Highly Recommended Review

"Highly Recommended" for Community 

and Academic Library Collections."

A Big THANK YOU  to Midwest Book Reviews for their review of Barbara Garro's poetry collection, Love Bites. Midwest has long been an excellent resource for both readers and authors.

Love Bites
Barbara Garro
Cambridge Books
c/o Write Words, Inc.
www.BarbaraGarro.com
9781618363909, $19.95, PB, 182pp, www.amazon.com

When her mother died at an early age, Barbara Garro (now in her eighth decade) became powerfully propelled into poetry. Poem after poem, flows through her as she shares the spirit of a lifetime in innermost love thoughts, fears and dreams. Her debut collection of some of her best work, "Love Bites" showcases this lifelong author's genuine flair for deftly crafted verse. 

Barbara thinks of her poetry as her heart exploding with feelings that she dresses in words, dancing them into poems. Since her mom's death opened the floodgates, after "Remembering Mother" was published in The Maple Shade Progress, the poems kept coming, 998 and counting. Each holds her heart inside the lines. 

Barbara's hope is that her heart connects with yours as she shares her soft and hard feelings of love in Love Bites. While highly recommended (for) community and academic library Contemporary American Poetry collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of poetry enthusiasts that "Love Bites" is also available in a Kindle format ($6.50). 

Monkey Bread Love 

Again, like monkey bread 

I'm feeling torn apart. 

Again, my time with a man 

has taken me piece by piece. 

Again, I am left all eaten up.

LOVE BITES is available from amazon.com in both paper and Kindle formats, and is also available from Smashwords.com in various e-book formats.

Catching UP!

Work Began on the following book this week:

Chasing Nightmares

by James R. Kincaid

             Chasing nightmares, deliberately embracing terrors, isn’t what you and I are likely to do.  But you and I are not the four central characters in this novel, pretty typical college kids who sense that their lives are so predictable they hardly seem present in them.  They are determined not to succumb to the commonplace scripts set out for them, pathways that are so comfortable they might as well be padded, MUSAK softly playing.

            So, they set out from Los Angeles, trying hard to find the perilous.  They try hard to make themselves unprepared, open, desperate to vivify their minds and senses.  They make it only as far as Lake Tahoe and the nearby Donner Pass, where they do succeed in attracting horrors, certainly not the ones they had, despite themselves, anticipated. 

            But the nightmares they wrap round themselves also contain a good deal more than shivers, and the calls on their resolve demand more than simple courage (or foolhardy consistency).  Without knowing how it happened, they are drawn into a different strangeness, asking for and yet reluctant to receive something very much like love.

Jack's News!

  by your Official Bookstore Cat, 

and Gossip Columnist.

Hi Folks,

Haven't heard from anyone yet this week, but please don't forget me, folks. Just because the bookstore closed doesn't mean I won't be writing my column every week, and passing along news of all your doings on this blog. So if you are making personal appearances, doing signings, or even if you are only starting a new project, drop me line and I'll be sure to give everyone a heads-up right here on Fridays. 

Arline sent along a little, emphasis on LITTLE, contribution from Write Words, Inc. (Yes, we are still pretty well broke, but still trying to stay afloat!) toward the prizes for the 

Harriet Tubman Essay Contest

a project our Terry L. White has been supporting for awhile now. It IS Black History Month Folks and  if you want to celebrate that, you might want to support it, too. As Roger always says when he takes out the garbage, "Every little bit helps."  Here's all the info, one more time!

Harriet Tubman Essay Contest 

Deadline Has Been Changed !

NEW DEADLINE  March 1, 2017

So remind any students you know to get busy...

ALSO

Contributions are welcome 

to help with funding prizes for the 

Essay Contest Winners!

If you, your business or community organization can help fund the prizes,
Please Mail your contribution to:

Harriet Tubman Essay Contest
National Park Service
4068 Golden Hill Road
Church Creek, Maryland 21622

or contact:

Diane Miller, National Program Manager

Phone: 410-221-2290, x 1111
E-mail: diane_miller@nps.gov

Or

Terry Nield or Ellen Mousin
tubman.conference@gmail.com

As for around here, Arline started Publishing a New Book for Jim Kincaid this week.I knew she WOULD. She is still working on taxes, too, but most of the other business stuff is done for awhile! Maybe she actually will get started on her own book soon. She still owes one for the spirit series and I know it's been awhile since the last one, but I keep telling her, "You never forget your babies." And she keeps chuckling me under the chin and saying, "Of course NOT!"

