Carbon Copy: Alpha Man - Gary Turcotte

The only adjective I can think to accurately describe this book is 'interesting'.

Not that the story is bad or anything - it's just...odd. You have an agent whose identity is constantly put under the knife so he can assume other identities. (So maybe Joan Rivers is a secret agent after all...) But in the midst of one of his latest reconstruction operations, his mind is implanted with knowledge of the alien sort...literally. The alien's name is Roswell and he likes Jell-O. I am deadly serious here.

This agent, Derek, and a few of his agent buddies (amazing he can figure out who they are with all the nip-tucks going on) go along with this weird alien thing and one of them, Janet, gets implanted with a hybrid 'superbaby'. The males of the group get the treatment they would more likely receive at a sperm bank - make your deposit, and your payment is the joy of creating more weird alien hybrids. Oh, wonderful.

Then the story weirds out when Derek and Janet are abducted willingly, given new faces, and decide "Oh, I don't want to do this 007 stuff anymore - I want to raise a family and go to Wal-Mart!" So they have to fake their previous identities's deaths and assume their new ones in order to find any peace and quiet.

Well...it's not like anyone could recognize them anyway. Let's just hope they're well supplied with Jell-O.

The Artist Within - Whitney Ferre

"The Artist Within" is Liberation in three steps and fifteen exercises. The subtitle proclaims this book to be a guide to becoming creatively fit, but it is so much more than that. In equal parts "The Artist Within" is a companion, coach, creativity workshop, and collaborator.

The methods author Whitney Feere uses in this book are straight-forward, practical, and understandable. Anyone can do them. The only thing that is uncommon is the result! It works. Most people spend their workaday lives using the logical, verbal and analytical parts of their brains. The way the author introduces the reader to "the artist within" is to use these different exercises to stimulate the other side of the brain. By giving that portion a recognizable voice, it makes a connection with it easy with practice. The exercises the author leads the read through build upon one another effortlessly. You create from the start! You can get even more resources from the author's website http://www.creativelyfit.com/

The exercises are organized as explorations in the most commonly acknowledged principles of design: emphasis, balance, proportion, harmony, contrast, rhythm, and repetition. Each exercise builds a new confidence in oneself as well as materials and methods of creating different kinds of art. Each variation in these concepts and techniques is intuitive, quick and most importantly, fun.

If you want to discover or develop your creativity, this is the book that was worth waiting for and will get you in touch with a part of yourself that can't wait to meet you too.

The Strength of a Sparrow - Tim Anders

"The Strength of a Sparrow" is a catchy urban romance with generous helpings of suspense, discovery and family history. Largely seen through the eyes of a young actress, Bouvette Sherwood, and based on her true life experience, this story is an interesting read.

The story begins in an Italian restaurant in the upper east side of Manhattan in 1946. A 25 year old Bouvette meets Hughie, a distinguished older man with a taste for Dewar's White Label Scotch. Bouvette, or "Boo" as her friends call her, learns more about Hughie, she finds he has a secret. He is a Roman Catholic priest.

As their romance develops, so does the intrigue of a forbidden relationship. Time and passion raise the stakes, and when Bouvette becomes pregnant, the story becomes a full fledged suspense. This developing romance with its surprising twists builds velocity as it moves along. It's well paced and filled with warmly developed characters and locales that sparkle with personality.

"The Strength of a Sparrow" is a rich and structurally complex story. The changes between the viewpoint characters, Bouvette and Hughie, are unusual for a traditional romance. Another viewpoint character, the author, appears late in the story to add another colorful square to this interestingly quilted, patchwork story. Bouvette and Hughie each make some hard choices and those decisions determine lives are changed lives forever. The story morphs into autobiography there, closing the curtain on the author's parent's romance.

Because this story is based on events that really happened and involves real people with real human strengths and weaknesses, some scenes are intense.

The Bouncing Boy - ILIA

A boy confused for a bouncing ball helps save a village from a disease of head-grown flowers and sour-puss attitudes. Awkward concept, but it surprisingly works.

