Elvis the Gunslinger - A Review

It’s a Wild West tail tale with a twist – baseball and cricket have not been invented, nary a human to be found, dogs instead of horses and cats rule.

ELVIS THE GUNSLINGER by Romey Connell

According to the book blurb if you were to cross John Wayne and James Bond you would get Elvis the Gunslinger.  To all appearances he is a gentlecat rancher but the truth is he is a government agent – the best of the best.  After a night spent putting out a mysterious fire in his dog barn and chasing down the feline culprit Elvis’ partner Frank shows up announcing they are leaving on the train ASAP to take on a case.  The son and daughter-in-law of millionaire cat Morris Pusserschmott IV have been kidnapped and Fatscat, the meanest, smelliest outlaw in the west is the prime suspect.  Elvis and Fatscat have history so who better to get to his hideout compound and see that justice is done.

Elvis is a hard drinking, hard loving lawman but that never gets in the way of his clever clue solving skills.  And like any good G-man he always gets his man!

This fun read got off to a bit of a slow start for me.  I found myself rolling my eyes at the beginning – you really need to suspend reality for this book – but soon enough I was caught up in the elaborate kidnapping scheme, the witty repartee between Frank and Elvis, the twists and turns of the case and the very creative characters Mr. Connell has written about. 

I enjoyed the case, the chase and the resolution of the story but one of the dangers when anthropomorphizing cats is walking the fine line between making them too true to their feline nature or giving them too many human qualities.  In this case Mr. Connell leaned a little to the latter.  I was expecting more of a “cat tale”.  This would have been a good read if the characters were human and, granted, replacing them with cats made it imaginative and often humorous but it would have been more fun (for me) with a few more cat-like moments and behaviours.

Overall, once I got used to the cat characters, this was a fun read.  Definitely intended for a late teen to adult audience.  3.5 stars for this one and if pushed would lean towards rounding up to 4 because it was creative and the story picked up in the last half of the book.

* I won this book in a contest by the Purrington Post, so would like to thank them for sending me this book at no charge with no expectation of a review *

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from his Amazon author page)

The oldest of four children, Romey Connell grew up in a suburban waterfront community in the Baltimore/Annapolis area, and moved with his family to their nearby horse farm at the age of 14. He graduated from the Auburn University School of Business in 1985 and the Cornell Law School in 1988, whereupon he moved to Atlanta, Georgia.

Romey has been married to his lovely wife, Gretchen (an extremely talented artist and photographer), for fifteen years and they are blessed with two wonderful children, Jerry (13) and Jamie (11). In 2010, after EyeWonder was sold, Romey left the working world for a while, so that he could spend as much time as possible with his family. They live in the Lake Claire neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta.

Though spending time with family is foremost these days, Romey’s interests include travel, sports, the outdoors, beer and food, not necessarily in that order. He firmly believes that you should be wary of persons who do not get along well with children or animals. Romey is a fan of nearly all genres of music, although he is partial to those in which the artists actually play instruments, and he considers dancing all night to be the greatest form of recreation.

A Change of Heart - A Review

Urban fantasy is not my usual go-to genre, but tempt me with vampires and I can be convinced to give one a try.  The bonus is that the vampires in this one are bloody and brutal – just the way I like ‘em.

A CHANGE OF HEART by Mark Benjamin

Gabriel Harper could be the poster boy for the fellow they kick sand on at the beach.  Smart and nice doesn’t always cut it and the bullies soon found he was an easy mark for their fun.  Escaping from one such attack by diving behind a dumpster Gabriel never thought it would change his entire world.  That’s where he came across the dying Lucas, one of “The Royals” in the vampire community.  Lucas had never procreated but with his dying gasp he decided to turn Gabriel.

Alone and not knowing what was happening to him Gabriel navigates, with the help of a strange voice in his head, what it takes to be a vampire and the reader is introduced to a very unique world of vampires and the Silver Legionnaires – those who hunt them.

When Gabriel and three of his friends are unexpectedly yanked from their everyday lives and into the fortress of the Legionnaires life becomes very uncomfortable for Gabriel.  Although he is a “hybrid” no one knows his secret, so how does a new vampire live among those determined to eradicate them.  As the story progresses the reader realizes that things are not happy in either camp and, while each community is determined to rid themselves of the other, a little extra spice was added because each community also had traitors within their midst.  Would the vampires and the Legionnaires destroy each other or would they be destroyed from within?

This was a fairly lengthy book and just as I thought things could be moving ahead at a little faster pace Mr. Benjamin threw in a twist I was certainly not expecting.  Well done as it certainly gave me my second wind.

This book starts out with a bang.  Mr. Benjamin definitely drops you right into the middle of the action and then just as you feel you need to catch your breath he the reader back to the norm … Gabriel’s world as a college student.  From that point on the book follows a pretty straightforward time-line.  While the book is written in the third person each short chapter is headed with the name of the character that the chapter features.  I have no problem reading in this manner but the book has an overabundance of characters to keep straight and, rather than helping, the chapter headings seemed to make it more difficult to keep the minor characters straight.