She's also got an idea for a new historical, too. I keep telling her to write one with a cat in it. Meanwhile, Roger learned a new one for me from the Folk Song Book he got for his birthday. 

"The cat Came Back

The very next Day

The cat came back

He wouldn't stay away..."

Boy, I just love that one. We could sing it for hours.

As for the rest of you, PLEASE don't YOU 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!

Treasury of LOVE Stories

Love's Sweet

RECOMMENDATIONS

FROM JACK!

Here are your bookstore cat's recommendations

for some great Love Stories

    This one is about an author (arline will like that), Krysia Barciniak, who has no illusions about love and romance and a happily-ever-after for herself. Or about every seeing her child again. One taste of love six years earlier is more than enough for her. She already has a scarred heart. Thank you very much! Then melancholic Connor Tiernay, the new museum curator, arrives in Harmony Village, with his five-year-old daughter in hand and a proposal of marriage on his lips. And Cupid Cat, Harmony's favorite matchmaker, rubs his paws together!

OR maybe some of you would enjoy a love story with a hint of Mystery...?

    Investigating Paul Martin, estranged husband of a missing Richmond architect, undercover detective Julie Taylor finds murder, mayhem and the love of her life. Why does Paul's mother-in-law insist he's done away with his soon-to-be ex-wife? Is he an innocent victim, framed for someone else's crime? Or is Paul a clever monster in disguise?

Here's one Arline wrote. NO cats, but she didn't know ME
back then.  This one is a historical and a 
Western, no less....

    Broken-hearted, New York debutante Christianna Lawrence flees her home and meets a Blackfoot white captive on Montana's high plains. Saved from a flash flood as a boy, Rowan Cameron was destined to become a shaman. Divided by cultural misunderstandings, the extraordinary lovers surpass contrasting beliefs and join forces against railroad saboteurs--only to unleash the magic and spirit of the Ghost Dance.

And here's one from my first human Mama, Terry L. White. 

It's a historical, too, and set right here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, 

where I live. It's a series, too, but each book

can be read as a stand-alone.

    Jewel LeCompte is raised to be a lady, her blindness notwithstanding, but the events of the Civil War introduce her to the harsh reality of the work that goes with running an Eastern Shore plantation. After the war, Jewel marries Carroll Taylor, who takes her home to his own plantation, known as Baron’s Hope. Happy and expecting her first child, Jewel is finally learning to read Braille through the help of a tutor from Baltimore. Unfortunately, Carroll is swept away by a monster tide generated by one of the hurricanes that regularly scour the Atlantic coast. 

    Then Jewel finds she must run not one, but two, plantations. Overseers, Daniel Merryweather and Michael Elliott, learn just how strong the woman really is, as she survives with courage and hope, while searching to find love again, and sustain her life in the "Land of Pleasant Living."

If your girfriend  enjoyes the kind of romantic suspense 

that was written by ladies like Mary Stewart and 

Victoria Holt, back in the day, she would probably like 

Marie Prato's Vietnam era romanitic suspense, too.

    For Theresa the dating scene is bleak as all the best young men are being called up for active duty in Vietnam. She's interested in three, but is warned by a psychic she will love one, marry the wrong one, and be haunted all her life by the third. Soon, all three men are dead and the dark predictions are coming true.

All these great books are available at 

www.amazon.com in paper and also for kindle 

and at Smashwords in lots of other e-book formats, too!

Remember you  heard it from JACK!

A new book is one you haven't read yet.

Secrets of Love at any Age

 A Valentine Treasury of Love

from Barbara Garro

A Great Gift for Your
LOVER

What You Will Find Within the Book:
 102 Poems, mostly Poetic Memoir
 Soft Love Experiences
 Hard Love ExperiencesWith this Vol. 1 of the Barbara            Garro Poetry Series, Barbara
 Amusing, Intriguing, Amazing Slices of Love
 Possibility of Getting 20/20 Love Vision
 Learn What Works & Does Not in Love

Garro begins 33 years as a published poet with poetry’s most

popular subject: LOVE!