ILIA's unique tale of Jack, a full-faced and -bodied kid and victim of quite a jab and insult in his small village, leads the child to a life of glutton after being cast out of his village and into the wilderness beyond. But an old man, witness to the birth of the Sad Situation, a sudden growth of odiferous flowers atop the villagers' heads, seeks the boy's assistance in finding the disease's cure. The unlikely duo head out from the village into the unknown in search of the antidote, encountering many an obstacle along the way. But will their efforts be enough to save the villagers?

There's good moral behind the story, but it seems a little weirdly emphasized. The first few pages are almost dedicated solely to the teasing and insulting poor Jack receives from the villagers, highlighting the cruelness of the villagers and the slim likelihood that Jack would ever put one pinky finger towards helping them. But I guess that is the moral...not do unto others as they do unto you, but rather do unto those with stinky flowers on their heads.

Blood Lines (NCIS) - Mel Odom

Talk about a complicated father-son relationship.

NCIS's Shel McHenry's father pops up missing and McHenry recruits his fellow teammates to help him figure out what's going on. Turns out a drug ring in Vietnam has a past connection to him and he's running from a potential imprisonment or execution due to an unintended murder. Now NCIS must hunt down the decades-old corpse of the victim to uncover the truth.

Mel Odom is an excellent writer, through and through; he flawlessly injects needed shots of drama in all the right places. Each character's personality shines through, including Shel's God-fearing brother Don, an uplifting dose of religion sparingly added to the grim tale. Odom packs the tale with bushelfuls of adventure and nail-biting suspense that is a rarity in some of today's novels.

Baron Thinks Dogs Are People Too! - Laurie Dean

What's a puppy to do when he can't find a best friend?

Laurie Dean writes of precocious puppy Baron, a family pet that, despite energetic and rowdy playing and caring from his owners, decided one day to wander into the road. Don't worry, he's okay - he just has to pass obedience school! When he finally makes it home, he finds some of his friends leaving, like Dad, who's in the Air Force, and the neighborhood kids that finished their fun and playing in the snow. Will Baron find the friend he's seeking?

This story is just too cute for its own good. Maybe it's my soft spot for dogs, but the concept is absolutely adorable. Kevin Collier's accompanying artwork just adds to the story, increasing the tale's impact. It's easy to understand and should be present on every dog-loving kiddo's bookshelf.

Too Tall Alice - Barbara Worton

Four inches can seem like four miles to an eight-year-old.

So is the case for Alice, who's had a little bit of a growth spurt and is now four inches taller than her classmates at Cherry Tree School. Like many of a similar age, Alice wishes only to fit in with her buddies and not be able to get a good look of the top of their heads. Her Mom and doctor say she's healthy and fine, but Alice doesn't feel that great. Things are made worse when, while in her bedroom, Alice overhears conversation between her neighbors and parents, who speak of their daughter's vertical advantage. When Alice falls asleep at last, she dreams of a place where only tall girls reside, girls with futures in basketball, modeling and the circus. Will Alice ever feel comfortable with her height?

Worton's writing is very fluid and light, but Alice's unsure sentiments are evident and strong. Its message of self-esteem even in times of difference or awkwardness is pure and influential, surely to help kids (and maybe even a few adults!) with issues of self-image. To be noted also is illustrator Dom Rodi's whimsical sketches and images accompanying the book, mixing various elements to create a crowded, yet thought-provoking tale.

Collision of Angels - Michael Carver

Historically, the inauguration of America's first African-American president has come and gone with celebrations abound. But unlike this year of presidential firsts, Michael Carver's Collision of Angels explores another side to a potential American leadership, asking a very important question: What would happen if a man of God was elected president?

