw for this book were less than par. This is one of those few occasions when I wish the author had invested a bit more money in getting the book represented the best way possible. This is a story worth reading, yet I know not many will pick it up solely because of the cover.

Having said those things, I think “Last Stop Freedom” is a good book with TONS of potential. With a few adjustments this is a story that anyone who loves Historical Fiction would enjoy. Moreover, it’s a story that will stay with you for a while.

I give Last Stop Freedom 7.5 TRB Stars. This will translate into 4 stars elsewhere.

Mini-Truths

Pros.

As a whole, “Refiner’s Fire” is a great story. It’s very well written and impressively depicted.

The key to knowing when a story is well written is when the characters come to life. When you love them, hate them, feel for them, and get wrapped up in their story. “Refiner’s Fire” did a grand job in this aspect.

With all of that said, I give “Refiner’s Fire” an 8 out of 10 TRB Stars. I liked this one just a bit more than the last one. Well done, Ms. Heinz. Thumbs up.

Cons:

My biggest plight with this book is the cover. God, do I wish it had a better cover. Because, in many ways, this book, as well as the first are worth reading. So, a better cover is pivotal. 

    I really thought Arline would be sad about the poor ratings her covers got, but she  just shrugged, and said the second set of covers, the ones show here, were better than the first. She thought having a model in Ante-Bellum costume and looking distressed would have been Much Better, but  Photo services, like the one she subscribes to, rarely have anything in period costume, so it limits the sources for cover art unless you are a fine artist --- which she surely is NOT. 

You should see some of  the pictures on OUR walls. Some are Jan Elmy's and those look Great, but some are ones Arline did in high school, and the less said about those, the better. Nothing exciting there, except the Log Cabin where she used to live. Not even a cat! Truly the less said about her art skills the better.

   PLEASE don't forget to send me news of any personal appearances, signings and so on... so I'll have some gossip to pass on next week.

Just send an e-mail to arline@mail.com with 

 "News for Jack" 

 in the subject line, and

I'll make sure it shows up here for all the world to see!