Crimson Footprints was written by Shewanda Pugh and published by Delphine Publications in 2012. You may purchase it at Amazon.com/kindle. Visit the author on Facebook.
By- Shewanda Pugh
On the night of her brother’s murder, Deena Hammond stumbles upon Takumi Tanaka, lost and on the wrong end of a .32. After rescuing him from the certain fate driving through the hood in a Porsche will bring, a sweet kind of friendship begins. A balm for her grief. Maybe, Deena likes to think, it happened the day her white mother killed her black father. Or maybe, it was always a part of them, like DNA gone bad. Whatever the case, Deena knows that her family would never approve, hell, never acknowledge her fast-growing love for Takumi. And had he never made love to her that way, in that unraveling, soul-searching sort of way, she could ve done the same. But love s a devil that way. So, their game begins. One where they hide what they are from everyone. Anyone. And Tak understands this for now. After all, Deena’s career hinges on the favor of her mentor and boss, his hard-ass of a father. And the Hammond family is already stretched thin with grief. Yet, each step Deena takes toward family and career brings her closer to an acceptance she s never had. And away from him.
The inter-woven complexities of life which are inherent in people who are forced to endure a clash of cultures- and the ugliness of being among both the rich and the poor- can sometimes result in a bleeding away of prejudice and the re-birth of love.
Deena, a young woman who was born and raised in a beloved but impoverished and violent prone African American family, sets out on a dream to become an architect. Her dream never falters but the challenges she faces, when she falls in love with her boss’s son, a Japanese American, would send sparks through both families. The secret is kept- but for how long will the burning secret and their fast and enduring love last?
This romantic tale is so richly told, with the characters and places so eloquently described, I had to keep reminding myself that this was written by a first time author. Shewanda Pugh is destined to be an author that you will want to follow. Crimson Footprints is very absorbing with a storyline that will touch many emotions.
I give Crimson Footprints 5 stars.
Please visit the author of this post: Tom Riddell: www.tomriddell.com
Shewanda Pugh will be our guest on The Writers Lounge Blog Talk Radio Show on Monday May 13, 2013 at 7PM Central Time-USA.
Time Will Tell was written by Eddie Upnick and published by Eloquent Books in 2010. You may purchase it at Amazon.com/kindle. Visit the author here: www.eddieupnick.com
By Eddie Upnick
The year is 2133 and the Nazis control the world. Four scientists are pressured to complete a Time Travel project in time for the 200th anniversary of Hitler’s coming to power. A plan is hatched to change history, as the four scientists are transported back to Berlin in 1938. Two SS agents from the future chase the scientists back in time, carrying with them the most hideous weapons of the 22nd century. After the war, the lives of everyone on Earth are threatened by powerful aliens with their own designs for our planet. In this story of remarkable heroism and friendship, will the forces of good defeat the forces of evil and rescue mankind from an unthinkable future? Only Time Will Tell . . .
To be presented with a book that claims that “certain facts, unknown to history, are woven into the story” and that time travel may have actually been one of those facts- obviously peaked my interest. In this “story” characters from our past, which includes Winston Churchill, President Roosevelt and Albert Einstein meet with the main character Jeff when he was a younger man.
An aged Jeff tells a nursing home employee the incredible story of being born in 2101 and of later becoming a scientist who worked on a time travel experiment in order to change his timeline in which Nazi’s controlled the world he lived in. Jeff ultimately leaves his life behind and takes the leap back into time to change his history and what could have been our future.
This is a very compelling story and it will make you wonder: Could this be real? Also woven into this novel is a side story that involves alien encounters from other worlds. The alien tale, which involves Area 51, comes in during the second half of the book. At this point, the believability level fell somewhat and it took away some of the intrigue from the time travel portion of the story- but the book still held a fascination that kept me reading.
In this life we live we should always keep an open mind. It stimulates us and most importantly it keeps our brains and imaginations healthy.
I give Time Will Tell 4 stars.
Please visit the author of this post: Tom Riddell: www.tomriddell.com
Eddie Upnick will be our guest on The Writers Lounge Blog Talk Radio Show on Monday April 29, 2013 at 7PM Central Time-USA.
The Godling Chronicles: The Shadow Of Gods was written by Brian D. Anderson and published by Mythos Press in 2013. You may purchase it at Amazon.com/Kindle. Visit the author here: http://briandanderson.blogspot.com/
By Brian D. Anderson
For the first time, human and elf must shed blood as one, in order to stem the tide of evil. But new hope has arisen. From across the Western Abyss, a people long forgotten have returned. However, hope comes at its own price. Gewey must choose between his bond of love, and his duty to the world he is struggling to save.