Enter Tony Campbell, a company CEO with an ever-growing relationship with The Man Upstairs, and son-in-law to Silas Jackson, a man with a brilliant idea. He and his friends have more than enough money to support the idea, and they have just the right person to fill the spot - why not kick off an presidential campaign for Tony? Though hesitant at first, Tony quickly falls into step with his father-in-law after a bathroom visit from the Lord himself. But as the time to announce his running draws closer, the word of Tony's running leaks to the press thanks to buddy Pete's troublesome son and basketball superstar Karl.

Though the addition of Satan's little sneaky henchmen add a little bit of cheese to the story, the book is very solid and beautifully written. Carver is a clearly religious man and writes as so, but not in a preachy, off-putting manner like most religious books. He just tells the story of a man who heavily believes and lives for his relationship with Jesus, a rare find in this day and age. The overall concept also raises questions about our nation's current political state and about what would happen if this country was finally governed again on the principles it was founded and built on.

Keeping Hannah Waiting by Dave Clarke

Have you ever read a book and thought how great the movie of it would be? This is one of those stories! "Keeping Hannah Waiting" is a beautiful and compelling story by veteran author and child of two Holocaust survivors, Dave Clarke. This is a classic romance wrapped in a mystery and knitted together by art, history, and Holocaust.

Kate McBride inherits an attic full of books from her mother. One of the books, titled "Die Zulassung, 1940" contains a real surprise - a breathtaking painting of a young woman lying in a field of lavender. Only after she sells the painting for $50 million does she find that the painting was stolen by the Nazis from its rightful owner. Unable to get the painting back, Kate wants to give the money from its sale to the original owner - if she can find that person. Solving the mystery of who is the painting's rightful owner takes Kate on a journey of the most interesting kind, one that runs right through the heart.

To show us how the painting was created, the story jumps back in time to Russia in 1910. The romance between an artist and the beauty that eventually becomes his model is a familiar one. If you liked "Titanic", then you will definitely like "Keeping Hannah Waiting."

This story covers a lot of history. It is rich with culture and the characters are real enough to jump right off the page. Its scant 267 pages is simply not enough to tell a story this big. This shortness really hurts in two ways. The description of the end of the romance between the model and the artist occurs in just two pages. If that part of the story had been written as tenderly and compellingly as the rest of this really good book, then it would have been great. The story of how the Nazis steal the painting happens in just a few pages as well leaving the reader with a sense of "what might have been" rather than the "wow" that is the rest of this book.

"Keeping Hannah Waiting" is good and definitely worth every minute of the read. Another fifty pages would have made this great. I hope the author adds those missing pages at some point in the future. The quality of the writing and the powerful elements of the story make this a pleasure to read.

The Book of Names - D. Barkley Briggs

An excellent young-adult tale of mystery and fantasy, Briggs writes of brothers Haydn and Ewan Barlow, whose strange discovery of a rune-carved archway on their father's land leads to the entrance into a world of magic and wonder. Once found in the land, Karac Tor, the two are said to be destined for greatness, but only if they can survive the tragedies and battles that befall them while seeking their route back home. If they do live to tell their story, will the Brothers Barlow truly be the rumored 'champions' of the mysterious land?

Briggs has an excellent way of writing a detailed tale without too much being revealed. True friends and enemies are anyone's guess as the brothers lose, find, and lose each other on their journey through the land, but only an atom of a large and complicated truth is unveiled in the ending, flawlessly leading into another twisted and meandering tale of adventure and suspense.

The Eagle - Jack Whyte

The Eagle is the final book in Jack Whyte's Camulod Chronicles, a true historical fiction take on the Arthurian tales. It is also the second book that completes the story of Clothar of Gaul, legendarily known as Sir Lancelot.

The story begins after Clothar and Arthur have become close friends and military compatriots. Arthur is king and soon decides to send Clothar back to Gaul to engage trade and agreements with like-minded kingdoms across the channel.

Clothar, between Gaul and Britain, is instrumental in fighting many of the enemies found on the island and in modern-day Europe, including the forces of Attila the Hun.

His friend and king, Arthur, begins to show his vulnerability and matters in Britain begin to deteriorate and Arthur asks Clothar for one last request, which Clothar has difficulty in performing.