I did enjoy this book.  It was, in my opinion, a very original take on the vampire tale while still staying true to the nature of the beast.  It also gave me a vampire protagonist I couldn’t help but like without making him too “twilighty”.  I did feel that some of the characters had rather juvenile reactions to certain situations considering their twenty-something age bracket but this is book one in “The Royal Blood Chronicles” so I am going to assume the characters mature as the series progresses.  I am also going to assume that I received an ARC because the book could have benefited from a last fine-tooth-comb edit.

I would definitely pick up the next one because I am curious as to where the story is going to go.

3.5-Stars for this one.

I would like to thank the author for providing me with the book at no charge to read and review.

This in no way influenced my opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from his amazon author page) 

Mark Benjamin is the author of two books - one, in an adult urban fantasy series, The Royal Blood Chronicles; and the second, a short story. Devouring all books he could get his hands on from an early age, he managed to ruin his eyesight by reading (when he should have been asleep) under his bedcovers with a torch (video games had no say in his bad eyesight...okay, maybe a little). His love of books translated to a passion for writing, which he began aged ten (he still has his first juvenile novel to this day).

Currently working for a national bank, his dream job is to be a full-time author, a path he fully took when he sent a sample of his work to a ten-week introductory fiction course funded by an American foundation and conducted worldwide in 2010. Out of the 15 available slots, one was his out of hundreds of thousands of applicants (okay, perhaps a slight exaggeration, but it was advertised in the national dailies).

When not writing his third book or planning literary world domination, Mark enjoys spending time with his wife, entertaining his under one-year old daughter, playing on his Playstation (AnnA) and reading (obviously).

Farfel and Bob - Two Reviews

Sometimes you just have to read something light and fun, and if that something is told by two absolutely charming "talking" cats, well – all the better.  This was my first introduction to Bob and his best buddy Farfel and it was cat-love at first read.

FARFEL AND BOB’S SUMMER BROMANCE by Kendra Carmichael

Bob lives with Marcia who adopted him when she decided a cat was a better relationship than some of the boyfriends she had had.  Needless to even say, she spoiled him thoroughly.  One day Marcia came home and told Bob that she would have to be away every Wednesday evening for several weeks because of a new project at work.  Hmmm – this was going to be a bit disruptive to his life because Bob like to spend his evenings on the fence with his best friend Farfel.  Farfel’s life was a little more stressful than Bob’s because he lived with Mr. and Mrs. Gregson, Teenager, Bird and his nephew kitty, Rooster.  Farfel liked to “unwind” during their time on the fence so he was quite shocked when

Bob announced the change in plans.

"Having a busy family to care for, Farfel relied on his evening with Bob for much needed

down-to-earth cat companionship."

Now, Farfel was an awesome hunter so he decided that on his, now unoccupied, Wednesday evenings he would patrol the perimeter of Bob’s house.  When he caught a mouse he would deposit it on Bob’s doorstep as a gift.

“Bob, who didn't even like mice that much, especially not dead ones, purred as he looked on. Because, as much as Marcia loved him, Bob liked knowing Farfel loved him too.”

Nice kitty idea but, unfortunately Marcia didn’t agree – and – she thought it must be Bob hunting since the mouse was on her doorstep.  But how was he getting out of the house while she was away?  Marcia had to get to the bottom of this mystery!

FARFEL AND BOB’S SUPER STRESSFUL WEEKEND by Kendra Carmichael

Teenager has gotten his hands on some firecrackers and when he sets one off in the house Farfel runs out to join Bob on the backyard fence, his fur standing on end and definitely looking spooked.  “That’s the last claw” proclaims Farfel … being scared out of his own home.  Bob wasn’t too sure what firecrackers were and could only imagine something as horrible as the “tail devouring vacuum monster” or the “heat emitting hair-dryer monster”.  Teenager, now relegated to the outdoors by Mrs. Gregson, continued on with the fireworks in the driveway.  The two cats ran to Bob’s house and quickly scooted into the basement for safety.  It wasn’t long before Farfel detected mice. Bob either lacked the hunting gene or was a conscientious objector because he just let them be.  Before Bob could explain Farfel had caught and killed one of the mice. 

Marcia was devastated to know rodents were in her house and had to come up with a cat-friendly way to rid her home of these pests.  Farfel just shakes his head in disbelief at her plan and Bob makes an interesting discovery about himself.

When Ms. Carmichael reached out to me through of my “Stay at HomeKitty” twitter page to ask if I would like to read a couple of her books I agreed.  I was a little apprehensive because one never knows what one is going to get but in this case I was more than pleasantly surprised.  These books are beyond cute and the stories are accompanied by her amusing artwork.   I fell in love with Bob and Farfel and their little adventures. 

These stories will appeal to and be a fun, quick read for adults (especially those who love their feline fur babies) but the stories are definitely G-rated and would make a great introduction to short chapter books for young readers.  The illustrations will help bring the stories to life and the “cat dialogue” will be something to chuckle over as your youngster reads along.

Make sure to check out her website and her blog … there’s all kind of awesome freebies available to give you a little sample of “Farfel and Bob”.