Gewey is faced with several challenges in book three that he must overcome if he is ever going to be able to save the world. On a very personal level he is in danger of losing the bond of love between himself and Kaylia as another very bold and interested female makes her presence in the story. And then if that is not enough- a long and hard journey through the slow sands of a desert pushes Gewey up against a fate and destiny that he no longer has the option to ignore.
To get the full story, if you haven’t already- read books one and two in The Godling Chronicles series. It’s an entrancing story about Gods, elves and humans and the amazing world that they live in.
As I picked up book three, I was excited to immerse myself back into Gewey’s world to see what he and all of his friends were up to. I was also very interested in whether the author could continue to weave his story telling magic and keep up the pace of books one and two. After reading book three, I was stunned! Books one and two were exceptionally good- but book three was better yet! The flow of the story was very easy to follow and the anticipation and excitement level kept the pages turning nonstop.
It is very easy to see how this author has The Godling Chronicles climbing the best seller charts. It is an epic tale that has “Make it into a movie!” all over it.
I give The Godling Chronicles: The Shadow Of Gods 5 stars.
Please visit the author of this post: Tom Riddell: www.tomriddell.com
Brian D. Anderson will be our guest on The Writers Lounge Blog Talk Radio Show on Monday April 15, 2013 at 7PM Central Time-USA.
Lost In London was written by Aditi Chopra and published by CreateSpace in 2013. You may purchase it at Amazon.com/Kindle. Visit the author here: http://www.aditichopra.com/
By Aditi Chopra
Rahul, a young and charming consultant who works in San Diego, California, goes on a business trip to London where he meets beautiful Priya. They feel an instant attraction towards each other; However, Priya being shy and un-trusting, holds back her emotions when Rahul returns to San Diego. Rahul also finds himself getting attracted to Mona, a co-worker in his office. As the story progresses, Rahul is torn between his feelings for Priya as well as Mona.
As we follow the two love stories, we wait for the inevitable reckoning to be made between love and true love. Lost in London is an exploration of finding and recognizing true love.
In this modern age of dating and the fast paced demand of both our professional and personal lives- it’s important to not lose our grasp on what our souls still yearn for; and that would be a true lifelong and eternal connection between two people who share a deep affinity for one another. True love is especially hard to find but if it finally comes calling, and you’re not careful and attentive, it could slip away forever.
Lost In London is a story that reminds us of how fleeting relationships can be in our fast paced world. It takes us into the lives of Priya and Rahul who share their time with one another and an attraction begins to grow in a long distance relationship. But another relationship threatens to rip Priya and Rahul apart. Can they survive the challenge?
Lost In London is perfect if you are looking for a fast read and want a little romantic interlude. It will make you think about what is important in a relationship. Although the length of this story may have been designed to be short, I encourage the author to explore and to develop her characters and plot more thoroughly in future novels. This is a good start.
I give Lost In London 4 Stars.
Please visit the author of this post: Tom Riddell: www.tomriddell.com
Aditi Chopra will be our guest on The Writers Lounge Blog Talk Radio Show on Monday April 1, 2013 at 7PM Central Time-USA.
Breaking My Silence: Confessions of a Rat Pack Party Girl and Sex Trade Survivor was written by Patti Wicklund and Jane McCormick and published by iUniverse.com in 2010. You may purchase it at Amazon.com. Visit the author here: http://breakingmysilence.net/
- By Patti Wicklund & Jane McCormick
“Breaking My Silence”, is an unembellished non-fiction memoir about Jane McCormick’s life and her survival from child abuse, domestic violence, prostitution, and human trafficking. It is co-written by Jane McCormick and Patti Wicklund, that is an absolute must read for everyone desiring to protect and prevent other innocent lives from being negatively impacted by the very perpetrators who unceasingly prey on them.
Every now and then a book comes along that gives me a good long reality check, reminds me of how torturous, unkind and disillusioned life can be- yet, the story completely and totally entertains me at the same time. This is such a book.
In this book, Jane McCormick breaks her silence and shares with us a life that was so filled with pain and torment- that pure grit and determination to make things right for herself and her two little girls propelled her into a life that most of us could only dream about.