The Eagle is a fitting end to Whyte's tale of Arthur's Britain. There are some chapter's of battle but a majority of the book is spent on continuing to develop Clothar's character. The author also explains his opinion of some of the more juicy tales of the supposed love triangle between Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere.

Nox Dormienda - Kelly Stanley

I'm sure this new-fangled genre of so-called 'roman noir' requires a certain audience to attract interest and keep it, but I was not a part of that audience.

The only way I could possibly tell you what the book is about is by reading the back cover, and even then, it isn't completely clear. The invention of a brand new genre of literature is great and all, but if you can't back it up with some good can't-put-it-down, balls-to-the-walls reading, it's not going to do much good.

So, here's what I got from my 94 pages of reading - this Agricola governor dude has gotten himself into a coliseum full of poop and is now being called to resign by this spy, whose married to a chick that Agricola's friend and doctor fancies. Okay, first off, I didn't know they had 'spies' back then, and two, it's already a bit too Bold and the Beautiful for me. But oh, wait! The spy ends up dead. Woo hoo! Gladiator brawls for all!

Not exactly. This lovelorn doctor guy suddenly becomes Sherlock Holmes Jr. and takes it upon himself to find out who murdered this spy. Sure, it may help clear the governor's name if he does that, but I thought 'governors' and emperors and all them were pretty powerful people on their own. Can't they just have their accusers buried in a pyramid or something?

I wasn't thoroughly impressed with what I read, but that is one person's opinion. If this sounds like your type of reading, hitch a chariot and go for it.

We Call you Saint.

The name ignited a light in Carl’s mind. Saint. He’d been covertly recruited for Black Ops and given his life to the most brutal kind of training any man or woman could endure. He was here because he belonged here. To the X Group. An assasin. The most effective killer in the world. And yet . . . Carl Strople struggles to retain fleeting memories that betray an even more ominous reality. He’s been told part of the truth--but what’s the rest? Invasive techniques have stripped him of his identity and made him someone new--for this he is grateful. But there are some things they can’t take from him. The love of a woman, unbroken loyalties to his past, the need for survival.

From the deep woods of Hungary to the streets of New York, Saint takes you on a journey of betrayal in a world of government cover-ups, political intrigue, and one man’s search for the truth. In the end, that truth will be his undoing.
- Publisher's Description

Well, wow. That's about I can say about this fast paced thriller. I couldn't put it down. The 2nd book in the Paradise collection continue the story of Project Showdown. It's like a psycholigical Bourne Identity, with a Christian tilt. You can't trust anyone, nothing seems true and everything is out of place for "Carl." Luckily a few people come into his life and help him see the truth. And the Truth will set Carl free.

A Civil General by David Stinebeck and Scannell Gill

'A Civil General' is a fictionalized account of the General George Henry Thomas story. Thomas earned his reputation as one of Civil War's toughest fighting generals in battles like Chickamauga, Chattanooga and Ringgold. His story is told through the first person point of view of a friend and subordinate - Colonel William Swain, a regimental commander.

Great pains were taken to make this book as historically accurate as possible. This accuracy extends all the way to language the characters use. The dialogue is well done and reads easily. The scenes from the section of the book dealing with the Battle of Chattanooga, the campaigning in Tennessee and its aftermath are very interesting and detailed. The illustrations that are used to depict them use enticing, historically accurate imagery.

The first person telling of the story develops and become more interesting as the pages turn. The second half of the story reads very quickly as the Col. Swain develops a love interest, Neala, and goes to visit her. The romance between them is tender and very well done. He communicates with her by letter and eventually marries her.

With all the sound and fury of the battles through Tennessee coming to a climax in the middle of the book, the death of General Thomas shortly thereafter unfortunately transforms his funeral into the climax of the story. The unfortunate way that several of the Washington elites and senior generals handled themselves before and during the funeral is jaw dropping and embittering. The epilogue notes that Mrs. Thomas never attended a military event. After reading this account of what happened, I can't say I blame her at all.