I would like to thank Ms. Carmichael for providing me with these books to review at no charge.  

This is not way influenced my opinions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from her web page)

A former interactive media developer, Kendra turned her creative skills toward storytelling in order to find more meaning in life. It turns out the same skills that can write JavaScript can craft stories about feline hijinks.

An expert in cat ownership, she’s had eight cats in the course of her life, plus many others that have been temporary residents (mostly due to lack of timely feline birth control).

She currently lives with The One Cat to Rule Them All in New England, where she does all the shopping, cooking, and snow shoveling herself. Occasionally, the cat supervises, when she’s not busy napping.

THE MUSES

Farfel is partly based on my cat Jack, who passed a few years back. Both are fat and orange, with super soft fur. While Farfel is happy-go-lucky, however, Jack was angsty and, well, he’d bite you.

Though they would sometimes play together, Jack and Awesometown engaged in a massive power struggle for house dominance the entire time they lived together! Stressful for the human (me).

Now that she is queen of her own house, Awesometown refuses to even contemplate adding another feline to the household. Though, when my mother visits, she does tolerate the dreaded dog.

Fosgate's Game - A Review

I’m always on the lookout for a good horror story so when I got the email that I’d won a copy of this one I was quite excited to read it.  I’ve read a few other novellas by Mr. Cassidy and, like those, this one did not disappoint. 

FOSGATE’S GAME by David C. Cassidy

Chadwick and Fosgate were business associates but that was all they had in common.  Fosgate is a hunter, a brute, insensitive to other people’s feelings, concerns and fears.   Chadwick was more sensitive – his ulcer flares up when he is in Fosgate’s company, the hunter’s trophies on the wall disturb him and thunderstorms are a phobia – and tonight’s dinner did indeed take place a very dark and stormy night.  Chadwick understands that Fosgate takes a perverse sort of joy playing on his fears but it cannot be helped; these ongoing evenings are a necessity of doing business.

But this night is different.

This night Fosgate shares a mysterious secret about an object he picked up in his travels, a chess set with pieces so grotesque Chadwick could not comprehend why and who would have carved them.  The set should have stayed hidden in it’s case.  It emanated evil, but worse; Fosgate wanted to play!

This book had me in its grip from the first page.  Chadwick’s fear and loathing of Fosgate was palpable and as the evening and Chadwick’s discomfort progressed so did mine. Since I don’t care for Jason and Chainsaw “slasher” type horror finding a good old-fashioned scare seems few and far between these days.  Rest assured there is still the requisite amount of mayhem, death, blood and gore but Mr. Cassidy does not feel the need to slap you in the face with it … one quick mention and the rest is left to the readers imgination … like some of the masters of the genre he understands that this reader does not need to feel splattered in blood to feel fear.  How does it all turn out?  Satisfyingly twisted thank you very much!

Kudos!

I’d like to thank Mr. Cassidy for providing me with this book through a contest

with no expectation of a review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from amazon)

Award-winning author David C. Cassidy is the twisted mind behind several best-selling novels of horror and suspense, including The Dark, Velvet Rain, and Fosgate's Game. An author, photographer, and graphic designer--and a half-decent juggler--he spends his writing life creating dark and touching stories where Bad Things Happen To Good People. Raised by wolves, he grew up with a love of nature, music, science, and history, with thrillers and horror novels feeding the dark side of his seriously disturbed imagination. He talks to his characters, talks often, and most times they listen.

But the real fun starts when they tell him to take a hike, and they Open That Door anyway. Idiots. David lives in Ontario, Canada. From Mozart to Vivaldi, classic jazz to classic rock, he feels naked without his iPod. Suffering from MAD--Multiple Activity Disorder--he divides his time between writing and blogging, photography and Photoshop, reading and rollerblading. An avid amateur astronomer, he loves the night sky, chasing the stars with his telescope. Sometimes he eats.

To learn more and connect with David, you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook, or visit his website: http://davidccassidy.com http://www.facebook.com/davidccassidyauthor http://www.twitter.com/davidccassidy

HauGHnt - A Review

A deathbed confession, a family curse, a dark and stormy night complete with a mysterious stranger; really, what more could you ask for in a horror story?

HauGHnt by David C. Cassidy

As his father lies on his deathbed Paul Steele finds he can barely look at the man let alone offer him any comfort as he takes his last breaths. His father’s life-long quest to find peace in the bottom of a bottle destroyed Paul’s mother and alienated Paul. What the old man has to say before he dies does nothing to change Paul’s feelings, but now Paul may understand his never ending drinking. Paul’s father committed an unimaginable crime and avoided prosecution by making the proverbial deal with the devil. “We’re all damned. It’s just a question of when”. For Paul Steele the mysterious “when” turns out to be “right now”.

This short story is the first of Mr. Cassidy’s “Dark Shapes, Dark Shadows” series and after reading “HauGHnt” I am looking forward to what’s to come. Mr. Cassidy seems to enjoy taking an ordinary person with an ordinary life and putting them in the most extraordinary situation. It certainly makes for a chilling read.