The Soft Love Section of “Love Bites” gives you a sprint through
Barbara Garro’s lovely love experiences in all flavors and colors
over one relatively long lifetime.
Meet “The Dancer.”

Buy at: Celtic Treasures, Northshire Books, Giver of

Life Gift Shop, and www.Amazon.com

or online from

www.amazon.com

www.Smashwords.com

Here is my stance on looking for the love of my life all my life

from Sir Andrew Barton: “Fight on my men, I am hurt but I am

not slain; I’ll lay me down and bleed awhile, and then I’ll rise

and fight again.” Remember this quote while you are reading

through the Hard Love Section of “Love Bites.” 

 and Meet the “Damn Rude Dude.”

Catching UP!

Books that went to Press this week:

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 I, 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.

Hi Folks,

Haven't heard from anyone yet this week, but please don't forget me, folks. Just because the bookstore closed doesn't mean I won't be writing my column every week, and passing along news of all your doings on this blog. So if you are making personal appearances, doing signings, or even if you are only starting a new project, drop me line and I'll be sure to give everyone a heads-up right here on Fridays. 

Arline sent along a little, emphasis on LITTLE, contribution from Write Words, Inc. toward the prizes for the 

Harriet Tubman Essay Contest

a project our Terry L. White has been supporting for awhile now. It IS Black History Month Folks and  if you want to celebrate that, you might want to support it, too. As Roger always says when he takes out the garbage, "Every little bit helps."  Here's all the info, one more time!

Harriet Tubman Essay Contest 

Deadline Has Been Changed !

NEW DEADLINE  March 1, 2017

So remind any students you know to get busy...

ALSO

Contributions are welcome 

to help with funding prizes for the 

Essay Contest Winners!

If you, your business or community organization can help fund the prizes,
Please Mail your contribution to:

Harriet Tubman Essay Contest
National Park Service
4068 Golden Hill Road
Church Creek, Maryland 21622

or contact:

Diane Miller, National Program Manager

Phone: 410-221-2290, x 1111
E-mail: diane_miller@nps.gov

Or

Terry Nield or Ellen Mousin
tubman.conference@gmail.com

As for around here, Roger has been playing the guitar almost every day. Arline got him a new songbook for his birthday and we've been enjoying all those old favorites -- Oh Susannah! Polly Wolly, Doodle, and even My personal favorite, Wayfaring Stranger, a song that touches a chord in every tomcat's heart. 

We are getting ready to celebrate Sid's Birthday tomorrow. Roger got him a cake and he even remembered Sid's lady, Kathy, is allergic to chocolate so it's a vanilla cake. His mom asked him if he wanted cookies (he likes her cookies, too!), but he opted for a cake. If I know Sid, he was probably wanted the cookies, but was trying to take it easy on her old, arthritic, knees. He's sure a thoughtful guy -- generous with the treat bag, too, and he gives great ear rubs. My baby sister just FAWNS all over him, rubbing herself against his boots and giving him those long, loving looks with the sloooow blinks. She's such a little flirt.

So,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Sidney Richard Chase!!!

from your favorite blue kitty and his baby sister Toady -- er, Spunky.

As for the rest of you, PLEASE don't YOU 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!

Happy Valentine Reading!

VALENTINE READING 

RECOMMENDATIONS

FROM JACK!

Here are your bookstore cat's recommendations

for some great Valentine Reading

OR a present for your favorite Romantic.

    This one is about an author (arline will like that), Krysia Barciniak, who has no illusions about love and romance and a happily-ever-after for herself. Or about every seeing her child again. One taste of love six years earlier is more than enough for her. She already has a scarred heart. Thank you very much! Then melancholic Connor Tiernay, the new museum curator, arrives in Harmony Village, with his five-year-old daughter in hand and a proposal of marriage on his lips. And Cupid Cat, Harmony's favorite matchmaker, rubs his paws together!

OR maybe some of you would enjoy a love story with a hint of Mystery...?