A Civil General by David Stinebeck and Scannell Gill (Sunstone Press, 2008).
ISBN: 978-0-86534-663-5
Price: $20.95, Softcover, 6x9, 160 pages.

Dear John by Norma Betz

Dear John
~Norma L Betz
978-1-4343-1071-2

This is a delightful first novel from an author who shows great promise.

A young woman is faced with the death of her last relative - the aunt she was named for and who helped her when her parents were tragically killed when she was nineteen. Through love, support and financial assistance, her aunt made sure she completed college and graduate school. As young adults do, Suzanna allowed the distance to grow between them as she established her life and career. Now, her only family was gone and she had to face the obligation to sort through the life that is gone. Any adult who has faced becoming an orphan can relate to the multitude of emotions that one suffers through.

With her companion, Quincy, a five-year-old Weimaraner, Susanna heads to the home she has inherited from her aunt. When she arrives, she meets the people who have shared her aunt's life and the haunting questions about her past. She inherits a treasure trove of history from their ancestor Abigail Adams, including some of the letters she wrote to John Adams in the beginning of the Revolution. Susanna becomes inspired by Abigail's letters. And, she becomes inspired by her aunt's life as she gets to know her aunt's friends, and finds that they are embracing her as a friend as well. It is the story of the strength of a family of women... the quiet strength that keeps them going through life. While Suzanna is admiring it in Abigail and her Aunt Suzanna, she comes to realize that it is something else she shares with them.

Unfortunately, the wealth of the treasures become a target for someone unscrupulous and causes grave danger to Susanna and Quincy and their new friends, as well as the beginnings of love.

Anyone who is interested in American history will enjoy a journey into some of the letters of Abigail Adams during the early years of the Revolution. The journey is memorable and a remarkable window on the world of 1775.

I really enjoyed this book!

The critical side of me has to complain loudly about the font used for the letters of Abigail Adams. It was nice to have a font change to distinguish the letters from the story, but the one used was difficult to read, which made it harder to enjoy the wealth of the letters and to enjoy the book.

If I were to give any advise to Norma Betz, I would say DO NOT HOLD BACK. I felt like she was always trying to neatly package and contain her characters, yet she had created these wonderfully deep characters who wanted to breathe. Let them breathe! Quincy, too!

I hope Norma Betz follows with a second book!

Her website is found here.

A Must Have for the Writers on the Elusive Agent Hunt!

Authoress, the anonymous champion of all aspiring writers, has done it again! Her latest endeavor is a no nonsense guide to starting that agent hunt and the tools to avoid pitfalls that so many of us fall into.
Many of you are familiar with her blog http://misssnarksfirstvictim.blogspot.com/ and her Hook the Agent contests. She also has many crit opportunities for her blog followers.
Over-all, she's just one of those really helpful people that try and make a difference by sharing her time, words of wisdom, and giving other's a chance to get a leg up in the elusive agent hunt. That being said, her new e-book release is now available:
This can be purchased for $9.99 on Authoress's blog (the link is above). It is an e-book, so talk about instant gratification!

The resources that she gives you are priceless. You could spend months and months researching these things on the web, read books on getting published (which are certainly not going to be cheaper), and would still be left wondering where to start.

Authoress has given you the tools, the lists (I so love lists), and the places to go so that you can too can find an agent, and then how to go about getting an agent that is right for you.

If you have written, are writing, or even thinking about writing something, this is a tool that you NEED. Go visit her blog, look around, and order her book. I promise you won't be sorry!

Oh yeah, and tell her Terri sent you...not that I get a kick-back, but I have a secret fantasy that maybe she's Nora Roberts, or JK Rowling, or Diana Gabaldon and I'd like to have brownie points!

Lady Flatterley - Linda Wagner

Who knew a caterpillar could be so self-conscious?