Short stories are not my usual go-to read because, by their very definition, they are – well – short. It’s difficult to come to care for characters in the few pages allotted to the read but Mr. Cassidy packs a lot into this one, so I found myself totally involved in Paul’s dilemma. I couldn’t get to the end fast enough – in the good way! And the end? Paul shocked me as did HauGHnt and that’s always a good thing in a horror story.

I admit to wishing the story were just a tad longer, but taking the “creep” factor into consideration I’m giving this one 4 ½ stars.

* I’d like to thank the author for providing me with this book at no charge in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion. *

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from his Goodreads page)

Award-winning author David C. Cassidy is the twisted mind behind several best-selling novels of horror and suspense, Velvet Rain, The Dark, and Fosgate’s Game. An author, photographer, and graphic designer—and a half-decent juggler—he spends his writing life creating dark and touching stories where Bad Things Happen To Good People. Raised by wolves, he grew up with a love of nature, music, science, and history, with thrillers and horror novels feeding the dark side of his seriously disturbed imagination. He talks to his characters, talks often, and most times they listen. But the real fun starts when they tell him to take a hike, and they Open That Door anyway. Idiots.

David lives in Ontario, Canada. From Mozart to Vivaldi, classic jazz to classic rock, he feels naked without his iPod. Suffering from MAD—Multiple Activity Disorder—he divides his time between writing and blogging, photography and Photoshop, reading and rollerblading. An avid amateur astronomer, he loves the night sky, chasing the stars with his telescope. Sometimes he eats.

The Caller - A Review

THE CALLER by Dan Krzyzkowski

Leslie Calloway’s life did not necessarily follow the path she had anticipated, but all in all it was good.  She felt fortunate so she wanted to give back in some way.  Events in her past made volunteering at 1-800-FRIENDS, a call center for children whose parents are out of the house, a good fit.  It’s a call center set up in the basement of church with outdated phone systems, a standing protocol not to call 911 (there had been some crank call issues in the past) and manned on a totally volunteer basis.  On one particular night, with a major winter storm brewing outside, Leslie wonders how she herself is going to get home to her son and to relieve the babysitter when the phone rings.  Seven-year-old Justin is on the line and he has just told Leslie that there is a man in his basement.

So begins the hours long ordeal for Leslie on one end of the phone and Justin on the other.  Leslie does everything she knows how to do but eventually she decides protocol be damned and calls 911 … the storm must have brought down the lines and no one answers … with her heart pounding she realizes it’s just her and Justin and, despite the storm, she needs to get him out of that house.  As she is trying to save Justin the crisis takes an unexpectedly personal turn and her panic escalates.

At 164 pages this is not an exceptionally long book, but it sure does pack a punch.  Told in Leslie’s first person narrative the reader finds themselves sitting right there in the room as she continuously tries to move Justin to a safer place.  The suspense is nerve-tingling.  If you pick this book up make sure you set aside a block of time because you are going to want to read it from the first page to the last in one sitting.  I know I did.

This story takes place in 1994.  I did not think anything of that until it came to my attention that this was not just a choice by the author to (maybe) explain some of the “dated” phone equipment but due to the fact that this book was first published about ten years ago.  According to some other reviews he has revised the book, tightened up the editing and added some sections possibly fleshing out Leslie’s personal side.  Whatever compelled this revision, it worked.

I’d like to thank Mr. Krzyzkowski for sending me a copy of this book at no charge in the hope that I would post an honest review.

I read library books, previously gently loved books, brand new books where no one has cracked the spine yet and I read on my ereader as well as my tablet so I don’t often speak to the physical attributes of the books I read.  However, I want to add here that for a paperback edition this was a lovely book to hold and read.  The book has nice crisp, white, better than average quality paper with a clean font that made reading this page-turner even more enjoyable.

I am definitely going to check into Mr. Krzyzkowski other book “One Lane Bridge”.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from the book cover)

Dan Krzyzkowski attended Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he earned a degree in psychology.  He is the author of the novel One Lane Bridge.

A writer and fisherman, Krzyzkowki lives in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, and works for the U.S. Postal Service.

Eight Days - A Review

EIGHT DAYS by Scott Thompson

“Clive Kinsella looked at his body in the coffin and thought

how much it reminded him of a stuffed bass.

He had several fish mounted on his walls back home,

and this must be his payback.”

Odd to be standing at your own funeral looking at your earthly remains.  The last thing Clive remembered was being in his driveway packing his car for a trip.  He was finally going to see all those places he had wanted to visit for years … thanks to the sudden heart attack that was not going to happen now.  Or was it?

So starts the telling of Clive’s “reckoning”.  When his beloved grandfather Pachu, who has been dead for many years, arrives Clive is surprised to be told that he would be revisiting pivotal times in his life to complete his “reckoning” – his reconciliation with decisions and actions before he enters Heaven.  Although Clive knows he has lived a good life a quick mental rundown of possible “reckoning” moments does not fill him with joy.  We all have painful and not-too-proud moments and Clive did not relish the thought of revisiting some of them.  But his reward would be, after each reckoning, to travel to one of the places he had planned to visit.  Everyone’s reckoning is different and Clive’s would last a total of eight days … would the reward be worth it?  Clive had his doubts.