    Investigating Paul Martin, estranged husband of a missing Richmond architect, undercover detective Julie Taylor finds murder, mayhem and the love of her life. Why does Paul's mother-in-law insist he's done away with his soon-to-be ex-wife? Is he an innocent victim, framed for someone else's crime? Or is Paul a clever monster in disguise?

Here's one Arline wrote. NO cats, but she didn't know ME
back then.  This one is a historical and a 
Western, no less....

    Broken-hearted, New York debutante Christianna Lawrence flees her home and meets a Blackfoot white captive on Montana's high plains. Saved from a flash flood as a boy, Rowan Cameron was destined to become a shaman. Divided by cultural misunderstandings, the extraordinary lovers surpass contrasting beliefs and join forces against railroad saboteurs--only to unleash the magic and spirit of the Ghost Dance.

And here's one from my first human Mama, Terry L. White. 

It's a historical, too, and set right here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, 

where I live. It's a series, too, but each book

can be read as a stand-alone.

    Jewel LeCompte is raised to be a lady, her blindness notwithstanding, but the events of the Civil War introduce her to the harsh reality of the work that goes with running an Eastern Shore plantation. After the war, Jewel marries Carroll Taylor, who takes her home to his own plantation, known as Baron’s Hope. Happy and expecting her first child, Jewel is finally learning to read Braille through the help of a tutor from Baltimore. Unfortunately, Carroll is swept away by a monster tide generated by one of the hurricanes that regularly scour the Atlantic coast. 

    Then Jewel finds she must run not one, but two, plantations. Overseers, Daniel Merryweather and Michael Elliott, learn just how strong the woman really is, as she survives with courage and hope, while searching to find love again, and sustain her life in the "Land of Pleasant Living."

If your girfriend  enjoyes the kind of romantic suspense 

that was written by ladies like Mary Stewart and 

Victoria Holt, back in the day, she would probably like 

Marie Prato's Vietnam era romanitic suspense, too.

    For Theresa the dating scene is bleak as all the best young men are being called up for active duty in Vietnam. She's interested in three, but is warned by a psychic she will love one, marry the wrong one, and be haunted all her life by the third. Soon, all three men are dead and the dark predictions are coming true.

All these great books are available at 

www.amazon.com in paper and also for kindle 

and at Smashwords in lots of other e-book formats, too!

Remember you  heard it from JACK!

A new book is one you haven't read yet.

Catching UP!

Valentine's Day is Coming!

Some time back, Barbara Garro asked for help from You to put together a Valentine flier for her book LOVE BITES. She sent us a copy of the finished product. Here it is.

Jack's News!

  by your Official Bookstore Cat, 

and Gossip Columnist.

Hi Folks,

More good news in the E-Mail. Terry White wrote again to remind us of the following:

Harriet Tubman Essay Contest deadline Has Been Changed !

NEW DEADLINE  March 1, 2017

So remind any students you know to get busy...

ALSO

Contributions are welcome 

to help with funding prizes for the 

Essay Contest Winners!

If you, your business or community organization can help fund the prizes,
Please Mail your contribution to:

Harriet Tubman Essay Contest
National Park Service
4068 Golden Hill Road
Church Creek, Maryland 21622

or contact:

Diane Miller, National Program Manager

Phone: 410-221-2290, x 1111
E-mail: diane_miller@nps.gov

Or

Terry Nield or Ellen Mousin
tubman.conference@gmail.com

As for around here, we are getting ready to celebrate Roger's Birthday tomorrow. Arline made his favorite cookies -- Oatmeal/Brown Sugar/Pecan/Chocolate Chip. He likes them better than cake (at least the kind SHE makes) and They are people food, of course, but quite tasty as they meet the crunch requirement. Besides, they don't produce a fire hazzard the way a cake with candles would.  Imagine ONE little birthday cake with 82 candles on it and you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, Arline keeps telling him, it's not the numbers that matter, it's just a celebration of how happy people are to have you around. Me and my baby sister are awful glad that he's around -- and not just for the guitar playing, belly scratches and ear rubs, either. HE'S the one who brings home the cat food ;D -- AND the one who gives out the most treats, too.

So,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

ROGER!!!

from your number one fan and his baby sister.

As for the rest of you, PLEASE don't YOU 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!