If you are a woman, imagine if you can, of finding yourself, all of a sudden, in bed with a superstar entertainer. If you lived during the 60’s the names Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and old blue eyes himself, Frank Sinatra come to mind. The author became a high price Las Vegas call girl and found herself in bed with several big names of the time, including all of the above; but as adventurous and exciting as it all seems- the reality of it all is much different.
This story, even with its dark side, is perculating and tantalizingly exciting but it also comes with a very strong and important message that many should pay attention to. This is a book that should be read by anyone who has been sexually abused and or anyone who is thinking about heading to the bright lights of Vegas in search of riches. I read this book in record time and couldn’t pull my eyes away from the pages.
I give Breaking My Silence: Confessions of a Rat Pack Party Girl and Sex Trade Survivor a solid 5 stars.
Please visit the author of this post: Tom Riddell: www.tomriddell.com
Jane McCormick will be our guest on The Writers Lounge Blog Talk Radio Show on Monday March 18th, 2013 at 7PM Central Time-USA.
A Child is Torn “Innocence Lost” was written by Dawn Whidden and published by Brighton Publishing LLC in 2012. You may purchase it at Amazon.com/Kindle. Visit the author here: http://achildistorn.homestead.com/
By Dawn Whidden
When dependable Evan Madison fails to show up for work, police are dispatched to his home. His ten-year-old son, Brad, is discovered inside, unharmed and seemingly alone. He is stoic, sitting in front of the television playing his favorite video game, Super Mario—and he’s covered in blood.
Veteran Police Officer Marty Keal is the first on the scene. With his many years of experience, he thinks he’s seen it all. That is, until he discovers Brad’s not really alone after all. Upstairs in their bedroom lies the brutally bludgeoned and deceased bodies of both his mother and his father. When questioned, Brad confesses to the horrific murders.
Something unthinkable has happened. A ten year old boy has killed both his parents in cold blood and the first thing he does after is to go and play a video game. As I sat down to read this tale I learned the gruesome details in the description of the book. My first thought? Brad is an evil child. But the feelings and images that are associated with evil were soon swept away after I read the first few pages- when a psychiatrist named “Hope” has hope and is determined to find the answers that will save Brad.
The imagery and feeling that the author employs in the opening of this story will grab you and keep you reading until the last page is turned. The ability to bind evilness and goodness together is key in holding the interest of the reader- especially when the main character is a traumatized ten year old little boy.
The story is well written and the interest level remains throughout. The only problem I had with the book is when the sub story lines of the other characters took me away from learning more about Brad and what drove this young boy to do what he did. But even so, the author has the skill to keep the reader’s attention and all of the characters in this story are interesting and likable; so much so that we want to know more about them.
Dawn Whidden has successfully made her mark in the publishing world and I look forward to more from this skillful first time author.
I give A Child is Torn “Innocence Lost” 4 stars.
Please visit the author of this post: Tom Riddell: www.tomriddell.com
Dawn Whidden will be our guest on The Writers Lounge Blog Talk Radio Show on Monday March 14th, 2013 at 7PM Central Time-USA.
The Delivery Cut-was written by Joseph Rakowski and published by Black Rose Writing in 2012. You may purchase it at Amazon.com/Kindle. Visit the author here: www.josephrakowski.com.
By Joseph Rakowski
“I am not an unreliable pimp or cracked out drug dealer. I am not a billionaire from some foreign country, or from wherever, who does not care where his product ends up. I am not a smuggler, pusher, indirect seller, buyer, middler, lookout, or anything in between. I don’t cross borders. I am a new addition to the drug world hierarchy. I am simply and responsibly the man who brings you your needs in a suit, with a smile, and a touch of customer service.”
What struck me the most about this novel was the morally and socially acceptable path that it didn’t take me down. This story doesn’t hamstring you into the horrors of drug abuse, it literally and figuratively gives you a huge snort of reality as you take in the high flying and lucrative experience of being in the drug trades- and yes, and even with the dangers, the success that it can offer.
The Delivery Cut amazingly explains how cocaine is seen as just another simple product in a supply and demand world and it educates us, through its interestingly dark and rich characters, into how to respectfully and responsibly deliver the product with a huge emphasis on good customer service. The main character in the story delivers the drugs but he is also introduced to his merchandise and samples his goods on more than one occasion.