I do not often read spiritual books because whatever faith or belief system I, or anyone else, embraces is personal and I do not want to be sermonized in my reading.  But occasionally, as in the case of “Eight Days”, the book description is too tempting to pass up.  I was glad I gave in to this particular temptation.  Yes, there were mentions of God, Heaven and Hell but they fit perfectly into the context of the story and I found them in no way personally offensive or "preachy" – after all – don’t we all at some moments in our lives call out to one, hope for the other and dread the third?

Mr. Thompson gave me a beautiful story of one man's life, a life that was filled with the trials, tribulations, angst, love, guilt and doubt we all experience.  There were parts of Clive’s story that had me smiling knowingly and parts that made me laugh out loud.  As we all do, Clive experienced sudden tragic events that surprised and shocked me and sad, tender moments that had me in tears.  The last few pages of this book were very difficult to read as the words blurred in the eye-mistiness but when I came to the end I knew I had read an exceptionally lovely story.  Occasionally it is nice to read a book that warms your heart and touches your emotions; a book that you can feel comfortable gifting or recommending to almost everyone. 

My sincerest thanks to Pen Name Publishing and the author for making this book available to me at no charge in the hopes of an honest review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from his Amazon page)

Scott Thompson was born in Georgia. His family moved almost every year of his young life, but still remained in the South where Thompson experienced the intelligent and eccentric people of the region who stoked his imagination and provided him with a lifetime of stories to tell.

Thompson lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with his family. His writing can be read in regional magazines like Georgia Backroads and Southern Writers Magazine. Other writings can be read at GrandCentralReview.com, where Thompson is a founding editor. He is the winner of the Great American Novel contest in literature for 2010, and was nominated for Georgia Author of the Year, first novel.

Letters to a Lifer - A Review

LETTERS TO A LIFER “The Boy Never to be Released” by Cindy Sanford

“There is an invisible thread that connects those destined to meet.”

Cindy Sanford owned a gift shop/art co-op.  One fateful day the co-op’s woodcarver, John, approached Cindy with a unique piece of wildlife art painted on a leaf.  Cindy, and the other artists, were astounded not only by the beautiful art but by the artist’s story as well – the artist, Ken, was serving a life sentence with no hope of parole for his involvement in a double homicide.  Ken did not pull the trigger.  Ken was 15 years old.

Cindy had the same thoughts any other person would have by imagining “a bitter, aging convict, with missing teeth, tattoos, and cold soulless eyes”.  She asked herself “How could an evil soul paint something so beautiful?”  Nevertheless, she agreed to sell his art in her store.  When the leaf art began selling better than John’s he stormed out.  Now Cindy had a new problem … how to get the money owed Ken to him in prison.  When she found the contact information Cindy was shocked to realize that Ken was housed in State Correctional Institution Bradford “where they housed the worst of the worst”.  How could anyone there paint these beautiful, intricate works of art?

That was the first of the contradictions Cindy was to face, in what turns out to be long term relationship with this convicted murderer.  “Letters to a Lifer” is Cindy’s journey to understanding, befriending and then unofficially adopting this young man with the painfully troubled past and absolutely no hope for the future.  Starting with reluctant written correspondence, then even more reluctant telephone calls and finally personal visits the reader follows the relationship that she (and her family and friends) develop with Ken.  Her writing interspersed with journal entries in Ken’s words let the reader understand her compassion and eventual maternal love for this young man.  It is not however an easy journey.  Cindy shares with her readers the personal conflict about her feelings for Ken weighed against the pain and loss of the families of the murder victims.  In many ways this book is a journey of questioning and reaffirming her personal faith.

“But he was a lifer convicted of homicide!  I couldn’t escape that.  Every time I felt a shred of warmth toward him, my brain waged war with my heart.  Some innocent person died as a result of his actions.  Was it right for me to care about someone like him?”

Yes, there are a lot of Christian values in this book, but it in no way comes across as preaching nor does it in any way attempt to convert the reader – it is simply a part of Cindy’s morals and how she lives her life.

Ken is a remarkable young man who paints incredible pictures but also exhibits real remorse, shows humanity to fellow prisoners and never asks anyone for special treatment – this is his journey as well as Cindy’s.  Even Cindy admits that Ken may be one of the few exceptions to the rule yet “Letters to a Lifer” did make me ponder – would I want to be defined for the rest of my life by some of the ridiculously stupid things I did when I was 15?  Granted, I never committed murder but I am no longer the person I was so many years ago and neither is Ken.  Therein lies the crux of this book; is justice truly being served by sentencing children, across the board, to life imprisonment with no chance of parole?

The work of organizations such as the “National Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth” is making strides and many states do not mandate automatic terms in the sentencing of juveniles for capital offences (unfortunately Philadelphia does).  As I was reading this book President Obama rescinded mandatory sentencing of juveniles on a national level, but individual states still control their own courts.  The question also remains as to whether the changes, as they occur, will be retroactive? 