In this adorable, well-illustrated tale, Wagner's yellow jacket caterpillar Lady Flatterley longs for the wings that many a friend and passerby ride the winds on, but is a bit afraid of leaving the safety of her leafy nest and unaware of what to do to obtain her own wings. A knowledgeable butterfly informs her of the wonder of the cocoon, and soon, though not without trouble, Flatterley bears a pair of wings all her own.

The colorful, whimsical illustrations by Pearl Ollie add a child-like grace to the fluent rhymes, while photographer Jerry Hanzl's cloudy backdrops add an undeniably beautiful canvas for the story. Further, Ollie's additions of emotional expression to each present creature, whether fish or flyer, had relatable, human-like qualities to otherwise strange, placid nature-dwellers. 

An excellent read for the children of youth and the children of heart.

In A Time of War ~ Bill Murphy Jr

In A Time of War:
The Proud and Perilous Journey of
West Point's Class of 2002

By Bill Murphy Jr

When September 11, 2001 happened, the senior class at West Point was to become the first class to graduate during the War on Terror. At their graduation, they heard President Bush deliver the speech that became known as the 'Bush Doctrine' - America would take the fight to the enemy. They were destined to become the junior officers on the front lines of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Bill Murphy's book follows a small group of the graduates of 2002 - friends who stay close through West Point, advanced training, deployments, marriages, children, wounds and death. From around the globe, their friendship bonded them together.

The book follows these young officers in many settings and experiences. As life unfolds, Mr. Murphy shares the all too human successes and disappointments, the wounds external and internal, the death of friends and the mourning of friends and family. They serve. They sacrifice. And, most of all, they stay friends.

Since this is a true story, nothing fits tidily in a box for the plot. But, the people are so memorable that you will never forget some of them....


Drew Sloan -
Drew was wounded in Afghanistan, after many surgeries to rebuild his face, requested deployment to Iraq. He is currently at Harvard in graduate school.








Todd Bryant
Todd lost his life in Iraq - October 31 2003 - leaving behind his new wife Jen.










Tim Moshier
Tim was an Apache helicopter pilot who lost his life in Iraq on April 1, 2006






Their stories should be on the front pages of newspapers in this nation. Unfortunately, they are not. But, Bill Murphy tells their stories in this remarkable book that everyone should read.


The author's web page is http://www.inatimeofwar.com/

The Ark, the Reed, & The Fire Cloud - Jenny L. Cote

Even a non-religious person like myself can appreciate the beauty of this wonderful read.

Max, a Scottish terrier, and Liz, a beautiful black cat, are called from their individual homes to lead an ever-growing group of animals to Noah's recently-finished Ark. Along the way are many obstacles that, with a little help from the Maker and his trail-blazing fire cloud, the slew of furry creatures successfully cross. But once they board the ark and settle in, a controversy starts to brew. Are the reclusive wolves causing all the chaos that is slowly severing the friendly ties between the animals and the humans? If not them, who could be responsible for such a task? It's up to the brave and intelligent pairing of Max and Liz to find out before it's too late. 

This book had me flipping through chapter after chapter, anxiously following the creatures from distant and nearby lands to the Ark. Each character, no matter how big a part, has their own personality that shines through, providing humorous relief or a jaw-dropping twist to the story. Cote flawlessly links the details of the trip with the recordings of the Bible. The closing of the adventure is beautiful and tear-inducing. An amazing literary work. 

Otis the Musical Owl ~ Joseph N Chappelle

Otis the Musical Owl

Joseph N Chappelle

This is the story of an owl who is injured, taken to a rehab facility and then escapes and begins a quest to find his family. This children's book is part fact, part fiction and lots of fantasy, but there are no illustrations to assist the gaps in the story line.

One must suspend all logic while reading this book. It flits from reality to fantasy and back again. I felt that many pages had fallen out - that the story was denied its destiny to flourish. There were too many sections where the story never finished and went off in a different direction. There is amazing creativity here, but the story should have been fuller and longer.

It is a shame, as it raises many philosophical questions that are good for children to ponder.