He describes the effects while snorting cocaine for the first time over a mirror:
“I could feel the powder running up my nose and back into my sinuses stinging a little as I finished…. I could taste the battery acid again as it dripped down my throat and I brought it into my mouth. After the third line I had a pulse in the palm of my hand and my face was entirely numb. I felt fast as my mind raced.”
The story line (no pun intended) moves along at a routine pace as the main character leaves behind his life as a law school student and begins a life of “delivering packages” for a living. The tempo of the story remained fairly consistent, with the interest of the characters holding me to the page until the surprising ending- but I would have liked to have seen more conflict injected into the story. Even so, this is a solid work of some very good writing and I would suggest going out and buying this book for your book shelf. It’s only the first in a long line of “best selling” books that I’m sure Joseph Rakowski is planning to deliver.
I give The Delivery Cut 4 stars.
Please visit the author of this post: Tom Riddell: www.tomriddell.com
Joseph Rakowski will be our guest on The Writers Lounge Blog Talk Radio Show on Monday January 7th, 2013 at 7PM Central Time-USA.
It’s Christmas time and once again millions of families and friends will gather to give their gifts to the ones they love.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
But this year, for far too many, there will be a present left unopened under their Christmas tree. My heart breaks for the families in Newtown who will have to endure and face the extremely painful sight of such a colorfully wrapped unopened gift- meant for the big bright wonder filled eyes of a 6 or 7 year old on Christmas morning. For those kids, those intended happy and magical memories will never be. But, Christmas continues for the rest of us and memories will be built and gifts will be opened…without the ones who were taken from us.
I too will feel the pain of loss this Christmas. Last year I sat in front of my Christmas tree thankful for the people in my life who reached out to me during a very painful time when my marriage came to a shockingly abrupt end. This year, the gift I have received and opened- was forgiveness. So, I am holding onto the 10 years of happy memories when my wife and I would spend Christmas mornings opening our gifts together.
But this year, the woman that I loved and spent all those Christmas’s with is also tragically gone from this life. Divorce and death has overpowered me and defined this year but forgiveness and thankfulness has also endured. And so has a sense of joy in the giving of gifts and in the living of those happy memories.
As I sit in front of my Christmas tree I am watching a gold carousel whirly ornament twirl around over the heat of a blue bulb; an exact replica of the one that my grandmother put on her tree more than 50 years ago now. Every year my grandmother and I would place that ornament in a place on the tree that would hopefully keep it twirling around through the Christmas season. “Nan” wouldn’t rest until we could find the “right spot“. That gift of memory will never die.
The unopened gifts in our lives can still be opened. We shouldn’t be afraid. We just need to understand what it all really means…to give and to live- no matter what the outcome.
The ornament needed the right amount of heat to keep it moving. For every year that I’m alive I will carry on the tradition of keeping the twirly whirly in motion. It needs warmth. It needs love to keep it going. We all do…
Merry Christmas!
Please visit the author of this post: www.tomriddell.com
Escape To Big Fork Lake was written by Mary L. Ball and published by Inspired Romance Novels in 2012. You may purchase it at Amazon.com/Kindle. Visit the author here: http://MaryLouwrites.weebly.com
By Mary L. Ball
Escape to Big Fork Lake is a little bit country, a little bit mystery and a lot of small town romance. In fact, the romance, along with small town life, is the best part of this debut work from author Mary L. Ball.
Touted as a Christian romance/suspense, I normally don’t read Christian fiction, although I have made a few exceptions. This book doesn’t fit into my normal literary wheelhouse but I was not disappointed and found it a highly enjoyable, if somewhat predictable, read. For those readers who appreciate the Christian fiction genre, Escape to Big Fork Lake will be a welcoming tale of inspiration, morals and finding God’s love. For readers who don’t care to have a strong religious message in their books, the general story, along with the light mystery, should be persuasive enough although the religious aspect is a major part of the book.
I was a bit confused about this book in the beginning. I wasn’t sure I could identify with heroine Sam and I felt a few of her actions were off and plot driven. The character of Rob seemed a bit cliché and I thought the story could have moved along nicely without him or the situation involving him, although later on in the story he did have more of a potential focus. I had actually forgotten the story was going to have a suspense angle by the time Sam left the city of Atlanta to head to Big Fork Lake, Alabama. This is when the story really took flight.
Once Sam arrived in Big Fork Lake, I liked her. She came to us full of flaws and took a less than smooth voyage of self-discovery throughout the course of the book. She turned out to be much more of a fighter than I figured her for at the beginning of the book and I was very satisfied with her at the conclusion.