This was an excellent book that made me think, sometimes brought me close to tears yet also made me laugh.  I highly recommend this book to anyone as an enjoyable and eye opening read about one woman’s personal journey.  It is so worth reading to get to know Ken.  It is also insightful in understanding some of what goes on inside of the prison system.

I feel this book would appeal to anyone interested in criminal justice, rehabilitation and juvenile offenders.  It is not only the wrongfully convicted/incarcerated that need a voice but also the children growing up behind bars.  It would also be of interest to those who are inspired to find about more about the man who paints such intricate depictions of wildlife onto leaves.

I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the author, Cindy Sanford, for sending me a digital copy of her book to read and review.

Some further notes:

You can read more about Ken’s story on the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange website.

More examples of Ken’s artwork can be found on his Etsy site. 

All proceeds and royalties from the sale of this book are being donated to MIMIC, a charity sponsoring at risk children, a foundation started by ex-offenders.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from her Goodreads author profile)

Cindy Sanford is a "self proclaimed" tough-on-crime advocate whose chance encounter with a juvenile lifer prompted a re-examination of long-held values and beliefs.
She is a registered nurse, mother of 3 sons, and the wife of a retired wildlife conservation officer. 

Hear her story in her own words in this short YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hyxW85pmX8) video

Never Too Late - A Review

NEVER TOO LATE by David C. Cassidy

Scott Fisher is a responsible man.  He works hard and loves his family.  One day he begins to behave in a most unusual manner; buying an expensive car and pricey gifts for his family, planning a family trip without consulting his wife, but what is causing all this impulsiveness?  Why is his wife having such a bad feeling about his recent behaviour?

This short story tells the story of an ordinary family, a loving and happy family, preparing for a weekend camping getaway.  It’s a little late in the camping season, but the weather is still great and that means they have the campground all to themselves.  Canoeing, fishing, a campfire and a night of looking at the stars are the makings of a wonderful day.  But something is definitely wrong!

This is the first piece of work I have read by Mr. Cassidy and I must say I was quite impressed with his story telling.  For a short story the author managed to make me very quickly care for the characters, which led to anxiety whenever I thought something was about to happen.  That was the brilliance in the story telling.  I was reading about an ordinary family going through an ordinary day yet at each turn of the page my imagination started to anticipate the worst.  Why was he acting irrationally?  Was he dying?  Did he win a lottery?  Had he committed a crime?  Was he about to?  What exactly was that noise in the woods?  When the horror element finally hit in the last few pages it caught me completely off guard. 

Well played Mr. Cassidy!  Well played!

Was it one, any or all of the above?  Sorry!  I don’t do spoiler alerts.

I received this book at no charge in an email promotion from the author.  He offered a “Free Starter Library” with no obligation of a review.  I thought this story was so good it deserved both a review and some promotion.  I just received my second book in the library today and am very much looking forward to reading it.  There are a few public library books in the queue ahead of it, but I will definitely get to it.  I don’t know if promotion is still available, but this is the link if you want to check it out. 

https://davidccassidy.leadpages.co/dcc-starter-library/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from his website)

Award-winning author David C. Cassidy is the twisted mind behind several best-selling novels of horror and suspense, Velvet Rain, The Dark, and Fosgate’s Game. An author, photographer, and graphic designer—and a half-decent juggler—he spends his writing life creating tales of terror where Bad Things Happen To Good People. Raised by wolves, he grew up with a love of nature, music, science, and history, with thrillers and horror novels feeding the dark side of his seriously disturbed imagination. He talks to his characters, talks often, and most times they listen. But the real fun starts when they tell him to take a hike, and they Open That Door anyway. Idiots.

David lives in Ontario, Canada. From Mozart to Vivaldi, classic jazz to classic rock, he feels naked without his iPod. Suffering from MAD—Multiple Activity Disorder—he divides his time between writing and blogging, photography and Photoshop, reading and rollerblading. An avid amateur astronomer, he loves the night sky, chasing the stars with his telescope. Sometimes he eats.

17/30

I Always Knew My Pets Had Secret Lives

THE CAT WHO SPIED ON ME by Jane Oldaker

Even cats can overdo at Christmas dinner and that’s just what happened to Mahoney.  Feeling the effects of his excess he decided an evening stroll might relieve his tummy of the gurgling.  He never expected it would also lead to taking on a roll he never expected to fill and an adventure for himself and the other members of the “Agency”.

This short story was well written and a pleasure to read.  When I first began reading I felt at a little bit of a disadvantage by not fully comprehending the whole “Agency” concept (since, I understand, this is the third installment of the series) but as I continued reading I caught on rather quickly and fully enjoyed the story.

Having had a menagerie of pets over the years I can certainly understand where Ms. Oldaker came up with idea because when you have multiple pets you cannot help but feel that sometimes they are conspiring in adventures of their own.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a cozy, light mystery and has enough imagination to enjoy tech-savvy animals who communicate with not only each other but with certain humans as well.  There are some great elements of suspense and danger in this story, not overdone but written in such a way that I think it would make a perfect book for sharing with a youngster.

Kudos to J.B. Mann of “Fuzzballs Fuzzywinks Illustrations” because the charming drawings interspersed in the book are a wonderful surprise and an added bonus!  I will definitely be looking for the other books in the series – this one was just too much fun not to read more.

* I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review *

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from her Goodreads page)

Born and raised in Toronto, Jane escaped to the family farm near Port Perry, Ontario at the earliest opportunity where she lives with her husband, daughter and an assortment of cats, dogs, chickens and horses.

A Very Short "Short Story"

DONALD TRUMP: ZOMBIE HUNTER by Jon Davidson

“… the world has improved since the day he was sworn into office.”

“… managed to wipe out national debt and create a budget surplus by the end of his first term as commander-in-chief.”

“ … Southern borders have finally been sealed off and jobs were no longer being outsourced to China …”

“ … even Putin himself spoke highly if his inherent awesomeness on a number of occasions.”

He moved with “ninja stealth”.

He “utilized his ultra-keen hearing powers”.

When you come to realize that in this story all of the above sentences apply to “The Donald” during his first term in office as President you have to think I was reading urban fantasy.

Actually this is a very amusing parody.  Mr. Davidson has taken an alternate reality and made “The Donald” the very successful president of the United States.  Then he brings truth to the saying “be careful what you wish for” because as “The Donald” is lying in bed one night with “The Hot Wife” he feels “empty inside” wishing for something else exciting to happen; some new adversity he could overcome … when suddenly zombies attack.  When his personal bodyguard, Jesse Ventura succumbs to the zombies “The Donald” knows he himself is the only hope.  Funnily enough all the zombies resemble Donald Trump’s political opponents and nay-sayers.

Written by Jon Davidson, DONALD TRUMP: ZOMBIE HUNTER is a very short story – 8 pages in PDF format – and it is very well written.  If you have even an inkling of a sense of humor you will find this story funny.  It reads like a “Saturday Night Live” script.  I did notice the author had an alarmingly astounding aptitude for alliteration, which under ordinary circumstance might become annoying, but in this case just added to my amusement. 

Well-done Mr. Davidson.

* I received this short story at no charge from the author via “WordSlinger” in exchange for an honest (and optional) review. *

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The Amazon.com link is HERE

I Feel Righteously Pissed Off!

THE BABY by Sylvia Norman

Those of you who have read my reviews know I don’t often write scathing, negative reviews so be warned – this is my version of a “scathing, negative review”.  This review might make you wonder if I don’t have a split personality.  And, I’m going to do things a little out of my usual order.  I want to say something positive (before I get into my rant) so I’ll start with the basics.

The premise of this book had a lot of promise towards being a really good horror story.  I understand that this was a “novelette”; by its very description, short by design, but the parts of the story that were to be the horror element had little to no suspense leading up to them.  They sort of struck you in the face … and rather than be shocking they just left me feeling rather flat.  A little bit of lead-in and emotion goes a long way into making a scene terrifying.  The writing was passable for, what I understand, is a first effort by Ms. Norman.  A good editor would have been able to pare down a sentence such as “As I got closer to the lady, I looked over her shoulder and saw she was holding a bloody baby that was bleeding profusely.”

Despite all that I was quite prepared to give this book a 2 ½ to 3-star rating because of Ms. Norman’s premise and her effort, which I still think are pretty strong.

Now?

I’m so pissed off I don’t even know because I cannot avoid my personal feelings getting in the way of an honest rating based on the book itself.  The last time I had such a strong negative reaction to a piece of creative endeavor was at a modern art exhibit when I came across a snow shovel hanging on a wall with a title card next to it reading: "Prelude To A Broken Arm".  The shovel still had a home hardware price sticker on it.  I think I started to hyperventilate.

From the book description:

“Patricia and William can’t wait to have children, but as soon as she gives birth, things seem to change.  First, although she doesn’t remember it, Patricia apparently tried to commit suicide in the hospital room.  The doctors write it off as postpartum depression, but Patricia has the oddest feeling her baby, Bernard, had something to do with it.

William tries to be supportive of his recovering wife.  He is careful and loving with their son, but she seems almost afraid of little Bernard.  She doesn’t treat him as a mother would – with love, compassion, and patience.  To Patricia, Bernard is some kind of monster, and sometimes, she swears he looks like an old man … and talks like one too.

Is Bernard the evil creature she suspects, or is the horror just part of Patricia’s twisted imagination.  William fears for his family, but he’s not sure where to turn.  He hates to think his wife is mad, yet her behavior gives him little choice.  Patricia, however, feels she has a purpose; destroy the child she brought into the world before

he hurts others, William included.”

Sounds creepy, right?

Then there’s the book cover … looks pretty creepy too... black and white, single doll in a peeling, possibly bloody crib.  Just the kind of book I would be drawn to.

In "The Baby" there comes a definite point in the story where the reader thinks they are going to find out if Patricia is insane or if Bernard truly is evil and that’s where it totally went off the rails for me.