The same can be said for Noah. I liked him immediately and immediately recognized that he would be Sam’s love interest. It was refreshing in this Fifty Shades of Grey saturated market to read of a man who truly courts a woman, in every old-fashioned sense. Their romance is sweet, leaving the reader with a warm longing for this innocence. Noah was an honest, upstanding man with no apparent issues and baggage – - exactly what Sam needed.
The character of Bo is a vital one, although we never actually meet him. Only in flashback and when Sam arrives at his former home and business can we piece together something about this man and his character and it becomes quickly apparent that he is the heart that drives Escape to Big Fork Lake. A selfless and basically simple person, even though he is gone before the story starts, he was a favorite character.
The mystery was on the light side, more a cozy type, and I had it figured out before it was officially cracked but the mystery was really secondary to the romance and the path was still enjoyable to take.
If there was any fault I could find with Escape to Big Fork Lake, it’s a relatively minor one. I do wish the facets of small town life were explored in more detail. Sam moved from a big, bustling city and I would have liked to have seen her transition as an outsider to a very small town more clearly. I think it would have been fun to have had more “town regulars” that were featured as the cast of characters was a relatively small one. I also would have liked to have seen Sam’s struggle or train to learn the inn and restaurant business as that appeared a bit glossed over but again, minor issues.
Overall, I found Escape to Big Fork Lake a pleasant and gratifying diversion with an uplifting message and a feel-good conclusion. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to readers looking for a clean romance and/or light mystery. It’s a good, solid debut work from Mary L. Ball and I look forward to future works by her.
Review copy of this book provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. In no way did the provision of this book affect the outcome of my review.
Please visit the author of this post: Lori Hedgpeth: www.psychoticstate.net
Mary L. Ball will be our guest on The Writers Lounge- Blog Talk Radio Show on Monday December 17, 2012 at 7PM Central Time- USA.
The Audio Sensory Guide to Schroedinger’s Cat was written by William Lutz in 2012. You may purchase it at Smashwords. Visit the author on Facebook.
- By William Lutz
From marketing a moon base on behalf of NASA, flying an old fashioned World War I biplane (after only a 5 minute lesson) to exploring the underground tunnels of an abandoned SAC airbase and hanging out with the political elite in New York city’s upper eastside, the author shares his experiences and insight, demonstrating that to live your life, you need attitude and a willingness to take chances.
When we endeavor to sit down and write some of the interesting stories of our lives, we realize at the end of the writing process that what we have just produced most often defines us as human beings and adds clarity and hopefully purpose to the time that we have spent on this little blue marble.
The author of The Audio Sensory Guide to Schroedinger’s Cat ponders an idea of physicist Erwin Shroedinger who poses the notion of what will happen to a cat in a box with a vial of poison in one corner and a bit of radioactive material in another corner- and a hammer. Sound a bit out there? It is but consider a more meaningful and deeper point put forth by the author that we all can relate to:
“We all exist in a box of our own creation based on our beliefs and notions, facing situations beyond our control, held hostage to an unknown fate. You are made up of a multitude of discrete moments; how you draw the lines of your life is entirely up to you. Life feels like we’re living through a film or a book; sometimes the only choice we ultimately have any control over is our choice of soundtrack. Within our respective boxes the only thing you can do is determine what you’re going to do while you’re in your box- and figure out what music you’ll listen to while you’re doing it…”
The moral of the idea here, as the author points out, is to “make each moment worthwhile” and to “draw a life worth remembering and sharing with others.” And to do it now before the end comes- or do it before the hammer falls.
William Lutz takes us on some of his life’s adventures through the scope of 10 interesting stories. Some of his stories will have you scratching your head and you will be nudged to wondering: Are these stories for real??? For instance the first story is about his learning to fly a biplane at the instruction of a drunk land owner. Other tales in this collection include selling magnetic levitation trains for a moon base, his experience with ghosts, his political exploits and in another one of his life’s adventures he touches on how he stuck a goat filled with Ex-lax in the deans office.
Through it all, the author makes his point. He has made a life worth remembering and a book worth buying.
I give The Audio Sensory Guide to Schroedinger’s Cat 4 stars.
Please visit the author of this post: www.tomriddell.com
William Lutz will be our guest on The Writers Lounge- Blog Talk Radio Show on Monday December 10, 2012 at 7PM Central Time- USA.
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