And just so you know I am NOT including any spoiler alerts here because I do not think the story deserves the courtesy … readers need to know what they are getting into.

The story makes a 180-degree turn and the reader finds out that early in her marriage Patricia made the choice to terminate a pregnancy.  Whether it was her guilty conscience or whether that baby was truly back to haunt her is neither here nor there in my opinion … the author’s views on the subject are made very clear in her dialogue and descriptions.  There was no warning anywhere on the book that this was going to preach a “Right to Life” point of view in such graphic terms.  If at some point I had had to make such a decision and then found myself reading this book … with NO WARNING … I would have thrown-up at the very least or been tempted to throw myself in front of a bus just because of the thick layer of guilt Ms. Norman lays on the reader.  If some poor woman had recently had to make such an agonizing decision (and YES I do believe, for most, it is a decision not made lightly) she would probably not pick up a book about evil babies … but we’re all readers here, used to suspending reality … if she did pick up this book IT WOULD BE DEVASTATING!

My personal thoughts on lifestyle issues do not matter here; I am not trying to start a debate and, I like to think I am not an overly sensitive reader but I do feel I have the right to full disclosure about certain aspects and subject matter of the book.  Most books give you an idea … “Christian fiction”, “LGBT fiction”, “Erotica” even a little “This book may contain…” or “This book may be offensive if …” – just give me the choice to pick it up or not!

Readers, especially those willing to try Indie authors and/or plug their way through self published work are often not sure where a story is going to lead (and may I say are often pleasantly surprised) … but if there is going to be some (a lot) of personal preaching done by the author in the guise of a story line … let me know ahead of time.

This novelette received nothing but five-star ratings and gushing, glowing reviews on Amazon.  On Goodreads.com it has two five-star reviews and one two-star review.  Am I (self deleted cuss word) missing some element of this book?  Somehow, I suspect there will be no requests forthcoming to post my review on either site.

Okay, I’m done now.

*I received this book at no charge from the author

via Wordslinger in exchange for an honest review.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from an insert included with the book)

“I was born in Atlanta, Georgia.  I reside in Lithonia, Georgia with my two sons.  “The Baby” is my first publication.  I am a horror and suspense fan.  My style of writing as the feel of the Twilight Zone, Night Gallery and the movie 1408.  I’m working on part two of “The Baby” and a new novel, “Family Portrait.”

Outside the Magic Circle - A Review

CATHERINE DICKENS: OUTSIDE THE MAGIC CIRCLE by Heera Datta.

Catherine and Charles were married for 21 years and during that time they had 10 children, he became quite successful and she enjoyed looking after home and hearth.  They seemed the perfect couple, happy, affluent, social – then, almost in a blink of an eye, he moved out of their shared bedroom, very publicly announced that she was an uninterested wife and unfit mother and consequently they were separating.

Oh, their last name?  Dickens.

While Charles Dickens aired his grievances and separation in the public forum, which as a famous and popular author at the time, he almost owned Catherine was relegated to a small home and bound by legalities to not utter a single word against Charles.  Her voice was literally cut off if she ever wanted any hope of seeing her children again.  In this book Ms. Datta finally gives Catherine her voice and a platform to tell her side of the story.

Catherine tells the reader of her and Charles’ love story when they were courting, the lengthy letters they exchanged when they were apart and the life they shared as their family and circumstance increased.  She tells us of her surprise and shock when Charles literally cast her aside (in favor of a younger woman) and her embarrassment at his making it such a public spectacle.  The reader grieves with Catherine as she is forcibly kept apart from her children and at the hurt she experiences when her own sister sides with Charles.

Although the information about Catherine and Charles’ life and separation is historical fact, since Catherine never spoke publicly the recollections, conversations with friends and private feelings all come from Ms. Datta’s imagination and very skillful story telling skills.  There was never a moment, while reading this book of historical fiction, in which I had any doubts that this was exactly what Catherine must have been feeling.  It is exactly what I would have been feeling.

Not only does Ms. Datta give Catherine a beautiful voice but also she makes her very real to the reader and, she gives her reader a very well written, well researched account of what life was like in the late 19^th century for women.  They were most certainly considered the chattel of their husbands and/or fathers with no rights when it came to money, custody of their children, maintaining their homes or any other details of every day life.

While reading this book I alternated between being very angry and very, very sad – a testament to Ms. Datta’s skills to be able to provoke those emotions.  The book ends (no spoiler alert necessary here) with Catherine finally getting her side of the story out to public when with, quite literally, her dying breath she requested her personal letters from Charles Dickens be donated to the British Museum so “that the world may know he loved me once”.

This is a well written book and I would recommend this book to fans of historical fiction, the Dicken’s era or anyone interested in Charles and Catherine Dickens.  Well-done Ms. Batta!

* I received this book at no charge from the author in exchange for an honest review*

I also apologize to Ms. Datta for taking so long to read and review this book.  I am certainly sorry it took me so long to get to it … it was truly a wonderful story.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from the book)

Heera Datta is a writer of Middle Grade fiction.  She is interested in reading books of different genres, including biographies and historical fiction. 

She lives in India with her husband and son.